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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
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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
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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
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Early reviews for the Xbox handheld are out, and it is a mixed bag to say the least. Understanding Fearless Drafts. Glen Powell wants in on E33 movies. EA employees not happy about the sell out. Quantic Dream is making a….free to play MOBA? Yep. Also, all the games we played and loads more!
GAMES PLAYED
SCOTT
Ball X Pit
The Exit 8.
Funguys Swarm
Soulstone Survivors
Silent Hill f
JON
Megabonk
BEAU
Battlefield 6
Hades 2
Pinball FX
Star Trek Voyager Across The Unknown demo
Cosmic Invasion demo
Whiskerwood demo
Skate Story demo
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Straight into Hades II gameplay talk! Covering the “rat boss,” progress paths, end-game challenges, and tarot upgrades, all leading up to some admittedly broad comparisons to ARPGs and roguelites. Design depth, storytelling, and character reactions, Greg Street’s studio troubles, praise for Megabonk. Not to mention the mess that the gamepass changes continue to be. Sackbird Studios has our hopes. Make your own VR headset at home and WAY MORE STUFF!
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
Hades 2
Megabonk
SCOTT
It Has My Face
Soulstone Survivors
Deep Rock Survivors
JON
Final Fantasy Tactics Remastered Ultra HD Power Extra Edition
BEAU
Void Crew
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Scott & Jon’s Horror Video Game Fun Time kicks off Friday with Silent Hill f, running each Friday this month. Main topic covers October’s big releases like Ghost of Yotei, Battlefield 6, Little Nightmares 3, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Ninja Gaiden 4, The Outer Worlds 2, Mina the Hollower and more. Other news: Microsoft hikes Game Pass, EA goes private, Fortnite pulls Peacemaker, Capcom coy on RE9. Dear Martha Gameshow returns with “Find the Flaw.” This week in play: Hades 2, CloverPit, Shipbreaker, Kaiju Cleanup, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Megabonk, Sonic Racing Crossworlds.
GAMES PLAYED
SHARED
Hades 2
CloverPit
SCOTT
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Kaiju Cleanup (upcoming)
JON
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Megabonk
Sonic Racing Crossworlds
BEAU
Hades II all day all night!
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Happy ten years to CORE! Plus, Beau reminds us about a Kojima credit card coming soon. Highlights from TGS like Kojima’s new horror game OD and Capcom announcements including C. Viper in SF6, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, Pragmata, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. PlayStation’s State of Play brought a bag of goodies: Saros, Zero Parades for Dead Spies, Flight Simulator 2024, a Deus Ex remaster, Mega Man in Sonic Racing, Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete, Code Vein 2, Let it Die: Inferno, Chronoscript, new Pulse speakers, and Wolverine. (Which looked REALLY good.) Plus all the usual fun times at CORE.
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
Scott and Jon both spent time in Megabonk, which is far better than its looks suggest.
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds was played by Scott and Jon.
Hades II saw time from all of us, with Beau having already played in Early Access and a bit more today.
Borderlands 4 continued, mainly Beau.
More No Man’s Sky, though not much new to report, Beau included.
SCOTT
Plenty of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.
Three hours of Metal Gear Solid Delta — very Kojima.
Tried the demo for Slots & Daggers, which will be a day-one buy.
JON
Fortnite remains a regular, especially the Blitz mode.
BEAU
Skate in Early Access.
More Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Some Heroes of the Storm, though waiting on the new patch.
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Nintendo Direct dropped big news: Metroid Prime 4, more Fire Emblem, a quirky “Ditto Crossing,” and even Virtual Boy stuff, plus Hades 2’s 1.0 launch date is September 25. Meanwhile, Randy Pitchford remains the industry’s baffling clown in an ill-fitting suit, Sega is back with some old-school “Ninten-Don’t” ads, and speculation heats up around Cyberpunk 2 possibly including multiplayer (though Scott was sure that was already confirmed). And of course, LOTS MORE!
Shared Games This Week
•Borderlands 4
•No Man’s Sky
Scott
•Town to City
•Cash Cleaner Simulator
Jon
•No, I’m Not a Human
Beau
•Hollow Knight: Silksong
•Elden Ring: Neightreign
•Void Crew
•World of Warcraft
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Frogs, flies, and state borders! Keanu Reeves expressed willingness to bring back Johnny Silverhand in future Cyberpunk projects, fueling speculation about DLC or cameos. PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct, hosts, and more. Exhibition 33’s concert tour selling out instantly, Halo Infinite getting Invasion mode, and Steam reviews for Silksong differing by language, with Chinese players criticizing localization. And LOTS more!
Shared Play
•Hollow Knight: Silksong
•No Man’s Sky
Scott
•Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots.
•Metal Slug Tactics
Jon
•Bodah-Lands 4
Beau
•Void Crew
•World of Warcraft
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Gamescom brought big World of Warcraft reveals: the new housing system with public, charter, and guild neighborhoods (50 homes each, customizable biomes, permissions, and community events), plus new solo content like Prey hunts and ongoing Delves. Blizzard is also integrating add-on features directly into the UI (boss timers, nameplates, DPS meters), raising questions for Deadly Boss Mods and others. Bobby is here to help us make sense of it all. Also we have a LOT to say about the No Man’s Sky’s Voyager update—building Corvettes, exploring derelict ships, taming bizarre pets, farming nanites, managing settlements, and enjoying the endless systems, bugs and all. Plus all the games we played ands way more.
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
The ‘No Man’s Sky’ update!
SCOTT
•Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
•BlazBlue Entropy Effect
JON
•Hollow Knight: Silksong
BEAU
•Peak
•Metal Eden
•World of Warcraft
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Let’s talk the BIG September 2025 releases: Hollow Knight: Silksong (Sept 4), Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots (Sept 5), Borderlands 4 (Sept 12), Silent Hill F (Sept 25), Sonic Racing Crossworlds, Final Fantasy Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles, Lego Party, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, plus DLCs for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac. News about Expedition 33’s success and its Clair Obscur franchise plans, and Two Point Museum adding retro arcades, among a load more!
SCOTT
•The Last Spell
•Inkshade
•Titan Quest II
•Shapez 2
•Kill The Brickman
•The Rogue Prince of Persia
JON
•Final Fantasy XII
•Hollow Knight
•No Man’s Sky
•Sand
BEAU
•No Man’s Sky
•Rift Breaker 2.0
•Valheim
•World of Warcraft
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Let’s star with Steam’s new language-based review system, which pushed Palworld to an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating in English, for example. We looked at the debut of the World of Warcraft launch cinematic in October 2004, before the game’s release. A detailed rundown of Gamescom’s Future Games Show including major stuff like Resident Evil Requiem, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, and loads others, along with release dates for some. Including Silksong. We also broke down mechanics for Kill the Brick Man and The Rogue Prince of Persia, and compared the critical and fan reception of Final Fantasy XII within the series and over time. Among a lot of other stuff!
GAMES WE PLAYED!
Scott
•The Rogue Prince of Persia
•Kill The Brick Man
•Shapez 2
Jon
•Final Fantasy XII
•Promise Mascot Agency
•Dyson Sphere Program
•He is Coming
Beau
•World of Warcraft
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Microsoft may shift Xbox toward a modular, PC-like system called Magnus, we have some debate over complexity versus convenience. Rod Ferguson has exited Blizzard, raising questions about Diablo IV’s future, while Blizzard’s cinematic team voted to unionize. Crimson Desert sees a delay, and rumors suggest Paladin could return in a Diablo expansion, too late or not. Mind blown around The Secret of the Weepstone, WASD controls coming to League of Legends, and a Vampire Survivors board game. And lots more.
GAMES PLAYED
Scott
•Shapez 2
•He Is Coming
•Time Flies
Jon
•Final Fantasy XII
•Final Fantasy X-2
•Fortnite
Beau
•Heroes of the Storm
•The Bazaar
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Let’s talk about older consoles and approaching games in unconventional ways, and address while we are here, developments in the gaming business this week. MK: Legacy Kollection looking very cool. Battlefield 6 also seems like things are poppin. GOG says come get these free nudie games. Kirby fans finally know what they are getting soon. Lucy from CyberPunk is coming to…Guilty Gear Strive? Guntouchables is FREE right now. And how many Power Ranges in Fortnite is enough? An Instance WoW segment with Bobby! And lots more!
Shared Play This Week
•Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Scott
•The Spell Brigade
•Shapez 2
Jon
•Minishoot’ Adventures
•Juggling Final Fantasy X-2, XI, & XII.
Beau
•Titan Quest 2.
•More Abiotic Factor.
•Played War Within patch 11.3.
•Tried Yakuza Kiwami 2.
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We talked about upcoming games for August, including Metal Gear Solid Delta, House of the Dead 2 remake, and Gears of War: E-Day. We discussed the return of Nerdtacular in June 2026 in Salt Lake City and encouraged listeners to fill out the interest survey. We covered game delistings tied to payment processors, especially around sensitive themes, and had a broader discussion on censorship, parenting, and internet policy shifts. We debated the 1980s cultural resurgence, Roblox’s value, and Microsoft’s growing dominance via studio acquisitions and Game Pass. And a LOT more to boot!
GAMES PLAYED
Scott
Shapez 2
Fumes
More Bananza
Jon
Final Fantasy X (finished)
Final Fantasy X-2 (sampled)
Final Fantasy XI (sampled)
Final Fantasy XII (sampled)
Donkey Kong Bananza
Beau
Abiotic Factor
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Valheim (Trollstav incident)
Magic: Edge of Eternities
StarCraft 2 co-op
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Critical Role enters game dev, Outer Worlds 2 drops back to $70, and Splitgate 2 unlaunches. RIP Julian LeFay, and yes, that Hellraiser trailer is terrifying. Beau praises the SC2 World Cup. In “Dear Martha,” we “misremember” the PS2. Shared play this week: Donkey Kong Bananza. Scott tries Captain of Industry, Jon nears the end of FFX, and Beau dives into Pizza Tower, Slay the Spire, and more. Plus: Xbox handheld talk and some corrections.
Shared Play (Scott & Jon):
•Donkey Kong Bananza
Scott:
•Captain of Industry
•Back to the Dawn
•Fantasy Finds DLC (2 Point Museum)
Jon:
•Final Fantasy X
•Ghost of Tsushima (mentioned in passing)
•Magic: The Gathering Arena
Beau:
•Pizza Tower
•Roundguard
•Wildfrost
•Backpack Hero
•Fighting Fantasy Classics
•Slay the Spire
•Valheim
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We covered Krafton's ongoing legal dispute with ousted Subnautica 2 founders, including a leaked memo and bonus extensions. The leaked Xbox Rog Ally price and portable gaming appeal. Steam's updated terms of service for adult games, shifting responsibility to developers and payment processors, were also reviewed. Our segment "Dear Martha" and Donkey Kong get together!. And loads more!
GAMES PLAYED:
SCOTT:
JON:
BEAU:
••Valheim (Ashlands biome)
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We discussed controller comfort and aging, the delay in finishing Ghost of Tsushima, and how handhelds like the Steam Deck affect game choices. We covered the Subnautica 2 delay and controversy involving Krafton possibly avoiding a $250M payout. We speculate on corporate motives, Unknown Worlds founders’ ousting, and Krafton’s Starcraft gig. We also hit on Romero Games losing a Microsoft contract, Final Fantasy IX remake rumors, and a new Resident Evil mobile game announcement. Emails, texts and loads more! Also, Scott tied with Beau this week in Dear Martha!
GAMES PLAYED
SCOTT
JON
BEAU
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We have another bad case of layoffs, but this time, we hit the specific projects impacted by them. Some gnarly ones. Plus, Warcraft Rumble gets hit hard too. On the upside, we talk about the games un-effected, and the teams that are doing to stay intact. Leon S. Kennedy predictions. Stop Killing Games in the EU. Marvel Rivals is trolling fans. Dear Martha! Our week in games, and some great texts and voice mails this week!
SCOTT
JON
BEAU
••Valheim
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