Dropped Frames Episode 456

The AI Slop filter is coming for our video games as Nvidia unveils what their new frame gen tech DLSS 5 will be and how it will YASSIFY everything! Fun! Jeff Kaplan has a tell all about his new game The Legend of California as well as his decades long career at Blizzard. Krafton loses big in their court case with Subnautica 2 devs: Unknown Worlds. We go long on our time with Crimson Desert, a flawed janky mess of an awesome game. Marathon releases a raid, and much more!   0:00 - Intro1:00 - Existence7:00 - DLSS5 Slop13:20 - "The Gamers are wrong"28:50 - Jeff Kaplan interview34:00 - The Legend of California37:00 - Slay the Spire 250:25 - Krafton loses in court55:00 - Storage chests58:40 - Crimson Desert2:15:00 - AI assets in Crimson Desert2:28:40 - Marathon raid2:34:10 - Monster Hunter Stories 32:40:30 - Pokémon Pokopia2:49:00 - Anime tourists2:52:10 - Movie minute2:52:40 - Zeke's gaming minute2:55:45 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Angela Sant'Albano & Nick Apostolides, the voices & mocap actors of Grace Ashcroft & Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem, join us this week to talk shop, acting and mocap in video games, and horror voice acting.Then we get into the news with Highguard shutting down, Sony halting PC ports of their single-player games, and the next XBOX is announced? Games this week: Legacy of Kain Defiance, Where Winds Meet, more Mewgenics, Docked, Path of Exile and more!   0:00 - Intro1:00 - Lizz & Faetality are here8:40 - Thoughts on RE913:00 - Nick and Angela are here16:00 - Angela's journey to Resident Evil30:10 - Scream queen41:00 - LEON S. KENNEDY1:00:00 - Getting into video game VA1:05:20 - Favorite RE games1:08:50 - You have to enjoy voice acting1:13:20 - Continuing to VA for games?1:24:00 - Slay the Spire 21:28:10 - Highguard shutting down1:37:20 - Marathon1:46:00 - Sony pulling away from PC1:51:30 - Project Helix1:54:00 - GDC starts this week2:02:30 - Legacy of Kain Defiance2:11:00 - Lollipop Chainsaw2:14:00 - Fatal Frame2:16:40 - Even more Mewgenics2:18:50 - Docked2:23:20 - Vampire Crawlers2:24:40 - The Dungeon Experience2:27:00 - Path of Exile Mirage2:35:10 - Fears to Fathom2:39:50 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zeke is out enjoying life so we brought in a couple of ringers: Sodapoppin and Annie Fuchsia! We all collectively find out we've been streaming a really long time. We chat about loot boxes, AI invading game reviews, game length, our time with the new Resident Evil Requiem, a break down of the new World of Warcraft expansion; Midnight. We get some time to play Marathon and much more!   0:00 - Intro1:00 - Zeke is having fun1:50 - Soda and Annie are here10:20 - Cohh roots13:50 - New York sues Valve20:30 - AI reviews26:30 - Resident Evil Requiem45:00 - Streaming and game length52:00 - Constantly restarting Baldur's Gate 358:20 - New Pokémon1:04:00 - Wolverine1:08:00 - Catching Soda up on current events1:24:00 - World of Warcraft Midnight1:44:40 - Addons1:56:00 - WoW Lore2:02:00 - Annie's WoW Housing tour2:14:00 - REANIMAL2:15:40 - Mewgenics2:18:50 - MARATHON2:39:30 - God of War TV Show2:46:00 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another week, another day of industry changing news as Heads of XBOX Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond resign from Microsoft, were they ousted, what's the future of XBOX? In the bad news competition, Sony shutters Bluepoint Studios, makers of the Demon's Souls remake and Shadow of the Colossus remake. In the games portion we get spooky with REANIMAL and Creature Kitchen, return to Helldivers 2, roll some dice in Rune Dice and wonder if Twitch is a lunch room bully?   0:00 - Intro1:00 - Cat tower6:45 - Xbox conspiracies11:20 - Phil Spencer retires36:00 - Sony shuts down Bluepoint48:00 - Mewgenics51:10 - Slay the Spire 2 early access54:30 - League of Legends gets voice chat1:10:20 - New TES6 news1:20:30 - Nioh 31:28:50 - 9 years of NieR Automata1:34:50 - Stop Killing Games1:36:00 - Discord age verification1:45:00 - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter1:46:10 - REANIMAL1:54:10 - Rune Dice2:00:00 - Windrose2:09:25 - Replaced demo2:12:40 - Creature Kitchen2:25:10 - Helldivers 22:32:40 - Core Keeper expansion2:38:00 - The Eternal Life of Goldman2:42:30 - Yakuza Kiwami 32:48:00 - Twitch bans streamer for being a kid2:55:30 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're joined by Will Powers - Marketing Director for Pearl Abyss this week to chat about the challenges of creating a game as large and varied as Crimson Desert. Then we get into the mass layoffs of the devs behind Highguard as well as 2XKO. Chat about cats and then all the announcements from the recent Sony Playstation State of Play! 0:00 - Intro1:00 - Fixing audio6:30 - Will Powers from Pearl Abyss is here14:00 - What is Crimson Desert?1:48:00 - Highguard devs have mass layoffs2:01:00 - The Ashes of Creation situation is crazy2:11:20 - Mewgenics2:18:50 - 2XKO layoffs2:22:20 - Sony State of Play2:55:50 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're joined by Rami Ismail today to talk about Olympic speed skating, what's going on with Ashes of Creation and "The Bubble." Guerrilla Games announces a new multiplayer Horizon game, Overwatch returns to its roots and we're excited for Mewgenics! Games this week: Cairn, Nioh 3 and Chilla Art's Umigari!   