Wavelengths with Brendon Bigley

Pragmata is a new game from Capcom about a man and his adoptive space daughter as they fight robots on the moon, It is equal parts Resident Evil, Dead Space, Legend of Zelda, NieR Automata, and Death Stranding — and somehow also manages to be none of them. I loved it.Disclaimer: Code for this game was provided by Capcom!! Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆

There's a rumor that Nintendo's big Switch 2 game for 2026 is a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. While most conversation centers on "should this exist in the first place," I think the more interesting question is how it could unite the two halves of the Zelda fanbase and prove there's a path forward after Tears of the Kingdom.---Chapters:0:00 - Ocarina of Time still rules4:00 - Nintendo fans don't know what they want9:32 - Ocarina of Time Remake as a playground---⏆

Square Enix had a very good year, eBay reigns supreme, LEGO Batman has all the makings of a sleeper hit, and so much more on this Q&A episode of Wavelengths!Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengthsThe Cacio e Pere Recipe: https://wavelengths.online/posts/the-cacio-e-pere-recipe---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---CHAPTERS:0:00 - What’s up with Square Enix?4:54 - Switch 1 Lifecycle Extension8:34 - Epic Games layoffs11:04 - Games I’m Excited About15:29 - Where to buy retro handhelds17:30 - Food Moment!!19:10 - Favorite recent video game soundtracks?19:53 - OpenAI and Disney Split23:10 - Video game reviews on Wavelengths27:10 - How to get into writing about games?---⏆

Marathon is a new game by Bungie, the creators of Halo and my beloved Destiny, which follows in the studio tradition of taking a big swing at an established genre and reinventing it for new audiences. It's also one of the best looking games ever made. I am in awe of it.Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---CHAPTERS:0:00 - Welcome to Wavelengths0:33 - A Titanfall Second4:59 - Let’s Talk About Marathon9:23 - Meet the Factions15:28 - The Solo Experience19:17 - “Marathon is a Dead Game”22:15 - Subscribe if you haven’t!---⏆

I'm absolutely in love with Pokemon Pokopia, enough so that it has me wondering if it could have been a cultural moment — Animal Crossing-adjacent, even — had it released later in the Switch 2's lifecycle. Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online⏆

Steam Next Fest is the equivalent of perusing a library until you find something that seems interesting to you, which is an experience that’s extremely rare in video games these days. Hell, it’s rare in ANY media these days.This week’s episode of the show is mostly about some demos I loved, and a little bit about Playstation and Xbox.Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---CHAPTERS:0:00 - Awaysis3:55 - Wax Heads7:22 - Deep Snow Delivery9:32 - Arms of God12:10 - Antivirus Survivors 2003 Professional13:40 - The Wide Open Sky is Running Out of Catfish16:13 - Ratcheteer DX19:26 - Lootbound22:11 - Forbidden Solitaire24:53 - Xbox Leadership Shakeup36:20 - PlayStation Abandoning PC?---⏆

The PS6 might get delayed. The Switch 2 might get even more expensive. The Steam Deck is currently completely sold out. The AI industry is to blame — so let's talk about it.Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---CHAPTERS:0:00 - Welcome back to Wavelengths!0:13 - RAMmageddon12:59 - Do we even need a PS6 right now?20:55 - Will the Steam Machine even come out at this point26:07 - Discord followup28:59 - State of Play highlights37:25 - Listener Question: Pokemon Day Predictions---⏆

Welcome back to the show! This week I work through my feelings about Discord's new verification plans and how it will impact everything — even platforms outside of Discord. After that we run through some news about Riot layoffs, Mewgenics sales figures, and Yakuza Kiwami 3's confusing direction before going through my five months of using the MCON mobile controller. ---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Chapters:0:00 - Welcome back to Wavelengths!0:29 - Discord Age Verification24:15 - Riot Lays off 2XKO Team27:17 - Mewgenics makes its money back33:36 - Yakuza Kiwami 3 and the “bad” remake46:05 - Five Months of MCON

Hello and welcome back to the podcast! And the first one with video posted publicly for all to see! This week I'm talking about the four games that extremely worked for me from the Nintendo Partner Direct (and a bunch of other notable announcements), Switch 2 sales struggling outside of Japan, Valve kind-of-delaying the Steam Machine, and Sony's extremely stupid patent for AI podcasts.Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Chapters:0:00 - Welcome to Wavelengths!0:22 - Changes to the Patreon4:16 - The Nintendo Partner Direct27:20 - Switch 2 Sales “Below Expectations” Internationally34:36 - The Steam Machine Is Kind of Maybe Delayed39:11 - PlayStation Patents AI Generated Podcasts42:35 - Thanks for watching!---⏆

Welcome back to the first normal episode of this show in a while! There was video game news! Can you believe it? This week I'm talking about the Nintendo Direct focused entirely on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream — otherwise known in this house as "The Big Game" — before talking about another "big" game that's not landing as well: Highguard.Also in this episode: Ball x Pit updates, Dispatch on Switch, and thoughts about the future of Wavelengths.---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---Chapters:0:00 - Welcome Back to Wavelengths5:15 - Tomodachi Life Living the Dream Direct14:45 - Highguard is Fine33:19 - Dispatch Censorship34:38 - The Ball x Pit Free Update Rules39:28 - Wavelengths Updates---⏆

