If someone tells you not to push the button, will you push it? Will you? Will you?

So apparently, we did manage to escape the corruption that's crept into Pocket Gamer Towers last week, because we're back with more news to serve up with this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast - starting with the big news of Silt's launch. Will's apparently trying to brighten up our Monday with something that's…supposedly more terrifying than anything in and out of this world, so if you're feeling down, you can try and fight off the Monday blues with a healthy dose of schadenfreude (it's a real thing).

After pondering the mysteries of reverse psychology (we like to keep the discussion highly intellectual here), Iwan steers us into Vampire Crawlers' upcoming demo. Poncle's really got us all fired up (and by "we", I mean Iwan) with their upcoming project, but if you're itching to give it a go yourself, you'll have to wait until Steam Next Fest in February.

Thankfully, you won't have to wait for this one as Arknights Endfield is out now across the globe, which is something a lot of people really seem to be enjoying lately as the hip and cool new thing on mobile. We've got guides on the site for practically every single thing you might want to know about, so have a look if you're keen!

Will then moves on to the launch of Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot, which is an auto-battler that teaches you not to discriminate against dwarves and their roles in life. Iwan backs it up by declaring on the top of his hill about his favourite Lord of the Rings character, which Will and I support 100% (good on you, Iwan).

As for supporting home-grown causes, Prime Rush is an upcoming project from Supergaming that we've got our eye on. It'll hopefully bring something new to the table across the saturated genre, and it's now open for pre-registration on Android if you're curious about it too.

But if you'd rather get your hands on something that's out right now, Gumslinger 2: Ducks & Nukes can satisfy your bloodlust (or gummy-lust?) with some hilarious physics-based duels, where you get to fight to the death but with gummies.

And finally, we wrap up the episode with a whole bunch of fourth-wall-breaking fun as Crushed in Time gets a new trailer, so if you're looking for something a bit more meta to spice up your mobile adventures, this one might be one to watch.

What is your deepest fear, and how do you turn it around and make a living out of it? Things take an unexpectedly dark turn in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where it's all about minding the gap and paying the rent sprinkled with a healthy serving of waffles in between.

We start with the big news that Subway Surfers City is now in pre-registration, offering a sequel-slash-spin-off of the popular endless runner with an expanded world. Will raises a good point that part of what makes the franchise so great is its straightforwardness (he's always ready to defend someone's honour with his bare fists and we love him for it, as you'll hear pretty quickly in a few minutes!).

In any case, there are no misleading ads for Subway Surfers so far, so it's very much a WYSIWYG kind of deal, and that's always a good thing. That brings us to something where we're just not quite sure what we're going to get at the moment, which is Palworld's upcoming Trading Card Game.

Launching (hopefully on mobile) on July 30th, the TCG is curiously going to add its trademark base-building elements into the mix as well, so while we do wonder about Pokemon's inspirations (inevitably), we also look forward to what fresh new thing Palworld's going to bring to the table.

Poor little indie franchise Pokemon needs all the defence it can get, after all, so we try our best to differentiate the two to give them both justice. I know - we're all noble warriors and valiant defenders of the weak over here at PG Towers.

Speaking of weakness, the hapless little beans from Dumb Ways to Die are back as the freebie of the week for the Epic Games Store, so if you want to feel like a proper saviour and the ultimate champion of metro safety, now's your chance.

Iwan takes every opportunity to make Will and I feel ancient in this podcast, so he goes on to talk about The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin and its delayed release. Now launching in March, it's supposedly taking its sweet time tweaking the finer aspects of the RPG to make it more enjoyable for the community, so here's hoping it'll be worth the wait.

That said, there's no logical way for me to segue into A Webbing Journey, but I do it anyway - this lovely little gem is out now to subvert your arachnophobia. You'll play as a helpful spider on a quest to lend humans a hand (or a hairy leg), doing everything from making popcorn to watering the plants, which might just mean this could be an alternate origin story for everyone's favourite friendly neighborhood Marvel webslinger.

And finally, we try to end the episode on a positive note with Goblin Sushi, but because it's all about trying to make ends meet so you can pay your endless rent for your relentless landlord, things spiral into darkness with a proper reference to George Orwell's depressing ending for Animal Farm.

Will we ever escape the corruption? Tune in next week to find out.

What Pokemon would make a great window scraper? We're back to kick off the new year in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast - we hope you missed us as much as we missed you!

We stretch, warm up, and dust off our mics as Iwan takes us into the upcoming launch of Order of Kings, where you can look forward to discovering more about why the Three Kingdoms period is such a big hit for games (and rightly so). Will does point out a common issue with the genre though, which is whether or not the base-building aspect takes priority over the actual strategic warfare. We'll get back to that again in a minute (or more than a minute, if you know how much we like waffles around here).

That said, Will moves on to a strategy-adjacent update for this teeny tiny indie gem called League of Legends: Wild Rift, where two heroes are joining the fight (and that's always fun). One more hero joining the fight is everyone's favourite sky bison Appa, who's now making his debut in Avatar Legends: Realms Collide as part of the new Companions feature.

We waffle on a bit about blue aliens and avatars before we move on to a gruesome crime within Play Together, where Mr Hotdog's gone missing to everyone's absolute horror. Whether or not he's rotting in a ditch somewhere (he's not) remains to be seen, but if you're looking for something else to distract you from the crime, Will offers Bouncemasters as a lighthearted alternative.

Now free on the Epic Games Store for the week, this arcade-y adventure will have you playing as a lovable penguin on a quest for something not as lovable, which is to spy on another penguin with the help of his polar bear BFF. If you're curious about the quirky and almost horrific premise behind this one, Will gives a pretty accurate explanation that's too bizarre not to be true.

In any case, we end the episode with the end of another game, sadly, as Pandoland will soon shut its doors this March. Not even Game Freak can save this one, apparently, which is proof that not everything the studio touches turns into Pokemon Gold.

What's your favourite game of 2025? Any upcoming releases you're looking forward to in 2026? Let's end the year with a bang with a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where we take a quick look back on the greatest hits (and misses) over the past twelve months!

It's actually been a big year for mobile with a lot more to come, including the upcoming release of Arknights: Endfield, some Monument Valley shenanigans, and the whole Netflix x Warner Bros x Paramount kerfuffle.

Iwan continues with some big hits in the form of the Stardew Valley x Infinity Nikki crossover, Subnautica's launch, and Squid Game Unleashed going MIA, before Will reminisces about Suzerain and the consequences of his choices that will remain with him forever. He then gushes about Warframe which has a definite year-round appeal, before he literally slides away into the abyss.

It's my turn to gush about my favourite pick of the year, which is The Longing - and you have to spend 400 actual days IRL to finish the whole thing. You can't speedrun this one, but speaking of, Iwan speedruns through the most notable news of 2025 like Dredge, Disco Elysium, and Star Wars Hunters, before we wrap things up for the final episode of the year.

Thank you so much for sticking around and listening to us serve up the news with a side of goofiness, and we hope you'll keep hanging out with us for all things mobile next year and beyond!

How do you spend your holidays gaming-wise, and is Santa Claus at all safe? Grab some eggnog or cosy up with a cup of tea as we welcome you all to a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast!

After confirming exactly why this is the most wonderful time of the year (and expressing our genuine concern over Santa Claus' safety), we get right to it as Iwan recommends The Darkside Detective if you're in the mood for some spooky-slash-goofy tones while you chill by the fireplace this month. The point-and-click adventure has plenty of cosy moments despite its titular darkside-ness - or if you're looking for something more mainstream, Balatro is always a good pick.

Vampire Survivors is one of Iwan's go-to options too, but for something more laidback and a little less frantic, Neko Atsume is my own top pick for the season. The idle nature of this kitty collector will have you laying out toys and treats for stray cats in a desperate attempt to win their love - and if they do deem you worthy of their time and attention, they'll leave you fish that you can then use to buy them even more treats.

It's a loop you'll want to get trapped in especially if you fancy logging in, setting up treats, then logging out and going about your day before checking in every once in a while whenever you feel like it. Plus, cat masters. 'Nuff said.

As for Will, he does a complete one-eighty with Maneater, where you basically roam the seas as an apex predator and eat people just because. And if you're wondering how exactly that relates to Christmas, then you'll have to tune in to find out (just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water).

Will also leaves us with a heartwarming message this Christmas, so even if we're still not entirely sure about Santa's whereabouts at the moment, we at least end this holiday special with some warm and fuzzy feelings before we sign off.

Are you a fan of waifu games and Metroidvanias, and what is the meaning of life? We tackle everything from the state of the world we live in to the overall plot of Star Wars in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.

We kick things off with a quick game of "how many Christmas metaphors can Will blurt out in three seconds" before Iwan drops the big news on Umamusume: Pretty Derby winning Mobile Game of the Year at The Game Awards, along with Wuthering Waves bagging an award with the Player's Voice category.

It's a fantastic way of celebrating what makes mobile great, which inevitably includes waifus - and this is where Will's news on Snowbreak: Containment Zone comes in. There's plenty of outfits to get a hold of in the latest update too, so if you fancy celebrating the holidays in style, this might be one to watch.

Speaking of things that have tons of style, Dead Cells is the freebie of the week for the Epic Games Store, which is honestly levelling up its catalog, in my opinion. It's free to grab until the 19th, and you don't even need to be logged in to the store after downloading it to play it.

We go pretty meta with our transitions and sound effects for a bit before Iwan perfectly transitions into a new Star Wars CCG in the works, and after we waffle on a tad about Star Wars losing its plot, Will throws out the existential question of how PUBG has suddenly become THE game for sportscars.

Before things get too bleak when it comes to cars exploding and the overall fate of humanity, let's segue into Cozy Caravan and restore our faith in the world with its cute critters and overall cosiness. Similar adventures like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have never really been my thing (I'm so sorry!), but with the stop-motion-esque animation in Cozy Caravan, I might just give this sim a try.

How do you feel about the big Netflix x Warner Bros kerfuffle, and do you think you deserve a visit from three ghosts this Christmas? We tackle everything from Hello Kitty's supposedly dark past to really old lizard-looking sugar monsters in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.

As we ponder the intricacies of a bearded stranger breaking into people's houses uninvited this Christmas season, Iwan kicks things off with what's arguably the biggest news of the past week, which is Netflix's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. There's no doubt going to be a whole bunch of stuff to consider when it comes to the subscription service's catalog of games on mobile, but it'll also no doubt take ages before anything solidifies, so we'll all just have to keep tuning in to find out.

That said, what's certain this week is the launch of Hello Kitty and Friends World, which is exactly what it says on the tin - you decorate the popular kitty's world along with her pals, and what's even more interesting is that all of the Sanrio characters are already immediately unlocked from the start. It essentially removes microtransactions, given it's supposed to be targeted toward kids, which is a lovely change of pace.

But if you're looking for something that's entirely free - at least for the moment - Epic Games Store is bringing The Darkside Detective to mobile as its freebie of the week. Will tells us all about its well-balanced features (check out Iwan's review on it too if you're curious), before Iwan decides who's doomed to receive an untimely visit from three ghosts this season (Hello Kitty herself included).

We then move on from creepy spectres to cult classics with the upcoming Dungeons of Dusk, which honestly features such a rich backstory that it's best to have a look at Iwan's interview with 68K Studios to know all the nitty-gritty.

Now, if you're a fan of interesting narratives like I am, this one's caught my eye - Planet of Lana has now made the leap onto mobile. I do feel like it's perfectly suited for the platform with its lovely visuals and optimised controls; plus, it reminds me a lot of Far: Lone Sails with all the wordless and evocative scenery. So, if that's your kind of vibe, I'd say this is worth giving a go.

And finally, Will caps things off with the adorable Om Nom joining the blocky world of Minecraft as a special add-on, which brings us to the existential question of what exactly this little green blob is and why it's still stealing our hearts (and sugars?) to this day.

What's your take on AI in video games? What's your favourite Final Fantasy game, and would you like to try to handcraft a universe of your own making? We tackle everything from managing football careers to arguing about what a warframe actually is in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.

After Iwan blows off some steam about mobile ads and what the heck they're actually doing to our economy, Will shares some insider tips about how you can ward off these unholy abominations with a little Wi-Fi trick (controversial opinions and hardcore gaming secrets only in this podcast).

Then, Iwan updates us on Sega Football Club Champions 2026's upcoming launch, which completely goes over my and Will's heads because sports and paperwork simply do not compute.

But if you do want to find something you actually can compute, you'll be happy to know that Netflix Puzzled has just launched to offer free daily brainteasers you can play both on mobile and on the Tudum website, with a special Stranger Things-themed coat of paint at the moment to celebrate the show's fifth season.

We talk a bit about aging actors and how that's what's strange, before we move on to something that our finite minds can actually comprehend - crafting universes with our own hands. Will segues into the Epic Games Store's freebie of the week, Universe For Sale, but while the aesthetics here are definitely on point, I personally had a rough time crafting the universes being peddled. If you're curious, you can have a look at my Universe For Sale review. Your mileage may vary though, so why not give it a go? It's free until December 4th, after all.

While we're on the subject of free stuff, Iwan diverts his enthusiasm to Where Winds Meet. He sheds light on the use of AI here not only in the gameplay but also on how you create your character, as you can apparently use your own voice to generate the sound your character makes - life truly is stranger than fiction.

And speaking of fiction, Will announces Warframe's Android closed beta, then helps me wrap things up with Final Fantasy IX's crossover event within Another Eden. Of course, in true PG fashion, we add more waffles into the waffling on as we tease an upcoming podcast special, but not before revealing that Iwan may or may not be AI himself.