Girl Mode: Recent Episodes
Girl Mode Podcast
Girl 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 a hefty dose of sarcasm.
What do baseball and D&D have in common? I don’t know but we’re playing games inspired by both. Listen in this week for lots of RPG and VN talk and let’s go Firebells!
Timestamps:
(01:50) Toxic Yuri VN Jam 2 redux
(9:55) Esoteric Ebb
(24:16) Original Sin 2
(33:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. WPBL, The Odyssey, Little Blue Encyclopedia again, Ghost in the Shell)
Mentioned this week:
Leslie (2025)
2-4 ‘94
You can actually watch the WPBL on Tubi. Thank you, Tubi. Here’s the schedule.
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It's Toxic Yuri VN Jam season! Willa and Robin talk about a handful of selections from the latest jam. Then it's on to the Incident at Galley House, which is like if TR-49 was a good game.
Timestamps:
(00:30) Toxic Yuri VN Jam 2
(15:400) The Incident at Galley House (beware SPOILERS)
(49:52) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante Rock, Wimbledon)
Mentioned this week:
Our Toxic Yuri VN Jam 2 recommendations on itch.io
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The present remains bleak for video games, so this week we're playing games from the past, which remain safe until executives find a way to lay people off via time travel. I'm sure it won't take long.
Timestamps:
(00:15) New monkey just dropped
(03:50) Checking in on the game industry: It’s Still Bad
(11:50) Y’all heard of Gravity Rush?
(25:20) Dread Delusion
(34:50) FFXIV Mobile (briefly)
(36:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Final Fantasy XIII, 30 Rock)
Mentioned this week:
Entirely New Monkey Species Discovered in The Congo Rainforest, And It Doesn't Look Impressed
The PriceMaster
Paradigm Shift: On Finally Getting Past Final Fantasy XIII-2
Werewolf Bar Mitzvah
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This week has a lot of X-Men talk for a non X-Men episode. Beyond that Robin has played some Luna Abyss and Willa does a check in on Marvel Rivals, because of X-Men. It all comes back to X-Men.
Timestamps:
(00:54) Dazzler the musical
(01:35) Checking in on Xbox… still bad
(11:07) Jubilee the vampire and too much Marvel Rivals talk
(20:51) Luna Abyss
(29:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Lots of X-Men, Witch Hat Atelier)
Mentioned this week:
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If you can get past the purposefully bad boston accents at the start of this episode you can hear Willa and Robin talk about Echoes of Aincrad's smooth brain demo, Xbox sucking, and PlayStation also sucking.
Timestamps:
(00:34) Labubu missile, Winnie the Pooh, Boston molasses flood. Now that is what I call the fourth of July
(04:41) Echoes of Aincrad demo
(13:24) Robin on Code RAPID, Entropy
(16:36) The news! Starting with Xbox sucking
(29:40) PlayStation also sucks
(43:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Beastro, X-Men '97 Season 2)
Mentioned this week:
Labubu missile
Indiepocalypse
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Happy Pryde!
Catch up with the story so far in episodes 26, 38, 56, 72, 95, and 139.
Follow along this week here.
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This week, Willa went to Tribeca to play some games and Robin stayed home to do the same.
Timestamps:
(00:20) A three-martini lunch
(04:00) Tribeca Games
(4:55) Bad Magpie
(8:40) Demi and the Fractured Dream
(15:00) Drifted
(17:15) Forever Ago
(23:00) Kidbash
(24:25) Lofsöng
(28:50) Rivage
(32:55) Rebounder
(36:05) Rockbeasts
(38:30) Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?!
(42:20) There Are No Ghosts at the Grand
(54:20) Virtue and a Sledgehammer
(1:00:30) What’s the deal with Tribeca?
(1:11:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Widow’s Bay, Flying Saucer Video)
Mentioned this week:
Tribeca Games
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It has been a busy Summer Game Fest and all the events from the State of Play to the Nintendo Direct. This week Willa and Robin dive into what announcements piqued their interest, namely all the ones with vampires (of which there were many).
Timestamps:
(00:20) Cryptid talk?
(02:48) A whole lot of Summer Game Fest week announcements
(54:08) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Moonsigil Atlas, Enter the Chronosphere, Dimension 20: City Council of Darkness)
Mentioned this week:
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This week Willa and Robin step out of their comfort zones by playing Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, a game about being a girlfailure who really wants to make out with mean women. Also: Mina the Hollower and 007 First Light.
Timestamps:
(00:24) What's the deal with ZA/UM?
(09:30) Zero Parades! (we spoil the hell out of this thing throughout)
(01:53:57) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Mina the Hollower, 007 First Light)
Mentioned this week:
Superbloc, Baby
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This week, we’ve got it all: old games, boring games, games we don’t play, and even things that aren't games at all but rather raccoons.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Robin’s new roommate
(03:00) Hello Kitty urban legends
(07:30) Directive 8020
(28:00) Marathon PvE
(31:00) Uncharted 4: Game’s fun, game’s bad
(38:45) A little game called Final Fantasy 11
(55:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Marriage Toxin, Heartspell: Horizon Academy)
Mentioned this week:
Uncovering Amy Hennig's Uncharted 4
Final Fantasy 11 videos from The Crawl, Friends at the Table, and A Goth Elf
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Wasn’t being a teenager great? Isn’t music magical? Don’t you want to play a whole game that’s basically that sentiment repeated for three hours?
Timestamps:
(00:20) Spinning our wheels to avoid talking about Mixtape
(04:20) We can no longer avoid talking about Mixtape
(51:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Call of the Elder Gods, The Dad Rock That Made Me A Woman)
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Willa and Robin go into the game grab bag this week. Robin has been gambling in Bobo Bay, wielding the elements in Elementallis, and totally not romancing a living statue in Sovereign Tower. Willa, meanwhile, is building civilizations in Amberspire.
Timestamps:
(00:26) Tune in next week for our thoughts on [Redacted]
(01:13) Bobo Bay and Elementallis
(16:15) Amberspire
(32:11) Sovereign Tower
(37:47) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Elsinore, Folding Ideas' Why was I invited to Beast Studios?, World Collage Day)
Mentioned this week:
Why was I invited to Beast Studios?
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This week, Willa and Robin confront their respective greatest enemies: theater kids and math. First, we go long on Titanium Court, and why neither of us found it as groundbreaking or as hard to explain as you may have heard. Then we talk about Sol Cesto, a game you’ve probably heard less about because the universe is as cold and uncaring as the probability that makes Sol Cesto great.
Timestamps:
(01:00) Describing Titanium Court
(18:40) Slight Titanium Court spoilers
(23:45) For real Titanium Court spoilers
(47:40) Trying to move on to Sol Cesto but immediately talking more about the reception to Titanium Court (in a non-spoiler way)
(53:30) Actually talking about Sol Cesto
(1:05:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. HR: Human Remains, Inkblood, PUNK, Speed Racer)
Mentioned this week:
Second Wind Showcase
In Funeral for the Sun, the only way to unravel a decades-old mystery is traveling back to the day it happened
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Artemis II might be back from the moon but Willa and Robin aren't. This week it's the Pragmata extravaganza, come along as we dive into Capcom's new action game that's pretty dang good!
Timestamps:
(00:13) Sponsored by Orbitz
(00:48) Pragmata extravaganza
(53:15) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Moves of the Diamond Hand, Invincible)
Mentioned this week:
Nothing : (
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This week, we’re only half paying attention to the show because we're thinking about the Moon. When we turn our attention briefly away from the Artemis II livestream, Willa talks about the bad new Life is Strange game and Robin played a smattering of new indies but she’s too tired to say much about them.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Shoutout to the Moon
(02:45) A walk through Life is Strange Discourse Hall
(25:00) So that brings us to Reunion
(35:50) Robin played some games, too
(45:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. thinking about the Moon, Sunburn)
Mentioned this week:
How Hidden Nazi Symbols Were the Tip of a Toxic Iceberg at Life Is Strange Developer Deck Nine
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Zoe graces us all with her presence to regale us with tales of her time spent saving the galaxy and exploring the highs of Rapture and the lows of Columbia. Spoilers abound for the entire Mass Effect trilogy and Bioshock 1, 2, and Infinite.
Timestamps:
(00:19) Welcome to the Zo Rowe Show
(02:17) The Mass Effect trilogy
(57:25) The Bioshock trilogy
(1:35:50) What else have Willa, Robin, and Zoe been up to this week? (feat. His Motor Bike, Her Island, Project Hail Mary, The Mets, and knitting)
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This week, we've both been playing the hot new release that's taken the world by storm: the rhythm-based fishing game Sinker Sound. Then, Willa's adventures in the back catalog continue with Final Fantasy and Resident Evil, and Robin has played a pair of weird and wonderful indie sim games.
Timestamps:
(00:15) Donate to Robin’s truffle dog startup
(03:45) Gone fishin’ in Sinker Sound
(14:35) Games have not come a long way since Final Fantasy 13
(18:30) The Resident Evil Curriculum
(23:25) Cooking for critters in Creature Kitchen
(28:35) Petting slimes in Dungeon Bodega Simulator
(33:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. the hit television show Bones, the hit television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the hit television show One Piece)
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This week, we remember the halcyon days of when we cared about Final Fantasy 14, experience what it’s like to watch a gaming awards show that doesn’t make you want to claw your own eyes out, and discover that every once in a while a lesbian with a sword isn’t enough to make your game good.
Timestamps:
(00:15) It’s all great over here
(01:45) Remember when we cared about Final Fantasy 14?
(07:40) The IGF Awards
(21:15) No Games for Genocide
(24:55) 1348 Ex Voto
(56:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. getting a camera, Dragon's Dogma Online)
Mentioned this week:
FFXIV Live Letter
IGF Awards
Indie deckbuilder All Will Rise's dev joins No Games For Genocide boycott and plans to hand back funding it received from Microsoft
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Just because we haven't played Resident Evil: Requiem doesn't mean we can' talk about the discourse surrounding it and the franchise's odd position of rewriting vs reckoning with its past. Also: Silksong and Willa educating Robin on the Tom Cruise cake.
