Console Shock Podcast

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! On this week’s shockcast it’s all about rediscovering classics, fan-made passion projects, and the chaos of retro tech. We dive into free arena shooters, questionable dial-up online experiences, modern throwbacks to 90s racers, and surprisingly great movie-to-game adaptations. There’s plenty of CRT-era nostalgia, exciting preservation breakthroughs, and one painful battle with outdated PC gaming services thrown in for good measure.

Rayman Reborn? Trev discovers Rayman Redemption, the fan-made remake of the PS1 classic — but is it actually better than the official 30th Anniversary effort?

Arena Shooter Resurrection – The legendary Unreal Tournament 2004 is now free, and Stu wastes no time jumping back into the frag-fest. Does it still slap?

Dial-Up Dreamcast – Online console gaming on a 33k modem… revolutionary at the time, but was it secretly a laggy nightmare?

Sideways in the 90s – Old School Rally powerslides onto the scene as a modern tribute to the golden era of rally games. Pure nostalgia or style over substance? Busting Still Feels Good – Revisiting Ghostbusters: The Video Game and its remaster — one of the greatest movie-to-game adaptations ever?

Chunky Scanline Memories – Those thick black CRT lines from the 90s… did we all see them, or is nostalgia playing tricks on us?

N64 Recomp Revolution – Trev explores the magic of N64 decompilation projects, including Banjo-Kazooie and Mario Kart 64 — preservation at its finest.

Legacy of GFWL – Stu goes toe-to-toe with Games for Windows Live to resurrect the original PC port of Gears of War. Victory or technical heartbreak? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! PC gaming handhelds have evolved fast since Valve shook things up by revealing the Steam Deck in 2021—but what should a true second-generation Valve handheld look like? Trev and Stu break down what would actually make a Steam Deck 2 a meaningful upgrade, drawing on features from newer PC handhelds and asking which ones Valve should steal, refine, or ignore entirely. In this episode:

We kick things off with EA FC 26 somehow running on a 12-year-old laptop

Valve nailed the original form factor—but is it time for a higher-resolution display?

Modern handhelds are pushing higher TDPs for extra performance—should Valve move beyond the 15-watt limit?

A more modular design, including easily user-replaceable SSDs, for better long-term upgrades

Is a 5× performance jump over the original Steam Deck the bare minimum expectation?

Bigger batteries for longer, truly untethered gaming sessions

Hall-effect joysticks to finally put stick drift in the bin

A next-gen dock with Switch-style performance boosts when docked

If that’s still not enough power… is it time for external GPU support? Whether you’re all-in on Valve’s handheld future or just curious where PC portables are heading next, this one’s for you. Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! We’re back for 2026! After a festive break, the crew return to kick off the new year with a big look back at 2025 and an even bigger look ahead to what gaming has in store for us next. From bargain-bin hauls to future tech, predictions, and surprises — it’s our first deep dive into gaming in 2026.

We unpack our Steam Winter Sale pick-ups

Our favourite games of 2025

Trev puts Lossless Scaling on the Steam Deck through its paces

What’s coming in 2026?

Are next-gen consoles about to be revealed?

Will the Steam Machine price make us cheer… or choke? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! A little late to the party, but Trev and Stu finally celebrate the 20th birthday of the greatest Xbox of all time—the Xbox 360! Released in November 2005, the 360 pioneered a host of features that would become industry-standard: built-in online play, DLC, achievements, robust multimedia support, wireless controllers, a full digital marketplace, and much more. In this episode:

How Xbox 360 changed the industry: From achievements to digital distribution, the features that set the template for modern consoles.

Speculation on the upcoming Steam Machine’s potential high price

Stu’s thoughts on Metroid Prime 4

Reacting to the early reveals of Xbox 360 hardware and launch-window games

Why the Xbox 360 wireless controller was (and still is) legendary

The Red Ring of Death — and how Xbox survived one of gaming’s biggest hardware crises

Did the Kinect spark the decline of the Xbox brand?

Surprisingly solid backward compatibility with the OG Xbox

How digital downloads revived short, 2D-style games via Xbox Live Arcade

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Valve drops a surprise wave of new hardware announcements, leaving a completely unprepared Trev and Stu to unravel the chaos and excitement rippling through the SteamOS/PC gaming world!

