Vidjagame Apocalypse

As 2017 and its new releases begin to wind down, Henry Gilbert rejoins us to start this week's show with a topic that we somehow didn't think to do until a listener suggested it: video games that your character can play within larger video games. (We went for original ones, too, so don't be disappointed if your Yakuzas or Animal Crossings don't make an appearance.) We then flop over to the Mega Man 11 reveal, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle's Versus mode, Mario's new cereal, and the exclusive games you'd want Nintendo to steal for the Switch.

Mikel isn't here this week, and it's probably because he's playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on iOS. To commemorate that, we recount the five most important Nintendo franchises that came to other platforms with the help of special guests Matthew Jay and Wes Green. After that, we discuss a dearth of game deals, a bit of PUBG news, Battle Chef Brigade, your best bargains, and our pie-in-the-sky Switch ports!

Happy Black Friday, everybody! Since we just moved past Thanksgiving, we're focusing this week on the last thing you probably want to think about right now: more food, this time in the form of our favorite food-themed levels. Joining us once again is PCWorld Reviews Editor Alaina Yee, who also brought a ton of Black Friday deals to this week's game-deals segment, and we also touch on Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, which console won the fall sales race, and your favorite Wii U games.

The Wii U turns 5 this week, about a year after Nintendo first moved to pull the plug on its short-lived system. Oh, but what a short life it was! To celebrate it, we're joined once again by Bob Mackey as we count down a list of our five favorite Wii U games. Then, we talk about Star Wars Battlefront 2, the mysterious reappearance of L.A. Noire, loot boxes, Ninja Turtles in Injustice 2, and the games in which you'd love to create a character.

With Sonic Forces fulfilling countless [Your Name] the Hedgehog fantasies with its character creator this week, erstwhile host Henry Gilbert helps us focus our Top 5 on five other games that let you squeeze a version of yourself into an established universe and battle alongside - or against - its heroes. Then it's time to shift gears and talk about Call of Duty: WWII, Sonic Forces, Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds, the Xbox One X launch, Sony's Trophy-based discounts, awful Bubsy puns, and the forgotten mascots you'd drag back from oblivion.

Microsoft ended production of Kinect last week, dealing a final blow to the ill-fated camera peripheral, so we're dedicating today's Top 5 to a look back at five of its best games, with help from PCWorld Reviews Editor Alaina Yee. We then tear into a long list of new releases including Super Mario Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Origins, Wolfenstein II, Dead Hungry, and Bubsy (which sharp-eared listeners can win a code for), after which we look at Sony's Paris Games Week and the video game characters you'd dress as for Halloween.

This is the biggest release week of the year - big enough, in fact, to hold two separate games that feature Egyptian mummies as plot points. So with help from Matthew Jay, we round out our month of macabre Top 5s with a look at our favorite shambling, wrapping-covered monsters. Then we dig into Assassin's Creed Origins, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Super Mario Odyssey, The Mummy Demastered, and much more before looking at the defunct game studios you'd resurrect from the dead.

This week, we switch gears from more generalized spooky topics to a spooky series, as Henry Gilbert rejoins to help us rank our five favorite installments of the legendary Resident Evil franchise. We'll then suit up for South Park: The Fractured But Whole, lament the demise of Visceral Games, and look at the horror movies you'd want to turn into horror games.

Happy Friday the 13th! Our monthlong Halloween theme continues this week, as Matthew Jay joins us for an exploration of horror games based on horror movies, some of which might actually surprise you. We also dig into Middle-earth: Shadow of War, The Evil Within 2, hacking the SNES Classic, loot boxes, and the unwanted games you got as gifts.

It's the first week of October, which means it's time to gather around the campfire and listen to an increasingly spooky month of Top 5s. We'll start off easy, as Heidi Kemps joins us to talk about the spectral protagonists of five games that let you play as ghosts. Then it's on to a lot of talk about the SNES Classic, Cuphead, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Red Dead Redemption 2, and the games you'd add to the SNES Classic.

The SNES Classic is here at last! Will you be able to find one? Only one thing is certain at this point: lots of wishful thinking from fans who aren't getting exactly what they wanted. We're no exception, so this week, Henry Gilbert joins us to talk about our Top 5 SNES games that aren't getting a second life on Nintendo's newest micro console. Then it's on to Danganronpa V3, Cuphead, Fortnite's battle with PUBG, and your favorite Metroidvanias.

The first Metroid game in seven years hit last Friday with Samus Returns, so let's celebrate by taking a look back at our top 5 Metroid games, with help from Brett Elston and Nathan Ortega (who's here to plug his just-announced game, Slipstream Scalawags). We then turn our attention to Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Toys 'R' Us going bankrupt, and the games you developed your own headcanon for.

This week's guest is an especially special one: Walt Williams, co-writer of Star Wars Battlefront II, lead writer of Spec Ops: The Line, and author of games-industry memoir Significant Zero (out Sept. 19!). Inspired by Walt's stories of youthful thievery, we focus this week's Top 5 on thieves who decided to work together and became like family in the process. (Fair warning, it takes us about an hour and 17 minutes to get there.) Then we get real chatty about Metroid: Samus Returns, new iPhones, SNES Classic reassurances, and your most memorable game-launch stories.

Thanks to absent pun aficionado Dave Rudden, we're dedicating Episode 230 (tooth hurty, hurr hurr) to gaming's often-overlooked and frequently vicious dentists, with help from Bob Mackey and Matthew Jay. Then it's time to pivot and chat about Destiny 2, Knack 2, the surprise reveal of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, and the genres you'd like to see Mario invade.

Between this week's release of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Kart, this was a very Mario week - so to celebrate the latter, let's rank our five favorite Mario Karts, with help from returning guest Matthew Jay. Then it's on to Rabbids, Yakuza Kiwami, the end of Miiverse, the games you'd like to see add a story mode, and more!

Remember earlier this week, when it seemed like the whole world was consumed with eclipse mania? That was enough to inspire this week's topic, in which VGA vet Henry Gilbert and first-timer Matthew Jay join us to discuss five video games that used eclipses as major plot points. We then move on to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Madden NFL 18, the blink-and-you-missed-them SNES Classic pre-orders, and your favorite Sonic the Hedgehog games.

With Sonic Mania restoring Sega's mascot to critical success this week, we invite Heidi Kemps (who reviewed Mania for IGN) to join us for a look at our five favorite Sonic spinoff games. Then it's on to (what else?) Sonic Mania, Agents of Mayhem, Okami HD coming to PS4, a new Swery65 game, and the gritty games you'd like to see get cute sequels.

Nathan "@kenjisalk" Ortega joins us this week for a dive into five cute and/or silly series that suddenly veered into shooty-shooty-brood-brood-murder territory, for better or worse. Then stay tuned for chat about Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Lawbreakers, the return of the Nintendo World Championships, and the portable games you wish you could play on a console.

This week, we delve into five games that made time travel and manipulation central parts of their gameplay - and with co-host Chris Antista out, we've got double guests with Henry Gilbert and Vincent Ingenito to help us sort through them. Then it's on to Tacoma, SNES Classic pre-orders, Dragon Quest XI, and your favorite comic-book games.

With Miitopia and a new 2DS coming this week, this week's Top 5 is devoted to Nintendo's Miis (which have been around for nearly 11 years now) and to the games that let you actually play as them. Then it's on to an earnest discussion of Fortnite, (more) Splatoon 2, Sonic and Archie parting ways, new Telltale seasons, and your favorite moments from Metal Gear.