Podcast Beyond - IGN's PlayStation Show IGN Staff

You’ve probably heard by now that Grand Theft Auto VI has been revealed, first unofficially (again) and then officially, by way of an incredibly slick trailer courtesy of Rockstar Games. It’s been a decade and change since GTA V was first released, so hype is understandably through the roof, but it’s worth discussing exactly HOW monumental the excitement around this trailer is. In under 24 hours, its views on YouTube alone eclipsed the combined lifetime views of trailers Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - and it’s very possible the reveal trailer for GTA 6 will have gotten more views in a day than GTA 5 got in twelve years. Considering the last game was the fastest-selling entertainment of all time, raking in a billion dollars just a few days after it launched, it’s safe to assume that GTA VI will be a milestone event when it drops in 2025. In a world where Rockstar didn’t have anything to announce this week, The Game Awards would’ve been what everyone was talking about. There’ll still be plenty to see, and hopefully some surprises, but it’s hard to even imagine an announcement that would come close to one-upping a sequel to one of the most popular games ever that’s been under wraps for ten solid years. Anyway, Tom Marks joins us to discuss a game that’ll be playable (well, it already is, mostly) very soon, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on PS5 - specifically, the all new roguelike mode, No Return. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to take the roguelike world by storm, but it sounds like a phenomenal way to get a little more mileage out of Naughty Dog’s subtly complex combat system, and maybe unlock a few new shirts for Ellie and Abbie along the way. Finally, we have the winners for last week’s first annual Beyondcé awards. Did Bluey win “Bluest Video Game Character of 2023?” Yes, yes she did. But it was a three way tie with two other blue people/animals.
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This week on Beyond, we unpack the long-rumored official reveal of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which might cost a few extra bucks, but seems to actually have more going for it than good looks. The roguelike “No Return” mode looks like a blast for anyone who enjoys the tense brutal combat, while the new guitar free play mode will likely be fun for, well, people who liked playing guitar in the PS4 version. Meanwhile, getting developer commentary on cut content and lost levels is a neat peek behind the curtain, and over on the Spider-Man 2 front, Tony Todd continues to make public statements that may or may not tease what Insomniac has planned. Anyway, the real meat of this episode is our first annual Beyond Game Of The Year Awards That Nobody Else Is Doing, AKA “The Beyondcés” (unless that’s a legal minefield in which case we’re sorry.)
Like all awards shows, this is all completely meaningless and made-up, but in this case, especially so - but, it’s an excuse to reflect back on some of the little details from our favorite games of the year, and some general absurdity from 2023’s big wet blue greasy smorgasbord of video games, many of which had sand in them. Like all good awards shows, Baldur’s Gate 3 is nominated for almost every category, but we’re also taking time to celebrate Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 for reasons the fighting game community couldn’t care less about and reflect on whether or not Spider-Man 2’s slime made up for its lackluster puddle graphics last gen? Is Gollum’s hair a liquid? Is grease a liquid? And hey, how about those Star Wars Jedi Survivor chickens? We go into all of this, and more, but we’d love your input as well, dear listener/viewer/reader! Hop on over to our poll and make your voice heard. If our nominations suck, throw some of your own into the proverbial hat and we’ll announce the winners next week.
Cast your vote with this legally binding Google Form!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1e-wue5y021mMtugwPedAMBRL5ZyiR_4d3wtD5zf-8z8/viewform?edit_requested=true#responses
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In honor of the PlayStation Portal, the latest addition to Sony’s ever-growing menagerie of bizarre ways to play games, we decided to hold a little tournament to pick the one true best controller. Y’know, from the dozen arbitrarily selected contestants that were randomly pitted against one another in a confusingly designed bracket. How does the DualShock 4 stack up against the original non-DualShock PS1 controller? How does that yogurt covered pretzel-lookin’ PlayStation VR Aim zapper fare against the PlayStation Portal, a brand new device that none of us have physically touched? What about that whackadoo prototype PS3 controller that looked like a banana or a boomerang? We had fun debating all of these things, so hopefully you enjoy listening. This week’s Beyond features Max Scoville, Brian Altano and Jada Griffin.
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After much discussion of PlayStation Portal, Sony’s dedicated remote play device for PlayStation 5, the reviews are in, and according to IGN’s reviewer Seth Macy, it sounds like a surprisingly well-designed accessory aside from a few odd shortcomings. Seth joins Max Scoville and Jada Griffin to talk about how Sony’s next-gen PSP is a lot more impressive if you think of it as a specialized controller rather than an attempt at a handheld device. Meanwhile, The Game Awards nominees have been announced and the Game of the Year competition is stiff, with Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4 Remake in the running - plus a couple other games that don’t work on PS5. One of these games is not like the other: should remakes be allowed to win GOTY, or should there be a separate category entirely? We discuss. Meanwhile, a lot of people have their issues with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but Seth and his Beef Lords clan are having a blast with multiplayer, in part thanks to COD’s pivot to basically being M-Rated Fortnite. Do Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Spawn and Skeletor make sense in a realistic military shooter? Not really, but when’s the last time COD multiplayer was about realism? Finally, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s ESRB rating promises a healthy amount of violence, drinking, swearwords, and “Deep Cleavage,” plus some dialogue that (in conjunction with the announcement of swimming) suggests there might be some bawdy beach party bikini antics. Beyond!
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This week on Beyond, there’s plenty to talk about! We’ve got a laundry-list of missing gameplay features in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 that were present in previous games that Insomniac hopefully patches. Okay, maybe stealing The Vulture’s wallet wasn’t a feature. There are rumors of a potential Bloodborne movie in the works as well as a release date for the very unofficial fan-made Bloodborne Kart racing game, and we have strong feelings about both of these things, since they relate to Bloodborne, even though we’d love to hear about an official remaster or sequel. We’ve been playing some of the many games recently released, including Alan Wake 2, which is undeniably gorgeous, smart, and incredibly well-made, as well as Robocop: Rogue City, which is debatably none of the above, but still a ton of gruesome hilarious fun. Thirsty Suitors is the Scott Pilgrim game we didn’t know we wanted, and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Own Name has erased Max’s brief bout of Yakuza franchise-fatigue. This week’s Beyond crew is Max Scoville, Jada Griffin and Brian Altano.
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We invade Kinda Funny's studio for a special Beyond and P.S. I Love You XOXO crossover featuring Greg Miller and Blessing Adeoye Jr. in our lead up to IGN vs. Kinda Funny Charity event! What's the greatest PlayStation 5 game so far? We've got a bracket of 32 games including: Astro's Playroom, God of War: Ragnarok, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Elden Ring, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Sifu, Ghostwire: Tokyo, The Last of Us: Part 1, Demon's Souls, Balder's Gate III, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and so many more! Which game will come out on top in this ultimate PS5 game smackdown?

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