PAX Melbourne is almost upon us, and as such we’ve been kicked about the ear, nose and throat with scheduling and prep insanity. BUT! We have hand-woven this basket of astisinal madness for you: an extra-long, extra-chunky episode of 28 Plays Later in which we discuss (among other things) Gambit’s explosive powers, excess pins, child fermentation and testicle physics. Come with us, why don’t you, on this journey of gaming mayhem?

Money talks, and Paul walks — directly into traffic in this call-in podcast about how to make our PAX Australia show a truly special one. Problem-solve along with us as we strut and fret about our hour upon the stage.

Because you demanded it, Paul shares an excerpt from his interview of Nicolas Cage for the movie Mandy — plus, Destiny 2: Forsaken, and what makes an actual hero, besides murdering thousands of henchmen and for some reason sparing the head villain for courts to deal with? Also: John Wick takes aim at more insidious evils in our exclusive prequel!

Paul and Kris swing through the delightfully friendly neighborhood Spider-Man from Insomniac Games, and Kris bares his secret Destiny 2: Forsaken shame.

In this horrifying episode, Paul calls Kris just as he’s passing through an atmospheric disturbance, and they begin to switch bodies. Will they be able to prepare one another in time? What hijinks will ensue? Will said hijinks be strictly legal? All hail the blood moon! All hail C’Nth’fth’gn, high inquisitor of the glorious bi-millennial phase shift of K’norr!

There’s SO MUCH in this crammed episode! Here’s a rundown for you:

* Paul’s new book, Loose Units, is available NOW! We chat about the rigors of churning out a book, especially one as gritty and challenging as this one. For our overseas listeners, you can – and should – pick a copy up on Amazon, or in all good bookstores!
* We talk with Darren P. Williams, Senior Software and gameplay engineerand Dusty Nolting, Lead Character Artiston World of Warcraft! Battle for Azeroth, the new expansion, hits today and we asked them the hard hitting (read: stupid) questions!
* We delve into what makes We Happy Few such a great antidote to the Ayn Randian nonsense that hung around Bioshock’s neck (seriously, We Happy Few is great. Check it out.)
* We talk Kris’ innante urge to cheat on the super No Man’s Sky: Next! Gasp as Paul takes him to task! Shudder as Kris kind of straight up admits he has a problem! Will he get the help he needs?

 

In light — get it, like Dr. Light?! — of the Mega Man X Legacy Collection out on Switch, Paul asks Kris about what power Mega Man would get from killing Kris Straub Man. Then Paul teases a dad… his dad! Not what I meant.

Violence. Treason. Lies. War. The world is showing all the telltale signs of a Fallout cinematic cutscene waiting to begin, but there’s still games to be played!
This week, Kris and Paul ask the heavy questions, specifically… how the hell will games make this nightmarish era of history “fun”? Hell, they did it with Normandy, with the Cold War. Will Trump era America someday be nostalgic enough to turn into good games?
Also, the trailer for Paul’s book, Loose Units, is here!
You can – and should – pre-order it before it’s release on July 30th (you can do so from anywhere in the world by going here)!

Do you want to overwrite this? Paul and Kris take a trip down Corrupted Save File Lane and ask, if you could reload part of your life, which area would you choose? PLUS: a Frank Herbert massage, Paul’s embarrassing love story, and would Andie MacDowell be Gwyn or Solaire?

This week, Paul and Kris talk Fortnite, true. Then they chat about what they’re playing at the moment. That stuff is all there.
But they also brainstorm an idea they want you to be part of.
America is going through some stuff right now, with children being separated from families, and we want to help in some way. So we’re going to launch Truce Royale: a live streamed gaming event in which they try and do the unthinkable: play PUBG without any killing. The game is built around the mechanic of violence, but hey, the world is violent and nightmarish enough and we’re trying to effect change here… why not give it a shot there as well? So we’ll be doing a charity event and raising money for a cause close to our hearts, and this is the episode where you can hear us brainstorm, AND ask for your input. So hit us up here, or at heylisten@28playslater.com, or at twitter.com/28plays, and keep your eyes peeled for updates over the coming days!

There are so many fantastic games being unveiled at E3 this year! Are Kris and Paul there in person? WHO KNOWS!
…They aren’t. BUT, they’re reporting on all the stuff they’re excited about! First, though, they geek out about the sublime Hollow Knight getting a Switch release, then they gasbag about all the trailers that caught their fancy! How do you catch a fancy, exactly? Peanut butter on a rock and a series of pulleys, probably, who knows!

When Batman strings a brigand up by their legs, where does he hang them? Gargoyles. And who controls gargoyles? BIG GARGOYLE. This week, Kris and Paul kick down the door of THE ESTABLISHMENT to get to THE TRUTH. They also talk vampire games (specifically Paul’s hopes for Vampyr), and they discuss at length what may have gone awry with the latest Star Wars anthology flick, Solo.
Don’t forget to hit us up on twitter, and if you feel like supporting the show, you can zip over to our Patreon page!