Timestamps:
(00:26) Daylight saving time kicks our ass (and then a weird rabbit hole of tangents)
(05:56) Resident Evil… Requiem… discourse (lightest of spoilers throughout)
(38:09) Resident Evil 2 Remake
(45:35) Robin finally likes Silksong
(56:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. getting a camera, Dragon's Dogma Online)
Mentioned this week:
Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster on Resident Evil: Requiem
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We talk about Marathon and the state of live-service titles in this one, and we could not have predicted Highguard would announce its shutdown between recording and release. Then it's to the Spencer Mansion for Willa and to Next Fest for Robin.
Timestamps:
(00:18) Resident… Evil?
(01:24) Marathon
(15:14) Resident… Evil!
(25:40) Robin's selected Next Fest picks
(36:07) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Bridgerton season 4, putting yourself out there and making friends)
(37:00) Bridgerton spoilers start
(38:35) Bridgerton spoilers end
Mentioned this week:
Kaile Hultner on Marathon
SNL Iran cold open
Dotzip on Next Fest
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This week, everything is bad in the world of AAA, and not just for the usual reasons. After running through the latest disasters at PlayStation and the sinking ship that is Xbox, Willa once again puts on clown makeup to await the next game from Yoko Taro, and Robin takes solace in games that are just okay.
Timestamps:
(00:30) The Olympics, etc.
(08:50) Finally some gaming talk (it’s all bad)
(17:15) RIP Bluepoint
(30:10) A bunch of Yoko Taro news
(44:10) Robin self-medicating with 7/10 games
(57:33) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Love Story, A Year of Springs)
Mentioned this week:
The biggest gaming series are going indie
Phil Spencer Retiring, etc.
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This week, we do a quick Olympic check-in before running through the State of Play and its many (un)interesting announcements. Robin and Willa do, however, come up with a groundbreaking idea to fix 007. Then it's a pair of games, one new and one old.
Timestamps:
(00:38) More olympic talk
(03:25) State of the State of Play
(34:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Love Eternal , Verho - Curse of Faces)
Mentioned this week:
Willa's Love Eternal review
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This week, we talk almost as much about the Olympics as we do about video games.
Timestamps:
(00:35) Video games? More like Winter Games
(16:20) Nintendo Direct happened this week
(25:45) Close enough. Welcome back, Dauntless.
(28:40) More Bioshock talk somehow
(35:00) Elden Ring with Seamless Co-op rips
(37:55) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The Starving Saints, Nothing)
(45:10) Olympics talk reprise
Mentioned this week:
Harvestella Review: Sometimes the best gourmet meals are the simplest dishes
Gore Verbinski's BioShock Movie Would Have Somehow Included Both of the Game's Endings
The Korrasami fic Willa likes
The Aerti fic Robin likes
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Somehow Willa and Robin eventually get through the many detours of this episode (hand injuries, bisexual Zohran, etc.) to talk about some games. There is a report on Zoe saving the galaxy and heading to Rapture as well as Robin going up in Valkyrie Saga and Cairn.
Timestamps:
(00:11) Willa’s housewife injury
(03:06) Cursed blades RANKED
(04:06) Talking about not talking about critical discourse
(06:21) More detours, this time about Zohran Mamdani
(07:26) Mass Effect and BioShock in 2026
(27:37) Valkyrie Saga and Cairn
(46:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Recovery of an MMO Junkie , Journal with Witch)
Mentioned this week:
The Toxic Positivity Problem by Critical Error
If You Ask Nicely by Autumn Wright
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After taking a break for the longest week in human history (and the customary annual lay-off of one of our hosts), we’re back to talk about two interesting games: one we like and one we don’t. How novel.
Timestamps:
(00:10) The Gay Bachelor, etc.
(04:50) TR-49 (mechanical and light story spoilers start)
(23:30) TR-49 story spoilers start for real
(26:30) TR-49 story spoilers start for real for real
(40:05) Perfect Tides: Station to Station
(50:50) Spoiler for a very fun moment in Station to Station
(53:20) Spoilers end
(56:25) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Dolls Nest, Love Through a Prism)
Mentioned this week:
Meredith Gran on Post Games
Meredith Gran AMA
Willa on TR-49 and Perfect Tides: Station to Station
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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)
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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
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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
Jennifer English being incredible at the Golden Joysticks
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
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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:
Robin’s Wanderstop review
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)
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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 The Game Awards
Everything announced at Day of the Devs
Everything announced at Wholesome Snack
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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:
Sharon Begley on James Watson
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Final Fantasy 11 chocobo sound effect from Sound FX Center
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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's Metroid Prime 4 review
Robin on HORSES
Letters From Liselotte
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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:
VGC’s Andy Robinson on Metroid Prime 4
Maddy Myers on Super Metroid
Alexa Ray Corriea’s “nag line discourse” post
Robin on Videoverse and Demonschool
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Episode 148 - It's terrible, I could not recommend it more
This one's got everything you love: Dunkalatte talk, Willa's neighbors doing construction in the middle of a recording, Robin playing a game where you are a little mouse, but the main event is – of course – Willa going on an extended rant about a game she hates that most people love.
Timestamps:
(00:14) Robin joins the Dunkalatte cult
(06:03) Blake Manor update and your reminder Lorelei and the Laser Eyes rocks
(09:53) Winter Burrow
(15:32 ) 20+ minutes of Willa ranting about Dispatch
(23:12) Dispatch spoilers start
(24:23) Dispatch spoilers end
(38:18) Ambrosia Sky
(48:55) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Blue Moon, stealing umbrellas, A Pizza Delivery, Verho, Atelier Ryza )
Mentioned this week:
Alyssa Mercante on The Game A wards Future Class
Every 10/10 Game Informer has given
Willa's Dispatch thread on Bluesky
Gio on Dispatch at Polygon
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It’s the week after Halloween and we’re finally talking about horror games. After an extended bullshit session to start, we work our way around to mousegirl soulslikes, talking to ghosts with your crush, trick or treating, finding yourself on Bajor, and being the nosiest bitches at the seance.
Timestamps:
(00:15) A bunch of nonsense
(04:10) Anti-recommendation for Hinako Note
(07:30) Gamer news: Simogo
(09:30) Mouseward: A game for Robin
(12:05) Fear the Spotlight
(18:10) The Seance of Blake Manor
(48:45) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival, The O.C.)
Mentioned this week:
Robin on The Seance of Blake Manor
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This week it’s a lot of slop talk. Remakes are slop. Cozy games are slop. Law & Order Executive Producer Dick Wolf is slop. Everything is slop. We also check in on Hades 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
Timestamps:
(00:25) It’s all downhill from here
(02:27) More Hades 2
(06:35) Halo on PlayStation and why remakes suck
(18:52) Dick Wolf presents AI cop slop
(21:20) Cozy games discourse
(32:23) Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
(46:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Dinner parties, the bad Earthsea TV show, weird shit in your neighborhood, the library, Six Seasons cookbook)
Mentioned this week:
Moises Taveras on game remakes
Jason Schreier on Xbox Layoffs
Polygon interviews Wolf Games
A wholesome plane has hit the second cozy tower
You Should Play Bad Games
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Jesus, it’s Next Fest again? Guess it’s time to talk about some demos.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Disrespecting Baja Blast
(2:20) Next Fest
(3:40) Opus Prism Peak
(8:15) Skate Story
(12:00) Sleep Awake
(16:15) Reanimal
(22:00) Constance
(25:00) Winter Burrow
(28:20) Ambrosia Sky
(32:40) Verho: Curse of Faces
(35:20) The Legend of Khiimori
(40:45) Mosaic of the Strange
(42:50) Dungeon Bodega Simulator
(46:30) Moonsigil Atlas
(49:20) Birdcage
(53:45) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Murder on the Orient Express, Murder on the Orient Express, Murder on the Orient Express, and Neuromancer)
Mentioned this week:
Ashley Bardhan on Sleep Awake
Ashley Bardhan (again) on Fatal Frame 2
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Episode 144 - The Soon To Be Mrs. Robin (Your Name Here)
Bad news, there is barely any beverage talk in this one. Good news, Robin is open to her hand in marriage being bought. Oh, we also spend a lot of time talking about the importance in having conviction in critical thinking and why Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is great
Timestamps:
(01:06) Learning about our audience
(3:36) Critic corner
(22:00) Robin’s spooky games (Vampire’s Best Friend, Sender)
(28:38) Play Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
(35:50) Carimara
(43:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. A Star Brighter Than The Sun, Fabula Ultima)
Mentioned this week:
Pauline Kael’s Raiders of the Lost Ark review
Robin on Carimara
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This week, we’re still talking a bit about Hades II, sandwiched between slime farms, psychic babies, Tetris-likes, and Willa’s beverage-based spinoff podcast.
Timestamps:
(00:40) More coffee talk
(5:40) Slime Rancher 2
(09:35) Hades 2 (mid-to-endgame spoilers start at 15:20)
(18:30) Goodnight Universe
(26:40) Falling Block Jam
(31:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Bed and Breakfast for Spirits, Baquiné, Dreams in Nightmares)
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This week Willa and Robin are talking about suffering… but for fun! Consume Me and Baby Steps take up most of the episode but there is still time for brief thoughts on Blippo, Hades 2, and Willa’s coffee tips.
Time stamps:
(01:15) Willa’s Dunkalatte tips
(04:55) Consume Me [Trigger Warning: discussion of eating disorders]
(27:20) Baby Steps
(44:27) Blippo+
(49:26) Willa’s early Hades II thoughts
(55:08) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. A Fragrant Flower Blooms In Dignity, Witch Hat Atelier)
Mentioned this week:
Coffee syrup differences
Robin on Consume Me
Zoe on Baby Steps
Gio on Baby Steps
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This week we’re very tired and spend a long time talking about milk. I don’t know man. Then, Willa is apparently in the good part of Silksong and Robin talks about what she doesn’t like about Hades 2, a game that’s mostly good.
Time stamps:
(00:20) Coffee milk, Willa’s divorce, etc.
