The Game Adventure

Where do you find great indie games? Send me recommendations at [email protected]. Do you prefer audio, video, or both? I’d love your feedback.

This week:

Steam’s big year, GOG, and Xbox’s reset

Sony’s payment-controller patent and Mario Kart Tour’s shutdown

Nacon, CRKD ULT PRO, and Xbox Mythic Achievements

ModRetro, OpenAI, and human creativity

BrickStation LEGO PS1, LEGO Racers, and AYANEO Pocket BLOCK

Echo Weaver, Truckful, and Dressmaker

007 First Light’s free update and Minecraft LIVE

Indie developers: human-made games and demos welcome. No free copy required; coverage isn’t guaranteed.

The weekly audio podcast continues during my October YouTube break, follow wherever you listen to podcasts!

Can VR grow beyond its current audience? After Meta unveils lighter VR Glasses, I offers five ideas for moving the medium forward: make headsets useful for more than one thing, let people try them, deliver experiences a TV cannot, rethink familiar games for virtual spaces, and help developers pay for the leap. A VR adaptation of Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies makes that fourth idea especially interesting.

First, Xbox's ongoing reset reaches more of its studios and employees. I'll connect this week's layoffs to the plan announced in July, explains where several teams are headed, and considers how Microsoft's optimistic message sounds alongside the people affected. The Tech Update also covers Logitech's new PRO gaming gear.

In Retro Rerun, we compare Retroid's Pocket Duo Lite, Lite+, and full Duo; looks at fan-built OM64 firmware for ModRetro's M64; and wonders whether *Pokémon Ruby* and *Sapphire* could follow *FireRed* and *LeafGreen* to Switch. The Game List includes *TOEM 2*, *Minecraft Dungeons II*, *Ace Combat 8*, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, a *Castlevania: Belmont's Curse* demo, and a tiny *Nintendo Switch Sports Resort* fingerboard. Dan also shares his firsthand impressions of the *Well Dweller* demo and checks in on *Arc Raiders* and *Splatoon Raiders*.

A new Warcraft III campaign is my favorite surprise from a BlizzCon packed with Diablo V, StarCraft, and two World of Warcraft announcements. Plus: Wolverine's split between critics and players, Steam Frame's premium launch, an affordable miniature Game Boy, new cartridge games, and this week's release and subscription picks.

Have thoughts to share?? Reach out on social @thegameadventure or via email at [email protected]!

Nintendo is remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but what should it look like with modern graphics? This week, we'll celebrate Nintendo's care for the original, explores its quality-of-life changes and remarkable real-ocarina support, and whether greater realism always serves a classic work of art.

We also examine why acclaimed VR developer Polyarc is shutting down, how Hideo Kojima's Physint moved from PlayStation to Xbox, and why Nintendo's Customer Appreciation Sale may be a much better response to its tariff refund than the backlash suggests.

The Tech Update compares Retroid's new Pocket Duo and $149 Duo Lite with ANBERNIC's dual-screen handhelds, considers whether Apple's $2,000 foldable iPhone could really be a gaming device, and takes a look at Zelda's expensive 40th Anniversary hardware.

Then we build our own big-box PC games with GOG, explore physical PS3 discs through RPCS3, return to Star Fox Adventures in widescreen, and add a Nintendo Direct-sized collection of games to the watchlist, including Emberville, two Professor Layton projects, Stage Fright, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Metroid Ravenous, and Kirby and the World Beyond.

GameStop wants your gaming history, but should you give it up? We'll get into why old games and consoles may be worth far more than their trade credit. Plus: the "unpaid vacations" behind a successful Star Wars launch, $3,000 Xbox resellers, cloud-gaming limits, a playable LEGO PlayStation concept, new retro handhelds, Game Boy development in 2026, and a packed update to the Game List. *whew* Let's go!

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Questions or comments? Read out to me at [email protected].

Gamescom 2026 is over, and I watched hours of showcases to find the games, technology, and stories worth keeping on your radar. This week, we explore how accessible tools are opening game development to new kinds of artists, and the trap indie games fall for (just like AAA).

We also look at the artistic use of ray tracing in *Gears of War: E-Day*, the digital preservation work happening in *Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024*, Xbox’s new disc-to-digital program, and a *Tomb Raider* remake that wants to preserve the feeling of the original rather than merely reproduce it.

Then it is time for a packed Game List featuring *Fable*, *Minecraft Dungeons II*, *Star Wars: Galactic Racer*, *GravHounds*, *Dumpster Gang*, *Kingdom III: Rising Realms*, *Deep Dish Dungeon*, and many more.

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A rare win for Double Fine, a possible $1,000 future for consoles, and a simple argument for why video games still need demos. We also revisit the leadership of Satoru Iwata, explore the magic of physical games, and update the Game List with the releases and trials worth watching.

- **[00:00] — Cold Open**

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Is digital ownership really a monopoly, or are we just angry about renting? This week on The Game Adventure, we dive into the massive Stop Killing Games lawsuit against PlayStation and what it means for the future of digital games. Plus, we discuss EA's massive buyout of BioWare, the recent Xbox layoffs, and why the new Google Pixel 11 might not be the best choice for mobile gamers.

Later in the show, we step up on the soapbox to address the growing risk of the "entitled gamer" and why we need to focus on finding the good and keeping video games fun! Finally, we look at the games you need to keep on your radar, including Hogwarts Legacy 2 and Star Wars Galactic Racer.

Join the Community! Want early access to the video edition of the podcast and an exclusive invite to our upcoming Discord server? Join the free email list at: thegameadventure.com

This week on The Game Adventure, we try to rediscover the excitement of the next generation of gaming. We dive into the rumors that Xbox might actually preserve physical discs, review the incredibly priced Anbernic and AYANEO retro handhelds, and discuss how a simple glitch became one of Mario's many iconic mechanics!

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This week on The Game Adventure, Xbox comes out swinging with an incredibly ambitious strategy to hit 1 billion users by 2030, but how will they pull it off while Game Pass revenue drops? Meanwhile, Halo: Campaign Evolved is finally here, and ironically, it plays best on the PS5 Pro!

In the Tech Update, we discuss the rising costs of GPUs and highlight the best budget cards for your next build, while celebrating Valve fulfilling the Steam Machine reservations.

For the Retro Rerun, we are looking at Super Mario Sunshine dropping on Nintendo Switch Online, the DIY physical media movement for PC gamers, and a massive roundup of the hottest retro handhelds (ModRetro M64, Retroid Pocket Nova, and the Anbernic RG35XXSP).

Finally, in this week's Soapbox, I address a growing argument on the internet: If buying isn't owning, is piracy still stealing? We unpack the ethics of intellectual property and why voting with your wallet is always better than digital theft. Plus, The Game List and your thoughts in the Mailbag!

Join the Adventure! Want early access to the video version of the podcast and an exclusive invite to our upcoming Discord server? Sign up for the free email list at thegameadventure.com!

Send your thoughts, questions, or hot takes for the Mailbag to: [email protected].

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