Swapping Joysticks

We've both been playing Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and it seems that mixing Star Wars, Burnout and a roguelite is very much our thing. Ed has also finished Control Resonant and has plenty to say about what worked and what really didn't, we've tried the Castlevania: Belmont's Curse demo, and we ask how many hours a game needs to give us to feel worth the money. Plus, Ed went to a Sonic concert and Ben's music taste gets a thorough inspection.

00:00 Intro and Ben's music taste

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▼ Ben's links ▼

This week, Ed's been playing Control Resonant and has a few things to say about it, while Ben's very excited about the Destiny 2 news. We also went to Xbox FanFest (and missed out on playing Fable), Ed's seen the new Resident Evil film, and we look ahead to the games coming out in October.

Timestamps:

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

▼ Ben's links ▼

▼ Ed's links ▼

This week, Ed’s almost finished Wolverine and has some strong thoughts on whether it actually lives up to the hype, while Ben can’t stop playing Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and has jumped into World of Warcraft Forever. We also get into the never-ending discourse around game reviews and critics, and look back at some of the best - and worst - video games based on films and TV shows.

Timestamps:

#Wolverine #FireEmblem #WorldOfWarcraft #GamingPodcast

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

▼ Ben's links ▼

▼ Ed's links ▼

This week, Ed’s finished Onimusha: Way of the Sword after spending far too long fighting its final boss, while Ben’s still loving The Blood of Dawnwalker and experimenting with its day and night quests. We also chat Blizzard’s latest announcements, Nintendo’s latest Direct and why Ed really isn’t happy with the Ocarina of Time remake.

Timestamps:

Find all previous episodes of Swapping Joysticks at https://swappingjoysticks.com  

This week, Ed’s been loving Onimusha: Way of the Sword, while Ben's been getting stuck into The Blood of Dawnwalker and discovering that becoming a vampire does terrible things to his usual moral compass. We also chat Star Wars Zero Company, Final Fantasy Resonance, Exodus, PlayStation’s latest State of Play and somehow end up arguing about the N64 controller.

Timestamps:

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

▼ Ben's links ▼

▼ Ed's links ▼

We’re back from Gamescom 2026! After a week in Cologne, we’re talking through the best games we played and saw at the show, including Fable, The Blood of Dawnwalker, The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, Castlevania and Gears of War.

We also go through the biggest announcements from Gamescom Opening Night Live, before getting into GTA VI and whether Rockstar’s latest showing has made us any more excited for what is probably going to be the biggest game ever.

Plus, we look ahead to a ridiculously busy September, pick out the games worth keeping an eye on and share some of our favourite stories from Gamescom.

And somewhere along the way, Ed squirts a pickle.

Timestamps

00:00 - Cold Open

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

▼ Ben’s links ▼

▼ Ed’s links ▼

#Gamescom2026 #Fable #GTA6 #TheBloodOfDawnwalker #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

The Duskbloods finally had its network test - and Ed has spent the weekend finding out exactly what FromSoftware's strange new Switch 2 exclusive actually is.

Part Bloodborne, part Nightreign, part PvP game... and somehow part Mario Party. Ed breaks down how The Duskbloods works, why its combat and performance left him disappointed.

Ben has started Kingdom Hearts for the first time, fallen even more in love with Splatoon Raiders, and Ed has some controversial thoughts about both Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Plus, we answer your question of the week about the games you deliberately stopped playing and look ahead to Gamescom Opening Night Live, including The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Tides of Annihilation, Warlock, Fable and more.

And, most importantly, we investigate whether a vampire chicken can actually suck blood.

Timestamps

00:00 Vampire chickens?!

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

▼ Ben's links ▼

▼ Ed's links ▼

This week Ben's been hands-on with Star Wars Galactic Racer, the new high-speed racer from Fuse Games and Secret Mode. We chat about its Burnout DNA, roguelike structure, spectacular crashes and whether Star Wars and arcade racing might be a perfect combination.

We also look to the future of Final Fantasy and ask what we actually want from Final Fantasy XVII. Fantasy or sci-fi? Turn-based or action? Open world or linear? And does anyone actually know what a Final Fantasy game is supposed to be anymore?

Also, we chat about the games we'd love to see remade - and the ones that should absolutely be left alone - old Star Wars games, fast travel, and plenty more.

Plus, somehow we end up talking about bread for far longer than anyone intended.

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

00:12 Intro

09:30 Studio Ghibli

11:56 Star Wars Galactic Racer

30:41 What We've Been Playing

48:00 Our Perfect Final Fantasy XVII

01:19:34 Kingdom Hearts

01:25:23 Games That Shouldn't Be Remade

01:31:00 Outro

#StarWarsGalacticRacer #FinalFantasyXVII #StarWars

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

● All previous episodes available at http://swappingjoysticks.com

▼ Ben's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/biggusbennus

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/biggusbennus.bsky.social

● Follow on Instagram - http://instagram.com/biggusbennus

● Join the Discord - http://discord.gg/biggusbennus

▼ Ed's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/ed_nights

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/ednights.bsky.social

This week we're looking at what happens when Game Freak steps outside the world of Pokémon with Beast of Reincarnation, before getting hands-on with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.

Ed has also dug out his PS3 to revisit Final Fantasy XIII. Has one of the series' most divisive entries aged better than its reputation suggests? We discuss its linearity, battle system, soundtrack and why some parts hold up considerably better than others.

Elsewhere, we chat about Sonic Dream Team and Sonic Frontiers, the new Pokémon Pokopia DLC, Final Fantasy XIV on Switch 2, Star Wars Galactic Racer, what actually makes a great "summer game", and GTA VI's unusual Netflix reveal.

Plus, Ben makes a rather embarrassing discovery about Horsea.

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

00:19 Intro

03:42 Taskmaster Charity Special

10:43 Beast of Reincarnation

17:32 Sonic Dream Team & Sonic Frontiers

19:22 Star Wars Galactic Racer

20:49 Pokémon Pokopia DLC

30:41 Final Fantasy XIII Revisited

48:03 Final Fantasy XIV on Switch 2

54:10 What Makes a Summer Game?

01:01:41 Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls

01:06:15 GTA VI's Netflix Reveal

01:11:40 Outro

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

● All previous episodes available at http://swappingjoysticks.com  

▼ Ben's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/biggusbennus

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/biggusbennus.bsky.social

● Follow on Instagram - http://instagram.com/biggusbennus

● Join the Discord - http://discord.gg/biggusbennus

▼ Ed's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/ed_nights

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/ednights.bsky.social 

We weren't expecting Splatoon Raiders to become one of our favourite games of the summer, but Nintendo surprised us. We also dive into 007 First Light, discussing why IO Interactive might have nailed the James Bond formula while still making something very different to Hitman.

Elsewhere we chat about our recent trips to Barcelona and Copenhagen, cinema arguments (what's new?), the other games we're currently playing, and answer your comments on you've been enjoying recently.

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro

00:12:43 007 First Light review

00:36:48 Splatoon Raiders impressions

00:59:20 Nintendo's future for Splatoon

01:00:30 What we've been playing recently

01:21:50 Your comments: What are you playing?

01:24:27 The biggest releases in August

#SplatoonRaiders #007FirstLight #NintendoSwitch2

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

● All previous episodes available at http://swappingjoysticks.com

▼ Ben's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/biggusbennus

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/biggusbennus.bsky.social

● Follow on Instagram - http://instagram.com/biggusbennus

● Join the Discord - http://discord.gg/biggusbennus

▼ Ed's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/ed_nights

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/ednights.bsky.social