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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On today's episode, we run down the good, bad, and incredibly problematic news from the recent FFXIV Fan Fest. After speculating about Dawntrail's new jobs and thirsting over hypothetical future bunny girls, we turn our attention to what's quickly become the year's biggest RPG. We still haven't played much of Baldur's Gate 3, but we did both get to make hot trans tieflings in its character creator, so it's a 10/10 for us. Finally, Robin recommends some depressing podcasts, and Willa is in her happy place talking tons of shit about Stray Gods.
Timestamps
(1:50) Final Fantasy XIV: Colonialism Reborn
(36:40) More like Baldur's Great 3 amirite
(57:05) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Read Willa's Stray Gods review, it's really good
Follow us wherever you feel like it
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We're talking about NEWS this week, because coming up with topics is HARD. Overwatch League may be over, Star Wars Outlaws may be a cooking sim, GTA 6 may finally be coming out, and AI definitely has no place in journalism. Then we have an extended segment on what we've been watching this week, including Robin's new favorite anime and the two — excuse me, three — biggest movies of the summer.
Timestamps
(2:00) We're still playing Honkai Star Rail
(11:30) Farewell to OWL
(17:50) Star Wars Outlaws and open-world exhaustion
(26:30) We're hyped for Glorbo
(30:30) Rural Japan Lesbian Polycule
(41:45) Mission: Barbenheimer
We stand with the striking workers of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, without whom none of the films we discussed today could exist. You can donate to support entertainment workers during the strike through the Entertainment Community Fund here.
Mentioned this week
How 'Overwatch' Lost, Then Found Again, the Things That Made It Special
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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In this issue, Willa emerges from a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay with more stories of mutants, homosexuals, and homosexual mutants. It's the second part of our sporadic series on X-Men history, in which Willa covers roughly 40 percent of what she planned to and Robin occasionally knows what's going on. From sexy space wives to scratched corneas, we've got it all this week!
If you haven't heard it yet, start with part 1 here!
And you can follow along with the images we discuss here.
Timestamps
(01:00) Professor Willa's Remedial Mutant Summer School
(1:03:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Cerebro's incredibly detailed history of Madelyn Pryor
Follow us on your hellsite of choice
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
We stand with the striking workers of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. You can donate to support entertainment workers during the strike here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Robin has been upgraded from unemployed to underemployed, so we spend this week talking about jobs. Specifically, job sims. What games belong in this extremely broad genre and do we like any of them? Why do people want to do free digital labor when they don't have to? Is Willa a time-traveling assassin? You'll find the answers to these questions and more in this week's episode.
(02:05) So, what is a job sim?
(17:10) Killing JFK is not a job
(23:10) Job sims for sickos (us)
(36:40) Why do we spend our free time pretending to work?
(45:00) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Future Labors: Hardspace Shipbreaker and Citizen Sleeper in Conversation
‘Hardspace: Shipbreaker’ Understands the Joy and Grace of Good Work
Indie Dev Nadia Nova Talks Building a Community Through Erotica
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To get back into the swing after our week off, we're playing the hits this time by griping about games media and getting excited for indies. First up, Final Fantasy XVI inspires us to talk about the deeply frustrating state of video game reviews and why scores are the least important part of them. Then we move to sunnier territory by running down our favorite parts of the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, which was packed with beautiful, inscrutable games.
Timestamps
(00:40) Somehow Twitter is getting worse
(03:35) Why review scores are bad for everyone (especially indies)
(28:06) There's a Blade Runner game (and more Annapurna Interactive highlights)
(38:45) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Giovanni Colantonio's Final Fantasy 16 review
Robin's Killer Frequency review
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Robin has finally played the Final Fantasy 16 demo, so we're back yet again to share our heretical opinions on Square Enix's next guaranteed 10/10 game. Then we turn to a topic that's much less harmful to chocobos, with Willa's trip to play Tribeca's official game selections in-person. We cut things short this week after Robin's computer goes on strike, a decision which we of course fully support, but Willa sticks around for a quick rundown of the new documentary about Hideo Kojima and the gorgeous narrative game Dordogne.
Timestamps
(02:35) Shiva edging in Final Fantasy XIV
(19:45) Willa's Tribeca troubles
(43:10) Hideo Kojima: Disappointing Willa
(46:00) We don't know how to pronounce Dordogne
Mentioned this week
Despelote feature in the Tribeca Games Showcase (not Day of the Devs obviously Robin)
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Summer game showcase season is in full swing, and may god have mercy on our souls. This week, we talk through the best and worst of Summer Game Fest, Day of the Devs, and too many other shows to list. From fluid herding gameplay to Willa declaring war on Atlus, we cover a lot of ground this time.
Timestamps
(00:30) It's the most insufferable time of the year
(11:30) Citizen Sleeper 2 GOTY 2024 and several lesser games
(32:10) Lies of Persona 3
(39:50) Day of the Devs restores Willa's will to live
(49:50) A tangent on FromSoftware and more good games
(1:01:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Making a Monster by Game Assist
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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Pride is here and we're celebrating by continuing to be gay. What starts as a fun conversation about queer characters ends up as a lament of mainstream queer representation and why it's so important for developers to do better.
(0:30) Happy Pride from two exhausted lesbians
(3:50) No cops at Pride (even in Overwatch)
(12:30) Return to the Homoverse
(20:00) A long rambling conversation about our frustrations with mainstream queer representation
(47:55) Willa drops the mic (or, the life-changing magic of seeing your favs kiss)
(53:45) Go get the Queer Games Bundle 2023 on itch.io
(55:15) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Why Are So Many Queer Characters Straight?
Yes, Dark Sun Gwyndolin Is A Trans Woman, No You Can't Have Her
Fire Emblem Engage needs to let its characters out of the closet
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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Somehow, not-E3 season is already upon us and Sony is first out of the gate to set the bar low. We run through a bunch of games we mostly can't tell apart before Robin falls into a fugue state and rambles about Dragon's Dogma 2 for a while. After Willa shares what she's been reading and watching this week, Robin gives a TotK check-in that's still pretty ambivalent about the whole thing. It's the episode that's technically not telling you to do anything illegal!
Timestamps
(00:30) PlayStation Showcase lightning round
(31:00) Willa regrets agreeing to the Dragon's Dogma segment
(44:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Mission Impossible 2 silent cut
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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It's normie week on Girl Mode, with Willa and Robin actually talking about AAA games for once. First, we discuss our time so far with Tears of the Kingdom, a good game with some big issues worth pointing out. Then Willa dives into her preview of Final Fantasy XVI, a game that's so just dark and gritty dude, and what it means for the series as a whole. We round out the week with video essays, board game talk, and seminal zines about trans pleasure.
Timestamps
(00:50) Tears of the Kingdom is neat and Link is a bottom
(27:25) Finally, a Final Fantasy game for grownups
(44:10) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
'Every Zelda is the Darkest Zelda' by Jacob Geller
Strong Songs on The Legend of Zelda
Space-Cast feat. Amabel Holland
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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