Every few years, notoriously sadistic game studio From Software releases a new title, and with it comes a heated debate about game difficulty. Well, that time has come again with the launch of Shadow of the Erdtree, the one and only (massive) expansion for auteur director Hidetaka Miyazaki's magnum opus, Elden Ring.

So, with some people conflating the DLC's brutal skill requirements with a legitimate accessibility issue, Zak and Aaron sat down to discuss game difficulty, easy modes, artistic integrity, and the difference between impairments and impediments. Aaron also complains a lot about the Tree Sentinal. So there's that.

Please, enjoy.

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Among the bombastic trailers showcased in the Xbox showcase at Not E3™ — er, I mean Summer Game Fest™ — was one particular reveal that some fans have been waiting for for the better part of a decade: Dragon Age: The Veilguard. And boy oh boy, was it ever a bewildering first look.

This week, Zak and Aaron sit down to discuss their impressions of the newest iteration of Dragon Age 4, and why it seems to feel so little like the beloved games that came before it. They also discuss what's lost when IPs that used to have a strong identity throw what made them unique by the wayside in favor of mass appeal.

Please, enjoy.

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Hello, everybody, and welcome to the latest episode of Consolidation Watch - a show where we puff out our proverbial chests and celebrate all of the excellent acquisitions that mega-corporations have completed recently! This week, we've got a doozy for ya' from the world of games media, where IGN successfully ate up the Gamer Network, home of mainstays like GamesIndustry.biz and Rock Paper Shotgun!

Clearly this is all for the best, and won't in any way damage the media landscape at large by winnowing down the diversity of content on the internet until we're left with one voice and one opinion, communicated through the broken language of AI and overseen by the editorial integrity of shareholders. So join us as we celebrate this milestone and don't think or talk critically about what it means at all.

Please, enjoy.

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