Official Playstation Blogcast

Howdy! The team gets together to recap this week's State of Play announcements, and reveal their Elden Ring playing styles. 

This week, the team shares early thoughts on Horizon Forbidden West and February's jam-packed release schedule. 

This week, Kristen and Sid compare notes on the wonderfully punishing action brawler Sifu. Plus, lots of indie news, new Assassin's Creed Valhalla content, and much more. Listen in!

The team is revved up following this week's Gran Turismo 7 State of Play, and shares favorite gaming weapons.

Sid catches up with the Head of PlayStation Studios to discuss this week’s big news and what the future has in store.

This week, the gang talks a surprising amount about roguelite deck-builder Slay the Spire. Plus, Final Fantasy Origin, Zenith on PS VR, and a spirited discussion about ability-granting potions. Listen in!

Hosts Anne and Chanté are joined by narrative director Ben McCaw and senior writer Annie Kitain for the last episode in the series, as they recap the threats and villains in Horizon, with hints at what’s to come for Aloy. Highlights include their discussion into the development of GAIA’s AIs; how we can understand HEPHAESTUS’ motivations throughout Horizon Zero Dawn; how Aloy would describe Sylens and her relationship with him; and a small hint into what we can expect from our journey into the Forbidden West. Ben McCaw is the narrative director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead writer on Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds. Annie Kitain is a senior writer on Horizon Forbidden West. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames Subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Thanks for joining us for this season of GAIA Cast! Got a topic you’d like us to explore? Let us know via social media and our hashtag. ESRB Rat

In this special short episode, the team chats with executive producer and showrunner M. Night Shyamalan on storytelling and the thrills of Servant’s Season 3 on Apple TV+.

Hosts Anne and Chanté are joined by gameplay animation director Richard Oud and principal concept artist Miguel Angel Martinez, as they share what the development of Horizon Zero Dawn’s iconic machines was like. Highlights include their discussion into how the art and animation teams collaborate during development; how the team designed the Chariot Line to look and move differently from GAIA’s machines; how GAIA’s machines were created to carry useful components for the player, and still move realistically; and how they are part of the world, and contribute to the ecosystem. Richard Oud is gameplay animation director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead creature animator on Horizon Zero Dawn. Miguel Angel Martinez is principal concept artist on both Horizon Forbidden West and Horizon Zero Dawn. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Stay tuned for our next episode

This week the team shares some good couch co-op games for new gamers to dip their toes into, and share highlights from a team session playing Deep Rock Galactic.

Hosts Anne and Chanté are joined by narrative director Ben McCaw and lead quest designer Tim Stobo, as they take us through the events of the devastating Carja Civil War and its aftermath. Highlights include their discussion into how Mad Sun-King Jiran and his son, Avad, were developed; how the team balance what we learn about the world from data points or conversation; how side quests show us the aftermath of the Red Raids and the Civil War, and what the team wanted us to learn from these quests; and how the team worked on bringing the Liberation into the game. Ben McCaw is the narrative director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead writer on Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds. Tim Stobo is lead quest designer on Horizon Forbidden West, and was senior quest designer on Horizon Zero Dawn. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagame And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Stay tuned for our next episode, w

Happy new year! The team settles into 2022 by sharing what they played over the holidays, and their favorite T-rated games.

Hosts Anne and Chanté are joined by narrative director Ben McCaw and principal character artist Arno Schmitz, as they delve deeper into the dangerous Shadow Carja and cult of the Eclipse. Highlights include their discussion into how the Eclipse differs from the Shadow Carja; the relationship between the Carja and Shadow Carja; how the Shadow Carja treat their own people; and the insignia we see whenever we see the Eclipse, and where that symbol came from. Ben McCaw is the narrative director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead writer on Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds. Arno Schmitz is principal character artist on Horizon Forbidden West, and was senior character artist on Horizon Zero Dawn. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Stay tuned for our next episode, where we’ll be going deep into the Carja Civil War, and learning all about what it was like for t

The team is back to round out the year with a lengthy Game of the Year discussion. Plus, we chat with Celia Schilling from Yacht Club Games about Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon.

Hosts Anne and Chanté are joined by senior writer Annie Kitain and principal character artist Arno Schmitz, as they examine the cultures, fashion, and beliefs found in the different tribes across the world of Horizon. Highlights include their discussion into how the team approach creating the tribes; how the team use fashion to make it easy for players to differentiate between tribes; why the Carja seem the most advanced out of all the tribes we meet in Horizon Zero Dawn; and how the team designed the Tenakth and Utaru characters we see to look so different from all the other tribes. Annie Kitain is a senior writer on Horizon Forbidden West. Arno Schmitz is principal character artist on Horizon Forbidden West, and was senior character artist on Horizon Zero Dawn. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Stay tuned for our next episode, where we’ll be talking about the

Hosts Anne and Chanté are joined by narrative director Ben McCaw as they explore Project Zero Dawn, Elisabet Sobeck’s last-ditch effort to save the world from imminent extinction. Highlights include their discussion into how the team conceptualized GAIA and her sub-functions; whether Horizon Zero Dawn, the Faro Plague and Project Zero Dawn were written as a real-life possibility humanity may face someday, or if the team designed the story as purely rooted in fiction; what the world was like during the first few months the Chariot Line defected; and if the creators of Project Zero Dawn would be happy with the current state of the world in Horizon. Ben McCaw is the narrative director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead writer on Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Stay tuned for our next episode, where we’ll be taking a cl

Hosts Anne and Chantéare joined by narrative director Ben McCaw as they dive into the historic events of the 21st Century. Highlights include their discussion into Faro Automated Solutions creating environmentally friendly robots through the Claw-Back decade; Elisabet’s career goals before she began to work on Project Zero Dawn; Ted Faro’s life and motivations; and what the world was like before the Faro Plague robots finished their extermination of all organic life. Ben McCaw is the narrative director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead writer on Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Stay tuned for our next episode, where we’ll be diving into Project Zero Dawn, an effort to give the world another chance, years after extinction. ESRB Rating: Teen with Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Mild Sexual Themes and Violence.

Got plans for the long weekend? Settle in with your old pals Sid, Kristen, and Justin for a look back on ten years of this humble podcast (née Blogcast), then write in and tell us what you're playing this week (also, where you draw the line at spoilers). Listen in!

In the first episode of the season, hosts Anne and Chantéare joined by narrative director Ben McCaw and senior writer Annie Kitain, as they discuss the protagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy. Highlights include their discussion into Aloy’s childhood as an outcast in the care of her guardian Rost, and what his loss meant to her development as a character; how Aloy yearned for a relationship with her mother, and how the discovery of Elisabet Sobeck affected her; her struggles with finding her place in the world while meeting different tribes on her journey; and her relationships with other impactful characters such as Sylens, Erend, and Varl. Ben McCaw is the narrative director on Horizon Forbidden West, and was lead writer on Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds. Annie Kitain is a senior writer on Horizon Forbidden West. Want to be a part of the conversation? Follow Guerrilla on: Twitter: @Guerrilla Instagram: @guerrillagames And subscribe on YouTube: @Guerrilla. You can also watch this episode there! Join i

Join Tim and Justin for a look back at the first year of PS5, in-depth Elden Ring impressions, and oh-so-much more. Plus, as always, next week's new release highlights and some fresh news that you very well may choose to use. Listen in!