Listen to Episode Two of the VICE Gaming Podcast

Welcome back. Or, possibly, just welcome, if you never listened to the first VICE Gaming Podcast, which we put out at the beginning of December 2015. That debut episode – which you can still listen to, here – was all about what had been, the best and worst of a year in gaming. This second instalment looks ahead to games including Street Fighter V and Dark Souls III, and features not one, nor two, but three guests alongside VICE Gaming editor Mike Diver. (Who is also writing this blurb, and now feels kind of weird.)

A word of warning: this was a boisterous session, with many laughs, and while every effort has been made to reduce microphone pop, you will hear several dulled thumps in the audio. (Many thanks to Tom for fixing the levels.) Also, a tip for anyone invited into a recording studio in the future: it's best to not smack your silver rings down on the table when making a point, as that will get picked up, and it sounds like someone just let a pistol off in your ear. (Look, down there, at those telltale spikes.)

Download episode two of the VICE Gaming Podcast HERE, for offline enjoyment (right click to save, and so forth – you've used a computer before, right?). Or stream the show below.

In the studio – by which we mean a small room tucked away in a corner of VICE's London HQ; snug for one, intimate for two and quite possibly illegal for four real-life, still-breathing human beings – we have Tobi Harper and David Wright discussing their amazing-looking game Eitr, which is expected out sometime in 2016, published by the ever-inspiring (and just a little lewd) Devolver Digital. It's a pixel-art action-RPG with a definite Souls-series atmosphere, albeit framed by a story leaning on Norse mythology. It's also incredibly tough – like, chew off your own knuckles for a little light relief tough.

Joining them is Julia Hardy, a presenter, journalist and broadcaster currently hosting BBC Radio 1's The Number One Show, where she gets to talk about these video game things on the airwaves. She's also a regular guest on Ginx/Challenge's Videogame Nation, and has previously contributed to VICE Gaming using written words.

What games have we loved lately? What are we absolutely useless at? Should SEGA just end Sonic now, so as not to risk any further awful games in his name? How many fans does Nintendo actually have in 2016? Will I ever pronounce Eitr properly? Listen, and learn, as these subjects and more are discussed.

You can follow our guests on Twitter at @eitrthegame and @itsjuliahardy, and why not follow us while you're there, too? We're at @VICEGaming.

Next month: given the HD Twilight Princess is imminent, we're having a Zelda-flavoured special with special guests Simon Miller, of VideoGamer.com's "The Miller Report" fame, and freelance games writer Holly Nielsen. They are both big-time Hyrule warriors. Now if you'll excuse me, I've a train ride in the company of Link's Awakening to see to.