Episodes

  • DF Direct Weekly #248: Forza Horizon 6, Fable, FF7R Xbox, Switch 2 Game Boosts, Saturn Ray Tracing!

    DF Direct Weekly #248: Forza Horizon 6, Fable, FF7R Xbox, Switch 2 Game Boosts, Saturn Ray Tracing!
    Jan 26 2026
    The best gaming showcase event returns - Xbox Developer_underscore_Direct has a proven track record of delivering excellent presentations of impressive games, and the latest is no exception. Rich, John and Oliver discuss Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Beast of Reincarnation and Kiln, before moving onto a brace of Switch 2 enhanced titles, plus a look at the Xbox versions of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. And yes - Sega Saturn ray tracing. It's real and it's spectacular. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:00 News 1: Developer_Direct 2026 - Forza Horizon 6 0:16:00 Fable 0:31:27 Beast of Reincarnation 0:37:27 Kiln 0:45:50 News 2: DKC Returns gets fixes, Switch 2 boosts + Animal Crossing’s odd Switch 2 Edition 0:58:49 News 3: Final Fantasy 7 Remake tested on Xbox Series! 1:06:43 News 4: Modder builds 3-in-1 Switch/Xbox/PlayStation 1:17:41 Supporter Q1: Why hasn’t Microsoft announced more Switch 2 games? 1:22:03 Supporter Q2: Should Rockstar give PS5 Pro a 40fps mode in GTA 6? 1:27:58 Supporter Q3: Could Microsoft pull out of gaming hardware in favour of cloud gaming? 1:33:52 Supporter Q4: What’s a game everyone loved, but you hated? 1:41:22 Supporter Q5 Is RDNA 5 hyped too much? 1:45:46 Supporter Q6: Now that the Saturn can do ray tracing, should we ditch our current-gen machines? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 57 mins
  • DF Direct Weekly #247: Monster Hunter PC Perf Drama, Mario 64 Dreamcast Port, RE Requiem Looks Hot!

    DF Direct Weekly #247: Monster Hunter PC Perf Drama, Mario 64 Dreamcast Port, RE Requiem Looks Hot!
    Jan 19 2026
    Another week, another controversy surrounding Monster Hunter Wilds PC performance - but perhaps this time we're looking at more of a silly bug than a game-breaking issue. John clues us in on a remarkable port of Super Mario 64 for the Sega Dreamcast (!), offers up opinions on Code Vein 2 on PS5 and shares his excitement for the latest Resident Evil Requiem disclosures. There's comment on the RTX 5070 Ti discontinuation reports and general bafflement on what's going on with 007 First Light's PC specs. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:00 News 1: Monster Hunter DLC checks drag PC performance 0:19:37 News 2: RE Requiem trailer showcases dual protagonist gameplay 0:27:34 News 3: RTX 5070 Ti “discontinuation” fracas 0:44:27 News 4: Super Mario 64 ported to Dreamcast 0:56:27 News 5: 007 First Light gets updated PC requirements 1:05:10 News 6: John previews Code Vein 2! 1:09:37 Supporter Q1: How should we pick between DLSS 4.0 and 4.5? 1:19:27 Supporter Q2: What’s a tech that you championed early - for better or for worse? 1:32:57 Supporter Q3: Why do Unreal Engine games on consoles have no shader gathering issues? 1:35:52 Supporter Q4: After the Switch 2 rumour cycle, have you changed your approach to evaluating unverified info? 1:42:55 Supporter Q5: Did Alex ‘raw dog’ his trip to CES? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 52 mins
  • DF Direct Weekly #246: The BIG CES Special - Hardware Highlights, Crimson Desert, Intel, Nvidia, AMD

    DF Direct Weekly #246: The BIG CES Special - Hardware Highlights, Crimson Desert, Intel, Nvidia, AMD
    Jan 12 2026
    Direct from Las Vegas, A Redbull-powered Alex Battaglia and Oliver Mackenzie share their thoughts on everything they saw at the Consumer Electronics Show 2026, while also discussing all of the big announcements. Nvidia, AMD and Intel announcements, the latest TVs and monitors and... the weirdness. Plus, what is Crimson Desert and why should be excited about it? 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:07 News 1: Nvidia, AMD, and Intel: chipmaker announcements 0:15:37 News 2: PC hardware: laptops, desktops, and accessories 0:28:49 News 3: TVs: MicroRGB, OLED, MicroLED, “Laser”, HDMI 2.2 0:54:54 News 4: Monitors: new QD-OLED coatings, RGB OLEDs, 5K2K ultrawides 1:02:46 News 5: Crimson Desert demo 1:08:37 News 6: CES weirdness: Project AVA, fighting robots, AI saturation, RCA and RadioShack revival, AR avatars, Lego Panther Lake, recumbent chairs, China pavilion 1:36:50 News 7: Reflections on Las Vegas and CES 2026 1:42:54 Supporter Q1: How will new CES tech be affected by RAM scarcity? 1:46:06 Supporter Q2: With new price constraints, is pushing graphics tech unsustainable? 1:51:23 Supporter Q3: Where’s Nvidia’s Reflex 2? 1:54:32 Supporter Q4: Is 30fps with frame gen a good idea for Ark on Switch 2? 2:01:00 Supporter Q5: Are monitors advancing too fast for GPUs? 2:05:28 Supporter Q6: Should games mask #StutterStruggle with tear-jerking content? 2:07:38 Supporter Q7: With Nvidia continuing to innovate, why should people buy AMD GPUs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 hrs and 15 mins
  • DF Direct Special: Digital Foundry's Best Gaming Hardware 2025

    DF Direct Special: Digital Foundry's Best Gaming Hardware 2025
    Jan 7 2026
    In the last DF Direct video of the year, Rich, Oliver and Alex join forces to discusses their experiences of the best gaming hardware of 2025. Handhelds dominate, and while Switch 2's mega sales cannot be denied, Rich makes the case for the crazy GPD Win 5, while Oliver opts for the SteamOS-based Lenovo Legion Go S. Beyond portables, it's all about the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, RTX 5090, the Blackwell and RDNA 4 launches in general and - finally - green shoots of hope in what looks to be a grim 2026. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:53 GPD Win 5 0:11:07 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X 0:15:40 Lenovo Legion Go S 0:18:44 MSI Claw 8 AI + 0:19:45 Nintendo Switch 2 0:28:59 AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 0:38:52 Nvidia Blackwell 0:51:11 AMD RDNA 4 0:59:58 Expectations for 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • DF Direct Special: Digital Foundry's Best Game Graphics of 2025

    DF Direct Special: Digital Foundry's Best Game Graphics of 2025
    Jan 1 2026
    Need we saw more? As we draw to the end of another remarkable year in video games, the Digital Foundry team sit down to pore over the technological showcases of the last 12 months in an attempt to answer the immortal question: What were the best game graphics of the year? 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:09 Honourable Mentions: Kirby Air Riders, Mario Kart World, Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2), Fast Fusion 0:11:45 Routine 0:16:35 Earthion 0:20:00 Silent Hill f 0:25:50 Mafia: The Old Country 0:32:18 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond 0:39:00 Ghost of Yōtei 0:46:11 Dying Light: The Beast 0:56:32 Top Three Discussion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • DF Direct Weekly #245: Half-Life 3 Steam Machine Launch Game? Skyrim Switch 2 Lag Patch, Marathon!

    DF Direct Weekly #245: Half-Life 3 Steam Machine Launch Game? Skyrim Switch 2 Lag Patch, Marathon!
    Dec 22 2025
    A critical mass of rumours is strongly suggesting that Half-Life 3 will be a launch title for Steam Machine - but how does that work when the RAM crisis is making any kind of hardware launch so challenging? Meanwhile, Oliver pops in to talk about an actual patch for the woeful Switch 1 port of Batman: Arkham Knight, while Tom makes a similarly cameo-sized appearance to talk about Skyrim's anti-latency patch - which isn't quite what we were hoping for. And that's just the tip of the iceberg for what is an absolutely colossal Direct which will also be the last we produce in the year of our lord 2025. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:33 News 1: Is Half-Life 3 a Steam Machine launch game? 0:14:45 News 2: Batman: Arkham Knight patch brings Switch 2 boosts 0:26:28 News 3: Skyrim Switch 2 patch improves input lag - at a cost 0:34:57 News 4: Ayaneo announces Strix Halo uber-handheld 0:45:56 News 5: Bungie exhibits Marathon in new video 0:58:46 News 6: Avatar gets DLSS Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction 1:14:27 News 7: Blur Busters releases TestUFO 3.0 1:22:42 News 8: Presenting the Digital Foundry 2025 Community Awards! 1:44:13 Supporter Q1: Will future handhelds be fast enough to run path-traced games? 1:47:30 Supporter Q2: Are there realistic alternatives to UE5 for AAA games? 1:52:39 Supporter Q3: What do you think of Mega Man: Dual Override? 1:54:25 Supporter Q4: What are the best graphics of 2025 on low-end hardware? 2:00:31 Supporter Q5: How would you set up an Xbox 360 or PS3 in the modern era? 2:04:55 Supporter Q6: Should AI write supporter questions for DF Direct? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 hrs and 12 mins
  • DF Direct Weekly #244: The Game Awards Reaction, First PS3 Emu on PS5, FSR Redstone First Look!

    DF Direct Weekly #244: The Game Awards Reaction, First PS3 Emu on PS5, FSR Redstone First Look!
    Dec 15 2025
    It's that time of the year! The Digital Foundry team discuss the big reveals and the games that caught their eye at The Game Awards, with the traditional complaints about the volume of CG trailers. Beyond that, Rich shares his impressions on the first PS3 emulator for PlayStation 5, Alex gets to grips with the wobbly performance of FSR Redstone frame generation and Oliver shares some eyebrow-raising results from Skyrim on Switch 2. And as usual, questions are answered. Questions like: "Is Star Wars Outlaws more ‘bespoke’ on Switch 2 than Assassin’s Creed Shadows?" 0:00:00 Introduction 0:01:12 News 1: The Game Awards: Control Resonant 0:08:42 Tomb Raider: Catalyst and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis 0:16:56 Total War: Warhammer 40,000 0:23:59 Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, Exodus, Divinity 0:34:23 Ontos, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, No Law, Pragmata, AUDIOMECH, TankRat 0:49:34 News 2: Devs ship PS3 emulator in PS5 game 0:59:09 News 3 Skyrim disappoints on Switch 2 1:07:21 News 4: AMD FSR Redstone launches 1:26:38 Supporter Q1: Will The Witchers 4, 5, and 6 be constrained by cross-gen limits? 1:35:14 Supporter Q2: Will Unified Memory Architecture appear on PCs? 1:39:21 Supporter Q3: Could Microsoft port their backwards compatibility solution to PS5? 1:44:31 Supporter Q4: Is there a way to install a streamlined Windows 11 cleansed of Microsoft services? 1:56:38 Supporter Q5: Is Star Wars Outlaws more ‘bespoke’ on Switch 2 than Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 hrs and 6 mins
  • DF Direct Weekly #243: Metroid Prime Switch 1 vs 2, The Witcher 4-6, Crucial RAM Dead, 32-bit PhysX!

    DF Direct Weekly #243: Metroid Prime Switch 1 vs 2, The Witcher 4-6, Crucial RAM Dead, 32-bit PhysX!
    Dec 8 2025
    Nintendo didn't release Metroid Prime 4 Switch 1 review code to journalists, so how does it stack up against Switch 2? Rich does some digging. Meanwhile, the team lament the end of the iconic Crucial RAM, but there's better news about the return of some kind of 32-bit PhysX support for RTX 50-series GPUs. Oliver talks Sonic Racing Crossworlds on Switch 2, John's impressed by TimeSplitters Rewind - and just how bad have things got for HDR support in video games? 0:00:00 Introduction 0:00:55 News 1: Metroid Prime 4 tested on Switch 1! 0:29:22 News 2: Micron kills Crucial RAM 0:39:29 News 3: Nvidia partially brings back 32 bit PhysX for 50 series 0:45:34 News 4: Sonic Racing Crossworlds tested on Switch 2 0:51:00 News 5: CD Projekt plans fast release pace for Witchers 4-6 0:59:21 News 6: Veteran HDR dev bemoans state of HDR in games 1:14:23 News 7: TimeSplitters Rewind impresses 1:22:17 Supporter Q1: Will price hikes cause a gaming Dark Age? How are next gen consoles affected? 1:32:44 Supporter Q2: How could Cyberpunk 2077 be improved visually? 1:35:59 Supporter Q3: What games are “Too Big for Steam Machine?” 1:39:46 Supporter Q4: Should Nintendo have tried to match Series S with Switch 2? 1:44:33 Supporter Q5: Do you have any fond PSP gaming memories? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 58 mins