Once Dev was finished with the fearsome vegetables from Cuphead, we sat down with the legendary DJ and former Strictly contestant to discuss his lifelong interest in all things gaming, and explore his gaming CV…

What was the first game you ever played?

I think it was Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, on the Commodore 64. It was some sort of track and field game where you had to hit the A and the Z button to run really quickly…

Who was your favourite gaming character as a kid?

I know it’s a really obvious one, but it’d probably be Sonic. I just remember spending ages trying to draw him and thinking how he had really cool shoes. Not Tails, put it that way. Definitely not Tails. Tails, to me, always reminded me of when you’d go out with one of your mates, and their younger brother had to tag along with you. Proper mood-killer.

What’s been your go-to game over the last few months?

I’ve just got into the new PGA game – 2K21. I'm not a big golf person, but man, it's just designed beautifully. There’s loads of incredible courses from around the world, and it's really hard. It’s one of those games that takes a long time to get good at, you know? I had a mate come round the other day to play it, and honestly, the way we were shouting and jumping off the sofa, you’d have thought England were playing in the World Cup. Absolute scenes.

What’s the most underrated game you don’t feel gets enough credit?

One game I’ve been obsessed with for four or five years is Ark: Survival Evolved. To me that's the best game on the market right now. It’s got a really dedicated community of people who play it, but I still think it flies under the radar of most gamers. There's so much you can do. If you want to have a chilled one you can do some farming; or if you want to you can play against other players and have wars… I don’t even think it’s on most people’s radar, which is a shame.

What’s the most overrated game that you feel gets too much credit?

I feel like there’s a few games that really cash in on nostalgia, you know? Like the remakes of Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Donkey Kong, those types of games. They were impressive back in the day, when you played them on the Nintendo 64 or something like that, but I feel a lot of those titles are not as fun as I remember. Those games have aged like milk. Going back to them is just never as good.

What game do you consider yourself to be the person to beat at?

That’s a tough one… I used to be pretty nifty at Street Fighter. I’m still pretty good. I reckon I could still brush up most of my friends on Street Fighter, or like your average, casual Street Fighter player, but I’m nowhere near pro.

What game do you wish you were the person to beat at?

All the battle royale-style games! So Fortnite, Call Of Duty Warzone, PUBG. I wish I was a really good solo player, taking people on 1 vs 3, but nah… I’m just not! The time it takes to get good at one of those games, I just don’t have it. For me those games just aren’t enjoyable!

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen or heard when playing a game online?

I think any time there’s an argument between an adult and what is clearly a child – who is way better than them at the game – is hilarious. You know, the adult will always say something like, “I’ve got money, a job, a girlfriend,” but ultimately this kid still beat you five times in a row. You know, even when the neighbours are having an argument, I grab the popcorn, so when players are having an argument in a pre-game lobby – I live for that.

What is your proudest gaming achievement?

Beating M. Bison, on hard mode, on Street Fighter. I’m going to make myself sound so old, but with those games, once you’re out of “continueds”, that’s it. You have to go all the way back to the beginning. And M. Bison on hard mode, not only does he have moves that he doesn’t do on some of the other difficulties, but with his speed and unpredictability, even now he stands up as a really hard boss to go back and beat. It’s definitely between that and beating the first Dark Souls game on PlayStation.

What would be your desert island game, and console to play it on?

Fallout 4, on my trusty Xbox. It’s just such a beautiful game. You can play it at your own pace. You can either go around looking for tin cans, or you can go and ruin a bunch of peaceful enclaves, or build outposts… And you can play it through multiple times, and make loads of different decisions, and choose to be a different type of person in each playthrough. I reckon I could play that through a bunch of times before I got bored – or starved to death. Also, maybe the building aspect to it would inspire me to make some Fallout 4-style shack on my desert island!