Vidjagame Apocalypse - podcast cover

Vidjagame Apocalypse

Videogame-industry veterans Mikel Reparaz and Anne Lewis rally their colleagues for weekly discussions about games, the industry, and the circus of egos and information that surrounds it all.

Episodes

Stuck on Wii U - Vidjagame Apocalypse 498

With this week marking the 10-year anniversary of the Wii U's release, TL Foster joins us for a look at five of the coolest games that still haven't made the jump to Switch. Then we'll dig into Pentiment, Tactics Ogre: Reborn, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, check out The Game Awards 2022 GOTY nominations, and hear you talk about old stuff you're not nostalgic for (but still love hearing about anyway).

Nov 18, 20222 hr 27 minEp. 498

Most-Expensive Consoles - Vidjagame Apocalypse 497

This week, we take a look at five of the most sophisticated, fantastically expensive gaming devices ever released - you know, the ones the REALLY rich kid at your school had - with font of knowledge Dan Amrich, who also tells us quite a lot about his involvement with Atari 50, which is out now. Then we'll get into God of War and Sonic Frontiers, highlights from the Nintendo Indie Showcase, and your favorite videogame trilogies of all time.

Nov 11, 20223 hr 11 minEp. 497

The Next Generation - Vidjagame Apocalypse 496

The arrival of Resident Evil Village's Winters' Expansion DLC - which adds a new story starring Ethan's daughter Rose - inspired us to dig into five sequels where the hero's kid steps into the spotlight as the new protagonist. Then we'll get into Bayonetta 3, PSVR2's price and release date reveal, and the most you've ever spent on a game-related purchase.

Nov 04, 20222 hr 12 minEp. 496

Be the Slasher - Vidjagame Apocalypse 495

It's our last show of spooky season, so TL Foster joins us for a look at five games that gave players the chance to be slasher villains, stalking and slaying hapless campers, partygoers, and other movie-inspired machete-fodder. Then we'll get into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Gotham Knights, the Witcher getting a modern remake, and your favorite bits from G4.

Oct 28, 20223 hr 33 minEp. 495

Who Ya Gonna Call? - Vidjagame Apocalypse 494

Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed is out this week and it's great, so we're leaning fully into it (and technically staying on-theme for Spooptober) by inviting Dan Amrich for a chat about the best and most memorable Ghostbusters games of the past 38 years. Then we'll get into Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, A Plague Tale: Requiem, the Silent HIll Transmission revelations, and your thoughts on who should play Mario.

Oct 21, 20223 hr 45 minEp. 494

Don't Even Breathe - Vidjagame Apocalypse 493

It's the second week of Spooptober, so Tony Wilson of Framework joins us for a look at five games where holding your breath can make you invisible to ghosts and monsters - for as long as you can keep it in. Then we'll get into Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, reactions to the Mario movie trailer and the canceled Kingdom Hearts TV show, and your scariest water-related stories.

Oct 15, 20222 hr 10 minEp. 493

Entrapment Under the Sea - Vidjagame Apocalypse 492

It's the first week of October, which means the start of four weeks of unbridled terror (OK not really) as we focus on horror games! This week, Anthony Abatte joins us to talk about five games that went for underwater scares, often by sticking players into oppressive deep-sea environments filled with massive wildlife and other threats. Then we'll switch gears to talk about Overwatch 2, Valkyrie Elysium, Stadia's shutdown, and your favorite X-Men.

Oct 07, 20223 hr 49 minEp. 492

Wondery Presents - The ReWatcher: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Welcome to the Hellmouth Weirdos! Your favorite Morbid hosts Ash and Alaina are branching out from true crime and heading to Sunnydale for the ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rewatch podcast! Alaina is a Buffy superfan and Ash has never watched a single episode, so whether you’re Team Angel, Team Spike, or have no clue who those people are…they’ve got you covered! Join them each week as they slay their way through the series, episode by episode, re-watching, and watching for the very first tim...

Oct 04, 20225 min

SNIKT! - Vidjagame Apocalypse 491

With Hugh Jackman confirming his return as Wolverine for Deadpool 3, we're going topical this week and inviting Steve Guntli of Wii Universe for a look at the five "best" games to star Logan by his lonesome. Then it's on to Session: Skate Simulator, Beacon Pines, more Metal Hellsinger, Disney's Star Wars game plans, and your preferences re: looking at leaks.

Sep 30, 20222 hr 21 minEp. 491

Appetizer Heroes - Vidjagame Apocalypse 490

Return to Monkey Island hit this week, and its opening inspired us to bring Tony Wilson aboard for a look at five games that start you off as someone who'll shortly exit and won't be playable again for the rest of the game.* Then it's on to Trombone Champ, Metal Hellsinger, the GTA 6 leak, PSVR2 leaving PSVR games behind, and your favorite two-and-through series. * Yep, we already did this topic in 2019, but only realized it after the fact. The discussion, however, is totally new!

