Sometimes, it’s visually startling.

Crimson Desert launched today, reviews are mixed as expected, amazing open world, minimal story, no traditional leveling, open-world jank. John is at Disneyland! DLSS 5 announced by Nvidia, AI-yassifies characters without permission from devs like Capcom. Listener indie game Garden and a Goat announced, wishlistable on Steam. WoW Midnight discussion, level boosts are hard without knowing your class…but maybe no more? Pinball FX Williams Collection recommended, Pinball Map app finds nearby machines. Evoker alt class tried and abandoned. And loads more!

GAMES WE PLAYED

SCOTT

World of Warcraft: Midnight - I have alt-itus in a big way, when I should be working on my ilvl. Also the Prey System is awesome I think.

Dice with Death - Rad little dice-based roguelike that has a pretty good hold on me. I love dice games.

Collector’s Cove - cozy farm and builder sim that is unique in a load of ways.

JON

Jon is OUT! Probably somehow playing RE9 again from his hotel room for all we know.

REMINDER check out his commentary playthrough on Patreon and Substack, with the first hour out for everyone.

BEAU

more Slay the Spire 2

big Timberborn 1.0 session

got into d4 season of slaughter after all

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/E9ngMGlpytc?feature=share

So, now that Highguard is out, what the hell is it? We have takes. Also, the games of Feb, new Mario trailers, Dispatch censorship worries, Hasbro up to no good, Bobby with a Mini Instance chat about the Midnight pre-patch and upcoming launch in WoW, all the games we played and more!

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/g5roTOvSwww?feature=share

Shared Play

- Highguard

Scott

- V Rising

- Caravan SandWitch

Jon

- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Beau

- Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

- Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

- Cobalt Core

- Jump Space

- Enshrouded

Let’s talk about the Xbox showcase today, as well as the dust up over CDProjekt Red and VR mods. Plus RE getting yet another remake, Highguard getting a freebie, Marathon maybe doing ok afterall, and Nintendo getting you guy another weird toy.

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/0-b9KxTKKP8?feature=share

GAMES PLAYED:

SCOTT

Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster

Fire Emblem: Engage

Terra Pit

JON

Final Fantasy VII Remake

BEAU

Elden Ring

Shinobi

Guild Wars Reforged

Pirate Yakuza

Heroes of the Storm

Peak

Where the heck is Highguard? Also, Kratos has been cast, RE:R got showcased today, Tomb Raider series gives us a look at Sophie Turner in the role, Ubisoft doing more Ubisoft things, we have an end date for New World, the end of Anthem this week, and more.

We played Cozy Caravan, Marble’s Marbles, Find my Buddy, OddCore, Trails in The Sky 1st Chap, FF VII remake, Yakuza Kiwami 2, FFI and IV, and a little Yakuza Pirates. Plus your emails and more!

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/EYptMOel7EA?feature=share

Scott sits down with Warren Davis for a deep look at the creation of one of the great arcade games of all time, Q*Bert, as well as his direct impact on everything from the Joust seires to Mortal Kombat to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Check out his book: ‘Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games’! Some amazing insight in this episode with Warren, and we hope enjoy it!

Subs get this today! (Unlocks for free on Friday the 16th!)

January Releases: Let’s mostly focus on Animal Crossing and FFVII Remake for Switch 2, plus Code Vein 2 and Highguard. (yeah, we kinda forgot about Highguard too.)

StarCraft Shooter coming to Blizzcon? It might be Blizzard’s third attempt at a SC shooter, reportedly an open-world project led by Dan Hay (Far Cry fame).

Other stuff: Awesome Games Done Quick, a Starfield Star Wars conversion, and FF Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles hitting 1 million players.

We discuss games we played this week, including PlippUp, Fallout 4/New Vegas, Trails in the Sky, The Séance of Blake Manor, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Voidigo and beating Powerwash Simulator 2.

