GameHounds

It's "E3 Week," and the announcements and pressers are hot and heavy. Xbox and Playstation both offered up some fantastic press conferences, and we go over the big news, the games, the surprises, and the disappointments. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: Help support us on Patreon! A buck a month is all we ask to help keep us going into year 15: Come watch us live every Sunday at noon Pacific / 3pm Eastern. You'll hear the pre- and post-show hijinks!

Jesus jiminy cricket! When will the AI madness end?! Component shortages, fueled by AI and data centers, lead to a whopping increase in SteamDeck prices. Upside: You can get one, now. And if you needed proof that AI is going to trigger an extinction event, just check out the recent 15-day test of AI platforms running their own societies. Let's just say, it didn't go well, and you should ABSOLUTELY not trust Grok to do your laundry, much less run your company. Also, Fable delayed. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: https://discord.gg/JB5R4DD3e6 Help support us on Patreon! A buck a month is all we ask to help keep us going into year 15: https://www.patreon.com/gamehounds

Nick is a writer. He literally writes stories for competitions. You'd think he'd be creative. But if I ask for him to give me a title, he looks at me like he's a dog being shown a card trick. Why does this shit always land on my shoulders. Goalie was right: Nick is a bad cohost. Also Embracer saddles board games with their debt, GTA 6 is absolutely coming out on November 19, and State of Play on the way. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: Help support us on Patreon! A buck a month is all we ask to help keep us going into year 15: Come watch us live every Sunday at noon Pacific / 3pm Eastern. You'll hear the pre- and post-show hijinks!

Asha addresses an IMPORTANT ISSUE for MICROSOFT. Xbox is XBOX. NOW THAT'S WHAT AN MBA IS FOR, BABY! Also we review Windrose (with tips, tricks, and bug warnings) and Titanium Court. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: Help support us on Patreon! A buck a month is all we ask to help keep us going into year 15: Come watch us live every Sunday at noon Pacific / 3pm Eastern. You'll hear the pre- and post-show hijinks!

Got an LG OLED TV? Got RE: Requiem? Maaaybe you should rethink putting those two together. Also deeper diving into Windrose, more Pragmata and Saros, and more dunking on Mindseye. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: Help support us on Patreon! A buck a month is all we ask to help keep us going into year 15: Come watch us live every Sunday at noon Pacific / 3pm Eastern. You'll hear the pre- and post-show hijinks!

Good lord. Edie takes a couple weeks off, and AI goes bonkers, Starfield on PS5 reveals the self-inflicted crapshow that it is, Pete Hines goes off on Microsoft... but at least Nintendo got their copyright claim yonked. Sooooo... yay? Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: Help support us on Patreon! A buck a month is all we ask to help keep us going into year 15: Come watch us live every Sunday at noon Pacific / 3pm Eastern. You'll hear the pre- and post-show hijinks!

XBox chiefs announce a new console at employee town hall, which took all of 30 seconds to be leaked. What's the news? The next XBox will play PC games as well. Soooo... a Steam Machine. So, does anyone think this was Asha's idea? Or even Sad Nutella's? C'moooonnnn.... Our website: Our Discord: Join us live on Sundays at Noon PT/3pm ET on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitch. YouTube: Twitch: Facebook:  

Phil's out. Asha's in. Sarah's fled the building. Man, we knew there would be heads rolling at Microsoft, but we didn't see that one coming (and apparently, Sarah Bond didn't either). We talk about what this might mean for XBox Gaming and how having an AI exec calling the shots on the future of XBox games might affect what we'll see from Microsoft in the coming years. Also, reviews of Slay the Spire (mobile) and Mewgenics. Join our Discord: discord.gg/s6ymDZ8gBn

Nick watched Sony's State of Play (Edie didn't yet), so we go over the reveals: God of War! Alan Wake! Bunch of other stuff! Also, pro tip: don't send Claire Obscura artbooks to Iraq or you'll get a visit from the antiquities police! Special guest: Andrew "Creation Chaos" Smith! Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: https://discord.gg/JB5R4DD3e6

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and while everyone else is glued to the pre-game festivities, Edie and Nick (joined by special guest Andrew "CreationChaos" Smith) are here to discuss what's really important: Roblox's new GenAI tool that BLATANTLY rips off Clair Obscura 33. Wow, that did NOT take as long as we thought it would. Also, BaRB says it didn't make a broken game; MindsEye was sabotaged... sabotaged I tell ya! New Horizon Dawn game gets debuted, and new consoles coming to Switch Online. We also review tabletop game Moonrollers, Iron Lung (the movie, not the game), Simulacura, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Stuff is looking bad at the green monster. Hardware sales down. Software sales down. Unrealistic revenue goals not only missed, they weren't even in the ballpark of profitable. Edie has a frightening prediction no one hopes come true. She and Nick review Iron Lung (the game... the movie is next week), as well as covering news, including how Jeffrey Epstein got banned from XBox live, and Edie's surprising realtion to the revelation that there's FNAF "corn."