Sep 24, 20223 hrEp. 490

Two and Through - Vidjagame Apocalypse 489

After seeing more of God of War Ragnarök at Sony's State of Play this week, we felt inspired to look at other series that told their stories across (or were abandoned after) just two games, something that's only really strange because we're so used to everything being trilogies in this industry. Then we'll dig into Steelrising, Freedom Planet 2, the reveals from State of Play, the Nintendo Direct, and Ubisoft Forward, and your personal Lord of the Rings-related stories.

Sep 16, 20223 hr 38 minEp. 489

Lord of the Rings Games - Vidjagame Apocalypse 488

With Amazon debuting the absurdly expensive Rings of Power series last week, we decided it was as good a time as any to chat about five of the best Lord of the Rings games, with special guest Anthony Abatte. Then it's on to Splatoon 3, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Immortality, Sony and Microsoft beefing over Call of Duty, and the classic games you'd like to see gathered up in lavish, detail-filled collections.

Sep 10, 20223 hr 44 minEp. 488

Gaming's Unscariest Clowns - Vidjagame Apocalypse 487

Everybody's familiar with scary videogame clowns, from Sweet Tooth to Generic Zombie Clown #27, but how many pure, unironic clowns can you think of? This week, the legendary Chris Baker joins us to talk about five of them, after which we'll get into his new game, Circus Electrique (out September 6), as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed, Big Chungus potentially joining MultiVersus, and the series you think could stand to get sillier....

Sep 02, 20223 hr 38 minEp. 487

Series That Went From Serious to Silly - Vidjagame Apocalypse 486

This week saw the return of Saints Row after a nine-year hiatus (or five, if you count Agents of Mayhem), so we're honoring its hero's journey from so-so GTA-like to ridiculous fantasy with a Top 5 about game series that ran out of fucks and to embraced absurdity. Then TL Foster joins us to talk about not just the new Saints Row but Midnight Fight Express, Gamescom announcements, and your favorite fictional sports.

Aug 27, 20223 hr 48 minEp. 486

Real Games, Fictional Sports - Vidjagame Apocalypse 485

Madden’s out this week, but it’s been a big week for games about made-up sports as well, what with Rollerdrome and Rumbleverse busting onto the scene with their improbable competitions. So let’s take a look at five other games entirely about sports that would be difficult if not impossible to re-create in real life, after which we’ll get into Cult of the Lamb, NFL Blitz getting a censored Arcade1Up release, and the games you’ve restarted the most without ever finishing.

Aug 19, 20223 hr 30 minEp. 485

Underappreciated Light Gun Games - Vidjagame Apocalypse 484

Light-gun games have all but disappeared from relevance, but there was a time when they were everywhere — and in those days, it was possible for some real gems to be overlooked. Dan Amrich joins us for a look back at five light-gun shooters that deserve another, closer look, after which we'll get into Pac-Man live-action movie news, EVO 2022 announcements, Splatoon 3 reveals, and your all-time favorite videogame weapons.

Aug 12, 20223 hr 59 minEp. 484

Conversations With Famous Weapons - Vidjagame Apocalypse 483

With this week's release of Frogun and its titular talking weapon, we welcome back Tony Wilson of Framework for a chat about five of our other favorite talking implements of destruction. Then it's on to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Hooked on You: A Dead By Daylight Dating Sim, Grand Theft Auto 6 rumors, and your favorite videogame villains to play as.

Aug 05, 20222 hr 3 minEp. 483

The Villain Joins the Party - Vidjagame Apocalypse 482

Bringing an enemy around to your way of thinking can be a powerful thing - and in games, adding a former nemesis to your ranks can be a lot cooler than offing them. TL Foster joins us to talk about five of our favorite examples, after which we'll dig into Live A Live, highlights from the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, and the games you wanted badly enough to import.

Jul 30, 20223 hr 54 minEp. 482

Late to Localization - Vidjagame Apocalypse 481

Live A Live's launch this week is a reminder that even if a Japanese game doesn't come to the US for decades, it doesn't mean it never will. With localization expert Greg Moore in the guest-host chair, we chat about five games that took ages to get English releases, after which we sharpen our claws on Stray and MultiVersus, speculate about John Romero's new shooter, and get into the weeds with your childhood anecdotes that kids today just wouldn't understand.

Jul 23, 20223 hr 54 min

'80s Kids - Vidjagame Apocalypse 480

"1980s kids in peril" has been pretty thoroughly mined as a concept by now, and yet relatively few games have tried to recapture the (heavily idealized and romanticized) experience of being a kid in that strange decade - so let's grab Leif Johnson and talk about five of them! Then we'll get into Monster Hunter Rise's Sunbreak expansion, Last Call BBS, Robocop's new game announcement, and your earliest memories of being wowed by games.

