Grace and Rose dig into Slay the Princess and discuss its many routes, surprises, and ruminations on narrative storytelling. We also talk about the game’s tone and often grating dialogue between personalities. Lastly, we contemplate perhaps the most important question of all: Why doesn’t anyone talk about how horny this game is?

On this episode of The Safe Room, we tackle the new indie horror action game Silly Polly Beast. We praise the game’s art style and presentation, analyze its kinetic and tense combat, and discuss what constitutes a “Story-driven” video game. Lastly, we react to the Return to Silent Hill trailer and contemplate the death of art.

Rose and Grace discuss the first (good) Silent Hill game since SH4! We talk over its deeply felt depiction of growing up, its introduction of real ensemble dynamics to the franchise, and its exhausting, repetitive, and thrilling combat.

We are back with Dead Space 2! Grace and Rose talk the 2011 sequel’s action focus, its silly attempts at exploring survivors guilt, and edgy marking campaigns.

Rose and Grace enter the very heart of survival horror in Sweet Home. We talk over the genre's (now mostly-absent) RPG roots, the game's campy and self-aware charm, and its systemic adaptation of the source material.

We are joined by Dovewhether cohost AP to talk the sci-fi thriller Parasite Eve! We talk over the thrills and foibles of its retro vibes, how protagonist Arya Brea fits into 90s “strong female protagonists” and its weirdo action RPG combat.

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Listen to Grace on Dovewhether talking about Hunter x Hunter https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serving-hunter-x-hunter-feat-grace-benfell/id1716976125?i=1000685179969

cw: suicide, self-harm, drug use

Rose and Grace are joined by Cameron Kunzelman of Ranged Touch to talk over the Sega Saturn game D and its Dreamcast pseudo-sequel D2. We discuss how D2 at once presages the modern "cinematic" game and is something totally different, its wide swings at serious profundity, and how damn long everything takes in both of these video games. Tune in next time for Parasite Eve with another special guest!

Sorry, We're Closed is a lush and vivid look at relationships, love, and break-ups with shades of Buffy, Silent Hill 3, and Killer 7. Grace and Rose discuss its eroticism, grounded writing, and combat contrivances.

Alisa is both thematically light and aesthetically ornate, a loving, smart throwback that is super annoying. In this episode, Grace and Rose work through how exactly it curates such a clockwork feast and how it manages to grate and delight in equal measure.

Next time: Sorry, We’re Closed

We return to the Fatal Frame franchise with its Nintendo debut, this time with a new co-developer Grasshopper Manufacture. Join us as we discuss the game’s various Wii-era “innovations,” the many facets of its bloated story, and whether this moonlit adventure shines as bright as previous entries in the series.