The early Resident Evil games were once popular enough to spawn a whole horde of zombie-killing imitators with fixed camera angles and tank controls, and erstwhile host Dave Rudden rejoins us this week to laugh at five of the more obscure ones. Then we'll get into Sonic X Shadow Generations, Mechwarrior 5: Clans, news from the Xbox Partner Preview, and your most favoritest zombie games.

Question of the Week: What's a game franchise you wish more competitors would rip off?

Break song is David Duchovny, Why Won't You Love Me? (The Reboot) by Bree Sharp. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

We're deep into spooky season, so let's take a look back at the strange wave of profane, silly, borderline sleazy zombie games the industry pumped out in the late-'00s/early-'10s, with help from TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing! Then we'll talk more about Metaphor: ReFantazio, Europa, the Game Freak data breach, and your most irrational habits when playing games.

Question of the Week: What's your favorite zombie game?

Break song is The Middle - Jimmy Eat World by Skatune Network. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Expecting a movie to be an entertaining adaptation of a videogame and be scary seems like asking too much, but gosh darn it if the horror-game movies we talk about in this week's Top 5 with Steve Guntli (of CinemArcade and Puppet Masters/Castle Freaks) didn't try. Then we'll talk about the Silent HIll 2 remake, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO, Nintendo's timely new announcement, and your favorite mind-blowing twists in videogames.

Question of the Week: What's your most irrational habit when it comes to playing games?

Break song is The Sticky Sweethearts - Lost in the Corn Maze by Obscurest Vinyl. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

With spooky season upon us at last, TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing joins us for a Top 5 on games that gradually reveal themselves to be haunted traps set by malevolent entities lurking deep within the code (ample spoiler warnings and timestamps here, so keep those fast-forward fingers ready). Then we'll get into The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Mortal Komba 1: Khaos Reigns, Katsuhiro Harada trying to get Colonel Sanders into Tekken, and the unexpected settings you'd like to see your favorite game characters in.

Question of the Week: Tell us about an unexpected twist in a game's story that kinda blew your mind.

Break song is Your Reality (Credits) by Dan Salvato. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

We're all busy, traveling, or directly in the path of a category 4 hurricane this week - but the show must go on, so please bear with our lack of a Top 5 as we jump straight into UFO 50, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, the State of Play and Sonic Central announcements, and the words you learned from vidjagames.

Question of the Week: What unexpected genre or setting do you want to see your favorite game characters in? (Example: Zelda IN SPAAAAACE!)

Break song is Konya Wa Hurricane (There's A Hurricane Tonight) by Kinuko Ohmori. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Astro Bot's trajectory from minor character in a tech demo to the face of the best-reviewed platformer on PS5 inspired this week's Top 5, about platformer mascots who went from secondary characters to headlining their own games. After that, we'll get into Funko Fusion, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's Mask of Darkness DLC, The Plucky Squire,announcements from the EA investor event, and your favorite memories of the Dreamcast.

Question of the Week: What's a word you learned from a videogame? (Can be a word you just didn't know before, or a gaming term that you learned by playing a specific game.)

Break song is I'm Your GPU by Kenneth C M Young. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

We just passed the 25th anniversary of the Dreamcast's 9/9/99 US launch, and are marking the occasion with a look at five of the strangest and best controllers and accessories for Sega's ill-fated console. Then we'll dive straight into Astro Bot, PS5 Pro, Warhammer 40k Space Marine II, Yars Rising, the Minecraft movie trailer, and your favorite games that got so-so reviews. 

Question of the Week: What's your favorite Dreamcast game, or favorite memory of the Dreamcast?

Break song is My Sweet Passion (Chris Vrenna & Mark Blasques Remix) by Fumie Kumatani, Chris Vrenna, and Mark Blasques. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

All three hosts of Welcome to the Thing - TL Foster, Emmett Watkins, and Jarrett Green - join us this week for a special crossover episode and take charge of our Top 5 to focus on "value versions" of popular big-deal games. We'll also get into Tactical Breach Wizards, Bakeru, Squirrel with a Gun, Concord's rapid demise, the best Zeldas being declared non-canon, and your favorite Star Wars NPCs.

Question of the Week: What’s a game that got so-so reviews but is a 10/10 in your heart?

Break song is Fucked Up In The Crib by POPSTARBILLS. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Star Wars Outlaws is out (and fun as hell) this week, inviting players to meet Canto Bight street thief-turned-interstellar scoundrel Kay Vess - so we're inviting Chris Baker back to talk about Kay and five other Star Wars heroes who were created especially for videogames. We'll also get into Castlevania Domunus Collection, Nintendo Direct news, and your thoughts on politicians and their likely favorite games.

Question of the Week: Who's your favorite Star Wars NPC?

Break song is Nar Shaddaa Party (feat. Kym'zi) by The Kyberpunks. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Black Myth: Wukong is out, and Tony Wilson of Framework has been playing it - but also, Sun Wukong's defiance of Heaven inspired this week's Top 5, about games driven by rebellion against the gods. We'll also get into Dustborn, Arco, reveals from Gamescom's Opening Night LIve, and the "terrible" works of pop culture you'll die on a hill to defend.

Question of the Week: Name the favorite game of any politician (not a quiz, just make up something funny).

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