Vidjagame Apocalypse

Hades II's surprise Early Access launch this week got us thinking about other games that found success with unfinished builds and community enthusiasm, so we invited TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing on to talk about five of them. Then it's on to first impressions of Hades II, as well as Puppet Master: The Game, Microsoft shuttering studios, Helldivers 2 drama, and your favorite beautiful flops.

Question of the Week: Do you like playing games early (whether in Early Access or demos), or do you prefer to wait and play after launch?

Break song is Incomplete by Bad Religion. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Great reviews don't always mean great sales, and this week, we invite Phil Keeling of Pixel Lit for a look at five games that were critical darlings, but commercial flops. Then we'll dig into Stellar Blade, Pools, Indika, Another Crab's Treasure, the return of Net Neutrality, and the games you think perfected their series' gameplay.

Question of the Week: Tell us about your favorite beautiful flop. What's an amazing game that wasn't the success it should have been?

Break song is Danny's Song as performed by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Plenty of sequels improve on a formula or reinvent it entirely, but how many really perfect it? This week, Tony Wilson of Framework joins us for a debate about which five sequels nailed what their predecessors were goinf for, turning classics into masterpieces. Then we'll get into Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Sand Land, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a little Stellar Blade, and the in-development(-hell) game movies you most want to see.

Question of the Week: What games did we miss in our top 5? Which sequel "nailed it" by iterating on what earlier games had done?

Break song is Toss A Coin To Your Witcher by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

The Fallout TV series is out, it's great, and it's making us think of other, less-fortunate game-to-movie/TV adaptations - the ones languishing for decades in development hell, continually changing hands only to fade into obscurity. We'll look at five of the most striking examples this week, after which we'll get into Harold Halibut, Children of the Sun, the Fallout series (no spoilers), Nintendo skipping Gamescom, and your favorite Metroidvanias (that we didn't talk about last week).

Question of the Week: Is there a videogame movie in development (or in development hell) you're looking forward to seeing?

Break song is Crawl Out Through the Fallout by Sheldon Allman. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Super Metroid turns 30 in the US on April 18, so we're celebrating the genre it kick-started by inviting Brendan Hesse for a debate-style Top 5 about the best Metroidvanias. Then we'll get into Season 1 of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Star Wars Outlaws, The Rogue Prince of Persia, and your favorite videogame x brand cross-promotions.

Question of the Week: What's your favorite Metroidvania that we didn't talk about in the Top 5? Tell us what we missed.

Break song is Regretroid by Starbomb. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Localizing games from Japanese to English (or vice versa) can be a delicate process, and sometimes yields results that are strange enough to become cultural phenomena on their own. This week, Greg Moore joins us to look at five famously weird localization decisions, after which we'll get into Freedom Planet 2's console release, (still more) Dragon's Dogma 2, a report that older games are taking up the bulk of everyone's game time, and the home console repairs or hacks you're proudest of.

Question of the Week: Inspired by Matt's shameless Sonic IHOP plug, what's your favorite videogame/other brand cross-promotional tie-in of all time?

Break song is Invasion of the Gabber Robots by The Laziest Men on Mars. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

"Janky" can mean a lot of things in the context of games, but this week - hot on the heels of Dragon's Dogma 2 - it means weird, faintly shoddy-feeling fun, and Jarrett Green joins us this week to talk about five games that are arguably beloved because of their jank. We'll also talk (a lot) more about Dragon's Dogma 2, plus Alone in the Dark, Marvel Rivals, Gearbox's sale by Embracer, and the overlooked/cult games you think deserve a sequel.

Question of the Week: Tell us about a time you hacked or repaired a console, controller, or other piece of gaming hardware on your own.

Break song is Emil's Shop Theme (English) from Nier Automata. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

The right music can make an already memorable moment unforgettable, and this week Tony Wilson of Framework joins us for a look at five games that expertly surprised us with unexpected musical moments, elevating their stories in the process. Then we'll get into Rise of the Ronin, Alone in the Dark, the newly greenlit Sims movie, State of Unreal 2024 news, and the franchises you'd like to see WayForward reinvent next.

Question of the Week: Now that we have Dragon's Dogma 2, what criminally overlooked/cult hit game needs a sequel glow-up?

Break song is Unshaken by D'Angelo. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Akira Toriyama passed away at 68 on March 1, leaving behind a rich legacy of iconic manga, anime, and (largely dragon-themed) videogames. To mark his passing, we're joined by TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing for a look at five game franchises to which he lent his talents, after which we'll get into Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, Contra: Operation Galuga, Nintendo's Mar10 Day announcements, and the dormant EA franchises you'd like to see them refocus on.

Question of the Week: In the vein of Contra: Operation Galuga and other WayForward adaptations of existing IP, what series should be WayForwarded next?

Break song is Eternity by Nobuo Uematsu, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Ian Gillan. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

This week is bookended by Ufouria The Saga 2 and WWE 2k24, both of which let you switch characters on the fly by tagging in partners - so with help from Emmett Watkins Jr., we'll count down five games that had some of the coolest character-swapping mechanics. Then we'll dig into Unicorn Overlord, Balatro, announcements from the Xbox Partner Preview, and your favorite second entries in game series.

Question of the Week: What dormant EA franchise shoulld the company refocus on?

Break song is I Wanna Take You For A Ride from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.