Pixel Therapy Pod
79 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 36 ratingsNew perspectives on video game culture and current events, every other Tuesday. We have fun, we go deep, and we explore the love of games within a broader social and cultural context while challenging conventional notions of what it means to be a "gamer"— and who gets to call themselves one.
https://www.pixeltherapypod.com/
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Episodes
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother(s Remake)!
April 02, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 136 MBBrothers: A Tale of Two Sons, originally released in 2013 to critical and fan acclaim, transformed the way many people thought about what games could be and laid the groundwork for director Josef Fares' later explorations in cooperative mechanics (y'all may remember his title It Takes Two won Game of the Year in 2021!). Lovingly remade by Italian developer Avantgarden, critics have been torn on Brothers 2024 -- but we sure aren't! Join us as we re-traumatize ourselves on this heartbreaking a...
Love, Death + Ghosties in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
March 12, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 140 MBJoin us as we break down DON'T NOD's spiritual Vampyr successor, the doomed love story of ghost hunters Red and Antea in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. 0:45 - Patreon shoutouts 3:05 - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 9:10 - Showtime's The Curse 16:51 - discussion of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden begins Side Quest tinyurl.com/opolivebranch Operation Olive Branch is a grassroots collective effort to amplify Palestinian voices and their GoFundMes – visit the link ...
Story Craft: A Conversation with In Stars and Time's Adrienne Bazir
February 06, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 118 MBThis week, we're so excited to welcome cartoonist, animator, and game developer Adrienne Bazir (she/they) into the studio to talk about their 2023 timeloop RPG, In Stars and Time! In Stars and Time is a turn-based RPG that follows a group of adventurers at the end of their journey to defeat a king slowly freezing the land in time. It's also a game about found family, snacks, cosmic indifference, and the power in knowing where you come from and embracing who you are. Safe to say it has us in...
Pixel Therapy's Games of the Year 2023
January 09, 2024 09:00 - 2 hours - 168 MBWelcome to our third annual totally unserious end of year review! Let's dive into some of the games that we were especially delighted, transported, and inspired by in 2023. 3:27 - thank you! 7:14 - 2023 in games - great games vs. terrible layoffs 17:04 - recapping our year in games 31:49 - our 2023 Top 5 games 1:41:58 - honorable mentions 1:48:32 - favorite character of the year Articles Referenced https://www.theverge.com/24009039/video-game-layoffs-2023 Side Quest https://www.in...
In Jusant and Chants of Sennaar, It's the Climb
January 02, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 108 MBAs we close out a difficult year, two great games with interesting parallels remind us to keep it pushing -- with profound meditations on what happens when we look away from the world and from each other. In Rundisc's Chants of Sennaar, a hooded protagonist strives to reach the top of a mysterious tower while decoding language barriers that have kept its inhabitants isolated for generations. In Don't Nod's Jusant, a young climber scales an abandoned mountain in a treacherous journey to resto...
In Thirsty Suitors, Maximalism Meets Emotional Maturity
November 28, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 96.6 MBJala Jayaratne is a bisexual mess! In Outerloop Games' Thirsty Suitors (published by Annapurna Interactive), she skates, cooks, and battles her way through emotionally intense psychodrama encounters with her exes on the path towards accountability and redemption. You know, your classic visit home. Join us as we gush over this absolutely gorgeous game and dive into its endearing emotional depth and celebration of queer truth! Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our upc...
Sailing Towards Utopia in Saltsea Chronicles
October 31, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 120 MBNautical nonsense is absolutely something we wish -- and we never want it to end. Especially when it comes to Die Gute Fabrik's latest narrative adventure masterpiece, Saltsea Chronicles! Join us as we dive into a game full of riches to share, lessons to teach, and mechanics that continue to reimagine and expand what a "visual novel" can be. 4:09 - Our Flag Means Death S2 reactions (no spoilers!) 7:50 - Fingersmith and The Handmaiden 15:24 - Saltsea Chronicles discussion begins Remember...
It's a Megagame Extravaganza! Baldur's Gate 3 vs Starfield!