0:00 - Intro1:00 - Sports!5:00 - Rami is NOT late9:00 - Winter Olympics15:00 - What's happening with Ashes of Creation20:00 - Horizon Hunters Gathering41:10 - Overwatch 2... 1?54:40 - Mewgenics reviews1:00:20 - Cairn1:33:20 - Nioh 31:55:00 - AI game design2:15:40 - The bubble2:35:00 - Extreme fishing2:41:00 - Zeke's indie life2:50:30 - Umigari2:55:00 - Rami is also making a game2:57:10 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Highguard released this week to extreme criticism, is it warranted, is there a good game there? The breaking news this week, however, is the sudden mass layoff and shuttering of Ashes of Creation studio Intrepid. Is this a uniquely bad situation or is it another failure in a long list of MMOs failing? Cohh officially announced the game he's working on: Emberville and we get some more info about his and his team's project. Nioh 3 expands into an open world, Cairn is great and more!   0:00 - Intro1:40 - Nerd detection11:10 - Highguard53:20 - Ashes of Creation devs mass layoff1:14:30 - Cohh's Emberville1:39:00 - Nioh 32:06:10 - CD-Rom-a-Thon2:24:00 - The numbers2:28:50 - Cairn2:44:10 - Tainted Grail2:46:20 - Fish Hunters2:56:10 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in our day we walked uphill, both ways, through the frozen snow, to bring you a podcast! This week we brace for the big reveal of Highguard happening in just a day, is this the next big thing or will become just another foot note in the long line of multiplayer shooters? XBOX had a developer direct last week and we gush over the new Fable and wonder why Game Freak doesn't make more games that don't look like Pokemon? Games this week: Hytale, MIO: Memories in Orbit, Warframe and more! 0:00 - Intro1:40 - Cold weather4:10 - The most hyped game Highguard launching38:00 - Forza Horizon 645:00 - Kiln50:00 - Beast of Reincarnation1:00:00 - Fable1:14:50 - Deadlock approaching release?1:15:10 - Fallout season 21:22:00 - The Pitt1:24:50 - Yoshi1:26:30 - Ubisoft restructuring 1:30:00 - AI Funny Money1:36:00 - Arknights PayPal1:41:40 - Twitch podcast1:45:10 - 2XKO and Twitch1:50:45 - Preordering Marathon installed Destiny 21:54:50 - Is ARC Raiders fatigue setting in?2:00:00 - Marathon2:04:50 - Dan is in a game!2:08:40 - Nioh 32:17:20 - MIO: Memories in Orbit2:21:00 - Hytale2:28:40 - Abiotic Factor2:29:30 - No Rest For The Wicked2:35:50 - The whale2:38:00 - Warframe2:43:00 - Deus Ex: The Invisible War2:52:50 - Octopath Traveler 02:54:50 - Heavy Metal2:57:20 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first real episode of 2026 is upon us. We chat about all the silly things announced at CES 2026, speedruns at AGDQ 2026, Anthem shutting down. Going over the Reddit AMA with Swen Vincke giving more insight into Divinity and their development process also is StarCraft returning? Games this week are StarRupture, Alchemy Factory, Octopath Traveler 0 and more!   0:00 - Intro3:40 - Where Cheeks Meet7:30 - CES 202618:00 - AGDQ 202630:00 - Anthem shutting down32:10 - Larian Studios AMA1:00:30 - XBOX Developer Direct announced1:02:00 - StarCraft is back?1:08:00 - New Game+ showcase1:22:00 - Rumor: Fallout New Vegas Remaster1:24:00 - Old games have no QOL1:46:50 - StarRupture1:59:10 - Alchemy Factory2:06:50 - League of Legends2:10:30 - Octopath Traver 02:11:40 - Trails in The Sky 12:26:20 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

View the full results here: https://dfgoty.com/results/2025/   The year is over and Cohh finally realizes what JP stands for. The reveal will have you questioning reality! We take a look back at all the games we've played, didn't play, and wish we played to give you the most definitive list of great games that are not all Clair Obscur: Expedition 33! 0:00 - Intro1:40 - John Paul6:00 - Consumer hardware prices soar10:00 - Favorite New Game IP19:40 - Favorite Multiplayer Game26:00 - Favorite Writing35:10 - Favorite Art Style44:40 - Favorite Music57:00 - Favorite Sound Design1:06:00 - Favorite Performance1:15:50 - Favorite Moment in Games1:23:25 - Favorite Feature1:34:10 - Biggest Surprise1:43:40 - Biggest Disappointment1:58:20 - Games We Wished We Played2:12:10 - Most Anticipated Game of 20262:22:30 - Top 3 Games Streamed & Watched2:41:50 - Cohh's Top 10 Games of 2025 (10-4)2:55:00 - Zeke's Top 10 Games of 2025 (10-4)3:11:00 - JP's Top 10 Games of 2025 (10-4)3:23:00 - 3rd favorite game3:30:00 - 2nd favorite game3:38:20 - Favorite game of the year3:47:25 - The Community's Top 103:49:50 - The Dropped Frames GOTY3:53:20 - Shoutouts  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.