Pretty Pixels Podcast

Hello, friends, and welcome back. In the midst of a hectic final stretch of this academic semester (and some added academic uncertainty), Joey and Tab sit down for a casual, meandering chat. We touch on juggling multiple games, pre-orders, feeling overwhelmed, leaving and coming back to games, and a whole lot more. You might call it an… amalgame-ation of different topics. Get it? It’s like amalgamation but I snuck “game” in there. I know, yes, please you don’t have to say it – I am a comedic genius, but we’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about games! Tab talks about their experience with Age of Empires IV and Forza Horizon 5, and Joey gushes a bit about Metroid Dread. We also talk about the Grand Theft Auto trilogy coming to a Nintendo console for the first time, the new Far Cry 6 DLC, Steam Deck’s delay, and the Uncharted trailer.

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab)

00:03:14: The Uncharted trailer dropped and no one told us

00:07:35: Far Cry 6’s Vaas DLC drops next week and Tab is hyped

00:14:55: Valve pushes back the Steam Deck’s release date by two months because of, you guessed it, the chip shortage

00:17:04: The Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition releases today, marking the games’ first time on a Nintendo console

00:28:36: Just a couple’a bros, chit-chattin’ away (this is where we talk about balancing multiple games, feeling overwhelmed, pre-ordering games, and more)

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Oh, hey, it’s you! Welcome back and thanks for joining us once again. This week, Ron joins Joey for an experimental game we like to call Who Knew That Review? Okay, okay, yes, we know. It’s a working title. Basically, Who Knew That Review is a game where we try and guess popular video games based on their reviews. We each select three game reviews from old issues of EGM and GamePro, then read the reviews and omit key phrases that might give too much away. The other person guesses at what the game might be. It was fun! If you want to send recommendations for games to try on future episodes, please avoid obscure or less popular titles! We would love to hear feedback either way. Aside from those fun times, we chat about amiibo, the new Microsoft Flight Simulator controller, Jen O’Neal departure from Blizzard. Joey also has thoughts about House of Ashes, and the boys have also been plugging away at Back 4 Blood and Phasmophobia, and Joey’s still slashing away with his friends in Dead by Daylight. Thanks for listening and please look forward to more games in the future!

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:00:33: A brief and immediate tangent about amiibo

00:05:50: Turtle Beach is releasing a pricey Microsoft Flight Sim controller, and Joey’s inner and ancient child is amazed at his new Sega Genesis controller made by Nintendo

00:14:26: Jen O’Neal leaves Blizzard, which doesn’t seem like a good sign

00:17:33: Ron’s been playing Back 4 Blood and Phasmophobia with Joey, Tab, and Paul (B4B)

00:30:16: Joey beat The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes and is recently obsessed with Wallpaper Engine (Steam), plus he seems to talk Ron into some Dead by Daylight action

00:52:00: Who Knew That Review!

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Hello again, friends, and welcome to another episode of the Pretty Pixels Podcast. Pour yourself a nice cup of hot cider and wrap yourself in your favorite fleece blanket, because this week Tab, Joey, and special guest Amy settle in for a discussion about cozy games. What are cozy games? We try and come up with a working definition for this relatively new category of games, plus we chat about some of our favorites. On a related note, we talk about the Nintendo Online + Expansion Pack. Is it worth it? Welp, Joey already nabbed it, if that tells you anything! Amy also tells us a little about her research, Resident Evil’s Chris and Jill comes to Fortnite (Joey’s also already nabbed Jill, of course), and Sony’s latest State of Play was a bit of a letdown. Spooky season isn’t over yet, so we also talk about the spooky games we’ve been playing lately. Special thanks to Amy for joining us, and check out her blog at amy-reads-stuff.com!

