Words About Games – Details, episodes & analysis

This week Amy and Moody talk about turn-based RPGs. That's it. That's the whole show. Enjoy!

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:15:50 - Cool things we like

0:23:13 - Turn-based RPGs never went anywhere

1:05:03 - Indie Game of the Week - The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2809660/The_Remake_of_the_End_of_the_Greatest_RPG_of_All_Time/)

1:09:40 - Let's check out IGN's Top 25 JRPGs of All Time

1:58:39 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Check out our Indie Game of the Week Steam curator page to see all of our previous selections: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7857031-Words-About-Games/

We're raising money for Safe In Our World: https://www.justgiving.com/page/wag2025

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Subscribe to Amy's video essay channel: youtube.com/@itsmeamykate

Support the show - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz Bluesky @VitzPatel

Amy and Vitz have both finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and they've both fallen head over heels in love with it. Moody wants to talk about Giant Bomb going independant. We also deployed a brand new segment for the podcast.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:11:47 - Cool things we like

0:22:39 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review

0:52:26 - Moody is worried the game has been overhyped

1:07:03 - Indie Game of the Week - over the hill (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2929250/over_the_hill/)

1:12:35 - Giant Bomb Is Back & Independant

1:39:49 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Check out our Indie Game of the Week Steam curator page to see all of our previous selections: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7857031-Words-About-Games/

We're raising money for Safe In Our World: https://www.justgiving.com/page/wag2025

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Subscribe to Amy's video essay channel: youtube.com/@itsmeamykate

Support the show - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz Bluesky @VitzPatel

This week the crew talk about the rumoured Xbox handheld. Is it real? Is it coming this year? Who is it for? They also talk about the ever expanding influence of generative AI throughout gaming.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:45 - Xbox Handheld? Next gen console speculation?

0:53:25 - Indie Game of the Week - Eyes Never Wake (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2526200/Eyes_Never_Wake/)

0:57:13 - Sony Is Doing Something Stupid Again

1:18:06 - Xbox desperately scrambles to make AI relevant to its business

1:54:19 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Check out our Indie Game of the Week Steam curator page to see all of our previous selections: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7857031-Words-About-Games/

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Follow along with Amy's backlog progress (including her raw thoughts on the game's she plays) throughout 2025 here: https://tinyurl.com/amysbacklog

Support the show - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz Bluesky @VitzPatel

Amy has played a lot of Tears of the Kingdom (as have a lot of people) and she wants to tell Moody about it this week. Also discussed - Overwatch 2's PvE changes, more about the Activision Blizzard acquisition, and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:16 - Amy's Tears of the Kingdom initial thoughts

0:33:06 - Tears of the Kingdom has sold 10m copies in 3 days

0:44:39 - Lack of accessibility options in TOTK is disappointing

0:51:22 - Indie Game of the Week - Cabernet (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2401410/Cabernet/)

0:56:13 - moody can't drink successfully

0:57:43 - Overwatch 2 Fans Are Furious Over Dramatic PvE Changes

1:05:10 - Chancellor says UK regulator must "understand wider responsibilities" after Microsoft Activision deal block

1:16:27 - Microsoft CEO Refuses To Rule Out Pulling Activision Games From The UK

1:21:31 - Riot's $100 million gender discrimination settlement granted final approval

1:26:52 - Sony obliged to refund players' money for FIFA FUT packs, after Austrian loot box ruling goes unchallenged

1:35:06 - What's happening next week?

1:48:29 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

1:55:30 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy & Moody talk about their thoughts of Star Wars: Jedi - Survivor and Like A Dragon: Ishin, before reacting to Microsoft not giving their staff a pay rise, Barbie Fashion Designer's induction into the video game hall of fame, and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:22:01 - Star Wars: Jedi - Survivor Review

0:31:58 - Star Wars: Jedi - Survivor spoilers start here

1:07:17 - Indie Game of the Week - Demonschool (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/Demonschool/)

1:11:05 - Like A Dragon: Ishin Review

1:21:10 - Life is Strange: True Colors wins Peabody Award

1:25:38 - Microsoft Workers Won't Receive Annual Pay Increase Despite $18 Billion Profits

1:35:34 - Pokémon Maker Game Freak Developing New Action Adventure IP Codenamed Project Bloom

1:40:23 - Barbie Fashion Designer, Last of Us inducted into Video Game Hall of Fame

1:44:40 - Tribeca Games Showcase 2023 selections announced

1:51:07 - Cool games out next week

1:52:35 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Amy's favourite Jedi Survivor glitch: https://twitter.com/jerobolod/status/1657190644798955523

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

This week - Amy talks about her time with Redfall before we talk about the game's issues (and what they could mean for Microsoft), Moody embarrasses himself, and much more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:25 - Redfall Impressions

0:38:20 - Redfall has had a rough launch, Microsoft has had a rough couple of weeks

1:05:15 - The upcoming Microsoft Games Showcase has a lot to prove

1:12:27 - Indie Game of the Week - Grave Seasons (https://twitter.com/perfectgarbo)

1:14:59 - Joe Medforce makes a quick podcast "appearance"

1:18:26 - Cult of the Lamb wins Game of the Year at Gayming Awards 2023

1:24:44 - Moody's eternal shame

1:27:47 - Blizzard Puts Together "Crisis Map" Of Games It Cannot Ship Due To Staff Losses, Says Report

1:35:07 - Microsoft announces Xbox Game Pass Ultimate friend referrals

1:37:58 - Forza Motorsport to include Blind Driving Assists as part of accessibility features

1:41:47 - PlayStation sees huge boost from PC ports, record PS5 sales

1:50:17 - Cool games coming out next week

1:51:40 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

1:58:03 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

Kinda Funny XCast Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwfEQ1eEyM

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy & Moody dive into the CMA regulator blocking Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal, chat about the pathetic review bombing of Horizon's latest DLC, Amy reviews Dead Island 2 and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:01 - UK Regulator Blocks Microsoft Activision Blizzard Merger

0:46:42 - Dead Island 2 Review

1:03:54 - Indie Game of the Week - Loddlenaut (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1644940/Loddlenaut/)

1:07:25 - Next Week

1:08:39 - Nintendo is officially returning to Gamescom this year

1:15:13 - Sega of America cohort moves to unionize

1:19:15 - Miyamoto Believes Bad Reviews Helped The Mario Movie's Success

1:26:54 - Metacritic promises better moderation post-Horizon DLC review bombing

1:36:05 - Xbox Hardware Down, But Gaming Revenue Slightly Up Amid Game Pass Growth

1:40:24 - Cool games out next week

1:44:48 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:01 - UK Regulator Blocks Microsoft Activision Blizzard Merger

0:46:42 - Dead Island 2 Review

1:03:54 - Indie Game of the Week - Loddlenaut (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1644940/Loddlenaut/)

1:07:25 - Next Week

1:08:39 - Nintendo is officially returning to Gamescom this year

1:15:13 - Sega of America cohort moves to unionize

1:19:15 - Miyamoto Believes Bad Reviews Helped The Mario Movie's Success

1:26:54 - Metacritic promises better moderation post-Horizon DLC review bombing

1:36:05 - Xbox Hardware Down, But Gaming Revenue Slightly Up Amid Game Pass Growth

1:40:24 - Cool games out next week

1:44:48 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

This week Amy & Moody get excited for "E3" and the first ever accessibility focused showcase, Amy vents some frustration at the state of the Halo franchise, and we also nerd out about the latest season of Star Trek (with spoilers)

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro (SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK: PICARD SEASON 3)

0:21:30 - The first ever Access-Ability Summer Showcase takes place Friday June 9th.

0:35:49 - Indie Game of the Week - The Invincible (https://store.steampowered.com/app/731040/The_Invincible/)

0:38:53 - Half time drinks to go and get or relieving ourselves

0:39:35 - Amy made the mistake of opening Twitter

0:42:47 - Nintendo Indie World Showcase

0:50:48 - Dragon Age writer’s musical RPG Stray Gods has an August release date

0:54:29 - Suicide Squad kills another release date

1:05:36 - Redfall Will Only Launch With Quality Mode On Xbox

1:18:03 - Halo's franchise director, Frank O'Connor, looks to have left Microsoft

1:30:57 - Microsoft insists Hi-Fi Rush a "break out hit" for Xbox amid claims it underperformed

1:40:21 - Horizon Forbidden West Now Supports Players With A Phobia Of Deep Water

1:46:06 - Cool games coming out next week

1:52:45 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy and Moody sit down to review the recent Resident Evil 4 Remake & Dredge, chat about the Super Mario movie, casting in video games and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:47 - Resident Evil 4 (2023) Review

0:50:35 - Dredge Review

1:06:58 - Indie Game of the Week - Heartworm (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1257030/Heartworm/)

1:12:44 - Super Mario Movie beats Frozen 2 to become biggest animated film debut of all-time

1:22:17 - The Super Mario Bros theme is the first game music selected for preservation in the Library of Congress

1:25:03 - Women in Games CEO warns "we are going backwards as an industry"

1:34:46 - Industry body aims to improve game credits, as developers complain they're being left out

1:39:25 - Sony brings accessibility tags to the PlayStation Store on PS5

1:44:33 - Resident Evil 4's Lily Gao Hits Back, "My Ada Is A Survivor"

1:51:48 - Resident Evil 4 remake adds surprise new microtransactions

1:59:55 - Cool Games Coming Out Next Week

2:04:11 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy & Moody talk about some games they're looking forward to for 2024 (and beyond), "woke soundtracks", emulation and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:12:53 - What future games are we looking forward to?

0:59:47 - Indie Game of the Week - Howl (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2172180/Howl/)

1:06:30 - Ex-Stadia head Phil Harrison departs Google following service's demise

1:11:48 - GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin is coming to Steam

1:15:47 - Ark 2 delayed, Survival Evolved official servers to shut down later this year

1:21:11 - BioWare veteran Mark Darrah and the Mass Effect team are helping to finish Dragon Age 4

1:24:54 - Vampire Survivors wins Best Game at the 2023 BAFTA Games Awards

1:28:33 - Resident Evil 4 Remake's Ada Turns Off Instagram Replies After Thousands Of Hateful Comments

1:33:04 - What the heck is a "woke soundtrack"?

1:38:14 - Amazon laying off 100 employees from video games division

1:42:34 - New Final Fantasy 7 trading cards come with NFTs

1:47:09 - Cool games coming out next week

1:48:31 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head (Tron: Identity)

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod