Cast Reflect

It's that time of year...

This week, Josh, Con, and Adam have a chat about the video game awards and the ever-growing list of categories. There's also big ball x pit chat and the December preview.

This week, the boys tackle the insane amount of sub-genres that now exist within video games and create their own for a laugh. They also discuss the GTA 6 delay and how none of them saw it coming...

This week, the boys get back in the podding chairs and discuss Battlefield 6, Ball x Pit, and Spooky Season. They also draft their own five-aside football teams based on horror game enemies, and the results are fantastic.

This week, Adam and Con are away, so Josh invites friend of the show Ryan to a two-hour deep dive into Silksong.

Settle in.

This week, Adam is off to Portugal, so Josh & Con take the helm and chat about aggy game devs, great white shark campaigns, and October's releases.

It's that time.

This week, Josh & Adam catch up with Con after his big trip to Copenhagen, and it turns out he actually bought a newly released video game. They also discuss Gamescom, including its numerous new trailers, and provide an overview of the upcoming releases for September.

This week, Con is off on a Danish adventure, so Adam and Josh take the reins. They discuss the Battlefield 6 open beta and have a big chat about the Switch 2's initial impressions.

Once again.

The boys had a summer holiday of sorts, but are back to fill the void you've had in your life since the last episode. This week, they have a big catch-up, chat about Summer Game Fest, speed run a monthly preview, and even squeeze in a return to the GG game.

This week, the boys look ahead to Summer Game Fest and all the potential delights in store. As always, they have five predictions that will likely never happen, but it's good to hope, right? There's also time for your June monthly preview, including the long-awaited launch of the Switch 2,

This week, Josh and Adam take the reins and chat about the shocking and unpredictable news that GTA VI has been delayed...

After that, Adam takes us through his delightful desert island video games list.

This week, the boys have a big old chat about how the industry has changed, and whether video games can surprise players anymore with new and innovative projects. There is also a healthy May preview stacked with seven games.

Where else to start but the Switch 2?

This week, the boys take stock of the Nintendo Switch Direct and digest all the information that was thrown out during the live stream. There's also a controversial return to the guessy-guessy game.

This week, the boys reminisce about the Switch and how important it was for the video game landscape. They also take a look forward to the Switch 2 and share their predictions for the upcoming direct.

This week, Josh, Con, and Adam just have a lovely old chat about themselves to help you - the listeners, get to know them more. Con also hosts the first-ever 1v1 guessy guessy game, and it's a spicy one.

It's Valentines Day and love is in the air

This week, Josh & Con take stock of all the video game news that has come to light in the last two weeks including the Switch 2, Sony's cancelled games, and yet another Resident Evil movie. They also have a lovely little February preview for you.

A note from Josh:

So I was 10 minutes from finishing the edit and Audition crashed. Fine, no problem - I saved it a couple of minutes ago anyway. Turns out I lost everything (cheers Adobe) so this is a rough cut due to time constraints, sorry!

Are video game sequels generally better than their predecessors? It turns out the answer isn't as simple as you think. This week, Josh & Con dive into the madness of video game sequels and how they perform against their originals.

This week the boys look ahead to 2025 and all the lovely video games due to release, as well as some that definitely won't. They also discuss their 2024 highlights and give you six games you don't want to miss in January.

Merry Christmas!

This week, Josh & Con give you the reveal you have all been waiting for: Cast Reflects' Game of the Year. They also have a massive chat about the actual game awards ceremony, and there's a festive return to the guessy-guessy game.

This week, Josh and Con have a big old chat about the Game Awards, including the nominations and the elusive criteria for each category. They also delve into the PlayStation 1's 30th Anniversary and how old it made them feel.

Cast Reflect is back!

After a month and a half and a holiday, Josh & Con return to you now. This week, the boys catch up on some of the news they missed and have a big old chat about Japan.

This week, Josh and Conall discuss Balatro and how it's like Jumanji, the CS2 update, and finally chat about the PlayStation State of Play. There's also time to return to the guessy-guessy game and a quick-fire November preview.

The boys will have a short break for a few weeks and will return in December as normal. Thank you all for listening so far. See you soon!

This week, Josh and Con are a little late.

Thanks to Sony not emailing to let them know there was a State of Play scheduled for the day after they recorded, they proceeded to discuss the absence of PlayStation's first-party games and what state some of their games are in, Thanks a lot, Sony.

This week, Josh is joined by super-sub Carlie as Conall jets across the globe again. They digest recent news, including the PS5 Pro, Concord, and the Minecraft movie. The main topic focuses on video game mechanics that make them incredibly unique.

This week, Josh & Con talk about sentient squidgy water, have a big old chat about Gamescom, and of course go through their really serious prediction results.

This week, Josh & Con have your Gamescom 2024 preview show. The boys make their usual predictions and also take stock of some interesting Half-Life 3 news that developed this week.

Better late than never. This week, Josh & Con discuss, Splitgate 2, canceled video games, and sequels that have gone missing. There's also time for your August 2024 preview.

It's a bit of a quiet news week, so in this episode, Josh & Con have a big old chat about the best and most iconic weapons in video games. They most likely missed a fair few, but this is absolutely the definitive mess of a list.

This week, Josh & Con reflect on the year's first six months, picking their personal highlights so far. They also look forward to what else is due out in 2024 and finally, dish out your July preview.

This week the boys have a big old discussion about Summer Game Fest, including opening night live, and that very special Xbox showcase. They also have a chat about the mad banana game, and whether it's a scam or not,

This week, Josh & Con have your yearly Summer Game Fest episode along with five predictions each which as always, they will definitely nail. There's also time for some news, including a round-up of the recent PlayStation State of Play.

This week, Josh & Con delve into the world of first-person shooters and pick their top five, alongside some honourable mentions. They also squeeze in a June preview for your ears.

This week, Josh & Con have a little chat about Fallout, weird celebrity video-game cameos, and then move on to the main topic of open-world games. It's also round two of the 'guessy guessy game game game' (name subject to change).

This week, Josh is joined by the super sub, second half of reflect, Carlie McGarity! They delve into the BAFTA award winners and put the world to rights on video game remakes.

Hey there, and welcome to a slightly new format of Cast Reflect! If you haven't heard, the podcast will now be bi-weekly to give us more time to work on other pieces of content for our embryonic space, Reflect. However, with change comes new features, so keep your ears peeled this week and let us know what you think - heytherereflect@gmail.com

April's monthly preview!

A quick update on the future of Cast Reflect

This week, Josh & Con have a little therapy session about their video game backlogs, and how they deal with the fear of missing out on certain titles.

That was too close, you were almost a Jill sandwich.

It's finally here. Episode 50 is the Resident Evil special. Josh & Con discuss their love for the games, rank the mainline entries, and pitch their ideas for the next entry in the series. So Capcom - if you're listening, give them an email.

It's your monthly look ahead episode; this time, March is coming in hot. Josh & Con have picked a lovely selection of games for you all to check out.

This week, the boys tackle console life cycles after rumours circulated around Microsoft not making any more hardware. Sony also dropped the bomb about the PlayStation 5 entering its "latter stages of life".

This week, we have a special episode with not-so-special recording quality. Josh & Con are joined by a good friend of the show Adam Smith, and the brains behind Reflect - Carlie McGarity. We sat with a few beers in our dining room and answered some video-game-related questions. Apologies for the recording quality, it's worth putting up with though!

This week, Josh & Con discuss the recent PlayStation State of Play and all of its madness.

This week, February takes the stage for your monthly preview episode. Josh & Con have a plentiful bounty of 10 games that they think are worth checking out this month.

This week, it's part two of the Cast Reflect desert island video games episode, and this time it's Josh's turn. The boys also read out a bunch of lists that friends of the show kindly provided. Thank you all!

This week starts a two-part episode in which the boys pick their desert island video games. It turns out that it's really not very easy to take only 8 video games with you for the rest of your sandy life.

First up - Conall Jennings.

