Kakuchopurei.com’s Jonathan Leo returns to bring us the biggest news from the month of February, including rounding up the announcements made at PlayStation State of Play recently, as well as celebrating the success of Marvel Rivals. We also talk about February’s releases, including Avowed, Sid Meier's Civilization VII, as well as Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. They also beta-tested Elden Ring Nightreign and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Tune in to hear KKP’s thoughts on these games!

It’s official - Football Manager 25 will not be released, after Sports Interactive cancelled the game due to their struggle managing the development of the game, especially as it is transitioning to Unity Engine. This is upsetting for a lot of loyal FM fans, especially with a lack of transparency in their communication prior to the cancellation. How will this affect Sports Interactive? Will this mark the end of the franchise? We explore all these, and more in this episode.

Ninja Gaiden - a franchise that’s making a comeback in 2025, with developer/publisher Koei Tecmo leading the charge in putting this challenging action hack & slash against the soulslike genre! The charge starts with them shadowdropping Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a remake of the much maligned Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, but with a tinge of the original (and much loved) Ninja Gaiden 2. Ahead of the release of Ninja Gaiden 4, as well as the 2D Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound later this year, we review Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and look at how sorely missed this type of game is these days.

For the longest time, the most hardcore of gamers will not get a Mac if they want to game. And that remains true, even now. But for more casual gamers out there, maybe Macs are beginning to be a reasonable platform to play games on? While they’re still technically expensive, the progress made in their latest line of silicons and chips means that the price-to-performance ratio is beginning to make more sense. The recently released Mac Mini with the M4 chip is also beginning to be a bit of a game changer. We unpack this notion and see whether it’s truly worth it, and what are the caveats. Photo credit: Apple

BFM and Kakuchopurei.com continue our collaboration in 2025, and we mark the first monthly roundup of the year by welcoming a new voice! Lewis Larcombe, Content Specialist at Kakuchopurei.com joins us to talk about the recently announced Nintendo Switch 2, as well as what happened at Xbox Developer Direct. Then, we review 3 games that were released this month - Elder Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, Tales of Graces f Remastered, and Freedom Wars Remastered.

