Dense Pixels - Video Game News and Reviews

It's been an oppressively bad week of real-world events, but Sony's stable of developers put a smile on our face sticking it to Jim Ryan. Activision-Blizzard is being pushed by their shareholders to show their work, Ted Cruz is as odious a gamer as he is a human, and we definitely mention the Nintendo third-party Direct.   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  Dense Pixels We have a Discord server! -...

Good news! Activision-Blizzard has declared they did nothing wrong, courtesy of an investigation paid for by...Activision-Blizzard. In Diablo Immortal news, we discover the exact wrong way to protest Blizzard's gross monetization practices. We also talk surprising Final Fantasy VII and Dragon's Dogma drops, whether Saudi investment in video games will - or should - affect our buying practices, and...

Another Keigh3 aka Summer Games Fest has come and gone, and with no E3 this year, this is our summer gaming vortex! We discuss our thoughts on the show generally as well as the games that left the biggest impression on us.   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  Dense Pixels We have a Discord server! - www.densepixels.com/fans You can now follow us on Twitch! Brad -  DensePixelsBrad Terrence -  App4R...

Diablo Immortal is a really fun Diablo game! Too bad it also happens to be a really predatory mobile experience more interested in making all the money instead of just putting out a great product! Sony had themselves a real good State of Play and we are positively buzzing about Final Fantasy XVI and Street Fighter 6. Epic Games isn't interested in NFTs except when they are, and why bad leaders cre...

It's a pretty somber week in world events, and that holds true for the games industry with the Saudi government buying a share of your favorite video game company and former cops taking para-social relationships with their favorite streamers way too far. Fortunately we have some good news with Raven Software giving the US games industry their first union. Then in the Post Office, Carrie and Micah...

Sony Worldwide Studios VP Jim Ryan's cats were in the news this week, and if you missed the original story you'll never guess why! We discuss the delays of Starfield and Redfall and if it negatively impacts the value of Game Pass. We also review Sony's initial offerings of their enhanced PlayStation Plus plans, discuss Activision-Blizzard's corporate plans for diversity in their games, the WATA la...

A slow week breeds tangents! We do talk about FIFA making a hilarious blunder, the FTC taking a sharp look at the Sony-Bungie deal, and Monster Hunter Rise's new expansion. But then Micah gives his initial Drive to Survive impressions and pontificates which driver and team he should support. And finally, the great baked goods debate returns as we argue about cake vs. pie and the dessert that binds...

SquareEnix has unloaded all of their western developers for a song...and it's so they can go full steam into Blockchain?! We certainly have our thoughts on that as well as Reggie Fils-Aime getting decidedly less cool. Sony is catching some heat for doing something Steam has been doing for years. Twitch is pissing off their creators for silly reasons. Finally, Micah talks about his very first viewi...

It's a surprising political gaming news show as the Governor of California may have flexed his political muscle improperly in the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit and Nintendo is the latest company accused of union-busting practices. We found what is likely to replace NFT's as the latest money-grab in gaming, and it's the return of an old foe. Brad has been playing not one, but two rogue-like deck buil...

Yes, there sure is another Kingdom Hearts game in development, but why (for the love of god!)? We also dance on the grave of NFT's in video games, hopefully not prematurely (for the love of god!). Activision-Blizzard employees have shown us how organizing works, and you are treated to an extended Post Office segment thanks to a light news week.   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  Dense Pixels We...

I don't know if it's possible to do a true post-mortem on Elden Ring after a month, but Micah has earn a platinum trophy so we talk about why it's so special and why it's unlikely to be replicated. Geoff Keighley (and COVID) may have killed E3 forever. Another Microsoft studio is experiencing some turmoil. The game industry needs to figure out accreditation. Brad started - and finished - Hyper Lig...

On this week's show we talk the new PlayStation Plus tiers and why a lot of folks are approaching the news (or lack thereof) from the wrong standpoint. Brad is also relatively pleased with the olive branch extended by Polyphony for Gran Turismo 7. Grand Theft Auto Online is finding ways to get even more money from players, we aren't feeling WrestleMania this year, and yes, more Elden Ring talk. We...

We really hope you enjoyed last week's video game love-fest because we're back to the miserable news around the game industry. Sony gets a two-fer thanks to Polyphony making Gran Turismo 7 intentionally grindy and the exposure of sexual harassment within PlayStation. The Initiative has been dealing with a ton of turnover and we talk about what should be expected from the new Perfect Dark. We can s...

We're almost entirely ignoring the news this week because we just want to talk about Elden Ring. Micah is hooked, and he and Brad rave about what makes Elden Ring just so damn transfixing. Brad would have played much more, but he's also been sidetracked by Gran Turismo 7 - perhaps the most earnest game he's ever played. Brad discusses Puzzle Quest 3, we talk video game companies pulling out of Rus...

Brad is transfixed by Elden Ring in the first dozen hours he's spent with the game. The real question is - can Micah resist buying it during the show in the face of such praise? We got the surprise announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet which is coming out this year! The rumored features of PlayStation Spartacus is as underwhelming as we expected. And Gabe Newell is out here spitting hot truth...

This week, Carrie talks about her continued thoughts on Pokemon Legends Arceus now that she's completed it, and how they truly make you a Pokemon big game hunter. Of course we have thoughts on the Street Fighter 6 reveal and the new character designs they are rolling with. The SEC filings that Activision had to turn over for the merger have seen the light of day and we get some interesting tidbits...

We have a Cyberpunk 2077 next-gen update sighting...and it's here to download! We can't fathom why it's coming out just ahead of Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring, but at least it's here. We had a hell of a Nintendo Direct including exciting Splatoon 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Strikers Battle League news! There's also NFT's backfiring on Team 17, possible Sony censorship, and is Street...

We impressions of new games this week! Carrie tells us if Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the beginning of new and exciting future for the Pokemon franchise. Micah discusses why Sifu will be a game truly in the eye of the beholder. We also discuss Grand Theft Auto V's astronomical success, Activision-Blizzard bleeding players, and why surely no developer would leave Ubisoft now! There’s a Nintendo Dire...

We're back to our regularly scheduled programming of industry-shaping acquisitions and NFT's! We discuss what Sony is actually buying in Bungie and generally about consolidation in the game industry. We also have a ton of NFT stories; both encouraging - like some early converts like Troy Baker and EA seeing the error of their ways - and massively depressing in what Ubisoft and Atari are bringing t...

We're settling down from the bomb that was dropped on the game industry last week, and we discuss some of the stories that have basked in the afterglow, like Phil Spencer's carefully-worded Call of Duty statement, the wild reactionary nature of stock markets, and Bobby Kotick's wild move to get better press for his beleaguered company. Brad raves about Nobody Saves the World, the best ARPG this si...

We spent A LOT of time on the seismic Microsoft acquisition of Activision-Blizzard: the details, what it means for these companies, and how Microsoft is going to find the value in this immense deal. As if that weren't enough, we also give you our individual top 5 games of 2021. What could be our number ones? The answer shouldn't surprise you!   Use our Amazon page to donate to the show:  www.dense...

We talk about perhaps the most acceptable(?) form of police misconduct that we've heard about. Konami find new and exciting ways to whore out their popular IP's for as many cynical Schrute-bucks as they can gather. Carrie has Walked to the End of Final Fantasy XIV, and Take-Two "Micah's" their way to mobile gaming dominance. Use our Amazon page to donate to the show:  www.densepixels.com/amazon Su...

Holy hell we have NFT news to sort through this week, so we're definitely doing that. Brad also is a proud Xbox owner now so he and Micah talk the unbridled fun that is Halo Infinite multiplayer and why Forza Horizon 5 not being a great racing game really isn't a problem. Brad has been hooked on some unexpected Switch game in Unsighted and One Step from Eden. Ubisoft is reaping what they sowed, an...

Activision Blizzard employees seem on the cusp of the first big unionization effort in the games industry. You'll never guess what Activision corporate is trying to do in response! We have impressions of Loop Hero, Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon, The Matrix Awakens, and Halo Infinite. We also talk about the Game Awards being relatively lackluster, and Brad walks Micah through what is probably going...

Final Fantasy XIV might have the best community in the video game universe. Activision can't stop collecting bad press with layoffs at Raven Software. A now-former Sony executive got to star in a low budget version of a Chris Hansen show, and we wax poetic over one of the greatest games of its day.   Use our Amazon page to donate to the show:  www.densepixels.com/amazon Subscribe to our YouTube ch...