This is a big week for strange and cryptic games, and TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing joins to celebrate the release of South of Midnight with a look at five games that explore the supernatural and seamy sides of the American South. We'll also delve into Blue Prince and Promise Mascot Agency, complain about tariffs, speculate about Donkey Kong Bananza, and hear your thoughts about the Switch 2 reveal. Question of the Week: What’s the most you have ever spent for a console at launch (via bundles, secondary market, etc)? Break song is You've Got to Walk by Ben Babbitt and the Bedquilt Ramblers. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.
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3:32:46
Terrible Versions of Classic Games - Vidjagame Apocalypse 621
In this era of multiplatform releases and more-or-less standardized hardware, it can be easy to forget that great games didn't always stay great once they'd made their way to different consoles and computers. In fact, ports that were rushed, incomplete, or just plain lousy used to be common, and this week, we'll look at five of the most infamously bad ones. Then we'll talk about Atomfall, InZoi, and - of course! - the Switch 2 reveal, plus your views on dressing characters for aesthetics vs. stats. Question of the Week: What are your thoughts on Switch 2? Did it live up to your expectations? Are you excited? Disappointed? Let us know. Break song is Rocket Man as performed by William Shatner. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.
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2:49:46
Clothes Make the Character - Vidjagame Apocalypse 620
Plenty of games let you change your character's clothes, but in how many does it really matter, from a gameplay standpoint? At least five, which we'll talk about this week with model/stylist/game brand strategist and former journo Aiden Strawhun, who also knows how to talk about Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land way better than the rest of us. We'll also get into The First Berserker: Khazan, new announcements for Monster Hunter Wilds, the return of Game Informer, and the game names you've habitually mispronounced. Question of the Week: Do you dress your game characters purely for power and stats, or more for aesthetics? Break song is Cover Girl by RuPaul. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.
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3:14:07
Games Set (But Not Made) In Japan - Vidjagame Apocalypse 619
Assassin's Creed Shadows is out, and we've got IGN's reviewer - friend of the show Jarrett Green - on to talk about Ubi's massive open-world shinobi-and-samurai adventure in feudal Japan! But first, we'll use this as an opportunity to talk about five other games made by western developers, but set in Japan. Once all that's done, we'll talk about the internet's reaction to Karl Urban's Johnny Cage, the SNES mysteriously getting faster with age, and your long-standing gaming regrets. Question of the Week: Inspired by the Suikoden remaster, what's a game name you've habitually mispronounced, either by mistake or (for comedy's sake) on purpose? Were you ever embarrassingly corrected? Tell us about it. Break song is We're the River City Girls by Megan McDuffee. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.
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3:22:15
Not-Quite-Marios - Vidjagame Apocalypse 618
We just passed Mar10 Day this week, and that got us thinking about all the times console makers have thought, "Hey! What if WE had a cute, highly marketable face to sell OUR hardware?" We'll take a look at five of the least successful attempts at machine-exclusive mascots this week, after which we'll get into WWE 2k25 and Wanderstop, share updated thoughts on Monster Hunter Wilds and Suikoden I & II HD Remaster, and hear which games you think should have a Nemesis System of their own. Question of the Week: Do you have a persistent regret about a game (i.e., did you finish a game the "wrong" way, miss a piece of a story, make a bad decision, etc., that you've never gotten around to correcting)? Break song is the credits music from Gex. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.
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.
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