It's the calm before the storm, and we're looking to keep ourselves busy in the wake of Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Spider-Man. Colin made the unusual step of starting up Mass Effect Andromeda to pass the time. Did he make such a decision because he hates himself? We discuss. But beyond that, of course, there's news to discuss. Spider-Man is getting New Game+, PS4 firmware 6.0 is in the wild, Assassin's Creed ports are PS4-bound... and we apparently scarred someone by discussing the Human Centipede last week. All of that news (plus much more) is accompanied by your questions, comments, and concerns. Let's enjoy the lull while we can, shall we?

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider's launch is imminent, and we've been playing it, so we decided to dedicate a portion of this week's episode to Eidos Montreal's latest. Our conversation focuses not only on the finer points of the game, though, but on Lara Croft herself. Does her selfishness and callousness make her an unlikable protagonist? We discuss. We also go into the copious news that's emerged over the last seven days. Rocksteady is openly hiring for a next-gen game. THQ Nordic's buying streak continues unabated, this time with the Kingdoms of Amalur IP. Henry Cavill has been cast in the upcoming Netflix Witcher series. And that's just the beginning of a heavy news week.

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Next year (presumably), we'll finally get our hands on Naughty Dog's highly-anticipated sequel to The Last of Us, the aptly-named The Last of Us: Part II. But one Sacred Symbols listener has a concern: Is it even possible for it to live up to the hype? We discuss. We also delve deep into news from the past week. Spider-Man's DLC has already been announced, PS2's Onimusha is finally coming to PS4, Battlefield V has been delayed, Anthem is getting a demo... and did you know Sekiro was originally going to be a Tenchu game? We talk about all of that, plus much more, with plenty of your questions peppered into the mix.

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Gamescom came and went with a whimper this year, but thankfully, we don't need to rely on the show for news to discuss. After all, CD Projekt finally publicly released its Cyberpunk 2077 demo, giving us much to discuss. But our show doesn't nearly stop there. Supermassive Games announced an Until Dawn-like anthology of horror games, NPD numbers for last month illustrate how PS4 games are selling in the US, Assassin's Creed is taking another much-needed break, and Shenmue III finally has a release date. We chat about all of that, plus much more, wrapped up with plenty of your questions, and information about our coverage plans for Insomniac's Spider-Man, which is just around the corner.

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Sony recently announced updated sales figures for PlayStation VR -- 3 million and counting -- which raises an interesting question: Is that actually good? After all, only one in 27 PS4s sold have a PSVR unit hooked up to it. We discuss what that means. Meanwhile, there's news galore to cover, including DICE's long-abandoned Genesis game coming to PS4 and Vita, Until Dawn developer Supermassive's all-new IP trademark, the cancellation of Bloodstained on Vita, Bethesda's aggressive attitude towards Sony, and much more. Colin also gives a preview of Dragon Quest XI, the boys discuss the newly-released Metroidvania Guacamelee! 2, and we round things out, as always, with your questions. Oh, and there's a debate about the pronunciation of "GIF" as well.

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In just the last few days, we were treated with the first gameplay footage ever for both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Doom Eternal. So naturally, we take the time to discuss what we thought of both demonstrations. Meanwhile, Chris is worried that Insomniac's Spider-man is being shown way too much, and so we dive deeper into his concerns. IGN's plagiarism scandal also keeps us busy, with a nearly half hour conversation about that alone. News ranging from a new PS4 Pro and God of War's New Game+ to Bethesda's newest in-house studio and Child of Light II rumors keep us busy otherwise, rounded out -- as always -- by your questions. Oh, and we sacrifice a baby during the show, too, in the name of the Dark Arts. Sorry about that.

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At 82+ million sold, PlayStation 4 is still lighting the gaming world on fire, and will sell in fewer than five years what PlayStation 3 sold in nine. Indeed, it's all but assured -- barring a mega meltdown at Sony, or within the gaming industry itself -- that PS4 will sell 100 million units, a number only three other home gaming consoles (two of them PlayStation-branded) ever reached. So naturally, we discuss what that means. We also take the time to chat about the Metroidvanias that are currently occupying all our gaming time, the newest NPD sales numbers, BioWare's strange insistence that it's still working on Mass Effect and Dragon Age, a possible (but unlikely) comeback for Resistance, FIFA 19's all-new survival mode, and much, much more, rounded out per usual with your questions.

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Developers are getting less and less stingy with their games' Trophies, almost to a comical -- and dare we say destructive -- degree. So this week, we discuss the Trophy ecosystem in-depth, and reflect on how Sony can better protect and nurture the ecosystem. But of course, we also get nitty-gritty with the games themselves. Chasm is out, and Chris has played it extensively, so we chat about the newest entrant to the Metroidvania genre. Old video game website The Escapist is returning, but is its apolitical slant too little, too late? Plus, Spider-man and Shadow of the Tomb Raider have gone gold, Quantic Dream lost an important court case, Capcom is making tons of money, and much much more. Get ready for a jam-packed episode, rounded out as always with your questions.

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Sony-owned studio Guerrilla Games, the minds behind Killzone and Horizon: Zero Dawn, recently announced that it's expanding its roster from 250 employees to 400. This is huge news, indicating that Guerrilla is going to start releasing games at a far greater clip. So naturally, we discuss. Of course, there's other pertinent news to chat about, too, including expectations that the battle royale genre is set to gross $20 billion next year, Fallout 76's newly announced beta, Spider-man's exclusive PS4 Pro console, the fate of Telltale's The Walking Dead, tons of Bethesda-related chatter, an update on the upcoming Sly Cooper cartoon, and much, much more. All capped off, as always, with your questions.

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Nathan Fillion, an actor beloved in nerd culture from his Firefly days, released a movie-quality Uncharted short film, and it has the Internet abuzz. So we chat a bit about it. But in reality, news is pretty light this week, so we rely on a ton of awesome listener inquiries to fill our 100+ minute run-time. Should Sony's studios have Nintendo-level clout? Will we ever get a sequel to The Order: 1886? Is games journalism failing? How can Sony make PSN better? Will we ever do Sacred Symbols Spoilercasts? The questions are many. Many more than this. So, thankfully, are our answers.

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