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab) and @AmyReadsStuff (Amy)

00:01:14: Welcome, Amy! She tells us about her dissertation work and history as a gamer

00:08:34: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine come to Fortnite

00:09:45: Sony’s latest PlayStation State of Play

00:12:11: Nintendo Online + Expansion Pack will cost $49.99 annually and include N64 and Sega Genesis games, plus the new expansion for Animal Crossing New Horizons

00:20:05: Tab and Joey give final thoughts on Far Cry 6 and have been playing more Back 4 Blood

00:29:46: Joey’s been spooking around with the new Phasmophobia expansion

00:30:49: Amy’s been playing Dead by Daylight with Joey and Paul, plus, no surprise to a single soul, she is once again and eternally playing The Witcher 3

00:33:42: Cozy games discussion!

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

With the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition, Joey and Ron take a casual stroll down memory lane to talk about Grand Theft Auto III. Did you spend hours trying to fly the tank? We did! Good times, good times. We talk about how exciting and fresh the game felt at the time of release, but also how hard it is to revisit. Will the new remasters smooth those rough edges? Will we be able to touch water in III without drowning? We’ll see! Joey also nerds out over the new trailers for Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and just before we started recording ConcernedApe tweeted a gameplay trailer for their new Stardew Valley-like game called Haunted Chocolatier! Joey is super hyped and look forward to more analysis of it on next week’s episode about cozy games (with Tab and our friend Amy)!

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:05:25: CD Projekt RED delays current gen upgrades for both Cyberpunk 2077 (Q1) and The Witcher 3 (Q2) to 2022

00:09:10: PS5 is the best-selling console for September 2021, unseating the Nintendo Switch after a 33 month stretch

00:10:49: Joey is wearing a Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, dear listener

00:12:35: DC shows big, shiny, new trailers for Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

00:25:11: ConcernedApe just released an “early gameplay video” to announce their new game Haunted Chocolatier, which is “in development” (meaning no release window)

00:29:36: Joey’s been making questionable moral decisions in Far Cry 6 and spookin’ n’ goofin’ with Tab in Phasmophobia

00:33:37: Ron and Joey joined Tab and Paul for some frantic zombie killin’ in Back 4 Blood

00:45:12: A casual chat about Grand Theft Auto III

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It’s all about Xbox this week, babyyyy. The original Xbox launched in November 2001, which means next month is the 20th anniversary of the Xbox brand! We’re so old! Both Tab and Paul recently joined Joey in the Xbox Series X Club, so we decided to revisit some key moments in Xbox history, reminisce about fond memories and favorite games, and we close on the Series X and what excites us about the future of the platform. We touch on Microsoft’s insistence on breaking into the Japanese market, their product placement blitz during the 360 era, and more. We also read our “first” “listener” email, so thank you to “Schmaul Schmosskopf” for sending that in! And if YOU want to write in, hit us up at the email below. We love hearing from listeners, both real and fake! Okay, I have got to stop using so many exclamation marks.

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab)

00:01:03: Our first listener email! Kinda!

00:04:57: The Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City trailer dropped, and the gang is cautiously optimistic. Emphasis on “cautiously”

00:08:40: Joey’s looking forward to Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, which was teased with a 2022 release date

00:09:32: Riot Games removes All Chat function from League of Legends

00:11:58: Ed Boon tweeted out a behind-the-scenes clip of the formation of Scorpion’s famous spear move

00:14:01: FIFA demands more money from EA in licensing quarrel

00:19:45: Paul’s been yeehawing his way through some Red Dead Redemption 2

00:25:13: Tab, Paul, and Joey have all been playing some Far Cry 6

00:37:30: The gang has also been playing some Dead by Daylight with friends Amy and Russell

00:40:34: Joey finished and loved Super Metroid (finally!)