There was literally never been a weirder episode of 28 Plays Later. Deciding to pivot towards the insane, the boys discuss Detroit: Become Human, zombie aliens, ethics and of course the infamous Alaskan Shit Knife. If you like Paul and Kris, you’re SURE to tolerate this musclebound brute of an episode!

Kris has taken his filthy bindle of belongings and bolted! He’s at PAX East in BAAAAAHSTUHN for the next few days. And Paul is apparently spending the week working in… advertising?! So Paul whipped you up an episode ON THE STREET (literally), talking Far Cry 5, Watch Dogs 2, the joys of modding and more!
How have you altered games to make them work for you? Hit us up at twitter.com/28plays, or in the comments below!

ARRRRRR the boys any good at pirating? Thrill as Kris reveals his deathly illness and how he (mostly) overcame it! Gasp as Paul reveals he’s played more Sea of Thieves than he should have! Shudder as the lads make plans to hop into this gorgeous, confusing open world seascape and wreak havoc! Will Kris help out? Or will he cavort on his squeezebox as he and Paul come under fire from salty miscreants?
Don’t forget, we have a copy of Sea of Thieves to give away to one lucky listener! To win, simply tweet what your pirate name would be at @28plays on twitter!
AND, we have multiple copies of the wonderful Assassins Creed Origins: Discovery Tour to give away, also! What’s your favourite tapestry? @28plays!

Kris is ill. Has been for weeks now. But the show must go on, dammit! So Paul decides to do something deeply foolish: THE DEAD AIR CHALLENGE. Sitting by himself and talking non-stop about video games for twenty minutes straight. Can he reach the finish line? Will his discussions of how he and Kris met, how the latest Assassins Creed DLC falls somewhat flat, why Black Flag is so gratifying and how much he loves Sea of Thieves see him through?
You’ll have to listen to find out.

This week on 28 Plays Later, Paul and Kris delve into the wonders of Egypt! The new game mode for Assassins Creed: Origins is here – can it rouse Paul from an educational slumber? Can video games teach us about anything other than how to kill? CAN THEY TEACH US HOW TO FEEL? And speaking of feels: Into The Breach, the superb new mech strategy game from Subset Games is here! Is their follow-up to FTL worthy of the hype?
Also, if you aren’t already a 28 Plays Later Patreon subscriber, you’re missing out on our NEW SPINOFF SHOW! Every week, we talk the latest Switch releases in Switching It Up, over at our Patreon page! So head on over and subscribe, you absolutely gorgeous dorks!

This week on 28 Plays Later, Paul and Kris discuss teaching your grandma to suck eggs! Is it erotic as it sounds? Or is it, in fact, an analogy for teaching old people how to get into new stuff? We checked: it isn’t. But we use this disgusting image as a jumping off point for talking about getting into new things later in life, and from there, we meander into a meaty riff (there’s an image) about the grind: what do you do once you’ve finished a game? What is there left? For Kris, a man frozen with indecision and clutching an insect glaive, the world is his oyster.
And he’s allergic to oysters.
If you enjoyed this episode, and dig our show, why not become a Patreon subscriber? If you donate over at patreon.com/28playslater you get exclusive access to our Patreon-only weekly spin-off show, Switching It Up! This week on Switching It Up, we talk about (among other things) the horrifying logistics of Bayonetta’s hair suit!

On what is meant to be an episode about game music and chiptunes, Kris and Paul manage to dilly-dally outside various pit stops along the way. Thrill as the boys take you on a trip down memory lane past some very specific games – Jill of the Jungle, Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure, Commander Keen and Bionic Commando! There’s also some very deep references to The Pope, for reasons which escape us.
There’s also repeated references to The Fuel Run, the intro to which you can cringe through below.
Also…
WE HAVE A NEW SHOW: 28 Plays Later: Switchin’ It Up! It’s a weekly show about everything Switch related – news, reviews, insights, all filtered through the lens of 28 Plays Later. The first episode is up this week. The catch? You have to be a Patreon subscriber to get access! Head along to patreon.com/28playslater and sign up for one of our tiers to get access to an entirely new weekly dose of Kris and Paul!

After a frankly odd discussion about Celeste, Downwell, Mario and how to make a mobile game about the return of Jesus, Paul and Kris sink their teeth into Monster Hunter: World! Is the wholesale slaughter of an entire ecosystem really a great idea? Are freshly-shorn bone-pauldrons going to be all the rage at Paris Fashion Week? Does Charles Darwin’s method of island traversal have anything to offer this brutal franchise? Tune in to find out!
Or don’t! We’re not your dads!
Unless we are! In which case, HI KIDDO!
Don’t forget: you can, and should, hop over to the iTunes store and leave us a rating and review! And don’t forget: the best way to ensure a place in the afterlife is telling your friends about 28 Plays Later!