It's Xbox's time to shine with the latest in the big summer showcases and Team Green certainly delivered. Gears of War: E-Day finally breaks cover, Halo Campaign Evolved impresses, while Senua, Metro 2039 and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy look phenomenal. But what's the deal with Microsoft's exclusivity strategy and will it actually work?

0:00:00 Introduction

0:00:46 Gears of War: E-Day

0:13:36 Clockwork Revolution

0:16:21 Is Xbox returning to exclusive games?

0:29:30 Halo Campaign Evolved

0:34:24 Persona 4 Revival and Persona 6

0:38:52 Senua

0:43:21 Spyro: A Realm Beyond

0:46:02 Metro 2039

0:49:35 Crazy Taxi: World Tour

0:53:20 Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations

0:57:57 Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember

1:00:48 Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

1:04:40 Xbox 25th Anniversary Series X

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At the time of publication, it has been one year and one day since Nintendo launched the Switch 2 console - so, as is DF tradition, it's time to look back over the last year and assess the system's track record so far. Strong back compat, impressive first and third party support, actual ray tracing and game-changing DLSS results - has Nintendo managed to put a foot wrong at all?

00:00 Overview

01:10 Is Switch 2 a generational leap over Switch 1?

11:40 What are the worst and best Switch 2 ports?

21:46 Has Nintendo extracted the most from Switch 2 in their own games?

27:34 Have we accepted Switch 2’s hardware flaws?

33:27 What do we make of GameChat, GameShare, and mouse controls?

37:51 How do we rate Switch 2’s backwards compatibility?

44:08 Concluding thoughts

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With the welcome announcement of Call of Duty coming to Switch 2, the question is... can the hardware handle the series' signature 60fps? Meanwhile, what does Nvidia aim to achieve with its new RTX Spark processor? In the wake of the shock Steam Deck price rises, could a self-built PC potentially offer superior value? What's the fate of Xbox Series S in the Helix era? All this and more in the new DF Direct Q+A show.

00:00 Introduction

00:40 Supporter Q1: Do you think Modern Warfare 4 will be good on Switch 2?

09:38 Supporter Q2: Is the Nvidia N1X an expensive, niche chip?

24:25 Supporter Q3: Is a custom PC a better deal than Steam Machine?

31:00 Supporter Q4: Are review embargoes becoming more strict?

37:50 Supporter Q5: Will Microsoft ditch Series S when Project Helix arrives?

42:07 Supporter Q6: Are high hardware prices a boon for game optimization?

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The summer games showcase event season is upon us and Sony is first off the mark with an excellent showing. God of War Laufey and Marvel's Wolverine are the highlights of the event, but there's plenty more that caught our eye here. John and Oliver share their thoughts on the event.

00:00 Introduction 

01:13 God of War Laufey 

08:44 Marvel’s Wolverine 

16:46 Rayman Legends Retold 

20:50 Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve 

25:09 Stuntman Hollywood 

28:55 Until Dawn 2

32:24 Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis 

35:30 Kemuri 

37:45 Omimusha: Way of the Sword 

43:07 Concluding thoughts 

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The shock news of +40% price rises for Steam Deck kicks off a BIG Direct this week, swiftly followed by the team's first impressions of the PC version of 007 First Light - and its ker-azy upscaling issues. The new Call of Duty coming to Switch 2 is a topic of much interest, as is the announcement of a brand-new expansion for The Witcher 3. Rich is dismayed by the presentation of bare buttocks in Metal Gear Solid 4's PS5 remaster, the panel reminisces on five years of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - and we deliver an explainer on why it's getting more difficult to cover Xbox Series versions of third-party multi-platform games.

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:04 News 1: Valve restocks Steam Deck with massive price bump

0:20:26 News 2: 007 First Light suffers DLSS issues on PC

0:39:39 News 3: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 announced

0:47:13 News 4: New Witcher 3 expansion announced

0:53:27 News 5: MGS4 PS5 port demoed!

1:04:33 News 6: Xbox whitelisting woes derail game coverage

1:14:08 Retrospective: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart 5-year anniversary

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The team sit down once more to discuss the latest questions from DF Supporters. What do we make of Unreal Engine 6's debut in Rocket League of all places? Has Epic delivered a version of Lumen that is performant enough for lower spec kit? Is Sony's quality control to be blamed for lower than expected PC sales and finally, the big one... if Steam is a monopoly, why do we like it?

00:00 Introduction

01:09 Supporter Q1: What should we make of the Unreal Engine 6 announcement?

