Gamertag Radio

Gamertag Radio's Danny Peña speaks with Square Enix directors Naoki Hamaguchi and Teruki Endo to discuss Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the third and final chapter in the remake trilogy.  The team reflects on the 10-year journey of rebuilding Final Fantasy VII, balancing nostalgic battle design with modern action RPG mechanics, and landing the plane for this legendary story. Danny also dives into multi-platform development on the Nintendo Switch 2, how the trilogy connects to Advent Children, and what the future holds—including two planned story DLCs!Connect with us: Danny Peña Parris Lilly Pete Toledo Riana...

NVIDIA GeForce DLSS 5 is officially here, and NBA 2K27 is the first title to take advantage of it! Following early leaks and initial controversy surrounding how the tech works, I had the chance to get hands-on experience both at Gamescom and at home on my RTX 5090 rig.In this segment, sponsored by NVIDIA GeForce, I break down how developer Visual Concepts actually implemented DLSS 5 into NBA 2K27 using 3D guided neural rendering. Learn how targeted, asset-specific application transforms player details, arena lighting, and crowd realism—plus my real-world performance benchmarks at 4K Ultra settings!Key Hi...

In this episode of Gamertag Radio, hosts Danny Peña and Riana Manuel-Peña team up with MediaWise to explore the impact of online misinformation and toxic culture within video game spaces. They are joined by lead web developer at Poynter, Jay Tillery and veteran 3D artist Del Walker. The panel discusses how rumors spread rapidly across social media, why negative clickbait dominates the algorithm, and the real-world impact fake leaks and toxic discourse have on both game developers and gaming communities.Program Feedback & Giveaway Entry - click hereKey Topics Covered: The Me...

At Gamescom, Parris Lilly catches up with Lead Combat Designer from Rebel Wolves, to discuss the immersive combat systems in The Blood of Dawnwalker. He breaks down the design behind the game's directional sword fighting, optional accessibility options like Omni-blocks, and how the team balanced combat difficulty to keep players engaged. The conversation also covers player customization, skill tree trade-offs, and the mechanical differences between playing as a human utilizing witchcraft during the day versus a brutal vampire at night.

Fresh back in Los Angeles after Gamescom, Danny Peña and Parris Lilly break down their hands-on theater presentation and impressions of The Witcher 3 Remaster and its massive new story expansion, Songs of the Past!In this episode, Danny and Parris discuss: The Witcher 3 Remaster Announcement – Their reaction to the surprising Opening Night Live announcement, free current-gen upgrades, included expansions (Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine), and massive quality-of-life improvements. Songs of the Past Expansion Breakdown – Exploring the stunning new northern region of Lettin (ancestral home of Dandelion), returning fan-favorite characters like Roach, and u...

Parris Lilly and Danny Peña share exclusive hands-on impressions of the upcoming Fable reboot straight from Gamescom!In this video, Parris breaks down his 45-minute hands-on combat demo from Playground Games: Combat Breakdown – Swordplay, ranged mechanics, spell casting, and fighting through skeleton swarms and ghoul mini-bosses. Difficulty Scaling – Playing through the demo on default and stepping up to Heroic/Legendary difficulty. Visuals & Performance – Impressions from playing on PC and Series X, confirming smooth controls and non-clunky combat. Campaign Length & Legacy – Discussion on the reported 15–20 hour campaign length, side quests, rea...

Parris Lilly and Danny Peña share hands-on impressions and co-op details for State of Decay 3 from Gamescom!In this video, Parris breaks down his 45-minute hands-on gameplay session playing State of Decay 3 for the first time: Co-Op & World Host Mechanics – How persistent co-op worlds work, host permission controls, and managing friends in your survivor group. Scavenging & Gameplay – Exploring infected towns for resources, dealing with zombie swarms, and managing procedural survivors with unique perks. Camp & Survivor Management – Recruiter mechanics, survivor morale, losing bases, and managing your community. Visuals & Beta Plans – Upgraded...

Danny Peña and Parris Lilly return to Gamer Tag Radio to break down two unique indie titles that stood out during their playtime at Gamescom: ONTOS – From the developers behind SOMA, this sci-fi psychological horror mystery puts players in high-stakes environments filled with puzzles, branching paths, and tricky scenarios. Danny shares his hands-on experience solving the demo's puzzles, discovering new story paths, and pressing the devs on the game's mysterious art. Hello Sunshine – Parris gives a detailed breakdown of this survival-scavenging concept from Red Thread Games. Described as The Iron Giant meets Wall-E where the s...

Danny Peña and Parris Lilly break down their hands-on impressions and previews of three major upcoming titles from Gamescom: Chronos: Lazarus – First hands-on impressions with the new expansion! Danny and Parris discuss the faster pacing, new traversal and stealth mechanics (like short-range teleporting and invisibility), difficulty tweaks, and Bloober Team's evolution of the series. Chronicles Medieval – A detailed look at Raw Power Games' historical RTS hybrid. Blending Civilization and Age of Empires elements with a third-person camera option, real-time tactical commander combat, troop morale mechanics, and massive battles featuring up to 2,000 units. Contr...