October 03, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 159 MBIt's a beefy one this week, bois and gworls! Join us as we dive into the year's biggest RPGs -- Larian Studios' long-awaited Dungeons and Dragons adventure Baldur's Gate 3, and Bethesda's much-hyped interstellar action installment Starfield, its first new universe in 25 years! PLUS: We're livestreaming now! Check us out on YouTube, and thanks for all of your support! 4:55 - Patreon shoutouts 7:20 - Spencer's big surprise 11:02 - The triumphant return of Mr. Peepers 💀 13:29 - Starfiel...
In Stray Gods and Goodbye Volcano High, a Spectrum of Queer Musical Adventures
September 05, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBAn end-of-summer extravaganza of queer coming-of-age narrative adventure musicals was not on my bingo card for 2023, but here we are and we're not complaining about it! Join us as we explore two games that could not be more different in their tone and execution, but are linked by coincidental parallels in the form of two player characters striving to understand themselves and their respective worlds through song (and maybe kiss someone along the way). Check out KO_OP's Goodbye Volcano High a...
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a Same Same (But Different) Sequel
August 15, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBThanks for your patience on our slightly-longer than usual episode break! We're so happy to be back with each other and all of you for a deep dive into Night School Studio's Netflix-produced Oxenfree II: Lost Signals! Who doesn't love a good end-of-summer multi-dimensional haunting? Spoiler warning: Light spoilers for the first Oxenfree throughout, as well as very light story spoilers for Oxenfree II. 1:04 - Patreon shoutouts 7:29 - First class travel 14:47 - Oxenfree II discussion Sid...
A Vivid Sense of Place in Dordogne's Hand-Painted Escape
July 18, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 67.3 MBCannes Award-winning director and animator Cedric Babouche crafts a cinematic feast for the senses in sun-soaked Dordogne, a bite-sized narrative adventure from his studio Un Je Ne Sais Quoi and Umanimation and published by Focus Entertainment. Join us as we explore a summery tale about family wounds and childhood memories that may not deliver on all of the plot points it sets up but provides a rich backdrop to explore an idyllic portrait of the French countryside -- perfect for a quiet afte...
Wandering Alone, Linked Together in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
June 27, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBThere's no better way to close out Pride Month than crying about The Legend of Zelda, in our opinion. Join us as we dive into Tears of the Kingdom, the latest entry in Nintendo's storied, cyclical, ever-endearing saga starring a princess, a hero, a land alive with history, and the players who love them. 0:50 - Patreon shoutouts! 2:35 - Are y'all watching The Bear?! 9:53 - Tears of the Kingdom discussion Articles referenced: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: the Kotaku Review ...
More Like Horizon Forbidden West: Slow-Burning Shores, Amirite?
June 06, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 96.6 MBJoin us as we soar upon a Sunwing into Guerilla Games' long-awaited epilogue to 2022's Horizon Forbidden West, among the sun-soaked Burning Shores of post-post-apocalyptic Los Angeles! It's both a bittersweet final adventure with the late, great Lance Reddick and a new kind of journey for the emotionally distant Aloy we've all come to know and love. PS - Happy Pride! 3:35 - Let's get into the PlayStation Showcase! 24:49 - Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores discussion 29:00 - The next...
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is the Horny Card Battler We All Need
May 16, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 80.8 MBI was an agender explorer in a polycule with a hot alien and a goth loner. I was a lesbian scientist who betrayed my lover to save our home, my relationship torn apart by regret and shame. I was a queer botanist who saved our space colony from famine and discovered an ancient civilization. I was all of these people and more in Northway Games and Finji's award-winning I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, released in 2022! Join us as we dive into this story-rich and lovingly rendered RPG/life sim! 2:...
Persona 3 Portable is 14 Years Old and Still Serving
April 11, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 78.8 MBCONTENT WARNING: Persona 3 Portable contains themes and imagery of death and suicide that are discussed in this episode. Break out your eyeliner, let your hair down (preferably over one eye), and dust off your PSP (RIP) -- it's time to dive into everyone's favorite emo high school RPG: Persona 3 Portable!!! It's like Pokémon, if the protagonist wandered into Hot Topic and got REALLY into My Chemical Romance. In the best way. P3P is messy, intense, a little cringe, and a little silly -- but...
HBO's The Last of Us Spoilercast!
March 23, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 74.5 MBLet's get into it! This episode contains spoilers for both Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part I and HBO's television adaptation starring Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. This episode brought to you by Dunkin' oat milk macchiatos and Jamie's slow descent into tsundere romance anime. 0:37 - Patreon shout-outs and check-ins! 6:43 - Reflecting on 10 years as TLOU fans and initial thoughts on the adaptation 21:12 - About that ending... 41:15 - Is TLOU the "greatest story ever told in video game...
SEASON: A Letter to the Future is Everything, and to Everything There is a Season
March 14, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBThis week we're covering Scavengers Studio's SEASON: A Letter to the Future, where a bike riding journey to make an apocalyptic scrapbook had us examining the connectedness of all things and turning to the teachings of Octavia Butler, Grace Lee Boggs, and Renata Price's excellent review for Waypoint to wrap our heads around its poignant, heartwrenching message. Join us in the space between storytelling and memory as we explore this incredible game! 0:58 - Patreon shoutouts and intros 11:5...
Love at the End of the World in A Space for the Unbound
February 21, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 69.2 MBThis week we're all about Mojiken Studio and Toge Productions' A Space for the Unbound: a slice-of-life adventure game with beautifully detailed pixel art set in rural Indonesia in the late 1990s - following high school sweethearts Atma and Raya as they grapple with coming of age as their world falls apart and the very fabric of reality is tested. Ah, youth! CONTENT WARNING: A Space for the Unbound includes depictions of anxiety, depression, and suicide which are discussed during this epis...
Peeling Back the Layers of Pentiment's 16th-Century Onion
January 31, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBYes, the horrors are indescribable, but you've got to serve. Join us as we dive into Obsidian Entertainment's Pentiment, a painstakingly detailed medieval murder mystery that reminds us that time is a flat circle (and what we know of history is often from just one perspective...). Meanwhile, Spencer's falling in love with Murder, She Wrote, Jamie's bingeing Hacks, and everyone is gagged over HBO's The Last of Us! 4:25 - What is this, TV Therapy? 17:39 - Pentiment discussion Side Quest g...
Marvel's Midnight Suns is a Queerplatonic Polycule
January 10, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 64.8 MBNew year, still queer! Spencer and Jamie kick off 2023 with some new directions for the show. Then Spencer tries to communicate the life-changing magic of FuturLab's PowerWash Simulator, which is cheaper than therapy and basically just as effective, while Jamie unpacks the extremely earnest and undeniably queer energy of Marvel's Midnight Suns from Firaxis Games. 0:57 - Intros & catch-ups 7:23 - 13 Going on 30 does NOT hold up 14:27 - BREAKFAST PIZZA?! 19:10 - PowerWash Simulator discus...
Pixel Therapy's Games of the Year 2022
December 20, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 76.8 MBIt's somehow that time again...for our completely unofficial end-of-year reflection and round-up of all the games that made us laugh, cry, and obsess over for weeks! Join us as we close out another great year of sharing our favorite pastime with you, and gear up for another awesome year of gaming yet to come. 1:03 - Announcements, Patreon shoutouts, etc 10:45 - Our play counts 19:27 - 2022 in gaming news highlights 33:07 - Our totally subjective and specific awards! 1:08:00 - Games we...
Growing Up and Getting Better in God of War Ragnarök
November 29, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 87.4 MBHeellloooooooo! We're back from our fall break and you KNOW we had to bring y'all up to speed on everything God of War Ragnarök, the latest installment in the storied series and the direct sequel to Sony Santa Monica Studios' 2018 soft reboot of Kratos' epic coming of age-- even if that age is pushing 1,000. Join us as we revel in each lovingly crafted detail of this masterpiece, try not to cry, and predictably run out of time. Also, Spencer pets a giant isopod and Jamie masters the art of d...
Embedding Values into AI and Finding Focus in Gaming with Wells Santo
August 30, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBWelcome to our 50th episode! Whaaaaat? Thanks for spending two years and countless hours talking games and being gay with us. This week, Spencer and Jamie dive into the delightfully devilish Cult of the Lamb from Massive Monster and Devolver Digital, an addicting mash-up of Hades and Animal Crossing with plenty of poop management. Then Wells Santo (he/she/they) an educator, researcher and activist on the societal implications of technology - especially artificial intelligence - joins to ch...
Indigenous Cyber Noir in Hill Agency: PURITYdecay with Achimostawinan Games
August 09, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 98.5 MBHey gamers! This week, Spencer and Jamie play everyone's favorite kitty cat game -- BlueTwelve and Annapurrna Interactive's blockbuster cat adventure platformer, STRAY! Also, because she's an overachiever, Jamie somehow finds some time to chat about INTERIOR/NIGHT and Xbox Game Studios' experimental interactive narrative game As Dusk Falls. Then we're joined by two of the fine folks at Achimostawinan Games: Art Lead and Character Designer Sadekaronhes Esquivel, and Founder, Owner, and Lead ...
Stories as Safe Havens and Jet Set Radio Future with YA Thriller Author K. Ancrum
July 19, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 91.4 MBHey gamers! It's grab the Nintendo Switch and flop on the bed by the air conditioner weather, and we're ready to get in our feelings! After 90+ hours with just ONE storyline in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Spencer is left with a new appreciation for tactical strategy RPGs; meanwhile, Jamie finally finds the time is right for 2016's The Last Guardian and its beautifully mysterious and heart-wrenching world. Then we're joined by Kayla Ancrum (she/her), author of The Wicker King, The Weight of ...
Thirsty Sword Lesbians and Creating an Aesthetic of Emotion with April Kit Walsh
June 28, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBSup y'all, we're clinging to spots of joy in this burning world! This week, Spencer hosts tea parties and finds their footing as a magical warrior professor in Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo's Fire Emblem: Three Houses, while Jamie gets spooky (but not too scary) in Supermassive Games' The Quarry. Then we're joined by April Kit Walsh (she/her or gay/ghem), a kickass civil liberties lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation as well as the designer behind Gay Spaceship Games -- and the...
The Strategic Satisfaction of FPS and Games as Connection with Ace aka A_TypicalQueer
June 14, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 81.7 MB'Sup, gaymers and theymers? This week, Spencer and Jamie dust off their Nintendo Switches and kick off Wrath Month! Join us as we explore Spencer's extremely late arrival to Sid Meier's Civilization VI and Jamie's dive into Triangle Strategy's SALTY political intrigue. Then we're joined by Ace (they/she), aka @A_TypicalQueer: a content creator, activist working with Equality New York and NEW Pride Agenda, and Director of DEI Consulting at Qweerty Gamers! We talked with Ace about using game...
Unmasking Autism and Embracing Your Inner Alien Prince with Devon Price
May 24, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 85.2 MBThis week, Spencer toils in a mine for fun and lives to tell the tale - and rolls merrily along in Lovable Hat Cult's Journey of the Broken Circle. Then Jamie shares her experiences with Lego Builder's Journey, a surprisingly deep and incredibly satisfying puzzler that's inspired her to engage with a new IRL hobby as well! Then we welcome our first-ever return guest, social psychologist, professor, and author Devon Price! Devon joins to chat about his new book Unmasking Autism, why Link is...
How Citizen Sleeper Sows Hope at the Edge of Space and Knowing Your Nos with Kortney Terry
May 10, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBIt's time to find your place in space and join the big, beautiful, worker-owned rotating city in the sky! We're talking about developer Jump Over the Age's Citizen Sleeper of course, a cyberpunk narrative RPG centered on an escaped worker's efforts to evade their corporate would-be captors and maybe build a little life for themself -- if they can find a way to outwit the "planned obsolescence" of their company-provided synthetic body. Then we're joined by Kortney Terry (aka Sparklykiss), a...
Space Lesbians: The Horizon Forbidden West Spoilercast
April 22, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 68.8 MBWelcome to the first official Pixel Therapy Spoilercast! Join us as we dive into every aspect of Horizon Forbidden West that we didn't or couldn't cover in our normal episodes! 0:54 - Intro 10:12 - Story breakdown and themes 24:30 - On Nemesis as a villain 31:20 - Tilda Van der Meer and unfortunate tropes 41:39 - On final boss battles and the underutilization of Sylens 50:59 - On Beta and healing from childhood trauma 1:00:03 - On Varl and that wild ending 1:12:22 - Identifying wi...
NORCO's Beautiful F-You to the Universe and the Optional Queer Content Problem with Vaneet Mehta
April 19, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 100 MBNORCO: It's the game you can smell! Join us as we wade into the murky waters of Geography of Robots' completely singular Southern Gothic sci-fi point-and-click detective adventure, set among the billowing smokestacks and sinister twilight of a futuristic New Orleans. If you have about 10 hours to spare, it's absolutely a game you'll want to put on your must-play list this year. We can say for sure that Elijah Wood loved it. Then we're joined by Vaneet Mehta (he/him), a software engineer, w...
Elden Ring's Siren Song and Creating for Panic's Playdate with Rokashi
April 05, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 102 MBRise, ye tarnished! This week, Spencer and Jamie explore the game that seems to have sucked in everyone and their grandma (if their grandma is a badass) -- Hidetaka Miyazaki and From Software's ELDEN RING! Join us as we try to put words to the inexplicable pull of Souls games, and debate what inspires some to call ELDEN RING one of the greatest games of all time. Then we're joined by Rokashi, video game developer and writer for the official HBO show tie-in game, Insecure: The Come Up (Glo...
Thirsty NPCs in Horizon Forbidden West and Sensory-Friendly Streaming with Queerlybee
March 22, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 101 MBThis week, a game so nice we had to cover it twice: Horizon Forbidden West! Now that your cohosts have each had 60+ hours with Aloy, join us as we take a closer look at human and machine battle mechanics, analyze the VIBES coming off of NPCs that possess so much repressed longing they should star in their own Bridgerton spinoff, and dream about the day we get some confirmation on Aloy's asexuality! Then Twitch streamer, content creator, and community builder Queerlybee (they/them) joins us...
Keeping Empathy at the Core of Gaming Spaces with Community/DEI Director Raccine Malcolm
March 08, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 108 MBNote: Spoilers for A Musical Story from 57:51 - 1:09:37! It's March, and ALL OF THE GAMES are out. Spencer and Jamie have barely scratched the surface of Horizon Forbidden West's truly epic proportions, but with 30 hours of playtime under their belts, have plenty of feelings to share on what's changed - and what's stayed the same, for better or worse. But that's not all! It's a Double Stuf'd episode this week, as your cohorts also manage to squeeze in a spirited discussion of Glee-Cheese St...
How a Real-Life Celeste is Reaching New Heights for Trans Rights with Erin Parisi
February 22, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 79.6 MBHappy Tuesday, and thanks for tearing yourself away from Horizon Forbidden West long enough to get cozy and chat games with us! This week Spencer and Jamie kick things off with GoodbyeWorld Games' Before Your Eyes, a breathtaking journey through the memories of a spirit approaching judgment in the afterlife -- controlled completely through eye movements and blinking. But that description doesn't do it justice! There are also talking foxes, a mysterious gatekeeper, meditations on what truly m...
On 'Into the Spine' and Persona 5 with Fanbyte's Diego Argüello
February 08, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBHappy love month, Gamentines! That works, right? No? Well, moving on. This week Spencer is super late to the party - Night School Studio's 2019 Afterparty, to be specific: a neon-soaked bar hop through hell with besties Milo and Lola. Meanwhile, Jamie enjoys the little things in Something We Made's greyscale photography adventure Toem. Then we're joined by Diego Argüello (he/him), Editor-in-Chief of Into the Spine and featured contributor at Fanbyte! Diego shares the journey and growth of...