We’re going to look back at 2024 one last time in this new year to present Jonathan Leo’s best games of 2024! The Content Director at Kakuchopurei.com shares some of the best games that he played last year, featuring obvious picks, as well as some hidden gems that are worth checking out, especially if you’ve not played them! Kakuchopurei.com’s Top 40 Best Games of 2024 can be found here, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to also check out their Southeast Asia Game Awards & Appreciation 2024! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BFM and Kakuchopurei.com team up for the final time in 2024 to summarise what happened in the gaming world in December! We round up the biggest news from the month, including Sony becoming a major shareholder of Kadokawa, as well as the winners from The Game Awards 2024. Jonathan Leo, Content Director at Kakuchopurei.com also shares what was announced at TGA 2024, and talks about December’s releases, including Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Marvel Rivals and Warframe 1999! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of the day, it was a bridge too far. Selangor Red Giants, a Mobile Legends Bang Bang esports team that only came to the scene in 2023, was close to completing a perfect year - dubbed the “Golden Road” in the MLBB scene - by winning all the major tournaments in the MLBB esports calendar in the same year. After securing back-to-back victories in MPL Malaysia Season 13 and 14, as well as winning the inaugural MLBB Mid Season Cup in July, the stage is set for them to clinch the M6 World Championship, hosted right here in Malaysia. Unfortunately, that did not happen, with SRG finishing third in the championship. Selangor Red Giants’ co-founder Simon Lim joins the show to reflect on a topsy-turvy year, as well as share what it’s like to run and manage an esports team and its athletes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re tired of games that take themselves way too seriously, Infinity Nikki might be something that you should consider. Developed by Infold Games, Infinity Nikki is a free-to-play open world game that’s cozy and relaxing, befitting the kind of vibes that some people look for when it comes to video games. Jonathan Leo, Content Director at Kakuchopurei.com joins us to share his thoughts on this game and whether we should check it out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The long awaited Path of Exile 2 is finally here and available to be played! (albeit in early access). How does the second installment of this franchise that’s made to be a better alternative to the early version of Diablo 3 fare? Developer Grinding Gear Games wanted to make an Action RPG that’s accessible while still being hardcore enough for fans of the genre, so does the sequel manage to achieve that? It might still be in early access, but so far, what’s in store sounds promising enough, according to KKP’s Content Director, Jonathan Leo. Tune in to hear his thoughts on this game! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rapid growth of the esports scene and the industry here is pretty remarkable, and yet, there’s a lot more that can be done to nurture its potential. One key area that can be focused on is in strengthening our support at the grassroots level. Wan Amirul Adlan, senior games journalist at Nmia Gaming, shares his thoughts on what can be done to help improve it on that front, honing in specifically on the creation of “hangout spaces” that can be accessible enough for casual and budding eSports gamers. Image credit: msyaraafiq / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The penultimate month of the year serves up another set of releases that will cater to almost everyone, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Divine Dynamo Flamefrit, Metal Slug Tactics, Lego Horizon Adventures, Spirit Mancer, and Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake filling up the November releases. Other things that happened this month also include Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealing Microsoft’s plans for the future, and some are puzzling, while some are exciting. We dissect that, as well as talk about other news, including the cost of producing Arcane and The Game Awards’ Game of the Year nominees. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Football Manager’s status among football fans and gamers alike is pretty legendary as the franchise is able to evoke various emotions for its players, despite looking mostly like a spreadsheet 85% of the time. The game is loved by many loyal fans and used by actual football experts, but the developers, Sports Interactive, still want to grow and innovate. Football Manager 25 is supposed to be that next step for them but the transition is proving to be challenging, leading to the game being delayed till March 2025 instead of its usual annual release window. We’ll be addressing what happened and how fans are reacting to it in this episode with Football Manager content creator, Daljit Singh. We’ll also be hearing stories from Daljit, from the kind of content he produces on his YouTube and Twitch channels, BusttheNet Gaming, to the joy of playing Football Manager, and why it’s so addictive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the latest title in the Dragon Age franchise, and perhaps the most important one BioWare has ever released. A lot is riding on this game - not just for the future of the IP, but also for the future of BioWare, as the developer looks to atone for their past mistakes and become relevant in the RPG world again. So, with a lot at stake, will this game propel BioWare to greater heights again? KKP’s Content Director, Jonathan Leo shares his thoughts on the game and the conversations surrounding it. Image credit: Electronic Arts See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the world awaits for Nintendo to officially announce the Nintendo Switch 2, their most successful developer, Game Freak suffered a major mishap - their servers were hacked, and that led to a slew of sensitive information being leaked online. From concept arts to unreleased and upcoming projects, as well as questionable lore, fans went crazy over these items. But how will it affect Game Freak and Nintendo? We go through what happened and its potential consequences. Image credit: Wachiwit / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October is proving to be an eventful month in the gaming industry, with the usual players dominating the headlines, for better or worse. Pokémon creators, Game Freak got hacked, and in between that, RM 20 million was allocated for esports during the tabling of Budget 2025. Hazelight Studios announced a new game, and Disco Elysium will be having at least 3 new spiritual successors. We summarise all these, and more on the show, as well as review October releases, including Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Metaphor ReFantazio, Romancing SaGa 2 Remake, and many more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Astro Bot, sequel to Astro’s Playroom, came without much fanfare but absolutely surprised the gaming world with its charming characters and overall fun vibes. We unpack the game’s success and what makes it so fun and appealing, as well as look at the state of platformers now, and whether there is still room for the genre (Nintendo aside) among gamers. Image credit: PlayStation See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Portable consoles or handhelds have always had a place in the gaming scene, but their popularity has increased even more now, especially with Nintendo Switch and its hybrid nature making the format more accessible and palatable to a wider audience than ever. That has also driven the demand for more powerful handhelds too, leading to consoles like Valve Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go, as well as many others, entering the market. Does this mean that portable gaming is becoming more popular than ever? Where is it now, and will it be the default format of gaming in the future? Iain Farrell, Programme Manager at Double Eleven, joins us on the show to share his thoughts and observations on the matter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two weeks after its launch, Concord, Sony’s supposed answer to Blizzard’s Overwatch franchise, was taken offline due to the extremely low player count and poor sales. The signs were there early on, but the publisher’s failure to recognise and do something about it led to the game’s extremely short lifespan. We unpack what went wrong for this 5v5 live service hero shooter and reflect on what Sony and developer Firewalk Studios could have done to fix, or even mitigate this. Image credit: PlayStation See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s one of the fastest selling games of all time, selling 18 million copies two weeks after its release, but beyond the numbers and the overall hype, is Black Myth: Wukong a good game? Jonathan Leo, Content Director at Kakuchopurei.com gives his thoughts on the game, shares some insights on Game Science, a developer that, prior to Black Myth: Wukong, was relatively unknown, and talks about the potential impact of this game to small developers in the region and across the world. Image credit: Game Science See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.