Podcast Beyond

This week, join Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Josh Du and Mitchell Saltzman as they chat Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which is an excellent game despite its widespread technical issues and bugs at launch. We debate which lightsaber stance is superior, Crossguard or Dual Wield? What hairstyle is least stupid? Plus, Cal Kestis doesn’t exactly follow the Jedi Code, but maybe Survivor’s lack of morality system is why it’s so much fun. In other news, Mitchell interviewed FromSoftware devs about Armored Core 6, and we ponder how it’ll resonate with Dark Souls and Elden Ring fans. If you need a giant robot/mech game to keep you busy until Fires of Rubicon release date (August 25th) also recommend a pile of other giant mech games to help pass the time till Fires of Rubicon’s release date, like Titanfall 2. Jada and Mitchell went hands-on with Street Fighter 6 and have a lot of great things to say about the new beat-’em-up, story-based World Tour mode. Is it a Streetroidvania? Finally, we asked an AI to design Bloodborne 2

With Sony’s acquisition of Firewalk Studios, the Beyond crew breaks down the long list of AAA-games the 20+ game studios have under its belts. Xbox and PlayStation are neck and neck in regards to the amount of studios each own, and the crew goes over the top 5 studios from each and some of each’s top video game titles. Horizon Forbidden West’s DLC is out now, so the topic is: Is Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores too hot to handle? And with a Horizon 3 game somewhere on the horizon, what’re some of the improvements gamers would like to see in the sequel? A retrospective look at the God of War game release, Star Wars Jedi Survivor’s file size is massive, and the crew reminiscences on the classic PlayStation memory card screens. This and more on Beyond! - with Jada Griffin, Akeem Lawanson, and Mark Madina rounding out the episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Beyond, we're catching up on new Final Fantasy XVI reveals as well as Dead Island 2's impending release and our recent review on it! Colin Stevens joins Max Scoville and Jada Griffin, looking back on 10 bizarre PlayStation products you may or may not have owned. Also, with Dreams set to end future support, what will that mean for the community? Could they possibly have something else cooking in place of it? There's much to remember about this excellent sandbox of creativity. We trust Media Molecule is working on something great behind the scenes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Podcast Beyond, the crew discusses Sony's new controller patent that looks absolutely bonkers... and we LOVE it! But that isn't the end of weird hardware Sony is planning to put out. We also dive into rumors about a new Sony handheld dubbed the "Q Lite" and why we hope it isn't real. We continue the RE4 Remake madness with thoughts on Mercenaries and what's missing. And finally, if you're looking forward to new indies comping to PlayStation, Jada talks about her hands-on time with a handful of them after attending GDC! It's a packed episode full of chaos, so don't miss it! 00:00:00 - Intro & Sony's Latest Patents 00:16:33 - What's with the Sony Handheld Rumors? 00:29:32 - What's Missing from RE4 Remake's Mercenaries Mode? 00:41:20 - Why the RE4 Merchant Rules 00:46:00 - 6 Reasons the Duke is Actually Better than the Merchant 00:56:42 - Meet Your Maker & Other Indies 01:17:33 - Outro   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Podcast Beyond, IGN's John Davison joins Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, and Josh Du to reminisce about their favorite moments of E3. Is this the last we'll ever see what was once the biggest video game event of the year? We also discuss some Souls-likes on the horizon including The Lords of the Fallen and Remnant II. Will they live up to the hype? Only time will tell. Also, what's the deal with the TMNT - The Last Ronin game? How will it compare to God of War which it is supposedly inspired by? Share your thoughts in the comments!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Podcast Beyond, it's a Resident Evil 4 Remake extravaganza! Max, Brian, and Jada have played the game from beginning to end (in Brian's case, several times), and they have some thoughts. Brian's gonna wax nostalgic about the content cut from the original game, and Max has a little game for the crew the play. Beyond!00:00:00 Intro 00:01:15 How is Jada enjoying her PSVR 2? 00:12:18 Resident Evil 4 talk 00:27:14 Cut content from RE4 00:34:38 Max's RE4 sound effects challenge 00:38:31 RE4's Hollywood connection 00:45:35 A very long outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Podcast Beyond, IGN's flagship PlayStation show, our crew welcomes special guest Simon Cardy from IGN UK. We dive into the idea of a PlayStation 5 Pro and debate its potential appeal. Would a PS5 Slim be a more attractive option? Also, Max shares his experience with the upcoming, wholesome Breath of the Wild-like game, Tchia and we dive into Diablo 4 Beta Impressions. Don't miss this jam packed episode! 00:00:10 - Intro00:03:23 - Do We Want the PlayStation 5 Pro/Slim?00:19:13 - The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR Impressions00:28:13 - Tchia Gameplay Impressions Look Good!00:38:56 - Diablo IV Beta00:47:50 - VR Not Amused & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HBO’s The Last of Us Season 1 has come to an end and the Podcast Beyond crew dives into everything that made the episode so great. The Last of Us Episode 9 takes us through the finale of Part 1’s story, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re entering SPOILER territory! But for those that have seen it, the question as to whether or not the series lived up to the game’s ending will naturally come up. Let’s talk about it! Plus, Jada has spent a lot of time with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and fills us in on her favorite things about the game. And speaking of favorites and games…? The PlayStation Store is having a big sale! While it’s easy to just list off the biggest popular games you can pick up for chicken strips, we wanted to touch on lesser known titles to make sure you aren’t missing out on some gems!   00:00:10 - Intro & The Last of Us Episode 9 Reactions 00:21:52 - Dead Island 2 is Coming! 00:28:10 - Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Impressions 00:32:00 - Akeem’s Thoughts on the PS Plus Collection Leaving 00:43:24 - Ou