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/FP156apJ8rU?feature=share

It’s time for our anual personal and group awards for the games of the last year, and a few that are not. :) Join Scott Beau and Jon as they look back and forward and somehow up and down as well. Oh and this is the first time this gets called The osCORES. Big thx to Taz for the post art! Jump in!

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/LVZhCd52ydE?feature=share

Group Category #1 - ‘Games We Wish We Played More Award’ in 2025

Scott:

5. Two Point Museum (the DLC mostly)

4. Moonlighter 2

3. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

2. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

1. Expedition 33

Jon:

5. Absolum

4. The Alters

3. Split Fiction

2. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

1. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

Beau:

5. Hollow Knight: Silksong

4. Sunderfolk

3. ARC Raiders

2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

1. Pirate Yakuza

Scott’s Game of the Year Award Categories!

The Games that Hype Kinda Wrecked for my interest level for now

3. Oblivon Remake

2. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

1. Expedition 33

Top Chore Core Games

3. Farm Together 2

2. Cash Cleaner Simulator

1. Powerwash Sim 2

Werido Games That Made Me Happy

SPECIAL MENTION: A Game About Digging a Hole

3. Cloverpit

2. Mutant League Football II

1. Ball X Pit

Favorite Throwback Vibes

3. Warside

2. Old School Rally

1. Slots & Daggers

Games I loved the most that are not out of early access yet

3. Fumes

2. Rotwood

1. Shapez 2

The Crack Games of the year

3. Diablo IV (late edition)

2. Monster Train 2

1. Shapez 2 (EA)

Biggest Bummers of the Year

3. Date Everything

2. Civ 7

1. Dune Awakening

The games I just could not seem to get finished

3. Avowed

2. Doom The Dark Ages

1. Ghosts of Tsushima

Jon’s Game of the Year Award Categories!

Are you Ready for the Let Down in 2025 Games

Clair Obscur Award: Scott didn’t play it and Beau took too long

5. Final Fantasy XIV

4. The Outer Worlds 2

3. Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection

2. DOOM: The Dark Ages

1. Civilization VII

Jon is Playing What?

Games that hooked me to some degree this year that normally aren’t my thing

Clair Obscur Award: Parry it!

5. Dynasty Warriors Origins

4. Battlefield 6

3. Sonic Racing Crossworlds

2. Hollow Knight Silksong

1. Magic: the Gathering Arena

Best “New” Character of 2025

Favorite characters that debuted (mostly) in 2025

Clair Obscur Award: TIE: Verso & Esquie

5. The Rich Family - Like a Dragon” Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

4. Chronos - Hades 2

3. Pauline - Donkey Kong Bananza

2. Henry - Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

1. Robert Robertson the Third - Dispatch

Jon’s “Indie” Picks of 2025 (The Non-AAA titles that I loved)

These are non-AAA games that didn’t make my top 10 that still deserve some love

Clair Obscur Award: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

5. No, I’m Not a Human!

4. A Game About Digging a Hole

3. Marvel Cosmic Invasion

2. Slots & Daggers

1. The Roottrees are Dead

Jon’s Non-Gaming of 2025

I did consume some non-gaming stuff this year and here is what I liked

Clair Obscur Award: Watching others discover the game

Comics: DC KO/Absolute Universe and Marvel Ultimate Universe show the power of focused storytelling

Streaming: Game Changer on Dropout is an oddly specific sub I love

Television (Animated): Mighty Nein makes this category silly

Television (Live Action): Pluribus proves Vince Gilligan and Team know what they’re doing

Movie: The Naked Gun, but special shout out to Weapons & KPop Demon Hunters

Beau’s Game of the Year Award Categories!