Edie and Nick finally agree! Using AI for NPCs is just a bad idea. Doesn't mean anyone is listening, including XBox. We discuss the Developer Direct reveal of Fable and how having a "massive world" populated by 100% interactable NPCs is just... too much! We also discuss the restructuring of Ubisoft, which only promises to mean studio sell-offs and closures, and we review "Mandgragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree."

This could finally be it. This death rivals some of the most overplayed, overly dramatic, drawn out deaths in cinema. Finally, it seems, GameStop won't be pulled back from the brink by Reddit stock-shorting groups; it may have finally drawn its last breath and gone to sing with the choir invisible. Oh... but don't worry. The Crypto Bro who took over as CEO is getting $35 million as an exit bonus. Also, XBox Developers Direct is coming next week. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time:  Support us on Patreon:  Join us live every Sunday at noon PT/3pm ET. Come see our old wrinkly faces and yell things at us in the live chat: And yeah, connect with our website: 

Nick and Edie start off the year without a bang... Because we're old, we're tired, and we gotta go back to work tomorrow and it SUCKS. Edie finally tries Where Winds Meet and Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. Also, DEV FIGHT! DEV FIGHT! Everyone gather 'round to hear a couple devs go OG schoolyard on each other. Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: Support us on Patreon: Join us live every Sunday at noon PT/3pm ET. Come see our old wrinkly faces and yell things at us in the live chat: And yeah, connect with our website:  

Nick's in Florida. Edie's in a remote location. But we're bringing you a show, anyway, because you fu**ers deserve it. We talk the death of CoD founder in a fiery car crash, 007 First Light delay, and how Marathon has been re-revealed and it's not looking awful, or so we've heard.

Final show before Christmas, and Nick and Edie are already starting to wrap the year up. We talk the scary decline in hardware and the increase in software sales, Where Winds Meet's content bonanza, and what's up with the Intergalactic demo. Join our Discord server and talk to us all week long: https://discord.gg/JB5R4DD3e6

It's our first show back from Thanksgiving, and man, did Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated the Game Awards? Did the hype overshadow rightly or wrongly? Join our Discord and chat with us all the time: https://discord.gg/JB5R4DD3e6

Wow. Eight hundred episodes. When Hawkes and Edie sat down in front of a mic 17 years ago, did they even fathom that the show would still be around for 800 episodes? Nope. We don't have a complete reunion, but close. Past and present GameHounds hosts, including Holy Goalie, Mr. Maynard, and Creation Chaos join us. Commander Tim had a family emergency and couldn't make it. We will catch up and also talk news, including new developments in the Steam Machine pricing. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/V6RGHdynEQ

Something strange is afoot at the "Circle U." And is Crystal Dynamics about to shutter? Nick and Edie chat the news.

We are back. Nick is married. We are now back in game mode, and we're changing our showtimes (due to popular demand). Also! We have a new time for recording. We're now recording our shows on Sundays at noon Pacific Time or 3pm for your East Coast crew. This should make it easier to join us live on Youtube or Twitch. C'mon by! We'd love to see you.

Edie's solo this week for a short show, but she had to come on and talk about Microsoft's rumored new demands for XBox profitability... and how it seems to confirm what she suggested last week: Phil Spencer is in TROUBLE.

Do we have hints that Nick may win the ROG Ally X bet? Mayyyybeeee....

Edie has a date tonight! So we gotta keep the show fun-sized. Join our Discord:  

We're back from Seattle, and while we were away, the gaming news kept going. Call of Duty getting the movie treatment (and Spielberg is NOT directing it, either), Fireaxis cans employees after releasing the most-successful Civ game to date, former Bethesda boss doesn't have nice things to say about Game Pass, and Activision backs off of Carry Forward feature after mass backlash. 

Now we switch to hardware! Nick talks with Tom Morgan, Senior Developer for G’AIM’E, about their new lightgun for use with shooters, in this case demoed on Timecrisis, that allows you to very accurately target and hit using concoles and modern TVs. It's complicated and technical, but Nick says it's works really surprisingly well.  

On this final day of PAX 2025, Nick chats with Tylor Whitney, narrative lead on Aether and Iron, a narrative-based RPG with turn-based tactics set in a gritty noir style. 

Edie chats Kamila Zielinska, head of publishing for Ancient Forge studios, about their upcoming hand-drawn hotel-management game, Hotel Galactic, a gorgeous cozy title that evokes Miasaki and Studio Ghibli in its style and story. 

Nick and Edie speak with Daniel Stankiewicz, co-founder and 3D artist of Memoria Wake from Team Crescendo, an isometric/2.5D Soulslike/Metroidvania game that delves deep into the memories of childhood dreams and fears. 

Edie chats with Jakob Lisinski, designer and programmer of Hank Drowning on Dry Land, a mind-bending time-traveling platformer where a misanthropic, alcoholic superhero can time jump, creating multiples of himself to foil the plots of his villain nemesis. This is a uniquely brain-twisting game using time and mulitple simultaneous playthroughs to solve puzzles on a tight countdown clock.

Nick and Edie chat with Patrick Owens, creative director of Buffalo Buffalo , about two new titles coming from the studio: Fresh Tracks, a Nordic-themed rhythm game that melds note matching with cross-country skiing, and Birdseed, a very early development VR birdwatching game that's a heck of a lot of fun.

Nick speaks with Krzysztof Niedzwiedz, lead designer for The Looter from Tactical Dogs, a Metroidvania/Soulslike where the nameless protagonist loots for important items, taking him to very scary places.

From the Seattle Indie Expo, Edie talks with Jesse Colford, composer for Desert Angels from Folding Stars Studios. Desert Angels third-person exploration game set in a desert scrapyard where you uncover memories of a cataclysmic event. 

No, it's not PAX... It's SIX... as in Seattle Indie Expo, a completely separate event running concurrently with PAX. Nick and Edie spent the day seeing what Seattle's Indie scene has to offer, and we found Desolus, a gorgeous walking sim/puzzle game where you solve architectural puzzles in a world where reality has split, moving between the two in order to repair broken paths and get where you want to go. It gives all the feels of Myst and is a decade-long passion project of Mark Mayers, one of the developers of Outer Wilds and Manifold Garden.

APOLOGIES FOR THE QUALITY: THIS IS AN AUDIO FEED OF A STREAMED VIDEO EPISODE. INTERNET IS NOT GREAT AT PAX. Edie and Nick sit down in a quiet spot at PAX West and give their opinions of what games they tried out on Day 2, including Fractured Blooms, God Save Birmingham, Be My Horde, Truckful, and Lost Eidelons: Veil of the Witch.

Edie and Nick chat with Zhenghua “Z” Yang, founder creative director of Serenity Forge, about Fractured Blooms, a cozy gardening-sim/horror game that sounds insane but does a great job of really scaring the pants off you.

Nick and Edie talk with Michal Kaminski, Marketing Manager from Mythic Owl, about Truckful, a cozy little delivery-sim-meets-horror game. Yeah, we said that. And it's glorious!

Edie chats with Lukasz Kostka, head of marketing for Polished Games, about Be My Horde, an insanely fun survival game with a twist: you don't actually fight. Available now on Steam... and it works great on the Steamdeck!

Nick and Edie chat with John Gelardi, Creative Director of WDR Studios, about Terrible Lizards, a parcour survival game set in a dinosaur-themed roadside attraction. Let's just say, it's not what it first seems.

Nick and Edie talk with Guinn Kim, Content Manager of Ocean Drive Studios, about God Save Birmingham, their upcoming zombie survival game set in the midieval city of Birmingham, England, currently in pre-alpha.

Nick talks to Jin Sang Kim, Creative Director, for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, the sequel of Lost Eidelons with a very different structure of the original title, with more focus on combat.

Edie and Nick speak with Stephen Manalastas, CEO of CMD Studios, about their title, Fallen Tear, a Metroidvania-like, J-RPG platformer. 

Edie and Nick chat with Jaime Stormbreaker, game director and lead designer of One More Game's upcoming title, Swap Meat, a third-person, co-op, roguelike shooter that Nick had a blast playing. 

Edie and Nick take a break from the show floor for some food and some talk, specifically about the games they put their hands on that morning. Titles include Borderlands 4, Pragmata, and Swap Meat.

We keep it short today, hitting news from last week's Gamescom and pre-game the PAX show next week.

Gamescom is next week and, as usual, the news slows in anticipation, which makes having a gaming-news podcast oh so much fun!

... Which is Edie's way of saying the elusive and mythical Steamdeck is found. Has she played it? Well... don't get too ambitious there, chuckles.

So much news, but really... it's all about that Battlefield 6 reveal, right?

Good lord. Where do we start? Microsoft? Ubisoft? Nintendo? Subnautica? King Games? You can't throw a laid off developer without hitting a new sh*tshow.

Nick wanted to call this show "Slow News Week." Yeah, we wish. Microsoft slashes XBox division, closes studios, and sh*tcans dozens of games. What the hell is going on?????