Pixel Parents | Video Game Podcast

Do PlayStation and Xbox really need another console generation? Project Helix has reportedly been projected to cost between $1,200 and $1,800 without a subsidy. Separate claims suggest memory and storage for the PS6 could cost more than $680 before you even consider the rest of the machine. Neither figure is an announced retail price. But if the consoles we already own have barely reached their li...

Which video game character first made you feel something beyond excitement and rage? Smut Week has arrived, and we’re confessing our first gaming crushes, revisiting the characters developers clearly wanted us to fancy and discussing the game romances we took far too seriously. From Chun Li, Nina Williams and Lara Croft to Solid Snake, Leon Kennedy, Shadowheart and the entire increasingly suspicio...

Physical games were about more than owning a disc.  Game shops, midnight launches, manuals, trade ins and lending games to friends all helped make gaming feel like a visible culture. This week, we ask what digital convenience has cost us, what today’s younger players may never experience and whether physical gaming is already beyond saving. We also share our first impressions of Gears of War E Day...

What are the nine games that made you the gamer you are today? Scott and Liam join the social media trend, but the grid only tells part of the story.  We explain how these games shaped our tastes, friendships, families and different stages of our lives. These are not simply our nine favourite games. They are the games that made us. In this episode: Minecraft Dungeons II review Fire Emblem Fortune’...

Gaming has rarely been better, but the industry behind it has rarely looked more unstable. Another 268 Xbox jobs have been cut, Halo is moving to a new team within Activision, and more studios face uncertain futures. But this feels much bigger than one company making bad decisions. Scott and Liam discuss the rising cost of making games, unsustainable expectations, the future of AA development and...

PlayStation is still the default place to play for millions of people.   But after an uneven PS5 generation, rising prices and a failed live service push, Sony appears to have lost some of its identity. We look at what PlayStation still gets right, where its confidence has gone and the changes we would make before PS6. That includes more creative games, better communication, new franchises and a r...

We all have gaming opinions that aged badly. Scott has six of them. In this solo episode, he admits he was wrong about Fortnite, game difficulty, digital ownership, Nintendo, Early Access and video game remakes.  He also looks at how age, parenthood and limited free time have changed what he wants from games. Scott also shares his first impressions of Onimusha Way of the Sword, reacts to Nintendo’...

Should developers stop abandoning successful single-player games after one expansion pass? The Witcher 3 is returning with Songs of the Past, giving players a reason to revisit Geralt’s world more than a decade later. This week, we ask which other finished games deserve the same treatment. Scott wants more Sekiro, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Mario Odyssey and Days Gone. Liam makes the case for Un...

Has GTA VI finally shown us what this console generation can really do? GTA VI’s extended look may be the best demonstration yet of what the current console generation can achieve. Liam reacts to Rockstar’s 27-minute presentation, including the return to more methodical Red Dead Redemption 2-style gameplay, the extraordinary lighting and world detail, Jason and Lucia’s relationship, changes to the...

Where does gaming fit when life gets hard? After unexpectedly being made redundant, Liam found himself questioning whether he deserved to spend time playing games. It took a return to Spider-Man 2 to remind him that enjoying something during a difficult period does not mean ignoring what has happened. Scott also reflects on returning to Death Stranding, and why its message of simply putting one fo...

We’re predicting the review scores of 2026’s biggest upcoming games. Liam and Scott lock in their scores for GTA 6, Marvel’s Wolverine, Silent Hill Townfall, Fire Emblem Fortunes Weave, Control Resonant, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 and more. Before that, we share our early impressions of Marvel Tōkon Fighting Souls. Neither of us planned to buy it, but its accessible combat, brilliant presentati...

Have you ever bought a great game at completely the wrong time? Scott bought Assassin’s Creed Valhalla alongside three other games for the PS5 launch. Liam bought Super Mario Odyssey, Wolfenstein 2 and Assassin’s Creed Origins shortly before becoming a parent. Neither plan went particularly well. This week, we discuss the games we never gave a fair chance because life, other releases or our own bu...

Episode 123 - The Unwritten Rules Every Gamer Follows & Halo Campaign Evolved - Pixel Parents Podcast How wrong are we about to be? What are the unwritten rules every gamer follows? Check behind every waterfall. Smash every box. Explore away from the objective marker. Never use your best healing item because you might need it later. This week, we confess the strange gaming habits nobody had to...

How wrong are we about to be? This week we're putting our reputations on the line by making bold predictions for where gaming is heading over the next five years. Will physical games survive? Will next-generation consoles become so expensive that finance plans become the norm? Which companies are about to get it right... and which ones are heading for trouble? We also share our thoughts on Den...

Some games never really leave us. Years later, we can still remember the soundtrack, the ending, a favourite character, or exactly where we were when we first played them. This week we're asking a simple question. What actually makes a game stay with us? Is it nostalgia? Music? Replayability? The people we played with? Or something much deeper? Joining Liam once again is Alex from The Mimic&#3...

Gaming feels like it's at a crossroads. This week, we react to another difficult week for the industry as Xbox announces more than 3,000 layoffs in what it calls a "reset". What does this mean for the future of gaming? Are publishers chasing impossible growth, and is the industry heading towards a wider correction? Then we ask ourselves a very different question… If we could start ou...

This week on the Pixel Parents Podcast, we're preparing for a huge life event. No, not GTA 6. Scott has become a father for the second time. Before he disappears into a haze of nappies, sleepless nights and questionable gaming decisions, we're sitting down for one final check in. In this episode: Preparing for baby number two The games secretly piling up in the backlog What gaming looks li...

This week on the Pixel Parents Podcast, we're asking a question that felt impossible just a few years ago… Has gaming become too expensive? Following the announcement of the Steam Machine and its eye-watering price tag, we're discussing whether gaming hardware has finally crossed a line. Are we entering a future where new consoles and premium hardware are becoming inaccessible for average...

We're officially past the halfway point of 2026. So what is Game of the Year... so far? This week we're building our current GOTY shortlist, debating the biggest contenders, and asking which games still have a realistic chance of being in the conversation when The Game Awards roll around in December. Will Resident Evil Requiem still be standing? Can Mixtape go all the way? And have we alre...

September and October are absolutely stacked. Publishers are racing to launch before GTA 6 arrives, and the result is one of the most crowded release windows we’ve seen in years. So how do we decide what actually deserves our time? Which games are day-one priorities? Which ones can wait for a sale? And how do we avoid destroying both our wallets and our backlogs? This week we draft our must-plays,...

This week on Pixel Reacts, we're breaking down everything announced during the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 and the Gears of War: E-Day Direct. From Gears of War and Fable to Persona 6, Spyro, Clockwork Revolution and more, Xbox delivered one of its strongest showcases in years. But the biggest talking point wasn't a single game. It was the feeling that Xbox finally has a direction again. We d...

This week on Pixel Reacts, we're breaking down Summer Game Fest 2026. Or at least we're trying to. After more than two hours, dozens of trailers, endless announcements and a whole lot of games we struggled to care about, we came away with one big question. Has Summer Game Fest become too bloated? We discuss: Resident Evil Requiem Cuphead announcements TMNT The Last Ronin Control Resonance...

The Nintendo Switch 2 is officially one year old. So… was it worth it? This week we look back at our first year with Nintendo’s latest console. What surprised us, what disappointed us, and whether it has truly earned a permanent place in our gaming lives. We break down: The standout games The surprises (and letdowns) Docked vs handheld reality What year two needs to deliver Elsewhere this week: Mo...

PlayStation came out swinging. This latest State of Play gave us our best look yet at Marvel's Wolverine, a surprise reveal for God of War: Laufey, Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Until Dawn 2 and a whole lot more. In this special episode of Pixel REACTS , we break down the biggest announcements, our favourite moments, and whether Sony delivered one of its stronge...

Showcase season is here. This week, we’re making bold predictions for: Summer Game Fest, Sony’s State of Play, and Xbox Game Showcase What must show up? What surprise reveals are we calling now? And which platform holder has the most to prove? Plus, we have our impressions of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight... and whether it might send parents to Arkham Asylum. And we discuss our impression...