Podcast Beyond

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is almost here, and the reviews are in! Michael Higham joins us to discuss his thoughts on the game (which he scored a 9 out of 10, something we totally forgot to mention on the show) and there’s a lot to say about this massive installment in such a beloved series - which we’ll do while steering clear of story spoilers as much as possible. We discuss new additions to combat, like Synergy Abilities, and how the expanded roster shakes up the experience when swapping between Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Aerith, Yuffie, Red XIII and the rest of the game. Mostly, though, we praise Rebirth for turning us loose in a mostly open-world Gaia that feels leaps and bounds more ambitious than Remake’s Midgar. While there are plenty of fun minigames, they’re not all winners, which is ultimately a minor nitpick - especially considering how much fun Queen’s Blood is - it’s safe to say this is one of the biggest games of the year, and one we’ll be thinking and talking about for quite some time. Podcast beyond

In this episode of Beyond, we dive deep into the thrilling possibility of Xbox games launching on PlayStation platforms, marking a potential shift in the console wars as we know them. With rumors swirling about Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, Starfield, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle making their way to the PS5, we unpack what this could mean for gamers everywhere. Phil Spencer's recent comments hint at an exciting future for Xbox, and we're here to analyze every detail ahead of the planned business update event. Plus, we discuss the unique case of Bethesda's PS5 exclusives prior to the Xbox acquisition, exploring the implications for future cross-platform releases. We also shine a spotlight on Helldivers 2, delving into the game's 'unspoken' co-op etiquette and what it adds to the gaming experience. Additionally, get our first impressions of Skull & Bones as Travis takes the helm for its review, and join Brian as he navigates the world of Yakuza. Don't miss our preview of Fanfest 2024, where w

Sony’s second State of Play of 2024 was a feast of details on the next chapter of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII revival, not the least of which was the confirmation of the game's demo (which you can download now!) From games at the Gold Saucer, dolphin racing, polygonal recreations of the characters’ PS1 models, and of course, changes to the familiar story of the original, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth looks to be one of the most exciting games of the year. It’s a good thing it looks like there’s so much to do, because there will be plenty JRPGs that'll be competing for attention in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first PlayStation State of Play of 2024 is the topic of discussion in this episode of BEYOND! Akeem, Max, Brian and Jada break down what we saw, from titles like Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, Sonic x Shadow Generations, Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Judas from the creator of BioShock, Metro Awakening VR for PSVR2, the PSVR 2 title, Legendary Tales, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Rise of the Ronin from Team Ninja, Until Dawn, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, a new action espionage game by Kojima, and so much more in this episode of BEYOND! #PS5 #StateofPlay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The entire Beyond crew is finally back together again and this time, we talk about Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and how much of a breath of fresh air it is. As if the year hasn't already gotten off to a good start, we also find that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is exactly what we're looking for in a quality Metroidvania and we tell you why it's worth diving into. We also dip into more Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's plans for the future and what exactly is the deal with Dragon's Dogma 2's lack of fast travel. Join Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Akeem Lawanson, and Brian Altano in this jam packed episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Metal Gear Solid has no shortage of memorable boss fights, but which boss is the best boss of all? Is it The Boss, or is that too obvious? This week, your regularly scheduled PlayStation discussion takes a back seat in favor of something much more esoteric and absurd, so if you’re not a Metal Gear fan, you may want to sit this one out. Join tactical espionage fanboys Max Scoville, Nick Limon and Nick Maillet as they debate this hallowed series’ iconic rogue’s gallery using the newly revamped Face-Offs function on IGN.com. Our esteemed judges will be reaching decisions by weighing a variety of extremely scientific criteria, such as how cool each boss looks, how many weird ways they can be killed, and most importantly, the age-old playground debate of who would beat whom in a fight. From infamous showdowns like Psycho Mantis and Metal Gear Rex to absurd encounters like Fatman and The Pain, this series has plenty of great bad guys, many of whom become recurring characters between games, like Revolver Ocelot, Vam

SPOILER WARNING! We absolutely spoil stuff that happens in The Last of Us Parts 1 and 2, so if you haven’t played either of those games… Go do that before watching/listening to this week’s show. Anyway, in addition to fiercely debating the seemingly simple hypothetical question of who’d win in a fight, Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil, or Joel Miller from The Last of Us. Speaking of The Last of Us, the HBO series has found Season 2’s Abby Anderson in Kaitlyn Dever, and we also got a faint glimpse of the Gravity Rush movie, plus non-updates on Prime Video’s God of War series and Netflix’s live-action Horizon prequel show. Meanwhile, Sony and Honda showed off some new features of the AFEELA electric vehicle, which can be driven with a DualSense controller. Ya know, on stage at CES 2024 for tech demo purposes, but also later this year when the EV comes to Gran Turismo 7. Speaking of first-party PlayStation studios games, there aren’t man first-party exclusives coming out in 2024 that we’re aware of, but there

