On this week’s episode of IGN’s PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin and Mitchell Saltzman to talk about the latest news in the world of PlayStation, and the excitement of EVO and why it’s the best time to get into fighting games.

First, the cast runs down some of the big news in the world of PlayStation, including the new PlayStation Plus extra lineup, including Yakuza games, Monopoly, and more; the casting of new and familiar characters in The Last of Us HBO TV show, Marvel Midnight Suns’ delay out of October, and the Call of Duty Modern Warfare II beta.

Then, we dig into some thoughts on fighting games. With EVO having recently concluded, the first time since PlayStation acquired a stake in the tournament. Mitchell offers some of his thoughts from actually competing in and attending EVO, Jada offers her thoughts on watching as a fighting game fan, and Jonathon discusses his experience watching as someone who has never really been into fighting games. The cast talks about why now is perhaps the best time to get into fighting games, given the positivity and support around the scene, the success of free-to-play fighters like MultiVersus, which the panel has all been playing, and what upcoming and older fighting games might be good starting points for players who want to get into the fighting game scene.

Then, Jonathon speaks with two of the developers behind Cult of the Lamb, which hits PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 this week. Julian Wilton, Massive Monster Creative Director, and Jay Armstrong, the studio's Design Director, join Jonathon to dig into Cult of the Lamb’s development process, the joys of it’s combination of game genres, and whether the team always knew it had to be a lamb at the center of it all. The cast then discusses some of the comments we received from last week’s show, the games we’ve been playing, including MultiVersus, Cult of the Lamb, and Nobody Saves the World, and Jonathon reads a wonderful Memory Card. And we do it all while accidentally creating like six portmanteaus. 

Want to be part of the show? Write in to beyond@ign.com.

00:00:00 - Intro & News!
00:14:45 - Mitchell Attended EVO 2022!
00:27:53 - Multiversus’ Success & Jumping Into Fighting Games
00:40:54 - What’s the Best Fighting Game to Start With?
00:52:13 - Cult of the Lamb Dev Interview
01:21:13 - Memory Card & Outro