Best 2025 Game Scores

4. Dispatch

3. Hades 2

2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

1. Final Fantasy Rebirth (PC release Jan 2025, when it was first actually playable)

2025’s Biggest Dissappointments

3. Not enough VR playin on my part!

2. Buying V Rising for friends to play V Rising and they all wimped out because they don’t like vampires.

1. Dune: Awakening

Best Early Access

4. Jump Space

3. Titan Quest 2

2. Fellowship

1. Path of Exile 2

Favorite Characters

5. Henry

4. Esquie

3. Hecate

2. Barrett

1. Invisigal

Group Category #2 - Most Anticipated Games of 2026 (1-3 games)

Scott:

Honorable Mention: GTA6

3. Slay The Spire 2

2. Total War Warhammer 40k

1. Crimson Desert

Jon:

Honorable Mention: Total War Warhammer 40K or Crimson Desert - whichever comes out

3. Pragmata

2. Marvel’s Wolverine

1. Resident Evil Requiem

Beau:

3. Crimson Desert

2. Slay the Spire 2

1. The Expanse: Osiris Reborn

Group Category #3 - Best 2025 Gaming Moments (1-5 news stories, fights, experiences, etc)

Scott:

5. Building out CORE.SHOW and expanding the shows reach and content

4. Having the most possible fun I have had gaming with Carter in Splitfiction.

3. Jon’s suckling teet sound on the show for Nintendo fans.

2. Discovering the video solution that is The Spoiler Baron.

1. Hearing about the Steam Machine made me feel like a little kid.

Jon:

5. Finding new joy in an old favorite (Resident Evil)

4. Being a Final Fantasy fan (lots)

3. Weekly episodes! (Dispatch)

2. Learning, Collecting, and Opening (Magic the Gathering)

1. Discovering a new all time favorite game (Clair Obscur)

Beau:

5. Finishing a year and half BG3 playthrough with friends

4. Getting emotionally blitzed by FF7rebirth

3. Raiding in wow with the CORE guild

2. Watching others play Dispatch

1. Watching magic noobs open Magic cards (Jon, Kyle & Garrett)

Group Category #4 - Best Non-2025 Games of 2025 (1-5 games)

Scott:

5. Hardspace Shipbreaker

4. No Man’s Sky

3. Superliminal

2. Red Faction: Guerrilla

1. Star of Providence

Jon:

Honorable Mention: No Man’s Sky

5. Ghost of Tsushima

4. Resident Evil (OG)

3. Stellar Blade

2. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

1. Final Fantasy XII

Beau:

5. Slay the Spire

4. No Man’s Sky

3. Aliens: Dark Descent

2. V Rising

1. Valheim

The CORE Crew’s Top Games of the Year! (Up to 10)

SCOTT

10. Deep Rock Galactic Survivor

9. Escape Sim 2

8. Jackbox 11 pack

7. Shinobi Art of Vengence (still too early but I stand by it.)

6. Tainted Grail Fall of Avalon

5. Powerwash Simulator 2

4. Hades II

3. Donkey Kong Bananaza

2. Dispatch

1. Spit Fiction

JON

10. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

9. Avowed

8. Megabonk

7. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

6. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

5. Donkey Kong Bananza

4. Hades 2

3. Blue Prince

2. Dispatch

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

BEAU

10. Ball X Pit

9. Elden Ring: Nightreign

8. Battlefield 6

7. Hollow Knight: Silksong

6. Farthest Frontier

5. DOOM: The Dark Ages

4. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

3. Hades 2

2. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (PC Release date was Jan 23, 2025, when it was first actually playable and not in beta)

1. Dispatch

CORE’s 2025 (Collective) GAMES OF THE YEAR:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Dispatch

Hades 2

Split Fiction

Donkey Kong Bonanza

Diablo IV: Both Scott and Beau are back in for Season 11. Scott’s “Hot Take” is that the game is officially “very good now”, and he does not care who knows it. (Paladin to 46); Beau claims it’s the best season of “Diablo 3” yet. (lol)

Scott: Revisiting Overload (on sale), playing Escape Room Simulator 2, and starting Banquet for Fools.

Jon: Reached the new area in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and is impressed by the visuals.

Beau: Mostly Jump Space outside of D4 play.

And a CRAP ton of your emails and texts for our last episode of 2025!

POSSIBLE SPOILER POINTS 00:44:19.73 - 00:52:06.9701:31:31.21 - 01:31:36.77

Uncut Video Archive: https://youtube.com/live/IeTROQe-zz8?feature=share

CORE: About Them Video Games is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Get your ‘500+ Episodes’ mugs at Frogpants.shop now before its too late!. We recapped The Game Awards: Jon loved Resident Evil Requiem, Scott is into Total War Warhammer 40k, and Beau liked Gang of Dragon. We mostly bounced off Highguard.

News: Steam Winter Sale is live. Fallout Season 2 has started. We discussed Netflix buying WB (details at core.show). Supervive is shutting down after 7 months.

Played: Scott is on Path of Exile 2 and Mutant Football League 2. Jon is trying demos like Pragmata and back in FFXIV. Beau is on Witcher 3 and other sick-friendly games this week.

Ozzfudd notes Scott can finish Far Cry 4 and 5 in minutes via secret endings. Just another Nick suggests Super Fantasy Kingdom. Email us at SHOW@CORE.SHOW!

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/0ir06F1FPf8?feature=share

Audio edition of our watch-a-long! Listen along with us! (Video version posting soon!)

Welcome to episode 500! Finishing Dispatch, loving Split Fiction, playing Demeo DND, and the Hordes of Hel! Plus Shinobi is underrated, Divinity still has a lot of stuff on the ground, Witcher 3, and a LOT of prep for tonight’s Game Awards. (coming in a separate post.)

(Preshow ends at 07:24 )

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/JPuWWxlbM-A?feature=share

This is just part one. To get it all, up on a paid tier and enjoy the full run! https://core.show

CORE: About Them Video Games is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Some video today. It’s also on the audio feeds for those that prefer it. Love to hear your feedback on this turn of events.

CORE reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🎉 500 EPISODE MUGS NOW AVAILABLE!

Get yours reserved before we hit the limit!

https://frogpants.shop

⚠️ SPOILER POLICY CLARIFICATION

Going forward:

1. We’ll do our best not to offer major spoilers on narrative elements

2. We’ll give ample warning to pause, skip ahead, or come back later

3. We’ll front-load discussions with spoiler-free content

- Scott will play BGM over spoiler sections for podcast listeners

- Jon is doing YouTube chapters ASAP once the episode posts

NOTE: This has never been a spoiler-free show, but we’re making extra effort for those asking. You have personal responsibility to avoid spoilers if they matter to you.

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🎮 MAIN TOPIC

THE FEW GAMES OF DECEMBER 2025

Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Octopath Traveler 0, Metroid Prime 4, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, Terminator 2D: No Fate, & More.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

📰 NEWS ROUNDUP

🐴 Indie Game “Horses” Keeps Getting Banned

Banned from Steam, Epic, and now Humble. Still available on Itch.io and GOG.

🎬 Justin Lin to Direct Helldivers Movie

The Fast & Furious director takes on the video game adaptation.

🐺 SO MUCH WITCHER

- Witcher 4 NOT coming in 2026

- Witcher 5 and 6 also in the works

- Witcher Remastered on the way

🔞 WickedWhims Has 300K Daily Logins

Sims’ biggest sex mod sees massive daily usage

🧛 Paradox Takes Blame for Bloodlines 2

Publisher says responsibility for poor sales lies fully with them, not developers

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🎮 WHAT WE’VE BEEN PLAYING

SCOTT

⚠️ Possible Spoilers: Did I finish Dispatch? Have to wait and see!

Split Fiction - Incredible co-op game. Most FUN game this year!

PowerWash Simulator 2 - Still the best CHORE CORE of 2025.