Happy New Year! In this week’s Beyond, which we pre-recorded two weeks ago, we discuss how there’s a ton of potential for A24 and Kojima Productions’ upcoming Death Stranding live-action feature film adaptation to capture a lot of the game’s best qualities while leaving out some of the stuff that turned people off of playing it. In other news, we take a look back at Sony’s 2023, and discuss what PlayStation did right, and what left us scratching (or shaking) our heads in confusion and dismay. Aside from Insomniac and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the most exciting stuff happening on or around PlayStation this year was either third-party, multi-platform, or not a game at all. PlayStation Productions’ big push into movies and TV was a lot more exciting than PlayStation Studios’ offerings, which is especially frustrating when you factor in that Sony basically shipped a new console this year with the PlayStation VR2. It’s a cool high-tech hat, but even its most staunch defenders have to admit that the company that made

The Last of Us Online is officially not happening, according to a disappointing but unsurprising announcement from Naughty Dog. We reflect on how this call is ultimately probably for the best, but still a bummer, and one that is symptomatic of a larger problem in how big and ambitious multiplayer games have become since The Last of Us’ original Factions mode was released. In other news: Insomniac announced that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is getting some much-requested updates next year and the gang’s all been playing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. A Far Cry game reskinned to look like Avatar seemed like the easiest win possible, but it either plays it too safe, or doesn’t get creative enough, depending who you’re asking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were a ton of incredible games to play on PlayStation in 2023, so join us as we highlight a few of our favorites from this massive year. In March, Resident Evil 4 Remake was one of the first games of the year we really got excited about, and it’s only gotten more updates since launch. Star Wars Jedi Survivor continued Cal Kestis’ journey and harkened back to some classics Lucasarts adventures while also forging its own path - and unfortunately, battling some rough technical issues at launch. Street Fighter 6 proved that Capcom still knew how to let players have a great time, and Final Fantasy XVI showed that the team behind FF14 could jam just as much epic fantasy into a single player experience. Baldur’s Gate 3 captured the fun of an analog pen-and-paper game of Dungeons & Dragons, and the hearts of both die-hard RPG nerds and first-time adventurers alike. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was yet another astounding technical feat from the team at Insomniac and Alan Wake 2 is just a flat out amazing example of gam

You’ve probably heard by now that Grand Theft Auto VI has been revealed, first unofficially (again) and then officially, by way of an incredibly slick trailer courtesy of Rockstar Games. It’s been a decade and change since GTA V was first released, so hype is understandably through the roof, but it’s worth discussing exactly HOW monumental the excitement around this trailer is. In under 24 hours, its views on YouTube alone eclipsed the combined lifetime views of trailers Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - and it’s very possible the reveal trailer for GTA 6 will have gotten more views in a day than GTA 5 got in twelve years. Considering the last game was the fastest-selling entertainment of all time, raking in a billion dollars just a few days after it launched, it’s safe to assume that GTA VI will be a milestone event when it drops in 2025. In a world where Rockstar didn’t have anything to announce this week, The Game Awards would’ve been what everyone was t

This week on Beyond, we unpack the long-rumored official reveal of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which might cost a few extra bucks, but seems to actually have more going for it than good looks. The roguelike “No Return” mode looks like a blast for anyone who enjoys the tense brutal combat, while the new guitar free play mode will likely be fun for, well, people who liked playing guitar in the PS4 version. Meanwhile, getting developer commentary on cut content and lost levels is a neat peek behind the curtain, and over on the Spider-Man 2 front, Tony Todd continues to make public statements that may or may not tease what Insomniac has planned. Anyway, the real meat of this episode is our first annual Beyond Game Of The Year Awards That Nobody Else Is Doing, AKA “The Beyondcés” (unless that’s a legal minefield in which case we’re sorry.) Like all awards shows, this is all completely meaningless and made-up, but in this case, especially so - but, it’s an excuse to reflect back on some of the little details

