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January Releases: Let's mostly focus on Animal Crossing and FFVII Remake for Switch 2, plus Code Vein 2 and Highguard. (yeah, we kinda forgot about Highguard too.)
StarCraft Shooter coming to Blizzcon? It might be Blizzard’s third attempt at a SC shooter, reportedly an open-world project led by Dan Hay (Far Cry fame).
Other stuff: Awesome Games Done Quick, a Starfield Star Wars conversion, and FF Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles hitting 1 million players.
We discuss games we played this week, including PlippUp, Fallout 4/New Vegas, Trails in the Sky, The Séance of Blake Manor, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Voidigo and beating Powerwash Simulator 2.
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Diablo IV: Both Scott and Beau are back in for Season 11. Scott’s "Hot Take" is that the game is officially "very good now”, and he does not care who knows it. (Paladin to 46); Beau claims it’s the best season of "Diablo 3" yet. (lol)
Scott: Revisiting Overload (on sale), playing Escape Room Simulator 2, and starting Banquet for Fools.
Jon: Reached the new area in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and is impressed by the visuals.
Beau: Mostly Jump Space outside of D4 play.
And a CRAP ton of your emails and texts for our last episode of 2025!
POSSIBLE SPOILER POINTS
00:00:00.00 - 00:00:00.00
00:00:00.00 - 00:00:00.00
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Get your ‘500+ Episodes’ mugs at Frogpants.shop now before its too late!. We recapped The Game Awards: Jon loved Resident Evil Requiem, Scott is into Total War Warhammer 40k, and Beau liked Gang of Dragon. We mostly bounced off Highguard.
News: Steam Winter Sale is live. Fallout Season 2 has started. We discussed Netflix buying WB (details at core.show). Supervive is shutting down after 7 months.
Played: Scott is on Path of Exile 2 and Mutant Football League 2. Jon is trying demos like Pragmata and back in FFXIV. Beau is on Witcher 3 and other sick-friendly games this week.
Ozzfudd notes Scott can finish Far Cry 4 and 5 in minutes via secret endings. Just another Nick suggests Super Fantasy Kingdom. Email us at SHOW@CORE.SHOW!
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🎉 500 EPISODE MUGS NOW AVAILABLE!
Get yours reserved before we hit the limit!
⚠️ SPOILER POLICY CLARIFICATION
Going forward:
1. We'll do our best not to offer major spoilers on narrative elements
2. We'll give ample warning to pause, skip ahead, or come back later
3. We'll front-load discussions with spoiler-free content
- Scott will play BGM over spoiler sections for podcast listeners
- Jon is doing YouTube chapters ASAP once the episode posts
NOTE: This has never been a spoiler-free show, but we're making extra effort for those asking. You have personal responsibility to avoid spoilers if they matter to you.
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🎮 MAIN TOPIC
THE FEW GAMES OF DECEMBER 2025
Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Octopath Traveler 0, Metroid Prime 4, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut, Terminator 2D: No Fate, & More.
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📰 NEWS ROUNDUP
🐴 Indie Game "Horses" Keeps Getting Banned
Banned from Steam, Epic, and now Humble. Still available on Itch.io and GOG.
🎬 Justin Lin to Direct Helldivers Movie
The Fast & Furious director takes on the video game adaptation.
🐺 SO MUCH WITCHER
- Witcher 4 NOT coming in 2026
- Witcher 5 and 6 also in the works
- Witcher Remastered on the way
🔞 WickedWhims Has 300K Daily Logins
Sims' biggest sex mod sees massive daily usage
🧛 Paradox Takes Blame for Bloodlines 2
Publisher says responsibility for poor sales lies fully with them, not developers
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🎮 WHAT WE'VE BEEN PLAYING
SCOTT
⚠️ Possible Spoilers: Did I finish Dispatch? Have to wait and see!
Split Fiction - Incredible co-op game. Most FUN game this year!
PowerWash Simulator 2 - Still the best CHORE CORE of 2025.
JON
CyberPunk 2077 - Done everything in base game, Phantom Liberty awaits
Marvel Cosmic Invasion - Started and finished
SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance - Sleeper hit! (Scott confirms)
BEAU
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt continues
Noobs Are Coming
Jump Space
Rocksmith 2014 - We're back
Star Citizen - I forgot about it... sorry
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Scott dropped a Patreon vs Core.show support comparison video—check it at Core.show for the breakdown. Also posted an article about RAM prices going absolutely bonkers right now. The advice? Wait it out. Don't be the person overpaying because you can't control yourself.