(05:30) So Willa’s been playing some more Silksong [Light Act 2 boss spoilers from 8:00-9:30]
(11:00) We should play Three Houses again
(12:30) A few more thoughts on Silksong
(17:40) This time Hades stars a girl
(37:45) Penguins
(39:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. FlyKnight, listening to the radio)
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Yes, we talk about Hollow Knight: Silksong in this episode, but first Robin and Willa have to salivate over the reveal that we are getting a new Fire Emblem game next year.
Time stamps:
(00:20) Willa’s a tradwife
(02:54) Non-Fire Emblem Direct news
(14:00) Us being crazy about new Fire Emblem
(25:28) Shaw! (the Silksong segment)
(53:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Taking My Dark Knight Girlfriend To The Corner Store, Secret Mall Apartment, Katabasis)
Mentioned this week:
Nintendo Direct summary
Noah Caldwell-Gervais on Souls inheritors
Nicole Carpenter’s review of The Last of Us Part 1 at Polygon
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It’s been a while.
Follow along here.
Catch up here, here, here, here, and here.
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Robin and Willa played some games this week, just not the same ones. First up is the detailed world of Artis Impact, followed by the sleek and simple mechanics of Öoo. They both rock!
Timestamps:
(01:35) Worst Girl Mode episodes, ranked
(03:47) Artis Impact
(25:00) Öoo
(37:34) A short Peak update (it is still cool)
(38:18) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Alien: Earth, Berlin by Bea Setton)
Mentioned this week:
Willa on Artis Impact
Why We Can't Stop Mapping Elden Ring by Renata Price
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This week, we watched Nintendo’s little showcase, which was fine. Then we both played Heartworm, a game that we like a lot, despite all the things we don’t like about it. Finally, Robin talks about some old lady shit and a new podcast, and Willa reads a good book.
Timestamps:
(01:06) A little Nintendo Direct
(03:25) Too cool for Americans
(04:45) Regarding mouth sounds
(06:05) The rest of Nintendo Indie World
(14:25) Heartworm
(37:50) Titan Quest II
(40:09) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Pure Colour, In Sequence, Queer Games Bundle 2025)
Mentioned this week:
Heartworm Is A Modern Take On Fatal Frame With Perfect Retro Aesthetics
Heartworm Grapples With the Trap of Nostalgia
Titan Quest II Takes All The Right Lessons From Its Classic Predecessor
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We’ve got a grab bag of things this week (that includes mini grab bags hidden within). Robin and Willa discuss the latest Nintendo Direct, including everyone’s love of Philabieldia, and then go over previews for Battlefield (boo) and Silent Hill f (boo, but in a scary way not a bad way) before checking up on what games they’ve been playing.
Timestamps:
(02:30) Nintendo Direct gives us the good slop
(16:20) Preview corner with Battlefield 6 and Silent Hill f
(21:04) The Great Villainess… Again!
(27:48) The Robin game corner (Co-op Kaiju Horror Cooking and Time Flies)
(40:09) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Brendon Bigley's Metroid Fusion video, Stop Fucking Playing The Wordle, Hana's Light)
Mentioned this week:
The Edelgard affair tweet
Giovanni Colantonio on Battlefield 6
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Everything that was bad last week is even worse this week. Itch has followed Steam in delisting a ton of games for either including offensive sexual content or just gay people. Who can even tell the difference? We follow that exasperating conversation with what we’ve been playing this week, mostly consisting of games about a whole bunch of toxic lesbians.
Timestamps:
(01:00) Everything got worse
(18:35) Toxic Yuri VN Jam
(29:10) The Great Villainess
(33:15) Metal Garden
(36:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Young Justice, The Raven Tower)
Mentioned this week:
Two articles from Ana Valens on game censorship
Fans need to understand Link and Zelda aren’t a couple
Everyone Is Beautiful and No One Is Horny
Developers Are Protesting As Adult Game Bans Come To Indie Storefront Itch.io
Steam Banning Some Adult Games Is A Big Deal Even If You Don’t Play Them
Stop Payment Processors from censorship!
Protect Queer Creators and Sex Workers
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Episode 133 - The Cultural Vandalism Corner
This week Robin and Willa talk about the horrors of horse girl racing, the horrors of pulp point-and-click adventure The Drifter, the horrors of regulating games, and the beauty of the New York Mets baby, let's go Mets, it's all about the Mets!
Timestamps:
(00:13) Sponsored by TK water brand
(04:24) Umamusume: and they were roomates
(12:44) The Drifter: John Carpenter does point-and-click
(23:14) Wheels of Aurelia and Apple sucking as usual
(28:19) Valve cracks down on porn for stupid reasons. TRIGGER WARNING: sexault assault and rape mentioned
(34:04) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls, Leviathan)
Mentioned this week:
Robin on The Drifter
Maddy Myers on The Drifter
Game Developer on Wheels of Aurelia
RPS on Valve’s porn crackdown
No Escape on Valve’s porn crackdown
Ana Valens on Valve's porn crackdown
And finally Robin on Valve's porn crackdown
Women are reclaiming their place in baseball
The girl who struck out Babe Ruth
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We took last week off from recording and, what do you know, we ended up playing a lot of games in the meantime. This time, we’re talking about girls who are horses, cats who are girls, and card games that are magic. This week also marks Press Start joining The Worst Garbage network so go check them out!!
Timestamps:
(00:25) We’ve gone to the audience
(03:10) Peak - It’s still good
(10:00) P5X - A Persona game with bad politics? Who would have thought
(19:25) Occlude - What if solitaire was fun
(26:45) Umamusume - The highs and lows of high school horse girl racing
(41:35) Everdeep Aurora - She’s a cat who’s a girl, not a cat girl
(46:30) Mass Effect - The best Mass Effect
(57:50) Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream - What if Fagin was a hot lady and not antisemitic
(1:08:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Dan Da Dan, Wildermyth Lays Bare the False Promises of AI Storytelling, Two Days Talking to People Looking for Jobs at ICE)
Mentioned this week:
Not Every Co-Op Game is “Friendslop”
No Phone Summer: It’s The Summer of the Retro Handheld
Hello Press Start!!!
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There has not been a lot of news for us to discourse about lately, so we are doing what every good content creator does for engagement: make a bad list. Come for Willa and Robin suffering through a task of their own making as they choose the best games of the 21st century, stay for updates on what Willa’s neighbor is doing with their backyard.
Timestamps:
(00:13) Judging our neighbors
(04:09) The best games of the 21st century (objectively)
(35:27) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Loco Motive, Peak)
Mentioned this week:
Robin on Peak
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We’re coming to you live from the heat dome this week, so assume anything wrong with this episode is due to our brains poaching in our skulls. In the meantime, we’ve been playing fishing games and porn games and old games and racing games and all kinds of other games and we’re here to talk about them in no particular order.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Welcome to the heat dome
(02:50) Sinker Sound
(17:10) L8R SK8R
(22:34) Mario Kart 8
(25:30) Aeromachina
(31:00) Signum Malum
(34:35) PSP Corner
(41:20) The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
(44:40) Ambrosia Sky
(46:25) Good Morning Drifter
(48:20) Squeakross: Home Squeak Home
(52:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The Talented Mr. Ripley, Date Everything claims to be a dating sim, but it doesn't love or understand its own genre, good writers are perverts, leaving the party, F*ck it, Let's Make a Website!)
Mentioned this week:
Bloomed Wings
Mario Kart World Review: ALMOST the Best Mario Kart
Baseball Explained by an Anime Girl
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This week, we've played an unconscionable number of demos, so we run through a whole bunch of the ones we mostly liked at Steam Next Fest and the Tribeca Festival. Then, Willa interviews Tribeca Games vice president Casey Baltes with a tin can inside a submarine apparently and Robin tries her hardest to make it listenable.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Just a whole bunch of nothing
(04:35) Dice Gambit
(10:30) Cast and Chill
(14:00) Morse
(18:15) Prison of Husks
(28:30) MotionRec
(33:20) Coffee Talk Tokyo
(35:30) Project Arrow
(37:15) KuloNiku: Bowl Up!
(41:10) Dispatch
(47:15) MIO: Memories in Orbit
(55:45) Possessor(s)
(1:00:55) Absolum
(1:04:46) Death Howl
(1:09:00) Cairn
(1:13:10) Sleep Awake
(1:15:40) Take Us North
(1:22:35) Mixtape
(1:29:30) Casey Baltes Interview
(1:55:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, a very good video about Dark Souls 2)
Mentioned this week:
Prison Of Husks Feels Like Playing A Dream About Dark Souls
I'm Bad at Video Games, So I Played Dark Souls 2
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The worst part of the year was even worse this year. We slogged through Summer Game Fest and a few showcases that didn’t suck and now we’re here to talk about what we saw there and why everyone’s so mad.
CW: Discussions of disordered eating in Consume Me from 52:30 to 57:05
Timestamps:
(00:20) Our mortal enemy, summer
(01:30) State of Play had a few good games
(13:15) Ciri Showcase and Unearthed Treasure Room
(17:30) SGF was even worse than it always is
(33:00) Mina the Hollower is good as hell
(38:55) Remembering that good video games exist at Day of the Devs
(52:30) CW: Eating disorders Consume Me is unbelievably good
(57:05) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters and another cinematic masterpiece)
(1:04:30) Some announcements!
Mentioned this week:
The Unearthed Treasure Room
Consume Me Turns Gaming’s Obsession With Stats Into A Trap For Players
You can now give us money if you really want to
Watch Annie and Robin on Twitch Wednesday at 7 pm ET!
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We have a handful of games to talk about this week, including an excellent new farming game, a so-so story from the creator of Katamari Damacy, and a turn-based RPG about death (no, not that one).
Timestamps:
(00:30) Corndog update
(04:10) Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the second coming of Harvestella
(24:50) To a T is cute I guess
(40:55) Galactic Glitch is simple fun
(44:10) Danchi Days is delightful and weird
(50:25) The Time I Have Left now lives rent-free in Robin's brain
(57:15) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Hacks, You’re Wrong About - Coyotes! and Lesbian Seagulls)
Mentioned this week:
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Review: A Bountiful Blend of Life Sim and RPG
To a T Feels Like A Saturday Morning Cartoon’s Rough First Season
Gio’s good post
The Quest To Revive A Summer Festival Is Off To A Strong Start In Danchi Days
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This week, Robin and Willa have a conversation no one will disagree with about a game everyone is being reasonable about. We talk through why Clair Obscur, the FRPG of the year, didn’t live up to the hype for either of us, and inevitably detour into why criticism is good and cool and doesn’t have to make you a killjoy.