00:45:40: Xbox! We mostly stick to a chronological discussion, starting with…

00:47:22: Xbox (November 15, 2001)

01:07:12: Xbox 360 (November 22, 2005)

01:26:55: Xbox One (November 22, 2013)

01:40:03: Xbox Series X/S (November 10, 2020)

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Joey is flying solo this week, so what game does he feel he… why am I speaking in third person? Hi. It’s me. Joey. It’s just you and me this week, babyyyy. When faced with the unorthodox idea of recording an entire episode by myself, of course I wanted to chat about my favorite game of all time: Chrono Trigger. I love the game, of course, but my love for it goes deeper than just my deep appreciation for the gameplay, story, music, and other components. Chrono Trigger made me fall in love with video games. It made me think about how much games meant to me, how I wanted to write them, how immersed I could get in these pixelized worlds. It’s a game that I still love today, every single time I play it. I get misty-eyed when I play it if I haven’t played it in a while. It will never lose its luster for me. I hope I don’t annoy you too much with my ramblings, and feel free to send in your thoughts on Chrono Trigger! Thanks for hanging out with me for a bit, friend.

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey)

00:03:20: Sora finally comes to Smash!

00:08:36: Kingdom Hearts games coming to Nintendo Switch

00:11:57: Joey’s final thoughts on Deathloop

00:16:49: And he’s finally, finally, finally started Super Metroid

00:23:33: Chrono Trigger! There’s not much structure to be found here. I ramble about my favorite characters, the music, some key memories, why I named Marle “Gwen,” and more

00:58:10: Begin kitty purrs

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Grab your plastic pumpkin and throw on a costume -- it’s spooky season! We get into the mood with a big ol’ discussion of horror games. We talk about watching vs playing, visceral vs atmospheric horror, our spookalicious setups, a few fun scary memories, and a dead pirate’s treasure trove of games. Open your treat sack for our thoughts on Resident Evil games, P.T., The Forest, A Nightmare on Elm Street, a whole lotta Phasmophobia, and more. The only proverbial razor blade in the apple is that we didn’t have time to talk about more! Fret not, fetid zombie friend, we’ll have more spooky games to discuss later in the month as we play through some indie horror games on our backlogs. Until then, enjoy this bubbling cauldron of discussion, and have a horrific week!

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab)

00:02:08: Joey raves about TikTok creator @oldtimehawkey, who loves some grilled cheese and retro games

00:06:47: Universal Studios already expanding Super Nintendo World with a massive new Donkey Kong area

00:10:01: Tab’s been cruising along in Microsoft Flight Simulator, haunting fools as Ghostface in Dead by Daylight, and pooping their pants in Phasmophobia

00:13:13: Joey’s pants are also soiled from Phasmophobia, plus he’s been slashing punks as Freddy with Tab in Dead by Daylight, and slowly chipping away at Deathloop

00:18:45:  Spooky games! Our conversation darts here and there like a terrified teen, so these are loose timestamps and we come back to games a few times not noted

00:30:03: The Last of Us Part II

00:32:00: Dying Light and State of Decay 2

00:33:56: Resident Evil games

00:36:45: Outlast

00:39:13: The Forest

00:42:21: Phasmophobia

00:55:22: A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)

01:03:22: Until Dawn

01:07:14: The Exorcist: Legion VR

01:09:47: Arizona Sunshine

01:10:49: Resident Evil 7

01:13:19: Silent Hill 2 and P.T.

01:19:49: Eternal Darkness

01:23:20: Castlevania

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

We start this episode with the very midwestern tradition of talking about the changing of seasons. It’s fall! There are so many games coming out! We were also lucky enough to record on a Nintendo Direct day, so we talk about the wacky Super Mario Bros. movie casting, N64 and Genesis games being added to the Virtual Cons- oops, I mean Nintendo Switch Online Service, plus the new Kirby, the old KotOR, Bayonetta and more. Our central discussion is on Newgrounds.com, the famous (infamous?) Flash (RIP) portal where many game developers found a platform and community early in their years. We walk through a brief timeline for the site, talk about our discovery of the site and time on the forums, Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers, the Clock Crew, and more. We talked for about 90 minutes but it feels like we barely scratched the surface. Also, Joey still doesn’t believe Tom Fulp is CarrotClock.

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:04:35: Nintendo Direct! We skim past some stuff, but our main stopping points are:

00:05:50: Chocobo GP

00:09:03: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

00:09:34: Sick burn alert

00:10:55: N64 and Genesis games are being added to the Switch Online in late October; and wireless N64 and Genesis controllers!

