It’s been a staring content between Sony and Microsoft for months now, but with the leak of the Series S over the weekend, Microsoft decided to pull back the curtain and reveal the launch date and price for the Xbox Series S and Series X. 

• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Stealth Drops
• Super Mario 3D All-Stars Gets a Release Date
• And Other Mario 35th Anniversary Info
• Minecraft is Coming to PSVR
• Rise of the Triad is Getting a Remaster in 2021
• You Can Now Play Doom On a Pregnancy Test

What We’re Playing

Colby: Drake’s Hollow, daBlob
Cliff: Yooka-Laylee, Tell Me Why
Dylan: Spellbreak, Fortnite, Artifact 2.0 Beta, Fall Guys

Questions

Vinny: Why do Games as a Service get the amount of hate they do? Is it only critically that they receive the hate? Games as a Service games that are just launching seem to always face the issue of ‘it’s not a complete game’, even with knowing they plan to support it for years to come. Avengers got this treatment. Anthem proved that statement. Should we always judge Games as a Service like an Anthem, or should we expect Games as a Service to become like a Destiny?

Megan: I was bs’ing with my brother, and we were discussing how the rise of Marvel movies turned a  previously nerdy niche into mainstream pop culture. What nerdy thing do you love and would you like to see have this kind of rise?

Charisma_Icon: What do you like in a good egg scramble?

Wepaman: What goodie would make you buy the collector’s edition of a game? Like a working Batarang?

Princess_mansocks: What is your favorite Funko pop figure?

Cheap/Free Games

Epic Games Store

• Railway Empire
  In Railway Empire, you will create an elaborate and wide-ranging rail network, purchase over 40 different trains modeled in extraordinary detail, and buy or build railway stations, factories and attractions to keep your network ahead of the competition.
• Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
  Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a Narrative-Adventure game about traveling, sharing stories, and surviving manifest destiny. Players wander across a folkloric Depression-era United States at their own pace, meeting strangers with their own stories to tell.

Humble Choice

https://www.humblebundle.com/subscription

Totally Tropico

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/totally-tropico

The choice is yours, you can buy an Xbox Series X, a PlayStation 5 and probably a Switch OR a Geforce 3090. You have to really, really like PC games to pick the latter. 

• Stern Avengers: Infinity Quest
• Sony Is Thinking About Bringing More First-Party Games to PC
• Pirate Battle Royale is Coming in Early September
• Fall Guys Raises $1 Million for Charity
• Sea of Thieves is Getting Dogs and New Content
• 12 Seconds is Coming Soon and Bring Some Real Star Power

What We’re Playing

Colby: Viva Pinata, Graveyard Keeper, Hypnospace Outlaw
Cliff: Battletoads, The Turing Test, Divinity Original Sin 2
Hans: Tarkov, Torchlight 3 

Questions

DA VINSTER: What’re your thoughts on battle passes in games? Do they add to the experience for you…do they take away cause you may feel you’re obtaining fewer items from the base game? Overall thoughts…good, bad?

Charisma_Icon: With the masterpieces that Hamilton and Greatest Showman now on Disney+, what video game do you think would make a great musical?

TheDonz: If you could pick one member of the discord to drop into any survival type game which person would it be and what game? Also if they are a Patreon then you get to gift them one item to assist in their survival as a thank you!!

Mansocks: How many of you are going to buy Marvel’s Avengers after seeing Vinny stream it?

Cheap/Free Games

Epic Game Store

• Into the Breach

Xbox Games with Gold

• Tom Clancy’s The Division ($29.99 ERP): Available September 1 to 30 on Xbox One
• The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 ($19.99 ERP): Available September 16 to October 15 on Xbox One
• de Blob 2 ($19.99 ERP): Available September 1 to 15 on Xbox One & Xbox 360
• Armed & Dangerous($9.99 ERP): Available September 16 to 30 on Xbox One & Xbox 360

Game Pass

• Crusader Kings III (PC) ID@Xbox – Available today!
• The Jackbox Party Pack 4 (Console) ID@Xbox – September 3
• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard (Console & PC) – September 3
• Tell Me Why: Chapter Two (Console & PC) – September 3
• Touhou Luna Nights (Console & PC) ID@Xbox – September 3
• World War Z (PC) – September 3
• Star Renegades (PC) ID@Xbox – September 8
• Disgaea 4 Complete+ (PC) – September 10
• Hotshot Racing (Console) ID@Xbox – September 10
• Tell Me Why: Chapter Three (Console & PC) – September 10
• Destiny 2: Shadowkeep & Forsaken (Console) – Coming Soon

Twitch Prime

• Autonauts – Travel the universe, setting worlds in motion through the power of automation
• Pumped BMX Pro – Master 60 levels and over 200 challenges while pulling off as many radical stunts as possible on one of 15 bikes
• Effie – Live a unique fantasy adventure and relive the look and feel of old-school videogames in this 3D action-adventure game
• Tiny Troopers Joint Ops – Command a team of small soldiers–war might be hell, but this is the funniest way to fight in one
• Outcast: Second Contact – Take off on an exploration of Adelpha, an alien world as beautiful as it is dangerous

Playstation Now

• Resident Evil 7
• Final Fantasy 15
• WWE 2K19
• Observation

Troll Corner

Good Lord Ubisoft, Get Your Shit Together
https://www.ign.com/articles/ubisoft-to-remove-raised-black-fist-imagery-from-tom-clancys-elite-squad-following-controversy 

It’s a AAA extravaganza this month, but a few cool indies snuck in. Stadia is even getting a little bit of love!

• Marvel’s Avengers (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC) – September 4
• NBA 2K21 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) – September 4
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 And 2 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – September 4
• The Outer Worlds: Peril On Gorgon DLC (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – September 9
• eFootball PES 2021 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – September 15
• Spelunky 2 (PlayStation 4, PC) – September 15
• Crysis Remastered (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – September 18
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – September 18
• Serious Sam 4 (Stadia, PC) – September 24
• Mafia: Definitive Edition (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC) – September 25
• Baldur’s Gate III (Stadia, PC) – September 30 

https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/7mtIw4Leyd9vC6E5M6wv6Q

Epic, Google and Apple are in a slap fight over paying app royalties all in the name of…freedom? But the folks who really have the most to lose are app store devs using the Unity engine that might see their apps delisted.

Other Video Game News

• Sony Is Working on a New VR Headset (But it Might not be PSVR) 
• Ghost of Tsushima is Getting a New Co-op Mode This Fall 
• Untitled Goose Game is Also Getting a Free Co-op Mode in September 
• Please, Please, Please Give Me a Firewatch Movie 
• The Switch is Getting a BUNCH of New, Cool Games 
• Ashraf Ismail Has Been Fired By Ubisoft After Harassment Accusations 

What We’re Playing

Colby: Wizard of Legend, XenoCrisis, UnderMine, Halo, Graveyard Keeper Cliff: Divinity: Original Sin 2, Carrion
Dylan: THPS Demo

Questions

DA VINSTER (Vinny): With the delay of halo infinite, what is the must buy title for the series x/ps5 launch title. Furthermore, how important are launch day titles? Are they as important as some think they are or are they only impactful short term.

Mister Polite: What game always gets in your way of playing games in your back log?

Call Me Handsome: What video game characters would you like to run for president?  I want Duke Nukem and his VP is The Predator.

Princess_Megan: If you could bring any historical figure to the present day to play a video game with,  who would you play with and which game would you play?

How Do We Human podcast:

Cheap/Free Games

Epic Game Store

• Enter the Gungeon
• God’s Trigger

Game Pass

• Microsoft Flight Simulator (PC) –  August 17
• Spiritfarer (Console & PC) ID@Xbox –  August 17 
• Battletoads (Console & PC) – August 20
• Crossing Souls (PC) ID@Xbox – August 20
• Darksiders: Genesis (PC) – August 20
• Don’t Starve: Giant Edition (Console & PC) ID@Xbox – August 20
• New Super Lucky’s Tale (Console & PC) – August 21
• Hypnospace Outlaw (Console & PC) ID@Xbox – August 27
• Tell Me Why: Chapter 1 (Console & PC) – August 27
• Double Kick Heroes (Console & PC) ID@Xbox – August 28
• Wasteland 3 (Console & PC) – August 28
• Crusader Kings III (PC) ID@Xbox – September 1
• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard (Console & PC) – September 3

Troll Corner

 

With effectively zero warning, Microsoft pulled the plug on Mixer this week, stating that “It became clear that the time needed to grow our own live streaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences we want to deliver to gamers now.” Existing Mixer Partners are being redirected to Facebook Gaming (a destination that a lot of folks aren’t pleased with.) 

Other Video Game News

• The Games Industry Faces a Reckoning As Sexual Assault and Harassment Survivors Name Names
• What is the PS5 Going to Cost? 
• Facebook Acquires Ready at Dawn 
• Are You Bummed About the Cyberpunk Delay? Maybe a Comic Book Will Tide You Over 
• Nintendo’s Mobile Experiment Might Be Over 
• Billy Mitchell Got His Records Back 

What We’re Playing

Colby: Torchlight 2, Ryse: Son of Rome, West of Dead
Cliff: FarCry 4, SkateBIRD, Erica, Lord Winklebottom Investigates, Super Animal Royale
Hans: EFT, Valorant, Xenophobe 

Questions

Vinny: Inspired by the Marvel’s Avengers video game, what ensemble cast would you like to have their own game? Story based? Co-op? Both?

Brooke: What stupid reason made you quit playing a game? (https://www.cracked.com/pictofacts-1805-tell-us-now-what-dumb-thing-made-you-walk-away-from-game-you-liked/)

Mister Polite: Playing the Last of Us 2 and it’s odd.  I love the game but it’s not fun.  It’s dire, depressing, sad and feels like it’s just going to get worse.  Is there a game/movie/book that you loved but at the same didn’t enjoy it?

Princess Megan: Ignoring any dangers in the game, which video game would have the nicest spot(s) for a vacation? For example, it could be a beach, amusement park, forest, or anywhere you could see yourself wanting to visit if it was real.

Mansocks: Crunchy or Smooth Peanut Butter?

Cheap/Free Games

Epic Games Store

• AER Memories of Old
  • Transform into a bird and fly to explore and experience a vibrant world of floating islands in the sky. Venture down into lost ancient ruins where each step leads you closer to the end of the world.
• Stranger Things 3: The Game 
  • Play through familiar events from the series while also uncovering never-before-seen quests, character interactions, and secrets!

Twitch Prime

• Mad Tracks
  • Mad Tracks is an action packed toy car game. Play mini games and race in everyday places. Have immediate fun – guaranteed

Small Bites

Colby tells us about mobile games he hates and one that he likes called Best Fiends.

Just to be on the record, Cliff called this at least a month ago. The bad news is there isn’t going to be a PAX West or PAX Australia this year. The good news is that they are replacing it with a nine-day virtual show!

Other Video Game News

• Video Games as Medicine
• Smart Delivery is Even Smarter Than You Think
• Star Wars Squadrons Looks Amazing and It’s Only $40
• Spider-Man Miles Morales Is A Stand-Alone Expansion
• He’s the Reason Why The PS5 Looks Like a Router

What We’re Playing

Colby: Diablo 3, Skyrim
Cliff: Mass Effect Andromeda, Grim Dawn/Geforce Now, Desperados 3
Dylan: Meat

Questions

Davinster: Pick 3, the rest disappear forever!

Mister Polite: If you could be a NPC what video game would you want to be in?

Think about this question and then watch this video that Megan sent us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYsyTq8pF2g&feature=youtu.be

TheCapturedEddie: What’s one positive thing you liked so far from an “E3” event and one thing you didn’t. Whether it be games or a vague announcement, or Stadia.

Tr1pletrouble88: Counterpoint to your answer from last week’s question, do you think that Xbox could innovate and make a sort of Bluetooth headset that runs on the Xbox but streams to a headset?

Cheap/Free Games

Fight for Racial Justice Bundle

https://www.humblebundle.com/fight-for-racial-justice-bundle

Jump Rope Challenge

https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendos-jump-rope-challenge-is-available-now-on-switch-for-free

Steam Summer Game Festival

https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-game-festival-summer-edition-puts-dozens-of-free-demos-at-your-fingertips/

Get Origin Access for $1

https://www.pcgamer.com/get-a-month-of-origin-access-for-less-than-a-dollar/

Get the Witcher 3 for Free If You Own It Somewhere Else

https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/16/21293225/witcher-3-wild-hunt-free-gog-galaxy-download

Small Bites

Slay the Spire is great on iOS and is only $10

Fallout 76 players trying to participate in the Fasnacht Parade just can’t seem to get enough intestines to fill up the butcher’s icebox. I know, it sounds like we made this up, but I swear it’s a real problem.

Other video game news:

• Phil Spencer is Still Feeling Good About This Year’s Game Releases
• Looking Forward to GTA 6?
• Kingdom Hearts is Getting a Disney+ Series
• The Dark Side of Online Sports

Questions

DaVinster: What’s a game that you got addicted to years after it released? Currently, for me it’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Mister Polite: Adding on to Vinny’s what game do you regret not playing. Like for me, GTA3 and GT4 are games that came out during the years that I didn’t play a lot of games and going back to those games would be extremely hard.

Megan: Is it Friday yet?…with many places doing virtual tours because of the virus, if you could go anywhere in a VR true to life fully immersive 3D world, where would you go?

Glitch Bunny: BLEND THREE VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS TO MAKE ONE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER WHAT WOULD THEIR GAME BE

Hans: Favorite Waffle topping. Syrup, Chocolate, fruit?

Cheap/Free Games

Playstation Plus

• Call of Duty: WWII
• Star Wars Battlefront II

Games with Gold

• Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse (June 1–30)
• Coffee Talk (June 16-July 15)
• Sine Mora (June 16–30)
• Destroy All Humans (June 1–15)

Game Pass Xbox

• Cities Skyline: Console Edition
• Alan Wake
• Golf With Friends
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Minecraft Dungeons
• No Man’s Sky (June)

Game Pass PC

• Cities Skyline
• Alan Wake
• Plebby Quest
• No Man’s Sky (June)

Twitch Prime

• 16 games free currently: https://twitch.amazon.com/tp
• 20 free SNK games this summer: https://bit.ly/3emNKEm

Epic Game Store

• Maybe Borderlands?

Humble Bundle

• https://www.humblebundle.com/games/cities-skylines

June is a bit of a slow month, with one major, major exception that comes out on the 19th. Yes, you heard it here first, Burnout Paradise Remastered for the Switch comes out on June 19th.

• Valorant (PC) — June 2
• Sea of Thieves (PC) — June 3
• The Outer Worlds (Switch) — June 5
• Command & Conquer Remastered Collection (PC) — June 5
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor (PS4, Xbox) — June 9
• Desperados III (PS4, Xbox, PC) — June 16
• Disintegration (PS4, Xbox, PC) — June 16
• Burnout Paradise Remastered (Switch) — June 19
• The Last of Us Part II (PS4) — June 19
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom — Rehydrated (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC) — June 23
• Ninjala (Switch) — June 24
• The Wonderful 101: Remastered (PC, PS4, Switch) (Physical) — June 30

Both Fallout 76 and Anthem released a little bit of news this week, which made us wonder, at what point should a game just stop trying to save itself? The answer (as it usually is) probably comes down to money.

What We’re Playing

Colby: theHunt: Call of the Wild, Ocarina of Time
Cliff: The Hunt, Mass Effect Andromeda, Kingdom Hearts 3

News

• No, Bethesda Isn’t Going to Charge You For Fallout 76’s Season Pass
• Anthem Overhaul Might Be a Ways Off
• PUBG Adds Ranked Mode and Bots
• The Epic Games Store Adds Additional Features
• Embracer Group Has 118 Titles in Development Right Now (and 69 Unannounced)
• Play ⅔ of the New Mafia Remasters Now
• Want a Goofy Portable Gaming PC?
• Let Steam Decide What You Should Play Next
• And the Award for Worst Business Model Goes To…

Questions

DA VINSTER (Vinny): What year in the 2000’s until the present has been the best year in gaming? Whether that be for games, consoles, etc. Each of you can have different answers, of course, doesn’t need to be a consensus. It can also be what was the best year for you.

Kim Cruz: In your opinion, who won this generation console war? How did it win?

Mister Polite: The only time I buy Lego games is when they are super on sale (like under $10). I always love playing them, and I make sure I get every trophy in the game, but there is no way I would pay close to full price on them. So that made me think, is there a game that you love but would only buy if they were on sale?

PanchoPanda: All three of you are at 3 different” haunted houses”. Make your own Scooby-Doo gang including a mascot. One house is haunted by a chef. Another by Bigfoot and the final house by Dylan’s beard. Who are the actual villains in these locations?

Princess_Megan: We are living in a world of microtransactions and multiple deluxe additions for video games, which have you spent the most money on? Was it due to buying an upgraded game package, the in-game transactions, or both?

I have a second one. I’m currently playing the DLC for We Happy Few, and it’s lacking compared to the actual game. This made me wonder if you had to choose between a great storyline with bad gameplay or great gameplay with a terrible storyline. Which would you choose?

Cheap/Free Games

Epic Games Store: Mystery Game (that might be The Witcher 3)

Game Pass Xbox

• Alan Wake
• DayZ (May 7)
• Final Fantasy IX (May 14)
• Fractured Minds (May 19)

Game Pass Xbox

• Halo 2
• Endless Legend
• Final Fantasy IX

Steam

• The LEGO® NINJAGO® Movie Video Game

Nintendo Online NES

• Rygar

Nintendo Online SNES

• Wild Guns
• Panel de Pon
• Operation Logic Bomb

UPlay

• Assassins Creed Discovery Tours

If you wanted to play a ton of remastered amazing video games on your Switch, May is going to be a great month for you!

• Zombie Army 4: Dead War (Stadia) – May 1 – $50?, Free for Pro
• John Wick Hex (PS4) – May 5 – $20
• Forza Street (iOS, Android) – May 5 – F2P
• Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Switch) – May 7 – $20
• Void Bastards (PS4, Switch) – May 7 – $30
• Star Wars Episode I: Racer (PS4, Switch) – May26/May 12 – ???
• Deep Rock Galactic (Xbox One, PC) – May 13 – $30
• Those Who Remain (PlayStation 4) – May 15 – $20
• The Wonderful 101: Remastered (PS4, Switch, PC) May 19 – $40
• Saints Row: The Third Remastered (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – May 22 – $40
• Minecraft: Dungeons (Xbox One, PC) — May 26 – $20/$30/GP
• Ninjala (Switch) – May 28 – F2P
• Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch) — May 29 – $60
• BioShock: The Collection (Switch) – May 29 – $50
• XCOM 2 (Switch) – May 29 – $50
• Borderlands Legendary Collection (Switch) – May 29 – $50

Every week the Byte Me Podcast dips into the games you should be playing! Featuring news and reviews for PC, console and mobile games, along with fun discussions about games from the classics to new releases. Perfect for casual gamers or for casual gamers that want to be a little more hardcore, join Byte Me and find your next favorite game!

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