Beyond

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PS Plus' Successor: Our Hopes and Expectations - Beyond 739 Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation podcast, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin, Lucy O'Brien, and Tom Marks to dig into the latest PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PSVR 2 news and rumors. First, the panel dives into the alleged new details of PlayStation's upcoming subscription service, PlayStation Spartacus, and what they might mean as an evolution of and successor to the standard PS Plus we know now. We dive into the reported new pricing tiers and inclusions, whether the offerings are enough or balanced well, and what we think of it in terms of current PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now offerings. We also dig into some of the PlayStation news of the week, including Horizon Forbidden West's latest patch, a GhostWire Tokyo prelude novel, DICE Awards wins for Sony asnd some brief hints at Returnal dev Housemarque's new game, and then we dig into what we've been playing, including new and updated takes on Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring.

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The Wild Ride of Our Elden Ring Review - Beyond 738 Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Elden Ring is just about here and the reviews for it are extremely positive! So on this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation Podcast, we chat about what it was like for Mitchell Saltzman to review such a massive game in 87 hours, and why it's something fans of the genre will definitely love. We also explore all the new systems it has to offer, and how its open-world adds a dash of welcome flavor to an already tried and true concept.

Also, Jada Griffin sits down with Neil Jones the creator behind Aerial Knight's Never Yield, to talk about its development, the game industry, and all the new content featured in DA Update.

There was also a bit of PlayStation news for folks to be excited about, including a look at the PS Plus games you'll get to claim in March, as well as a quick discussion about the recently revealed look of the PSVR 2 headset.

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How Do PlayStation Trophies Affect How We Play? - Beyond 737 Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation podcast, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Mark Medina and Jada Griffin to have a conversation spurred by recent fan comments of the show and the packed release schedule in the next few weeks. With Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, and now even Cyberpunk 2077 potentially taking up our play time ahead of a year that continues to be busy for PS4 and PS5 gamers, we discuss our current feelings on how PlayStation Trophies do and don't affect how we play games. We dive into what the act of playing an open world game like Horizon Forbidden West or Elden Ring can be like if you're interested in collecting trophies, plus how some on the panel love trophy hunting and how others have fallen off interest in collecting them. We discuss trophy hunting burnout, and more broadly, what does and doesn't make a good trophy or even full trophy list. We cover Control, Marvel's Spider-Man and Miles Morales, God of War, Sifu, Guardians of the Galaxy, Uncharted, and so much more as we delve into how trophies have or haven't improved over time, and how they alter our approach to certain games, genres, and franchises. We also cover a bit of the news in the world of PlayStation, including the new Cyberpunk 2077 patch, some Horizon Forbidden West trophy and LEGO news, and PlayStation Productions updates.

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Horizon Forbidden West Is the Best PS5 Game (Review Discussion) - Beyond 736 Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of Podcast Beyond, IGN's PlayStation show, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Mark Medina and Jada Griffin to discuss our spoiler-free thoughts about Horizon Forbidden West for PS4 and PS5 in our review discussion episode. While IGN's Horizon Forbidden West review writer Simon Cardy couldn't join us, all three of the panelists have put a few dozen hours each into the Guerrilla Games PS4 and PS5 sequel, so we break down what we love about Horizon Forbidden West in this review discussion and why we think Horizon Forbidden West is the best PS5 game so far. The panel covers their thoughts on how Horizon Forbidden West evolves the Horizon Zero Dawn formula, what improvements Guerrilla made to Horizon Forbidden West's combat, traversal, world design, and storytelling. First, while keeping free of any major spoilers, we talk broadly about how Horizon Forbidden West's story not only lets Ashly Burch shine as Aloy in her second Horizon game, but how Guerrilla's approach to fleshing out the Horizon universe is so engrossing in Horizon Forbidden West. Then, we dig into Horizon's new and refined combat and traversal options, including some of the new weaponry in Aloy's arsenal, changes to Horizon's skill trees and outfit upgrades, and much more. Our review discussion for Horizon Forbidden West also touches on some of the traversal additions made to Aloy's world on both PS4 and PS5, like climbing, gliding, and swimming, while also taking a look at the world at large, including Forbidden West's sidequests and storytelling approach, optional side objectives, a surprising bit of Metroidvania DNA, and much more. Mark also speaks to his experience playing Horizon Forbidden West across PS4, PS4 Pro, and PS5, while the trio discusses their preferences of playing in quality or performance mode. For PS5 players, we also dig into Horizon's use of 3D audio and DualSense capabilities, and generally gush about our excitement for more people to get to play. If you have thoughts once you dig into Horizon Forbidden West, tweet at the cast or write in to beyond@ign.com with your thoughts, and we'll read them on the show!

