Explore every episode of the podcast Girl Mode
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 92 - We've Been Cancelled by Sony | 11 Sep 2024 | 01:01:22 | |
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” Join The Worst Garbage Discord! Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 91 - Big Nap Energy | 04 Sep 2024 | 01:02:59 | |
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 Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 82 - We're Gay for Baseball | 03 Jul 2024 | 01:01:35 | |
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 streamers Robin has been watching: Alyska, elliejoypanic, ohlindsey, skyytea, wraff Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 81 - The Sword Issue | 26 Jun 2024 | 01:10:38 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 80 - The Beauty of an Ollie | 19 Jun 2024 | 01:20:05 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 79 - Summer Game Fest: Better Than Expected Edition | 12 Jun 2024 | 01:21:03 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 78 - Summer Game Fest: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up Edition | 07 Jun 2024 | 01:06:12 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 77 - ACAB Includes Duck Detective | 29 May 2024 | 01:40:56 | |
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 Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 76 - Shoutout to Big Sippin | 22 May 2024 | 01:17:10 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 75 - Bad News, Good Games | 15 May 2024 | 01:00:09 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 74 - The Fabled Short Episode | 08 May 2024 | 00:45:52 | |
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 Robin continues talking about Witching Stone Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 73 - Good Week to Be a Monster Fucker | 01 May 2024 | 01:04:51 | |
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 Support bail funds for campus protesters! 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. Palestinian Relief Bundle on itch 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. | |||
| Episode 90 - Kratos Takes Manhattan | 28 Aug 2024 | 01:10:16 | |
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 Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 72 - Goin' Down to Mutant Town | 24 Apr 2024 | 02:34:08 | |
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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 71 - A Very Professional Episode | 17 Apr 2024 | 01:08:52 | |
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 Robin tells you to play Between Horizons in more detail Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 70 - Sapphics Stay Winning | 10 Apr 2024 | 01:08:19 | |
[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 Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. Palestine Relief Bundle on itch (coming April 12) 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. | |||
| Episode 69 - That's the Sex Number | 03 Apr 2024 | 01:19:55 | |
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 Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s Great Dragonsplague Is the Perfect Example of What Makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 Great Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 68 - Dragon's Dogma 2 Is A Very Good Video Game | 27 Mar 2024 | 01:39:24 | |
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 Follow us or send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 67 - Into the Zack Dimension with Jade King! | 06 Mar 2024 | 01:37:50 | |
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 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. 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. 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. | |||
| Episode 66 - How Do You Milk a Chocobo? | 28 Feb 2024 | 01:07:49 | |
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 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 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. 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. | |||
| Episode 65 - They Hated Me Because I Secreted Foam | 21 Feb 2024 | 01:07:41 | |
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? Willa and Robin on Unicorn Overlord Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 64 - Your Art's Fucking Weird! | 09 Feb 2024 | 01:21:13 | |
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 You Could Just Keep Doing Dry January Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 63 - The Amazing Disappearing Games Industry | 31 Jan 2024 | 01:09:20 | |
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 The Murder Game Revolution That Has Gripped China Pixar's Ratatouille, the state of media journalism, and why I'm a critic 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 So I Started Playing Final Fantasy XI in 2021... Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 89 - The Steam Deck Renaissance with Brendon Bigley! | 21 Aug 2024 | 01:23:38 | |
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 Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 62 - Nintendo Will Buy the International Space Station In 2024 | 24 Jan 2024 | 01:21:51 | |
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 on the Genshin Impact concert Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 61 - The Nintendo Switcheroo | 17 Jan 2024 | 01:42:51 | |
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 Follow us or send us questions! 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. 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. | |||
| Episode 60 - Em-Dash Content | 03 Jan 2024 | 01:17:22 | |
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 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. 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. | |||
| Episode 59 - The Second Annual Girl Mode Awards | 27 Dec 2023 | 01:44:55 | |
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! 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. 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. | |||
| Episode 58 - Gaslight, Gatekeep, Goddess | 20 Dec 2023 | 02:11:43 | |
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! 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. 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. | |||
| Episode 57 - Gaming's Biggest Waste of Time | 13 Dec 2023 | 00:58:59 | |
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: Willa’s Winter Spectacular piece Robin’s Winter Spectacular piece Music Street Food by FASSounds Send us questions and Girlies categories! We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 56 - Castle of Lesbianism | 06 Dec 2023 | 01:56:44 | |
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 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. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| BONUS - The Games That Made Us Remastered | 29 Nov 2023 | 01:14:05 | |
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. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 55 - The Game Awards But Good | 22 Nov 2023 | 01:47:12 | |
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 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. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 54 - The Nostradamuses of Video Games | 15 Nov 2023 | 01:13:52 | |
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. 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 Follow us wherever you feel like it Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 88 - We All Love Big Pretzels | 14 Aug 2024 | 01:05:00 | |
Borderlands the movie is out and we couldn't be more excited to hear about how terrible it is. After that, we realize that a sequel to The Order 1886 would be the best game ever, get cautiously excited about two newly announced spiritual sequels, and talk about a couple of new games we actually liked. Timestamps (01:30) A vault full of disappointing bullshit (15:00) The Order 1986 (24:00) ONE BTN BOSSES (27:30) Creatures of Ava (35:00) Dishonored 3, kind of (40:30) Is this Terranigma 2? (45:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 53 - One Year of Correct Opinions | 08 Nov 2023 | 01:22:09 | |
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. 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 Mentioned this week Esther Rosenfield on Alita: Battle Angel Dia Lacina on Final Fantasy XI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 52 - Please Stop Making Games, We Can't Keep Up | 02 Nov 2023 | 01:00:28 | |
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. 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 Mentioned this week Samantha Greer on graphics discourse Harper Jay on Star Wars: The Old Republic Willa on the folly of photorealism Music Street Food by FASSounds Follow us online and send us questions! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 51 - The Resident Evil Film Series, Starring Michelle Rodriguez's Arms | 25 Oct 2023 | 01:47:46 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 50(!) - A Little Bit of a Lot of Games | 18 Oct 2023 | 01:10:43 | |
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 49 - Playing Nice With Others | 11 Oct 2023 | 00:56:28 | |
We're confronting the mortifying ordeal of being known this week by discussing multiplayer games. What do we want from multiplayer, which games are better with an audience, and can you believe Willa didn't tell Zoe she was a fucking cop? Then, it's an extended segment on what we've been doing this week, since Robin can't shut up about her time as a cute little bug. (00:45) The really old books cinematic universe (06:00) What if video games but also other people (39:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? Mentioned this week Robin still can't shut up about Cocoon A Deep Dive into the Queer Coding of Genshin Impact How Can We Bear to Throw Anything Away? Music Street Food by FASSounds Donate to Medical Aid for Palestine to help with urgent medical needs caused by Israel's attacks on Gaza. We stand with Palestine against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 48 - Assassin’s Creed Mirage Recaptures the Past, but That Isn’t Enough | 04 Oct 2023 | 01:12:37 | |
You're not gonna believe this, but a conversation about a AAA action game leads into an extended lament for the state of the games industry in this episode. That's bookended by Willa failing to show sufficient respect for Dragon's Dogma 2, some really good Pokemon art, and Robin sharing good news on this show for once in her fucking life. Timestamps (00:30) Quokka Talk/Willa's new coworker (05:30) Dragon's Dogma 2 is wasted on some people (29:00) Assassin’s Creed Mirage And the Tragedy of AAA (54:00) So Pokemon's collaborating with Hatsune Miku (59:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? Mentioned this week Dragon's Dogma 2 Gives Capcom's Cult RPG a Second Chance Willa's Assassin's Creed Mirage review Music Street Food by FASSounds Follow us on whatever site you use to browse horny fan art Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 47 - Such a Puppy | 27 Sep 2023 | 01:14:50 | |
This week, we start with Dragon's Dogma, Yakuza, and other updates from the games marketing event extended universe. Then we catch up with all the news we straightup forgot about last week, namely Unity fucking everyone over and Microsoft using court filings as a venue for legal exhibitionism. Timestamps (00:20) Rain (the video game) inspired by rain (the weather phenomenon) (02:00) Even more showcase stuff (15:50) Everyone hates Unity (30:20) Microsoft's big oopsie (56:50) The New York Times rediscovers video games (1:05:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? Mentioned this week The Curious Case of Dragon's Dogma 2's Steak Leveling Up on the Video Game Beat Pseudoregalia fan art https://twitter.com/rataGENKI/status/1704074914029048308 https://twitter.com/Fenarok/status/1704133583588209003 Music Street Food by FASSounds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 46 - Swordfighter Peach Could Duel Me Any Time | 20 Sep 2023 | 00:48:40 | |
Nintendo and Sony both bombarded us with promotional materials this week, so we're covering the Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play. Then we talk about how much we love Armored Core 6, which we played only a few hours of before recording and it's all we can think about. Timestamps (01:00) Swordfighter Peach Appreciation Society (16:45) Willa fixes FF7 Rebirth (32:20) We're fully mech pilled Mentioned this week The Scandalous Life of France's Bisexual Opera Icon Music Street Food by FASSounds Follow us where you follow people Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 45 - I Will Never Apologize for Finding Githyanki Hot | 13 Sep 2023 | 01:06:54 | |
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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 44 - The Spirit of Fishing | 06 Sep 2023 | 00:48:05 | |
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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 87 - My Nintendogs Are Gonna Kill Me | 07 Aug 2024 | 00:42:45 | |
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) Follow us and send us questions! Music Street Food by FASSounds We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people. Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks. 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. | |||
| Episode 43 - A Link to the Past | 30 Aug 2023 | 01:03:39 | |
Willa visited her hometown this week, and somehow it made us both nostalgic. After playing Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Sea of Stars, we're talking about retro throwbacks — games that intentionally evoke their old-school influences. We cover what makes this sub-genre so popular, the different ways nostalgia can be deployed, and cats wearing mech suits. Timestamps (00:20) A whole bunch of bullshit (07:15) Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Sea of Stars aren't quite scratching the itch (29:40) Nostalgia as a genre (55:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? Music Street Food by FASSounds Mentioned this week Follow us on socials (and email us life advice) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 42 - SKN & FKN | 23 Aug 2023 | 01:03:34 | |
Love is in the air this week as we're still playing Baldur's Gate 3, a game about getting down with your problematic favs and I guess saving the world or whatever if there's time left over. After sharing our thoughts on BG3's romance and why it's maybe been a little overblown, we talk about what does and doesn't work in game romance generally. Surprising no one, we end by recommending some indie games we think get it right. Timestamps (00:30) Romance, love, smooching, etc. (02:20) Tiefling dating sim check-in (29:20) Hades and other games that do it right (56:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? Mentioned this week Willa on BG3's shocking lack of threesomes Sludge Bunny ("if you like punk rock or trans people") Action Buttons Reviews Tokimeki Memorial Girl Mode's Favorite Games for Cool Trans People Follow us on sites in various states of collapse Music Street Food by FASSounds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 41 - Our Strong Tiefling Wife | 16 Aug 2023 | 01:27:35 | |
[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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Episode 40 - A Cat Named Stormblood | 09 Aug 2023 | 01:17:05 | |
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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||