Spoilers for Thank Goodness You’re Here

Craw has been having a crazy time with Thank Goodness You’re Here, a silly game filled with British humor that feels more like watching a cartoon than playing a video game (not a bad thing)! Joe is back on his favorite genre with Romancing Saga Minstrel Song, and spending some time with Street Fighter. And we both played a decent amount of Monster Hunter Wilds Beta this past weekend. We also spoke a bit about the superbowl, and speculate what’s coming with the State of Play (which has now happened by the time of this recording)!

Games we talked about this week: Thank Goodness You’re Here, Romancing Saga Minstrel Song, Monster Hunter Wilds

Article of the Week: A Meta-Analysis on the Longitudinal, Age-Dependent Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

Spoilers for Metaphor Refantazio

Trigger Warnings: Racism

Today, we talk about the world of Metaphor Refantazio and how it creates and manipulates anxiety as a key part of its story. We then apply Affect Control Theory to our favorite antagonist, Louis, and how that shapes our view of him throughout the game.

Timestamps:

• Introduction - 00:09
• Description - 01:10
• Experience with the Game - 03:48
• Spoiler Warning and Fictional Disclaimer - 06:30
• The World - 08:08
• Anxiety - 17:38
• The Power of Fantasy - 29:39
• Game’s Parting Message - 36:45
• Villains, Victims, and Heroes - 39:46
• Affect Control Theory - 49:15
• Wrap Up and Thank You - 01:03:00

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Instagram and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers 

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Night in Kyoto by AVBE:

https://uppbeat.io/t/avbe/night-in-kyoto

License code: OY9ADKUOX62ZMAXY

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

• Hieronymus Bosch Painting Wiki
• Metaphor Fandom Wiki
• Villains, Victims, and Heroes in Character Theory and Affect Control Theory (Bergstrand & Jasper 2018)

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Spoilers for Bleach and Alan Wake 2

It’s Joe and Craw, talking about the games they’ve played this week! Joe tells us about his latest obsession, Bleach, and Mega64’s The Room. Craw discusses a new metroidvania, his time with Ninja Gaiden Black 2, and a bit about Eternal Strands. Then we chatted about the recent gaming news. Come hang out with us!

Games we talked about this week: Zenless Zone Zero, Final Fantasy Pixel Collection, Alan Wake 2, Silent Hill 2, Blade Chimera, Eternal Strands, Ninja Gaiden Black 2, 

Article of the Week: Cozy Games for Mood Repair, Stress Reduction, and Well-Being

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR METAPHOR REFANTAZIO

Joe and Craw teamed up to talk all about Metaphor ReFantazio, how much we loved it, and the impact some of the characters had on us.

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get access to our discord!

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

It’s the first Scatterbrained of the year! And we have the whole squad on. We sat down and chatted a lot about Marvel Rivals, and some other games that came out last year that we are still getting through, in addition to some initial thoughts on Dynasty Warriors: Origins. Couture also schools us on Squirrel Girl Lore. Come hang out with us during our first Scatterbrained of the year!

Games we talked about this week: Void Crew, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, Marvel Rivals, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, Romancing Saga 2, Stalker 2, For The King 2, Silent Hill 2 Remake, 

Article of the Week: Video Games for Well-Being: A Systematic Review on the Application of Computer Games for Cognitive and Emotional Training in the Adult Population

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

We had a full house for this episode as the crew welcomed Memo to take part in the Fantasy Critics Draft. We all took turns choosing games we believe would rate well, made a few enemies along the way, and came out of it better people! Come listen to us as we try to build the best roster of video games coming out this year!

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get access to the Mind Controllers Discord server!

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

Spoilers for Before Your Eyes (2021)

Today, we finally discussed our favorite games we played this year in 2024! We tried to keep it spoiler free, but there might be a bit of story spoilers, especially for an older game that Craw played. Thank you all so much for joining this year, and we can’t wait to continue hanging out with everyone in 2025! Bonus unrelated story at the end of this pod!

Timestamps:

• Intro - 00:09
• Vibe Check - 00:47
• Joe’s 10 - 03:04
• Craw’s 10 - 09:20
• Joe’s 9 - 12:02
• Craw’s 9 - 15:51
• Joe’s 8 - 19:32
• Craw’s 8 - 25:26
• Joe’s 7 - 29:03
• Craw’s 7 - 32:41
• Joe’s 6 - 36:05
• Craw’s 6 - 39:36
• Joe’s 5 - 46:07
• Craw’s 5 - 49:36
• Joe’s 4 - 54:56
• Craw’s 4 - 1:01:44
• Joe’s 3 - 1:08:14
• Craw’s 3 & Joe’s 2 - 1:13:16
• Craw 2 - 1:24:33
• Game of the Year!! - 1:30:16
• Honorable Mentions - 1:44:13
• Wrap Up - 1:48:29
• White Elephant Story - 1:50:22

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Instagram and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers 

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

Slight spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

This week on Scatterbrained: Craw is flying solo this week! He tells us about his a bit lackluster time with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, then talks about a puzzle game he does like: Case of the Golden Idol. He also enjoyed Path of Exile 2, a new diablo-like game that's in early access. Lastly, he tells us his quick thoughts on some Switch 2 rumors and The Game Awards! This might be the last 

Games we talked about this week: Indiana Jones, Case of the Golden Idol, Path of Exile 2

Article of the Week: Aggressive video games research emerges from its replication crisis (Sort of)

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Instagram and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers 

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

This week on Scatterbrained: We're coming to you early take on The Game Awards! Joe tells us about his time learning about the Stalker lore, then goes into the fun of co-op Borderlands. Craw tells us about his time with puzzle games (ish?) Case of the Golden Idol and Indiana Jones. Then we end it by going through some of our favorite categories of the game awards! 

Games we talked about this week: Stalker 2, Borderlands, Metaphor Refantazio, Case of the Golden Idol, Marvel Rivals, Indiana Jones, Path of Exile 2, Romancing Saga 2

Article of the Week: Therapeutic use of video games in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A case study of an immersed 10-year-old boy

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Instagram and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers 

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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

This week on Scatterbrained: It’s the Brandon duo! Courture chats about his current card obsession: Balatro. Craw played Case of the Golden Idol, an indie puzzle game that everyone was raving about when it was released a few years ago. And then we rant about our disappointment with Microsoft, Xbox, and Starfield

Games we talked about this week: Balatro, Legends of Runeterra, Metaphor Refantazio, Case of the Golden Idol, Starfield

Article of the Week: The psychology behind video games during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Animal Crossing: New Horizons

If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ 

Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Instagram and Twitch. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!

Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers 

Tracks are:

 "We Decide" by Tatami

Podcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram

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