YoVideogames! – Details, episodes & analysis

The VirtuaBoy re-release is one of those things where the more you look at it, the dumber it gets, but also if it brings someone a lot of joy to own: who am I to judge? I hope it DOES make someone out there deliriously happy.

But all the games will be on the e-shop only, and only accessible via a subscription. And THAT is downright criminal. Because there will come a day when you lose access to that. Then, the VirtuaBoy becomes detritus that sits on your desk or in a closet. All of this to say the High Seas will be the only place to find these things and it'll be (insert company here)'s fault piracy makes the comeback it does.

Are we burned out? Probably yes. 2026 has started with 20 days of constant churning news.

But there are good games coming this year. Games we should be seeing lots of hype for. Instead it seems like the hype train has derailed. So, why is that? What brings the hype back?

Sony dropped a State of Play just for its Japanese Developers. Matt and I are split on this one. He feels it fell flat, I feel it says: Sony is finally waking up to the type of games it should be pushing harder.

Plus:

• We debate horror elements and their effectiveness. I love ambience and build up, he loves sudden unavoidable terror.

• We score the State of Play out of TEN.

• We talk Marvel Tokon and how maybe Sony didn't think this was going to get much attention (Kpop Demon Hunters all over again!?)

• And we close talking about alleged Rockstar Union Busting.

Xbox put all its cards on the table right away this year. Let's talk about their Developer Direct, and then jump into what we hope/expect to see from Nintendo and Sony.

Chances are you have a favorite voice actor and may not even know their name. Voice acting can sometimes be treated like the step child of acting, but the truth is: good voice acting transcends and evolves the medium, just as good film acting, or stage acting expands their mediums. 

Here's a few of our personal favorite Voice Actors, some you most certainly know, all of whome you have heard before.

Shine on!

As a fun retrospective of the games that stuck with us over time, we decided to do an episode about the last decade. Our personal Top Game from each year going back to 2013. We surprised ourselves with several of these. There are of course expected picks for regular listeners but anyone new may be thrown for a loop.

Shine on!

Happy New Year! We're starting off strong by having an extra long and extremely cool conversation with musician and composer Alex Moukala all about game music. He gives us a peak behind the curtain on the process of composing for games, as well as how he analyzes music he loves to inspire his own compositions. 

Projects Alex calls out during the episode:

Game Music Foundation - https://gamemusic.net/gamemusic-foundation/

Chrono Trigger Main Theme Cover by Tournament Arc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYK8M9DUbdc

Second Stone: Legend of the Hidden World (gameplay and in game music) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdLMCtAPwmM

If you want to learn more about music in games, composition, or just hear more of Alex's work - he's on YouTube (AlexMoukalaMusic) and Twitter (@alex_moukala)

We don't want to talk about the leaks, so we won't, but one conversation that the recent leaks have started is very interesting. Are game budgets getting too big? What exactly is making them jump so high? Maybe it's time to cut the games in half and get smaller games out more often.

Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays, or what not! Here's a two hour episode all about our particular favorite games that game out this year. If you're traveling home and need something to keep your mind off all the inane and invasive questions you'll get asked at dinner - we're here to help!

2023 was an all time incredible year for gaming. So much so, that Matt actually had a top 25! Expect an extra episode for Patrons only coming later this week!

More layoffs, more studios closing, and E3 declares themselves dead (finally). Let's talk how things might be reborn moving forward!