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Sifu Review Discussion, Ghostwire Tokyo Reactions - Beyond 735 Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin, Mark Medina, and Mitchell Saltzman to discuss the latest in the world of PS4 and PS5 games, starting things off with a Sifu review discussion. Mitchell discusses his Sifu review, his general thoughts about the latest PS4 and PS5 console exclusive (also available on PC). Jada and Jonathon also offer their thoughts on Sloclap's Sifu, its gameplay, what accessibility options could be added, and whether Mark is interested in jumping in! Plus, Jonathon speaks with Sloclap's Pierre Tarno about the making of Sifu! Plus, we cover a slew of PS4 and PS5 gaming news, including the Ghostwire: Tokyo gameplay showcase, and how it did or didn't get us excited for the upcoming PS5 console launch exclusive (also coming to PC in March), the Gran Turismo 7 State of Play, some great Horizon Forbidden West crossovers with Sackboy and Ghost of Tsushima, a new PS5 firmware beta, GTA 6's announcement, and The Wolf Among Us 2, and much more.

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Sony Buys Bungie And Isn't Stopping There - Beyond 734 Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin, Mark Medina, and Matt Kim to break down the biggest PS4 and PS5 news of the week, namely the latest and biggest acquisition Sony has made in some time. Sony buys Bungie, and we discuss what's next, and the implications of that purchase in Podcast Beyond! Episode 734. We look at why Sony would be interested in Bungie, and Bungie want to join Sony, how Bungie is a unique acquisition and will not necessarily fall under the PlayStation Worldwide Studios umbrella. There's also the matter of potential Destiny TV shows or movies that seem of interest, Sony's increasing investment in live-service games and how Bungie allows for that to accelerate, and, with Jim Ryan's statements that Sony isn't done picking up companies, which development studios would make the most sense, or be good fits, to join Sony PlayStation's stable. We also dig into all the other news in the world of PlayStation, like Ghostwire: Tokyo release date news, Suicide Squad's delay, Discord integration for PlayStation users, Cyberpunk's leak on the PSN, and more. Plus, Jada gives her thoughts on Dying Light 2: Stay Human!

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Uncharted's PS5 Debut Is Beautiful and Still a Blast - Beyond 733 Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Mark Medina and Jada Griffin to discuss Uncharted's PS5 debut with the Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection, and a host of news in the world of PlayStation. First, we break down the PlayStation Plus lineup for February, which brings three games to players who subscribe to PS Plus: UFC 4, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, and Planet Coaster: Console Edition. We dig into our thoughts on PS Plus, how Sony's alleged upcoming Game Pass-like subscription service might affect it, and more. Then, we follow-up on the discussion around Call of Duty's future on PlayStation, with a new report from Bloomberg about how PlayStation fans can expect COD for a couple years more, and then things start to get murky. Then, we dig into the excitement over a PSN glitch that many assumed to be a leak for PlayStation backward compatibility, how likely it means something is on the way, and more. We also discuss the news that Respawn is working on three new Star Wars games, why Mark should play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and more. We also dig into what we're playing, including the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection for PS5. Jonathon and Mark discuss what it's like to revisit Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, what the new graphical modes, including Performance+'s 120 FPS, are like, and the scope of the collection for those curious on how it stacks up to other PS4-PS5 ports. We dig a little into its DualSense functionality, how it compares to the PS4 versions, and whether it's more akin to Spider-Man Remastered, the Director's Cuts of GHost of Tsushima and Death's Stranding, or basic patches like Horizon Zero Dawn, and whether it's worth the upgrade. Jada also breaks down some of her time with NEO: The World Ends With You and Horizon Zero Dawn on NG+.

