Stay ConnectedGirl Mode is a podcast (mostly) about video games by two trans women and gaming journalists where we talk about the latest news in the industry, our takes, weekly topics, and more about the Mets than you’re probably expecting.
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We've been playing an absurd number of demos this week, thanks to the return of the Steam Next Fest! Tune in to sample our tasting menu of games, including at least one we'll probably both be talking about obsessively for quite some time. Then, TV critic Willa Rowe stops by with her fall anime preview.
Mentioned this week
Way too many things so you're just going to have to listen to the episode <3
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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We're confronting the mortifying ordeal of being known this week by discussing multiplayer games. What do we want from multiplayer, which games are better with an audience, and can you believe Willa didn't tell Zoe she was a fucking cop? Then, it's an extended segment on what we've been doing this week, since Robin can't shut up about her time as a cute little bug.
(00:45) The really old books cinematic universe
(06:00) What if video games but also other people
(39:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?
Mentioned this week
Robin still can't shut up about Cocoon
A Deep Dive into the Queer Coding of Genshin Impact
How Can We Bear to Throw Anything Away?
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Donate to Medical Aid for Palestine to help with urgent medical needs caused by Israel's attacks on Gaza.
We stand with Palestine against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
You're not gonna believe this, but a conversation about a AAA action game leads into an extended lament for the state of the games industry in this episode. That's bookended by Willa failing to show sufficient respect for Dragon's Dogma 2, some really good Pokemon art, and Robin sharing good news on this show for once in her fucking life.
Timestamps
(00:30) Quokka Talk/Willa's new coworker
(05:30) Dragon's Dogma 2 is wasted on some people
(29:00) Assassin’s Creed Mirage And the Tragedy of AAA
(54:00) So Pokemon's collaborating with Hatsune Miku
(59:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Dragon's Dogma 2 Gives Capcom's Cult RPG a Second Chance
Willa's Assassin's Creed Mirage review
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Follow us on whatever site you use to browse horny fan art
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This week, we start with Dragon's Dogma, Yakuza, and other updates from the games marketing event extended universe. Then we catch up with all the news we straightup forgot about last week, namely Unity fucking everyone over and Microsoft using court filings as a venue for legal exhibitionism.
Timestamps
(00:20) Rain (the video game) inspired by rain (the weather phenomenon)
(02:00) Even more showcase stuff
(15:50) Everyone hates Unity
(30:20) Microsoft's big oopsie
(56:50) The New York Times rediscovers video games
(1:05:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?
Mentioned this week
The Curious Case of Dragon's Dogma 2's Steak
Leveling Up on the Video Game Beat
Pseudoregalia fan art
https://twitter.com/rataGENKI/status/1704074914029048308
https://twitter.com/Fenarok/status/1704133583588209003
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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Nintendo and Sony both bombarded us with promotional materials this week, so we're covering the Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play. Then we talk about how much we love Armored Core 6, which we played only a few hours of before recording and it's all we can think about.
Timestamps
(01:00) Swordfighter Peach Appreciation Society
(16:45) Willa fixes FF7 Rebirth
(32:20) We're fully mech pilled
Mentioned this week
The Scandalous Life of France's Bisexual Opera Icon
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Follow us where you follow people
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This week's theme is "Robin and Willa have been too busy to talk so we're catching up now." We share what games we've been enjoying and not enjoying lately, Willa turns out not to be a very good detective, and Robin absolutely fails to guess Zoe's Baldur's Gate 3 companion tier list.
No timestamps this week because we talk about too much and I'm very busy :)
Mentioned this week
Willa on Assassin's Creed Mirage https://www.inverse.com/gaming/assassins-creed-mirage-modern-day
https://www.inverse.com/gaming/assassins-creed-mirage-demo
Giovanni Colantonio on what makes a game great
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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We're keeping it (relatively) short this week for purely thematic reasons and not because we're both tired and busy. Inspired by Sea of Stars' fishing, we talk about our favorite and least favorite minigames, including one that threatens to break up Girl Mode.
(1:00) What if we put a game inside of a game
(14:00) Willa decides to end Robin's life
(20:10) Blitzball, Gwent, and even more minigames
(38:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?
Mentioned this week
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Willa visited her hometown this week, and somehow it made us both nostalgic. After playing Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Sea of Stars, we're talking about retro throwbacks — games that intentionally evoke their old-school influences. We cover what makes this sub-genre so popular, the different ways nostalgia can be deployed, and cats wearing mech suits.
Timestamps
(00:20) A whole bunch of bullshit
(07:15) Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Sea of Stars aren't quite scratching the itch
(29:40) Nostalgia as a genre
(55:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week
Follow us on socials (and email us life advice)
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Love is in the air this week as we're still playing Baldur's Gate 3, a game about getting down with your problematic favs and I guess saving the world or whatever if there's time left over.
After sharing our thoughts on BG3's romance and why it's maybe been a little overblown, we talk about what does and doesn't work in game romance generally. Surprising no one, we end by recommending some indie games we think get it right.
Timestamps
(00:30) Romance, love, smooching, etc.
(02:20) Tiefling dating sim check-in
(29:20) Hades and other games that do it right
(56:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Willa on BG3's shocking lack of threesomes
Sludge Bunny ("if you like punk rock or trans people")
Action Buttons Reviews Tokimeki Memorial
Girl Mode's Favorite Games for Cool Trans People
Follow us on sites in various states of collapse
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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[Baldur's Gate 3 Act 1 spoilers from 3:20 to 53:25]
We're actually in sync with the rest of the world this week, meaning we've done nothing but play Baldur's Gate 3. We cover our favorite encounters so far, who we're smooching, thoughts on why BG3 would be better untethered from D&D, and of course our take on THAT video.
Timestamps
(00:20) Kafka check-in
(03:20) Karlach Appreciation Society
(53:25) The discourse discourse
(1:21:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?
Mentioned this week
Xalavier Nelson Jr. on BG3 and "raised standards"
Baldur's Gate 3 is Causing Some Developers to Panic
Gareth Damian Martin on why devs aren't and shouldn't be panicking
Turns out the tweet about BG3's eurocentric character creator was from the great Sisi Jiang
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