2. Soccer + Cars = AWESOME (Rocket League)

When I wanted to bring Rocket League into the real world, I thought I would have to invent a new sport, but it turns out that REAL CAR SOCCER already exists and it’s AWESOME! In this episode of Game Lab I took along CaptainSparklez in my quest to master real-life Rocket League. I’m pretty sure we almost killed each other a few times out there on the track, but we walked away with an incredible appreciation for professional drivers, some pretty sweet trick-stunts of our own, and two utterly destroyed cars!

3. Can Gamers Defuse BOMBS? ft. Game Grumps (Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes)

This is one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever had! Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes may seem like an all-in-good-fun kind of game, but let me tell you, taking it into the real world is a whole different story. For this episode, I brought in The Game Grumps and Lasercorn from Smosh Games to learn the ins and outs of identifying and defusing bombs from members of the LA bomb squad. Then we suited up in real (and REALLY heavy) bomb armor to defuse actual bombs on our own and see who gets blown up first! It’s team Grumps vs. Team MatterCorn – who survives??

4. DON'T GET CAUGHT! Stealthing like Metal Gear Solid

Over the years I’ve done a few theories on Metal Gear Solid, but my research has never involved real army vehicles, real guns, and REAL BOXES! For this episode I brought in a few friends to learn about Metal Gear Solid and real stealth tactics from a veteran and 12-year U.S. Navy Seal…who basically thinks we’re a bunch of gamer pansies. In our challenge we’ll find out just how stealthy we really are at trying to sneak into an actual military supply base in the middle of the night…I’ll give you a hint: not very stealthy.

5. Surviving Five Nights of FEAR!

You know me and animatronic restaurant horror…I just can’t stay away! So when the opportunity to recreate Five Nights at Candy’s came up, you know I was going to Game Lab the heck out of this one. Like every episode of Game Lab, it’s not just about recreating the game in real life, it’s about exploring why the game works and how it applies to the real world. In this episode, we test out the real game mechanics of Five Nights At Candy’s, then learn all about fear responses and why different people respond to these games differently. Our expert for the episode designs some of the most terrifying haunted houses in the world and shows us what it really means to dive into scary games.

6. OSTRICH JOCKEYS?! (Final Fantasy XV)

Get ready for some good ol’ fashioned CHOCOBO RACING! Or, as close as I can get, when I traveled to the Arizona ostrich festival to hop on REAL racing ostriches. And these aren’t cute little chicks we’re talking about—these are gigantic, eight-foot, 40-miles-per-hour racing monsters! I got pecked, stepped-on, and bucked off for an entire day learning how to actually race these birds, then I took on some serious competition in an all out tournament. Learn what it means to “ride an ostrich like a football” and what happens when your bird decides they just don’t feel like finishing the race!

7. Are YOU Being HACKED? (Watch Dogs 2)

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a real life hacker? As someone who works online, it’s one of those things I think about all the time. But it turns out, the truth about hacking is WAY scarier than I could have ever imagined. You know that insane hacking you see in Watch_Dogs and all the bizarre things you can hack like phones, cars, and stoplights? It’s all real, my friends, and it’s just the beginning! For this episode, we brought in two professional hackers to teach us the ins and outs of hacking into a major media company and grabbing data off of their own servers…FOR REAL. This is serious, scary stuff and it completely changed the way I look at the internet and hacking in real life.

8. The Science of Sword Fighting! (For Honor)

For the finale of Game Lab Season 1 I wanted us to go out in style…so I decided to SIEGE MY OWN CASTLE! Or at least, a castle I rented for a day. This was one of the most fun episodes to make in the entire series—I got to learn sword techniques, dress in historic armor and stab the Beard Bros. IN THE FACE! When you think about comparing these games to real life, you think about the weapons and the armor, but you DON’T think about the adrenaline, the fatigue, and the idea of complete strangers running at you with axes. It’s a lot more intense and a lot more dangerous than I ever anticipated!