The Pocket Gamer Podcast

Are you a fan of subscriptions, and what do you consider to be an actual "tower defence" game? Things flow pretty smoothly in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where the topics actually aren't as chaotic as they usually turn out to be.Surprisingly, we get right to it with the recent changes to Google Play's store fees, which have been a bit of an "epic" saga over the years. If you're not familiar with the whole thing, Iwan offers a quick explanation that should get you up to speed.After Will airs out his woes against Apple Arcade, we move to Moonlight Peaks for some reason, which - despite being a genre I'm not entirely a fan of - is actually incredibly interesting thanks to its premise. You play as Dracula's daughter out to build a peaceful life away from vampirism in the countryside, which is intriguing enough to catch my attention ahead of its July 7th release.The subject matter gives Will enough to go on with Wicked Defense, a new roguelike "tower defence" battler where you defend but don't really build towers. Does it still count as tower defence in that case? I suppose it's up to you to decide, but our resident TD expert, Will, certainly doesn't think so.Now, it wouldn't be a regular podcast if Will didn't interrupt Iwan every chance he gets, so after a bit of disruptive fun, Iwan segues into Overcooked coming to Netflix Games. It's the perfect litmus test to see if your relationships can withstand a heated match, and in the Netflix edition, you get to see guest chefs from popular franchises within the subscription service's properties.Then, before we end up going nowhere with another segue, we move right into Nowhere Prophet's official launch, which is a totally cool-looking roguelike card battler with an even cooler soundtrack. It's got all three of us really interested to give it a go, so if that's any indication of a game's appeal, you might want to put this on your radar too.Will then wraps things up with the launch of Arranger on iOS and Android outside of Netflix. The art style is similar to Braid, which Will also reviewed on top of his Arranger review on the site. It's an interesting puzzler if you're looking for a change of pace in the genre, because you literally get to arrange the world.But before we end the episode, Iwan picks my brain about the regional soft launch of Overwatch Rush, which I felt like was actually pretty newbie-friendly for noob little me.You can listen to the podcast below, through the Spotify embed, or head over to our Spotify Page. If you fancy giving us a follow, you'll actually get the new podcasts pushed to you as they're uploaded (which means you can give them a listen before we've even got the story live on the website). Plus, we've been teasing more ways of getting it to you for the past months, and now the time has finally come. You can catch us on Amazon Music or on Apple Podcasts too - because life is hard enough already, and we wouldn't want you to struggle with finding us!

Did you use to play games that were way above the recommended age for you, and how would you feel about an X-Men character that hails from your nation?We try our hardest to be professional in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, which is brought to you courtesy of the Roland-Garros eSeries by Renault 2026!We celebrate our entry into the big leagues by offering a sneak peek at what Tennis Clash has in store for you over the next few months, with the first round of the tournament qualification kicking off tomorrow. Iwan and Will would've delivered the sponsorship flawlessly if I hadn't inadvertently messed up Will's lines towards the end thanks to Google's shared docs (but he still managed to stick the landing with a flourish!).That said, there's a lot to look forward to as the tournament runs throughout April until the final stage on May 23rd, so stay tuned as we talk more about it in the episodes to come!With that, Iwan dives into the first news topic for the episode with Eras of Wrestling's mobile launch. It supposedly takes you through a variety of periods throughout the history of wrestling, and while Will throws the idea of a wrestling gacha game out into the ether, I move on to the launch of Reigns: The Witcher.The latest version of the popular Reigns franchise will have you embellishing Geralt's tale through Dandelion the Bard, and all you have to do is swipe left or right to try to survive for as long as you possibly can before you end up in a ditch somewhere in the Continent. We do the usual serving of waffles about the perils of growing old and the right age to be playing Skyrim before Will lightens the mood with Pokemon Go's 10th anniversary (and Pokemon's 30th anniversary!). There's plenty to explore within the Kanto region, so if you're eager to go back to the franchise's roots, now's the perfect time to do just that.Iwan then impossibly segues from Pokemon to Welsh national pride somehow, telling us all about the latest update within Marvel Contest of Champions. This spirals into Iwan's indignation that Will dares to question Jean Grey's multiple deaths, but the good news is that Pixie, being a Welsh mutant, brings Iwan back in good spirits.Of course, Will never fails to trigger Iwan at every opportunity, so "Iwan the Welsh" passes the ball to me with Neverness to Everness and its upcoming launch on April 29th. All three of us are pretty excited about this one, especially since it's got an interesting blend of elements and a fresh monetisation model.And finally, Will wraps it all up with the announcement for Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis, which is still all hush-hush at the moment. Will is our resident KR expert, though, so if you're curious about the other entries in the franchise while you wait, you can take a peek at his Kingdom Rush series ranking for more.