In today’s Podcast Beyond episode, the crew discusses the state of Sony’s properties and how many games they currently have in the works compared to their movies and shows. With the success of The Last of Us, Sony has big shoes to fill when it comes to upcoming movies and shows including the God of War movie, Gran Turismo, and whatever Gravity Rush is going to be. Also, we explore the best and the worst of quick time events and share our thoughts on them. (Any excuse to showcase some Asura’s Wrath gameplay is good enough for me! - Red, the Producer) 00:00:10 - Intro & Sony’s Games vs Movies/Shows 00:24:52 - Some of the Most Underrated PS2 Games  00:42:00 - What Makes a Great Quick Time Event? 01:05:23 - Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi 4 is Coming! 01:09:38 - Final Fantasy XVI and the PS5 & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Podcast Beyond, the crew celebrates Elden Ring's 1-year anniversary along with the announcement of upcoming Elden Ring DLC called "Shadow of the Erdtree". Were there any other games in February we're missing? I'm sure we're good, right Akeem? And speaking of, Akeem LOVES the PSVR 2 and fills us in with some details on why he likes it more than the Meta Quest 2! We also haven't forgotten about the February State of Play and react to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League falling into the realm of Games as a Service.   00:00:10 - Intro & Elden Ring DLC Announced (HBD!) 00:16:37 - Akeem Thinks PSVR2 is Better than the Quest 2  00:43:45 - Our Thoughts on the February State of Play 00:56:23 - Suicide Squad vs Superhero Games 01:10:49 - Max’s Crime Boss: Rockay City Early Impressions & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the eve of PSVR2’s launch, Max Scoville and Jada Griffin are joined by Taylor Liles and Simon Cardy, both of whom have had a chance to take Sony’s next-gen virtual reality headset for a spin. Cardy talks Horizon Call of the Mountain, which unsurprisingly involves a lot of climbing, but also has pan flutes. Meanwhile, Kayak VR sounds appropriately relaxing and What The Bat is as silly as you might expect. We took Wild Hearts for a spin and it’s definitely a Monster Hunter-like, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Plus, let’s spin the wheel and pitch our most disappointing VR add-ons for non-VR games.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Valentines Day! In this episode of Beyond, the crew takes us on a look back at some of our favorite video game romances. But why stop there? We also took a deep dive into which video game characters are the worst kissers. Fair warning, it gets a bit… messy? You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, and you will definitely ask why we left out Ebrietas in our list. Jada also talks about her preview of Pacific Drive and reviewing Theatrhythm Final Bar Line… please don’t just how we pronounce that. 00:00:10 - Intro 00:05:43 - Curse of the Licensed Games  00:27:20 - Romance in Video Games 00:39:39 - The Worst Kissers in Video Games According to Max & Jada 00:52:28 - Pacific Drive Impressions 01:06:27 - Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Review 01:11:43 - The Last of Us: Episode 5 Reactions & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has been delayed 6 weeks to April 28th, 2023! Though that means more waiting for us, we're hoping it means the game will get more love and polish with that extra time. On this episode of Podcast Beyond, we talk about improvements we'd love to see in Jedi: Survivor that would possibly turn it into a solid GOTY contender. We also dive into new PS5 updates, more DualSense Edge talk, and what happens when games-as-a-service shut down. Back 4 Blood and Knockout City were so fun! IT's sad to see them go, but what's next for GAAS? Join Max Scoville, Jada Giffin, Josh Du, and returning guest and former host Mark Medina on BEYOND! 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:57 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 00:21:34 PS5 gets a new update 00:32:26 More games-as-service games are shutting down 00:48:35 DualSense Edge talk 00:57:55 HBO's The Last of Us Episode 4 talk 01:10:19 Gran Turismo 7's PSVR 2 update 01:21:19 Outro   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sony has recently announced that they will NOT be attending E3 2023. With Xbox and Nintendo also not making any plans on showing, what does this mean for E3 and ESA as a whole? Also, Naughty Dog says we won't be seeing Nathan Drake as part of Uncharted in future games. Uncharted as a SERIES, however, still has all of us guessing as to what's next. Let's talk about it! We also dive into great games getting stealth released out of nowhere as well as taking a deeper look into what did and didn't work between Dead Space Remake and The Callisto Protocol. TONS of interesting topics, this week, folks! Don't miss out on this week's episode of Podcast Beyond! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forspoken is finally here! Since its release, the internet has lit up with very polarizing reviews, but the Podcast Beyond crew also have their two cents on the subject. Forspoken is very ambitious, but is that enough to make it worth picking up day one? Max has also had time to play with the DualSense Edge! Will you be getting one yourself? It's a nice piece of hardware, but battery life still seems to be an issue. Perhaps it'll be the perfect fit for the PSVR 2 which we now know of 30 new games announced for it! How will they live up to what we've seen on the original PSVR? Finally, what was up with that ending to The Last of Us Episode 2? Stick around for a spoiler-filled quick reactions chat about it, because it was a lot to take in. BEYOND!   00:00:10 - Intro 00:01:09 - Forspoken: Is It Any Good? 00:24:33 - DualSense Edge Impressions 00:27:58 - The 30 PSVR 2 Games Announced 00:47:06 - Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Deserves a Prequel, Not a Sequel 00:58:25 - PlayStation ModLibs 01:03:58 - The Last of Us Episode 2