Timestamps:
(00:30) Setting le tableau (or, don’t yell at us about Clair Obscur)
(03:40) Prologue: A Very Somber State Fair
(35:00) Act 1: Lost Syndrome
(45:45) Act 2: We Don’t Care That [REDACTED] [REDACTED]s
(53:00) Act 3: Every Frame A Painting
(1:04:50) Epilogue: Blaming Women
(1:18:18) Inspirations and comparisons
(1:29:40) Why everyone is being so weird about this game/why criticism isn’t a dirty word
(1:42:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Gundam GQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuX, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown)
Mentioned this week:
The best part of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is it explains nothing
Close Reading Is For Everyone
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s style is its substance
I Want to Be Potboy! (with Robin and Tori!) - Into the Aether
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CW: Brief reference to suicide between (01:05:00) and (01:05:45)
This week, Robin and Willa dive into the work of Selkie Harbour, developer of the recent (and excellent) Many Nights a Whisper. We get into the interesting parallels and outliers among the studio’s catalog and come away more excited about ice skating than we ever thought possible. We also completely spoil all of these very short games, so consider taking a couple hours to play through all of them if you don’t want to hear about them first!
Also check out Robin's recent appearance on Into the Aether, where she talks indie deckbuilders and Expedition 33 with Stephen and Press Start's Tori!
Timestamps:
(01:20) X-Men belongs to the dolls
(02:45) A walking tour of Selkie Harbour’s itch page
(6:15) A Message for the Stone King
(12:15) The Well
(19:30) Everything You Didn’t Get To Do
(31:50) Sunset Shift
(40:20) I.C.A. Calendar Photoshoot 2023 (see Robin's calendar here)
(46:10) Rêverie
(51:30) The Anglerfish Project
(58:35) Wrapping up Selkie Harbour
(1:00:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Easy Delivery Co., Apocalypse Hotel, a great piece on Superhot VR, Blue Prince)
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This week, Robin talks to the delightful hosts of the equally delightful Emmi & Annie Talk Indie podcast. We discuss a whole mess of games, with tangents on sexualizing playing cards, furry-friendly pizza restaurants, the games that taught us to type, and learning the name for a group of butterflies.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Introducing Emmi and Annie (who talk indie)!
(14:30) Making dogs immortal in Many Nights a Whisper
(43:30) A food service soap opera in The Chef’s Shift :3
(1:02:55) Christine Mi’s games make us want to make games
(1:23:00) Growing a story in Tiny Garden
(1:26:45) Worshipping the devil after gym class in Expelled!
(1:39:00) What else have Annie, Emmi, and Robin been up to this week? (feat. traumatic YA books, gacha-based disappointment, The Apothecary Diaries, Changes of Heart, Look Back, a 29-year-old calling herself old and instantly killing Robin)
Mentioned this week:
Listen to EATI!
Follow Emmi, Annie, and EATI on Bluesky
Annie, Emmi, and EATI’s websites
A very good Christine Mi comic
Dotzip on Worm Girlfriend Dating Simulator
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Like everyone else, we’re still reeling from the destruction of Polygon and Giant Bomb, but trying to do more than curl up into the fetal position about it. After the most constructive takes on games media we can muster, we talk through a few great games Robin's played recently, put a pin in a not-great one, and check in with Willa’s three favorite things (the Mets, weird New York lore, and gay mutants).
Timestamps:
(00:20) Meet today’s guest, Willa Rowe
(01:20) The shocking delay of GTA 6, which no one saw coming
(06:00) RIP Polygon and Giant Bomb
(12:30) The future of games media, if there is such a thing
(21:21) Navigating games journalism in its death throes
(25:20) You don’t need to pay $80 for games
(30:10) Many Nights a Whisper
(36:30) Ending spoilers for Many Nights a Whisper
(38:00) StarVaders fuuuuuucks
(40:05) We will talk about Clair Obscur at a later date
(41:05) Brief LudoNarraCon shoutouts
(43:30) Surprise Mets/Astoria the turkey update
(46:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The X-Men, Super Cub)
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Selkie Harbour
Many Nights A Whisper Lets You Decide What Wishes Are Worth Granting
I Can’t Believe How Good StarVaders’ Deckbuilding Riff On Space Invaders Is
Willa’s deranged Clair Obscur thread
LudoNarraCon talks
The Senga Genesis post
Hazel’s Anime Countryside video
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This week, critic and essayist Autumn Wright joins Robin to talk about Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, a game about growing up as a queer woman that’s just as messy as the real thing. We discuss how the game still works even when it’s fraying at the edges and wonder whether the mid-budget talky game can survive even if Don’t Nod doesn’t.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Welcome Autumn!
(24:50) Tape 1 ending spoilers
(29:10) Tape 1 Spoilers end/Tape 2 spoilers begin
(38:25) Tape 2 ending spoilers begin
(1:17:05) Tape 2 spoilers end/Don’t Nod and conversation games broadly
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Autumn on Bloom and Rage Tape 1 and Tape 2
Robin on Bloom and Rage Tape 1 and Tape 2
Follow Autumn on Bluesky
Read Autumn on Unwinnable
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This week, we played a bunch of different games and now we’re gonna talk about them. I don’t know what else you want.
Timestamps:
(01:25) News we don’t care about and jokes we do
(03:00) Sunderfolk
(21:10) Mandragora
(29:30) Shadow of the Colossus
(35:50) Metroid Prime
(44:30) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Season of the Witch, The River Has Roots, Taco Bell Quarterly)
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Sunderfolk Is An RPG Everyone Can Enjoy, But It Might Be Hard To Love
Mandragora Is The Most Infuriating RPG I’ve Played This Year And I Can’t Put It Down
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The worst February of our lives continues with the release of Hogwarts Legacy. We discuss how the media failed to take its significance seriously, why our reactions are about more than just a game, and why, yes, supporting it does make you a bad person.
We cap off this week’s fun-filled episode with a genuinely much cheerier segment recommending some great games by and about trans people that you should be playing instead.
This episode touches on transphobia throughout. While there's no detailed discussion of any particular transphobic comments or acts, please proceed with caution.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(04:40) The Flaco Report
(07:35) Hogwarts Legacy or: Why your trans friends seem so mad lately
(57:15) Robin tries and fails to recommend a game
(1:00:00) Oh god no we're talking about Harry Potter again
(1:03:40) Trans games you should play instead of Hogwarts Legacy
(1:11:30) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Five key takeaways from Supreme Court ruling
UK Supreme Court Rules That Trans Women Aren’t Women under the Equality Act 2010
Mermaids
Gender Intelligence
Stonewall
Hogwarts Legacy does not deserve to be reviewed on its own merits - GamesHub
There Is No Magic in Hogwarts Legacy - Wired
Trans Witches Are Witches bundle
Trans game recommendations
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Since we’re sure you’re not sick of hearing about the Switch 2, we’re covering the Direct from a couple weeks ago before moving on to the Triple-i Initiative (featuring indie publisher Ubisoft) and a remake of The Talos Principle. Then, of course, Mets updates and baseball players who are “just roommates.”
Timestamps
(02:20) Switch 2 hardware
(16:40) Switch 2 games
(37:50) Triple-i Initiative
(48:45) The Talos Principle
(1:00:15) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. buying zines, Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne, and dotzip’s Pale Dot episode)
(1:09:00) The Mets/baseball players saying the f-slur update
Mentioned this week
The Triple-i Initiative
Neverway
Into the Fire
Opus: Prism Peak
Over the Hill
A godawful Atlantic article we briefly make fun of
Alyssa Van Hulle
Amy Lovvik
Kyle Fewell
Neve M.A.
Teo Suzuki
Tuyetnhi P.
Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne
Exploring the Galaxy in Pale Dot - dotzip
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While we take the week off, we’re re-airing a 2023 interview with Rue Dickey, who’s currently organizing the TTRPGs for Trans Right Ohio charity bundle on Itch.io. In the episode, Willa and Robin speak to Rue about a similar, very successful bundle they organized for trans charities in Florida two years ago.
Listen in as we discuss the realities of fundraising, why tabletop games are so darn gay, what YOU can do to help queer people around you, and of course our mutual love of tieflings. Plus, Rue shares some of their personal picks from the 2023 bundle!
Timestamps
(00:10) What’s going on this week
(04:30) Our 2023 interview with Rue
Mentioned this week
TTRPGs for Trans Rights - Ohio
Kaleidoscope Youth Center
TransOhio
A 2022 interview between Robin and Rue
Rue's website
Zebra Youth
Transinclusive Group
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This week, Nintendo sends off the Switch with one of the weirdest Directs ever and we’re here to talk through the 30 percent of it that was actually interesting to us. Then, after a brainstorming session about Sabrina Carpenter and Xenoblade Chronicles, we half-heartedly predict what’s coming at the Switch 2 Direct that you probably just watched.
Timestamps
(00:20) All of our beautiful boys are back
(04:30) Sicko Direct
(25:40) Our extremely noncommittal Switch 2 predictions
(36:55) The only good games media news in the past two years
(41:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Xenoblade Chronicles X, Ice Cream Fever, Fringe)
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This week, Willa and Robin are playing the game everyone is playing for the first and maybe last time this year. Then, a game where you kill God, and an awards show that doesn't make you want to kill the concept of video games.
Timestamps
(00:20) Assassin’s Creed Shadows is pretty good for a AAA game
(49:20) Light spoilers for one Assassin’s Creed Shadows quest
(51:30) Attacking and dethroning God in 33 Immortals
(59:35) Sam Lake made me cry about video games at the GDC Awards
(1:07:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Expelled!, Deep Rock Galactic)
Mentioned this week
IGF and GDC Awards
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This week, Willa and Robin have each played a big, anime-ass RPG, but only one turned out to be the right kind of boring.