Jul 15, 20223 hr 38 minEp. 480

Mode 7 Up Yours - Vidjagame Apocalypse 479

We're pretty big suckers for Super NES nostalgia, to the point where we decided it'd be a good idea to grab Greg Moore and talk in a non-visual medium about five games that made incredible use of the 16-bit console's most striking visual effect. Then we'll talk more about Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, the Skull and Bones reveal, and your favorite games of 2022 so far.

Jul 09, 20222 hr 13 minEp. 479

2022's Best Games (So Far) - Vidjagame Apocalypse 478

We're at the halfway point of another year, which means it's time to look back and anoint our five favorite games of 2022's first six months, with help from TL Foster! Then we'll get into the Capcom Fighting Collection, Cuphead's Delicious Last Course, more Neon White discourse, Nintendo Direct news, and your favorite videogame dinosaur moments!

Jul 02, 20223 hr 54 minEp. 478

Born to Fight Dinosaurs - Vidjagame Apocalypse 477

One of humanity's greatest regrets is that we never existed at the same time as dinosaurs, and therefore never got to fight them in a planetwide Thunderdome for control of existence. So instead, we imagine the conflict over and over in videogames. This week, Chris picks out five of the best games to feature human-on-dinosaur violence, after which we'll get into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Neon White, news about Final Fantasy VII Remake and Dragon's Dogma sequels, and your f...

Jun 24, 20222 hr 4 minEp. 477

Confusingly Titled Series - Vidjagame Apocalypse 476

Videogames aren't always the most welcoming medium for newcomers, and one way they can confuse is through their titles; some series are easy enough to decipher, while others are Byzantine jumbles of numbers and subtitles. With game-industry legend Chris Baker on board, we look at five series with nonsensical titles, after which we'll dig into Summer Games Fest, the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, Capcom's reveals, and the announcements from the above that you're most excited for.

Jun 17, 20223 hr 51 minEp. 476

Adventure Trauma - Vidjagame Apocalypse 475

If they were to happen in real life, the events of a lot of videogames could leave a person seriously messed up - and yet, videogame protagonists always seem to effortlessly bounce back in time for a new adventure. Every so often, though, the events of one game will leave a hero at their breaking point in the next, and this week we invite Tony Wilson of Framework for a chat about five standout examples of heroes who had a hard time coping with the things they'd seen and done. Then we'll get into...

Jun 10, 20223 hr 37 minEp. 475

They Cloned Rambo's Bandanna! - Vidjagame Apocalypse 474

Back in the '80s, Rambo (along with a lot of other action and sci-fi movie franchises) had a huge influence on game developers, and there was a point when the standard uniform for serious arcade action heroes was just a pair of pants and a headband. This week, TL Foster joins us for a celebration of five of gaming's most memorable John Rambo clones, after which we'll dig into Sniper Elite 5, Diablo Immortal, PlayStation's TV and movie plans, and the fad toys that disappointed you the most as kid...

Jun 03, 20223 hr 38 minEp. 474

Hell on Skates - Vidjagame Apocalypse 473

Roller Champions is out this week, so to mark the occasion, we decided it'd be as good a time as any to look at five action games starring rough-and-tumble badasses who are strapped into a pair of roller skates the entire time for some reason. Then we'll talk about Microsoft Flight Simulator's Top Gun expansion, Pac Man Museum+, EA acquisition rumors, and your favorite games based on kids' cartoons.

May 27, 20222 hr 27 minEp. 473

Saturday-Morning Cartoon Games - Vidjagame Apocalypse 472

This week was sandwiched between an elaborate MultiVersus Trailer and the new Rescue Rangers movie, so naturally our thoughts gravitated toward children's TV animation — specifically, five of our favorite games based on it — and we invited Jeremy King of the Film Heat podcast on to help us talk about it. Then it's on to Sony's latest PS+ announcements, rumors of new Silent Hills, and the EA games you'd like to see get a remake.

May 20, 20223 hr 42 minEp. 472

Bite-Sized Prequels - Vidjagame Apocalypse 471

With this week's release of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising — a side-scrolling prequel to the upcoming JRPG Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes — we've invited Anthony Abatte on for a look at five other times big games gave players a little taste with all-too-brief (non-demo) prequel games before launch. Then we'll slash our way through Trek to Yomi and Salt and Sacrifice, revisit Rogue Legacy 2, speculate about EA's upcoming projects, and hear about the pack-in games you spent the most time with....

May 14, 20223 hr 41 minEp. 471

Late-to-the-Party Pack-In Games - Vidjagame Apocalypse 470

Some (mostly older) game consoles launched with generation-defining games packed into the box; others found them a little later down the line. This week, we'll take a look at five of the best games ever to be added as a bonus after their native consoles had already been around for a little while, after which we'll get into Nintendo Switch Sports, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe, Square Enix selling off its western studios, and the books you think would make the best games.

May 07, 20223 hr 40 minEp. 470