#431 | Tastes Like Luck, But Feels Clear

There's simply no denying that Naughty Dog's absence this generation is deeply felt. Apart from a couple of ports and a defunct, half-made multiplayer project, Sony's crown jewel studio hasn't contributed much of anything to PS5. Thankfully, that's on the verge of changing, not only as we get late in this cycle, but ever-closer to PlayStation 6. Three important pieces of news emerged: Intergalactic will be shown-off next year, a new Uncharted is indeed in development and will come to market following Intergalactic, and two The Last of Us projects are being incubated as well (one presumably The Last of Us: Part III). For the first time in ages, we have a clearer and more robust view into what Sony's most important team is planning for the next half-decade and well beyond. Is it time to celebrate? Or will the proof be in the pudding? Plus: Sony is skipping CES for the first time since 1967, a new look at God of War: Laufey's combat shows something decidedly DMC, AI upscaling comes to base PlayStation 5, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why do so many "spiritual successors" fail to live up to the original? What's with all of the 10s IGN gives out these days? Should players embrace 'the grind' in video games, or seek ways around it? Who has the audacity to schedule a wedding on Christmas Eve?

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0:00:00 - Intro
0:28:56 - LSM quality
0:31:25 - PSP Marcus
0:38:23 - Don't play Sacred around your kids
0:52:26 - Wedding on Christmas Eve
0:59:57 - Mike Tomlin's Minecraft city
1:05:29 - Sony is skipping CES
1:16:49 - Naughty Dog's future
1:39:58 - Uncharted 4 spoilers start
2:01:00 - God of War: Laufey pre-orders are live
2:09:07 - QSSR introduced on base PS5
2:16:42 - PlayStation 5 jailbreak
2:28:27 - Sony Japan's PS5 Pro lottery
2:36:07 - Kena 2 pushed to 2027
2:39:01 - Portal's battery update
2:44:01 - Sony credit card patent
2:47:32 - Ubisoft's mega-studio: Massive Entertainment
2:51:30 - New Person sales figures
2:56:57 - October PS+ games
2:59:30 - What We’re Playing (Silent Hill: Townfall, Ace Combat 8, Control Resonant)
3:36:36 - Reducing hand holding in games
3:47:53 - Spiritual successors missing the mark
3:54:43 - Modern gaming ADHD
4:02:02 - Physint on PlayStation
4:09:59 - Steam's personal calendar
4:13:08 - 10/10s

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