This week, Josh & Con mull over the Steam Awards 2023 and how some of the awards were a bit misguided. They also take stock of the Switch 2 rumours and put together their criteria of what they would like to see from the upcoming Nintendo hardware.

Happy New Year!

Cast Reflect is back after a short Christmas break. This week's episode covers a review of 2023, including Josh & Cons game of the year, and a look ahead to what 2024 has in store.

Side note - A massive thanks to everyone who has listened over the past year, it really does mean a lot to us all. Here's to another year.

This week, Josh & Con dissect and review the 2023 Video Game Awards. Baldurs Gate 3 & Alan Wake 2 deservedly cleaned up in many of the categories, but the ceremony itself left a lot to be desired.

It's the Video Game Awards preview episode! This week Josh & Con share their winner prediction for a bunch of the categories as well as three nifty little announcements that they are hoping for.

This week it's the monthly look ahead episode, and while December is notoriously sparse for video game releases, Con & Josh (mainly Con) pull it out of the bag just for you.

This week Josh & Con take a look at the Video Game Awards nominations and tackle a few interesting topics along the way, including the eligibility of remakes, and the controversial 'Best Independent Game' category.

This week Cast Reflect has its second guest on the show, Mr Kipling. Not the famous cake maker, but just a regular guy who also loves video games. The three of us talk at length about the Five Nights at Freddies movie and segue neatly into a proper chat about video game movie and TV adaptations.

This week, Josh & Con have a lengthy discussion about the highs and lows of Counter-Strike 2's short but chaotic lifespan, with a few digressions into some competitive video game chat.

This week it's your usual preview episode. While November is typically jam-packed with AAA releases, Josh & Con focus more on indie titles hitting the shelves this month.

It's the Halloween special! This week Josh & Con talk about all things scary, including creepy stories, horror recommendations, and even a special quiz. Enjoy spooky season everyone!

In this episode, Josh & Con discuss their EGX excursions, including some new games they got to play, beautifully nostalgic moments, and some awesome cosplay.

It's Friday the 13th of October, so what better way to celebrate than listening to Josh & Con talk through horror games and all the spooky things they love about them?

This week Josh & Con have a big old chat about console launches through the years, and what video games were released alongside them.

Spooky season is finally here and this week the boys go through their monthly look ahead for a jam-packed October. Included in their picks is a lovely mix of indie and AAA titles.

With the "news" of the latest iPhone supporting AAA games natively, Josh & Con take the time to discuss their feelings on it, and some mobile gaming in general. They also have a quick recap of the recent Nintendo Direct & Playstation State of Play.

A busy episode with a small description. Starfield, Sea of Stars, Switch 2 & the Horror Game Awards. Cast Reflect has you covered.

It's the monthly look ahead episode, this time for September. Though it is slightly later than usual, Josh and Con take the time to preview the month's upcoming game releases, and there are a lot out in September!

After a week's hiatus, Josh & Con are back to talk about Gamescom - specifically, opening night live. The chat includes some superb prediction results, personal highlights of the show, and a wider look at the rest of the convention.

This week Josh and Con share their Gamescom predictions for its opening night and it's safe to say that they are extremely ambitious. However, after nailing their predictions for Summer Game Fest in June, they are both expecting another clean sweep.

This week Josh & Con take a trip down memory lane and get nostalgic about video games from the 90s. They discuss some of their fondest memories and favourite entries from the decade.

This week Josh & Con have a lovely discussion about how wonderful Dave the Diver is, and then take a deep dive into some of the best underwater-based video games.

This week we take a slight diversion from video games to catch up with professional wrestler 'The Draculad James Lugosi'. He tells us all about what he's been up to, what video games he likes, and what else he's got in the pipeline.

A week ahead of schedule due to an unnamed guest coming on next week, is the look ahead to August. Josh and Con cover an excellent range of games in this episode as well as a quick preview on Gamescom.

In this week's episode, Josh & Con take a rummage through their humble trophy collections and pick out some of their proudest, and not-so-proudest platinums. They also discuss what actually makes a good trophy list, including difficulty, collectables, and creative gameplay.

In this episode, Josh & Con share their general thoughts on crowdfunded video games. They discuss a handful of tiny indie studios that kickstarted their way into the gaming stratosphere and look at some of the more well-known developers who have used crowdfunding as a platform to release spiritual successors.

This week it's your monthly look ahead episode, and this time, Josh and Con are diving into July, While it is a pretty quiet month on the AAA front, there are plenty of indie titles that have caught their eyes.

In this week's episode, Josh and Con look back at what is turning out to be a glorious year for game releases. The boys evaluate the year's first six months, picking out some particular highlights while taking stock of 2023's overall video game landscape.

The prediction results are in and it's fair to say, it didn't quite pan out how the boys thought it would. Nevertheless, the show was jam-packed with a host of new video-game announcements for Josh and Con to get stuck into. Hear their thoughts in this week's episode!

Summer Game Fest is finally here and in this week's episode, Josh and Con give their five "industry insider" predictions of what will be announced at the show. The results will be revealed in next week's episode, and listeners can expect a full house of ten out of ten.

In this episode, Josh and Con take a look ahead to June and pick their particular highlights for the month, including a quick preview of Summer Games Fest. They also finally discuss the result and some of the narratives of the CS:GO Paris Major.

In this week's episode, Josh and Con talk all things PlayStation Showcase, which included a whopping 34 new game announcements and updates. Amongst these were first-party titles, indie delights, and a handful of VR experiences for the boys to sink their teeth into.

The day has finally arrived: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom dropped and Josh swore in abundance talking about how good it is. Meanwhile, GQ released a list of the Top 100 video games of all time as voted by industry professionals, so Josh & Con look into it noting any surprises and potential wildcards.

This week Con and Josh share their thoughts on the unfortunate shortcomings of Redfall, and whether it can become the game that was originally promised. They also delve into some of their particular co-op game highlights and discuss what can make a good co-op game.

Early gameplay footage of the photorealistic body cam FPS 'Unrecord' was released last week, prompting Josh and Con to discuss the potential implications of video game visuals becoming too realistic, and at what point you might start to feel uncomfortable playing.

May is just around the corner and with that, Josh and Con look ahead to what is coming out for the month, highlighting their most anticipated titles. Additionally, Horizon DLC 'The Burning Shores' finally dropped so the boys delve into a chat about some of the best DLC ever made.

This week's big news was the announcement that Media Molecule will be no longer supporting Dreams. Josh and Con have a chat about the future of "make your own" video games, including a healthy discussion on the newly released Unreal Editor for Fortnite.

The video game world delivered a pretty slow news week for this episode, but fortunately, Star Wars celebration happened and it gave Josh and Con the bright idea to pick their favourite games from the beloved franchise. It's safe to say they both had very different standards when making their choices.

The week's significant (but sadly not surprising) news is that this year's E3 has officially been cancelled. Josh and Con chat about the announcement's implications, and where it might lead going down the line. On a more positive note: it was also the video game BAFTAs! The boys give their opinions on the winners, which included God of War: Ragnarok, Tunic, and Vampire Survivors to name a few.

In this week's episode, Josh waxes lyrical about Resident Evil 4 Remake and Conall talks up the prospect of Counter Strike 2 after its surprise release window announcement. There's even time to discuss some fond memories of party games, and how good Ultimate Chicken Horse is - even if it did take them seven years to play it.

With the HBO adaptation done and dusted, this week's episode is a feature-length special celebrating The Last Of Us. Josh and Con dive in and chat about the brilliance of the video game series, and discuss how it translates to the small screen.

In this week's episode, Josh and Conall share their thoughts on Atomic Heart, Company of Heroes 3, and finally put the age-old debate to bed: what is the best real-time strategy game?

Hey there, and welcome to Cast Reflect, your new favourite video game podcast!

In this inaugural episode, Josh and Conall brush off their podcasting cobwebs and have a general chat about video games to kickstart the new show. When did we get into them? Which ones clicked with us? Why do we love them? This pilot episode is an effort to give any new listeners the chance to learn a little bit about us as hosts before going all in on the structured weekly episodes. Enjoy!