Visit http://buyraycon.com/friends to get at least 15% of your purchase of the all new Everyday Earbuds. 

--

This week we're joined by Paul Tassi of Forbes for a deep dive, spoiler free discussion on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Paul liked it, Skill Up didn't, Lucy's kinda in the middle and Jake hasn't played it, so we cover a lot of ground from a lot of different perspectives. We're also joined by Ryan Payton, head of the studio that just put out the truly excellent Batman Arkham Shadow. He chats with us about his career, his thoughts on the VR industry and what it was like to follow in Rocksteady's footsteps. 

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

03:29 Dragon Age Discussion with Paul Tassi

49:18 Raycon (ad)

52:10 User Question

58:38 Batman Arkham Shadow with Ryan Payton

01:31:16 What We've Been Playing

02:01:25 Show and Tell

02:13:16 Wrap Up

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS!

--

This week we do a spoiler free deep dive into Metaphor: Fantazio, and we're lucky enough to by joined by Jess Cogswell who reviewed the game for Gamespot (scoring it a perfect 10, no less). We're also joined by the one and only Shawn Layden, former President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Shawn is in Singapore for Gamescom Asia and shares his thoughts on not only the rapidly evolving South East Asian gaming market, but also the broader gaming industry as it confronts things like rising development costs, declining console sales and the chase for the next live service white whale. 

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

05:29 Ralph's TGS Wrap Up

17:27 State of the Industry Chat with Shawn Layden 

38:36 AG1 (ad)

41:31 User Question

51:13 Metaphor ReFantazio Chat with Jess Cogswell of Gamespot

01:31:33 What We've Been Playing

02:12:41 Show and Tell

02:28:08 Wrap Up

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get twenty-to-FIFTY percent off, sitewide! That’s right, you’ll get up to FIFTY percent off everything on Raycon’s website when you go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends.

--

This week we're joined by the charming Ben Hanson from @minnmax (a truly top tier gaming podcast, we don't mind telling you), plus Jason Schreier joins to discuss his recently released book: 'Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment'

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro / Catch Up with Guest Host Ben Hanson of MinnMax

15:19 User Question

43:21 Raycon (ad) 

45:29 Interview with Jason Schreier About His Book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment"

01:26:54 What We've Been Playing

01:56:08 Show and Tell

02:02:44 Wrap Up

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS!

--

Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! 

--

A big thanks to Austin and @MrMattyPlays for joining us this week, as well as members of the Ara History Untold dev team: Matt Turner and Gabriela Leskur. 

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

05:35 User Question 1

29:02 Dragon Age: The Veilguard Impressions with Austin and MrMattyPlays

58:37 AG1 (ad)

01:00:36 Dragon Age Wrap Up

01:04:55 User Question 2

01:14:46 Interview with ARA: History Untold team: Executive Producer Matt Turnbull and Narrative and Experience Lead Gabriela Leskur

01:39:27 Incogni (ad)

01:41:49 What We've Been Playing

02:11:24 Show and Tell

02:20:38 Wrap Up

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends for a limited time to get 15% off and free shipping on your Raycon order! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS.

--

This week we're lucky to be joined by Nicolas Doucet, game director of Astro Bot, for his first interview after the review scores went live. A big thanks to Jordan Middler of VGC for stopping by as well. 

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

03:46 Sony Kills Concord

36:34 Astro Bot Discussion

51:50 Raycon (ad)

53:57 Interview With Team Asobi Studio Director Nicolas Doucet

01:25:51 User Question

01:36:03 What We've Been Playing

02:23:22 Show And Tell

02:41:11 Wrap Up

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! 

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

07:25 Show and Tell (With Gifts!)

16:23 Special Guests Alex Jordan and Ben Starr

53:59 Incogni (ad)

56:03 What We've Been Playing (Gamescom Impressions)

01:28:35 User Questions from the Audience

01:45:40 Wrap Up

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.

--

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends for a limited time to get 20-40% off your Raycon order! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS.

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

09:27 Bungie Layoffs with Jason Schreier 

58:12 Raycon (ad)

01:01:20 User Question 1

01:10:32 Game Informer Closure with Marcus Stewart, Brian Shea, Alex Van Aken

01:59:54 AG1 (ad)

02:02:22 Plucky Squire Interview with Jon Biddle (Bidds) and James Turner

02:29:10 User Question 2

02:34:37 What We've Been Playing

03:02:21 Show and Tell

03:14:38 Wrap Up

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.

--

Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! 

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

12:31 The Vibes Are Off

46:23 AG1 (ad)

48:05 Incogni (ad)

50:08 User Question 1

01:02:31 What We've Been Playing

01:40:49 User Question 2

01:48:50 Show and Tell

02:06:25 Wrap Up

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.

--

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends TODAY to get 15% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS.

--

If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

09:10 Xbox Game Pass Changes

27:10 User Question 1

37:15 AG 1 (ad)

39:59 What We're Excited For In 2024 (The Second Half)

01:10:26 User Question 2

01:20:06 Raycon (ad)

01:23:00 What We've Been Playing

02:15:17 Show and Tell

02:28:28 Wrap Up

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://factormeals.com/fps50 and use code FPS50 to get an exclusive 50% off your first Factor box, plus 20% off your next month! Thanks to Factor for supporting FPS.

--

Head to https://manscaped.com and use code FRIENDS to get an exclusive 20% off + free shipping! Thanks to Manscaped for supporting FPS.

--

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:45 Catch Up

12:47 Elden Ring Expansion Chat With Mitchell Saltzman of IGN

01:00:18 Factor (ad)

01:03:10 Elden Ring Wrap Up Into User Question

01:17:05 Live QnA from the GameOn Cancer Charity Stream Featuring Alanah Pearce

02:06:28 Manscaped (ad)

02:09:27 What We've Been Playing

02:36:11 Show and Tell

02:49:22 Wrap Up

--

Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.

--

Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! 

--

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS.

--

Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! 

--

This week, we're back where we started: together in LA. We're joined by Tam for a look at the highs and lows of Summer Games Fest 2024. We also got to chat with Julian Gerighty and Frederick Thylander of Ubisoft Massive, discussing the imminent release of Star Wars Outlaws. 

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:13 Summer Game Fest Recap

29:53 Ubisoft Forward Recap

42:44 AG1 (Ad)

43:37 Interview with Julian Gerighty and Fredrik Thylander about Star Wars Outlaws

01:12:49 Xbox Showcase Recap

02:15:36 Incogni (Ad)

02:17:54 What We've Been Playing (Play Days Hands On Impressions)

03:00:15 Wrap Up

Let's meet our hosts!

- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino

- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. 

- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. 

--

Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPSPodcast

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices