Girl Mode

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

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Episode 98 - Demo Fiends with Rachel Watts! Oct 23, 2024

Willa has taken a vow of silence in honor of her beloved Mets, so this week Robin is joined by writer, editor, and podcaster Rachel Watts! Our giggly, tangent-filled conversation covers our favorite demos from the most recent Steam Next Fest, with lots of recommendations for promising upcoming indie games.

Timestamps

(00:30) Hello Rachel Watts!

(03:45) Citizen Sleeper 2

(08:15) *computer voice* Wormhole

(14:25) Great God Grove

(21:20) 30 Birds

(27:20) Scarlet Deer Inn

(34:15) Proverbs

(38:20) Keep Driving

(45:50) Touch Type Tale

(50:55) Sorry We're Closed

(56:50) Mainframes

(59:50) Is This Game Trying to Kill Me?

(1:08:00) Trip

(1:13:30) Spilled!

(1:18:05) What else have Rachel and Robin been up to? (feat. touching grass and Barbarian)

Mentioned this week

Rick Lane’s Demo Disc

Rachel and Robin’s demo lists

Follow Rachel on Twitter and Bluesky

Listen to Indieventure

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

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Episode 97 - The Care and Feeding of a Big Magic Wolf Oct 16, 2024

We got to play one of our mutual most anticipated games of the year this week and were apparently the only people not won over by its big sad wolf. We also talk about how fucking good Citizen Sleeper still is, and cover a new tabletop-inspired tactics game that’s very fun but maybe a little misguided.

Timestamps

(1:00) Let’s continue going Mets

(5:20) Neva didn’t make us cry, it just make us bored

(25:00) Neva spoilers begin

(31:25) Neva spoilers end

(39:30) I can't believe Citizen Sleeper 2 is good

(1:00:30) Sunderfolk is fun, but who is it for?

(1:29:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Joker: Folie à deux, Birds of Prey, Rings of Power, As We Descend)

Mentioned this week

Robin on Neva and Sunderfolk

Willa on Neva and Sunderfolk

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 96 - Girls With Swords & Really Freaky Dudes Oct 09, 2024

This week, we’ve both played some games but none of the same ones, so we’re telling each other about Echoes of Wisdom, Metaphor: Refantazio, UFO 50, and (extremely briefly) Diablo 4. And yes, we also talk about the Mets.

Timestamps

(01:05) The Mets are getting close (to the world series)

(09:40) Echoes of Wisdom

(30:20) Metaphor: Refantazio

(56:00) UFO 50

(1:10:40) One minute of Diablo 4

(1:12:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. More Than a Married Couple But Not Lovers, Horimiya, We Had No Rules, Will & Harper)

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Episode 26: Giant-Size Girl-Mode #1

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Episode 95 - It's Time to Fuck With the X-Men Oct 02, 2024

A runtime this long can only mean one thing. Our X-Men series continues this week as Willa and Robin examine the comics of noted shithead Joss Whedon.

You can follow along with this week's visual learning material here.

If you're new to the show (hi, hello, so glad you're here), you may want to listen to the rest of our X-Men history lessons here before diving in!

Episode 38: The Sisterhood of Evil Podcasters

Episode 56: Castle of Lesbianism

Episode 72: Goin' Down to Mutant Town

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

The Plucky Squire: The Kotaku Review

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Episode 94 - The Memorial Grimace Podcast Sep 25, 2024

Robin and Willa have both played The Plucky Squire, a kids’ game with some questionable puzzle design that we’re both pretty fond of nonetheless. Then we talk about some things we’re considerably less fond of, namely, just about every decision PlayStation has made recently (except a beautiful new controller).

Timestamps

(00:50) More Mets news

(04:20) The main event (The Plucky Squire)

(25:20) Plucky Squire spoilers begin

(32:20) Plucky Squire spoilers end

(42:10) Sony being Sony (releasing unnecessary remasters)

(48:25) We will stop complaining about Astro Bot when Sony sends us PlayStation anniversary controllers

(52:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The People's Joker, Steam Deck x PlayStation Remote Play)

Mentioned this week

UFO 50 review: the 8-bit era returns in this fantastic retro collection

Pirate Kart Dot Com

Indiepocalypse

Horizon Zero Dawn and Freedom Wars Remasters Show the Ups and Downs of the Remake Trend

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Astro Bot is a Colorful Playground Built on Top of Studios Sony Crushed

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Episode 93 - Giving the People What They Want (Mets Updates) Sep 18, 2024

This week we played Astro Bot, a cheerful platformer/Sony commercial that everyone loves. After predictably finding a lot not to love about it, we run through the rest of our week, careening wildly from Chappell Roan to Flappy Bird and more.

Timestamps

(00:20) Hello new listeners

(06:25) Let’s go Mets!

(08:30) Astro Bot, brought to you by Sony

(41:00) News grab bag (fun edition)

(46:00) Robin played some cool indie games (feat. Pyrene, Caravan Sandwitch)

(52:00) News grab bag (bad edition)

(57:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves)

Mentioned this week

Check Out This Amazing Paintbrush Controller Someone Made For FF14's Brush-Wielding Pictomancers

Pyrene Combines Two Popular Genres to Build Something Totally Unique

Caravan SandWitch Is A Slow-Paced Journey I’d Gladly Take Again

Annapurna Video-Game Team Resigns, Leaving Partners Scrambling

Flappy Bird Is Back But This Time It Sucks

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Nintendo Needs a Reason for the Girl to be the Hero

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Episode 92 - We've Been Cancelled by Sony Sep 11, 2024

After an exciting announcement about the podcast, we have a wide-ranging show this week, covering the return of sword discourse, two recent PlayStation games we feel weird about, and some brief thoughts on a whole bunch of news that broke this week.

Timestamps

(00:30) We’re officially garbage

(04:30) Echoes of Wisdom and the return of sword discourse

(19:50) RIP Concord

(27:50) Astro Bot looks like a cheerful nightmare

(33:20) Willa’s gone space fishing

(36:00) FFXIV players get weird about a trans woman

(40:00) Arcane season 2 looks good as hell

(42:40) What is Dragon Age: The Veilguard is good?

(52:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Rings of Power, Twin Peaks)

Mentioned this week

Concord’s rocky launch is less complicated than you think

Astro Bot - Bot On Melancholy Hill

How Apex Legends made its first trans woman more than “the transition story”

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

dotzip talks for five hours about 1000xResist

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Episode 91 - Big Nap Energy Sep 04, 2024

In today’s episode, we’re feeling normal about last week’s sicko-centric Nintendo Direct double feature. We cover a surprisingly stacked set of announcements, revisit the dating sim discourse that will never die, and predictably have different reactions to a re-release of a certified Old Person Game.

Timestamps

(01:30) Two normal people talk about the Indie World Showcase

(14:00) Date Everything and the return of dating sim discourse

(23:50) Nintendo Direct: Dorks and Losers Edition

(49:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Alien: Romulus, dotzip’s 1000xResist episode, The Rings of Power, and Star Wars Outlaws)

Mentioned this week

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Shorter standalones like Dying Light: The Beast are "the future of games"

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Episode 90 - Kratos Takes Manhattan Aug 28, 2024

Willa makes her triumphant return and we celebrate by talking about everything we liked and mostly didn’t from Gamescom Opening Night Live. We cover takes both good and bad, commit to playing yet another game we definitely don’t have the time for, and run through the best (and in one case worst) of what we’ve been playing, watching, and eating this week.

Timestamps

(02:40) Gamescom sure did happen

(05:40) We love shorter(ish) games

(11:30) Secret Levels looks whatever

(25:50) Peter Molynieux please never change

(29:00) This time for sure for real we will play Monster Hunter

(31:20) Misc. Gamescom

(41:20) Willa’s plane games (feat. A Highland Song, Arranger)

(47:00) The duality of Square Enix (feat. Visions of Mana, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance)

(57:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Christopher Nolan's entire filmography, Forever by Charly Bliss, and a baking revelation)

Mentioned this week

A List Of Every Game Featured In Amazon’s Promising ‘Secret Level’ Show

So yeah, since we recorded this, Wizards of the Coast walked back its most recent idiotic move. Here’s a great explainer from Ash Parrish on the whole debacle: D&D publisher walks back controversial changes to online tools

Video game lawyer Haley Maclean explains copyright law

Monument Valley 3 Looks So Good You Might Actually Remember Netflix Games Exists

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

We played Valve’s secret new shooter, Deadlock

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Episode 89 - The Steam Deck Renaissance with Brendon Bigley! Aug 21, 2024

With Willa fleeing the country for reasons I can’t disclose here, Into the Aether cohost Brendon Bigley stopped by to chat this week! We cover Shy Guy Surfing, Brendon’s most formative childhood game, the surprising 2024 release he can’t stand, and of course, where the key grips stand on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Timestamps

(00:30) What’s your deal, man?

(16:00) Shy Guy Surfing and other actual games

(20:30) The game that made Brendon

(33:00) Shit-talk corner

(40:00) The Deadlock Saga

(54:00) What else have Brendon and Robin been playing/doing? (feat. a game I don’t want to spoil, Fields of Mistria, Man I Just Wanna Go Home, and Minishoot Adventures)

Mentioned this week

The Bright Sword is a Radiant Reimagining of Arthurian Legend

Brendon’s blog, Wavelengths.online

Listen to Into the Aether!

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 88 - We All Love Big Pretzels Aug 14, 2024

Borderlands the movie is out and we couldn't be more excited to hear about how terrible it is. After that, we realize that a sequel to The Order 1886 would be the best game ever, get cautiously excited about two newly announced spiritual sequels, and talk about a couple of new games we actually liked.

Timestamps

(01:30) A vault full of disappointing bullshit

(15:00) The Order 1986

(24:00) ONE BTN BOSSES

(27:30) Creatures of Ava

(35:00) Dishonored 3, kind of

(40:30) Is this Terranigma 2?

(45:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

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Episode 87 - My Nintendogs Are Gonna Kill Me Aug 07, 2024

Shockingly, the news remains bad, so we’re keeping it short this week for the good of all of our mental health. We cover the Olympics, Star Wars Outlaws, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and another awful week for the games industry and games media.

Timestamps

(01:00) I guess this is a sports podcast now

(11:50) Maybe Star Wars Outlaws will be good?

(15:40) Let’s get sad! (RIP Game Informer, fuck GameStop forever)

(21:20) We’re transitioning into Pokémon

(29:50) Let’s get sad again (RIP a bunch of Bungie staff, fuck Pete Parsons forever)

(32:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. SteamWorld Heist II, Babel by R.F. Kuang)

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Assassin's Creed Developers Didn’t Have To Explain Their Game

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Episode 86 - You Deserve A Banh Mi Jul 31, 2024

Like most weeks, there’s a lot of bad news this week, as we talk through the death by restructuring of Humble Games and Ubisoft making everything worse by both-sidesing racism. Then we pull out of a nosedive with a SAG-AFTRA strike and the formation of a massive game dev union at Blizzard, complete with a little union 101 session courtesy of a listener’s questions and quotes from World of Warcraft senior producer Samuel Cooper!

Timestamps

This is already coming in late so no timestamps, sorry!

Mentioned this week

Kazuma Hashimoto on Ubisoft bullshit

Humble Games Lays Off All Employees, Carries On In Name Only

Humble Games ‘Restructuring’ Shows There’s No Easy Answer to Gaming’s Layoff Crisis

World of Warcraft Devs Form Blizzard’s First Wall-to-Wall Union 3 Years After Walkout

Five Years Later, Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ Best Character Is Still Edelgard

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Overwatch 2's new space girl healer takes the throne as one of the most strategically satisfying heroes in the game

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Episode 85 - Go Play Gravity Rush and Pray for the Mets Jul 24, 2024

We’re running through some news updates first this week, from alarming details about the death of one of the best game studios ever to Overwatch’s latest attempt to convince us it’s good again. Then we talk through some recent games we’ve been getting into, and by recent we mean some of them are 20 years old.

Timestamps

(00:20) The Mets are not doing great

(03:20) Spooky scary bag head man update

(8:20) Japan Studio you will live forever in our hearts

(13:00) Congrats Bethesda *The Internationale begins playing*

(16:00) Juno came from space to make Willa play Overwatch again

(21:30) Recent games roundup (feat. Riven, The Star Named Eos, Jeanne d’Arc, Cataclismo, Diablo 2, Nobody Wants to Die)

(49:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Spy x Family, Mayonaka Punch, Interview With A Vampire, An Education in Malice)

Mentioned this week

.45 Parabellum Bloodhound Trailer

Parasite Eve-Inspired Cyberpunk Game Announced, Looks Cool As Hell

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Is Xbox Game Pass really worth it anymore?

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Episode 84 - Looking Out for Number Zero Jul 17, 2024

There’s lots of news to cover this week, so we’re spending half an hour talking about Endwalker instead. Also the Mets missed their shot this week and we’re bummed about it.

Timestamps

(00:30) Having a non-apocalyptic one

(01:30) Mets update

(04:00) Spooky scary bag head man

(07:00) Xbox Game Pass sucks now

(16:40) Jeanne d’Arc hive rise up

(19:00) Willa finished Endwalker/Tons of FFXIV spoilers

(45:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Flock, Spy x Family, Assassins)

(57:00) Mets update update

Mentioned this week

Final Fantasy 14’s Post-Endwalker Story Feels Like A Mini-Expansion In The Best Way

Flock Is A Delightfully Chill Birdwatching Game I Can’t Stop Playing

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

"Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria" Part 1: The Cooties Theory of Transgender Identity

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Episode 83 - The Best and Worst Games of 2024 (So Far) Jul 10, 2024

We’re halfway through 2024, so this week we’re running through our GOTFHOTY (Game of the First Half of the Year) picks and of course talking shit on this year’s most beloved games that we don’t like.

Timestamps

(00:30) Copious table setting

(03:30) Six months of being haters (the worst game of the year)

(19:00) Games we need to go back to

(24:00) Underrated games

(26:20) Surprise Mets break

(28:00) Back to 1000xResist (and more underrated games)

(34:00) Lots of Hoyoverse talk

(46:00) What we’re looking forward to in the next six months

(51:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

‘The Bear’ Season 3 review: Carmy bears down on success, with uneven results

The Bear Season 3 Premiere is A Messy Amuse-Bouche

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Was A Flawed Finale I'll Never Forget

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Episode 82 - We're Gay for Baseball Jul 03, 2024

As usual, we kick things off this week with Willa’s thoughts on the Mets, then move into Willa’s thoughts on Endwalker (which she likes less than the Mets). After an Alan Wake detour, we then dive into the excruciating but still funny Shadow of the Erdtree difficulty discourse and other meandering thoughts about Elden Ring. Let’s go Mets!

Timestamps

(00:30) Willa is here to talk about the Mets

(11:30) Endwalker is generally bad, but also good (or vice versa)

(29:40) Night Springs is also good

(35:50) *sigh* Elden Ring difficulty discourse

(56:50) Baseball lore

Mentioned this week

If Shadow of the Erdtree Feels Too Hard, Try Playing Like Hidetaka Miyazaki

Elden Ring balance update makes the first half of the DLC easier, so you don't have to be as good as games journalists

Jose Iglesias singing OMG!

Elden Ring streamers Robin has been watching: Alyska, elliejoypanic, ohlindsey, skyytea, wraff

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Princess Zelda Doesn’t Need A Sword to Be A Hero In The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

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Episode 81 - The Sword Issue Jun 26, 2024

We survived the game showcase gauntlet and our reward is one more game showcase — but good this time! This week is a Nintendo Direct spectacular covering everything from the Apple Arcade jailbreak to the surprisingly controversial Legend of Zelda game where we finally get to fucking play as Zelda.

Timestamps

(01:00) Nintendogz, Catgirl Simulators, and the Nintendo Direct

(04:10) Mario and Luigi: Brothership

(09:00) Fantasian and Hello Kitty escape Apple Arcade (plus “other stupid announcements”)

(19:00) Dragon Quest trilogy

(32:00) Metroid Prime 4 and the Nintendo Switcheroo

(36:20) Put some respect on Zelda’s name

(59:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Metroid Prime and Arcane)

Mentioned this week

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Listen to us on Into the Aether!

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Episode 80 - The Beauty of an Ollie Jun 19, 2024

Fresh off SGF, we’re covering even more showcases this week, with Ubisoft Forward and Willa’s takes on the Tribeca games selection. We’re also running down some great Steam demos for games that should be on our radar. And if that’s not enough for you, Into the Aether invited us to be guest hosts this week (for some reason) along with Emily Price, Tamoor Hussain, and AJ Fillari, so please check it out!!!

Timestamps

(00:40) We’re on Into the Aether baybeee!

(02:50) Half of Girl Mode is excited for Star Wars Outlaws

(10:45) Both of us are intrigued by Assassin’s Creed Shadows

(19:20) Some of our favorite Next Fest demos! (feat. Tormenture, One Button Bosses, Dice & Fold, Whimel Academy

(36:30) Willa’s field report from Tribeca Festival

(1:06:45) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Ring Fit Adventure and Valorant on console)

Mentioned this week

Willa previews darkwebSTREAMER, Neva, and Skate Story

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Citizen Sleeper 2 Ups The Ante With A Bigger And More Dangerous World

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Episode 79 - Summer Game Fest: Better Than Expected Edition Jun 12, 2024

We’re rounding up some of last weekend’s game showcases, and mostly focusing on what we actually liked there for once! Despite Geoff Keighley’s dire warnings, SGF was pretty good this year, at least according to Robin who’s typing this right now. Then, Willa walks us through her demo of Citizen Sleeper 2, which Robin is definitely not envious of, before Joanna Dark barges in.

Timestamps

(00:40) Welcome to Keigh3

(02:00) How to watch (and not watch) games showcases

(11:00) Games we liked at SGF (feat. Neva, Blumhouse games, Alan Wake, Outersloth, and more)

(30:30) Games we liked at Day of the Devs (feat. basically everything at Day of the Devs)

(44:30) Picking a bone with Devolver

(48:20) Honorable mention for Ebitapes

(52:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (Willa’s Citizen Sleeper 2 preview)

(1:07:20) The Perfect Dark interruption (not in real time because there was a lot of dead air)

(1:10:55) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (Robin played some demos)

Mentioned this week

How the fight for bodily autonomy shaped 2022's most fascinating video game

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Watch Drawfee’s charity stream June 8 at 2 p.m. Eastern

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Episode 78 - Summer Game Fest: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up Edition Jun 07, 2024

OK, this episode is very late so I’m posting it without show notes or you’d have to wait even longer. We talked about Summer Game Fest and how Geoff Keighley wants you to calm down about it, State of Play and how we wish someone would have warned us it would be bad ahead of time, and an inexplicable amount of baseball. Enjoy!

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Druckmann's unedited transcript

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Episode 77 - ACAB Includes Duck Detective May 29, 2024

This week, Robin had too much coffee and she’s here to YELL. Fortunately, there’s plenty to YELL about, from Neil Druckmann (again) to AI (again) to layoffs (again). After lots of shouting, we finally talk about a whole bunch of things we actually liked this week to prove that we’re not haters 100% of the time.

Timestamps

(1:10) More like Neil Suckmann am I right

(11:20) The Hellblade 2 detour

(22:40) And one more thing about Neil Druckmann

(29:00) The Minecraft detour

(32:00) IGN, what the fuck are you doing?

(45:00) Games you should and shouldn’t play (feat. Paper Trail, Duck Detective, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, and The Rogue Prince of Persia [I keep saying Evil Twin when I mean Evil Empire])

(1:08:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. the spy thriller genre, Jenny Nicholson, and I Saw the TV Glow)

Mentioned this week

Follow Alice Bell and Brendan Sinclair

That very bad Neil Druckmann interview (lmao they pulled this down, here's our annotated version)

The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel

The Buzzy A24 Film Making Trans and Queer Viewers Feel Seen

A very good review of I Saw the TV Glow I found after recording

And an interview with Jane Schoenbrun on Gender Reveal

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

9 Demos You Need To Play During Steam’s LudoNarraCon 2024

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Episode 76 - Shoutout to Big Sippin May 22, 2024

We spent this week playing some great demos at Ludonarracon so we’re running down a few of the best that you should have on your list! Then, we check in on some disappointing changes and Mountain Dew-flavored events coming to Final Fantasy XIV!

Timestamps

(1:20) Our favorite Ludonarracon (not Next Fest) demos

(42:30) FFXIV Live Letter, RIP Astrologians

(1:04:30) Reminder: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is very good

(1:08:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

Uh-oh, I Already Hate What Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Is Doing To This Job

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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maybe you’ll find me by theydevil

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Episode 75 - Bad News, Good Games May 15, 2024

We’re starting the week with bad news, including some pretty shocking layoffs at Microsoft, but it gets better from there. We move next through some of the best indie releases of the week before ending with the best indie game of the year, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.

Timestamps

(1:00) Somehow, Stray Gods returned

(4:00) Microsoft fucked up

(19:00) A fantastic week for indie games

(35:00) We’re seeing it all through Laser Eyes

Mentioned this week

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes reviews from Robin and Willa

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Willa’s Crow Country review

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Episode 74 - The Fabled Short Episode May 08, 2024

We’re keeping things nice and short this week, because we already shared our best/most deranged thoughts with the good people of the Press Start podcast! Here on our feed, we’re talking about Hades 2, Crow Country, and the upcoming Steamworld Heist 2. It’s frankly the most buttoned-up we’ve ever been, so make sure you give Press Start a listen for more of our usual energy (weird, off-putting, horny).

Timestamps

(1:00) Press Start Girl

(2:40) Hades 2

(14:30) Crow Country

(26:00) Steamworld Heist 2

(31:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

Listen to Press Start!

Witching Stone

Robin continues talking about Witching Stone

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Stellar Blade and the Male Gaze

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Episode 73 - Good Week to Be a Monster Fucker May 01, 2024

This time, we’re mercifully bringing you a shorter episode to follow our longest episode ever last week. We spend most of our time on a spoiler-filled discussion of Sucker for Love: Date to Die for, a horror/comedy/romance visual novel that has us both under its spell. Then we make a quick return to the land of sexist grifters to put a cap on the year’s dumbest gaming controversy surrounding Stellar Blade. Then Willa tells you about her favorite new way to play visual novels, and Robin tells you about some very good fish.

Timestamps

(1:00) Sucker for Love: Date to Die for makes monster fuckers of us all

(45:00) No one is coming to take your video game boobies away

(54:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

Horror and Romance Make Surprisingly Good Partners In Sucker for Love: Date to Die For

This Horror Dating Sim Sets A Hot New Standard

Hades II Is The Kind Of Hot We Need Right Now

Send us questions/fish content

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Support bail funds for campus protesters!

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Palestinian Relief Bundle on itch

TTRPGs for Palestine Bundle

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Palestinian Relief Bundle on itch

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Episode 72 - Goin' Down to Mutant Town Apr 24, 2024

This week, we’re starting an all new Girl Mode continuity as we dive into Grant Morrison’s apparently incredible run on X-Men. It’s unsurprisingly our longest episode ever, and Robin even gets so into the description of these comics she forgets to pester Willa for large portions of the show!

Follow along with what we’re looking at here!

Listen to parts one (Ep. 26), two (Ep. 38), and three (Ep. 56) of our X-Men series!

Timestamps

It’s all X-Men baby!

Mentioned this week

TTRPGs for Palestine Bundle

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Jeff Strain’s extremely bizarre statement on Possibility Space

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Episode 71 - A Very Professional Episode Apr 17, 2024

This week, we’re rounding up a whole mess of news, from the good (female Hrothgar) to the bad (Willa has lost interest in Star Wars Outlaws) to the incredibly bizarre (Possibility Space closing in the strangest way possible). Plus, we decide who would be better at making Final Fantasy than Square Enix in a totally serious and well-informed segment.

Timestamps

(01:30) Get out of here, Han Solo

(08:50) Triple-i or, what if we made indie more like AAA?

(22:30) The Final Fantasy Garage Sale

(43:20) Hrothgirls!

(46:00) “Two tickets to Sifu, please” - No one ever

(49:40) Cataclysm Classic

(54:30) Possibility Space closes with a tantrum but we’re still not sure why

(58:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

Willa’s Harold Halibut review

Into the Aether

Robin tells you to play Between Horizons in more detail

TTRPGs for Palestine Bundle

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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How Many Clicks Does It Take To Get to the Center of Diablo?

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Episode 70 - Sapphics Stay Winning Apr 10, 2024

[CW: mentions of queerphobia, racism, and nazi imagery. We keep it as light as possible under the circumstances but please proceed with caution.]

Now that we’ve lured people in with Dragon’s Dogma 2 and sex stuff, we’re going back to what this podcast is really about — yelling about bigots! First, we talk about Rebekah Valentine’s recent reporting on Life is Strange developer Deck Nine, and how one shitty dude can make life miserable for a lot of people. Then we move on to Helldivers 2 and Signalis, two games that had a lot of fascists up in arms for very stupid reasons over the past week. I swear it’s not as much of a bummer as it sounds!

Timestamps

(00:15) Traditional episode 70 check-in

(08:00) Deck Nine’s very bad iceberg or, why we can’t have nice things

(28:20) Oh god, we have to talk about Mark Kern

(33:40) We get to talk about Signalis again, but at what cost?

(40:00) It’s hard to satirize fascism with fascists enjoying it because they’re too stupid to get that it’s satire

(58:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to (aside from tearing their hair out)?

Mentioned this week

How Hidden Nazi Symbols Were the Tip of a Toxic Iceberg at Life Is Strange Developer Deck Nine

Nick Calandra’s good thread about Mark Kern

For some Helldivers 2 players, the fascist role-play has gone too far

callie’s good thread about Signalis

See Zoe’s play!!!

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Palestine Relief Bundle on itch (coming April 12)

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Judas First Details: How Ken Levine Is Building on BioShock With 'Narrative LEGOs'

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Episode 69 - That's the Sex Number Apr 03, 2024

In our nice episode this week, we’re back to discussing Dragon’s Dogma 2 and other things that make us horny. Our Dragon’s Dogma talk is bookended by the new Ken Levine game that’s definitely not just the same thing as the other Ken Levine games and Robin talking about smut because we couldn't just act like adults and let it go unnoticed that this is episode 69.

Timestamps

(02:00) Why not give Ken Levine one more shot/player choice smoke and mirrors

(17:00) Play Nier Reincarnation while you still can

(19:15) Willa’s space lesbian harem update

(20:30) Dragon’s Dogma 2 is still a very good video game

(1:04:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?

Mentioned this week

The best quest in Dragons Dogma 2 turns my weird hobby of NPC stalking into an actual objective

I put nearly 100 hours into Dragon's Dogma 2 before I realised it was all just a tutorial for the Warfarer vocation

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s Great

Is outrage all that’s left?

Dragonsplague Is the Perfect Example of What Makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 Great

See Zoe’s play!!!

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Kotaku EIC Resigns Over New Editorial Edict

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Episode 68 - Dragon's Dogma 2 Is A Very Good Video Game Mar 27, 2024

Robin is finally alive again, and just in time to talk about the best game of the year. We start off with a little news blitz, from G/O Media still being a shitshow to a couple of devs saying things the industry absolutely needs to listen to at GDC. Then we settle in for about an hour of singing Dragon’s Dogma 2’s praises for what definitely won’t be the last time on this show.

Timestamps

(00:30) We’re alive!

(02:00) Jim Spanfeller is still a herb

(04:00) Planning our summer vacation in Eorzea

(7:15) Larian makes a good decision and Swen Vincke makes a good speech

(10:30) Xalavier Nelson Jr continues to be right in public

(11:45) Our vibes are not compatible with AI

(15:45) Simping for Dragon’s Dogma (and Miu)

(1:26:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?

Mentioned this week

Read last week’s blog on Tumblr or Cohost!

Eurogamer covers Swen Vincke’s GDC speech

Xalavier Nelson Jr’s Black in Gaming Indie Developer Award speech

Austin Walker’s Four Thoughts on Dragon’s Dogma

Players Aren’t Happy with Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Microtransactions

There Are Better Things to Be Mad At Than Dragon’s Dogma 2 Microtransactions

Blade Maidens

Follow us or send us questions!

Music

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Episode 67 - Into the Zack Dimension with Jade King! Mar 06, 2024

Major FF7 Rebirth spoilers throughout! Explicit spoilers for Chapter 13 and beyond from 30:00 to 1:10:00!

Oooh, we’ve got an exciting one for you this week as we’re joined by very special guest Jade King, lead features editor of TheGamer! This episode is a Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth spectacular, wherein we get deep on its narrative highs and lows, talk an awful lot about Advent Children, and spoil the hell out of the game, all while keeping it queer, of course.

Timestamps

(01:30) Breaking down Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth with Jade

(30:00) Ending spoilers begin

(1:10:00) Ending spoilers… end

(1:23:00) Bringing it back to queerness

(1:31:00) What else have we been up to this week?

Follow Jade King on Twitter and read her work at TheGamer!

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Jade’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review

Mentioned this week

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Gaming's Greatest Lesbian Scavenger Hunt

Tifa and Aerith are the Real Power Couple in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Robin’s interview with Xalavier Nelson Jr.

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

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Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

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Episode 66 - How Do You Milk a Chocobo? Feb 28, 2024

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth reviews are out in the wild, so we can finally talk about (some of) our experiences with this fascinating, incredibly uneven game. We’re saving most of our thoughts for next week, so this week is safe for people wanting to avoid spoilers. But before we get to that, we’re talking Shadow of the Erdtree, Nintendo Direct, and more Unicorn Overlord!

Timestamps

(01:00) RIP Flaco, King of New York

(04:30) How ‘bout that Shadow of the Erdtree trailer?

(17:15) If you want to play Mother 3, you can play Mother 3/Willa was right

(19:00) The rest of the Nintendo Direct

(31:20) Willa is still the world’s best Unicorn Overlord player

(36:30) First thoughts on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (Tifa and Aerith should kiss)

(54:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

I Need to Get Way Better at Elden Ring Before Shadow of the Erdtree Launches

Mentioned this week

Hidetaka Miyazaki talks to Eurogamer and IGN

Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth reviews in Inverse, NYT, and NPR

FF7: Advent Children Paved The Way For Rebirth, For Better And Worse

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Who’s Telling the Truth about Disco Elysium?

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Episode 65 - They Hated Me Because I Secreted Foam Feb 21, 2024

This week, we’re running through a whole lot of games, since Robin was too busy sleeping on Willa’s couch to record last week. First, we cover the most anticipated game of all: Foamstars. Then a demo for a little game called Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth came out, and both of our hosts attended an exciting preview recently, but only one did so well she broke the game. We end with a whole lot of news, only some of which is about how fucked the games industry is!

(I also feel compelled to include an extra explicit content warning here for just so, so much talk about bodily fluids in the first five minutes.)

Timestamps

(01:20) Robin and the City

(03:15) The Children of the Bubble

(06:40) Kickin’ chairs with Cloud

(14:00) Willa is too much of a gamer for Unicorn Overlord

(33:00) The Game Awards’ Non-Evil Twin

(37:20) Somehow, Star Wars 1313 returned

(40:00) Happy 5th anniversary, Hollow Knight: Silksong!

(46:40) Microsoft makes fools of us all

(55:20) ZA/UM drama

(1:00:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

These speeches from Larian

The Book of Love review

ZA/UM layoffs

This wild rich lady story

Willa and Robin on Unicorn Overlord

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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https://twitter.com/SkyKniight/status/1753461874526462371

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Episode 64 - Your Art's Fucking Weird! Feb 09, 2024

This week, it’s been too long since we recorded to remember what we talked about. I think it was…video games? That’s right, it was State of Play! The Short Message was pretty bad. Zenless Zone Zero has cute anime girls. Some other stuff probably happened, too. Judging by the links in our text thread I guess we talk about Persona 3 Reload, Suicide Squad, and Bayonetta. Enjoy!

Mentioned this week

Persona 3 tweets

https://twitter.com/NSuperGamerGuy/status/1753818881024819257

Persona 3 Reload Is a Messy but Necessary Remake

Persona 3 Reload Still Can’t Imagine A World That Respects Trans People

Persona 3 Remake Ditches the Classic RPG’s Best Character

Suicide Squad Is Fine

Bayonetta 3 broke my heart

You Could Just Keep Doing Dry January

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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The Murder Game Revolution That Has Gripped China

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Episode 63 - The Amazing Disappearing Games Industry Jan 31, 2024

It’s been a pretty fucked up week for the games industry, so we’re starting with a lament for lost jobs and our grim outlook on how things are only going to get worse. Then we talk about Nier Reincarnation being deleted imminently and what it says about games preservation. We eventually move to cheerier territory by talking about what games we’ve been playing, including a couple Nier games, Final Fantasy XI, and Granblue Fantasy: Relink.

Timestamps

(00:45) Willa goes to Kotaku and we’re all very proud of her

(03:20) Layoffs are killing the games industry

(29:20) You should play Nier Reincarnation before it disappears

(41:40) We’re playing Nier Reincarnation before it disappears

(48:40) Final Fantasy XI check-in

(52:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

Xbox is Not Your Friend

Pixar's Ratatouille, the state of media journalism, and why I'm a critic

Accord's Library

Grief and Grace Along Route Zero

A Piece of Yoko Taro’s Nier Series Will Soon Disappear Forever

Gaming Layoffs Show AAA Developers’ Refusal to Support the Industry’s Future

This wild LoveLive tweet

So I Started Playing Final Fantasy XI in 2021...

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Robin’s Prince of Persia review

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Episode 62 - Nintendo Will Buy the International Space Station In 2024 Jan 24, 2024

Zoe’s taking some time off so this week Robin is talking to Willa Rowe, who’s apparently a new writer at Kotaku. Good for her. After making a bunch of predictions for the upcoming year (which neither of us came up with minutes before recording started), we catch up with the latest FFXIV Fan Fest, share our first shaky steps into Vana’diel, and try to figure out what we really want in a Metroidvania.

Note: We recorded this episode before the horrible news of layoffs at Riot, which is why we don’t mention them when we talk about LoL. Solidarity with the folks affected there, and with everyone hurt by the cruelty of CEOs with howling voids where their hearts should be.

Timestamps

(00:20) Introducing our special guest host Willa Rowe

(03:50) Willa and Robin predict the future

(21:20) Catching up with FFXIV Fan Fest because we missed it again

(31:30) The year of Final Fantasy XI

(38:20) Metroidvanias need more catgirls

(1:04:00) Willa’s smart thoughts on memory and preservation

(01:13:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

WIlla’s Another Code review

Willa on the Genshin Impact concert

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

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Follow us or send us questions!

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Episode 61 - The Nintendo Switcheroo Jan 17, 2024

In the last episode, we witnessed the amazing premonitory powers of Willa's girlfriend Zoe, so we're giving her control of the podcast this week out of a mixture of respect and fear. With Willa temporarily banished to the shadow realm, Zoe shares some of her favorite recent games with Robin, talks about the forgotten games of her youth, plays a round of "is this game ugly," and ends with her predictions for gaming in 2024, which will almost certainly all come true.

Timestamps

(00:20) Hi Zoe

(03:20) Zoe's year in games

(14:15) Why Chicory is great

(21:20) Good opinions about Hades and bad opinions about Final Fantasy

(28:10) Is this game ugly? (follow along here)

(52:00) Games for girls

(1:11:10) Zoe predicts the future

(1:22:00) What else have Zoe and Robin been up to this week?

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

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Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Willa and Robin's most anticipated games

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Episode 60 - Em-Dash Content Jan 03, 2024

We’re easing into the new year, first by pretty much just reprising an article we already wrote about our most anticipated games of 2024. Then, we discuss how our “gamer resolutions” for 2023 went and talk about what we want to change in the coming year. Finally, we revisit Willa and Zoe’s predictions for 2023 in gaming and see how they both did!

Timestamps

(01:40) Our most anticipated games of 2024

(14:45) Punctuation Corner

(27:15) Gamer resolutions check-in

(51:30) Willa v. Zoe, Judge Robin presiding

(01:02:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

Willa talks to Yoko Taro and Doug Bowser

Robin really, really likes Sayonara Wild Hearts

The episode of Press Start we talk about

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Send us questions and Girlies categories!

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Episode 59 - The Second Annual Girl Mode Awards Dec 27, 2023

The moment you’ve been waiting for all year is here: it’s the second annual Girl Mode Awards! Tune in to gaming’s most illustrious awards show as we crown the winner of this year’s Most Exhausting Discourse, the Best Game That’s Just Mid, the coveted Most Realistic Trees, and more incredibly important honors.

This episode also caps off 2023 for Girl Mode, so we just want to say thank you to everyone for spending the year with us! We appreciate you very much. Yes, even you.

Timestamps

(00:20) The Girlies!

(01:34:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this year?

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Send us questions and suggest Girlies categories!

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Episode 58 - Gaslight, Gatekeep, Goddess Dec 20, 2023

We’ve spent the past few weeks playing some of the year’s most fascinating games, and now we’re making it your problem! Our annual game exchange is now officially annual because we’ve done it twice. This year, we played Slay the Princess and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, two games about choice, fate, and women with the power to destroy the universe.

Heads up: We spoil the hell out of both games, and while we don’t talk in detail about their heavier themes, both games get pretty fucking dark. Please check out the content warnings for Slay the Princess and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood before playing them!

Timestamps

(00:20) The 2nd Annual Girl Mode Game Exchange

(07:20) Why don’t we dive into Slay the Princess

(01:07:00) Let’s talk about The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

(2:06:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

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Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Willa’s Winter Spectacular piece

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Episode 57 - Gaming's Biggest Waste of Time Dec 13, 2023

Alas, The Game Awards returned this week, and this time it was worse than ever. Tune in to hear the world record for how many times a human has said the word “frustrating” in an hour, plus some suggestions for shows you can watch that won’t fill you with fury.

Timestamps

(00:30) Boy howdy The Game Awards was a nightmare

(45:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to?

Mentioned this week:

Robin’s Winter Spectacular piece

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Send us questions and Girlies categories!

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Towards a Free Palestine game jam

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Episode 56 - Castle of Lesbianism Dec 06, 2023

We're back from our week off with a giant-size return to the world of the X-Men. This time we tackle the dark ages known as the 1990s, when the X-Men took a detour from political allegory to the more business-friendly world of utter schlock. Join us as we catch up on what’s new in the lives of our old friends, our old friends’ clones, alternate dimension versions of our old friends, our old friends from the future, and our old friends as babies.

Listen to part one and part two of this series.

Follow along with the images in this episode here.

Timestamps

(00:30) Professor Willa returns to this timeline

(01:40:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Follow us or email us

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Towards a Free Palestine game jam

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BONUS - The Games That Made Us Remastered Nov 29, 2023

In the spirit of the games industry itself, today's episode is a completely unnecessary remaster. We took a break from recording this week, so we're filling the gap with a re-release of our very first episode, but this time run through some fancy filters to make it actually listenable!

We'll be back with a regular episode next time! Until then, we hope you enjoy this proof that we are actually getting better at this.

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Episode 55 - The Game Awards But Good Nov 22, 2023

Listen this week as we have a normal, friendly conversation and never once shout at each other or cause trouble. We're following up last week's Game Awards predictions with the Official Girl Mode ballot in yet another installment of why Willa and Robin should be in charge of all games media.

Mentioned this week:

Towards a Free Palestine game jam

Press Start's Final Fantasy X episode

Follow us wherever

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

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Episode 54 - The Nostradamuses of Video Games Nov 15, 2023

The day before the Game Awards nominees were announced, the Girl Mode council convened to make our own predictions about what would be on the ballot. Tune in to witness our amazing powers of prophecy and/or deductive reasoning.

But first, we tackle our complicated feelings on the state of games media, as a new Defector of video games sprung up in the middle of another week of layoffs and shutdowns. It's inside baseball as hell this week, hope you're into that!

Timestamps

(00:30) Our thoughts on games media, part ten million

(24:00) We predict the future (which is now the past)

(1:05:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Follow us wherever you feel like it

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 53 - One Year of Correct Opinions Nov 08, 2023

It's Girl Mode's first anniversary! We're celebrating by making our listeners come up with this week's topic, aka, answering listener questions. Tune in as we discuss our dream game mechanics, video games as short films, why we refuse to git gud, and our growing obsession with Final Fantasy XI.

Thanks so much to everyone who sent us questions and everyone who's listened to us! It means a lot and we hope you'll stick around for Girl Mode Year 2: The Dark Phoenix Saga.

Timestamps

(00:20) Happy birthday to us

(04:30) Question time

(1:11:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Games for Gaza

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Music

Street Food by FASSounds

Mentioned this week

Esther Rosenfield on Alita: Battle Angel

Dia Lacina on Final Fantasy XI

Notes of a Crocodile

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Episode 52 - Please Stop Making Games, We Can't Keep Up Nov 02, 2023

We spent the week catching up on some of the best games of the year in the lead-up to the Game Awards. Tune in to hear about some of the best games you might have overlooked of 2023, plus our thoughts on why graphics don't actually need to get any better.

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Games for Gaza