Timestamps
(2:00) Atelier Yumia and the Bad Video Game Title
(15:40) What does it mean to remake a game?
(19:40) Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
(43:05) Reignbreaker, briefly
(45:20) Itch wildfire relief bundle roundup
(51:25) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Eternal Strands, OMEN, riding bikes)
Mentioned this week
Suikoden I And II HD Remaster Improves The Style, But Not The Substance, Of Two Classic RPGs
Planescape Torment: Never meet other people’s heroes
Another Code: Recollection Creates a False Memory of the Past
You Can’t Buy Final Fantasy These Days*
Serre
Fuzz Dungeon
Super Lesbian Animal RPG
I don’t think I’ve walked this stretch of road before
Orb Tower
OMEN
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This week, certified Girl Mode Fave™ Emily Price joins Robin to talk about a few more Next Fest demos, 15th century Catholicism, playing soccer as a child, falling off mountains, what words to use to describe music, and why you should make a website. Check the links below for where to follow Emily!
Timestamps
(0:20) OMG it’s Emily Price!
(02:15) Next Fest chat
(5:20) Unpacking yourself from capitalism/you should start a blog
(10:45) Angeline Era
(19:00) Blue Prince
(31:00) Cairn
(38:20) Despelote
(47:30) Misericorde
(54:55) Wanderstop
(1:15:10) What else have Emily and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Under A Star Called Sun, Bitsy, a bunch of music)
Mentioned this week
Unwinnable
Emily’s website
Emily on bluesky
17776
Katie Dey
Marika Hackman
Mannequin Pussy
Julie Christmas
The Dracu-Las
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After a brief but important look into the state of milfs in Pokémon, we dive into our favorite demos from this ~~year’s~~ quarter’s Steam Next Fest.
Timestamps
(1:15) Talking about not talking bout Pokemon
(04:00) Next Fest
(05:20) Skulker
(08:35) Neo Junk City
(12:20) Moves of the Diamond Hand
(13:50) Robin’s roguelike corner (As We Descend, Shuffle Tactics, Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3, Kaamos)
(19:05) Demon Tides
(22:00) Haste
(24:50) Despelote
(27:00) Wheel World
(31:20) Static Dread
(34:50) Desert Angels
(37:20) To a T
(39:45) Out and About
(44:30) Is This Seat Taken?
(47:00) Jitter
(50:20) Dolls Nest
(53:10) Children of Saturn
(57:50) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. How Do We Relationship?, Split Fiction)
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CW: Mentions of alcoholism in the Cabernet discussion (specifically from around 34:45 to 38:20)
This week we’re discussing Cabernet, a game with a lot to say about the social construction of vampires, the cyclical nature of authoritarianism, and blood play.
Editor’s note: I cut out us deciding not to discuss a game because we haven't played enough but left a few vague mentions of it in. It’s Cage of Roses, by one of our favorite VN developers, ebi-hime, so it’s probably good. I could go back and clean up the edit but who has the time?
Timestamps
(02:00) Cabernet
(13:30) More explicit story spoilers for Cabernet
(40:30) Vampyr
(47:00) Bloodlines
(54:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Avowed, a smorgasbord of vampire recommendations)
Mentioned this week:
Secrets of the Voice Acting Process in Cabernet
VAMPYR: A COVID-19 Pandemic Perspective
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Please take some time to consider how you can help trans people, immigrants, and others targeted by our fascist government:
Call your elected officials to oppose anti-trans, anti-immigrant policies. It’s so easy, we promise!
Three big lists of trans advocacy orgs you should donate to and volunteer with
How to protect yourself and your neighbors from ICE
The Trans Literature Preservation Project
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’ve watched the State of Play and played a bunch of games this week, so naturally we start off with an update on the 2005 Fantastic Four movie before getting to any of that.
Timestamps
(01:05) We’re a Fantastic Four podcast now
(04:00) State of Play
(08:20) The ones we’re kind of excited about
(26:05) The State of Play(ing Overwatch)
(34:40) Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog
(39:50) Of the Devil
(44:20) Lost Records
(54:00) Possible extremely vague Lost Records spoilers
(59:10) Slightly less vague Lost Records ending spoilers
(1:02:30) End of Lost Records spoilers
(1:03:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Death Becomes Her, Moves of the Diamond Hand, Birds of Prey, Ted Lasso)
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Please take some time to consider how you can help trans people, immigrants, and others targeted by our fascist government:
Call your elected officials to oppose anti-trans, anti-immigrant policies. It’s so easy, we promise!
Three big lists of trans advocacy orgs you should donate to and volunteer with
How to protect yourself and your neighbors from ICE
The Trans Literature Preservation Project
Trans Joy Game Jam
LA Mutual Aid Network fire resources
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we spend an unbelievable amount of time talking about the Fantastic Four before remembering we’re supposed to be a video game podcast and pivoting to World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. Then, Sony said we’re not allowed to play Elden Ring, so we talk about some indies we’ve played instead.
Timestamps
(00:20) An incredibly long tangent on the Fantastic Four
(13:35) A shorter tangent on the Mets
(15:25) MMO corner with WoW and FFXIV
(30:55) Sony tells gamers to go touch grass
(35:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The Roottrees Are Dead, The Mountain Is As It Always Was, Monarch)
Mentioned this week:
The Fantastic Four trailer we talk so much about
It’s weird that HERBIE is here
WoW housing news
Christine Mi on itch
Emerging from the Loam in worm girlfriend dating simulator - dotzip
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Please take some time to consider how you can help trans people, immigrants, and others targeted by our fascist government
Call your elected officials to oppose anti-trans, anti-immigrant policies
Three big lists of trans advocacy orgs you should donate to and volunteer with
How to protect yourself and your neighbors from ICE
The Trans Literature Preservation Project
Trans Joy Game Jam
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
BioWare is 30 years old and collapsing (relatable amirite) so we’re talking about the legacy, decline, and doubtful future of a studio whose work we’ve both really enjoyed this week. Then, Willa has brainworms for a new anime movie and Robin has two certified sicko games to share with the class.
Timestamps
(01:45) Complaining/reminiscing about BioWare
(33:50) Two quick, less depressing shoutouts for the Video Game History Foundation and Trans Joy Jam
(39:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. The Colors Within, Eternal Strands, Techno Banter)
Mentioned this week:
BioWare Studio Update
Digital Archive at VGHF Library
Arimia’s blog
Trans Joy Jam 2025
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Please take some time to consider how you can help:
Call your elected officials to oppose anti-trans, anti-immigrant policies. It’s so easy, we promise!
Three big lists of trans advocacy orgs you should donate to and volunteer with
How to protect yourself and your neighbors from ICE
The Trans Literature Preservation Project
Trans Joy Game Jam
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we played the sequel to one of our mutual favorite RPGs, and one of our most anticipated games of the year. Listen in to hear how that went, and be wary of spoilers! Check the timestamps! Take care, love you, bye.
Timestamps
(02:00) Non-spoiler Citizen Sleeper 2 thoughts
(46:00) Citizen Sleeper 2 spoilers start here!!!
(1:26:45) Citizen Sleeper 2 spoilers end here!!!
(1:32:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Please take some time to consider how you can help trans people, immigrants, and others targeted by our fascist government:
Call your elected officials to oppose anti-trans, anti-immigrant policies. It’s so easy, we promise!
Three big lists of trans advocacy orgs you should donate to and volunteer with
How to protect yourself and your neighbors from ICE
The Trans Literature Preservation Project
Trans Joy Game Jam
LA Mutual Aid Network fire resources
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Since there’s no big news from Nintendo or anything this week, we take this episode to go over last year’s gaming predictions and try to correctly guess more than one thing that will happen in 2025. Then, as you could have predicted, Robin has no memory of the past week and Willa talks about yuri.
Timestamps
(01:15) Our great 2024 gaming predictions
(19:00) Our hopefully better 2025 gaming predictions
(35:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
The Worst Game Jam 2025
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
LA Mutual Aid Network fire resources
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A new year is upon us, and everyone’s decided to keep making video games. This week, we ease into 2025 by running down some of the games we’re most excited about playing in the coming year.
Timestamps
(01:30) The Worst Garbage game jam announcement!!
(05:30) Our 2025 most anticipated games
(56:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
The Worst Game Jam 2025
Metroid Prime has been making gamers love reading since 2002
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Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
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It’s time once again for the most important and sincere awards show in all of gaming: The Girlies! Listen in as we hand out awards new and old, from Best Game That’s Just Mid to Best Inanimate Object.
Thanks to everyone who started listening or stuck with us in 2024! Happy New Year!!!
Timestamps
(00:30) What are we doing here?
(02:40) The awards begin
(1:39:45) GOTY discussion
Mentioned this week
The thing they say they’re mad at never actually matters
The Way They Walk in Liberl
UFO 50 review: the 8-bit era returns in this fantastic retro collection
Solace State and the Return of Bio-awareness in Cyberpunk
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: The Terror of Tamagotchi
Grief and Grace Along Route Zero
Planescape Torment: Never meet other people’s heroes
Ageism in Games: Stop Calling Old Games Outdated: A Self-Review of Anodyne
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There’s no way most of you little freaks ended up on the nice list this year, but we’re bringing you a gift anyway. For this edition of our annual game swap, we’re talking about 1000xResist and Lovely Lady RPG, two games with so little in common I can’t even write a cute little quip comparing them here.
Timestamps
(02:30) 1000xResist
(1:34:30) Fixer’s Song by Alex Mah & A Sum
(1:35:10) Lovely Lady RPG
(2:37:20) Untitled by Lutzl & Digital Poppy
(2:37:55) Willa and Robin haven’t been up to anything else this week
Mentioned this week
1000xResist
Lovely Lady RPG
Talking for 5 Hours About 1000xResist - dotzip
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Game Awards found some exciting new ways to be disappointing this year, but Fumito Ueda also announced a game so who can really be that mad? We talk through this year’s “awards show” then catch up with our mutual obsession, a game about fishing and wearing dresses.
Timestamps
(00:30) You do not have to hand it to Geoff
(1:01:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Infinity Nikki, Reverse 1999, Caves of Qud)
Mentioned this week
The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards
Next week we’ll be discussing 1000xResist and Lovely Lady RPG!
