Defining Duke, Episode 266: The Thread
Added 2026-02-02 17:34:06 +0000 UTCHey, all! It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 266 of Defining Duke.
Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored.
As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, February 4th at 3 PM ET to make your submission.
Comments
Hey Dukes, As someone with very little fighting game experience, which modern fighter would you recommend I try? I thought about Tekken 8 since I know you two love it, but the reviews on steam are a bit alarming. Never have I seen a game have such creatively evil reviews. Tekken dudes are straight up using poetry to roast the devs. Anyways, I'm not worried about difficulty, I just want something actually worth investing time in. Have a ''Would you rather go an inch forward into master cheeks or an inch backwards into kratos?'' kind of day...
Bugenhagen FF7 Bugenhagen FF7 Bugenhagen FF7
2026-02-05 08:06:42 +0000 UTCHowdy Dukes, Overwatch 2 is gone and Overwatch is back huh? A fresh new chapter arrives for it's 10th anniversary. New story content, maps, art changes, a UI refresh and more. Also 10 new Heroes releasing this year, with the first 5 launching next week. It seems that Marvel Rivals lit a fire under Blizzard to sort it out. However, this might be hot take for the Dukes but OW over the last 2 years has not only sorted itself out, it is better than Marvel Rivals and it’s arguably in its best state since 2016. It has far better performance optimisation and game balancing than Marvel Rivals. 5v5 is still here but 6v6 is available and is the 2nd most played mode. All Heroes are free, though the monetisation is still stingy as any other live service but you can still consistently earn loot boxes and currency without spending a dime. Also OW does not get enough credit for it's polished audio & visual feedback and hero design, especially compared to Marvel Rivals where I easily get character silhouettes and footsteps mixed up. I know Matty is being more mindful with his gaming time so I don't expect him to play OW extensively, but if the Dukes get a hero shooter itch, I can't recommend OW enough. Have a "this should of been Overwatch 2" kind of day.
rokku
2026-02-05 00:49:34 +0000 UTCHey Dukes, By the time you're reading this, I'm assuming Matty has finished season 2 of Fallout. I'll be eagerly awaiting the scripted, 2+ hour review on your Mr. MattyPlays channel but for now I just want to hear some bars from the dome. With the season wrapped up, how are you feeling about this season in particular and what spoiler-free improvements you hope for in season 3. Thanks and have a "Rangers at the bottom of the division" kind of day!
JP
2026-02-03 15:10:03 +0000 UTCHey Dukes! Dont know if you've heard about it or not but id like to highlight an indie win. Markiplier self distributed, self funded, directed and starred in a movie based on the indie horror game Iron Lung and was #1 at the box office. I've followed him for a long time and I cannot express how much of a win this is for independent film makers. Showing you CAN do it.
Naked Snake in a Banana Hammock
2026-02-03 14:49:38 +0000 UTCHey Dukes! Gamers just can’t stop hating on everything these days. These young men don’t know the days where you’d get totally different games released with identical names on different consoles. The older generation was forged in fire. Have a “my grandma got me Tony hawks pro skater 3 for my birthday, but it’s for the game boy” kind of day.
Kevin Weidert
2026-02-03 06:29:45 +0000 UTCHey Dukes I was thinking about this the other day about the future of Xbox and them opening up to other stores and I was looking at my start screen and noticed I have the Blizzard Launcher and said, "Why does the Blizzard store still exist?" Why would they fund two seperate stores? Why do they link me from Diablo 4 from the PC Gamepass to the Blizzard Store to download? It's like store-ception. I'll hang up and listen but you both have a "Why do I have to download the EA/Ubi store while I'm in your own store" kind of day.
MJPGrass
2026-02-03 05:20:21 +0000 UTCHey Dukes! I need to tap Cog for our bi-annual Tekken minute. What do you think of the new DLC characters announced (Kunimitsu, Bob, and Roger) and the devs supposed "back to basics" balancing approach? I know season 2 was wacky and alienated a lot of people, but hoping this can bring things back to center. Keep at it fellas. Love the show.
Ronny Barrier
2026-02-03 04:49:28 +0000 UTCHello Ziptastic Dukes, It’s been a while since I wrote in. I’ve been grinding levels,pumping iron and my beef. Matty I never do this but please go play the game *Look Outside*. I feel this classic pixel art game was made as a response to so many modern criticisms that you’ve been spearheading the past couple years. Bad writing,handholding and manipulative practices are nowhere to be seen here. To elevator pitch it: This dark version of earthbound where you are trapped in your apartment building is worth your time! I’ll leave the Dukes with a haiku: The Dukes are like that Dark and white meat is all love Meat on the table
ZipDavis
2026-02-03 00:26:22 +0000 UTCDukes, Now that we are well into 2026 and 2025 is behind us, I wanted to ask, off the top of your minds, what were your favorite and least favorite news stories that you covered, from last year? Have a great Super Bowl Weekend and Go Seahawks.
David Hutchens
2026-02-02 21:34:26 +0000 UTCinteresting to read about Jeffrey Epstein getting banned from XBox Live back in 2013
towtansua
2026-02-02 19:12:51 +0000 UTCHey Dukes, This question is for Matty. Have you had a chance to play Trails Beyond the Horizon yet? I just finished the game and it blew me away. Daybreak II was a bit weak IMO, but Horizon totally turned the ship around and took the story to a place that left me speechless. I know I have recency bias, but I think Horizon might be the best Trails game yet. Anyway, curious to hear if you have any thoughts on the game.
Turd Ferguson
2026-02-02 18:21:20 +0000 UTCHey Dukes. What makes you think that Gears E-Day is still coming this yr? I hope it is, but we still haven't seen gameplay yet. Also, where would it fit this yr? With Fables date not nailed down, but the window set for Fall, and the new cod, and the behemoth that is GTA6, I cant imagine them finding a spot somewhere between September and holiday season start. I just dont see it coming till next yr, what makes you think different? Thanks for all the honest talk about gaming
Angel DeJesus
2026-02-02 17:49:28 +0000 UTCHowdy Dukes! Matty, stoked to hear you reading the Witcher books, you actually got me to start the last wish. Wanted to drop the dukes a few other book recommendations for this gaming/reading overlap. Check out roadside picnic, this is the book that inspired STALKER and one of my all time favorites. Also, can't recommend the metro series enough for us metro/fallout fans. I even discovered there are a ton of resident evil books so who knows I might check out one of those in the RE9 run up. Have a "not gaming but three body problem is the goat trilogy of all sci fi" kind of day
empty_0
2026-02-02 17:43:01 +0000 UTCHey Dukes! As someone who recently purchased the ROG Ally X I’ve been thinking a lot about the benefits of great UI within a console or game. Can you think of an example of a game or console that had exceptionally great UI? Or perhaps which XBOX console do you think is the easiest and most convenient to navigate? Thank you for everything, and I hope everyone has an I’m snowed in with dark meat and throat coat kind of day .
Derpology Mcswag
2026-02-02 17:41:58 +0000 UTC