GTA VI delayed again — but is that actually good news?

Stu experiments with Bazzite on an Intel NUC PC.

The Valve SteamCast (Steam Machine) is finally revealed!

Steam Machine vs. Current-Gen Consoles — how do the specs stack up?

Can the Steam Machine finally deliver true sofa-friendly PC gaming?

A sequel to the Steam Controller appears! — but will it be practical?

Valve announces a new VR headset — can it take on the Meta Quest?

What will all this new Valve hardware cost? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! This Week on the Podcast: As a self-confessed handheld gaming fan, Trev is seriously excited about the rumoured PlayStation 6 handheld, codenamed “Canis”. Will it really deliver a full-fat next-gen PS6 experience in portable form — or will there be too many compromises to make you ditch your Steam Deck or ROG Ally?

Xbox Game Pass Price Hike — We unpack the latest changes, what they mean for subscribers, and whether the value still holds up.

BREAKING NEWS! — Retro Games Ltd announce the full-size A1200, a dream come true for Amiga fans everywhere.

PS6 Handheld Deep Dive:

Will it truly play all PS6 games, or will it top out at PS4/PS5 level content?

How will PS5 compatibility work — every title, or only ‘handheld-patched’ releases?

Could upcoming FSR and frame-generation tech make it the first no-compromise handheld?

What sort of price tag might we see for Sony’s next portable?

And how could disc-based PS6 games be supported on a handheld system? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Trevor and Stuart talk about the first 100 days of Nintendo Switch 2

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! With the recent Valve leaks, Trev and Stu dive deep into what a potential “Steam Station” could look like in 2025. Can Valve really deliver a device that beats the PS5 on performance and price? Or should they roll out a whole lineup of consoles to cover every type of gamer? Here’s hoping Gabe’s got something big up his sleeve…

This episode includes:

Stu takes on Gears of War Remastered on PC!

Wrestling with Games for Windows Live relics on modern setups.

Hot takes on The Last of Us Part I for PS5.

Why picking Easy Mode is absolutely fine (and often the smarter choice).

The Valve “Fremont” specs leak — what could a Steam Deck Pro / Steam Station mean for gamers?

Triple-A gaming on today’s Steam Deck, and why a beefed-up Valve console could be the ultimate option.

Does a Valve console need to exceed PS5 performance to stand out in 2025?

How a streamlined, TV-only, screenless incarnation of the current Steam Deck could be the perfect entry-level machine.

Why Valve should release a suite of consoles to cover every price–performance tier. Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! The Mega Drive is a legendary console we’ve revisited in many ways throughout the history of the show—but what’s it actually like to buy one and start a collection today? Are the games easy to track down, is there a best controller to seek out, and should you even bother with the Mega CD or 32X? Trev and Stu are here to guide you on your Sega journey!

In this episode:

Stu tries out Sega Rally Anniversary Edition on PC

Which model Mega Drive should you go for?

The obscure hardware variants like the Nomad and Multi-Mega

Why 50Hz vs 60Hz matters

The controllers you should hunt down

What’s the deal with light guns on the Mega Drive?

Flash carts – play ROM files on real hardware

Mega CD & 32X – worthwhile add-ons or pointless indulgences?

Game collecting – where to buy and what’s a fair price Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! We’ve hit a milestone — episode 150! And to celebrate, we’re welcoming back retro magazine collecting (and now magazine writing) legend Paul Monaghan for his long-awaited return! What’s he been up to over the last few years? How did he become a contributor to two of the UK’s top retro mags? And yes… what does he think of 90s boy band Let Loose? Strap in for a nostalgic deep dive into magazines, music, and memories from the golden era of gaming and pop culture.

In This Episode:

Paul’s latest work with Amiga Addict and Pixel Addict

Thoughts on Perifractic’s purchase of Commodore

A look back at the vibrant UK comic scene of the 80s & 90s

Remember when Sky TV cost a fortune in the 90s?

Reflecting on premium 90s gaming mags like Maximum

The high price of PC gaming in the mid-90s

Beyond gaming mags: Star Trek, NME, and more cultural touchstones

GamesMaster – the mag that outlived the TV show by decades!

Our personal favourite gaming mags of all time

Bonus nostalgia: the long-forgotten UK computing mag PC Plus! Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo