It's the summer of the delay. This week Raz and Jake break down two tactical shooters moving in opposite directions — Hell Let Loose: Vietnam getting pushed back to August after a rough beta, and Wardogs pulling its early access UP (something you basically never see) — and what each move says about a studio's confidence.
Then it's Summer Game Fest: the turn-based Star Wars Zero Company that's right up Raz's alley, the surprisingly good-looking Lords of the Fallen 2, and the story everyone's actually arguing about — God of War: Laufey, where Sony takes Kratos out of the lead and hands the axe to his late wife Faye. Creator David Jaffe called it live: "this is not God of War."
We get into whether dropping your icon is a bold swing or brand suicide, why the shooter genre feels stale and dead right now, and why most video games — yes, even in your favorite genre — just suck. Two friends, real takes, no script.
0:00 - Intro & the Summer of the Delay
1:27 - Hell Let Loose: Vietnam beta — what's broken
7:00 - Why the HLL: Vietnam delay to August is the right call
10:02 - Wardogs pulls its date UP (you never see this)
13:49 - Plot twist: Team17 publishes both games
15:57 - The shooter genre is stale and dying
20:14 - "These devs actually play video games"
26:30 - Summer Game Fest & why most games suck
29:59 - Keighley, Highguard & the single-player pivot
39:35 - Star Wars Zero Company — turn-based tactics
53:50 - Lords of the Fallen 2 reaction
57:23 - God of War: Laufey — they took Kratos out
1:04:23 - A 20-year fan: "I wanna play as Kratos"
1:23:04 - DMZ tomorrow on Patreon + shoutouts
_Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._
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