It feels like the last fortnight or so has been spent largely recalling how Halo used to be a near culture-defining event. Sure enough, the games produced under the stewardship of 343/Halo Studios were all perfectly fine games, it's hard to argue that the franchise has failed to hit as it did under Bungie. So, passing it on to some Call of Duty stuff (and leaving a bunch of other people without work in the process), well, we're not sure about that. Is there a better match out there, shy of Sony not gutting Bungie and selling the studio back to Xbox?
That's at least a part of what Matt, Rob, and Tim are here to discuss. A part. Things have been pretty bleak these past years (most of the decade, really), and so in an attempt to make it a little bit more fun we have gone and simply thought of some waysided or mistreated franchises that we have some remaining affection for and pondered which studios we might like to see given the duty of breathing in some new life.
Games: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/ace-combat-8-wings-of-theve-review-flying-high/), Star Wars: Galactic Racer (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/10/star-wars-galactic-racer-review-and-id-heard-how-fast-his-pod-could-go/), Resident Evil Requiem (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/02/resident-evil-requiem-a-search-for-clarity-and-closure/)
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: Neonature (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02997) by Alexander Brandon, Bryan Rudge, Dan Gardopée, Michiel van den Bos, Reeves Gabrels
Cast
Rob Caporetto (https://bsky.app/profile/robcap.bsky.social)
Tim Henderson (http://www.twitter.com/pretendbeard)
Matthew Hewson (https://bsky.app/profile/hewso.bsky.social)
24 Sept 2026
The Player 2 PixelCast 194
We're waist-deep into September now, and as such the games just won't stop coming. It's almost a relief that we've missed out on a couple of the bigger ones for now. That doesn't really mean we have excessive time to just breathe, though, as this episode will help to testify: once again, we've dropped the usual topic from the back end of the show in service of simply being able to get discussion about a couple more actual video games in.
Tim's back in charge, recording from a cardboard box while hiding from... nobody in particular, actually. He's backed up my Rob and Hewso, bringing with them a mix of the extremely retro and the bleeding new, respectively. There's Master System in this one! Surely that makes this unmistakably an Australian show. Or Brazilian, we suppose, although none of us really smell good enough to pull that one off.
Games: Marvel's Wolverine (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/marvels-wolverine-review-not-quite-a-cut-above/), Razing Core, MGS4, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/fire-emblem-fortunes-weave-review-far-from-beginniners-luck/), Rayman Legends Retold (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/rayman-legends-retold-preview-my-worries-are-gone/)
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell DMA-SC
Break Music: Disconnected (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01476) by Ben Briggs
Cast
Rob Caporetto (https://bsky.app/profile/robcap.bsky.social)
Tim Henderson (http://www.twitter.com/pretendbeard)
Matthew Hewson (https://bsky.app/profile/hewso.bsky.social)
10 Sept 2026
The Player 2 PixelCast 193
Welcome to the gaming lion’s den that is September. We’re not two weeks in, and already games are spilling from what isn’t so much a leak as a gaping hole. We now all know what the remake of Ocarina of Time looks like, and we’re all… just… so… tired. At least there’s plenty to play.
As such, that’s what this episode is about, really. We eschewed the typical topic format and have instead just allowed Matt and Tim to wax on about the stuff they’ve been playing. There’s no shortage of it. Honestly, next episode could realistically follow a similar cadence.
Games: Onimusha (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review-die-by-the-sword-in-the-best-ways-possible/), Hot Wheels: Infinite Rush (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/hot-wheels-infinite-rush-review-a-new-horizon-for-toy-cars/), The Blood of Dawnwalker (https://www.player2.net.au/2026/09/the-blood-of-dawnwalker-to-feed-or-not-to-feed/), MGS (https://www.player2.net.au/2025/09/metal-gear-solid-%ce%b4-snake-eater-review-for-fans-old-and-new/) Delta
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: Cassie’s Fortune (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR05067) by Daniel Caton
Cast
Matt Hewson (https://bsky.app/profile/hewso.bsky.social)
Tim Henderson (http://www.twitter.com/pretendbeard)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
440,701
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 58 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
71
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
27
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