JON

CyberPunk 2077 - Done everything in base game, Phantom Liberty awaits

Marvel Cosmic Invasion - Started and finished

SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance - Sleeper hit! (Scott confirms)

BEAU

Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt continues

Noobs Are Coming

Jump Space

Rocksmith 2014 - We’re back

Star Citizen - I forgot about it... sorry

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💬 LISTENER FEEDBACK

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

💎 SUPPORT THE SHOW

Patreon.com/coreshow and

http://CORE.Show

NEW SUPPORTERS THIS WEEK:

Patreon: No new Patrons this week, but thanks to old timers: Aegis, Patrick, Jason Dorr

CORE.Show: derek999, Dcheck734, daniel, craig.olson5

Benefits:

- No commercials ever

- Preshow content every week

- Host special episodes

- And loads more at CORE.show

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

📬 CONTACT US

Email: show@core.show

Texts: tenhams.com

Web: Frogpants.com/core

Uncut YT Video: https://youtube.com/live/tFukfovKAXg?feature=share

Uncut CORE.SHOW Video: https://www.core.show/p/live-core

PRESHOW STILL COMING: Tech issues delayed it. Will post on its own soon. (will include the Jon Show too.)

Scott dropped a Patreon vs Core.show support comparison video—check it at Core.show for the breakdown. Also posted an article about RAM prices going absolutely bonkers right now. The advice? Wait it out. Don’t be the person overpaying because you can’t control yourself.

News Roundup:

WoW: Midnight Gets RealJon brought the news: World of Warcraft’s next expansion drops March 2nd, 2026. Mark your calendars, prepare your excuses for missing work.

Half-Life 3 Copium IntensifiesPeople—including “insiders”—still think HL3 is getting announced this year. Spoiler: It’s not. It never is. Stop doing this to yourselves.

CD Projekt Reality Check

* No Witcher 4 or Cyberpunk 2 at the Game Awards. Shocking absolutely no one.

* Cyberpunk 2077 hit 35 million copies sold, outpacing The Witcher 3’s trajectory

* Cyberpunk 2 is still years away. Hang in there, chooms.

GAMES PLAYED

Scott’s Games

Dispatch

Moonlighter 2: The Endless VaultNo Way HomeGuild Wars 2 MilestoneJackbox Party Pack 11

Jon’s Games

Cyberpunk 2077?

Beau’s Games

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Finished Witcher 3 Total Chaos

And LOTS MORE!

Contact: show@core.show | Text: tenhams.comLinks: Frogpants.com/core

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/705d5z0UoNI

Main Topic: Game Awards Nominees. Megabonk dev withdraws “Best Debut Indie” nomination (made previous games). Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 breaks record with 12 nominations. Notable snubs: ARC Raiders, Dispatch, Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Other News

Xbox Partners Showcase (Tides of Annihilation, Vampire Crawlers, Total Chaos)

Epic/Unity partnership for Fortnite integration

Krafton AI controversy re: Subnautica 2 bonuses

Dispatch skill requirements discussion

First live-action Zelda movie set photos

Our Week in Gaming

Shared: Dispatch progress (Beau completed, Jon restarted, Scott finished Episode 1)

Beau: Claire Obscur Act 3, Slay the Spire boardgame, No Man’s Sky Normandy unlock, Vampire Survivors VR

Scott: Forestrike (standout), Shelldiver (incremental gem), Advance Wars binge, Moonlighter 2 purchased, Cleared Hot, Guild Wars 2 reinstalled

Jon: Cyberpunk 2077 continues

Fallout 4 pricing clarification from NickLandry - Anniversary Edition upgrade options explained, Xbox Play Anywhere support added.

Links: Patreon.com/coreshow | CORE.show | frogpants.com/core

New article on CORE.show: Vegas conversation about AI threats + why GoldenEye is the GOAT.

CORE.show vs Patreon (frogpants.com/core)

Episode 500 commemorative mug dropping at frogpants.shop this weekend!

Valve has three new hardware options for you, and we talk about them in detail today. Plus all the news and stuff you can stand, as well as a visit from Bobby for a nice little WoW update!