16:48 Supporter Q2: What does the new “medium Lumen” preset mean for Switch 2?

21:52 Supporter Q3: Which UE5 game got closest visually to The Matrix Awakens?

25:58 Supporter Q4: Has the RTX 4090 aged like fine wine?

34:10 Supporter Q5: Should Sony’s declining PC port quality be blamed for poor sales?

42:05 Supporter Q6: If people don’t like monopolies, why do they like Steam?

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John, Oliver and Rich sit down to discuss the latest gaming and technology news, kicking off with the end of the road for Destiny 2. It's had a fantastic long run, but where does that leave Bungie? Following that, it's a - dare we say it - Unreal Fest. The team discuss the latest Lego Batman on PS5 and PC, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book on Switch and more, before moving into retrospective mode - it's been one year since the Witcher 4 UE5 demo and five years since we went hands-on with the Valley of the Ancient demo, so what have we learned? And finally, the nostalgia continues: this week, it's been an incredible TEN YEARS of DF Retro!

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:16 News 1: Bungie ends Destiny 2 development

0:19:44 News 2: Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight released

0:32:51 News 3: Yoshi and the Mysterious Book tested

0:45:41 News 4: Two new UE5 games buck engine trends

0:57:36 Retrospective: 5 year Unreal Engine 5 early access anniversary

1:12:07 Retrospective: DF Retro celebrates 10 year anniversary

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The show kicks off with the news that Sony is no longer bringing its single-player narrative-driven games to PC before moving on to supporter questions! How competitive would PS5 with Linux be to Valve's Steam Machine? Will FSR 4.1 come to Xbox consoles and could a PSSR Lite come to base PlayStation 5? Would there be any point bringing Quick Resume to PS6 and... is it Xbox or XBOX and should we change our pronounciation of the name?!

00:00 Introduction

00:45 News: Sony says single-player Sony games will no longer release on PC

08:14 Supporter Q1: Could a Linux-running PS5 be a good Steam Machine alternative?

12:48 Supporter Q2: Will FSR 4.1 come to Xbox? What about a PSSR for base PS5?

19:03 Supporter Q3: Could Sony implement Quick Resume for PS5?

24:56 Supporter Q4: Could a new third party commercial game engine succeed?

33:15 Supporter Q5: Do any of you double dip on game re-releases?

40:42 Supporter Q6: Is it Xbox or XBOX?

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PS5 Linux continues to yield dividends as Rich tests path tracing on PS5 with Quake 2 RTX, Portal RTX and Cyberpunk 2077 RT Overdrive (!) on Sony's console. Beyond that, there's great news with the announcement of FSR 4.1 coming to older Radeon graphics cards, and there's a hint that Xbox may have some kind of "disc to digital" way to bring your physical purchases over to a potentially disc-less Project Helix. Finally, the team celebrate a duo of key anniversaries - Uncharted 4 and Doom 2016!

0:00:00 Introduction

0:01:03 News 1: Path tracing tested on PS5!

0:22:07 News 2: FSR 4.1 coming to RDNA 2/3

0:36:07 News 3: New 007 First Light footage shows 60fps PS5 Pro gameplay

0:46:23 News 4: Report suggests Xbox “disc to digital” program may be coming

0:57:18 Retrospective: 10 year Uncharted 4 anniversary

1:09:36 Retrospective: 10 year Doom (2016) anniversary

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Another packed Direct Q+A show sees Oliver, Rich and Alex getting to grips with high-end graphics: are they actually worth it and are technological advances worth pushing? Meanwhile, can Switch 2 last for the 6-7 years Nintendo wants it to - or will next-gen consoles make it obsolete for multi-platform titles? All this and more in the new Direct Q+A Show.

00:00 Introduction

00:53 Supporter Q1: Is the high end PC experience really worth it? Should we stop pushing top-tier visuals in general?

11:07 Supporter Q2: Will we have to wait years for a SWOLED 2? What should we make of Nintendo’s reported increase in R&D spend?

19:44 Supporter Q3: Can Switch 2 handle another 6 or 7 years of cross-gen software?

24:46 Supporter Q4: Given inflation, isn’t it true that gaming hardware today is relatively cheap?

31:02 Supporter Q5: Could Microsoft ship a version of Windows for Xbox Series?

35:36 Supporter Q6: Will Project Helix hardware prove tempting for AI users?

39:09 Supporter Q7: Is PC emulation on Android ready for prime time?

44:04 Supporter Q8: What would you do in 2026 with an old 10-series PC?

49:17 Supporter Q9: How much does Oliver cut out of DF Direct every week?

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