Dropped Frames

We're joined by Washington Post's game journalist Gene Park this week to chat about the state of games journalism in 2025 and how Mind's Eye is the experience of the year.  We also go over the surprise THQ showcase that revealed Darksiders 4 and shadowdropped the early access of Titan Quest 2. Then we get into our time with Grounded 2, Abiotic Factor 1.0, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and... Shenmue?   0:00 - Intro 1:00 - Hair Bleach 7:00 - Gene Park is here 18:00 - Journalism in 2025 37:20 - Gene's favorite interview 1:05:00 - What is clickbait? 1:07:00 - Going to gaming events 1:11:00 - Maintaining integrity 1:20:50 - Gene has platinumed Mind's Eye 1:53:50 - Visa/Mastercard/Porn 2:05:00 - Music 2:08:50 - Nintendo sales 2:10:20 - Bioshock 4 dead? 2:12:30 - Top people working at WB 2:17:40 - THQ showcase - Titan Quest 2/Darksider 4 2:29:50 - Grounded 2 2:35:00 - Abiotic Factor 2:40:00 - Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound 2:42:30 - Shinobi Demo 2:44:50 - Shenmue 2:49:45 - The Drifter 2:52:45 - Lucy joins Guilty Gear Strive/EVO 2025 2:58:30 - Shoutouts/Tokon breaking news     See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

This week we talk about finishing games as a streamer, why it's better for the streamer and the viewer to not force themselves to complete games. The numerous faux pas we dislike in games. Our thoughts on Donkey Kong Banaza, FFXIV Dawntrail, the Mafia series, Neon Abyss 2 (and more) before getting into the news with Krafton v Subnautica heating up, Roblox dating, being replaced by AI and more!   0:00 - Intro 1:00 - The worst show 7:25 - Cohh quits Kojima 28:00 - Finishing games 47:00 - Gaming faux pas 54:50 - Claptrap will have a volume slider in Borderlands 4 58:30 - Grounded is the best survival game 1:10:00 - Mafia 3 1:27:00 - Donkey Kong Bananza 1:56:50 - Ghost of Yotei Showcase 2:02:50 - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail 2:12:50 - Zeke's Games 2:16:40 - Neon Abyss 2 2:18:50 - Krafton vs Subnautica 2:21:50 - Valve removes sex games 2:33:00 - Microtransactions create fun! 2:35:15 - Roblox dating 2:45:00 - Lay-offs at King (Microsoft) replaced by AI 2:46:40 - Destiny 2 Edge of Fate CCV way down 2:51:00 - Shoutouts See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Mass layoffs hit XBOX again and it's most definitely not the end with over 9000 employees and multiple projects canceled. Are we cooked? More Death Stranding 2 talk and look foward to what Kojima has in store. A new Planetside-like being developed? The Alters dev respond to usage of AI, Stop Killing Games reaches 1 million signatures for UK. A look at Uma Musume and gacha gaming, PEAK and more! 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - Climate  2:40 - Death Stranding 2 28:25 - Lord of the Rings Online 32:15 - A new Planetside? Reaper Actual 39:50 - The Alters AI 59:30 - Stop Killing Games reaches 1 million signatures in UK 1:06:00 - Helldivers 2 hits XBOX 1:07:40 - Microsoft massive layoffs and cancelations 1:33:00 - EA expects 100 million players for Battlefield 1:40:00 - Krafton replaces Subnautica co-founders 1:55:00 - Uma Musume: Pretty Derby 2:04:00 - Gacha games 2:24:00 - PEAK 2:32:10 - 7 Days to Die 2:35:30 - VTuber Q 2:50:10 - Shoutouts See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The use of GenAI continues to grow in game dev, viewbotting is increasing on Twitch, is streaming video games dying? Our thoughts on Stop Killing Games, Dune Awakening's end game, Death Stranding 2, Lies of P and of course the Horse Girl game. 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - The Thon ends 4:00 - Dune Awakening endgame 29:00 - GenAI in The Alters 57:00 - Viewbots 1:21:30 - Is game streaming dead? 1:29:00 - Stop Killing Games 1:33:10 - Death Stranding 2 2:15:00 - Lies of P: Overture 2:28:00 - Peak 2:45:00 - Ruffy and the Riverside 2:49:00 - Ume Musume: Pretty Derby 3:01:00 - Shoutouts See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

We're joined by Dan this week to give us the lowdown on The Alters and the tips/tricks for dating everything in the house in the new dating sim: Date Everything! But first Borderlands 4 had their deep dive reveal during their fanfest and for the first time we're actually excited to play it! Nexusmods gets sold, should we be worried (yes!) Splitgate 2 devs face layoffs after poor  launch, Marathon gets delayed indefinitely, Mr. Beast's AI thumbnails, Kojima doesn't want you to feel good after playing Death's Stranding 2, 32 race Mario Kart World and more! 0:00 - Intro 4:00 - The Blood of Dawnwalker 16:00 - Borderlands 4 32:35 - Borderlands 4 is now a $70 game 49:25 - Donkey Kong Bonanza 55:45 - Lies of P: Overture 1:03:45 - Stellar Blade 1:05:00 - Splitgate devs facing layoffs 1:08:00 - Nexusmods gets sold 1:12:20 - Hades 2 update 1:15:20 - AI thumbnails 1:20:40 - Marathon delayed indefinitely 1:25:00 - Jukeboxes 1:31:30 - Fantasy Life I gets a roguelike mode 1:34:30 - SEGA leaks their sales info 1:36:00 - FBC Firebreak 1:45:40 - Kojima changed Death's Stranding 2 to be more polarizing 2:01:10 - REMATCH 2:26:00 - Mario Kart World 2:30:50 - Date Everything 2:54:10 - The Alters (no spoilers) 3:03:10 - Shoutouts See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.