Shack Together

Welcome to episode 45 of Shack Together! Today's episode breaks from our usual format as we dive deep into the Shacknews Awards 2024, celebrating an incredible year in gaming. As your producer, I'm excited to guide us through our comprehensive awards coverage, which features an impressive 24 winners each in both our Game of the Year and Indie Game of the Year categories.

This special episode showcases the breadth and depth of gaming in 2024, from major releases like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Black Myth: Wukong to standout indie titles like Balatro, Animal Well, and The Plucky Squire. We'll be discussing everything from technical achievements in categories like Best Graphics and Best Water to our cherished "Do it for Shacknews" award, which recognizes individuals and groups who went above and beyond for the gaming community - including nominees like The Zelda Orchestra, Brandon Cole for his accessibility advocacy, and the dedicated developers at GSC Game World.

As we wrap up our final episode of 2024, we want to thank all our listeners for another fantastic year of gaming discussions and community engagement. We'll see you in 2025 for more Shack Together! And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Welcome to episode 44 of Shack Together! We've got a packed house today with Sam Chandler exploring Isles of Sea and Sky, Greg Burke and Donovan Erskine both diving into Marvel Rivals, David Craddock adventuring through Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and John trying out [checks notes] Musk Sticks. As your faithful producer, I'm excited to announce I've completed Final Fantasy IX putting my franchise count at three titles finished in the past 12 months. Asif, of course, ends his Mario Kart 8 Deluxe journey and continues his F-Zero 99 one and tells us all about them before we dive into today’s special main segment.

The first ever Games of 2024 Trivia Bonanza, where we put our gaming knowledge to the test with questions about 2024’s most coveted releases, has arrived and our contestants delivered the goods. Featuring a two-team battle for the ages, you’ll want to stick around for this one and play along if you so dare. Hit us up on Chatty and let us know how you performed, while you're at it.

And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and we’ll see you toward the end of December for one final installment of Shack Together in 2024!

Welcome to episode 43 of Shack Together! Today's episode is particularly special as we dive deep into The Game Awards 2024 results and announcements!

The show centers around our comprehensive breakdown of The Game Awards winners, where Astro Bot dominated multiple categories including Game of the Year and Best Family Game. The competition was fierce across all categories, with standout victories for Balatro as Best Debut Indie Game and Best Mobile Game, while Helldivers 2 secured both Best Multiplayer Game and Best Ongoing Game.

In Story Time, we unpack an absolutely gargantuan slate of game announcements from last night’s Game Awards, including some truly exciting reveals like Elden Ring: Nightreign, a new Ninja Gaiden game from Dotemu and The Game Kitchen, and the surprising announcement of Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. We also covered some significant industry news, including Nintendo's full acquisition of Monolith Soft and the latest Cyberpunk 2077 update adding car customization. And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

• Everything announced at Day of the Devs: The Game Awards Edition 2024
• Hyper Light Breaker Steam Early Access release date
• Thick As Thieves preview
• Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound announcement
• Elden Ring: Nightreign announcement
• Split Fiction preview
• Steel Hunters announcement
• Killing Floor 3 release date
• Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 announcement
• Turok Origins announcement
• Warframe: 1999 update release date
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword reveal
• Mafia: The Old Country release date
• Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet announcement
• Okami sequel announcement
• Infinity Nikki review
• Marvel Rivals review
• Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind review
• Fairy Tail 2 review
• Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.2 details
• Foamstars ending season updates
• Tesla stock hits new all-time high
• Nintendo acquires Monolith Soft

Welcome to episode 42 of Shack Together! Today we're joined by TJ Denzer, who's been exploring Two Point Museum and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, while I've been diving into a diverse gaming menu of 1000xResist, Jedi Survivor, and Final Fantasy IX. As always, Asif keeps his F-Zero skills sharp, making for a truly unforgettable "What we've been playing" segment.

The show features our special Handheld Trivia segment, which couldn't be more timely given the breaking news about Sony reportedly working on a new PlayStation handheld device!

Story Time was packed with exciting developments, from Path of Exile 2's promising early access plans to major industry shifts like Ubisoft canceling XDefiant and Shuhei Yoshida's departure from PlayStation after an incredible 31-year tenure. We also covered some impressive milestones, including Cyberpunk 2077 surpassing 30 million copies sold and Balatro's mobile success with $4 million in revenue. Plus, Baldur's Gate 3 fans have plenty to look forward to with cross-play and 12 new subclasses coming in 2025. And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Articles mentioned in this episode

• Path of Exile 2 final early access preview
• Two Point Museum preview
• Sniper Elite: Resistance preview
• Fitness Boxing 3 review
• Fantasian Neo Dimension review
• Monument Valley 3 review
• PlayStation handheld device rumor
• Ubisoft cancels XDefiant
• Baldur's Gate 3 2025 updates
• Shuhei Yoshida leaving PlayStation
• Elon Musk to create AI game studio

Welcome to episode 41 of Shack Together! Today we're joined by our regular crew of Asif Khan, myself Joe Stasio, and special guest Sam Chandler. We’re excited to talk to Sam today about his time with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl before Asif dives into his most recent (successful) adventures in F-Zero.

