The Nintendo Direct celebrating 40 years of Mario came out at the weekend and Darren and Craig are here to break it down! There are some worrying trends sprouting up in Nintendo's business model it seems and Craig is ready to be fully critical of it!

There's more Pokémon news! And its not very exciting.... check out Darren and Craig's opinions on the Pokémon section of the Nintendo Direct over at patreon.com/thegiftofgaming

All our episodes are slowly being added to Youtube! Check out youtube.com/@thegiftofgaming if thats how you prefer to consume your podcasts!

We're late but we're back! Darren wanted to get some time in with Hollow Knight: Silksong and Chris was just about to finish Expedition 33 so we decided to hold off so we could get the conversation flowing! Listen in on Darren, Chris and Craig discuss the games they're currently playing, first thoughts on Hollow Knight: Silksong and even Chris' overdue review on Expedition 33.

Looking for more? Check out patreon.com/tehgiftofgaming for even more gaming content.

Darren is joined once again by Luke and Chris to muse on this months news! Unknown World's lawsuit saga continues, there might be a possible Jak and Daxter reboot and we've gotten a release date for Hollow Knight's Silksong after such a long wait! All this and more is available on this week's episode of the pod!

There's even more news to be had, from a Smash Bros. update and info on the Nintendo Switch 1. Check it out over on patreon.com/thegiftofgaming and help support the pod!

We're adding all our episodes to Youtube! Check us out over at youtube.com/@thegiftofgaming

Want to join the conversation? Email us at thegiftofgaming@gmail.com

Our news links:

Unknown Worlds lawsuit: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/unknown-worlds-claims-ousted-founders-pilfered-business-records-intellectual-property-and-more-in-new-lawsuit

Jak and Daxter reboot thoughts: https://www.gamingbible.com/news/platform/playstation/uncharted-5-leak-541041-20250813

EVO's business update: https://evo.gg/news/2025-business-update

Hollow Knight's update: https://www.polygon.com/hollow-knight-silksong-release-date-indie-games/

Elden Ring is not performing on the Switch 2: https://www.thegamer.com/elden-ring-tarnished-edition-nintendo-switch-2-major-performance-issues/

Darren is joined by his fellow liberators; Kev and Andy as they break down all aspects of Helldivers 2! Ahead of the Xbox release of Helldivers 2 on Aug 26th, Darren and the guys cover everything from the gameplay itself to loadouts, customisation and objectives, giving their thoughts and review on the game that's brought them so many hours of laughter these past few months. If you've not played Helldivers 2 yet and are still on the fence, then you're in the right place! If you're an avid player and lover of managed democracy then sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

All our episodes are getting added to Youtube! If you prefer to consume content over there, check out youtube.com/@thegiftofgaming

Want more? We have loads more content over on Patreon! There's so much content over there that nows the best time to get on board at patreon.com/thegiftofgaming

Why not tell us what you enjoyed about Helldivers 2 over at thegiftofgamingpodcast@gmail.com

On this week's episode off the GoG Pod, Darren is demanding a bigger focus on PvE games rather than PvP. Joined by Chris and Andy, Darren's about to find out he's very much out of the loop....

Do you consume your podcasts on Youtube? Would you much rather listen to the Gift of Gaming podcast there? Fear not! Darren is slowly adding the full catalogue of GoG episodes over at youtube.com/@TheGiftofGaming

Want to give Darren your recommendations of PvE games? Email us at thegiftofgamingpodcast@gmail.com

Want more of this kind of content? Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/thegiftofgaming

This week Darren, Chris and Luke take a look at stories covering Splitgate 2's own unlaunch, an Italian retro gaming reviewer getting raiding by police and the upcoming lawsuit between Krafton and the directors of Unknown Worlds, creators of Subnatica.

Want more? Check out round 4 of the GoG Battle Royale over on Patreon.com/thegiftofgaming !

There's no topic for this week's episode! Just an easy chat on video games. Darren, Craig and Chris discuss everything from Donkey Kong Bananza to Pokémon, Tactics and even a little CGI.

There's no post show this week due to a scheduling issue but check out patreon.com/giftofgaming for loads of other content you don't want to miss!

Darren, along with Craig and Andrew give you their recommendations of newer and older games that they believe are perfect to play now in 2025.

What games do you think are worth playing in 2025? Let us know at thegiftofgamingpodcast@gmail.com

In today's Post Show, the guys give their thoughts on what makes a Game of the Year in their eyes. Check it out, along with loads of other content over at patreon.com/thegiftofgaming