Happy Halloween Indieventure listeners! With the serendipitous launch of this episode on the spookiest day of the year, we couldn't resist the opportunity to peer into a parallel universe and imagine what life would be like if we became the thing we fear the most: yet another podcast dedicated to the biggest games everyone's already talking about. That's right: it's time for AAAventure (pronounced as scream-venture, with an apology in advance to headphone users).

 

But horror mother Rebecca is at the helm and because she can't just be normal ever, there's a bit more to today's discussion than a dry recounting of our favourite AAA games. No, instead the three wyrd sisters (yes, Liam counts) of Indieventure are collaborating on building a Frankensteinian monster of a AAA game by stitching together all the tropes that we love most about big-budget blockbusters. Fear not, though, because we're also brewing a handy banishing potion out of all the most cursed items we've found in indie games, just in case things get out of hand.

 

Of course, it being Halloween means that there are officially only two months left of 2024, so it's time for another update on what we've all been playing ahead of those all-important GOTY picks. Rachel has been enjoying unique dialogue puzzler Great God Grove, Rebecca has also been getting her word on in typing-based action-RPG Cryptmaster, and Liam has come to the conclusion that UFO 50 might be deserving of about 50 GOTY noms all by itself.

 

And, even though it's been a weird episode, we end with the familiarity of hyperfixations. Rachel's is a bit melancholy: PLAY magazine, a print outlet she's written for extensively, was officially shuttered this month, so she's been reflecting on the good times. Liam chooses to highlight Party House, one of the games that make up UFO 50, as really something special. And Rebecca's been working on her review of Life is Strange: Double Exposure, which naturally has brought up a lot of feelings for our resident LIS fanatic.

 

Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury, and it's a testament to his talents that it still sounds great even though we've messed with it a bit for this episode as part of the whole spooky goof. You can find Ollie on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can find us at indieventurepodcast.co.uk or wherever you listen to podcasts, and can now join our brand-new Discord!