Starside Chat - A Podcast About Video Games · Zach Owens and Aaron Capo

Pre-Gamescom talk, Battlefield 6 Beta, Shadow Labyrinth

·1 hr 1 min·5 clips

UFO 50 dropped at the end of the Indie World Showcase with no fanfare, but it's a big deal.

Hosts Zach Owens and Aaron Kappel return to discuss recent gaming news and their personal playthroughs ahead of Gamescom. They cover two recent Nintendo Direct presentations, upcoming releases, and their experiences with several current games. The Indie World Showcase featured *Mina the Hollower*, which has a demo, and a surprise shadow-drop of *UFO 50* for Switch 2. They also highlight trailers for *Well Dweller* from the developer of *Islets* and *Crypt Custodian*, and the horror-farming narrative game *Neverway*. The hosts note the unexpected release of new DLC for the 17-year-old game *Castle Crashers*. A separate Nintendo Partner Showcase was less impressive to them, though they are excited for the newly announced *Once Upon a Katamari*, featuring time-travel levels and new mechanics. Aaron shares his early *UFO 50* impressions, particularly praising the music and art in a cookie-clicker style game within the collection. The conversation shifts to *Apex Legends*' new permanent Wild Card mode, which features faster matches, pre-kitted weapons, and respawns. They discuss the significantly improved *Apex Legends* experience on Switch 2, which includes mouse support but requires a proprietary SD card due to large file size. The hosts talk about the new *Guilty Gear Strive* DLC character Lucy from *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners*, admiring her design and moveset while acknowledging the game's high complexity barrier for them. For Gamescom Opening Night Live, their primary prediction is a release date and playable demo for *Hollow Knight: Silksong*, potentially with a physical edition. They also expect to see more of *007: First Light*, *Black Ops 7*, *Resident Evil Requiem*, and *Silent Hill F*, and speculate on possible reveals for *Darksiders 4* and a *Hades 2* release date. Aaron details his progress in *Donkey Kong Bonanza*, having unlocked the Elephant power-up and used it to farm gold efficiently. He compares the game to *Super Mario Odyssey*, finding *Odyssey*'s movement and soundtrack more memorable and noting occasional frame rate drops in *Bonanza*. The episode maintains a casual, conversational tone as two friends catch up on gaming topics. Listeners interested in indie game announcements, *Apex Legends* updates, or speculation around *Silksong* will enjoy this episode. Those seeking deep dives into single games or who avoid news and prediction discussions might want to skip it.

As heard by us

A relaxed, game-literate catch-up built around pre-Gamescom talk.

Starside Chat comes across as an easy catch-up, with the pre-Gamescom speculation and recent game talk feeling lived-in rather than packaged. It is at its best around Donkey Kong Bonanza, Shadow Labyrinth, Battlefield 6 beta, and the Silksong guessing game, where the hosts check…

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Why you'd press play

You want a relaxed Gamescom warm-up with real game chatter.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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