Checkpoint Chat

It's that time again, and what a great gaming year it's been. What standouts have made the cut on Matty and Sandy's respective Top 5 lists, and which honorable mentions just didn't make it? Here's the best gaming experiences we fell in love with in 2025, which might influence what we see in the years to come.

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Want to listen to more gaming goodness, on other platforms? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and more right here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/checkpointchat

-- SHOW NOTES --

00:00:00​ - Excel sorcery
00:06:17 - Matty's honourable mentions
00:12:38​ - Sandy's honourable mention
00:13:35​ - Sandy's #5
00:19:33​ - Matty's #5
00:23:15​ - Matty's #4 (Sandy's #3)
00:33:03​ - Matty's #2 (Sandy's #4)
00:41:15​ - Sandy's #1 (Matty's #3)
00:51:18​ - Matty's #1 (Sandy's #2)
01:07:55​ - THANK YOU!!! 💛💛

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It's that time of year again where Geoff Keighley emerges to dazzle and wow us with game trailers and celebrity appearances at his extravagant end-of-year show. Oh, and game awards, given that this is The Game Awards after all. Which games are walking away with all the Keighleys in hand, and which are going to cruelly miss out? Here's all our predictions for this week's show.

Follow Checkpoint Chat on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheckpointChat​​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CheckpointChat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checkpointchat
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/checkpointchat.bsky.social

Want to listen to more gaming goodness, on other platforms? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and more right here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/checkpointchat

-- SHOW NOTES --

00:00:00​ - Jackhammers and tarring
00:04:50 - It's The Game Awards season!
00:10:36​ - Our predictions on winners...
01:07:10​ - What will be Game of the Year?
01:17:38​ - Are we seeing Bloodborne 2 and Half-Life 3?

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This week on Checkpoint Chat, games are actually being finished! After many months Sandy is finally done with Death Stranding 2 and cannot contain how much he was into its earnest bullshit. Meanwhile Matty has triumphed above and below in Hades 2, which might just be a big GOTY contender going into the last weeks of the year.

Follow Checkpoint Chat on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheckpointChat​​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CheckpointChat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checkpointchat
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/checkpointchat.bsky.social

Want to listen to more gaming goodness, on other platforms? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and more right here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/checkpointchat

-- SHOW NOTES --

00:00:00​ - The struggle of brushing teeth
00:11:40 - Sandy finished Death Stranding 2
00:54:03​ - And Matty finished Hades II

#gamingpodcast #gamingchannels #gamingreview

This week on Checkpoint Chat, we checked out the long-awaited return of Ryu in Ninja Gaiden 4 while avoiding the mess he's made on the walls, on the ceiling, and pretty much anywhere else you can think of. The Outer Worlds 2 is also out and reminding us that Fallout New Vegas was pretty damn good, and so is this latest Obsidian role-playing game set in capitalist space hell.

Follow Checkpoint Chat on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheckpointChat​​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CheckpointChat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checkpointchat
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/checkpointchat.bsky.social

Want to listen to more gaming goodness, on other platforms? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and more right here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/checkpointchat

-- SHOW NOTES --

00:00:00​ - Does tea count as water and rare Monster flavours
00:14:06 - An actual story about eyedrops
00:21:51​ - Ninja Gaiden 4 surprised us (in a good way)
00:41:06 - The Outer Worlds 2 is also great (thus far)
00:59:04 - Halo 2 came out a long time ago

#gamingpodcast #gamingchannels #gamingreview

We're back and the game releases have not stopped. This week on Checkpoint Chat we finally get around to checking out Ghost of Yotei and its compelling, yet familiar revenge tale. Matty has finally started losing hours to runs in Hades II after Hollow Knight: Silksong released him from its grasp, while Sandy has been enjoying a different kind of kart racer with Sonic Racing Crossworlds.

Follow Checkpoint Chat on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheckpointChat​​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CheckpointChat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checkpointchat
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/checkpointchat.bsky.social

Want to listen to more gaming goodness, on other platforms? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and more right here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/checkpointchat

-- SHOW NOTES --

00:00:00​ - Are monitor light bars any good?
00:14:36 - Ghost of Yōtei is more of the same thus far (but that's fine)
00:30:26​ - Matty is ready to be consumed by Hades II
00:48:13 - 56.5 hours later, we got 100% on Hollow Knight: Silksong
00:58:20 - Battlefield 6 is the best the franchise has been in years
01:07:06 - Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a good alternate
01:16:22 - Are we upgrading anytime soon?

#gamingpodcast #gamingchannels #gamingreview