Do you prefer games that offer exactly what's on the tin, and who's responsible for making sure songs are present when "songs" are in the title? We tackle everything from dark folklore to FOMO in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast!Will tries to impersonate Iwan's very "classy" voice for a bit before Iwan kicks off with Songs of Conquest, which is set to launch its first story-focused DLC, Rise Eternal, on March 5th.  There's a deep backstory that Iwan dives into for the whole thing, but, of course, Will focuses instead on the actual title of the turn-based strategy.Speaking of aptly titled adventures, there's Hatch Dragons, where you, well, hatch dragons. This is scheduled to launch on March 5th too, so if you're looking to collect cute dragons rather than more violent ones, this cosy sim should be right up your alley.We bring some waffles along for the ride for a bit when it comes to these majestic mythological creatures, before Will segues into Residual - the Epic Games Store freebie of the week. It once again may not be the most aptly titled quest out there, but it is indeed pretty epic, with survival-driven platforming gameplay that focuses on exploration instead of combat.Iwan oh-so-generously gives us a handy little tip about the Epic Games Store library before launching into a discussion on Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse, Square Enix's new premium mystery that's out now on iOS and Android. It's got an interesting mechanic that lets you examine the world around you in 360 degrees, which of course segues into merfolk and Iwan's dark interpretation of European lore.That leads us to Almost Out of Mana, a minimalist puzzler where you, er, almost run out of mana. That's the ultimate goal, really - try to survive with enough mana intact and see if you can handle the pressure (as expected from the developer of Is This Yours?).And finally, Will talks about Old School Runescape's Deadman Annihilation contest that's recently wrapped up, proving just how much you need to tune into Iwan's news articles on the site to avoid missing out on all the latest happenings.

How much do you love cookies, and do you truly, truly believe in yourself? We tackle everything from confectionery to waffles in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where our trio is complete and back for more mobile mayhem.After an extremely chaotic intro where Iwan throws us off completely, Will lobs a helpful segue (that Iwan doesn't catch) with Where Winds Meet's Hexi expansion. There's plenty to look forward to once it launches on March 6th, and while they both ponder the intricacies of where winds actually meet, I offer another exciting thing to look forward to in March - CookieRun: Ovensmash.This colourful new MOBA takes everyone's favourite cookies and drops them into an urban fantasy setting, where they can duke it out Brawl Stars-style. There's a bit of waffling about these cool cookies and their tortured pasts before Will eases us into Dark Mage Defense, which adapts the webtoon 66,666 Years: Advent of the Dark Mage into a roguelike RPG.That's out now, and while Iwan does some fumbling of his own (and gets distracted by the book nook on his desk), he successfully manages to steer the conversation back to Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark. As the Epic Games freebie of the week, it sees you navigating through strange cases once more as detective Francis McQueen and officer Patrick Dooley.These cases are pretty bite-sized, and if you're into short experiences on mobile, perhaps Dear Me, I Was… might appeal to you. This evocative tale takes you through the ordinary life of an ordinary woman, but there's certainly nothing ordinary about its message and its visuals.The vibes give us plenty of sad feels for a bit, so Will counters the blues with Pocket Golf Tournament and its mobile launch, before finally wrapping things up by reiterating the power of believing in ourselves in this complicated thing we call life.

Are you a fan of open-world shenanigans? And are you subscribed to any kind of games service at the moment? I'm away on this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, so Iwan and Will take a quick moment to lament my absence from the episode before jumping right into Sea of Remnants, which has now launched its closed alpha test. It makes use of a lot of niche pirate elements and that Jinx-like trope - we're still hoping this'll come to mobile in a Once Human-esque kind of way, so fingers crossed.After a bit of thought on how rag-tag pirate crews are supposed to be formed, Will segues into Neverness to Everness' Co-Ex Test, with pre-registration now live on iOS and Android. This inevitably leads to a conversation about Grand Theft Auto and the philosophy of open-world experiences.There's surprisingly a tad less waffling between here and the next topic, which is Heartopia and the cosy sim's My Little Pony collaboration. Of course, the waffles come a second later with Evangelion and the Decepticons, but Iwan does manage to steer the topic back on track with the pre-launch login event and mini-games that are now available ahead of the crossover's release. Finally, Will wraps things up with The Case of the Golden Idol's departure from Netflix Games, but thankfully, you can still play this visually distinct point-and-click adventure on iOS and Android.Iwan dives into what might be Netflix's plan for these mobile games in the long run, because contrary to what the streaming service seems to be doing, Crunchyroll knows its market and what it's going for. I suppose only time will truly tell.

Do you like playing bite-sized games on a daily basis when you're running late for work? We want to be right on time on this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast despite failing to record on the first of the month, and because we don't want to be late, Iwan gets right to it with Heartopia's collaboration with My Little Pony. It'll no doubt be an interesting mix of cosy vibes and Valentine's Day air, so if you're looking to bask in all the love this month, this is one to watch.Will and Iwan show off their love-hate relationship for a bit before we happily move on to Reigns: The Witcher after a terrible segue, in which you swipe left or right to make choices that may or may not lead to your death (not IRL, of course, as Iwan rightly points out). There's a big heaping of waffles from here to the next point, including but not limited to Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and baking. But we get there eventually, and by "there", I mean PUBG Mobile's collab with The King of Fighters. Mai Shiranui, Iori Yagami and Nakoruru will be joining the fray, which helps Iwan segue into Goddess of Victory: Nikke and its own crossover with the popular anime Lycoris Recoil.After giving us a brief overview of the anime's premise, Iwan offers a sweet little shoutout to his auntie about some Cowboy Bebop-related feels, which is how we segue into the sweetness of Candy Crush spin-off Crushable on Yahoo Games and its self-aware ad starring Frankie Muniz. And finally, Will rounds it up with the iOS launch of Cosmic Royale, but not before leaving us with some words of wisdom about being a good sport on the racetrack and the true meaning of winning.

If someone tells you not to push the button, will you push it? Will you? Will you?So apparently, we did manage to escape the corruption that's crept into Pocket Gamer Towers last week, because we're back with more news to serve up with this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast - starting with the big news of Silt's launch. Will's apparently trying to brighten up our Monday with something that's…supposedly more terrifying than anything in and out of this world, so if you're feeling down, you can try and fight off the Monday blues with a healthy dose of schadenfreude (it's a real thing).After pondering the mysteries of reverse psychology (we like to keep the discussion highly intellectual here), Iwan steers us into Vampire Crawlers' upcoming demo. Poncle's really got us all fired up (and by "we", I mean Iwan) with their upcoming project, but if you're itching to give it a go yourself, you'll have to wait until Steam Next Fest in February.Thankfully, you won't have to wait for this one as Arknights Endfield is out now across the globe, which is something a lot of people really seem to be enjoying lately as the hip and cool new thing on mobile. We've got guides on the site for practically every single thing you might want to know about, so have a look if you're keen!Will then moves on to the launch of Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot, which is an auto-battler that teaches you not to discriminate against dwarves and their roles in life. Iwan backs it up by declaring on the top of his hill about his favourite Lord of the Rings character, which Will and I support 100% (good on you, Iwan).As for supporting home-grown causes, Prime Rush is an upcoming project from Supergaming that we've got our eye on. It'll hopefully bring something new to the table across the saturated genre, and it's now open for pre-registration on Android if you're curious about it too.But if you'd rather get your hands on something that's out right now, Gumslinger 2: Ducks & Nukes can satisfy your bloodlust (or gummy-lust?) with some hilarious physics-based duels, where you get to fight to the death but with gummies.And finally, we wrap up the episode with a whole bunch of fourth-wall-breaking fun as Crushed in Time gets a new trailer, so if you're looking for something a bit more meta to spice up your mobile adventures, this one might be one to watch.

What is your deepest fear, and how do you turn it around and make a living out of it? Things take an unexpectedly dark turn in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where it's all about minding the gap and paying the rent sprinkled with a healthy serving of waffles in between.We start with the big news that Subway Surfers City is now in pre-registration, offering a sequel-slash-spin-off of the popular endless runner with an expanded world. Will raises a good point that part of what makes the franchise so great is its straightforwardness (he's always ready to defend someone's honour with his bare fists and we love him for it, as you'll hear pretty quickly in a few minutes!).In any case, there are no misleading ads for Subway Surfers so far, so it's very much a WYSIWYG kind of deal, and that's always a good thing. That brings us to something where we're just not quite sure what we're going to get at the moment, which is Palworld's upcoming Trading Card Game. Launching (hopefully on mobile) on July 30th, the TCG is curiously going to add its trademark base-building elements into the mix as well, so while we do wonder about Pokemon's inspirations (inevitably), we also look forward to what fresh new thing Palworld's going to bring to the table.Poor little indie franchise Pokemon needs all the defence it can get, after all, so we try our best to differentiate the two to give them both justice. I know - we're all noble warriors and valiant defenders of the weak over here at PG Towers.Speaking of weakness, the hapless little beans from Dumb Ways to Die are back as the freebie of the week for the Epic Games Store, so if you want to feel like a proper saviour and the ultimate champion of metro safety, now's your chance.Iwan takes every opportunity to make Will and I feel ancient in this podcast, so he goes on to talk about The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin and its delayed release. Now launching in March, it's supposedly taking its sweet time tweaking the finer aspects of the RPG to make it more enjoyable for the community, so here's hoping it'll be worth the wait.That said, there's no logical way for me to segue into A Webbing Journey, but I do it anyway - this lovely little gem is out now to subvert your arachnophobia. You'll play as a helpful spider on a quest to lend humans a hand (or a hairy leg), doing everything from making popcorn to watering the plants, which might just mean this could be an alternate origin story for everyone's favourite friendly neighborhood Marvel webslinger.And finally, we try to end the episode on a positive note with Goblin Sushi, but because it's all about trying to make ends meet so you can pay your endless rent for your relentless landlord, things spiral into darkness with a proper reference to George Orwell's depressing ending for Animal Farm. Will we ever escape the corruption? Tune in next week to find out.

What Pokemon would make a great window scraper? We're back to kick off the new year in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast - we hope you missed us as much as we missed you!We stretch, warm up, and dust off our mics as Iwan takes us into the upcoming launch of Order of Kings, where you can look forward to discovering more about why the Three Kingdoms period is such a big hit for games (and rightly so). Will does point out a common issue with the genre though, which is whether or not the base-building aspect takes priority over the actual strategic warfare. We'll get back to that again in a minute (or more than a minute, if you know how much we like waffles around here).That said, Will moves on to a strategy-adjacent update for this teeny tiny indie gem called League of Legends: Wild Rift, where two heroes are joining the fight (and that's always fun). One more hero joining the fight is everyone's favourite sky bison Appa, who's now making his debut in Avatar Legends: Realms Collide as part of the new Companions feature.We waffle on a bit about blue aliens and avatars before we move on to a gruesome crime within Play Together, where Mr Hotdog's gone missing to everyone's absolute horror. Whether or not he's rotting in a ditch somewhere (he's not) remains to be seen, but if you're looking for something else to distract you from the crime, Will offers Bouncemasters as a lighthearted alternative.Now free on the Epic Games Store for the week, this arcade-y adventure will have you playing as a lovable penguin on a quest for something not as lovable, which is to spy on another penguin with the help of his polar bear BFF. If you're curious about the quirky and almost horrific premise behind this one, Will gives a pretty accurate explanation that's too bizarre not to be true.In any case, we end the episode with the end of another game, sadly, as Pandoland will soon shut its doors this March. Not even Game Freak can save this one, apparently, which is proof that not everything the studio touches turns into Pokemon Gold.

What's your favourite game of 2025? Any upcoming releases you're looking forward to in 2026? Let's end the year with a bang with a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where we take a quick look back on the greatest hits (and misses) over the past twelve months!It's actually been a big year for mobile with a lot more to come, including the upcoming release of Arknights: Endfield, some Monument Valley shenanigans, and the whole Netflix x Warner Bros x Paramount kerfuffle.Iwan continues with some big hits in the form of the Stardew Valley x Infinity Nikki crossover, Subnautica's launch, and Squid Game Unleashed going MIA, before Will reminisces about Suzerain and the consequences of his choices that will remain with him forever. He then gushes about Warframe which has a definite year-round appeal, before he literally slides away into the abyss.It's my turn to gush about my favourite pick of the year, which is The Longing - and you have to spend 400 actual days IRL to finish the whole thing. You can't speedrun this one, but speaking of, Iwan speedruns through the most notable news of 2025 like Dredge, Disco Elysium, and Star Wars Hunters, before we wrap things up for the final episode of the year.Thank you so much for sticking around and listening to us serve up the news with a side of goofiness, and we hope you'll keep hanging out with us for all things mobile next year and beyond!

How do you spend your holidays gaming-wise, and is Santa Claus at all safe? Grab some eggnog or cosy up with a cup of tea as we welcome you all to a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast!After confirming exactly why this is the most wonderful time of the year (and expressing our genuine concern over Santa Claus' safety), we get right to it as Iwan recommends The Darkside Detective if you're in the mood for some spooky-slash-goofy tones while you chill by the fireplace this month. The point-and-click adventure has plenty of cosy moments despite its titular darkside-ness - or if you're looking for something more mainstream, Balatro is always a good pick.Vampire Survivors is one of Iwan's go-to options too, but for something more laidback and a little less frantic, Neko Atsume is my own top pick for the season. The idle nature of this kitty collector will have you laying out toys and treats for stray cats in a desperate attempt to win their love - and if they do deem you worthy of their time and attention, they'll leave you fish that you can then use to buy them even more treats. It's a loop you'll want to get trapped in especially if you fancy logging in, setting up treats, then logging out and going about your day before checking in every once in a while whenever you feel like it. Plus, cat masters. 'Nuff said.As for Will, he does a complete one-eighty with Maneater, where you basically roam the seas as an apex predator and eat people just because. And if you're wondering how exactly that relates to Christmas, then you'll have to tune in to find out (just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water).Will also leaves us with a heartwarming message this Christmas, so even if we're still not entirely sure about Santa's whereabouts at the moment, we at least end this holiday special with some warm and fuzzy feelings before we sign off.

Are you a fan of waifu games and Metroidvanias, and what is the meaning of life? We tackle everything from the state of the world we live in to the overall plot of Star Wars in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.We kick things off with a quick game of "how many Christmas metaphors can Will blurt out in three seconds" before Iwan drops the big news on Umamusume: Pretty Derby winning Mobile Game of the Year at The Game Awards, along with Wuthering Waves bagging an award with the Player's Voice category. It's a fantastic way of celebrating what makes mobile great, which inevitably includes waifus - and this is where Will's news on Snowbreak: Containment Zone comes in. There's plenty of outfits to get a hold of in the latest update too, so if you fancy celebrating the holidays in style, this might be one to watch.Speaking of things that have tons of style, Dead Cells is the freebie of the week for the Epic Games Store, which is honestly levelling up its catalog, in my opinion. It's free to grab until the 19th, and you don't even need to be logged in to the store after downloading it to play it.We go pretty meta with our transitions and sound effects for a bit before Iwan perfectly transitions into a new Star Wars CCG in the works, and after we waffle on a tad about Star Wars losing its plot, Will throws out the existential question of how PUBG has suddenly become THE game for sportscars.Before things get too bleak when it comes to cars exploding and the overall fate of humanity, let's segue into Cozy Caravan and restore our faith in the world with its cute critters and overall cosiness. Similar adventures like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have never really been my thing (I'm so sorry!), but with the stop-motion-esque animation in Cozy Caravan, I might just give this sim a try. 

