I tested recipes from the Apex Legends cookbook | Kaser Focus

Getting an email asking if I want a copy of “the Apex Legends cookbook” was one of the most WTF moments of my year thus far, but once I knew it existed, I had to have it. Before I left for GamesBeat Next, I was perusing and casually testing some of the recipes in the book, and let me tell you: The Apex Legends cookbook is a goldmine of comedy, if not of particularly inventive recipes. Some of the food feels artificially tied to specific characters — Octane has a couple of recipes in the book (both good, too), and I’ll remind you the character is canonically a thrill-seeking drug addict. I want nothing to do with whatever he puts in his body.

The first, and tastiest thing I cooked from the book was Mirage’s pork chops. Back in the early days of Apex, Mirage offering an actual recipe for said chops was one of his stand-out character traits, and I remember the absolute agony that Andrew Rea of Binging With Babish put himself through trying to recreate it. It seems the writer of the book took that to heart and omitted the offending ingredient — cloves — but managed to put in another overpowering flavor: Balsamic vinegar. That was the primary ingredient in the sauce and once completed, it was all I was able to taste. But the pork chops themselves were still delicious, and I will very likely make them again.

Speaking of GamesBeat Next, I had a great time at this week’s conference and enjoyed the time to catch up with several of the people I respect in the industry. I got the chance to lead my third Women in Gaming Breakfast, where I spoke with some of my favorite people about twisty career paths (and considering my first ever job was on a horse ranch and I somehow ended up here, I can relate). For those of you who joined us, thanks for being there and I hope me walking around with devil horns on the second day didn’t alarm you too much.

In personal news, I’ve been trying to mop up the rest of October’s releases. I’ve already hit Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and a handful of Game Pass releases such as Cities: Skyline II and Forza Motorsport. I still have to try Alan Wake 2 and several of the other games that came out in this frankly overindulgent month.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Alan Wake 2
• Cities: Skylines II
• Ghostrunner 2
• Just Dance 2024
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1
• Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
• Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery
• Stray Souls
• RIPOUT

New on subscription services:

• Dead Space (Xbox Game Pass)
• Mineko’s Night Market (Xbox Game Pass)
• Super Adventure Hand (Prime Gaming)
• Cricket 22 (GeForce Now)
• Deceive Inc. (GeForce Now)
• Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (GeForce Now)
• Dishonored Definitive Edition (GeForce Now)
• Dishonored 2 (GeForce Now)
• Ghostwire: Tokyo (GeForce Now)
• The Gunk (GeForce Now)
• Kill It With Fire (GeForce Now)
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition (GeForce Now)
• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (GeForce Now)
• Vampire Survivors (GeForce Now)
• Mario Party 3 (Nintendo Switch Online)
• NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition (Apple Arcade)