Friends Per Second

Xbox’s sweeping reset sparks debate over studio closures, layoffs, and whether Activision can finally steer Halo back to greatness. Bungie’s renewed Destiny commitment and the return of vaulted content get a close look. The crew also dives into Control Resonant, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Ace Combat 8, the new Resident Evil movie, and Blizzard’s ambitious announcements.

Gene Park, Washington Post games reporter, and Mitchell Saltzman, IGN writer and editor, dissect Wolverine’s repetitive combat, rushed finale, uneven story, and divisive take on Logan. Konrad and Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, former Witcher developers and Rebel Wolves co-founders, discuss building Dawnwalker, its time-limited choices, vampire abilities, and ambitious narrative sandbox. The conversation also explores Kojima, Ocarina of Time, Onimusha, Halloween, and more.

Try Factor at https://www.factormeals.com/fps50off with code fps50off to get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for 1 year. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring FPS! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 9:10 GTA 6 Extended Look Discussion 26:14 Factor (ad) 28:35 Lucy's seen The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past 40:27 Ralph's played Marvel's Wolverine 48:06 Jake's been playing Metal Gear Solid Master Collection 2 59:14 Jake and Ralph have been playing Star Wars: Zero Company 01:14:42 Lucy's played Stranger Than Heaven and Persona 4 Revival 01:23:58 Ralph's been playing Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition 01:32:57 Jake and Ralph have been playing Hyperdrop 01:38:12 Lucy's been playing Blood Dungeon 01:42:02 Show and Tell 01:54:07 Wrap Up -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James was a Senior Producer at Gamespot for more than a decade before striking out on her own, founding https://lookingfor.game/, a newsletter and games discovery platform that serves up cool suggestions (and demo codes) directly to your inbox. She also co-hosts the annual Summer Games Showcase alongside Geoff Keighly. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🔒 Get 20% off DeleteMe by going to https://joindeleteme.com/friends and use code FRIENDS to protect your privacy! 🙌 -- Try Factor at https://www.factormeals.com/fps50off with code fps50off to get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for 1 year. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring FPS! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro with Guest Host Ben Hanson 07:21 Beast of Reincarnation Discussion 18:51 Ben's been playing Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls 30:01 Lucy's been playing Onimushia: Way of the Sword 37:17 DeleteMe (ad) 39:23 Jake's been playing Updates for Crimson Desert and Ghost Recon Wildlands 49:39 Ralph's been playing Star Wars: Zero Company 59:07 Lucy's been playing Servant of the Lake 01:04:55 Factor (ad) 01:07:20 User Question 01:19:33 Ben's been playing Big Walk 01:33:28 Ralph's been playing Stormforge 01:38:41 Lucy's been playing Contact Protocol 01:46:08 Ralph's been playing Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave 01:57:25 Show and Tell 02:21:54 Wrap Up -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James was a Senior Producer at Gamespot for more than a decade before striking out on her own, founding https://lookingfor.game/, a newsletter and games discovery platform that serves up cool suggestions (and demo codes) directly to your inbox. She also co-hosts the annual Summer Games Showcase alongside Geoff Keighly. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friendsOPEN to get up to 20% off Raycon audio products. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 07:22 Ralph and Jake have been playing Halo Campaign Evolved 45:17 Raycon (ad) 48:38 Lucy's been playing Silent Hill: Townfall 01:04:26 Ralph's been playing Splatoon Raiders 01:14:57 Jake's been playing Rhythm Heaven Groove 01:16:58 User Question 01:31:10 Lucy's been playing Clicky Islands, The House Dreams Along With Them, and The Incident at Galley House 01:36:43 Show and Tell 01:47:25 Wrap Up -- Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James was a Senior Producer at Gamespot for more than a decade before striking out on her own, founding https://lookingfor.game/, a newsletter and games discovery platform that serves up cool suggestions (and demo codes) directly to your inbox. She also co-hosts the annual Summer Games Showcase alongside Geoff Keighly. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get 20% off DeleteMe by going to https://joindeleteme.com/friends and use code FRIENDS to protect your privacy! -- Try Factor at https://www.factormeals.com/fps50off with code fps50off to get 50% off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring FPS! -- Head to https://buyraycon.com/friendsOPEN to get up to 20% off Raycon audio products. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro ft. Guest Host Chris Grant 18:08 Xbox Discussion 32:50 DeleteMe (ad) 35:46 Factor (ad) 38:11 State of the Industry Discussion 01:06:22 Raycon (ad) 01:09:10 User Question 01:18:11 Ralph and Lucy have been playing The Blood of Dawnwalker 01:28:27 Jake's been playing AC Black Flag Resynced 01:37:58 Chris's been playing Doom The Dark Ages Revelations and Deltarune 01:49:33 Lucy's been playing Denshattack! 01:55:28 Steam Machine Discussion 02:12:15 Show and Tell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friendsOPEN to get up to 20% off Raycon audio products. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- A huge thanks to Kyle Bosman for joining us. Pleas do check out his stuff over at https://www.youtube.com/@UCSJL4mrS3z_nnvsJ-gkOQ5A -- If you wanna check out our newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James was a Senior Producer at Gamespot for more than a decade before striking out on her own, founding https://lookingfor.game/, a newsletter and games discovery platform that serves up cool suggestions (and demo codes) directly to your inbox. She also co-hosts the annual Summer Games Showcase alongside Geoff Keighly. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A heated discussion about rumored Xbox studio closures and what that means for strategy, exclusives, and hardware. A deep dive into how big-franchise bets clash with smaller creative teams. Hands-on impressions of Control Resonant, Silent Hill: Townfall, Tomb Raider demo, and other Summer Game Fest highlights. Quick takes on remakes, horror revivals, and standout indie finds.

Head to https://buyraycon.com/friendsOPEN to get up to 15% off Raycon audio products this holiday season. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro / Housekeeping 07:50 Sony State of Play 34:14 Raycon (ad) 35:50 Interview with God of War: Laufey Director Ariel Lawrence 1:04:41 Summer Game Fest Showcase 1:37:17 Interview with That's No Moon, CCO Taylor Kurosaki and Game Director Jacob Minkoff 2:13:04 Xbox Showcase 2:29:05 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try Factor at https://www.factormeals.com/fps50off with code fps50off to get 50% off and free daily greens per box. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring FPS! NOTE: We recorded this before the Bungie/Destiny 2 news broke. -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 04:21 PlayStation 10:16 Ralph's played a preview of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced 28:45 Factor (ad) 31:34 Lucy's been playing Zero Parades: For Dead Spies 42:40 Jake's been playing Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight 55:56 Ralph and Jake have been playing Forza Horizon 6 01:08:29 Ralph's been playing Deep Rock Galactic Survivor 01:12:10 User Question 01:24:08 Show and Tell 01:38:42 Wrap Up -- If you wanna check out our newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/friendspersecond Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendspersecond -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino - Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons. - Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices