We’re back from Gamescom 2026! After a week in Cologne, we’re talking through the best games we played and saw at the show, including Fable, The Blood of Dawnwalker, The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, Castlevania and Gears of War.

We also go through the biggest announcements from Gamescom Opening Night Live, before getting into GTA VI and whether Rockstar’s latest showing has made us any more excited for what is probably going to be the biggest game ever.

Plus, we look ahead to a ridiculously busy September, pick out the games worth keeping an eye on and share some of our favourite stories from Gamescom.

And somewhere along the way, Ed squirts a pickle.

Timestamps

00:00 - Cold Open 00:28 - Intro 01:04 - We’re back from Gamescom! 23:34 - The games we played at Gamescom 25:08 - Fable 30:02 - The Witcher 3 36:04 - The Blood of Dawnwalker 01:01:15 - Gamescom Opening Night Live 01:37:50 - GTA VI 01:41:10 - September’s biggest games

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼ ● All previous episodes: swappingjoysticks.com ● Instagram: @swappingjoystickspod

▼ Ben’s links ▼ ● Twitch: twitch.tv/biggusbennus ● Bluesky: @biggusbennus.bsky.social ● Instagram: @biggusbennus ● Discord: Join the Discord

▼ Ed’s links ▼ ● Twitch: twitch.tv/ed_nights ● Bluesky: @ednights.bsky.social

#Gamescom2026 #Fable #GTA6 #TheBloodOfDawnwalker #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

The Duskbloods finally had its network test - and Ed has spent the weekend finding out exactly what FromSoftware's strange new Switch 2 exclusive actually is.

Part Bloodborne, part Nightreign, part PvP game... and somehow part Mario Party. Ed breaks down how The Duskbloods works, why its combat and performance left him disappointed.

Ben has started Kingdom Hearts for the first time, fallen even more in love with Splatoon Raiders, and Ed has some controversial thoughts about both Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Plus, we answer your question of the week about the games you deliberately stopped playing and look ahead to Gamescom Opening Night Live, including The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Tides of Annihilation, Warlock, Fable and more.

And, most importantly, we investigate whether a vampire chicken can actually suck blood.

Timestamps

00:00 Vampire chickens?! 00:20 Intro 04:12 Gamescom plans 14:46 What we've been playing 20:57 The Duskbloods impressions 49:17 Question of the Week 53:50 Why Ed quit Silksong 55:09 Final Fantasy XIII-2 is atrocious 01:03:37 Gamescom 2026 preview 01:20:32 Outro

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼ ● All previous episodes available at http://swappingjoysticks.com

▼ Ben's links ▼ ● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/biggusbennus ● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/biggusbennus.bsky.social ● Follow on Instagram - http://instagram.com/biggusbennus ● Join the Discord - http://discord.gg/biggusbennus

▼ Ed's links ▼ ● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/ed_nights ● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/ednights.bsky.social

This week Ben's been hands-on with Star Wars Galactic Racer, the new high-speed racer from Fuse Games and Secret Mode. We chat about its Burnout DNA, roguelike structure, spectacular crashes and whether Star Wars and arcade racing might be a perfect combination.

We also look to the future of Final Fantasy and ask what we actually want from Final Fantasy XVII. Fantasy or sci-fi? Turn-based or action? Open world or linear? And does anyone actually know what a Final Fantasy game is supposed to be anymore?

Also, we chat about the games we'd love to see remade - and the ones that should absolutely be left alone - old Star Wars games, fast travel, and plenty more.

Plus, somehow we end up talking about bread for far longer than anyone intended.

Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open

00:12 Intro

09:30 Studio Ghibli

11:56 Star Wars Galactic Racer

30:41 What We've Been Playing

48:00 Our Perfect Final Fantasy XVII

01:19:34 Kingdom Hearts

01:25:23 Games That Shouldn't Be Remade

01:31:00 Outro

#StarWarsGalacticRacer #FinalFantasyXVII #StarWars

▼ Swapping Joysticks ▼

● All previous episodes available at http://swappingjoysticks.com

▼ Ben's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/biggusbennus

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/biggusbennus.bsky.social

● Follow on Instagram - http://instagram.com/biggusbennus

● Join the Discord - http://discord.gg/biggusbennus

▼ Ed's links ▼

● Follow on Twitch - http://twitch.tv/ed_nights

● Follow on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/ednights.bsky.social