00:22:20: Knights of the Old Republic port. Whaaaaaaat?

00:25:42: Bayonetta 3

00:27:29: That Mario movie cast. Phew! What a wild ride

00:40:47: Ron’s been playing the moving game, plus some Phasmophobia with Joey

00:42:56: Joey’s been playing Life is Strange: True Colors and Deathloop

00:52:26: Newgrounds.com discussion

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

*auctioneer voice* "Do we have one dollar, one dollar for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, that’s one dol- we have one dollar from the bald man with a beard, do I hear two dollars, can we see two?” This week, Ron, Tab, and Joey play a bidding game we like to call All Your Bids Are Belong to Us, graciously borrowed from an old episode of the Game Informer Podcast. We start with $250 each, then bid on upcoming games that we want to play. The winners get to play the games they win, but the losers can’t touch them for at least a year. Well, not really, but those were our fictional stakes. Games that have official release dates and a handful that have been announced and have had gameplay shown count, so we go through quite an extensive list. There are a few feisty bidding wars, but overall we were all happy with our lists. It was fun!

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:04:01: Dying Light 2 delayed until February 2022

00:06:33: Tab and Joey have been playing Life is Strange: True Colors

00:07:56: Ron got bap bap bapped by a ghost playing Phasmophobia with Joey

00:09:55: Ron’s also been playing some Hitman and Everybody’s Golf

00:12:42: All Your Bids are Belong to Us! $250 each. Bid on what you want. Losers can’t play for at least a year. Featuring pretty much every upcoming major release, including (among many others):

00:42:15: Alan Wake Remastered

00:50:55: Far Cry 6

00:52:24: Metroid Dread

00:54:50: Back 4 Blood

01:16:06: Jurassic World Evolution 2

01:25:16: Halo Infinite

01:29:14: We Are OFK

01:35:36: Saints Row

01:37:23: Horizon Forbidden West

01:43:06: Starfield

01:46:11: Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers

01:46:54: God of War: Ragnarok

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Ron and I were shocked, absolutely shocked I say, at this week’s PlayStation Showcase, which we watched just before recording. The long-awaited Knights of the Old Republic Remake is real, and apparently it’s going to be on PlayStation and PC only! What! Wolverine! Spider-Mens! Radiohe – wait, let me adjust my fake glasses and double check my notes – yes, Radiohead! What a wild ride. That mess of exciting announcements aside, Joey’s been playing some short games, Ron’s been wrestling with Sony customer service, and we both talk about growing older as gamers. I’m not going to promise that we never utter the phrase “back in my day.” In fact, I think there is at least one of those in there somewhere. But we talk about some of the struggles that come with aging into this hobby. Plus, our official Pretty Pixels Podcast Viennetta review!

Contact us: [email protected]

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:07:27: Our official Viennetta review, as requested by absolutely no one

00:11:44: Sony’s PlayStation Showcase was off the proverbial chain, as they say (no one says that anymore)

00:12:11: Knights of the Old Republic Remake! Whaaaaaaaaaat!

00:15:47: Ron will finally get to play Alan Wake

00:16:53: GhostWire: Tokyo

00:17:46: Deathloop

00:19:47: Radiohead’s Kid A Mnesia

00:22:19: Insomniac is making a Wolverine game AND Spider-Man 2 with both Spideys and Venom? Double whaaaaaaaaat!

00:24:59: GTA V

00:28:42: Gran Turismo 7

00:31:31: Project Eve, Forspoken

00:33:24: God of War: Ragnarok

00:36:11: Ron’s Sony customer service drama, plus he’s been playing Everybody’s Golf and Hitman

00:51:22: Joey’s been delivering mail in Lake and consuming short visual novels like Sakura Succubus 2 and Pantsu Hunter

01:10:14: Joey, Ron, and Tab have been getting spooked again in Phasmophobia, babyyyyyy

01:17:11: A coupl’a aging gamers: Joey and Ron reflect on getting older and maintaining the video game hobby

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com