PAX Melbourne is almost upon us, and as such we’ve been kicked about the ear, nose and throat with scheduling and prep insanity. BUT! We have hand-woven this basket of astisinal madness for you: an extra-long, extra-chunky episode of 28 Plays Later in which we discuss (among other things) Gambit’s explosive powers, excess pins, child fermentation and testicle physics. Come with us, why don’t you, on this journey of gaming mayhem?

Money talks, and Paul walks — directly into traffic in this call-in podcast about how to make our PAX Australia show a truly special one. Problem-solve along with us as we strut and fret about our hour upon the stage.

Because you demanded it, Paul shares an excerpt from his interview of Nicolas Cage for the movie Mandy — plus, Destiny 2: Forsaken, and what makes an actual hero, besides murdering thousands of henchmen and for some reason sparing the head villain for courts to deal with? Also: John Wick takes aim at more insidious evils in our exclusive prequel!

Paul and Kris swing through the delightfully friendly neighborhood Spider-Man from Insomniac Games, and Kris bares his secret Destiny 2: Forsaken shame.

In this horrifying episode, Paul calls Kris just as he’s passing through an atmospheric disturbance, and they begin to switch bodies. Will they be able to prepare one another in time? What hijinks will ensue? Will said hijinks be strictly legal? All hail the blood moon! All hail C’Nth’fth’gn, high inquisitor of the glorious bi-millennial phase shift of K’norr!

There’s SO MUCH in this crammed episode! Here’s a rundown for you:

• Paul’s new book, Loose Units, is available NOW! We chat about the rigors of churning out a book, especially one as gritty and challenging as this one. For our overseas listeners, you can – and should – pick a copy up on Amazon, or in all good bookstores!
• We talk with Darren P. Williams, Senior Software and gameplay engineerand Dusty Nolting, Lead Character Artiston World of Warcraft! Battle for Azeroth, the new expansion, hits today and we asked them the hard hitting (read: stupid) questions!
• We delve into what makes We Happy Few such a great antidote to the Ayn Randian nonsense that hung around Bioshock’s neck (seriously, We Happy Few is great. Check it out.)
• We talk Kris’ innante urge to cheat on the super No Man’s Sky: Next! Gasp as Paul takes him to task! Shudder as Kris kind of straight up admits he has a problem! Will he get the help he needs?

 

In light — get it, like Dr. Light?! — of the Mega Man X Legacy Collection out on Switch, Paul asks Kris about what power Mega Man would get from killing Kris Straub Man. Then Paul teases a dad… his dad! Not what I meant.

Violence. Treason. Lies. War. The world is showing all the telltale signs of a Fallout cinematic cutscene waiting to begin, but there’s still games to be played!

This week, Kris and Paul ask the heavy questions, specifically… how the hell will games make this nightmarish era of history “fun”? Hell, they did it with Normandy, with the Cold War. Will Trump era America someday be nostalgic enough to turn into good games?

Also, the trailer for Paul’s book, Loose Units, is here!

You can – and should – pre-order it before it’s release on July 30th (you can do so from anywhere in the world by going here)!

Do you want to overwrite this? Paul and Kris take a trip down Corrupted Save File Lane and ask, if you could reload part of your life, which area would you choose? PLUS: a Frank Herbert massage, Paul’s embarrassing love story, and would Andie MacDowell be Gwyn or Solaire?

This week, Paul and Kris talk Fortnite, true. Then they chat about what they’re playing at the moment. That stuff is all there.

But they also brainstorm an idea they want you to be part of.

America is going through some stuff right now, with children being separated from families, and we want to help in some way. So we’re going to launch Truce Royale: a live streamed gaming event in which they try and do the unthinkable: play PUBG without any killing. The game is built around the mechanic of violence, but hey, the world is violent and nightmarish enough and we’re trying to effect change here… why not give it a shot there as well? So we’ll be doing a charity event and raising money for a cause close to our hearts, and this is the episode where you can hear us brainstorm, AND ask for your input. So hit us up here, or at [email protected], or at twitter.com/28plays, and keep your eyes peeled for updates over the coming days!

There are so many fantastic games being unveiled at E3 this year! Are Kris and Paul there in person? WHO KNOWS! …They aren’t. BUT, they’re reporting on all the stuff they’re excited about! First, though, they geek out about the sublime Hollow Knight getting a Switch release, then they gasbag …