The VGBees Podcast

Editor's note: this week's episode contains an incredulous collective unpacking of an explosive investigative report about Roblox which goes into the many ways the game is dangerous for children. While not going into graphic detail about what was found in the report, it's still a troubling look into the different ways Roblox and its ownership have put children in danger. This week, John & Niki...

This week, Niki goes deep on Starfield's DLC, Shattered Space . It's about the snake people, the most interesting part of the original Starfield . Does the DLC have the juice to get folks back into Todd's big space sandbox? Will John have a meltdown comparing the narrative depth and nuance of Tali's Pilgrimage quest in Mass Effect to what happens in Shattered Space ? You'll simply have to listen t...

This week, Niki and John discuss their favorites so far in the year's most astonishing release, UFO 50 . What's your favorite from the collection? Also: Ghost of Yotei Legacy of Kain 1 & 2 Remastered Hell is Us Overwatch The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom As always, your burning questions from The Hive are addressed and answered!

Nintendo decided to sue Palworld this week so Niki and John would have something to really dig into. Thanks, Nintendo!!!!!!! Also this week: Switch 2 possibly leaked Concord 's team is in limbo shockingly positive Dragon Age: The Veilguard previews the PSX-styled PS5 fleet the breadth of UFO 50 Your Hive questions are also answered and the podcast got emotional over the loss of communal spaces and...

This week, John breaks the news of Annapurna Interactive's staff resignation to Niki. They also break down the PlayStation 5 Pro reveal and talk about the 650 additional people laid off from Microsoft this week. As far as specific game chat: Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door I Am Your Beast Super Mario Odyssey Astro Bot Final Fantasy VIII So...

Niki has been blessed to have several days with Astro Bot and decided to tell John all about it, despite the fact that John can't play it for another few weeks. Tragedy. It sounds absolutely lovely and what a time for it, too. In addition to contemplating the overall state of games, the two discuss: Concord Marvel Snap Balatro We also answer your burning questions from The Hive and wow, y'all real...

Niki and John have a good old fashioned "hey are we separating art from artist now" conversation they didn't plan for when tackling the receptions to Black Myth Wukong , Star Wars Outlaws , and the inevitable Assassin's Creed Shadows. In lighter fare, the two also discuss: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remake The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Astro Bot the Double Dragon movie who we'd...

This week, Niki and John celebrate the return of Peter Molyneux to the world of games with his main stage appearance at Gamescom Opening Night Live. We were just talking about needing more weird guys in games, and wow we got our wish! Will his game ever come out? How much did he actually make on that NFT game he probably used to fund this new game? Will he be sued by Microsoft even though "Albion"...

We have a big confession to make, gamers. John and Niki have watched videos and read articles about a video game called Deadlock , which Valve has sworn us to secrecy never to divulge its very existence. Consider it then, dear gamer, a privilege that we've chosen your ears as the recipient of our knowledge. If we disappear from this earth, you will know our sacrifice. Also: 2XKO Madden 25 Fortnite...

This week, John and Niki are joined by former Video Lead at Game Informer Alex Van Aken to talk about the abrupt, ghoulish closure of the storied publication. It's a great chat that illuminates what the past few months has been like at the magazine as well as a bit of a dive into some history and memories of the brand. Alex also pulls the curtain back on his new supporter-funded project Viewport ....

This week, Niki and John discuss a terrible week for Bungie employees, a terrible week for Jon Blow, and a terrible week for AI discourse in video games. All in all, it's a laugh riot for two straight hours! Also discussed: Thank Goodness You're Here! Steamworld Heist II College Football 25 Madden NFL 25 NBA 2K25 Also, Hive questions about: Richard Garriott Peter Molyneux Shane McMahon Bubsy (esse...

This week, Niki and John got way into it about Evo 2024, the brilliance of fighting games, and the way sports have (and haven't) infiltrated the industry's biggest event for the genre. Also: No Man's Sky 5.0 Flock Dungeons of Hinterberg The crew also (clumsily) dissected the ramifications of Bethesda and World of Warcraft teams forming wall-to-wall unions this week. Seems particularly big in the f...

This week, Niki and John tackle the most important news of the week, including: whether Niki should see Longlegs not wearing headphones on video calls hanging doors Oh also video games, including: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Bioshock Infinite Emio - The Smiling Man In hour two, they're joined by Secret Base's Kofie Yeboah, who is as excited as everyone else about the return of EA Sports' col...

This week, Niki and John are joined by The Verge's Ash Parrish. On the agenda: - our favorite jazz musicians - which wines pair best with human aging - disgusting Aperol - Cody Rhodes' appalling chosen aesthetic OH ALSO video games! - Zenless Zone Zero - Supermoves - Xbox Game Pass tier changes - Steam Deck - 2K's rumored FIFA game - College Football 25 - Riot's canceled platform fighter As always...

This week, John's riding solo due to holiday scheduling apocalypses. Never fear! He's here to chat about the best in games this week, including: - The new Switch Online slate (it's weird) - Fragpunk's closed alpha - M. Bison is live in Street Fighter 6 - The Land Beneath Us puts an interesting spin on roguelites ALSO, we answer questions directly from The Hive! - Will AAA development ever find a p...

John and Niki are back at it again with all the news and analysis in games you need to know. This time, they're joined by Imran Khan, who is totally normal when it comes to heating up leftovers! Anyway! The crew covered a lot of ground this week including: Guy "Dr. Disrespect" Beahm's overdue ouster from the public consciousness in the wake of the revelations of his "inappropriate" correspondence...

John and Niki take a deep dive into a very strong Nintendo Direct, featuring discussion of: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Mario & Luigi: Brothership Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics The New Denpa Men Later, they're joined by writer, author, and budding miniature painting YouTuber Merritt K to chat everything Warhammer 40,000, including: Wha...

Niki and John are joined this week by Game Informer associate editor and MinnMax contributor Charles Harte. All three were all in Los Angeles to cover Summer Game Fest 2024 and came away feeling mostly energized by what they saw and played. Covered in this episode: - LEGO Horizon Adventures - Wanderstop - Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind - Skate - Fable - Doom: The Dark Ages - South of Midnight - Gear...

On the eve of SGF, John posted up in his downtown Los Angeles hotel room to talk to himself for roughly 40 minutes. Niki's busy getting ready for Giant Bomb's extremely busy weekend and John's trying to get a website launched, so please enjoy this more low-key second episode before we go deep on everything going on with SGF. Topics covered: Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has a new name and it's pretty bad...

John & Niki are officially back in the saddle talking what it means to be back working in games media after a hiatus! TL;DR, they're both excited to be doing this again together. This week, our hosts are eaten up with what makes a game "finished" in 2024 and does it even matter? Hades 2 is certainly big for an Early Access game, but how does it evolve between now and 1.0? John's wondering what...