We kick things off by mapping out the 2026 gaming calendar—not with rankings, but with a realistic survival guide. From early-year sequel grinds like Nioh 3 and Resident Evil Requiem, to spring’s speed-and-stealth energy with Forza Horizon 6 and 007 First Light, and all the way to an end-of-year showdown between Fable and Grand Theft Auto VI, we talk through when these games hit, which ones demand your time, and where busy gamers might actually squeeze them in. Along the way, we call out wildcards, potential shadow drops, and the titles we’re most excited—and most scared—to make room for.

From there, we pivot into a deep-dive discussion on South of Midnight, a game with one of the most striking art styles and soundtracks in recent memory, but a gameplay loop that struggles to keep up with its ambition. We debate whether incredible vibes, music, and world-building can carry a repetitive “walk, fight, repeat” structure, and ask the tough question: would this experience have been better as a short animated series than a full-length game?

We close the episode with two heavy conversations: first, a brutally honest look at Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and whether hyper-realism has crossed the line from immersive to exhausting, especially for players with limited time. Then we zoom out to the industry level, breaking down Ubisoft’s massive shakeup—cancelled games, creative restructuring, controversial AI initiatives, and a stock crash that raises real concerns about the publisher’s future. Is this a painful but necessary reset, or the beginning of the end? As always, we leave it to you: which games define your 2026, how much realism is too much, and is Ubisoft still worth believing in?

Show Notes:
0:46 - Housekeeping
2:36 - GTA VI, Fable, and the 2026 Games We Can't Miss
59:31 - South of Midnight: A 10/10 World in a 6/10 Game
1:26:09 - Is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 TOO Realistic to Be Fun?
1:45:36 - Ubisoft at the Crossroads — Can They Still Win?
2:09:35 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

Welcome to our first episode of 2026! In this episode we kick off with our official Game of the Year for 2025. Each one of us has our top 10 list and we explore all of our favorite games from 10 to our #1 game of the year. At the end, we aggregate the picks to reveal our official Game of the Year for 2025 which may surprise you!

After Game of the Year, we talk about a fun $20 game we played over the holidays called Jump Space. It's a great co-op space game that feels like Sea of Thieves in space.

There is even more news out about subscriptions for gaming. With the cost of RAM increasing, NVIDIA is leaning into GeForce Now. We look at what the future would look like if everything we do starts to go away from owning things to simply paying a subscription for everything. 

Lastly, we have a spoiler-filled conversation about Ghost of Yotei. Brett beat the game of the break and it surprised him after nearly 60 hours of gameplay. Find out why in this diverse discussion.

Show Notes:
00:53 - Housekeeping
01:54 - The Inner Gamer Game of the Year 2025
1:51:04 - Jump Space Review
2:11:31 - Beyond Game Pass: Everything Will be a Monthly Subscription
2:33:39 - Ghost of Yotei Surprised Me (SPOILERS)
3:12:51 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

It's our last episode of the year! We'll back back in 2026 on January 13th, 2026 with our Game of the Year episode.

In this episode, Jason reviews Dying Light the Beast. It's darker, more intense and hugely open. It follows Kyle from Dying Light 1 and highlights what happened to him after the events of the first. It also features up to 4 player co-op and it looks like the guys may join in and play with him too!

We recap The Game Awards 2025. It was so fun to see Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweep the awards with the most ever game awards. Lots of great games got awarded during this showcase. We also saw a ton of new reveals from Forest 3 to Highguard to a new Old Republic game and even a fresh new Divinity game! Some were exciting and others were leaving some to be desired. Overall, it was a great awards show that we had a blast watching.

We also have a discussion on how high the memory prices have gone up thanks in part to AI. It leads to a full discussion on the growth of artificial intelligence and the fears of the future with the hardware scarcity. 

Brett also plays Two Point Museum and talks about how its a masterclass in sim simplicity. It starts off with some easy mechanics and slowly builds you into a master at management. The simplistic artstyle and well-designed layouts add to the masterful design. If you haven't dove into a Two Point game, this one is a perfect entry!

Lastly, we recap our Fantasy Critic scores to see who won with picking which games not only would come out this year, but would score well.

Thank you all for listening this year! We look forward to seeing you again in 2026!

Show Notes:
1:19 - Housekeeping
3:25 - Dying Light the Beast Review: Unleash the Monster Within
31:23 - The Game Awards 2025: Recapping the Winners and Best Reveals
1:28:22 - The Crypto Crisis is Back: Memory Prices Are Insane
1:55:01 - Two Point Museum: A Masterclass in Sim Simplicity
2:20:08 - Fantasy Critic 2025: Who Won?
2:26:57 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

In episode 436, Brett joins the Earth Directorate on a planet-hopping adventure in The Outer Worlds 2. Conspiracy is rampant and you must find and stop the people responsible. This game features a ton of player choice and the ability to shape your character in a variety of ways to suit your playstyle.

Brett also finished all 8 episodes of Dispatch and it continued to impress. The ending hit the landing and this is definitely a game you shouldn't miss playing in 2025. It brings back the magic of Telltale Games in a modern, cutting edge way.

Jason revisits Red Dead Redemption 2 and digging into the mechanics of this game from eating and all the other survival mechanics we look at what Grand Theft Auto 6 could do and how much realism is too much? What do we want Grand Theft Auto to do so we have fun and don't feel like we're doing work again?

Lastly, we review the nominees for The Game Awards 2025 and discuss our favorites. We also throw in some game predictions for the big "world premieres" we come to expect from The Game Awards. Get hyped!

Show Notes:
1:02 - Housekeeping
2:36 - The Outer Worlds 2 Review: When Choice Matters
31:08 - Dispatch is a Must Play of 2025
44:19 - The Balance of Fun and Work in Rockstar Games
1:10:41 - The Game Awards 2025: Nominees and What to Expect
1:53:38 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

Embark Studios is back and this time it's their shiny new extraction shooter called Arc Raiders. This is a long-anticipated game from Brett who fell in love with The Finals, also made by Embark. This is their next game which takes you topside from Speranza to loot and extract back with valuable resources. Fight Arc Robots and maybe enemy raiders (or befriend them) and make it out alive with all your gear. It's amazing multiplayer and you won't want to miss this.

Next, we talk about our review of PowerWash Simulator 2. It's more PowerWash Simulator but with a lot of new features such as attachments, extensions and various types of cleaning tools. It also features over 35 new levels of varying sizes plus co-op!

Steam quietly dropped 3 new hardware announcements. No big press event, no showcase just a simple under 3 minute video showcasing the Steam Machine, the Steam Frame and the Steam Controller. Did they quietly just take over the platform war?

Lastly, Austin talks about why he thinks western gaming is dead. They've lost their way and eastern gaming is alive and well. What happened? How can western companies bounce back? 

Show Notes:
1:07 - Housekeeping
1:48 - Arc Raiders Lives Up to the Hype
34:21 - PowerWash Simulator 2: A New Level of Polish
53:36 - Did Steam Just Quietly Take Over the Platform War?
1:22:46 - Western Gaming Is Dead
1:56:58 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

You may not have heard of Dispatch but after this podcast you surely will wish you had. Dispatch is a new interactive narrative from former  Telltale Games devs about superheroes in a modern day office setting. It's one part Suicide Squad and one part The Office. AdHoc Studios shines in delivering animation that looks just like the best TV shows out there as well as some stellar writing and voice acting. We review Episodes 1-4 with no spoilers but hope that you jump out there and buy it because this is perfect for casual gamers. Bite sized chunks that are easy to digest and keep you wanting more!

It was Spooktober this past month, so Brett reviewed Choo Choo Charles from Two Star Games and talked about how one hit from that team couldn't help them in their recent flop with Cuff Bust. There's still a chance for redemption...but is it too little too late?

Austin plays Silent Hill f and although the game looks great and plays well, he can't seem to get into it to finish it. It's a fun game for some people but for him it's not quite hitting the mark, despite the solid atmosphere and interesting story.

Jason and Brett both play Outlast Trials. We missed this game when it first dropped but now with a new "Invasion" update we're in it and loving every bit of it. This game is dark, it's bloody and full of chaos but it's a blast to play with friends. 4 player co op and the new PVP mode where you can play as another player makes for a fun time.

Lastly, we revisit Battlefield 6. Season 1 dropped with a new map, lots of new updates, a battle pass, a new mode and several gadgets and weapons. They also finally dropped the free to play Battle Royale now called "RedSec." It's great and we can't wait for you to hear all about it.

Show Notes:
1:10 - Housekeeping
2:49 - Dispatch: A Superhero Story for Busy Gamers
24:28 - Choo-Choo Charles to Cuff Bust: The Rise and Stumble of Two Star Games
42:37 - Silent Hill f Review
1:03:57 - Is The Outlast Trials Still Worth Playing in 2025?
1:20:57 - Battlefield Redsec Battle Royale and Season 1
1:51:57 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

Note: We had audio issues with this podcast. You may hear a low buzzing sound. We had a card reader interfering with our camera and therefore the audio is not our normal quality. We will check more closely next time!

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Battlefield 6 is back! We are thrilled that Battlefield is back and that it seems to be delivering a quality experience out of the box. We're having a blast with multiplayer finding the game truly delivers on those Battlefield moments, while tightening gameplay fixing a lot of the issues people had with Battlefield 2042. We also try the campaign and talk about our limited time with Battlefield Portal.

Austin beats Borderlands 4 and talks about the ending (no spoilers) as well as what happens in the end game. Is it worth playing through to the end to grind at the end or does it leave much to be desired?

Jason beats Ghost of Yōtei after 60 hours of game time. He loved the game and enjoyed playing through but the question remains...does it outshine Ghost of Tsushima or does it fail to hit the mark? Listen to find out!

Brett jumps into the server slam for Arc Raiders. Arc Raiders is a new extraction shooter from Embark Studios, creators of The Finals. This game feels very different but has the same level of polish The Finals had that has Brett excited to visit this world. The game is very challenging but this time jumping in with random people made it a bit more approachable. The game releases Oct 30th and Brett will definitely be diving in!

Lastly, we have a unique conversation about credit card companies. News has recently cropped up about Visa and Mastercard stepping into the moderation game by blocking usage of their platform for certain platforms basically if they don't comply with their rules. We don't think credit card companies should turn to moderation, that's not their responsibility. It's happening and we fear this is a slippery slope for them being able to block more things if it doesn't align with them. 

Show Notes:
1:13 - Housekeeping
3:35 - Battlefield 6 Early Review: Campaign, Multiplayer and Portal
44:53 - Borderlands 4 Endgame
1:06:13 - Ghost of Yōtei Full Review
1:23:49 - Arc Raiders: The Next Big Extraction Shooter?
1:53:36 - Can Credit Card Companies Moderate Our Games?
2:18:34 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

This week on The Inner Gamer, Brett and Jason share their first impressions of Ghost of Yōtei — the long-awaited follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima. You now play as Atsu, a warrior on a brutal quest for revenge against the Yōtei Six who murdered her family. The tone is darker, the world more open, and the storytelling more grounded. It’s a different kind of Ghost game, but so far, we’re loving the shift in direction.

Brett also dives into the full 1.0 release of Hades II on the Switch 2. This sequel from Supergiant Games expands everything fans loved about the original — deeper combat, gorgeous art, and another gripping mythic story. If you’re a roguelike fan, this is a must-play; if you’re not, its repetition may still test your patience.

Finally, we break down some major industry news. With rising game and console prices — including another Game Pass increase — gaming is getting more expensive than ever. And in a stunning move, Electronic Arts was acquired by Saudi Arabia for $55 billion, the largest deal in gaming history. We discuss what this could mean for players, studios, and the future of the industry as costs climb higher than ever.

Show Notes:
1:05 - Housekeeping
3:09 - Ghost of Yōtei First Look: Hunting the Yōtei Six
46:26 - Hades 2 First Look: Is It Worth the Loop?
1:08:36 - Console Gaming Is Too Expensive — The Beginning of the End?
1:37:25 - Inside the $55B EA Takeover — Risks, Opportunities, and What’s Next
1:59:37 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

Borderlands 4 has finally arrived and with it we have the giant open world of Kairos to explore. Armed with 4 new vault hunters and a slew of missions, side quests and LOTS of guns we share what makes this game a huge step in the right direction. The open world is vast with plenty to do, the game has brought a ton of new traversal mechanics and the story is better and more grounded than BL3. Despite some rough spots around the edges, we're going to see this one to the end.

Austin downloads the much anticipated Hollow Knight Silksong. This game has been in development for 6 years and it's clear it was worth the wait. The game is challenging, beautiful and full of discovery. Check out our first impressions and find out if this is worth the $19.99 entry fee!

The Finals is back with season 8 and of course Brett is excited. He talks about the brand new destruction enhancements called "smooth destruction" that makes what was already amazing destruction even better. They also have a better onboarding system, instant replays and more to make this an awesome season as they prepare for the first big eSports tournament.

Lastly, skate. has arrived in early access. We never played Skate but have heard it's the more sim-like skateboarding game of the genre. It's very sim-like in its play of skateboarding, but has a lot of new social features and an open world to make it more approachable. Brett is actually really enjoying the game and is learning the moves pretty well but can tell it's very early access. If the devs can keep it up they'll have an awesome title on their hands.

Show Notes:
1:18 - Housekeeping
2:38 - Borderlands 4: Wildly Addicting But Rough Around the Edges
47:17 - Hollow Knight Silksong: 6 Years Was Worth the Wait
1:13:04 - The Finals Season 8: The Best Destruction Engine in Gaming!
1:32:22 -  Skate Early Access – The Good, The Bad, The Future
1:51:45 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64

007 First Light had it's first gameplay reveal. This is the new Bond game from IO Interactive, the creators of Hitman. It's looking good in some areas and not so much in others. How will it turn out when it releases next year?

Brett revisits some older games. He dives back into No Man's Sky Voyagers update with the new build-your-own Corvette's. It's an awesome update and No Man's Sky is a technical marvel, but it's daunting and Brett keeps realizing that every time he jumps back in.

Brett also went to see The Witcher in Concert and that brought him into The Witcher 3. He may have also convinced everyone else to jump back into it. The Witcher 3 came out 10 years ago and it surprisingly still holds up!

We also finished Mafia The Old Country and take a look back at the Mafia games of the past and what they could do in the future. We were a little let down by the overall package provided in The Old Country and Mafia 3 and 2 definitely showed us they can make amazing stories with fun gameplay.

Lastly, we're 10 years old! The Inner Gamer launched its first podcast September 4th, 2015. We look back on the last 10 years and reminisce on all the great memories building this podcast. Feel free to email us at [email protected] with your favorite episode or moment from our 10 years!

Show Notes:
1:21 - Housekeeping
3:40 - 007 First Light State of Play Reveal – Hype or Letdown?
33:25 - No Man’s Sky: A Voyage Through Redemption
57:47 - From Concert Hall to Kaer Morhen: My Witcher 3 Journey
1:26:39 - Vito to Lincoln to Enzo - The Future of Mafia Games
1:50:26 - The Inner Gamer: Looking Back on 10 Years
2:30:17 - Upcoming Video Game Releases

Become a part of the conversation! If you donate $1 or more on Patreon you can get exclusive access to the Patreon-only chat and channels on the server.

Visit our website to find our social channels, check past podcasts and donate to the show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all of our latest videos as they drop.

Credits:
"Blue Groove Deluxe" by BlueFoxMusic on audiojungle.net
Woman Announcer - Ariana Guerra; Actress
"Wisdom" by Super Nostalgia 64