In honor of the PlayStation Portal, the latest addition to Sony’s ever-growing menagerie of bizarre ways to play games, we decided to hold a little tournament to pick the one true best controller. Y’know, from the dozen arbitrarily selected contestants that were randomly pitted against one another in a confusingly designed bracket. How does the DualShock 4 stack up against the original non-DualShock PS1 controller? How does that yogurt covered pretzel-lookin’ PlayStation VR Aim zapper fare against the PlayStation Portal, a brand new device that none of us have physically touched? What about that whackadoo prototype PS3 controller that looked like a banana or a boomerang? We had fun debating all of these things, so hopefully you enjoy listening. This week’s Beyond features Max Scoville, Brian Altano and Jada Griffin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After much discussion of PlayStation Portal, Sony’s dedicated remote play device for PlayStation 5, the reviews are in, and according to IGN’s reviewer Seth Macy, it sounds like a surprisingly well-designed accessory aside from a few odd shortcomings. Seth joins Max Scoville and Jada Griffin to talk about how Sony’s next-gen PSP is a lot more impressive if you think of it as a specialized controller rather than an attempt at a handheld device. Meanwhile, The Game Awards nominees have been announced and the Game of the Year competition is stiff, with Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4 Remake in the running - plus a couple other games that don’t work on PS5. One of these games is not like the other: should remakes be allowed to win GOTY, or should there be a separate category entirely? We discuss. Meanwhile, a lot of people have their issues with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but Seth and his Beef Lords clan are having a blast with multiplayer, in part thanks to COD’s pivot t

This week on Beyond, there’s plenty to talk about! We’ve got a laundry-list of missing gameplay features in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 that were present in previous games that Insomniac hopefully patches. Okay, maybe stealing The Vulture’s wallet wasn’t a feature. There are rumors of a potential Bloodborne movie in the works as well as a release date for the very unofficial fan-made Bloodborne Kart racing game, and we have strong feelings about both of these things, since they relate to Bloodborne, even though we’d love to hear about an official remaster or sequel. We’ve been playing some of the many games recently released, including Alan Wake 2, which is undeniably gorgeous, smart, and incredibly well-made, as well as Robocop: Rogue City, which is debatably none of the above, but still a ton of gruesome hilarious fun. Thirsty Suitors is the Scott Pilgrim game we didn’t know we wanted, and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Own Name has erased Max’s brief bout of Yakuza franchise-fatigue. This week’s Be

We invade Kinda Funny's studio for a special Beyond and P.S. I Love You XOXO crossover featuring Greg Miller and Blessing Adeoye Jr. in our lead up to IGN vs. Kinda Funny Charity event! What's the greatest PlayStation 5 game so far? We've got a bracket of 32 games including: Astro's Playroom, God of War: Ragnarok, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Elden Ring, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Sifu, Ghostwire: Tokyo, The Last of Us: Part 1, Demon's Souls, Balder's Gate III, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and so many more! Which game will come out on top in this ultimate PS5 game smackdown? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPOILER ALERT!!! On this week’s episode of Podcast Beyond, Insomniac’s Creative Director Bryan Intihar stopped by to discuss everything Spider-Man 2. We explore the reveals we saw coming, the twists that caught us off-guard, the stuff that was planned for this sequel since day one and the ideas that got left on the cutting room floor. We also touch on how Insomniac Games teased the return of a major villain and how the studio approaches MCU-style crossovers with other projects like Beyond The Spider-Verse and Insomniac’s upcoming Wolverine video game. We also dig into the creative choices that veer from comic book lore, discover the suit that almost made the cut, and get the lowdown on why MJ’s role in the game packs a punch - but again, SPOILERS ahead, so if you haven’t finished this massive PS5 game, go do that! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Podcast Beyond crew joins Simon Cardy with a deep dive into our Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Review. There's so much to unpack here from the good, the bad, and the ugly with Spider-Man 2's technical achievements, how it differs from previous Spider-Man entries, and things we wish Insomniac improved on. This has been one of the most anticipated PS5 games of the year, and it's finally here! Could it be the best superhero game of all time, or does it just fall short? Strap in, true believers!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The PlayStation 5 Slim has finally been revealed and... it definitely looks like a PS5. We've got some words about the PS5 Slim's higher price point, too! But with the announcement also comes PS2's 23rd anniversary and we dive into another Memory Card episode, thinking back to our fondest and most fun moments with the console, and our favorite games on it as well as what you, the community, have to say! Lastly, we top the episode off with 3 of our favorite underappreciated and underrated Playstation games ever. 00:00:00 - Intro & PlayStation 5 Slim Revealed! 00:11:42 - Movies Coming to PlayStation Plus 00:15:02 - Community Memory Card: PS2 Memories 00:35:52 - IGN Icons Leaderboard 00:44:29 - Underrated Open-World Games & Outro   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Brian Altano, and Akeem Lawanson as we delve into another packed episode of Podcast BEYOND! We kick things off with the seismic news of Jim Ryan's upcoming retirement from Sony, examining his legacy with the PS5 and more. The conversation then shifts to Naughty Dog's troubling halt on The Last of Us multiplayer project amid some concerning layoffs. We wrap up with some lighter fare: the Adidas and Spider-Man 2 collaboration that's got everyone talking.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices