We're halfway through another year, so we've grabbed Brendan Hesse to help us take a look back through the past six months and pick out our five favorite games from 2024 so far. Then we'll get deeper into Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, rumors around upcoming additions to Mortal Kombat 1's roster, and your favorite games to come out this year.

Question of the Week: Who should be the next Mortal Kombat guest character?

Break song is Bosk on a Segway by MC Chris. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdree is out at last today, and we've got Tony WIlson of Framework on to talk about his experience with it - but first, we're going to talk about five DEEPLY suspicious. wildly creepy NPCs who actually proved trustworthy in spite of setting off alarm bells in our heads. Plus we'll talk about the Nintendo Direct reveals — including Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdome — as well as Still Wakes the Deep, #BLUD, and much more!

Question of the Week: What's your personal Game of the Year for 2024 so far? (As in, a game that's come out in the past six months.)

Break song is You Can't Judge a Book By the Cover by Bo Diddley. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

This week, we delve into news from Summer Game Fest, Xbox Games Showcase, and Ubisoft Forward — but not before inviting Chris Baker on to talk about five "lesser" ports of A-list games that suddenly became the only versions after the "real" games got canceled. We'll also take a look at Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Selaco, and the pop-culture icons you think still need defining games.

Question of the Week: Have you ever had a chance to experience a piece of "lost" media (canceled games, unreleased movies, etc.)? Tell us about it.

Break song is Good Enough for Now by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

The incredible Godzilla Minus One is now on Netflix, so Anthony Abatte joins us to talk... not about Godzilla games (which range from "pretty good" to "abysmal"), but about Godzilla and other cultural icons who have videogames, but not ones that really capture their essence the way, say, Arkham does for Batman. Then we'll touch on Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the Yakuza live-action series news, announcements from last week's State of Play, and your favorite videogame-trope-inspiring movies.

Question of the Week: What’s a pop-culture icon you think is overdue for a definitive game?