How do you feel about the big Netflix x Warner Bros kerfuffle, and do you think you deserve a visit from three ghosts this Christmas? We tackle everything from Hello Kitty's supposedly dark past to really old lizard-looking sugar monsters in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.As we ponder the intricacies of a bearded stranger breaking into people's houses uninvited this Christmas season, Iwan kicks things off with what's arguably the biggest news of the past week, which is Netflix's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. There's no doubt going to be a whole bunch of stuff to consider when it comes to the subscription service's catalog of games on mobile, but it'll also no doubt take ages before anything solidifies, so we'll all just have to keep tuning in to find out.That said, what's certain this week is the launch of Hello Kitty and Friends World, which is exactly what it says on the tin - you decorate the popular kitty's world along with her pals, and what's even more interesting is that all of the Sanrio characters are already immediately unlocked from the start. It essentially removes microtransactions, given it's supposed to be targeted toward kids, which is a lovely change of pace.But if you're looking for something that's entirely free - at least for the moment - Epic Games Store is bringing The Darkside Detective to mobile as its freebie of the week. Will tells us all about its well-balanced features (check out Iwan's review on it too if you're curious), before Iwan decides who's doomed to receive an untimely visit from three ghosts this season (Hello Kitty herself included).We then move on from creepy spectres to cult classics with the upcoming Dungeons of Dusk, which honestly features such a rich backstory that it's best to have a look at Iwan's interview with 68K Studios to know all the nitty-gritty.Now, if you're a fan of interesting narratives like I am, this one's caught my eye - Planet of Lana has now made the leap onto mobile. I do feel like it's perfectly suited for the platform with its lovely visuals and optimised controls; plus, it reminds me a lot of Far: Lone Sails with all the wordless and evocative scenery. So, if that's your kind of vibe, I'd say this is worth giving a go.And finally, Will caps things off with the adorable Om Nom joining the blocky world of Minecraft as a special add-on, which brings us to the existential question of what exactly this little green blob is and why it's still stealing our hearts (and sugars?) to this day.

What's your take on AI in video games? What's your favourite Final Fantasy game, and would you like to try to handcraft a universe of your own making? We tackle everything from managing football careers to arguing about what a warframe actually is in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.After Iwan blows off some steam about mobile ads and what the heck they're actually doing to our economy, Will shares some insider tips about how you can ward off these unholy abominations with a little Wi-Fi trick (controversial opinions and hardcore gaming secrets only in this podcast).Then, Iwan updates us on Sega Football Club Champions 2026's upcoming launch, which completely goes over my and Will's heads because sports and paperwork simply do not compute. But if you do want to find something you actually can compute, you'll be happy to know that Netflix Puzzled has just launched to offer free daily brainteasers you can play both on mobile and on the Tudum website, with a special Stranger Things-themed coat of paint at the moment to celebrate the show's fifth season. We talk a bit about aging actors and how that's what's strange, before we move on to something that our finite minds can actually comprehend - crafting universes with our own hands. Will segues into the Epic Games Store's freebie of the week, Universe For Sale, but while the aesthetics here are definitely on point, I personally had a rough time crafting the universes being peddled. If you're curious, you can have a look at my Universe For Sale review. Your mileage may vary though, so why not give it a go? It's free until December 4th, after all.While we're on the subject of free stuff, Iwan diverts his enthusiasm to Where Winds Meet. He sheds light on the use of AI here not only in the gameplay but also on how you create your character, as you can apparently use your own voice to generate the sound your character makes - life truly is stranger than fiction.And speaking of fiction, Will announces Warframe's Android closed beta, then helps me wrap things up with Final Fantasy IX's crossover event within Another Eden. Of course, in true PG fashion, we add more waffles into the waffling on as we tease an upcoming podcast special, but not before revealing that Iwan may or may not be AI himself.

Have you voted for your pick for Game of the Year yet? Who's your fave Hunter from Solo Leveling, and what is the point of it all, according to Iwan? We tackle everything from racing careers to missing vegetables in the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.Iwan's testing a new mic this week from Maono for a review that'll be up on the site soon, so if you think he's sounding pretty darn good (or pretty darn worse), do let us know.But first, Will proves he's the coolest kid on the block with his intro this week, before we dive right into The Sims Labs: Town Stories that's now in soft launch. Iwan sheds some light on the project and basically spills the tea as the resident Sims expert, and if you're curious, you can catch more of Iwan's hot takes over on our sister site, The Sims News.The highlight of our episode is, of course, the 12th Pocket Gamer Awards, which is now in its voting phase! This is your chance to let your voice be heard as you can vote for your favourites across a wide variety of categories, including the coveted Mobile Game of the Year. Super Farming Boy, for instance, is right up there with Pokemon TCG Pocket and Umamusume: Pretty Derby, and after a bit of horse-related feminism, Will moves on to kidnapped dads and bad parenting.That's because Dadish 4 is coming to mobile next month, and this time, it's the titular dad-that's-a-radish that's been abducted (and by the Homeowner's Association, no less). It's up to DJ (or Dadish Jr, of course) to rescue him and save the day.Unanswered letters to Thomas K Young turn to unanswered letters to poncle as Iwan discusses the Vampire Survivors spin-off Vampire Crawlers (and the powerful psychic damage he's been sending over to poncle), but not before taking us through the new AFK Journey collab with Delicious in Dungeon. This takes us to scary territory for some reason, which is why I segue into the equally cryptic TR-49 - inkle's upcoming narrative mystery that's all about real-life code-breaking documents from WWII. It doesn't take long before Will gets down to business with the very business-y Laura Walker from Solo Leveling: Arise, because when you mean serious business, you can't go wrong with a secretary with a whip.