This week I'm answering your many questions from how to make potatoes, to thoughts on Heated Rivalry, to Nintendo of America's relationship with Nintendo of Japan and so much more. Come along, will you?Also: Huge solidarity to those in the streets of Minneapolis this month. Your bravery means everything, for real.---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆

I was very glad to be joined by my good friend Will LaPorte for a lengthy episode about our favorite albums and films of 2025! I hope you enjoy it, and I'll be back next week with (gasp) more stuff about video games!!Find Will Online: https://ghostdown.online/---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---Chapters:0:00:00 - Welcome to Wavelengths!0:02:50 - Intro Will0:04:22 - Will Album 100:09:54 - Brendon Album 100:16:41 - Will Movie 100:19:26 - Brendon Movie 100:23:48 - Will Album 90:27:50 - Brendon Album 90:31:22 - Will Movie 90:34:36 - Brendon Movie 90:39:04 - Will Album 80:41:29 - Brendon Album 80:43:09 - Will Movie 80:46:17 - Brendon Movie 80:52:02 - Will Album 70:54:11 - Brendon Album 70:57:42 - Will Movie 71:01:45 - Brendon Movie 71:04:48 - Will Album 61:07:22 - Brendon Album 61:08:52 - Will Movie 61:10:35 - Brendon Movie 61:17:20 - Will Album 51:23:36 - Brendon Album 51:27:17 - Will Movie 51:34:47 - Brendon Movie 51:42:39 - Will Album 41:46:52 - Brendon Album 41:49:25 - Will Movie 41:54:21 - Brendon Movie 42:03:14 - Will Album 32:09:18 - Brendon Album 32:13:32 - Will Movie 32:16:41 - Brendon Movie 32:29:00 - Will Album 22:33:12 - Brendon Album 22:40:10 - Will Movie 22:46:45 - Brendon Movie 22:56:07 - Will Album 13:04:06 - Brendon Album 13:14:40 - Will Movie 13:20:07 - Brendon Movie 1---⏆

Turns out they made a lot of good video games last year. So many, in fact, that I felt the need to continue last year's move of celebrating 50 of them in an extremely chill manner!!Thank you all for a great first (partial) year of Wavelengths, I hope you're as stoked for 2026 as I am!Note: Wish I'd known about the Level5 CEO showing his whole tuchus before I said all those nice things about Fantasy Life i... a game that might have been made by artificial intelligence for all we know!!Also note: Count the number of times I say “pound for pound” or “it’s a fascinating thing” or “check it out!!"---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆

Trans rights are human rights. Additional links:People Make Games on the BDS movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybj10537yi4No Games for Genocide: https://nogamesforgenocide.com/

Today's all about 2025's Game Awards! Who won, what got announced, and why was Divinity so disgusting? As I mention in the episode: I think going into this year's show treating it like "Winter Game Fest" was a much better move for my own enjoyment — and it created a show I felt generally decent about all things considered. There's still a lot to be critical of, but I found myself digging the show for the first time in years!Additional Reading: VGC on the Winners: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-game-awards-2025-complete-list-of-winners-as-clair-obscur-wins-game-of-the-year-and-sets-a-new-record-for-awards-won/Gio's Interview with Bruce Straley: https://www.polygon.com/coven-of-the-chicken-foot-game-awards-announcement/

Hello and welcome back to the show! It's been a light few weeks news-wise so I wanted to dig into some thoughts about Sektori and my first 90 minutes of the long-anticipated Metroid Prime 4: Beyond through the lens of game analysis and crit.Before the end of the episode, we'll all be PC gamers.---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆

Hello! Thank you so much for being here, I am grateful for you. This week's a shorter one because my body won't let me talk for more than 15 minutes, but I wanted to shout out two GOTy-contender games I've been absolutely loving this week:The first is Sektori, — a twin-stick arcade shooter with the aesthetic of Geometry Wars by an ex-Housemarque alum.The second is Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved — a Famicom Detective Club-inspired mystery with gorgeous art, music, and stellar writing.Both have been healing me.

Welcome back to Wavelengths! This week's main topic is about the nominees for 2025's TGAs, how weird they are, and how weird my feelings about the award show have become over the years. I also talk a bit about my own GOTY prep, some games I've been playing recently, and my thoughts a week out from the reveal of the Steam Machine.Additional reading: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/nov/11/future-class-gamings-oscars-game-awards---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆

Valve announced three products this week: A new controller, a new VR headset, and a new gaming console. This week's episode of Wavelengths is all about the interplay between these three devices and the thing that not only literally links them all together, but makes Valve's decade-long push towards making the PC gaming experience more approachable even work in the first place. ---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆

Hello and welcome back to Wavelengths! This week my guest is Stephen Hilger — my co-host on Into the Aether, a great artist and writer, and creator of the YouTube channel Memory Card Manuscript. I brought Stephen on to discuss a question sent in by a listener about the current hyper-polarization of video game discourse, from how to navigate algorithm-led spaces to not letting the media consume define your authentic being.It's a far-reaching conversation, and I hope it's as interesting, thought provoking, and engaging for you as it was for me. Find Stephen on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.socialAnd YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@memorycardmanuscript---Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/wavelengths---Feel free to follow me elsewhere!Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.onlineMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@brendonbigleyBlog: https://wavelengths.online---Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Hmt3yHTovQmEcqzhZdl8TApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wavelengths-with-brendon-bigley/id1677660078Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/x6p7ni3rAnd more: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itswavelengths---⏆