News Roundup:
WoW: Midnight Gets Real
Jon brought the news: World of Warcraft's next expansion drops March 2nd, 2026. Mark your calendars, prepare your excuses for missing work.
Half-Life 3 Copium Intensifies
People—including "insiders"—still think HL3 is getting announced this year. Spoiler: It's not. It never is. Stop doing this to yourselves.
CD Projekt Reality Check
GAMES PLAYED
Scott's Games
Dispatch
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
No Way Home
Guild Wars 2 Milestone
Jackbox Party Pack 11
Jon's Games
Cyberpunk 2077?
Beau's Games
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Finished
Witcher 3
Total Chaos
And LOTS MORE!
Contact: show@core.show | Text: tenhams.com
Links: Frogpants.com/core
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Main Topic: Game Awards Nominees. Megabonk dev withdraws "Best Debut Indie" nomination (made previous games). Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 breaks record with 12 nominations. Notable snubs: ARC Raiders, Dispatch, Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Other News
Xbox Partners Showcase (Tides of Annihilation, Vampire Crawlers, Total Chaos)
Epic/Unity partnership for Fortnite integration
Krafton AI controversy re: Subnautica 2 bonuses
Dispatch skill requirements discussion
First live-action Zelda movie set photos
Our Week in Gaming
Shared: Dispatch progress (Beau completed, Jon restarted, Scott finished Episode 1)
Beau: Claire Obscur Act 3, Slay the Spire boardgame, No Man's Sky Normandy unlock, Vampire Survivors VR
Scott: Forestrike (standout), Shelldiver (incremental gem), Advance Wars binge, Moonlighter 2 purchased, Cleared Hot, Guild Wars 2 reinstalled
Jon: Cyberpunk 2077 continues
Fallout 4 pricing clarification from NickLandry - Anniversary Edition upgrade options explained, Xbox Play Anywhere support added.
Links: Patreon.com/coreshow | CORE.show | frogpants.com/core
New article on CORE.show: Vegas conversation about AI threats + why GoldenEye is the GOAT.
CORE.show vs Patreon (frogpants.com/core)
Episode 500 commemorative mug dropping at frogpants.shop this weekend!
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Valve has three new hardware options for you, and we talk about them in detail today. Plus all the news and stuff you can stand, as well as a visit from Bobby for a nice little WoW update!
GAMES PLAYED
SCOTT
Tavern Keeper
JON
Dispatch
CyberPunk 2077
BEAU
Farthest Frontier
Jump Space
REPO
ARC Raiders
Vampire Survivors VR
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All the details on CORE.show, and what you can get from it! WoW is not coming to consoles, says game lead at Blizz. Fortnite has all the cartoon dads now. Rockstar doing some devious firings. Your Steam Deck can now download while asleep! Warhammer Survivors is HAPPENING! Blizzcon tickets go up tomorrow. Playstation Portal finally does cloud. The return of Nexeopardy! All the games of the week and loads more.
SCOTT
Hoop Land
Mech Havoc
Utopia Must Fall
JON
The Outer Worlds 2
Cyberpunk 2077
Dispatch
BEAU
ARC Raiders
Aliens: Dark Descent
Ball X Pit
Dawn of War: Definitive Edition
Jump Space
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Nintendo wants you to feel like those happy pandemic times again with a big update to Animal Crossing on Switch 2. Also, all the games of November, the Amazon Games layoffs and the apparent shutter of New World. Civ 7 trying to fix things. Claire and Cloud together at last. All the games we played plus all the usual stuff Enjoy!
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
Slots & Daggers
SCOTT
Powerwash Simulator 2
Warside
JON
The Outer Worlds 2
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
Dispatch
BEAU
Aliens: Dark Descent
Fellowship
Jump Space
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How does anyone make a definitive list of the best games? It’s impossible, but we talk about the latest attempt anyway. Plus, Remedy losing their CEO after Firebreak did so poorly, and Vampire Survivors adds DLC to DLC. We also field a load of your questions this week, along with the usual dork-athon, and the games we played to boot!
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
Battlefield 6
SCOTT
Superliminal (beat it!)
Battle-Suit Aces
Yet Another Zombie Survivors
Geometry Survivor
Dungeon Clawler
Slots and Daggers
JON
Dispatch
The Outer Worlds 2
Absolum
It Has My Face
BEAU
Fellowship
No Man’s Sky
Ball X Pit
Farthest Frontier
Void Crew
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Early reviews for the Xbox handheld are out, and it is a mixed bag to say the least. Understanding Fearless Drafts. Glen Powell wants in on E33 movies. EA employees not happy about the sell out. Quantic Dream is making a….free to play MOBA? Yep. Also, all the games we played and loads more!
GAMES PLAYED
SCOTT
Ball X Pit
The Exit 8.
Funguys Swarm
Soulstone Survivors
Silent Hill f
JON
Megabonk
BEAU
Battlefield 6
Hades 2
Pinball FX
Star Trek Voyager Across The Unknown demo
Cosmic Invasion demo
Whiskerwood demo
Skate Story demo
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Straight into Hades II gameplay talk! Covering the “rat boss,” progress paths, end-game challenges, and tarot upgrades, all leading up to some admittedly broad comparisons to ARPGs and roguelites. Design depth, storytelling, and character reactions, Greg Street’s studio troubles, praise for Megabonk. Not to mention the mess that the gamepass changes continue to be. Sackbird Studios has our hopes. Make your own VR headset at home and WAY MORE STUFF!
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
Hades 2
Megabonk
SCOTT
It Has My Face
Soulstone Survivors
Deep Rock Survivors
JON
Final Fantasy Tactics Remastered Ultra HD Power Extra Edition
BEAU
Void Crew
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Scott & Jon’s Horror Video Game Fun Time kicks off Friday with Silent Hill f, running each Friday this month. Main topic covers October’s big releases like Ghost of Yotei, Battlefield 6, Little Nightmares 3, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Ninja Gaiden 4, The Outer Worlds 2, Mina the Hollower and more. Other news: Microsoft hikes Game Pass, EA goes private, Fortnite pulls Peacemaker, Capcom coy on RE9. Dear Martha Gameshow returns with “Find the Flaw.” This week in play: Hades 2, CloverPit, Shipbreaker, Kaiju Cleanup, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Megabonk, Sonic Racing Crossworlds.
GAMES PLAYED
SHARED
Hades 2
CloverPit
SCOTT
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Kaiju Cleanup (upcoming)
JON
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Megabonk
Sonic Racing Crossworlds
BEAU
Hades II all day all night!
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Happy ten years to CORE! Plus, Beau reminds us about a Kojima credit card coming soon. Highlights from TGS like Kojima’s new horror game OD and Capcom announcements including C. Viper in SF6, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, Pragmata, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. PlayStation’s State of Play brought a bag of goodies: Saros, Zero Parades for Dead Spies, Flight Simulator 2024, a Deus Ex remaster, Mega Man in Sonic Racing, Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete, Code Vein 2, Let it Die: Inferno, Chronoscript, new Pulse speakers, and Wolverine. (Which looked REALLY good.) Plus all the usual fun times at CORE.
SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK
Scott and Jon both spent time in Megabonk, which is far better than its looks suggest.
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds was played by Scott and Jon.
Hades II saw time from all of us, with Beau having already played in Early Access and a bit more today.
Borderlands 4 continued, mainly Beau.
More No Man’s Sky, though not much new to report, Beau included.
SCOTT
Plenty of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.
Three hours of Metal Gear Solid Delta — very Kojima.
Tried the demo for Slots & Daggers, which will be a day-one buy.
JON
Fortnite remains a regular, especially the Blitz mode.
BEAU
Skate in Early Access.
More Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Some Heroes of the Storm, though waiting on the new patch.
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Nintendo Direct dropped big news: Metroid Prime 4, more Fire Emblem, a quirky “Ditto Crossing,” and even Virtual Boy stuff, plus Hades 2’s 1.0 launch date is September 25. Meanwhile, Randy Pitchford remains the industry’s baffling clown in an ill-fitting suit, Sega is back with some old-school “Ninten-Don’t” ads, and speculation heats up around Cyberpunk 2 possibly including multiplayer (though Scott was sure that was already confirmed). And of course, LOTS MORE!
Shared Games This Week
•Borderlands 4
•No Man’s Sky
Scott
•Town to City
•Cash Cleaner Simulator
Jon
•No, I’m Not a Human
Beau
•Hollow Knight: Silksong
•Elden Ring: Neightreign
•Void Crew
•World of Warcraft
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Frogs, flies, and state borders! Keanu Reeves expressed willingness to bring back Johnny Silverhand in future Cyberpunk projects, fueling speculation about DLC or cameos. PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct, hosts, and more. Exhibition 33’s concert tour selling out instantly, Halo Infinite getting Invasion mode, and Steam reviews for Silksong differing by language, with Chinese players criticizing localization. And LOTS more!
Shared Play
•Hollow Knight: Silksong
•No Man’s Sky
Scott
•Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots.
•Metal Slug Tactics
Jon
•Bodah-Lands 4
Beau
•Void Crew
•World of Warcraft
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