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
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We watched the PC Gaming Show as an amuse-bouche for The Game Awards, and found a few games to pique our interest plus one to pique our anger. Then we talk through a handful of games we’re either having fun with or anticipate doing so, and end by announcing our plans for the rest of the year, including what games we'll be discussing at length in the final episode of 2024!
Timestamps
(01:00) The ups and downs of the PC Gaming Show
(26:10) Toem 2 & Prisma sure look cool
(30:50) Dungeon crawling in Dungeon Antiqua
(37:20) Having fun being nice in Infinity Nikki
(46:20) Getting down to business (and announcing our annual game swap selections)
(58:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Sakura Quest, Girls Band Cry)
Mentioned this week
Is it Wizardry? Is it Final Fantasy? No! It's Dungeon Antiqua
Khara, Sunrise Animate Gundam GQuuuuuuX TV Series
1000xResist
Lovely Lady RPG
Finding the You Inside in Psychroma - dotzip
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’re both sleepy from cooking and/or eating big meals this week, so we’re meandering through a discussion of Fantasian Neo Dimension, Sony’s latest bad idea, and Ewan McGregor’s penis.
Timestamps
(00:40) Willa’s gonna tell you a little bit about Thanksgiving
(05:15) Fantasian Neo Dimension and Final Fantasy chat
(22:55) Arcane Season 2 (is bad)
(32:50) The PS5P
(38:30) Slitterhead minute
(41:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. The Golden Compass, Velvet Goldmine, Stonetop)
Mentioned this week
Japanese RPGs are thriving this decade, so why isn't Final Fantasy?
Listen to Mel Stone
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
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This week we’re mainly talking about Final Fantasy XIV Mobile and The Game Awards. Guess which one we get really riled up about.
Timestamps
(01:50) FF14 Mobile
(22:20) An incredibly cynical look at The Game Awards
(52:40) The Indie Game Awards seem cool-ish
(57:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Threshold, Sudden Death, Neurokino Retrograde, Wicked)
Mentioned this week
Liz Ryerson on The Indie Game Awards
Threshold
Sudden Death
Neurokino Retrograde
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
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This week, we’re doing Game Awards discourse, playing a couple new and not-so-new games, and showing preferential treatment toward one listener with a return to our email pile.
Timestamps
(01:15) Who handles the fire in your relationship?
(4:40) It’s Game Awards discourse season!
(23:00) Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is fine
(27:10) Dragon Quest 3 (but not the one you’re thinking of)
(35:50) Sorry We’re Closed looks better than it feels
(42:35) Reading Ashley’s email
(1:05:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Look Back, riding bikes, generic fantasy)
Mentioned this week
Stunning Anime Look Back Appreciates the Work of Art
Willa’s blog
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
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Listen. We’re not doing great and we suspect you’re not either. After a brief chat about the election and Willa’s recent layoff, we dive into Mouthwashing, an emotionally challenging game that made us both feel like shit and is undoubtedly one of the year’s best.
If you’re looking for something positive to do with your energy after you’ve processed the results of the election, check the end of the shownotes for some hopefully helpful links.
Timestamps
(00:30) What a week it’s been (derogatory)
(01:20) Hey please take care of each other, things are pretty fucked
(07:45) The second annual layoff spectacular
(11:05) Cheering ourselves up with Mouthwashing, the saddest game ever made
(25:20) Mouthwashing spoilers begin [CW: mentions of sexual assault, suicide, alcoholism]
(55:20) Spoilers for Silent Hill 2 and Signalis, somehow
(1:04:00) The Mouthwashing scene that gave Robin a mental breakdown
(1:11:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Dungeon Inn, Witching Stone, Arcane season 2)
Mentioned this week
Ten Free Ebooks for Getting Free
This post from Rowan Zeoli
Some help changing your name and gender marker
Willa’s blog
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Things are bad right now, but you can help make them better. Here are some links that can help you get started:
Lots of resources from Critical Distance
Find local mutual aid groups
Get free masks and Covid-19 tests
Huge spreadsheets of mutual aid, justice orgs, and more
Prisonculture shares a lot of good resources on Bluesky
How to Change Your Legal Name and Gender 101
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Let us know what we should add to this list!
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It’s our second anniversary AND our 100th episode, a scheduling feat you wouldn’t believe was on purpose even if we tried to convince you it was. We take the time to answer some questions sent in by listeners over the past year, touching on our favorite games and inspirations, some podcasting inside baseball, and of course, the Mets.
Thanks for listening!!
Timestamps
(03:45) First gaming loves and breaking our parents’ rules
(11:55) The Girl Mode canon
(18:50) Sports games and comics
(26:20) Our critical inspirations
(32:50) X-Men by Girl Mode Studios
(36:45) Fixing the video game timeline
(44:00) Finding our podcasting voice/underdiscussed games/the Mets as RPG protagonists
(56:10) Thanks for listening!
(59:25) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, The Vampire Lovers, Late Night with the Devil)
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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.
Gaza Funds
eSims for Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser
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With her parasocial World Series hopes dashed, Willa has returned to the podcast to talk shit about Overwatch and the U.S. Copyright Office and listen to Robin yap about Dragon Age and Webfishing.
Timestamps
(02:00) The final Mets update
(07:50) Overwatch 2 wants to be Overwatch 1 (and it should)
(13:35) All our homies hate the Entertainment Software Association
(22:45) Dragon Age: The Veilguard is pretty alright
(40:10) Dragon Age spoilers begin
(55:15) Webfishing is the best game in the world
(58:15) Masahiro Sakurai’s video game school is closed
(1:02:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. a whole bunch of vampire movies and The VVitch)
Mentioned this week
Fulfilling Our Promise in Signalis w/ Girl Mode
Can an online library of classic video games ever be legal?
What's New in Game History!
Steam’s Strange New Online Fishing Game Is Like Animal Crossing’s Evil Twin
Webfishing is the ultimate yapping game
Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games: Finale Special
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Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.
Gaza Funds
eSims for Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser
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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
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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.
Gaza Funds
eSims for Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser
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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
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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.
Gaza Funds
eSims for Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser
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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)
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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.
Gaza Funds
eSims for Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 26: Giant-Size Girl-Mode #1
Episode 38: The Sisterhood of Evil Podcasters
Episode 56: Castle of Lesbianism
Episode 72: Goin' Down to Mutant Town
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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
The Plucky Squire: The Kotaku Review
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
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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
Astro Bot is a Colorful Playground Built on Top of Studios Sony Crushed
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
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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
Nintendo Needs a Reason for the Girl to be the Hero
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”
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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
dotzip talks for five hours about 1000xResist
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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
Shorter standalones like Dying Light: The Beast are "the future of games"
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
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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
We played Valve’s secret new shooter, Deadlock
The Bright Sword is a Radiant Reimagining of Arthurian Legend
Brendon’s blog, Wavelengths.online
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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 movie 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?
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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)
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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
Assassin's Creed Developers Didn’t Have To Explain Their Game
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
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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
Overwatch 2's new space girl healer takes the throne as one of the most strategically satisfying heroes in the game
.45 Parabellum Bloodhound Trailer
Parasite Eve-Inspired Cyberpunk Game Announced, Looks Cool As Hell
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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
Is Xbox Game Pass really worth it anymore?
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
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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
"Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria" Part 1: The Cooties Theory of Transgender Identity
‘The Bear’ Season 3 review: Carmy bears down on success, with uneven results
The Bear Season 3 Premiere is A Messy Amuse-Bouche
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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
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Was A Flawed Finale I'll Never Forget
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
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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
Princess Zelda Doesn’t Need A Sword to Be A Hero In The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
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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
Listen to us on Into the Aether!
Willa previews darkwebSTREAMER, Neva, and Skate Story
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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
Citizen Sleeper 2 Ups The Ante With A Bigger And More Dangerous World
How the fight for bodily autonomy shaped 2022's most fascinating video game
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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!
Watch Drawfee’s charity stream June 8 at 2 p.m. Eastern
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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)
Druckmann's unedited transcript
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
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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
9 Demos You Need To Play During Steam’s LudoNarraCon 2024
Uh-oh, I Already Hate What Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Is Doing To This Job
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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
maybe you’ll find me by theydevil
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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!
Willa’s Crow Country review
Witching Stone
Robin continues talking about Witching Stone
Send us questions!
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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
Stellar Blade and the Male Gaze
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
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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
Palestinian Relief Bundle on itch
TTRPGs for Palestine Bundle
Music
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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
Jeff Strain’s extremely bizarre statement on Possibility Space
Willa’s Harold Halibut review
Into the Aether
Robin tells you to play Between Horizons in more detail
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Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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[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 Many Clicks Does It Take To Get to the Center of Diablo?
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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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
Judas First Details: How Ken Levine Is Building on BioShock With 'Narrative LEGOs'
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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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!
Kotaku EIC Resigns Over New Editorial Edict
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
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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
Send us questions!
Mentioned this week
Jade’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review
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.
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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
Send us questions!
Mentioned this week
I Need to Get Way Better at Elden Ring Before Shadow of the Erdtree Launches
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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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
Who’s Telling the Truth about Disco Elysium?
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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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/SkyKniight/status/1753461874526462371
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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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
The Murder Game Revolution That Has Gripped China
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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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
Robin’s Prince of Persia review
WIlla’s Another Code review
Willa on the Genshin Impact concert
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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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
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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 and Robin's most anticipated games
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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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
Send us questions and Girlies categories!
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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
Send us questions and suggest Girlies categories!
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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:
Gamedev.world
DICE Awards
GDC Awards
New York Game Awards
Willa’s Winter Spectacular piece
Robin’s Winter Spectacular piece
Music
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Towards a Free Palestine game jam
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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
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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.
Medical Aid for Palestianians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser
Towards a Free Palestine game jam
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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.
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.
Medical Aid for Palestianians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Buy e-sims to get Palestinians back online
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Follow us places
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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.
Medical Aid for Palestianians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Buy e-sims to get Palestinians back online
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
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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.
Medical Aid for Palestianians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Buy e-sims to get Palestinians back online
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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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.
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Games for Gaza
Buy e-sims to get Palestinians back online
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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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.
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Demand a ceasefire from your representatives
Games for Gaza
Buy e-sims to get Palestinians back online
Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet
Mentioned this week
Samantha Greer on graphics discourse
Harper Jay on Star Wars: The Old Republic
Robin on Saltsea Chronicles
Willa on the folly of photorealism
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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With spooky season in full swing, we decided to watch some of the "best" "horror" movies of all time this week. We may not be able to remember almost anything that happens in the Resident Evil movies, but we do have strong opinions about all of Milla Jovovich's haircuts.
No timestamps this week. It's all Resident Evil, babes!
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians to help with urgent medical needs caused by Israel's attacks on Gaza. https://www.map.org.uk/donate/donate
We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.
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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
Donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians to help with urgent medical needs caused by Israel's attacks on Gaza.
We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.
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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 on We Were Here
Robin still can't shut up about Cocoon
A Deep Dive into the Queer Coding of Genshin Impact
On Exactitude in Elden Ring
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.
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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
We didn't mention this but it's Robin's first piece back at Inverse and she really wants people to play Moonring
Dawn Service by Katie Dey
Cobalt Core
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
The Death of Unity
Leveling Up on the Video Game Beat
Kotaku's Xbox leak primer
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
Red XIII riding a chocobo
The Scandalous Life of France's Bisexual Opera Icon
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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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
Willa's fishing obsession
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
Willa on Shovel Knight
Robin on Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Follow us on socials (and email us life advice)
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
Willa talks to Studio Élan
Arimia on Visual Novel Fest
There's by Girl by Angela He
♥girl things♥ by jaystarry
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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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
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
Mentioned this week
How 'Overwatch' Lost, Then Found Again, the Things That Made It Special
The Anime Countryside
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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
Before We Were Trans
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.
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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
We've Gotta Stop Killing JFK
Artificial Loneliness
Indie Dev Nadia Nova Talks Building a Community Through Erotica
Follow us wherever
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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
Follow us on whatever
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)
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
Unexplored 2
Sunshine Heavy Industries
Making a Monster by Game Assist
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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
Pharah comes out
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
Queer Games Bundle 2023
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
PlayStation Showcase
Mission Impossible 2 silent cut
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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
Willa on Final Fantasy XVI
'Every Zelda is the Darkest Zelda' by Jacob Geller
Strong Songs on The Legend of Zelda
Space-Cast feat. Amabel Holland
Fucking Trans Women
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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While the rest of the world is building dick robots with everyone's favorite genderfluid elf, Willa and Robin spend this week gushing over the incredible demos at this year's Ludonarracon. Listen for our uncharacteristically positive takes on this year's upcoming narrative games, many of which still have demos available! To end the episode, Willa recommends her current horny fanfic obsession and Robin rants about capitalism again.
Timestamps
(00:55) Ludonarracon baybeeee!
(02:25) Midautumn
(06:45) Goodbye Volcano High
(13:55) Demonschool
(18:30) Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
(25:40) The Star Named Eos
(31:10) Stray Gods
(39:30) Sucker for Love: Date to Die For
(44:50) Times & Galaxy
(50:10) Slay the Princess
(56:30) Loco Motive
(1:01:30) 1000xResist
(1:05:10) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Demonschool dev reveals how Suikoden and cheesy horror shaped the spooky RPG
Slay the Princess serves up a wild horror twist on The Stanley Parable
Future Labors: Citizen Sleeper and Hardspace Shipbreaker in Conversation
Memory, Society, Hope, and Heartbreak by Marginalized Protagonists
‘Hardspace: Shipbreaker’ Understands the Joy and Grace of Good Work
Anchor
Steam pages for everything we played at Ludonarracon
Midautumn
Goodbye Volcano High
Demonschool
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
The Star Named Eos
Stray Gods
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For
Times & Galaxy
Slay the Princess
Loco Motive
1000xResist
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
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Willa and Robin are on their best behavior this week on account of a very special guest stopping by. The great Jess Reyes is here to tell us all about Honkai Star Rail, from her favorite team comp to how to pronounce names that we stubbornly refuse to get right. Tune in to hear about our favorite anime girls and maybe you'll even pick up some of Jess' absurd gacha luck.
You can follow Jess on Twitter @jpreyes__ and read her work on Inverse here
Timestamps
(00:50) Hi Jess!
(02:00) All aboard Honkai Star Rail
(43:10) What else have we been up to this week?
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Robin kicks off this episode by ambushing Willa with a Pollyannaish take on the collapse of democracy before we move into our less optimistic feelings about the state of games journalism (stop me if you've heard this one before). The news of Waypoint's imminent closure has us in a dour mood that can only be salved by the beautiful murder machines in the new trailer for Armored Core IV, which we watch live. We end with a whirlwind tour of what we've been doing this week, from international travel to clawing our identities back from an uncaring legal system.
Timestamps
(00:35) Oh no Robin wants to talk about Zooey Zephyr again
(05:00) RIP Waypoint
(12:55) Why reviewing games is so fucked up part 10,000
(20:15) Waypoint eulogy continued
(24:45) Wow cool robot corner
(38:50) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Zooey Zephyr in Missoula
Patrick Klepek on reviewing AAA games
Austin Walker's Waypoint manifesto
Armored Core VI gameplay trailer
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
You can donate to the Pride Foundation, which supports queer communities across the U.S. Northwest, here.
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We're speedrunning a few new releases and announcements this episode, starting with the most important (read: gay) news of the week. Then we leave WLW corner to talk about another Nintendo indie showcase that has people continuing to be weird about Silksong, and discuss Unrecord, a cop game that promises it has nothing to say but still looks down on you for not respecting it. We end with Willa's lukewarm feelings on Coffee Talk 2.
Timestamps
(00:35) Have you ever cleaned your oven?
(02:00) Aloy has bitches now
(03:55) Nintendo Indie World was pretty good
(24:20) Unrecord looks like fashy trash
(39:55) Coffee Talk is fine
(45:00) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
The War Economy by Game Assist
Willa reviews Coffee Talk 2
hazel on YouTube
The Videogame Industry Does Not Exist by Brendan Keogh
maybe you'll find me by theydevil
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
You can support the Missouri-based LGBTQ advocacy organization PROMO here
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This week, we explore the lives of our ancestors: the various imps, demons, and mutants of the X-Men! Listen in as Willa bravely explains Omega-level mutants, trans allegories, and homosexuals with cool swords while Robin slowly breaks her spirit with incessant questions.
We'll be back to being mean about video games next week; part two of this sporadic series will appear when you least expect it.
Timestamps
(02:15) Willa's School for Inattentive Podcasters
(1:07:25) What have Willa and Robin been up this this week?
Follow along with the images Willa is confusing Robin with here
Apropos of nothing, you can donate to Transinclusive Group to help trans Floridians in need here
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
It's Episode 25, a fact that Robin refuses to celebrate with Willa for no clear reason. We didn't play any of the same things this week, so we meander through Willa's take on the Mario movie (it's fine), describe some tweets to each other (they're cute), and defend the honor of visual novels from lame-ass jokes (they're annoying). Then Kratos discourse continues to ruin Willa's life but neon computer people swoop in to save it.
Timestamps
(1:10) Mario saw 9/11
(6:10) Cute Twitter rodent corner
(12:30) Visual novels good, April Fool's day bad
(21:40) A very cinematic discussion of God of War Ragnarok
(29:00) Tron is love, Tron is life
Mentioned this week
Did Mario see 9/11? Jess Reyes reports
Kazuma Hashimoto on Ghost of Tsushima
Robin's ode to Freya Crescent
Willa on God of War Ragnarok's black and white mode
Willa's review of Tron: Identity
Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny by Raquel S. Benedict
Mouseley corner
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[Spoilers abound for Life After Magic and Citizen Sleeper!]
This week, Willa and Robin take their final trip to Erlin's Eye, with the last episode of our 2022 GOTY Citizen Sleeper. We chart the very different paths we took to find community in the ruins of capitalism and get predictably choked up about it.
But first, we both played another game we can't stop talking about: the magical girl visual novel Life After Magic! Huh, it's also about searching for community in a world that doesn't want you to have it, imagine that. We cover its deft handling of difficult friendships, brilliant metaphors for angst and burnout, and a boatload of cute lesbians.
Mentioned this week
Willa on Life After Magic
Willa on Citizen Sleeper: Purge
Robin's interview with Citizen Sleeper dev Gareth Damian Martin
Listen to us on Press START!
Buy the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida bundle!
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this special bonus episode, Willa and Robin sit down with the multi-talented and extremely busy Rue Dickey to discuss the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida bundle. The 500-game bundle has raised $234,000 so far for trans charities and is available until April 7!
Listen in as we discuss the realities of fundraising, why tabletop games are so darn gay, what YOU can do to help queer people around you, and of course our mutual love of tieflings. Plus, Rue shares some of their personal picks from the bundle!
Mentioned this week
TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida
Robin's interview with Rue on TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas
Follow Rue!
Zebra Youth
Transinclusive Group
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previews for Arkane's capitalism simulator Redfall are out, hinting at a game with lots of good ideas built on a shaky foundation. Tune in to see if a few killer pull quotes are enough to get us on board.
Then we reject the very concept of timeliness to talk about Nier Automata, a game that Robin finally finished despite being a little baby who doesn't like when games are hard. We praise what may be the best ending in gaming, discuss the significance of robot genitals, and absolutely spoil the twist for Zoe.
As always, we end by talking shit on Final Fantasy, a series that we both purport to love.
Timestamps
(1:00) Are they really vampires if they aren't sexy?
(20:30) Do androids dream of deleted save files?
(54:40) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Giovanni Colantonio on Redfall
Robin Valentine on Redfall
TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we fought demons, braved network connectivity issues, and thirsted over Lilith in the Diablo IV beta. Tune in for our takes on the good and bad in the beta and the gastronomically inadvisable way we got there.
Then one of the best-reviewed games of ~~2005~~ 2023 leads us into our own considerably less positive feelings on gaming's ongoing obsession with remakes, and what it might be costing us.