Today's show features a shallow dive into The Game Awards nominees, sparking heated discussions about this year's contenders, along with some opportunity to predict where we think Geoff’s proverbial chips will fall next month when the show airs.

Story Time is packed with exciting updates, including our hands-on preview of Avowed's dynamic combat system, reviews of highly anticipated titles like the aforementioned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and LEGO Horizon Adventures, and breaking news about Final Fantasy 14's mobile version. We also cover NVIDIA's impressive Q3 2025 earnings and some exciting Half-Life 2 20th anniversary celebrations. And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Articles mentioned in this episode

• Avowed hands-on preview

• Rage of the Dragons NEO review: They are comin' back! And fighting!

• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl review

• Lego Horizon Adventures review

• Final Fantasy 14 is coming to mobile

• Pokemon TCG Pocket hits 120 million downloads

• Control 2 confirmed as action RPG

• Sony in talks to acquire Kadokawa

• Half-Life 2 20th anniversary update

• Star Wars Outlaws 1.4.0 update

• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth DLC

• NVIDIA Q3 2025 earnings coverage

Welcome to episode 40 of Shack Together! We're excited to bring you another fantastic episode featuring our regular crew of Asif Khan, co-ghost John Benyamine, and special guest Lucas White, who's been crushing it lately with his in-depth reviews of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, Tetris Forever, and Death Note: Killer Within.

The centerpiece of today's show is our highly competitive Dragon Draft segment, where the crew goes head-to-head selecting video games with "Dragon" in the title, each hoping their picks will yield the highest combined Metacritic score. As your steadfast producer, I can finally truly focus on the task at hand now that my journey through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is complete, allowing me to keep everyone in line during this heated and important competition.

In Story Time, we dive into a packed lineup of gaming news and reviews. From our comprehensive coverage of Rise of the Golden Idol and Luma Island in Reviews Palooza, to breaking news about GOG's new preservation program and Super Nintendo World's exciting Donkey Kong Country expansion. We also tackle some serious industry developments, including the Bethesda union strike and NVIDIA's GeForce Now policy changes. And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Articles mentioned in this episode

• Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake review: Guess who's back, back again
• Tetris Forever Review
• Death Note: Killer Within Review
• Rise of the Golden Idol Review
• Luma Island Review
• GOG launches preservation program
• Stellar Blade PC Release
• Super Nintendo World's Donkey Kong Country opening December 11
• Tony Todd discusses Marvel's Spider-Man 2
• Trump Department of Government Efficiency
• Bethesda Union Strike
• NVIDIA GeForce Now 100-hour play limit

Welcome to the 39th episode of Shack Together, everyone's favorite Shacknews video games podcast! Join host Asif Khan and co-ghost John Benyamine, along with myself producer Joe Stasio and special guest TJ Denzer as we kick off our weekly audio adventure with our classic "What we've been playing" segment, including Joe's experiences with FFVII Rebirth and Asif's ongoing F-Zero 99 saga. Mark those off your bing cards, folks!

In our main segment "19Q Magoo," the team plays an alternative version of 20 Questions before heading over to our news segment. As always, Story Time delivers a comprehensive roundup of gaming news, previews, and reviews, covering everything from the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake preview to major industry developments like Death Stranding's Xbox release and Nintendo Switch hitting 146 million units sold. The team also covers industry news, including Apple's acquisition of Pixelmator and more. And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Articles mentioned in this episode

• Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake Preview
• Metal Slug Tactics Review
• Death Stranding Xbox Release
• Nintendo Switch 2 Backwards Compatibility Confirmed
• Nintendo Switch 146 Million Sold
• Legends of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom 2.5 Million Sold
• Take-Two Interactive Private Division
• Sega Virtua Fighter
• Star Wars Outlaws Creative Director Drew Rechner
• Ubisoft NFT Game Cheat
• Pokemon TCG Pocket 10 Million Downloads
• Apple Pixelmator Acquisition

Join hosts Asif Khan, co-ghost (wow, very spooky) John Benyamine, and Joe Stasio on this, the 38th installment of Shack Together, featuring special guests TJ Denzer + Bill Lavoy. In this episode, TJ shares his thoughts on "Dragon Age: The Veilguard," an action RPG that impresses visually but might lack a bit of focus.

Next, we play Game Guillotine 2024, a competition where contestants navigate alliances and betrayals to keep their favorite video games in the running. After the bloodbath, we head over to Story Time.

Get a sneak peek at upcoming releases like "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" and "Alien: Rogue Incursion" in Story Time, plus catch up on the latest industry updates, including the launch of the new M4 iMac. And that'll do it! Thanks as always for listening, and enjoy!

Articles in this episode:

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard review: Very pretty... What was I doing again?
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle shoots for the cinematic Indy experience
• Alien: Rogue Incursion challenges you to watch your step
• Tetris Forever is a history lesson, a stunning collection, and a new version of Tetris all in one
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure review: Framed
• Ys X: Nordics review: Dynamic duo
• Phasmophobia review: I have no pockets and I must scream
• The Fear Business review: What's old is new again
• A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead review: Shush
• New World: Aeternum review: Settling in
• Metal Slug Tactics will be on Xbox & PC Game Pass on release day
• Sony shuts down Concord developer Firewalk Studios
• Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition announced for Switch, coming in March 2025
• Yakuza Kiwami has sold far over studio director's expectations on Switch
• Marathon Director says more playtests are coming in 2025, store pages are live now
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete is arriving in December
• EA Sports College Football 25 has reportedly crossed all-time best sales of a US football game
• Sonic x Shadow Generations passes 1 million units sold on day one
• Apple announces iMac with M4 chip & Apple Intelligence starting at $1,299
• Oregon Trail movie in the works at Apple
• AMD Q3 2024 earnings results beat revenue expectations on in-line EPS
• AMD Q3 2024 Gaming segment revenue plummeted 69% from prior year

We're excited to welcome Donovan Erskine as our special guest on this week's episode of Shack Together! He joins host Asif Khan and co-ghost John Benyamine, along with myself Joe Stasio, for an extended chat on the latest in gaming and tech news and reviews.

The episode features "Metacritic Re:ScoreGuessio", a segment where the crew competes to guess the Metacritic scores of this year's most and least beloved games. From highly anticipated titles like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth to lesser known entries like Bleak Faith: Forsaken, this game really tests the depths of the team's knowledge.

Our Story Time segment covers a wide range of topics, including previews of the new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers game and Masahiro Sakurai's confirmation of his next project. We dive into reviews of recent releases like Sonic x Shadow Generations and Zero Sievert, discuss industry news including It Takes Two reaching 20 million sales, and cover Tesla's extensive Q3 2024 earnings report and various legal challenges. The episode also features updates on studio closures, including Netflix's SoCal team and the disbanding of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team. And that's all for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Articles mentioned in this episode

• Until Dawn Remake Review
• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Preview
• Sakurai Next Game Confirmation
• Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo Review
• Romancing SaGa 2 Review
• The Jackbox Survey Scramble Review
• Sonic x Shadow Generations Review
• Metal Slug Tactics Release Date
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 PC Release Date
• It Takes Two 20 Million Sales
• Banjo-Tooie Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass
• Tesla Q3 2024 Earnings Results
• 2K Motion Capture Workers Union

Welcome to another exciting episode of Shack Together! Host Asif Khan and co-ghost John Benyamine are joined by myself Joe Stasio and special guest TJ Denzer for a lively discussion on the latest in gaming news and reviews. Our main segment, "UFO Shifty," challenges the team's ability to distinguish between real and fake names.

Our jam-packed Story Time segment covers a wide range of topics, including the 1st-party release of Shackpets Version 2, the announcements that came as a result of Xbox’s Partner Showcase, the pre-order launch of Analogue 3D, impressive sales figures for Metaphor ReFantazio and Silent Hill 2, and exciting previews of upcoming titles like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl and Phantom Blade Zero. We also discuss the announcement of Summer Eternal, a spiritual successor to Disco Elysium, and share impressions of various game updates and demos. That about does it for today's show! Thanks as always for listening and enjoy!

Articles mentioned in this episode

• Shackpets Version 2 Update Patch Notes
• Analogue 3D N64 Pre-order
• Metaphor ReFantazio One Million Sold
• Silent Hill 2 1 Million Units
• Hades 2 Olympic Update Patch Notes
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl Final Preview
• RetroRealm Arcade: Evil Dead Halloween Impressions
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure Impressions
• Phantom Blade Zero TGS 2024 Preview
• Summer Eternal: Disco Elysium Successor
• Unknown 9: Awakening Review
• Starfield: Shattered Space Impressions
• Super Mario Party Jamboree Review
• Neva Review: Parental Discretion is Revised
• UFO 50 Review
• FTC Passes Click-to-Cancel Rule
• Tesla We Robot October 2024 Livestream
• Tesla Cybercab Robotaxi Reveal
• Tesla Reveals 20-Person Robovan