How do you rage against a giant judgmental pillar, and how soon can you get your hands on some Pals on mobile? We tackle everything from bad voice acting to the power of pronunciation in the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast this week.After John Marston makes a brief cameo in this episode, Iwan brings us news of Red Dead Redemption's mobile port coming to iOS and Android courtesy of Netflix Games. It is, as he writes, "beginning to look a lot like Red-mas", so while the price tag is pretty hefty, you might be able to justify its purchase on Steam this season - or you can simply subscribe to Netflix to get it for free.Another big franchise is coming soon to mobile too with Horizon Steel Frontiers, a cross-platform MMORPG I'm super pumped about but likely won't be able to play too much because of my cursed tennis elbows. Still, it promises to bring all the totally awesome machines from the PlayStation hit onto mobile; plus, it looks like we're going to get some cool mounts too as the cherry on top.Then, Will tells us the odd lore behind ScourgeBringer, which is free on the Epic Games Store if you want to know what it's like to have an evil pillar as your mortal enemy (really). But if you're more into typical manga narratives rather than giant judgmental monoliths, Seven Knights Idle Adventure is doing a collab with popular manhwa The Swordmaster's Son, or you might want to put Mongil: Star Dive on your radar for even more anime-style visuals and feels.Apart from Netmarble's monster-taming adventure, G-Star 2025 also showcased Palworld Mobile in Korea over the weekend, where Krafton opened alpha test sign-ups for the highly anticipated project. And finally, we close out with the upcoming The Witcher collab within Sword of Convallaria - a title that might just elude Will's pronunciation prowess forever. We do offer this idea out into the ether, though: Geralt in a hot tub on wheels as a mount or as a kart racer - now that's a sure hit.

What happened over the weekend in LA, and is this truly the Iwan and Friends show? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast focuses on Arknights: Endfield and all the hype surrounding it, with a few bits of immersive candies and pig squeals thrown in for good measure.After a bit of a kerfuffle about fake tax records, Iwan dives right into the heart of the matter, which is Arknights: Endfield's beta 2.0. Iwan gives us a very detailed look at all the bells and whistles at the event, especially with everything the upcoming RPG has to offer.There are a lot of interesting tidbits surrounding the mechanics and how they all relate to Arknights, so if you're curious, you can have a look at Iwan's preview, or find out more about what goes on behind the scenes in his interview with producer Light Zhong (it's a really insightful one!).And because immersion and interactivity are the name of the game these days, we move on to quirkier news as Candy Crush creates music that you can apparently actually taste - we're not even kidding. Will gives us the lowdown on these odd but certainly interesting musical twists, and while we do get into a bit of back-and-forth on whether or not this is actually a good idea, the hype is definitely real for this one, as the lollipops were instantly sold out online.Speaking of immersion, Clash Royale, on the other hand, is offering you the chance to immortalise yourself forever as the new hog squeal sound effect in the game, so if you're interested, there's still time to make a name for yourself on the official website.Before we end, we announce the official launch of Sword of Justice, where AI-powered NPCs actually remember how you interact with them - this means you'll likely have a much more immersive experience as you go along, because it seems we're all about immersion today. And finally, Totally Fishing now has an official TestFlight build you can give a go for all your wacky fishing needs.