GAMES PLAYED

SCOTT

Tavern Keeper

JON

Dispatch

CyberPunk 2077

BEAU

Farthest Frontier

Jump Space

REPO

ARC Raiders

Vampire Survivors VR

All the details on CORE.show, and what you can get from it! WoW is not coming to consoles, says game lead at Blizz. Fortnite has all the cartoon dads now. Rockstar doing some devious firings. Your Steam Deck can now download while asleep! Warhammer Survivors is HAPPENING! Blizzcon tickets go up tomorrow. Playstation Portal finally does cloud. The return of Nexeopardy! All the games of the week and loads more.

SCOTT

Hoop Land

Mech Havoc

Utopia Must Fall

JON

The Outer Worlds 2

Cyberpunk 2077

Dispatch

BEAU

ARC Raiders

Aliens: Dark Descent

Ball X Pit

Dawn of War: Definitive Edition

Jump Space

Nintendo wants you to feel like those happy pandemic times again with a big update to Animal Crossing on Switch 2. Also, all the games of November, the Amazon Games layoffs and the apparent shutter of New World. Civ 7 trying to fix things. Claire and Cloud together at last. All the games we played plus all the usual stuff Enjoy!

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

Slots & Daggers

SCOTT

Powerwash Simulator 2

Warside

JON

The Outer Worlds 2

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

Dispatch

BEAU

Aliens: Dark Descent

Fellowship

Jump Space

How does anyone make a definitive list of the best games? It’s impossible, but we talk about the latest attempt anyway. Plus, Remedy losing their CEO after Firebreak did so poorly, and Vampire Survivors adds DLC to DLC. We also field a load of your questions this week, along with the usual dork-athon, and the games we played to boot!

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

Battlefield 6

SCOTT

Superliminal (beat it!)

Battle-Suit Aces

Yet Another Zombie Survivors

Geometry Survivor

Dungeon Clawler

Slots and Daggers

JON

Dispatch

The Outer Worlds 2

Absolum

It Has My Face

BEAU

Fellowship

No Man’s Sky

Ball X Pit

Farthest Frontier

Void Crew

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon and Scott did a co-stream today, and wanted to give you all a chance to hear it or see it. Here's the video version.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nerdtacular 2026 tickets holding at early bird pricing, plus a swag bag-only option now available at frogpants.com.

News:

- NetEase pulls funding for Gang of Dragon — future of the game unknown

- Valve still targeting 2026 for Steam Machines despite RAM shortages; rumored to be a factor in Sony/Xbox strategy shifts

- EA lays off Battlefield staff post record-breaking launch

- Jeff Kaplan on his Blizzard exit — plus his one Overwatch regret: making it too team-focused when players want to shine individually

- Fortnite raising V-Buck prices

- Timberborn hits 1.0

- Xbox pushing “everything is an Xbox” / Project Helix, leaning into Windows 11

- Valve reports 6,000+ games made over $100k on Steam last year

Shared Play: Slay the Spire 2 — all three played it, early GOTY contender

Scott: WoW: Midnight (great time, nearly max level, campaign a little cheesy), Thysiastery (turn-based dungeon crawler, very positive on Steam).

Also: The Instance now posting Fridays at frogpants.com/instance.

Jon: Finished and 100%’d Resident Evil Requiem

Beau: Slay the Spire 2, more Star Trek Voyageur, dipped into new Diablo IV season (may have bought the Doom skin)

Feedback: Listener thinks he catches Scott being simultaneously terrified by AI and delighted by one-button AI rotations in WoW. And he is wrong about it.

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/_Ns-L3tlMd4?feature=share

Looks like Sony is officially getting out of the port business and going all Nintendo on us again. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake is indeed happening. Highguard is officially leaving in just a few days. MetaCritic got weird with AI over the last few days. The games we played, a lake correction, Zillow and WoW, and some Diablo 2 stuff!