Danny Peña spoke with Eric Damien-Vernay (Brand Director for Might & Magic at Ubisoft) about bringing back an iconic strategy classic in the Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake!In this interview, we dive into why Ubisoft is modernizing the game for new and veteran players alike, including new quality-of-life features, customizable preset playstyles, campaign improvements, and automation options. Plus, we discuss the team's personal connections to the original and the planned 2027 release window!

Interview with the Director Xiangyu "XY" Luo to talk about his upcoming action RPG, Showa American Story! Inspired by 80s pop culture, post-apocalyptic tropes, and B-movie directors like Quentin Tarantino, Takashi Miike, and Takeshi Kitano, this title blends humor, violence, and nostalgia.In this interview, Mr. Luo details the protagonist quest to find her sister in a post-apocalyptic world, the creation of crazy weapons like the American Flag and Santa's Reindeer, and how cinematic cutscenes set their boss battles apart.

Danny Peña sat down with Jack Hoppis (Technical Designer at Infinity Ward) and Beatriz González (Production Director at Digital Legends) to discuss bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch 2!We break down crossplay and cross-progression, unique Switch 2 control options like gyro and mouse controls, and the beta feedback leading into launch. Plus, we get details on map dynamics like Killblock, game modes, and the official file size for the Switch 2 version!

We sat down at Gamescom with industry legend Tim Willits, Chief Creative Officer at Saber Interactive and former id Software veteran (Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein), for an in-depth developer interview!In this conversation, Tim breaks down how Saber Interactive approaches massive IP adaptations including their upcoming Hellraiser game made in direct collaboration with creator Clive Barker, as well as high-profile titles for John Wick and Jurassic Park. He reflects on transitioning from 25+ years of making fast-paced first-person shooters to managing diverse genres like horror, simulators, and action games. Plus, Tim shares a powerful personal story about how Quake...

In this podcast exclusive interview, we sat down with Leslie Harwood (Principal Scene Coordinator) and Jessica Harra Campbell (Design Director) from Telltale Games to discuss the long-awaited development of The Wolf Among Us 2!During our exclusive interview, the dev team breaks down the decision behind their major tech reset—shifting away from Telltale's proprietary engine to Unreal Engine while building a custom "Telltale Renderer" to retain the iconic visual identity of the original. They also detail key gameplay evolutions, including moving to an over-the-shoulder third-person camera for exploration, how their choice and reactivity systems go deeper than si...

Danny Peña sat down with AJ Grand-Scrutton, CEO of Dlala Studios and Director/Co-Writer of Murals, to discuss their brand-new isometric action-adventure title!After building hit multiplayer experiences like Battletoads and Disney Illusion Island, Dlala Studios is pivoting to their first single-player game in 13 years. In this interview, AJ breaks down the creative process of building an original IP rooted in reimagined fairy tales, combining 2D and 3D visual styles inspired by Who Framed Roger Rabbit, why they decided to leave multiplayer behind for this project, and the sheer panic of setting their Steam page live d...

We sit down with the teams at Evil Empire and Konami to discuss the development of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. In this interview, Lead Level Designer Sandro Bordi, Marketing Director Béranger Dupré, and the Konami team break down how they balanced nostalgia for longtime fans with accessibility for newcomers.They explore: The Whip-Centric Gameplay: Modernizing traversal, combat, and exploration mechanics inspired by Super Castlevania IV. Story & Setting: Setting the game in 1499 Paris, 23 years after Dracula’s Curse, and introducing Rose Belmont. Design & Music: Drawing inspiration from Symphony of the Night, Order...

During Gamescom 2026, Danny Peña sat down with Michael Yum, CEO and co-founder of PM Studios, to chat about publishing, supporting indie games, and bringing back The Wolf Among Us 2. Michael discusses what PM Studios looks for in developer partnerships, why physical game preservation and collectors' editions matter, and how their new platform, PANEX, aims to unite PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox gamers.

Exclusive! Live from the Xbox booth at Gamescom, the team catches up with Jason Ronald (Vice President of Next Generation at Xbox) to break down major news for physical game collectors.Xbox is launching a new feature for Xbox Insiders that allows players to convert physical discs into digital licenses directly tied to their accounts.In this episode, we cover: How it works: How inserting your physical disc unlocks a digital entitlement tied to your account. Supported titles: Initial availability for thousands of Xbox One and Xbox Series X...

We got our hands on Crazy Taxi World Tour at Gamescom! In this episode of Gamer Tag Radio, Danny Peña and Riana Manuel Peña share their full hands-on preview, first impressions, and gameplay breakdown after spending nearly an hour with the game.From exploring the Germany map to testing out new traversal mechanics like Crazy Drift, Crazy Boost, and Crazy Stop, we cover everything this updated Sega classic has to offer. Plus, hear our thoughts on side quests, arcade passenger pickups, hilarious characters, and classic soundtrack tunes!

Danny Peña and Riana Manuel Peña share their hands-on impressions of Stranger Than Heaven from Sega's press event in Los Angeles! From developer balance updates and revamped boss fights to the game's unique combat mechanics, photorealistic visual style, and 50-year narrative arc, we break down what makes this upcoming RGG Studio title stand out.Subscribe to Gamer Tag Radio for gaming previews, hands-on reviews, and event coverage!