Timestamps
(00:30) - Nier Automata Ver1.1a is back to not being back
(02:30) - Diablo IV, aka Flame Wall the video game
(33:00) - Remake fatigue or: There is no new game under the Sun
(57:10) - Somehow we're talking shit on FFXVI again
(1:00:20) - What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Mentioned this week
Jen Glennon on remakes
Helen Shaw on Parade
Kazuma Hashimoto on Resident Evil 4
Willa on Paradise Killer
Music
Street Food by FASSounds
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There's a lot on our plates this week, so of course we start by talking about how hot 40-year-old Jill Valentine would be if Capcom weren't terrified of the idea of women aging. Then it's on to the Resident Evil 4 demo, Paradox Interactive's recent showcase and strategy games in general, and Willa's take on Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. We end the show with Twice and a giant block of cheese because we answer to no one.
(00:20) Milf appreciation minute
(04:15) Resident Evil 4 demo
(10:40) Paradox Interactive showcase
(21:40) Robin's week of strategy games and sniffles
(27:40) Willa really likes Bayonetta Origins
(40:45) What have Robin and Willa been up to this week?
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Willa's review of Bayonetta Origins
This week, we're talking VR: when it works and (mostly) doesn't, why it still hasn't caught on, and what would actually make us abandon our feeble bodies for the virtual realm. Robin talks about a digital mouse that made her cry, Willa hosts another installment of Horny Vampire Corner, and as usual, we end the episode by deciding everything would be better if we were in charge.
Timestamps:
(00:30) The future of gaming is still kind of busted
(35:50) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Making Sense of VRChat from People Make Games
Sony got Robin a State of Play for her birthday and she's hoping they kept the receipt. We talk about what worked and (mostly) what didn't, which characters we want to step on us, and say the words Naruto Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections out loud before ending with a pre-launch autopsy of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Timestamps:
(00:30) State of Play speedrun, featuring bone armor, cloud heads, and Juri Han's feet
(31:15) Suicide Squad: Kill Your Expectations
(46:45) What have you been up to?
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Folks, it's been a rough couple of weeks, so we're taking a break from reality to tackle one of the great questions of our time: Which video games are Die Hards? Tune in as we discuss whether all video games are actually about fighting your dad and develop a unified theory of all fiction.
Timestamps:
(01:20) Die Hards and Reverse Die Hards
(41:50) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Happy birthday:
Zoe
The worst February of our lives continues with the release of Hogwarts Legacy. We discuss how the media failed to take its significance seriously, why our reactions are about more than just a game, and why, yes, supporting it does make you a bad person.
We cap off this week’s fun-filled episode with a genuinely much cheerier segment recommending some great games by and about trans people that you should be playing instead.
(This episode touches on transphobia throughout. While there's no detailed discussion of any particular transphobic comments or acts, please proceed with caution.)
Timestamps:
(00:25) The Flaco Report
(03:20) Hogwarts Legacy or: Why your trans friends seem so mad lately
(53:00) Robin tries and fails to recommend a game
(56:00) Oh god no we're talking about Harry Potter again
(59:20) Trans games you should play instead of Hogwarts Legacy
(1:07:10) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music:
Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Hogwarts Legacy does not deserve to be reviewed on its own merits - GamesHub
There Is No Magic in Hogwarts Legacy - Wired
Trans Witches Are Witches bundle
Trans game recommendations
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Listen, this is a weird one. Robin got laid off so we spend the first part of the show bemoaning the state of games media and getting very sappy about our role in it. In a futile attempt to lift the mood, we then discuss comfort games: what we look for when we need a pick-me-up and some of our personal favorites.
As always, we end with the fun bird fact of the week.
Timestamps
(00:30) The layoff spectacular
(16:50) Comfort games!
(48:20) What birds have Willa and Robin been looking at this week?
Music: Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
"The Defector of Video Games"
Pittsburgh's peregrine falcon cam
Flaco the Eurasian Eagle-Owl
Get ready to jam with Girl Mode as Willa and Robin talk about the overnight success of Hi-Fi Rush and rhythm games throughout the years in this musical-themed episode.
Timestamps:
(00:20) Hi-Fi Rush shadow drops into our hearts
(22:08) New wave rhythm games
(31:10) Old-school rhythm
(35:36) What have Robin and Willa been up to this week?
Articles referenced:
Diego Arguello on rhythm games for TechRadar
Music: Street Food by FASSounds
This week, Willa and Robin talk about two recent video game adaptations: one that's going away too soon and one that we just can't get away from. We also learned that Marvel's Avengers was apparently still a thing, and Willa breaks Robin's heart with breaking news.
(0:40) R.I.P. Marvel's Avengers
(3:40) The Last of Us is one of the television shows ever made
(41:30) Nier Automata Ver1.1a, with a special appearance by crushing disappointment
(1:08:40) What have Willa and Robin been doing this week?
Music: Street Food by FASSounds
Mentioned this week:
Willa on TLOU's trust issues and Bruce Straley getting screwed over
Willa again on Nier Automata Ver1.1a Episode 1 and Episode 2
This week we are here to kick ass and romance video game women, and we are all out of ass to kick. With Persona 3 and Fire Emblem Engage now out we discuss the pros and cons of each series and how well each franchise enables our desire to smooch as many characters as possible.
Timestamps:
(00:15) Persona and Fire Emblem Engage
(36:44) What have Robin and Willa been up to this week?
Articles referenced:
Robin's review of Fire Emblem Engage
Willa on Persona 3 Portable remaster
Willa on Saori from Persona 3 Portable
Music: Street Food by FASSounds
We're kicking off 2023 by meandering through a few completely disparate topics, including Wizards of the Coast's busy week of pissing people off. Willa is the Elden Lord, Robin is previewing Fire Emblem Engage, and we're both confused about Blaseball. Somehow, we find another way to talk about Signalis.
Timestamps:
(1:00) Ranni and Millicent appreciation hour
(15:35) WotC makes a bunch of wild decisions
(24:20) Blaseball, our national plastime
(31:20) The first few hours of Fire Emblem Engage
(38:45) Signalis physical edition
(43:05) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music: Street Food by FASSounds
New year, same Girl Mode nonsense. To ring in 2023, we talk about the games (big and small) that we can't wait to play in the coming year as well as some more nebulous "gamer resolutions" that Willa and Robin will surely regret committing to come December 2023.
Timestamps:
(00:07) Intro
(00:57) Girl Mode's most anticipated games of 2023
(30:15) New Year's gamer resolutions
(41:00) What else have Robin and Willa been up to?
Things referenced:
Robin's interview with the creative director of Demonschool
Music: Order by ComaStudio
It's Final Fantasy's 35th anniversary this month! For the final Girl Mode episode of 2022, we talk about our history with the series, fret about its future, and discuss why FFXIV is peak Final Fantasy, all while Robin struggles to remember a single character other than Freya.
Music: Order by ComaStudio
Gaming's biggest night is here. That's right, it's time for the Girlies!!! Robin and Willa do something no one else has thought of and hold an award show for the best (and not-so-best) games of the year. Who will take home the coveted award of Game of the Year? Listen and find out!
Timestamps:
00:15 The Girlies, gaming's biggest night
52:50 What have Willa and Robin been up to?
Music: Order by ComaStudio
It's a Girl Mode double feature! This week, Willa and Robin swap some of their favorite games of 2022, with unexpected results. We talk about what worked and didn't work for us in Sephonie and Signalis, a pair of games that couldn't look more different but are full of surprising parallels.
Then, it's the moment you've all been waiting for: Willa's festive jam tier list.
Timestamps:
00:30 Intro
03:20 Sephonie
36:00 Signalis
54:20 Major Signalis spoilers
1:28:20 What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music: Order by ComaStudio
Having trouble tackling your backlog? Just remember that death comes for us all! Girl Mode gives you more helpful tips like this to deal with the constant influx of games and the struggle of how we ever beat any of them (like that will happen). Then it's the fun things we've been up to and a special musical ending.
Timestamps:
(0:17) Contemplating backlogs and our own mortality.
(40:50) What have Robin and Willa been up to this week?
(44:23) Special musical surprise!
Intro music: Order by ComaStudio
Outro music: Fever Dream by The Dracu-Las
With The Game Awards looming ominously on the horizon, our conflicted feelings on many of the nominees take up the bulk of this week's episode. We ask what an indie game even is, what realistic trees have to do with art direction, and what The Game Awards is for. Plus, Willa teaches Robin about theater.
It's the episode with the most exasperated sighs yet!
Timestamps:
(0:30) 40+ sustained minutes of Game Awards griping
(41:20) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music: Order by ComaStudio
This week we look at the wonderful hidden gems from Nintendo's Indie World Showcase. Then we discuss Square Enix's long list of 2022 releases and if we can actually remember any of them, highlighted by Willa and Robin's opinions on the RPG / farming-sim Harvestella.
Timestamps:
(0:30) Gamers winning at the midterm elections... and also, trans rights may be intact
(5:44) Nintendo Indie World Showcase may be the best show in gaming
(14:18) The year of Square Enix
(32:37) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week?
Music: Order by ComaStudio
This week, we delve into the end(?) of the website we all love to hate and some disappointing revelations about Final Fantasy XVI.
Then, we discuss how Apex Legends' new hero, Catalyst, and the latest Citizen Sleeper DLC put trans stories in the spotlight, drawing on recent interviews with Samantha Kalman, Meli Grant, and Gareth Damian Martin.
Timestamps:
(0:30) The Assassination of Twitter.com by the Coward Elon Musk,
(7:20) Some really messed up comments on race in Final Fantasy XVI,
(15:30) Catalyst! We stan a trans goth moon witch,
(29:40) Citizen Sleeper! We stan building community support as a bulwark against capitalist exploitation,
(43:50) What have Willa and Robin been playing this week?
Music: Order by ComaStudio
With the influx of horror games, we sat down to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the genre. From Silent Hill 2 Remake's contentious fog to the tense atmosphere of Signalis, we get into it all.
For the inaugural episode of Girl Mode, we are taking a look back at some of the games in our lives that brought us to where we are today and how we think about video games at large in the hopes that it lets you learn a bit about us!