The Effectiveness of Spite and the Allure of Vampyr with Uppercut's Ty Galiz-Rowe
January 25, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBNow is the winter of our gaming discontent, it seems, but so many exciting things are happening and will continue to happen, friends! Why, just now Spencer's willingly playing a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler for the first time in their life and having a blast thanks to Drinkbox's clever and irreverent Nobody Saves the World. Meanwhile, we never thought Jamie would become a League of Legends player - yet she's gotten totally sucked into Ruined King, developer Airship Syndicate's spin-off LoL...
We Accidentally Made a Twilight Episode with Rocket Adrift's Lindsay Rollins
January 11, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBWe're back from our little winter break and ready to talk games! To kick things off, Spencer shares their begrudging enjoyment of Netflix's The Witcher (in no small part thanks to Henry Cavill's gruffly charming Geralt of Rivia) while Jamie gets hype on Arcane, the dynamic and gorgeous animated action-adventure series chronicling the origins of two League of Legends characters - as someone who knows next to nothing about League! Then we take up our burning swords and explore Bandai Namco's o...
Pixel Therapy's Games of the Year 2021
December 21, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 75.8 MBThanks for another great year of sharing stories, leveling up, and discovering ourselves in games! Spencer and Jamie cap the year with a new crop of completely unofficial awards, from Jamie's Game That Was Too Damn Smart for Me recipient to Spencer's Late to the Party pick, there's something here for everyone. Halo fans, we apologize in advance. Happy holidays everyone! We're taking a three-week break to recharge and binge play Tales of Arise, so we'll see you when our first episode of 202...
Unpacking a Big Box of Feelings with KO_OP's Community Manager Marcela Huerta
December 07, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 87.1 MBGood...morning? Night? Who knows, it's dark when we wake up and dark before the workday is over. Perfect weather for gaming though, wouldn't you say? Spencer and Jamie kick things off by hopping on our hoverbikes and gliding across the vast expanse of Sable, an open-world exploration game about a modest, mysterious desert society and finding one's place in the world. Sable was developed by Shedworks and published by Raw Fury, and it's available now on Steam and Game Pass! Then we're joined ...
Trauma-Informed Gaming and the Divine Collective Dream of Hatsune Miku with Aiden Strawhun
November 23, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 90.5 MB29:11 - SPOILERS for Inscryption start 47:53 - End SPOILERS for Inscryption We foolishly thought this year in gaming was winding to a close. We were boarding up our Xboxes, winterizing our PCs, putting the Playstation to bed. (Jk idk what any of that means lmao.) Then Inscryption entered the chat and completely blew our minds, beckoning us to break through the inky-black intrigue of this rogue-like deck-building escape room adventure to find deeper understandings of ourselves as gamers and...
Reclaiming Narratives and Centering Community in Never Alone with Charitie Ropati
November 09, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 81.7 MBMix up your mulled cider and grab a fuzzy blanket - it's time to get cozy and grab your bi-weekly dose of Pixel Therapy! This week, Spencer takes their maiden voyage with their new gaming computer and joins Jamie in playing Witch Beam's brain massaging masterpiece Unpacking - a little game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Then Jamie explores the unexpectedly heartwarming and wholly entertaining new Marvel's Guardians of the G...
To the Moon and the Spider Diagram of Autism with Laura Kate Dale
October 26, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 87.9 MBNote: This episode contains some light spoilers for To The Moon starting around 1:09:00! Happy Halloween, gamers!! Pick out your favorite candy from the pile and join us around the pixelated fire as Spencer plays their scariest game yet in Bloober Team's eerie and atmospheric The Medium, while Jamie takes to the stars in Outer Wilds' new expansion-slash-sequel-within-a-game, Echoes of the Eye! Then we're joined by the delightfully insightful Laura Kate Dale, video game butt reviewer, game...
