FROGPANTS! Podcasts, Art, Newsletter, MORE!: CORE!

CORE 518: Swung Too Far

Scott Johnson — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:11:52 GMT

We talk a bit about all this Windrose news in our feeds. But then to the deep stuff, like a visual grid of the kinds of gamers we are. Baldurs Gate 3 is getting modded with a remake of the original GB game, done by fans. Microsoft is rethinking gamepass, and saying its too expensive. Maybe they go with ads, bundles, and more? We kinda hate this. Rocksta…

CORE 517: Just Grab The Fish

Scott Johnson — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:18:07 GMT

No Man’s Sky adds Pokémon-style Xeno Arena minigame. Split Fiction studio hits 50M games sold. Graveyard Keeper is free on Steam. Brief OW announcements note. Swear word appreciation, Warhammer 40K musical announcement, StarCraft tabletop minis preorder, Barrett/Animal Crossing crossover bit, scissoring education, game you bounced off question, memorabl…

CORE 516: Inflation Station

Scott Johnson — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:42:23 GMT

Nerdtacular 26 tickets, bags, and CORE swag. Sony raising PS5 prices. Stormgate losing multiplayer after server partner pivots to AI. Super Mario Galaxy Movie reviews are bad. Classic Resident Evil games on Steam, go GOG instead. Scott and Jon played Resident Evil Requiem together (Tuesdays 1pm). Scott in WoW and Dragon Quest Builders 2. Jon hooked on C…

CORE 515: Nintendollars

Scott Johnson — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 01:35:34 GMT

Nintendo’s surprising decision to make physical Switch 2 games more expensive than digital versions. EverQuest is relaunching in a format designed for time-strapped adults and old farts like us, Capcom is patching out some “accidentally” written incest from Street Fighter 6, Clair Obscur’s devs confirm there’s no canon ending, new gameplay footage dropp…

The Instance: Pray for Prey

Scott Johnson — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:33:09 GMT

Season one is in full swing, and we have lots of thoughts about what’s on the menu in Midnight. The Prey system is rad and you should all be doing it. (Opinions may vary.) Would the real Lee Pace please stand up? Working on the lock when you should be working on your iLVL. Did the MSQ glitch? Raiding has begun!

CORE 514: Crimson Desserts

Scott Johnson — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 21:46:48 GMT

Crimson Desert launched today, reviews are mixed as expected, amazing open world, minimal story, no traditional leveling, open-world jank. John is at Disneyland! DLSS 5 announced by Nvidia, AI-yassifies characters without permission from devs like Capcom. Listener indie game Garden and a Goat announced, wishlistable on Steam. WoW Midnight discussion, le…

CORE 513: Ramdemic

Scott Johnson — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 22:39:55 GMT

Nerdtacular 2026 tickets holding at early bird pricing, plus a swag bag-only option now available at frogpants.com.

News:

- NetEase pulls funding for Gang of Dragon — future of the game unknown

- Valve still targeting 2026 for Steam Machines despite RAM shortages; rumored to be a factor in Sony/Xbox strategy shifts

- EA lays off Battlefield staff post recor…

The Instance: One Past Midnight

Scott Johnson — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 22:48:31 GMT

Scott and Bobby talk all things Midnight so far, the prey system, Silvermoon, housing and loads more. Get in. The video game water is fine!

CORE 512: Sony Goes Yoink

Scott Johnson — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:48:10 GMT

Looks like Sony is officially getting out of the port business and going all Nintendo on us again. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake is indeed happening. Highguard is officially leaving in just a few days. MetaCritic got weird with AI over the last few days. The games we played, a lake correction, Zillow and WoW, and some Diablo 2 stuff!

GAMES PLAYED

Sco…

CORE 511: Claws Out

Scott Johnson — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 03:31:59 GMT

March 2026 is shaping up to be a massive month for gaming, with big hitters like Crimson Desert, Marathon, Pokémon Pokopia, Slay the Spire 2, Solasta 2, Death Stranding 2 on PC, and the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection all loaded up. Also, Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are out at Xbox, while Sony raises a few eyebrows by signaling a potential end to …

CORE 510: Creation of Ashes

Scott Johnson — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:43:38 GMT

That ashes of creation thing is just getting messier and messier by the day. Also, Unity wants you to type your next casual video game. We will explain.

GAMES PLAYED

SHARED PLAY THIS WEEK

- Diablo 2 Resurrected – Infernal Edition

- Overwatch

- Dobbel Dungeon

SCOTT

- Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp

- No Man’s Sky – Remnant Mode

- Escape from Ever After

JON

- Mewgenics

CORE 509: The Play of State

Scott Johnson — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:02:24 GMT

As we prep for the State of Play today, we talk about the games we played this week, and hit the news about all the Warlocks coming to all the Diablos. Highguard and 2XKO getting big layoffs, and the upcoming Baldur’s Gate 3 TV show!

Games Played This Week

Shared Play

- Jon & Beau: Mewgenics

Scott

- Animal Crossing (on Switch 2)

- Goblin Sushi

- V-Rally 4

Jon

- …

CORE 508: Just Take Off The 2

Scott Johnson — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:12:07 GMT

Overwatch might be making a big play with some re-branding, a slew of new heroes, and loads more. Will it put things back on top for the team shooter to beat? We talk about that, plus the Ashes of Creation mess, Steam hardware talk from Valve, and what might be the end of all things Outer Worlds.

GAMES PLAYED

- The Midnight Walk (Scott)

- Butcher’s Creek (…

CORE 507: Highguard is Midguard

Scott Johnson — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:21:36 GMT

So, now that Highguard is out, what the hell is it? We have takes. Also, the games of Feb, new Mario trailers, Dispatch censorship worries, Hasbro up to no good, Bobby with a Mini Instance chat about the Midnight pre-patch and upcoming launch in WoW, all the games we played and more!

Shared Play

- Highguard

Scott

- V Rising

- Caravan SandWitch

Jon

- Final Fan…

CORE 506: CORE Veronica

Scott Johnson — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:33:51 GMT

Let’s talk about the Xbox showcase today, as well as the dust up over CDProjekt Red and VR mods. Plus RE getting yet another remake, Highguard getting a freebie, Marathon maybe doing ok afterall, and Nintendo getting you guy another weird toy.

GAMES PLAYED:

SCOTT

Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster

Fire Emblem: Engage

Terra Pit

JONI

Final Fantasy VII Remake

BEAU

CORE 505: Episode, Not Studio

Scott Johnson — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:08:03 GMT

Where the heck is Highguard? Also, Kratos has been cast, RE:R got showcased today, Tomb Raider series gives us a look at Sophie Turner in the role, Ubisoft doing more Ubisoft things, we have an end date for New World, the end of Anthem this week, and more. We played Cozy Caravan, Marble’s Marbles, Find my Buddy, OddCore, Trails in The Sky 1st Chap, FF V…

CORE 504: Gateway Timeout

Scott Johnson — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:07:48 GMT

January Releases: Let’s mostly focus on Animal Crossing and FFVII Remake for Switch 2, plus Code Vein 2 and Highguard. (yeah, we kinda forgot about Highguard too.)

StarCraft Shooter coming to Blizzcon? It might be Blizzard’s third attempt at a SC shooter, reportedly an open-world project led by Dan Hay (Far Cry fame).

Other stuff: Awesome Games Done Quick…

CORE 503: The 2025 OsCOREs

Scott Johnson — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 01:42:07 GMT

It’s time for our anual personal and group awards for the games of the last year, and a few that are not. :) Join Scott Beau and Jon as they look back and forward and somehow up and down as well. Oh and this is the first time this gets called The osCORES. Big thx to Taz for the post art! Jump in!

Group Category #1 - ‘Games We Wish We Played More Award’ i…

CORE 502: O’ Holy CORE!

Scott Johnson — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:30:07 GMT

Diablo IV: Both Scott and Beau are back in for Season 11. Scott’s “Hot Take” is that the game is officially “very good now”, and he does not care who knows it. (Paladin to 46); Beau claims it’s the best season of “Diablo 3” yet. (lol)

Scott: Revisiting Overload (on sale), playing Escape Room Simulator 2, and starting Banquet for Fools.

Jon: Reached the new area in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and is impressed by the visuals.

Beau: Mostly Jump Space outside of D4 play.

And a CRAP ton of your emails and texts for our last episode of 2025!

POSSIBLE SPOILER POINTS
00:44:41.18 - 00:52:28.42
01:32:57.72 - 01:33:03.27

CORE 501: Clarity

Scott Johnson — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:40:32 GMT

Get your ‘500+ Episodes’ mugs at Frogpants.shop now before its too late!. We recapped The Game Awards: Jon loved Resident Evil Requiem, Scott is into Total War Warhammer 40k, and Beau liked Gang of Dragon. We mostly bounced off Highguard.

News: Steam Winter Sale is live. Fallout Season 2 has started. We discussed Netflix buying WB (details at core.show).…