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Horizon Forbidden West: We've Played It! - Podcast Beyond Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

Horizon Forbidden West is only a few weeks away, but IGN's Jonathon Dornbush was able to go hands-on with the sequel for four hours, and has A LOT to discuss about the highly anticipated Guerrilla Games sequel. Now that we've played it ahead of its launch on Feb. 18 on PS4 and PS5, Jonathon breaks down many of the details he's learned about Horizon Forbidden West now that he's gone hands-on and previewed it. As part of this special bonus episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, Jonathon is joined by Jada Griffin, Mark Medina, and Lucy O'Brien to dig into everything we've learned about Horizon Forbidden West, including big changes to Horizon's combat and exploration. Jonathon breaks down some of the new mechanics, skills, and equipment Aloy will have access to in Horizon Forbidden West. And he also explains how players will go about getting some of that stuff, and a lot more, thanks to a more expansive array of sidequests, new mission types, and much more as Guerrilla Games has expanded its settlements. We touch lightly on some story-related content, but try to keep it generally spoiler free when it comes to major story beats in this portion of Horizon Forbidden West. But we do discuss some of the new and returning characters that appear, how Aloy is handling her new journey, and much more.

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What Does PlayStation Look Like Without Call of Duty? - Beyond 732 Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of Podcast Beyond, IGN's PlayStation Podcast, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin, Mark Medina, and Matt Kim to dive into the big news of the week, and, unsurprisingly, we dig into the Activision-Xbox deal. On a PlayStation show, you say? Well, we discuss what this potential deal means for PlayStation players - should Activision and Blizzard games, perhaps most notably, Call of Duty, go exclusive to Xbox consoles and subscription services on console and PC, where does that leave PlayStation? After all, Call of Duty is always one of the industry's best-selling games, and one of the biggest games, with timed exclusives as part of nearly every recent entry, a major factor for PlayStation players. Should future Call of Duty games go away from PlayStation, we discuss what that means for Call of Duty Warzone and more broadly the first-person shooter and multiplayer landscapes on PS4 and PS5. We discuss what PlayStation's recent moves to acquire teams and exclusive games from third-parties means for its future (and why we think multiplayer experiences will be a big part of the PS5's lifecycle), and whether bringing back old franchises like Killzone or Resistance makes sense versus new games. for the PS4 and PS5 player base. We examine PlayStation's recent first-party multiplayer efforts, multiplayer hits on PlayStation Plus, and more as we discuss this, as well as whether the Xbox-Activision deal, and the obvious focus on Xbox Game Pass, will cause any shifts to PlayStation's upcoming alleged subscription plans. Our PlayStation podcast also digs into the new Horizon Forbidden West trailer, as well as God of War's success on PC. Plus, we dive into all the games we've been playing, including Jonathon finally beating Horizon Zero Dawn's The Frozen Wilds DLC, Matt beating Death Stranding, Mark continuing to work through Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Jada's Demon's Souls trophy hunting. And, for those looking forward to the release of Windjammers 2, Jonathon also speaks to the CEO of DotEmu, Cyrille Imbert, about the series' surprising success on PlayStation a few years ago, their goals with the sequel, and more.

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PS5, PS4 2022 Games to Keep on Your Radar - Beyond 731 Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

On this week of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin and Matt Kim to dive into the biggest PS4 and PS5 games and news. First, we take a broad look at the year of big games coming to ps5 and ps4 in 2022 to keep on your radar. Of course, we're looking at big games like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok, but we're diving this week into the other games of 2022 we can't wait to play, from big third-party games like console-exclusive Ghostwire Tokyo, multiplatform games like LEGO: Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Sonic Frontiers, and The Callisto Protocol, plus indies like Tchia and much more. Plus, we also dive into the latest PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 news, including the reports that PlayStation is upping production of the PS4 and PS4 Pro to deal with supply chain shortages of the PS5 in the coming year. We discuss what the report means in light of PlayStation's focus on the PS5, the life and longevity of the PS4 into the coming year, and much more. We also dive into the PlayStation rumors about a potential Twisted Metal reboot being in the works, and then dive into what we're playing!

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