Host and founder of VGBees, John Warren, is joined every week by cohost Niki Grayson and illustrious guests adjacent to video games and culture for candid, funny, and enlightening conversations about an art form that is both uniting and dividing us. Every week, The VGBees Podcast will explore trends and touchpoints you need to know in order to have the most well-rounded idea of what's going on in games. Explore vgbees.com after each episode for notes on each episode as well as written pieces ...
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Not About Divorce and Being Mean to Your Kid
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1:54:31This week, John asks Niki all about Split Fiction, the follow-up to award-winning It Takes Two. It is another one of those, for better or worse (mostly better). They also dive way, way, way into the big changes coming to Overwatch 2. What are they? Do they matter? Where did this franchise lose its way? Also: Sony's State of Play Saros Tides of Anni…
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This week, John and Niki discuss what it would take to get them to attend the new ESA-fronted conference called iicon starting next April in Las Vegas. It's like GDC but worse, somehow. Also: Metal Gear Solid Delta gets a release date Grand Theft Auto 6 confirmed for fall 2025 timeline on new Nvidia cards coming back in stock Kingdom Come: Delivera…
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Emergency Basketball Podcast: The Luka Doncic Trade
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1:36:03The entire sports world was shocked when 5-time All-NBA 1st Teamer and 25 year old megastar Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for a Randy's donut and some unpaid parking tickets. Okay maybe it's not quite that bad, but it's really, really, really close. Your local basketball experts and fans of both teams in question, John and Niki, …
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This week, Niki and John dive into the news that BioWare is downsizing and outsourcing part of Mass Effect 5's development. More than that, it strikes our hosts that maybe the series should go away if it means saving the jobs of the remaining employees tasked with such a burden. Anyway, it's a good discussion about a complicated problem. Also: the …
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This week, Niki and John take in the most recent Xbox Direct showcase and dive into each game discussed, including: Ninja Gaiden 4 South of Midnight Expedition 33 Doom: The Dark Ages They also discuss the cancelation of Celeste follow-up Earthblade and the blog post announcing it. In addition, the news that EA is disappointed in the sales of both D…
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This week, Niki and John discuss the biggest story in games. That's right, it's the MegaByte Nation Gaming Expo from Los Angeles, CA! What are Game Hogs up to? What does a UMD of old Family Guy episodes cost? Oh also we discuss the official announcement of Nintendo Switch 2, including: form factor changes Joy-Cons are also mice? guesses about the n…
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All the Ingredients for a Speedrun
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53:03This week, Niki is laying low to escape the horrible fires facing Los Angeles. John runs solo, discussing the games news of the week, including: Nintendo Switch 2 rumors the delay of Assassin's Creed Shadows Tencent's designation as a military organization the new LEGO Game Boy We also answer your HIVE QUESTIONS and discuss John's fleet of emulatio…
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Why Don't These Games Make Me Cry?
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1:24:09This week, Niki and John both shake off their respective Holiday illnesses to come together for the first episode of 2025! They reflect on what they might have missed in 2024, including: Mouthwashing 1000xResist Metaphor: ReFantazio The Rise of the Golden Idol Also, what would the first episode of the new year be without predictions for games to pl…
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The VGBees 2024 Games of the Year
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1:31:28It is that time of year! VGBees has awarded its official (well John and Niki's) Games of the Year 2024! We had two overlaps, so we cover eight total games and wow we had a blast revisiting the year's very best games. Not to spoil the surprise (stop reading if you don't want to know), but in alphabetical order we discuss: Astro Bot Balatro Call of D…
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Brick & Jack: Football Geniuses
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1:58:16Niki and John go through a whirlwind of big games news this week, including the revelation that Woody Johnson is steering New York Jets personnel decisions with advice from his sons, Brick and Jack, derived from Madden 25 player stats. Also: the Charlotte Hornets Grinch a PS5 away from a child Sony invests big in Kadokawa (FromSoftware's parent com…
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The Game Awards 2024 Postmortem
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1:58:12This week, Niki worked an entire human day within the span of two human days to work Gamespot/Giant Bomb's TGA coverage and lived (thrived!) to tell about it. John asks burning questions like "what was the deal with those long sandwiches Dan Ryckert was giving to people?" Then, they get into the meat of The Game Awards 2024, including: The Witcher …
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99 Potions: Dragon Age: The Veilguard
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1:43:34HARK! An early holiday gift from VGBees is upon us! We have reunited Nerium, Natalie Flores, and Michael Higham to unpack Dragon Age: The Veilguard in the style of acclaimed former Fanbyte podcast 99 Potions. Did we like it? Who are our favorite companions? Did Solas live up to the villain hype? If you like this bonus, know that in the future, we'l…
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They're Coming Through the Walls
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1:48:05This week, Niki calls in from the cartoon construction zone that is their house this week. That didn't stop Niki and John from talking about this week's video game news, including: Ubisoft studio closures XDefiant's shutdown Elden Ring follow-up not in development the forbidden conversations we're hearing during Call of Duty matches We also talk ab…
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It's a Thanksgiving Week miracle! Niki and John recorded a podcast early in the week so they could take the rest of the week off! Wow! What foresight! Sure, there's some video game talk, but Niki also introduces the podcast to Car From Japan, the most important website of all time. Need a short truck? Need an old Lexus LS 400? This site has you cov…
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This week, Niki presents John with a long dissection of Days Gone, not even remotely a new video game. Still, it is welcome information which it is a game both of them missed when it came out five years ago. Did you know the main character's name is Deacon St. John? Now you do! Also: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 YI…
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International House of Podcasts
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1:41:31This week, Niki is back and with them comes the revelation that Xbox has gone and found itself an official breakfast partner. That's right IHOP is the official breakfast partner of Xbox and Niki and John are going to bring you all the crucial details right here on this very podcast. In less vital news: Nintendo's desired damages from Pocket Pair Ev…
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This week, Niki is on vacation and John is left to his own devices. After planning a 99 Potions reunion to discuss Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the Election happened! Between the emotional fallout from that and other scheduling issues, we're delaying that for a couple weeks. So yeah! It's John, talking to you, dear listener, about video games. But al…
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This week, Niki and John explore the world of Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chornicles, an Ubisoft-published video game that wants you to shell out a preposterous amount of money on NFTs. Can you image a better time to be launching a game like this? Wow! Also, the dynamic duo discuss: the closure of Firewalk Studios the new Pokemon pack-opening game …
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Call of Duty: Pandemic Surprise
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1:24:59This week, Niki and John could not for the life of them remember the names of the peak Covid Call of Duty games, so they leaned into it for content. Gotta find inspiration where you can these days. Frank Underwood also makes his return the show! VGBees only does big guests. Also: Hades 2 new updates Balatro Dave the Diver UFO 50 Halo 2 John enlists…
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Frank Underwood's Blindfire
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1:32:32On this weeks' show, Niki and John go DEEP on the new NBA 2K25 DLC Gravity Ball. What does it mean for the franchise, its audience, and new players? Hope you like 50 minutes of exploring all of that! But that's not all! There was a big third party partner Xbox Showcase that was actually pretty good, including: Alan Wake II: The Lake House FBC Fireb…
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The Alarm Clock for Single People with Michael Higham
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2:00:30Editor's note: this week's episode contains an incredulous collective unpacking of an explosive investigative report about Roblox which goes into the many ways the game is dangerous for children. While not going into graphic detail about what was found in the report, it's still a troubling look into the different ways Roblox and its ownership have …
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This is My Cat, Sephiroth
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1:37:24This week, Niki goes deep on Starfield's DLC, Shattered Space. It's about the snake people, the most interesting part of the original Starfield. Does the DLC have the juice to get folks back into Todd's big space sandbox? Will John have a meltdown comparing the narrative depth and nuance of Tali's Pilgrimage quest in Mass Effect to what happens in …
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Human Arrowing Your Way to Enlightenment
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1:03:23This week, Niki and John discuss their favorites so far in the year's most astonishing release, UFO 50. What's your favorite from the collection? Also: Ghost of Yotei Legacy of Kain 1 & 2 Remastered Hell is Us Overwatch The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom As always, your burning questions from The Hive are addressed and answered!…
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Nintendo decided to sue Palworld this week so Niki and John would have something to really dig into. Thanks, Nintendo!!!!!!! Also this week: Switch 2 possibly leaked Concord's team is in limbo shockingly positive Dragon Age: The Veilguard previews the PSX-styled PS5 fleet the breadth of UFO 50 Your Hive questions are also answered and the podcast g…
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How to Explain the Junction System to Your Zoomer
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1:29:21This week, John breaks the news of Annapurna Interactive's staff resignation to Niki. They also break down the PlayStation 5 Pro reveal and talk about the 650 additional people laid off from Microsoft this week. As far as specific game chat: Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door I Am Your Beast S…
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The Unrivaled Joy of Astro Bot
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1:38:00Niki has been blessed to have several days with Astro Bot and decided to tell John all about it, despite the fact that John can't play it for another few weeks. Tragedy. It sounds absolutely lovely and what a time for it, too. In addition to contemplating the overall state of games, the two discuss: Concord Marvel Snap Balatro We also answer your b…
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The Bottomless Pit of Takes Allegiances
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1:33:23Niki and John have a good old fashioned "hey are we separating art from artist now" conversation they didn't plan for when tackling the receptions to Black Myth Wukong, Star Wars Outlaws, and the inevitable Assassin's Creed Shadows. In lighter fare, the two also discuss: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remake The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the…
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The Return of the King, Peter Molyneux
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1:37:18This week, Niki and John celebrate the return of Peter Molyneux to the world of games with his main stage appearance at Gamescom Opening Night Live. We were just talking about needing more weird guys in games, and wow we got our wish! Will his game ever come out? How much did he actually make on that NFT game he probably used to fund this new game?…
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The One Where We Admit Deadlock Exists
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1:58:17We have a big confession to make, gamers. John and Niki have watched videos and read articles about a video game called Deadlock, which Valve has sworn us to secrecy never to divulge its very existence. Consider it then, dear gamer, a privilege that we've chosen your ears as the recipient of our knowledge. If we disappear from this earth, you will …
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The Important Work of Game Informer with Alex Van Aken!
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1:37:48This week, John and Niki are joined by former Video Lead at Game Informer Alex Van Aken to talk about the abrupt, ghoulish closure of the storied publication. It's a great chat that illuminates what the past few months has been like at the magazine as well as a bit of a dive into some history and memories of the brand. Alex also pulls the curtain b…
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Buying Cars with Sony Money
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1:51:19This week, Niki and John discuss a terrible week for Bungie employees, a terrible week for Jon Blow, and a terrible week for AI discourse in video games. All in all, it's a laugh riot for two straight hours! Also discussed: Thank Goodness You're Here! Steamworld Heist II College Football 25 Madden NFL 25 NBA 2K25 Also, Hive questions about: Richard…
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This week, Niki and John got way into it about Evo 2024, the brilliance of fighting games, and the way sports have (and haven't) infiltrated the industry's biggest event for the genre. Also: No Man's Sky 5.0 Flock Dungeons of Hinterberg The crew also (clumsily) dissected the ramifications of Bethesda and World of Warcraft teams forming wall-to-wall…
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Mascot Head Theater with Kofie Yeboah
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1:51:03This week, Niki and John tackle the most important news of the week, including: whether Niki should see Longlegs not wearing headphones on video calls hanging doors Oh also video games, including: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Bioshock Infinite Emio - The Smiling Man In hour two, they're joined by Secret Base's Kofie Yeboah, who is as excited a…
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Jazz & Wine, a Podcast for Sophisticates with Ash Parrish!
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2:03:55This week, Niki and John are joined by The Verge's Ash Parrish. On the agenda: - our favorite jazz musicians - which wines pair best with human aging - disgusting Aperol - Cody Rhodes' appalling chosen aesthetic OH ALSO video games! - Zenless Zone Zero - Supermoves - Xbox Game Pass tier changes - Steam Deck - 2K's rumored FIFA game - College Footba…
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Fragpunk, M. Bison, & The Land Beneath Us
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48:15This week, John's riding solo due to holiday scheduling apocalypses. Never fear! He's here to chat about the best in games this week, including: - The new Switch Online slate (it's weird) - Fragpunk's closed alpha - M. Bison is live in Street Fighter 6 - The Land Beneath Us puts an interesting spin on roguelites ALSO, we answer questions directly f…
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Erdtree, Aiai, and Beahm: Attorneys at Law with Imran Khan
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1:54:15John and Niki are back at it again with all the news and analysis in games you need to know. This time, they're joined by Imran Khan, who is totally normal when it comes to heating up leftovers! Anyway! The crew covered a lot of ground this week including: Guy "Dr. Disrespect" Beahm's overdue ouster from the public consciousness in the wake of the …
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Nintendo Direct Recap w/ Merritt K
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1:36:43John and Niki take a deep dive into a very strong Nintendo Direct, featuring discussion of: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Mario & Luigi: Brothership Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics The New Denpa Men Later, they're joined by writer, author, and budding miniature painting YouTuber Merritt K to ch…
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SGF 2024 Recap with Charles Harte
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1:35:21Niki and John are joined this week by Game Informer associate editor and MinnMax contributor Charles Harte. All three were all in Los Angeles to cover Summer Game Fest 2024 and came away feeling mostly energized by what they saw and played. Covered in this episode: - LEGO Horizon Adventures - Wanderstop - Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind - Skate - Fabl…
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Consult Your Doctor Before Taking Veilguard
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40:49On the eve of SGF, John posted up in his downtown Los Angeles hotel room to talk to himself for roughly 40 minutes. Niki's busy getting ready for Giant Bomb's extremely busy weekend and John's trying to get a website launched, so please enjoy this more low-key second episode before we go deep on everything going on with SGF. Topics covered: Dragon …
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We're Back & Sony Had A Terrible Week
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1:50:56John & Niki are officially back in the saddle talking what it means to be back working in games media after a hiatus! TL;DR, they're both excited to be doing this again together. This week, our hosts are eaten up with what makes a game "finished" in 2024 and does it even matter? Hades 2 is certainly big for an Early Access game, but how does it evo…
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