The Antidote to Doomscrolling and The Witcher 3 with Games Journalist Isaiah Colbert
October 12, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 90.4 MBHappy SpOoKy SeAsOn!! Spencer has orange hair and Jamie wants a 12-foot tall skeleton! We're on theme with the games this week, too: join us as we dive into the bleak, unsettling-yet-sweet visual novel Little Misfortune from Killmonday Games, and the vibrant, gorgeous, decaying world of action-adventure debut Kena: Bridge of Spirits from Ember Lab. Then we're thrilled to be joined by Kotaku staff writer Isaiah Colbert (he/they)! We had an absolutely lovely time chatting with Isaiah on writi...
It's Our 1-Year Anniversary! with Your Co-Hosts, Jamie and Spencer
September 28, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 97.2 MBDo you feel that fresh, crisp mountain breeze? Catch the light scent of weed smoke lilting jauntily in the air? This week, Spencer and Jamie kick things off from the sun-soaked roof deck of Alex Chen, resident empath detective of Haven Springs, Colorado and the heroine of Life is Strange: True Colors from Deck Nine and published by Square Enix. Join us as we explore the game's stacked emotional toolkit and expressive nuance that, dare we say, sets a new standard in games. Then we take a bea...
How Kena: Bridge of Spirits was Shaped by Balinese Gamelan with Dancer and Artist Ayu Larassanti
September 14, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBIt's an exciting time to be a Playstation fan, or a Sony pony, as Jamie always says! Fresh off of the forthcoming God of War: Ragnarok trailer that debuted at Sony's Playstation Showcase 2021, we kick things off with some excited speculation about the new characters that were introduced: Tyr, Thor, and Angrboda! Then, Jamie takes us on a ride through the sun-drenched, small-town roads of Providence Oaks in Gamious' new mailperson simulator/slice of life drama, Lake. But the fun doesn't sto...
DIYing Game Dev with Game Designer in Residence and Author Anna Anthropy
August 31, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 92.5 MBHi, everybody! This week, Spencer returns to the fold of Microsoft after a long hiatus (like, since the Xbox 360 in 2005!) and joins the rest of you gamers in the future with a brand-new Game Pass-installed Xbox Series S! Spencer and Jamie return to the island of Tsushima with the new Ghost Director's Cut (thank you Sucker Punch), and Jamie takes us on a tour of the short and bittersweet Necrobarista! Then, we're joined by Anna Anthropy, video game and role-playing game designer, interacti...
Envisioning Our Best Selves in Mass Effect with Professional Trekkie Swapna Krishna
August 17, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 92.5 MBCan YOU nonchalantly say that LeVar Burton has been a steadfast friend to you? This week's guest can, and we're still recovering. But before we get to that, Jamie and Spencer kick things off by diving into two 10-hour visual novel-esque games that couldn't be more different in their content and execution: Kitfox Games' Boyfriend Dungeon and Modern Storyteller's The Forgotten City! Join us as we date weapons and sink our teeth into some queer subtext, and work to escape a time loop while evad...
Adapting to Change and Shifting Perspectives with Beekeeper Ang Roell
August 03, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 79.1 MBSup y'all! August already?! Spencer kicks things off this week by hurling baseless accusations at Jamie for not vocally praising Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart enough (which has dimensionated itself right into Spencer's heart and the top of their totally unofficial Games of the Year list), while Jamie shares a peek into Death's Door and the life and times of a soul-reaping crow. Then we continue the totally unintentional animal friend theme, as apiarist aka BEEKEEPER and co-founder of The...
Games as Explorations of Desire with Writer and Adult Developer Ana Valens
July 20, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 95.7 MBNote: This episode includes discussions of sexuality, with some references to BDSM and kink. Howdy, y'all! Spencer and Jamie kick things off this week with a little HOT, SPICY, and SPIRITED debate (for us) on Armature Games' new surreal narrative adventure: Where the Heart Leads! Tumble into the time sinkhole with us as we delve into this 600,000-word everyday epic about a family man who finds himself reliving the formative moments of his life, including his present and even his future- an...