Do you really need a Pal during the apocalypse (yes, you do), who is The Sassy JRPG Hater, and have we just irrevocably angered FF7 fans with our discussion on Healing Materia? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast offers both fast news and chaotic insights in this week's episode with the three of us back in.Will very dramatically takes us into the 12th annual Pocket Gamer Awards nominations, which are now open until mid-November. This means if you fancy seeing your fave picks up there, let your voice (or vote) be heard by filling in the nomination form! Then, you can dabble in a little bit of eldritch horror in Asphalt Legends Unite, where Iwan gives us the details on the popular racer's Cthulhu crossover event. And to continue with all the leftover Halloween spooks, Bendy and the Ink Machine is the Epic Games Store freebie of the week, so you can go ahead and creep yourself out with horrific mascots and cursed, abandoned lairs.Iwan and Will talk a bit about the circumstances surrounding the Epic Games Store's free games program, before we segue into the equally horrific world of Once Human collaborating with the not-so-horrific world of Palworld. While the crossover might seem odd at first glance, it actually does make sense given the nature of the gameplay, so if you're curious about how your Pals can help you survive the apocalypse, now's your chance.Then, we move on to the sad news of Squad Busters unfortunately getting shuttered next year, which definitely comes as a surprise given it's been fully launched and not in soft-launch as opposed to other games Supercell previously shut down. Iwan gives us the lowdown on the comings and goings in the biz behind the scenes for a bit before Will launches into an inspirational speech complete with motivational music on how he believes in Supercell - and perhaps we all should too.And finally, we cap off the episode with Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis' crossover with Final Fantasy XIII, in which we might've angered some FF7 fans by pondering the intricacies of Healing Materia and Aerith's popularity in the midst of it all (but not before we meet Iwan's alter-ego, The Sassy JRPG Hater).

Alucard - er, Iwan - welcomes you all to a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where we talk about our favourite (and by "our", I mean Will and Iwan) horror and horror-adjacent games on mobile this Halloween. After a twisted intro involving thunder and some chaotic Castlevania callbacks, we (almost) waste no time in diving right into the horror of it all with Vampire’s Fall 2, a gothic fantasy RPG that Will had to talk over Iwan to recommend to us first. And because Iwan is apparently too young to have played Diablo I, he swiftly moves on to what he swears is one of the greatest games of all time, Alien: Isolation. It's also a bit of a technical marvel given it was released on mobile four years ago, but before Iwan can wax poetic about how this made the Xenomorphs terrifying again, he gives a special shoutout to Phobies for Stephen's sake.It's supposed to have all these creatures that are embodiments of fears (I do present a theory I read somewhere about Lippy that Stephen may or may not debunk), and because that's incredibly creepy, Will eases us into Candies n' Curses, which, on the tier list of horror levels, is comfortably categorised under "something even Cat can play". Sadly, because this is supposed to be a short one, we wrap up the episode with one game we (and again, by "we", I mean Will and Iwan) wish would make the leap to mobile. Iwan picks House of the Dead for all its brain-eating action, while Will picks The Binding of Isaac as he believes it's also something "Cat can play".And in true podcast fashion, we bid adieu by leaving you with the image of the Saja Boys from KPop Demon Hunters barging into your room in the middle of the night - truly the stuff of nightmares.

What does a creepy cat and a creepy cafe have in common (hint: they're creepy), and why are we talking all things cursed in this episode?  The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast is a two-player back-and-forth this week as Will and I discuss everything from Cinderella's crops to a speedy hedgehog in a car.Will dives straight into Play Together's Halloween update, where said cursed farms and spectral princesses abound, and as we talk about the oddities of monsters popping up all over Kaia Island, we also ponder the mysteries of just why Cinderella might be cursing an entire town with nightmare veggies.Speaking of cursed critters, Escape Game: Cat and Cafe is, at first glance, supposed to be a relaxing puzzler where you cosy up with a cute cat and a lovely little cafe - but honestly, with the way the visuals are presented and the mystery of this odd "escape game", it looks more like there's some form of impending doom just lurking around the corner or bubbling beneath the surface here. It's entirely free to play though, so if you're curious, you can give it a go and see for yourself (or we might just be overthinking things and it really is just a puzzler about a cafe and a cat).Moving on to more festive news, Bleach: Brave Souls is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a cool offline event where the OG voice cast will be doing live readings next month, as well as a bunch of freebies within the RPG itself. Everyone's favourite blue hedgehog is also a testament to long-running franchises, which is how we segue into Sonic Rumble and its release window next month. We talk a bit about how multiplayer Sonic games have never really taken off - mainly because there's one that actually put Sonic in a car - but with any luck, this new Stumble Guys-esque adventure will be just the thing to kick off the genre. And finally, we end the episode with a bang by announcing that nominations for the 12th Pocket Gamer Awards are now open! You can nominate your faves across a variety of categories, so if, like me, you love Shogun Showdown's roguelike card battles, or, like Will, you fancy Super Farming Boy's quirky anti-capitalism charm, then this is your chance to flaunt your fandom.