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Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 156 - Surely We Will Get Better At Predictions One Of These Years? Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

It's prediction time! First we tally up the scores from 2025 to see who the winner of an undecided prize is. Then it's into the future as Robin, Willa, and Zoe (via Willa reading her notes because we won't let her back on the pod) tell you what 2026 will hold for gaming with 100% accuracy.

Timestamps:

(00:35) Robin's dogs, the Pitt, and some Mets talk

(03:43) Our 2025 predictions, which did not go as well as we hoped

(12:47) Making 2026 predictions that will absolutely come true

(26:39) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Hyperbeat, The Expanse)

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 155 - Most Anticipated Games of 2026 (Unless They Get Delayed) Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

To ease into the new year Robin and Willa took it easy and are basically giving you the audio version of those lists every outlet puts out in January. We also talk about Zoe's exploits in Mass Effect and Robin's exploits in getting one over on her landlord.

Timestamps:

(00:12) It's raining cats and possibly ceiling debris

(1:22) A lot of 2026 games getting namedropped

(37:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. the Mass Effect Trilogy, letting Zoe cut your hair, The Twilight Zone, and violating your lease )

Mentioned this week:

dotzip on Perfect Tides

Dying MMO jam

Jennifer English being incredible at the Golden Joysticks

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 154 - The Fourth Annual Girl Mode Awards Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

It’s the Girlies! You know the drill. If you don’t, just listen and you’ll get it. It’s like an awards show but better.

Thanks for listening this year!

You can find a whole list of winners (with a couple of visual aids) here.

Timestamps:

(00:15) The Girlies!

(51:30) Spoilers for Carimara and Old Skies

(54:25) Spoilers end

(1:22:00) Spoilers for Carimara and Silent Hill f

(1:24:20) Spoilers end

(1:37:25) GOTY discussion

(1:43:30) Thematic spoilers for our pick

(1:48:30) Major story spoilers for our pick

Mentioned this week:

Neil Newbon being correct about generative AI

Additional music this episode:

Take me out to the ball game from Trombone Champ

Baby Steps background music

Era Calling from Angeline Era

Nina Pasadena from Skin Deep

I’m A Bitch, My Name’s Robert from Dispatch

I Am Gonna Claw (Out Your Eyes then Drown You to Death) from Hades 2

Robin’s Wanderstop review

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 153 - Finding Our Way Home in Wanderstop and Baby Steps Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

It’s the annual Girl Mode Game Exchange, the episode where we force each other to play one of our favorite games of the year, under penalty of death. This year, we chose Wanderstop and Baby Steps, two games about the struggle to find self-worth that take two very different paths to get there. Only one is obsessed with making you look at donkey dicks, for instance. This year, we were both pretty surprised by our reactions to our games and we didn’t even get furious with each other once, which I think is a first for one of these episodes!

!Spoilers for all of Wanderstop and Baby Steps!

Timestamps:

(00:10) The Great Girl Mode Game Exchange, aka, what we’re doing this week

(03:00) Wanderstop

(1:06:00) Excerpt from “The Everything” by C418 on the Wanderstop OST

(1:06:30) Baby Steps

(2:19:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. a very fucked up situation at Critical Reflex, letting Zoe cut your hair, Pluribus)

Mentioned this week:

Nicole Carpenter’s Wanderstop review

Gio Colantonio’s Baby Steps review

Walter Chaw on Avatar (I can’t remember if our mention of this made the final cut but it’s too late to go back and check and it’s really good either way)

I worked at the creepiest publisher in indie games (CRITICAL REFLEX)

Everything announced at The Game Awards

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 152 - Recession Indicator Lara Croft Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

This week Willa and Robin run through all the announcements at The Game Awards, including: Tomb Raider for the straights, DILF Leon, and Control with a man. Boooooo. Also, more Old Skies talk because it's just that good!

Timestamps:

(00:12) Zoe probably wants to stab Willa (medically)

(02:05) A lot of time spent on Game Awards reveals

(45:00) Less time on Day of the Devs and Wholesome Snack

(51:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Cheese Ball, Octopath Traveler 0, Old Skies)

Mentioned this week:

Everything announced at Day of the Devs

Everything announced at Wholesome Snack

Sharon Begley on James Watson

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 151 - The Finnish Independence Day Special Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

For what ended up being a shorter episode this week, Willa has returned to the land of chocobos and Robin has returned to the land of evil chocobos. Plus, skateboards, mechs, catgirl card games, and famous dead men.

Timestamps:

(00:15) Shoutout to Finland

(01:45) Why are we not playing Final Fantasy 11 right now?

(08:20) Skate Story

(12:30) Outward 2: A game that hates you

(18:40) Detective Instinct colon Farewell comma My Beloved

(22:20) Mirage Miracle Quest and Queen’s Domain demos

(25:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Tom Stoppard, Phantom Brigade)

Mentioned this week:

Robin's Metroid Prime 4 review

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Final Fantasy 11 chocobo sound effect from Sound FX Center

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150 - Do You Think Samus Listens To Girl Mode While Riding Through That Big Desert? Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

This week we are talking gays in space (Metroid Prime 4) and gays in time (more Old Skies) and then Willa and Robin pick what games to exchange for the end of year season because the Girlies will be here before you know it!

Timestamps:

(02:00) Too much talk about Willa's Thanksgiving movie watching

(07:10) Metroid Prime 4

(31:04) HORSES not "Horses"

(38:16) More Old Skies (also briefly Birdcage and Possessors)

(49:14) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The Matrix, Letters From Liselotte, Wicked and other Oz related media)

(55:00) End of year housekeeping

Mentioned this week:

Robin on HORSES

Letters From Liselotte

VGC’s Andy Robinson on Metroid Prime 4

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Episode 149 - The Most Punchable Man in the World Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

This week, we start with hypothetically cool new hardware and Metroid Prime’s hot new feature: mansplaining. Then we move onto games we’ve played, focusing on anticipated talking-to-hot-women simulator Demonschool (unless it gets delayed again in the six hours before this episode posts).

Timestamps:

(01:45) The Girl Mode News Desk: Steam Machines

(15:50) Note: Myles MacKenzie died on the way back to his home planet

(30:00) Where are the Metroid Prime-likes?

(36:20) Videoverse

(47:00) Demonschool

(1:09:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Old Skies, more Atelier Ryza)

Mentioned this week:

Maddy Myers on Super Metroid

Alexa Ray Corriea’s “nag line discourse” post

Robin on Videoverse and Demonschool