Vidjagame Apocalypse

This weekend America celebrates its Independence Day, so we're paying tribute to our beloved homeland with a show about one of the most American things we can think of: GUNS! Specifically light gun games. We're joined by arcade expert Pastblaster of the Podouken podcast to discuss those glorious games of yore where the only thing standing between polite society and murderous clowns, invading aliens, or generic 80s bad guys was you, a plastic firearm, and a fistful of quarters.

Then we talk about the new Raidou remaster, break down Mecha Break, string you along with more Death Stranding talk, get changed by The Alters, parse out the week's news, and more.

Question of the Week: What's your favorite "gimmick" arcade game?

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

With Matt away, and left to their own devices, Chris and T.L. decided to do a bit of a looser episode. The Florida Boyz are joined by Tony Wilson from Framework, as they talk about games where the heroes are inspired by heroes from previous games in the franchise.

After that, the guys talk a little about Death Stranding 2, the Capcom Showcase, and much more!

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

We can't put our Nintendo Switch 2 systems down or get Mario Kart World out of our heads, so while doing laps around the tracks, the VGA boys started thinking about our top kart racing items from across the genre. Guest Jarrett Green joins us to list our favorites, from the most useful, to the wacky and weird, and everything in between.

Then we jump through a portal to discuss Splitgate 2, the Gex Trilogy collection, Tron Catalyst, FBC Firebreak, this week's news, and so much more.

Question of the Week: What's the most memorable game you've played on a new game system?

Break song is "Go Kart Racing" by Garfunkel and Oates.

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

It's June, which used to mean E3 time, but now just means there are still a ton of huge announcements and places to see new games in Los Angeles, just not at the convention center or E3 itself. And that is why we are calling this our BIG NOT E3 2025 EPISODE! Oh, did we mention there was also the launch of a little thing called the Nintendo Switch 2? Special guest JR Ralls joins us to talk about our impressions of Nintendo's new system and its launch lineup, all the big announcements from State of Play, Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, and more.

Question of the Week: What's the weirdest way you've ever acquired a new game system?

Break song is "Switch" by Will Smith.

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

The big Nintendo Switch 2 launch is already here, and guest Emmet Watkins Jr. and the VGA Boyz are celebrating the occasion by listing off the top Nintendo system launches of all time. Then we team up to discuss more Elden Ring Nightreign, some Symphonia, Xbox handheld news, and more.

Question of the Week: What's your favorite game system launch of all time and why?

Break song is "Playing with Power (TJ Perkins Entrance Theme)" by WWE Music.

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Look, it's a short holiday week, so can you blame the VGA Boyz for taking things easy and a bit too literally by celebrating Memorial Day week with a top 5 about... memories? Join us as we look back and... er, remember... our favorite memory sequences and flashbacks in videogames. Then it's on to some Elden Ring Nightrein talk, some Elden Ring movie talk, and more.

Question of the Week: What's a piece of pop culture that had you hooked at first before quickly falling off?

Break song is "Memory (from the Musical Cats)" as performed by TRAGEDY.

Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Mikel's gone, but the show must go on -- with an all-new third chair and maybe just a tad more soundboard! TL Foster joins Matt and Chris on a more permanent basis, and this all-new VGA triumvirate reboots the show with a very appropriate Top 5: Modern Reboots. Then we duke it out over the Capcom Fighting Collection 2, rip and tear into more DOOM: The Dark Ages, wax nostalgic about Retro Classics on Game Pass, and break down the latest videogame news.

Question of the Week: Tell us one of the game ideas Hideo Kojima has hidden away on his USB drive.

Break song is "Boot to the Head" by The Frantics. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Mikel's farewell show kicks off with our most spoileriffic Top 5 EVER, focusing on games where the hero's death is an unavoidable part of the story - will you tough it out, or skip around with the spoiler-dodging timestamps we throw out before even speaking each entry's name? Once that's done, we'll get into more Doom: The Dark Ages, Revenge of the Savage Planet, Rift Riff, game-industry price-hike forecasts, and your favorite memories of Mikel's 12-year tenure on VGA.

Question of the Week: With the show under new direction going forward, what would you like to see from VGA in the future?

Break song is Price of Freedom -I Want to See You Smile- by The Death March and Brothers by Paul Williams. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Inspired by "100 men vs. a gorilla" memes, this week's show sees Tony Wilson of Framework joining us for a Top 5 about games that put the might of an entire swarm at your disposal! We'll also get into Doom: The Dark Ages, Skin Deep, the new GTA 6 trailer, Xbox raising console and game prices, and "antiquated" styles of games that you'd like to see make a comeback.

Question of the Week: Following this week's announcement, do you have a favorite memory of Mikel's 12 years as a host of VGA?

Break song is Ai no Uta by Strawberry Flower. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

We've been to the "play as a villain" well a bunch of times, but this week's theatrical release of Thunderbolts inspired TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing to join us for a look at games that let you play as whole teams of characters who don't typically play well with others. We'll also get into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a smattering of Switch and Switch 2 news, Epic's court win against Apple, and your views on remakes and remasters.

Question of the Week: Is there an "antiquated" style of gameplay (e.g. turn-based RPGs) that you think should return?

Break song is E.G.G.M.A.N. by Paul Shortino. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.