GAMES PLAYED

Scott

- World of Warcraft Midnight

- RoadCraft

Jon

- Resident Evil: Requiem

Beau

- Legend of Grimrock

- Star Trek: Voyager

- The Killing Stone

- Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

- Overwatch

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March 2026 is shaping up to be a massive month for gaming, with big hitters like Crimson Desert, Marathon, Pokémon Pokopia, Slay the Spire 2, Solasta 2, Death Stranding 2 on PC, and the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection all loaded up. Also, Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out at Xbox, while Sony raises a few eyebrows by signaling a potential end to PC ports. Our eyebrows are defiinately raised. Marvel’s Wolverine finally has a September release date, and Valve finds itself in legal hot water as New York’s Attorney General sues over alleged illegal gambling promotion to kids among other things. Also, Overwatch is going mobile with Overwatch Rush. Weird.

Uncut Vid: https://youtube.com/live/ZMF9961hu2A?feature=share

GAMES PLAYED:

Scott

- Overwatch

- UFO 50 (with Van)

- Abathor (with Van)

- Worms WMD (with Van)

- TowerFall (with Van)

- Duck Game (with Van)

- Boomerang Fu (with Van)

Jon

- Biorand Resident Evil 2

- Resident Evil 6

- Resident Evil Requiem

Beau

- Darkhaven (demo)

- Vampire Crawlers (demo)

- Dead Spies (demo)

- Pragmata (demo)

- Wanderburg (demo)

- Underkeep (demo)

- Esoteric Ebb (demo)

- Arms of God (demo)

- Armatus (demo)

- Wild Blue Skies (demo)

- Farever (demo)

- Rune Dice (demo)

- Twilight Imperium (demo)

- John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando (demo)

- Far Far West (demo)

- Baldur’s Gate 3 (Honour Mode)

- Overwatch

- Marathon Server Slam

That ashes of creation thing is just getting messier and messier by the day. Also, Unity wants you to type your next casual video game. We will explain.

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/j-3haF8C_Ak?feature=share

GAMES PLAYED

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

- Diablo 2 Resurrected – Infernal Edition

- Overwatch

- Dobbel Dungeon

SCOTT

- Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp

- No Man’s Sky – Remnant Mode

- Escape from Ever After

JON

- Mewgenics

- TR-49

- Resident Evil 2

- Fortnite

BEAU

- Baldur’s Gate 3 – Honour Mode

- Star Trek Voyager

CORE: About Them Video Games is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Join Scott Jon and Beau as we watch it with you! This is the audio podcast version, but if you are looking for the video archive, see below.

CORE: About Them Video Games is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

As we prep for the State of Play today, we talk about the games we played this week, and hit the news about all the Warlocks coming to all the Diablos. Highguard and 2XKO getting big layoffs, and the upcoming Baldur’s Gate 3 TV show!

Games Played This Week

Shared Play

- Jon & Beau: Mewgenics

Scott

- Animal Crossing (on Switch 2)

- Goblin Sushi

- V-Rally 4

Jon

- Mewgenics

- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

Beau

- Yakuza 3

- Marathon

- Crimson Desert

- Game with Balls

- Ravenswatch (as Merlin)

- Skate Story

- Overwatch

- Enshrouded (Solo)

- Deadlock

Overwatch might be making a big play with some re-branding, a slew of new heroes, and loads more. Will it put things back on top for the team shooter to beat? We talk about that, plus the Ashes of Creation mess, Steam hardware talk from Valve, and what might be the end of all things Outer Worlds.

Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/Lq2lyWM4Vzg?feature=share

GAMES PLAYED

- The Midnight Walk (Scott)

- Butcher’s Creek (Scott)

- LUNARK (Scott)

- Resident Evil 2 (Jon)

- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Jon)

- Super Nintendo (Jon)

- Pirate Yakuza (Beau)

- Overwatch (Beau)

- Valheim (Beau)