With the release of the PSVR 2 just on the horizon coming February 22, 2023, the Podcast Beyond crew get into what the different things that will make or break its release. Will the PSVR 2 be worth the wait or has the ball been dropped due to the momentum of the first generation's game releases slowing to a crawl? Plus, the release of the first episode of HBO's The Last of Us series has us all in its grips, but what does the Beyond audience think about it? Jada Griffin gives us the lowdown. And speaking of Jada, our resident trophy hunter, what game is currently on her s--- list on her quest to racking up her trophy count? Join Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, and Brian Altano in our latest episode of Podcast Beyond!   00:00:10 - Intro 00:01:54 - Where’s the PSVR 2 Hype? 00:22:04 - Beyond Community Impressions of The Last of Us HBO Series 00:36:01 - F This Trophy: Final Fantasy Crisis Core 00:42:30 - God of War: Ragnarok Gets New Game Plus & Our Favorite NG+’s 00:51:50 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Vi

In this episode of Podcast Beyond, the Beyond crew talk about whether or not the orientation of your PS5, vertical or horizontal, might be detrimental to the lifespan of your gaming console. There have been reports that apparently keeping the PlayStation 5 upright leading to long-term problems for internal pieces in the #PS5. The #PlayStation5 is readily available in retail stores, and Max Scoville invites an actual “PS5 scalper” on the podcast to both confront and ask him how his PS5 reselling business is going in 2023 given the news. There’s a big reveal, and Akeem Lawanson discusses his disdain for PS5 resellers, along with his very own version of the PlayStation Project Leonardo controller kit. The Beyond crew then dives into a non-spoiler discussion of The Last of Us HBO series. Sony’s AFEELA is a car that’ll be in the wild, Brian Altano hates shimmying through cracks in video games, Jada Griffin breaks down the games she Platinumed over the holidays, and so much more on this episode of BEYOND! 00:00:00

In this episode of Podcast Beyond, Max Scoville, Brian Altano, Josh Du, and Akeem Lawanson runs us through some of the third-party and first-party PlayStation exclusives coming out in 2023, including Horizon Call of the Mountain for PSVR2, Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 #PS5 game, Forspoken and many more. Hitman 3 is being rebranded as World of Assassination, and the Beyond crew break down what this means for both newcomers and those returning to the Hitman franchise. With the entire Hitman trilogy soon to be in one package, this might be the time for Josh Du to hop into the slacks of Agent 47.  00:00:00 - Intro00:01:19 - PSVR 2  talk 00:11:43 - Other big games of 2023 00:23:55 - Hitman 3 gets rebranded 00:29:24 - Konami's mystery games 00:41:42 - PS Plus games for January 2023 00:47:11 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Podcast Beyond, Jada Griffin talks us through on what she loved about the DualSense Edge in her hands-on preview at PlayStation HQ. Is it more than meets the eye? What are the best features on it and how customizeable is the DualSense Edge? Will it be great for accessibility? Join the crew as they ask the important questions of whether the new controller for the PS5 is worth it. Also, with the announcement of Death Stranding 2, Josh questions whether or not he should FINALLY start playing Death Stranding. How does it hold up? And what does Brian Altano think of Callisto Protocol? As you can see, there are TONS of questions waiting to be answered in this jam packed Holiday episode. 00:00:10 - Intro 00:50:00 - DualSense Edge Controller Hands-On Impressions 00:12:42 - DS2: Should I Play Death Stranding? 00:27:09 - PlayStation Mod Libs 00:33:29 - Brian & Callisto Protocol  00:43:34 - IGN’s Best PlayStation Characters & Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices