Pretty Pixels Podcast

Hey, coppers, get in the kineema, we're headed to discover The Pale. We are limited on time this week, so we cut almost straight to the Disco Elysium talk. We're joined again by special guest Taylor Carlson, but we're down a Ron (who wasn't feeling well). We'd all finished the game by the time of recording, so [with FULL SPOILERS] we cover the ending, our stats and personality types, Kim Kitsuragi, the tribunal, the cryptid, more Cuno, what was in that locked shipping container, fatphobia, and Kim Kitsuragi. Did I mention we talk about Kim Kitsuragi? Also, Content Warnings for SA, harassment, suicide. We also share some new developments regarding the future of the podcast – we may be able to continue! We're going to take a week or two off to make 100% sure we can, and to give Joey time to adjust to his new work schedule, but we hope to see you again in a few short weeks. Until then, feel free to hit us up with emails! What are some things you'd like us to discuss on future episodes? Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) and @ConAffettoKiko (Taylor) 00:01:40: An update about the status and future of the podcast! 00:03:11: A brief update on Joey's quest to find Diana in Animal Crossing New Horizons 00:05:20: Disco Elysium game club part 2! Intro is an excerpt from "Phasmid Reveal" and outro is an excerpt from "Protorave," both from the official Disco Elysium soundtrack (https://seapower.bandcamp.com/album/disco-elysium) used under Fair Use but with gratitude to Sea Power and ZA/UM.

As announced last week, we've pushed the second part of our Disco Elysium game club to next week, so this week we're revisiting a classic gaming hypothetical: desert island games. Tab and Joey did an episode on their choices way back in the day, but Ron and Paul haven't had their chance to imagine which games they'd bring with them on such a dire and tropical adventure. We talk about what five games we'd bring, which console we'd bring if it were loaded up with every possible offline game, which multiplayer games we'd choose if we somehow had an internet connection, and which local multiplayer games we'd rock if we were stuck on this island together. Joey also shares some big life news, as well as some potentially sad news for all of you Joey fan out there (yes, I used the singular – hi, Bella), and we chat about another big AAA delay, what we've been playing, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:00:30: A bunch of unprompted Predator talk 00:08:56: Joey's big news! And some potentially sad news for the podcast (unless you're Ron, then you're celebrating *insert angry Joey emoji here*) 00:26:30: Marvel's Midnight Suns delayed 00:28:43: Paul's been smackin' some balls and disco-ing some Elysium 00:30:45: Ron's Kate Bush cease and desist tale 00:38:30: Which musician would we have dinner with? 00:43:40: Ron's also been plugging away at the dark, sinewy recesses of his mind in Disco Elysium 00:49:10: Joey has had what Paul is having, plus still trying his damndest to get rid of Boomer 00:51:11: Desert Island games! We talk about which games we'd bring to a desert island with us. Internet connection? No internet connection? What if we could bring one system with every game in its library loaded onto it? What if we were all stuck together and had to pick three local co-op games? We talk about these hypotheticals and more! Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

This week, Ron, Paul, and Joey talk about Far Cry (2008), Uwe Boll's notoriously bland adaptation of the game by the same name. While the movie is widely panned, it does have one huge fan: Tab. Unfortunately, Tab was having major computer issues and couldn't join us for the recording, so you'll just have to take our word for it when we say they their love for Uwe Boll's Far Cry (and disgraced gaming exec Bobby Kotick) knows no bounds. Source: trust us, bro. If you happen to agree with Tab and would like to send in counterpoints to our many criticisms, hit us up at the email below! We promise (for real this time) to engage respectfully and not just rag on you. In addition to torturing ourselves (and our listeners) with another Uwe Boll movie discussion, we also chat about new PS VR2 details, taking PS4/PS5 games mobile, Ron's drinking escapades, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:09: Fantasy Video Game Draft midseason re-draft! 00:38:45: New PS VR2 details (https://blog.playstation.com/2022/07/26/early-look-at-the-user-experience-for-playstation-vr2/) 00:47:10: PS5 gets a Backbone One (https://blog.playstation.com/2022/07/28/introducing-backbone-one-playstation-edition-an-officially-licensed-controller-for-playstation/) 00:51:17: Paul's been Disco Elysiuming it up and playing Everybody's Golf with the whole Pixels gang 00:53:30: Joey's been joining in the golf shenanigans, is still trying to evict Boomer in ACNH, and is also chipping away at Disco Elysium 00:55:00: Ron's been golfing, skating (in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2), and drinking Malort and Old Style 00:59:27: Far Cry (2008) discussion! Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

The house is jam-packed for our first ever official game club! Regular hosts Joey, Tab, Ron, and Paul welcome special guest Taylor Carlson, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and Animation at Buena Vista University to chat about Disco Elysium! Having played the game multiple times, Taylor acts as our sage guide, our Helpful and Informational Necktie, if you will, as the rest of us are diving in for the first time. Only one of us made it to the stopping point mentioned in previous episodes, but not for trying! We were just surprised by how dense and rich the game was and got very, very distracted. But we are loving it so far, and our discussion hopefully reflects that. We chat about art style, writing, plot beats, character development, our undying love for Kim Kitsuragi, and much more. We'll continue our discussion in the next few weeks, so if you have a question or something you'd like to add to the conversation, please email us at the address below. We'd love to hear from you! Besides DE, we also talk a bit about Papers, Please, the Knights of the Old Republic remake delay, burritos, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) and @bigbadron (Ron) and @ConAffettoKiko (Taylor) 00:02:50: Taylor's intro! 00:05:03: Papers, Please is coming to mobile on August 5th (via Lucas Pope on Twitter)! 00:08:33: KotOR remake is indefinitely delayed, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier 00:11:34: Tab's still shakin' dem trees in Animal Crossing New Horizons 00:12:16: Joey's been playing ACNH and Stray when he can, but (like all of us) mostly been plugging away at Disco Elysium 00:12:50: Ron, too, has been Disco-ing it up, but also nomming on some burrito 00:14:22: Paul's been focusing on Disco 00:15:48: Taylor's been double fisting Hades and Disco 00:17:03: Disco Elysium! It's a loose and conversational discussion so there are no strict timestamps or segments Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Scoot that tooty, it's time for some booty! I have no idea what that phrase means. Let's just move on. Today, Tab, Paul, and Joey chat about the best booties in the biz! We're (respectfully) sharing some of our favorite glutes in games. We didn't share our lists with each other beforehand but there were some interesting overlaps! Also, Ron couldn't join us this week but he also couldn't resists the rump, so he is with us spiritually with a few choice nods of his own. It's a somewhat silly, somewhat serious exercise, and we hope you'll join us for the ride. And send in your booties! Well, not, like, YOUR booties, but video character posteriors that you don't think get enough love. We also chat about Everybody's Golf's imminent shut-down (☹), Minecraft's stance on NFTs/blockchain, Fat Pikachu Squishmallow, new No Man's Sky content, what we've been playing and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) 00:04:12: Everybody's Golf will soon become Nobody's Golf when it goes offline in September (https://kotaku.com/everybodys-golf-clap-hanz-ps4-sony-servers-shut-down-se-1848742067) 00:08:49: Minecraft bans NFTs, takes a hardline stand against them (https://kotaku.com/minecraft-nft-blockchain-mojang-microsoft-ban-scam-1849234967) 00:14:07: Pokémon Squishmallows are coming, including our boy Fat Pikachu! (https://kotaku.com/pokemon-squishmallows-pikachu-gengar-togepi-snorlax-1849314292) 00:18:56: Tab gives big kudos to Hello Games for continuing to support No Man's Sky in big ways (https://www.nomanssky.com/2022/07/no-mans-sky-endurance-update/?cli_action=1658437858.378) 00:22:15: Paul finished Elden Ring and is now with his (*cough*our*cough*) beloved Ranni! He's also been playing Everybody's Golf with the gang and is working his way through Disco Elysium 00:27:52: Joey has also been playing ACNH (still no Diana!), working through Disco Elysium, and is loving Stray! 00:29:55: Tab's back into Animal Crossing New Horizons and is really liking Stray in addition to chip away at Disco Elysium 00:36:10: Best booties in video games! I (Joey) don't have time to host and post links to the images we share between each other this week, but I'll list the characters with timestamps below so you can Google (safely!) images for yourself, if that tickles your fanny (meaning booty). 00:37:57: Tab: Tallboy (Back 4 Blood) 00:41:37: Paul: Panam (Cyberpunk 2077) 00:45:29: Joey: Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village) 00:48:19: Tab: Judy (Cyberpunk 2077) 00:51:07: Paul: Wario (Wario and Mario games, duh) 00:54:22: Ron: Bayonetta (uh, Bayonetta) 00:56:10: Joey: Miranda (Mass Effect 2 and 3) 00:58:58: Tab: Karlee (Back 4 Blood) 01:01:20: Paul: Chloe (Uncharted series) 01:04:00: Ron: Rainbow Mika (Street Fighter series) 01:05:21: Joey: Chun-Li (Street Fighter series) 01:07:28: Tab: Paul's custom character from Everybody's Golf 01:10:19: Paul: Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2) 01:13:10: Joey: Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid series) 01:17:20: Tab: Jin Sakai (Ghost of Tsushima) 01:20:20: Ron: Cyberdemon (DOOM series) 01:22:45: Paul: Merciless Watchers (Bloodborne) 01:27:35: Joey: Paulina (Super Mario Odyssey) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's time for Video Game Trivia Royal! Joey has written 30 mind-bending, titty-twisting (not really) questions for Ron and Paul to try their beautifully manicured hands at. There's music! Amazon user questions! Steam reviews! Instruction manuals! And, as Paul points out, Joey grinds a couple of axes along the way. We'd love for you to play along and send in questions for future rounds! We also chat about Skull and Bones, God of War Ragnarok, Bayonetta 3, Skate, Joey's continued New Horizons Diana drama, Paul's aquatic adventures, Ron's insect-uous romp, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:11:42: Skull and Bones is coming this year! (11/8) 00:17:05: God of War Ragnarok (11/9) 00:18:48: Bayonetta 3 (10/8) 00:21:36: Skate will be free to play, have cosmetic microtransactions 00:30:02: Joey still. Can't. Find. Diana. 00:31:18: Ron's been unsuccessfully fending off bugs 00:33:27: Paul has been floatin' on avo', swimming his buns off, and watching Girl in the Picture and White Hot 00:44:30: Video Game Trivia Royal! 30 questions. Points, but no scores. We're not taking it too seriously (unless you count how SERIOUSLY fun it is). Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Howdy-do, boys, girls, enbys, and others! Have we got a show for you. If you love games like we do, maybe you get the same wacky ideas to, I dunno, make them? Well, we don't have the resources to make a game either, but we hope against hope that game designers will hear our call to Make These Games, Dammit! On this installment, Joey paints a proverbial picture of a roguelite game based on a very famous comic book villain, Paul sings a siren's song about an epic, swashbuckling, seafaring adventure game by a renowned open-world developer, and Ron shares a mind-blowing take on a classic. We also chat about Rockstar's upcoming project plans, KotOR bug fixes, potential PS3 (or Vita) backwards compatibility that may be in development for the PS5, a new itch.io bundle to support abortion, The Quarry, and lots of literal potty humor. Tune in next week for a mega trivia extravaganza! Joey has worked hard on coming up with fun trivia questions to stump and bump Paul and Ron, with bonus questions contributed by Tab! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:00:45: Mozzarella sticks versus cheese curds – fight! 00:09:32:  GTA IV, RDR1 remasters shelved after the tumultuous launch of GTA Trilogy last year. Rockstar focusing efforts on GTA 6 (via Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/gta-iv-remastered-red-dead-redemption-canceled-rockstar-1849142371) 00:20:20: Game-breaking bug in KOTOR 2 fixed, some new/lingering bugs present but now Paul can finish the second game (albeit with some blurry cutscenes?) (via Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/kotor-2-gamebreaking-bug-aspyr-crash-onderon-1849136189) 00:24:02: Based on a Sony job listing, there may be hope for PS3 emulation on the PS5 (which means we all get to download and play the Sly Cooper Remastered Trilogy, baby!!!). This would also potentially apply to PS3 peripherals, such as the EyeToy, the PS Mouse, and PS Move controllers, and maybe rock band/guitar controllers or that fleshlight controller we're all going to buy used :P (via Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/sony-playstation-ps5-ps5-ps3-emulation-engineer-1849140353) 00:31:07: An itch.io Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds is nearing its goal: https://itch.io/b/1472/indie-bundle-for-abortion-funds 00:33:08: Ron's been having a Wendy's cheddar burger for dinner 00:34:36 Paul has been munching on some Dairy Queen Dirt Cup and watching (and recommends) Last Night in Soho and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 00:38:06: Joey had a Burger King Whopper for dinner and is still trying his damnedest to get Boomer off his island in Animal Crossing New Horizons and he's finished another run of The Quarry 00:52:09: Make These Games, Dammit! 00:55:40: DOOMSDAY (Joey) 01:14:55: Tells No Tales (Paul) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

We've all had busy weeks, but we did find time to record a very fun round of Who Knew That Review and chat about some video games. To recap, we each read reviews for two games, omitting proper nouns/important “giveaway” words or phrases like character names, locations, publishers, etc. If we near the end of the review(s) and don't feel like our co-hosts are getting it, we can let some of those things slip to help them out. If they can't get it by the end, we can give us hints like year released, publisher/developer, genre, etc. We had some interesting reviews this time around! We also chat a bit about the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, though we didn't see enough of it to get a deep dive. I think we can all agree that the most important thing is that Persona is finally coming to Switch, right? We also talk about some board games (Alien: Fate of the Nostromo and Telestrations), Joey gives his camp counselor rankings for The Quarry, Ron talks about his recent fitness adventures, there is too much talk about harmonicas, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:00:45:  This is NOT a music/Blues Traveler podcast, but here we are 00:11:55: Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase 00:17:24: Paul's been playing some Shredder's Revenge, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo, and Telestrations with Joey, Tab, and friends 00:26:48: Ron's been walking like a madman and watching speedruns 00:35:51: Joey finally finished The Quarry and started Hunie Pop 2 00:37:40: Who Knew That Review! 00:38:23: Game 1: Joey 00:47:28: Game 2: Paul 00:55:12: Game 3: Ron 01:03:50: Game 4: Joey 01:13:35: Game 5: Paul 01:28:01: Game 6: Ron Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

A lot going on this week! We do an Anime Check-in, where Ron discusses his first gentle steps into the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Joey talks about his continued love for Sailor Moon (despite the annoyingly limited monster vocabulary in season 2), and Paul shares some thoughts on recent Love, Death & Robots episodes. We also come up with a plan to update our fantasy video game draft in the near future, so stay tuned for that. In terms of what we've been playing lately, we got a little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, a smattering of Mario Party Superstars, a dash of It Takes Two and The Quarry, and Paul celebrates his first video game figure purchase (of the Geralt Ronin figure from Dark Horse Direct, link in timestamps below). Our feature is (some of) our favorite weapons in video games! We run out of time to cover all of them, so look forward to a future episode with more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:03:40: Anime check-in! Ron talks Evangelion, Joey touches on Sailor Moon, and Paul shouts out Love, Death & Robots 00:16:54: Paul's still delving into every dark corner of Elden Ring and having a great time in Mario Party Superstars, plus he pre-ordered his very first fancy video game figure! https://direct.darkhorse.com/collections/the-witcher-3-the-wild-hunt/products/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-geralt-ronin-lone-wolf-figure-standard-edition 00:28:09: Ron's been doing all kinds of cooperating in It Takes Two, plus he's been liking (we think) his time with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge with Joey and Tab 00:38:49: Joey's still in search of Diana, his love, in Animal Crossing New Horizons and has just scratched the surface of The Quarry 00:40:45: Fantasy Video Game Draft check-in! We come up with a plan for how to draft new prospects and make the scoring more fair, but we'll draft the fresh-faced new recruits on a future episode 01:01:10: Our favorite weapons in games! 01:01:39: Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc0WnaoQJwo 01:05:00: Joey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Z06j3Hic0 01:07:30: Ron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjls6qvohfU 01:10:39: Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zq1HT7lMn4 01:15:13: Joey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWlsEpGbw68 01:19:00: Ron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5JdatXlG_E 01:22:15: Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsVrS0Jgig8 01:26:47: Joey: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/cat-uxo-storage-production/hazards/909/images/pm-n-4-001.jpg 01:32:04: Ron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QD7aFBJUDU 01:35:45: Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9UeE4xz4HI 01:39:57: Joey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs2QcokiYkI https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/chrono/images/e/e8/Rainbow.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100603155238 01:45:20: Ron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7liB19WRY_I 01:52:15: Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY55T11AG4s 01:57:43: Joey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKtBZgSfqZ4 02:03:00: Ron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsCqLQJ1EOc Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Strap in (and on), it's episode 69, babyyyyyyy! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate this momentous occasion, so we've dubbed this episode “Pixels After Dark.” We chat about some historic erotic video games, our first experiences with sex in games, notable examples of mature sexual content, what we want to see in future games with regards to sex, and more. We also cover the epic Microsoft Bethesda showcase, more Capcom news, the newly released PlayStation Plus Premium games, what we've been playing, and much more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:05:40: Microsoft Bethesda showcase 00:06:30: Starfield 00:15:57: Persona games on Xbox! 00:18:40: Hollow Knight Silksong 00:19:30: Redfall 00:20:40: Microsoft Flight Simulator 00:27:40: Sea of Thieves 00:33:17: Capcom showcase 00:36:40: Joey meant Final Fantasy VII Remake, not Resident Evil 7 00:36:55: PlayStation Plus Essential and Premium releases 00:43:22: Joey's been playing Fantavision, Resident Evil Director's Cut, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Mario Kart 8, Mario Party Superstars, and The Quarry 00:51:22: Paul's also been playing Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party Superstars, plus his Elden Ring adventures continue! 00:57:42: Ron's been kicking it old school with Super Mario World 01:01:37: Final Fantasy VII Remake showcase live reactions 01:03:36: Sex in (and?) games! 01:05:29: Softporn (1981) https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/12/the-odd-history-of-the-first-erotic-computer-game/383114/ https://archive.org/details/a2_Softporn_Adventure_1981_Blue_Sky 01:11:34: Night Life (1982) https://mashable.com/article/video-game-sex-scenes https://archive.org/details/d64_Night_Life_19xx_William_Quinn 01:15:00: X-Man (1983) https://archive.org/details/atari_2600_x-man_1983_universal_gamex_corporation_alan_roberts_h.k._poon_gx-001 01:16:40: Leisure Suit Larry (1987) https://archive.org/details/LeisureSuitLarry1VGA 01:16:45: Our first experience with sex in video games 01:26:00: Hot Coffee mod, GTA San Andreas (2005) 01:28:38: BMX XXX 01:31:18: Mass Effect (2007) and Fox News' infamous “Sexbox” segment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU&t=4s 01:39:11: Custom Maid 3D (2011) 01:49:20: Who We Are Now (2017) and Knife Sisters (2019) https://spincut.itch.io/who-we-are-now http://knifesisters.com/ 01:51:35: Tab's blog: https://gamingteacher.blog/ 02:13:40: Punch Line (2016) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

E3 season is upon us, even if the show itself is once again missing in action. In its absence, we propose claiming the term “E3” as a broad term meaning “big summer announcement season.” After this year's Summer Game Fest, we need something… more exciting, and “E3” still sparks excitement in many of us. So… happy E3, everyone! Does that work? We'll workshop it. Paul, Ron, and Joey talk about what they've been playing, but then a dramatic text rips Ron away from us (cue dramatic reality TV cut and tense music), leaving Paul and Joey to chat about Sony's State of Play and the Summer Game Fest showcase. Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy XVI, Lady D, The Rock, The Last of Us, and so much more. We also chat about what we've been playing, including No Man's Sky and Elden Ring. Next week is our Pretty Pixels After Dark, celebrating episode 69, so join us for lots of painfully awkward sex talk! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:07:05: Ron's been chipping away at GTA: San Andreas and eatin' grits 00:11:45: Paul is nearing endgame in Elden Ring 00:22:00: Joey loved Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, has mixed feelings about his return to No Man's Sky 00:40:49: This is where Ron leaves, but he stopped his recording so there is a bit of an odd cut here 00: Sony State of Play! 00:47:25: Resident Evil 00:54:55: PSVR 2 01:02:09: Stray 01:06:09: Dead Spa- uh, The Callisto Protocol 01:09:46: Rollerdrome 01:12:20: Eternights 01:15:01: Street Fighter VI 01:23:20: Tunic and Season: A Letter to the Future 01:25:27: Final Fantasy XVI 01:32:42: Summer Game Fest! We begin with broad thoughts, then kind of jump around a bit. We don't dwell on very many titles as we did with the State of Play Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com Interstitial track from Jaws (NES), published by LJN, 1987.

Slight change of plans, dear listener. Paul is out of town again this week, so we've pushed the “favorite weapons in video games” episode back a few weeks and are, instead, talking about some of our weird (and not weird) gaming associations. Ron and Joey talk a brisk jaunt down memory lane and share some associations we have with specific games. Which game do you suppose one of us used No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom album as a soundtrack for? And which of us was watching Dateline, playing Doom, and listening to Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral? We also meander in and out of related memories, including Zours candies, The Box (a music video dial-in show from the 80s/90s), gaming snacks and more. We also talk about the partner lineup for next week's Summer Game Fest, KotOR coming to Switch, Sailor Jupiter, and what we've been playing. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:05:16: Girl Talk: http://illegal-art.net/girltalk/ 00:08:30: Joey's Sailor Moon update 00:12:19: Summer Game Fest announces its “partners” for next week's showcase (https://www.summergamefest.com/#partners-intro) 00:22:50 : Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is coming to Nintendo Switch next week 00:26:25:: Ron's been playing a whole lotta nothin' 00:30:16: Joey beat Parasite Eve, has been revamping his island and continues the search for Diana in Animal Crossing New Horizons, he's been sucking up some ghosts with friends in Luigi's Mansion 3, and he has started and is loving Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers 00:52:08: Odd Gaming Associations! 00:53:14: Aerosmith and TurboGrafx-16 (Ron) 00:55:55: Is that Alan Grant? (Joey) 01:01:58: No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom and EarthBound (Joey) 01:10:00: Dateline, Doom, and The Downward Spiral (Ron) 01:18:09: Super cheesy nachos, sugar-syrupy Kool-Aid, and Chrono Trigger (Joey) 01:22:36: Zours and Perfect Dark (Ron) 01:28:12: Tom Petty's “Runnin' Down a Dream” and the freedom of GTA: San Andreas (Joey) 01:30:12: Twisted Ankle and Tomb Raider (Ron) 01:32:00: Green Jelly, Maximum Carnage, and The Box (Joey) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Paul and Joey are discussing unique video game experiences! Breaking through the surface in Minecraft after getting lost for hours underground? Red lights in Gone Home? How about the thrill of an epic Elden Ring boss fight? We cover these and more, and feel free to write us and share your own unique video game moments! We also chat a lot about Elden Ring (duh), trophies (probably) coming to classic PlayStation titles with the new PS Plus, the new union at Raven Software, Arcane, Sailor Moon, Animal Crossing and so much more. Next week we're talking about some of our favorite weapons in games! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) 00:03:44: Classic PS games on PS Plus will (probably) have trophies! (via Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/23131569/playstation-plus-premium-trophy-support-spartacus) 00:14:35: Raven Software Employees Win Unionization Vote, Become First Union At Activision Blizzard (via Game Informer: https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/05/23/raven-software-employees-win-unionization-vote-become-first-union-at-activision-blizzard) 00:23:21: Paul's been kicking ass and killing chickens in Elden Ring, and was very pleasantly surprised by Arcane (Netflix) 00:43:07: Joey's been felling Fire Giants with Tab in Elden Ring, binging Sailor Moon, scurrying up trees in The Legend of Kage, squashing beasties in Parasite Eve, scouring the islands for his Animal Crossing bae in New Horizons, and burning rubber in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 01:03:35: Unique video game feelings! 01:11:02: Spider-Man (Insomniac) 01:17:00: Minecraft 01:23:22: FromSoftware bosses 01:34:18: Gone Home 01:47:04: BioWare magic 02:00:07: Red Dead Redemption 2 Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

The whole damn Pixels crew is here, ready to talk about our summer playlists! Tab, Paul, Ron, and Joey talk about the games they're excited to play this summer. We're talking upcoming games like Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, but also plenty of games we're catching up on or revisiting, like Max Payne and Far Cry. We also touch on some movies, shows, and books we're hoping to dive into, including lots of anime. Sailor Moon! Studio Ghibli! We have a lot to catch up on. What's on your summer playlist? Email us and we'll read it on the show! We also talk about Activision Blizzard's diversity tool, the shocking (?) Starfield delay, the first batch of PlayStation Plus Premium games announced, and a little about Warner Bros.' new MultiVersus game trailer. And, of course, we get into what we've been playing (hint: it's a lot of Elden Ring). Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:16: Activision Blizzard's new diversity tool seems well-intentioned but problematic (https://www.gamedeveloper.com/culture/activision-blizzard-s-new-diversity-space-tool-gets-frosty-reception-from-devs) 00:05:57: Starfield delayed to 2023; Paul weeps for his draft list 00:10:27: Sony releases a partial game list for its upcoming PlayStation Plus expanded tiers (https://blog.playstation.com/2022/05/16/all-new-playstation-plus-game-lineup-assassins-creed-valhalla-demons-souls-ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut-nba-2k22-and-more-join-the-service/) 00:21:07: Brief discussion about the new MultiVersus trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvborgKG7fw) 00:26:12: Tab's been making their way through the Far Cry games and pushing through Elden Ring 00:26:59: Joey's finished (platinum, babyyyy) Elden Ring and is in love with Ranni the Witch 00:35:35: Paul's been breaking thrones in Thronebreaker and being all social and stuff with board games like Hues and Cues and Telestrations 00:42:27: Ron's kicking it old school, revisiting Duke Nukem 3D and Max Payne 3 00:49:10: Joey's also been playing some Animal Crossing New Horizons again 00:52:03: Summer playlists! We start with some of the games we're planning on playing this summer, then blitz through some movies, shows, and books at the end Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Episode 64!!!!!!! *fist pump* *fist pump* *fist pump* Paul is out of town so we're pushing our “unique feelings” episode back. Luckily for us, Tab was ready to fill in for a big ol' retrospective of the mainline Far Cry games! They give us a brief history of the series (light spoilers: there are dinosaurs involved!), info on each entry, and lots of analysis and commentary about narratives, characters, settings, and more. The most fascinating thing for Joey, who has only played half of the mainline games, was seeing how what would become staples of the series unfolded via iteration and response to criticism. It's a massive, chonky episode, and a good time! We also chat a bit about Tab's new Lego Tallneck, the new Gotham Knights gameplay trailer, Elden Ring, and more! Want to join the discussion? Hit us up at the email below with thoughts about Far Cry or what you have on your summer playlist(s). Next week (if the fates align), the whole pixels crew is coming together to share our own playlists, so write in and we'll read yours, too! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) 00:03:20: The new Gotham Knights trailer looks pretty slick 00:05:10: Tab's new Lego Tallneck also looks pretty slick 00:12:00: Joey and Tab are still in deep with Elden Ring 00:17:04: Tab started a big cat sanctuary in Planet Zoo! 00:20:05: Far Cry retrospective! We start with our personal intros to the series, then Tab shares a bit of a disclaimer 00:29:04: Series overview 00:37:38: Far Cry (2004) 00:47:14: Far Cry 2 (2008) 01:05:35: Far Cry 3 (2012) 01:31:45: Far Cry 4 (2014) 01:51:27: Far Cry 5 (2018) 02:18:00: Far Cry 6 (2021) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

We'll figure out another original game soon, but until then we're back on our 20 questions bullshit. Paul, Ron, and Joey grill each other to try and guess three fairly well-known games. Will they succeed? Will you? Play along and let us know how you do! You can also send us games to use the next time we play, or ideas for other games you think would be fun. We welcome any and all ideas! If they're bad, we'll just pretend they accidentally got sent to our junk folder! We also chat a bit about the Square Enix sale of multiple studios and IPs, our hype levels for Summer Game Fest, Clippy invading Halo Infinite, Switch Sports, Chrono Cross, GTA Online, old SNES game show games, and Elden Ring. Thanks for listening! We don't say this nearly enough but we love you and we're so grateful that you hang out with us every week. See you next time! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:37: Square Enix sells off most Western studios and associated IP 00:16:09: Summer Game Fest is arriving June 9 00:25:50: 343 is adding Clippy to Halo Infinite. Truly, the ultimate crossover event 00:31:00: Paul's been loving up on Elden Ring and his new Dark Plates for PS5 00:40:20: Ron's been playing a bunch of SNES game show games, Overcooked, and Switch Sports with Joey 00:55:35: Joey platinumed Chrono Cross! He also finally started Elden Ring! 01:14:37: Video Game 20 Questions! 01:15:55: Game 1 (Joey) 01:40:59: Game 2 (Paul) 02:15:15: Game 3 (Ron) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Grab your mushrooms and trust the fungus, dear listener, because like the accident-prone vehicles of Dinohattan, we're screeching and flipping our way into the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993! A flawed diamond is still a diamond, so despite its many faults and the tumultuous production, we love this weird adaptation of the famous video game series. Joey swoons over Princess Daisy, Ron is in love with Bob-omb's shoes, and (like Mario falling through an interdimensional portal) Paul is head over heels for Yoshi's cuteness. We chat about the stellar cast and the earnestness with which many of them deliver their performances, the hit-or-miss visuals, the extended cut deleted scenes, Bertha, hair, music, behind-the-scenes shenanigans, and so much more. Check it out and let us know your thoughts on the movie (you can check out the extended cut for free here: https://archive.org/details/super-mario-bros-1993-the-morton-jankel-cut-extended-vhs). Joey also laments (kinda?) a long lost love, we share recent GTA hijinks, gastrointestinal problems, and more. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:06:54: Joey's sob story about a long-lost love 00:13:48: Sony is setting up a game preservation team to “ensure our industry's history isn't forgotten” (Game Developer: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/playstation-has-formed-a-game-preservation-team) 00:18:38: Meta is spending around $3 billion a quarter on Metaverse development. Are we excited for this (or Epic's) meta future? (Game Developer: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/extended-reality/meta-burned-2-96-billion-on-reality-labs-last-quarter) 00:28:43: Ron's been playing San Andreas and his digestive tract has been playing him 00:33:00: Paul's been loving the eff out of Elden Ring 00:38:55: Joey is so close to platinum with Chrono Cross 00:41:20: Paul betrays Joey and, well, Ron also betrays Joey in GTA Online 00:51:14: Super Mario Bros. (1993)! We start with basic info and then sort of jump around, covering thoughts on the cast, Daisy, Mario's mustache, Yoshi's cuteness, poor Toad, Koopa as Trump, and so much more 01:06:47: https://youtu.be/O20PCeIOLa8?t=438 01:09:00: https://www.smbmovie.com/ 01:12:05: http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/pics/specials/interviews/asnyder/Amy_02.jpg http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/pics/specials/interviews/asnyder/Makeup_10.jpg Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Do The Indie Swap! *breaks into an old-timey 1960s style beach blanket bingo dance* I'm sorry for that. That was, as the kids say, cringe. This week we report on the indie games we swapped on last week's episode! Joey's talking about Ridiculous Glitching, Paul's talking about Art Sqool, and Ron's talking about Who Stole My Lunch! They all turned out to be great games and we had a lot of fun playing and chatting about them. Check them out at the links below! We also chat a little about what to expect from upcoming episodes, a 4K restoration of the 1986 Super Mario Bros. anime (link below), Elden Ring, Chrono Cross, more GTA Online shenanigans, and more! After more than a year it really feels like we're starting to hit a groove. Next week we're watching the Super Mario Bros. movie! You can find an extended version on the Internet Arcade (https://archive.org/details/super-mario-bros-1993-the-morton-jankel-cut-extended-vhs/Super+Mario+Bros+1993+The+Morton+Jankel+Cut+Extended+DVD+1-1A.mp4) or purchase a DVD copy from Amazon (currently $3.99) and watch along with us! Send us questions and comments and we'd be excited to read them on the show. Thanks for listening! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:08:48: Future segment idea: Pretty Pixels After Dark? 00:10:37: FemboyFilms (https://www.patreon.com/femboyfilms) has restored the 1986 Super Mario Bros. anime and it looks awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzlZy9zpw0Q (via IGN: https://www.ign.com/articles/super-mario-bros-anime-1986-4k-restoration) 00:14:00: Ron's been pinballing it up and is determined to get the third highest score ever in a game called Ice Cold Beer 00:27:20: Paul's been absolutely crushing it in Elden Ring 00:40:35: Joey is on playthrough number two of Chrono Cross 00:50:30: The whole gang has been pulling off heists with flair and fashion in GTA Online 01:00:18: Indie Swap! 01:04:30: Ridiculous Glitching: https://firepunchd.itch.io/ridiculousglitching  01:23:17: Art Sqool: https://glander.itch.io/art-sqool  01:45:13: Someone Stole My Lunch!: https://studioclump.itch.io/ssml “Commercial” provided by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvbkxpcoK6I  Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

This week, Paul, Joey, and Ron discuss reboots/remasters/remakes, or what we like to call “revisits” or “seances.” How do we distinguish between them? What makes a “good” revisit? What are some notable examples? Will the current and upcoming classic library streaming services affect the quality or frequency of revisitations at all? We talk about all of this and more. We jump around a lot, so we don't have specific timestamps, but we touch on Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, Quake, Sony's “Director's Cuts,” Demon's Souls, and more! It takes us a while to get to that discussion, though, because we really got in the weeds talking about the new Max Payne reboots, Kingdom Hearts 4, Elden Ring, and we set up an indie swap for next week's episode! It's a big ol' episode but we had a lot of fun making it. Hope you enjoy! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:11:55: Indie Swap roulette! You can find these games here: https://sophieh.itch.io/sophies-safecracking-simulator https://adamgryu.itch.io/a-short-hike https://basically-games.itch.io/baldis-basics-plus https://davidsgallant.itch.io/i-get-this-call-every-day https://glander.itch.io/art-sqool https://firepunchd.itch.io/ridiculousglitching https://pixelforest.itch.io/farmers-stealing-tanks https://studioclump.itch.io/ssml https://thebonesbrothers.itch.io/sticky-cats 00:26:54: Remedy remaking Max Payne 1 and 2 for next-gen consoles/PC 00:43:00: Kingdom Hearts 4 announced 01:11:19: Joey's been sinking a ton of time into Chrono Cross (more to come) 01:13:45: Paul's been wringing every last ounce of excitement from Elden Ring 01:30:18: Ron and the whole Pixels crew have been playing GTA Online (we did our first heist!) 01:45:03: “Revisitations” or “Seances”: Remakes/Remasters/Reboots Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

At the Alabama National Faiiiiiiir! In addition to an update about the Alabama National Fair jingle saga, Paul, Ron, and Joey discuss forgotten/underappreciated gems! These games may or may not be big hits, but we think they deserve(d) more love, regardless. We also chat about tutorial videos, a pretty decent Amazon sale, the new Tomb Raider, and so much more! Wow, this show description is so much shorter than usual. We also, uh, talk about what we've been playing. And… there are some dumb jokes about… stuff… maybe this doesn't NEED to be longer, right? Maybe I should embrace the short description. I say that as I continue to ramble on, adding little to nothing of value. Sigh. Okay, I'll shut up. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:08:00: Crystal Dynamics announces new Tomb Raider game that's “just started” development 00:14:15: Amazon is having a pretty great buy-2-get-1 sale 00:20:10: Update on the Alabama National Fair saga 00:33:33: Paul finished Cyberpunk 2077 and has lots of feelings! 00:39:28: Joey's been playing Persona Q and Arena Ultimax, and is continuing construction on Wayne Manor in Minecraft 00:42:14: The gang discusses YouTube game tutorials, good and bad https://www.powerpyx.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/dangitjm 00:52:50: The Pixel gang is starting to form in GTA Online 01:01:22: Ron's been getting nostalgic with Loaded 01:04:09: Forgotten/underappreciated gems! 01:07:20: Blast Chamber [Ron] 01:15:26: Ultimate Spider-Man (PS2) [Paul} 01:23:53: Onimusha (PS2) [Joey] 01:30:35: Trap Gunner (PS) [Ron] 01:36:32 Batman Begins (PS2) [Paul] 01:45:32: Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy – Starship Bridge Simulator (SNES) [Joey] 01:56:23: Chrono Cross (PS) [Joey] 02:01:03: Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (GOG) [Paul] Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Do players dream of electric games? That's one of the questions we ponder this week, though with less convoluted language and a lack of allusion to a classic science fiction novel. It's… it's just “do we ever dream of video games when we've played them a bunch.” That's what I was… trying to… Anyway, we're playing Video Game Twenty Questions again! We had some real nail-biters last time, so will we continue our streak and emerge victorious once again? Play along and let us know how dumb we are! There was a lot of interesting news this week, too, so we talk about Rockstar's new GTA Online subscription, Breath of the Wild 2's delay, E3's cancelation, the new PlayStation Plus tiers, and much more. It's a pretty jam-packed episode! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:54: Rockstar announces “GTA Plus” subscription service 00:04:20: Breath of the Wild 2 is delayed to 2023 00:10:36: E3 is cancelled 00:13:38: Sony finally unveils its upcoming PlayStation Plus subscription tiers 00:32:59: Judge approves Activision Blizzard harassment settlement 00:35:22: Joey's still summoning his Persona in Persona Q and Arena Ultimax, plus he's building Wayne Manor in Minecraft 00:36:15: Do we dream of games when we've played them a bunch? 00:41:17: Paul's been hitting that Halo grind and is nearing the end of Cyberpunk 2077's story 00:45:15: Ron's also been Haloing just a bit 00:47:22: Video game twenty questions! 00:50:30: Game 1 01:11:11: Game 2 01:33:47: Game 3 01:47: Bella starts purring around here, so that lasts several minutes and I couldn't bear to edit it out Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Pop some corn and grab a Bison Brand Soda™ for our conversation about the 1994 hit movie Street Fighter! “Hit movie?” I hear you ask, snide derision coloring your tone as you scrunch your nose at the notion. But, as we discuss in the episode, this movie made $100 million globally! And what a wild ride it is. Ming-Na Wen kicks some serious ass, Raul Julia chews some scenery, Jean-Claude Van Damme is on a ton of cocaine, and Kylie Minogue is a cutie patootie. There was so much to unpack with this movie, but we walked away with a greater appreciation for it than we'd expected to. We also announce the winner of our Hitman 3 giveaway, talk about The Batman for quite a bit, and Joey has a poop story you didn't ask for and probably don't want to hear! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:01:45: Hitman 3 giveaway winner! Congrats, Jeff! 00:05:15: Sony acquires Jade Raymond's Haven Studios 00:08:23: CD Projekt Red announced a new installment in The Witcher series of games 00:19:00: Joey's gross poop story 00:28:00: The Batman discussion [spoilers start now] 00:41:40: [End The Batman spoilers] 00:41:44: Paul's still punking it up in Night City 00:46:55: Ron hasn't been up to much 00:48:57: Joey finally finished Find Love or Die Trying and is continuing to plug away at Persona Q; he also started Persona 4 Arena ULTIMAX and has joined Tab in returning to Minecraft 00:56:10: Street Fighter (1994)! Our discussion is all over the place so timestamps seem… useless! 01:28:10: The Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1991/08/11/the-muscles-from-brussels/f7bbf6e8-8243-49b0-8a40-7ce5256ca4a3/ 01:53:25: Ming-Na Wen on Conan: https://youtu.be/F-UCcEm6eGw Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's spring break, party people, and we're here to party it up by *checks notes* talking about video games and imagining what it would be like to go on actual vacations to fictional places! If you've listened with any regularity, you must surely realize now that we are sad people leading sad lives, so escape with us into fantastical landscapes as we do our best to find respite in the fantasy of beautiful seaside resorts, spacious castles, and sprawling metropolises. Virtually see the sights! Delusionally savor the flavors! Take in every Chocobo chirp and Bob-omb blast in these magical, completely made-up locations with us, and send us your fantasy video game vacation destinations, too! We'd love to read them on the show. We also plug a couple of timely itch.io bundles (links below), talk about what we've been playing, and more. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:30: Details for our second ever official giveaway! Listen for how to enter a physical copy of Hitman 3 for PS5 00:07:30: The itch.io Bundle for Ukraine: https://itch.io/b/1316/bundle-for-ukraine 00:10:25: The itch.io Bundle of TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas: https://itch.io/b/1308/ttrpgs-for-trans-rights-in-texas (@ 00:12:30, Joey is thinking of Questlandia) 00:14:24: New Mario Kart 8 DLC maps and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax are out this week 00:23:56: Yes, the PXLS gang is still playing Halo Infinite 00:27:35: Paul is still cruisin' the mean streets of Night City with his chooms 00:28:48: Ron has been truckin' along in American Truck Simulator and l33t haxxing in Quadrilateral Cowboy 00:37:00: Joey's been finishing up Horizon Forbidden West 00:39:40: Video game vacation destinations! Featuring: 00:40:02: Galdin Quay (Final Fantasy XV) 00:45:40: The American Southwest (Red Dead Redemption 2) 00:53:47: The Citadel (Mass Effect) 01:00:05: The Queendom of Zeal (Chrono Trigger) 01:07:50: Night City (Cyberpunk 2077) 01:15:12: Toussaint (The Witcher 3) 01:20:00: Castle Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village) 01:24:15: Los Santos (Grand Theft Auto V) 01:32:23: Iki Island (Ghost of Tsushima) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

As Rafiki says in The Lion King, “it is time.” We announce the winners to our first official giveaway! “Winners?” I hear you say with a puzzled look on your beautiful face. “But I remember clearly from last week's episode that you used the singular to describe the number of winners there would be,” you point out. You are correct, dear listener, but there is a plot twist! Tab has generously donated a code to the pot, so we have two codes that we give away on this week's episode! We would name the winners in the show notes here but we kind of want it to be a surprise for them. To everyone who entered, and especially those who wrote nice, supportive emails, thank you so much! It's been so much fun giving away codes to a game we love. We have another giveaway to announce next week (for a physical PS5 game), so stay tuned for more info on that. As for this week's show, Paul and Joey lament the fictional romances that were not to be on a little segment we're calling The Baes that Got Away. What's the shelf life on “bae,” anyway? Are we already not using it anymore? Regardless, we're chatting about characters in games with some kind of romance element (Mass Effect, The Witcher 3, Stardew Valley, etc.) that we weren't able to romance. We also talk about the Sony State of Play, Joey's Lady D print, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:07:04: Joey gets a wholesome print from Lady D herself, Helena Mankowska 00:12:30: Winners of the Horizon Forbidden West giveaway! 00:16:46: Happy MAR10 day! 00:17:26: Sony's State of Play, including: 00:18:08: Trek to Yomi 00:20:27: Exoprimal 00:23:35: Forespoken 00:25:16: TMNT Cowabunga Collection 00:29:00: Valkyrie Elysium 00:33:17: Perso- ahem. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle 00:40:43: The gang is still playing Halo Infinite 00:44:27: Paul has found love in Night City (Cyberpunk 2077) 00:44:55: Begin Cyberpunk 2077 side quest spoilers 00:58:26: End Cyberpunk 2077 spoilers 01:02:28: Begin romance spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077 01:08:17: End romance spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077 01:09:58: Joey has found more dino danger in Horizon Forbidden West 01:14:29: The Baes That Got Away! Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's our first big giveaway, babyyyyyy! Should we be as excited to give away a code as we are? I can't answer that. The fact remains that we are, in fact, very excited. We're usually the gamers trying to win codes, not the ones giving them away! But here we are, with a shiny new download code for Horizon Forbidden West (PS5/PS4), ready to send it along to a listener. We cover how you can enter in the episode, but don't worry: you don't have to like and subscribe and smash any bells. We would appreciate those things (well, except the bells – there are no bells here), but our goal with this giveaway is for it to be easy and equitable. And to share a game we love, which we talk all about in this episode! Talking points include faces, fun robo dino stuff, air, and much more. It's more interesting than it sounds! We also briefly chat about the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet announcement and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:06:00: Horizon Forbidden West code giveaway details 00:08:30: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are announced for later this year 00:14:37: Joey finally gets his sparkly purple armor in Halo Infinite 00:17:04: Horizon Forbidden West! 01:08:36: Slight spoiler about a side quest 01:10:08: End slight spoiler Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's Who Knew That Review time, babyyyyyyy! Joey, Ron, and Paul team up once again to play one of our favorite games. As a reminder, Who Knew That Review is a game where we try to guess games based on their reviews. Each host will read a review from an old magazine or website, like EGM, GamePro, Nintendo Power, etc., and omit key words and phrases like developer, publisher, character names, locations, etc. We want you, the listener, to play along, so we hold our final guesses until the entire review has been read. We also announce a new game giveaway! Next week, Tab and Joey will be discussing Horizon Forbidden West at length, and to celebrate its release and our recent one-year anniversary, we're giving away a code to the digital version of the game. Listen next week for details on how to potentially score the code, and we'll have another giveaway soon! We also chat a bit about Street Fighter 6, Dragon Age, and what we've been playing! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:46: Horizon Forbidden West giveaway announcement! 00:06:19: Capcom's countdown was for Street Fighter 6, but they're also releasing The Capcom Fighting Collection this summer 00:13:45: BioWare says in a blog post that they are “right in the middle of the Production phase” on the next Dragon Age game 00:17:55: Paul has been cybering it up in Cyberpunk 2077… and shaking with excitement over the upcoming Elden Ring 00:27:10: Ron's been playing “internet issues xtreme” and Haloing it up with the gang 00:32:18: Joey's been playing Horizon Forbidden West and gives his brief thoughts on the Uncharted movie 00:36:17: Who Knew That Review! 00:38:54: Paul's Game 1 00:45:49: Ron's Game 1 00:54:15: Joey's Game 1 01:06:34: Paul's Game 2 01:20:15: Ron's Game 2 01:32:05: Joey's Game 2 Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Tab's back to celebrate one year of Pretty Pixels Podcasting with an indie swap! We each chose an indie game from itch.io that we thought the other might find interesting, played them, and now we're here to report our findings. Tab made their way through the psychedelic and provocative The Life of Saint Fiona Bianco Xena, by Fantasia Malware, and Joey shuddered through a bone chilling encounter with Babysitter Bloodbath, by Puppet Combo. Links below, to check them out! We also chat about the mysterious Capcom countdown, Nintendo shuttering the 3DS and WiiU eshops, new No Man's Sky content, and more. Have an indie game you'd like us to play for a future indie swap? Email us! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab) 00:05:07: Capcom starts a countdown on their official site – probably something Street Fighter related, but Joey asks “what if…” 00:08:34: Cyberpunk 2077 next gen versions drop out of nowhere 00:11:27: “Nintendo Closing 3DS & Wii U Shops In 2023, Has 'No Plans To Offer Classic Content In Other Ways'” (via Kotaku) 00:14:18: No Man's Sky gets another major (free) update 00:19:30: Tab and Joey are still fartin' around in Halo Infinite 00:26:25: Joey struck his final killing blow in Hitman 3 00:37:40: Indie exchange intro! 00:41:54: Tab talks us through The Life of Saint Fiona Bianco Xena, by Fantasia Malware: https://fantasia-malware.itch.io/the-life-of-saint-fiona-bianco-xena 00:57:15: Joey digs into Babysitter Bloodbath, by Puppet Combo: https://puppetcombo.itch.io/babysitter-bloodbath Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

With Valentine's Day coming up, we thought it might be fun to play some short, cheap dating sims on itch.io! We each picked a game that seemed fun and was free or pay-what-you-want, played them, and are here to talk about them. Joey played part of Resident Evil 4: Otome Edition and almost all of Find Love or Die Trying, Ron played what's available of Don't Take It Personally, I Just Don't Like You: The Camping Trip, and Paul beat Head Over Hooves: My Heart Bleats for You. They were fun! Links are below, if you want to check them out. We also talk through some of the very exciting tidbits from the latest Nintendo Direct. Chrono Cross! EarthBound! Soccer Peach! Switch Sports! This Direct was a feast for some Nintendo fans, so we gush over some of the games we're most excited about. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:01:50: Nintendo Direct (2/9/22) 00:04:03: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes 00:05:07: Kirby is doing disturbing things with his mouth 00:07:15: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC! 48 Tracks! 00:10:30: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 00:11:42: Splatoon 3 00:12:50: Nintendo Switch Sports 00:16:31: Mario Strikers: Battle League 00:19:45: No Man's Sky on Switch 00:25:24: Portal Companion Collection 00:27:41: Klonoa Phantasy Reverie: Series 00:29:56: EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings are now on Switch! 00:37:50: Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers is an HD remaster of Chrono Cross with the previously unreleased Radical Dreamers bundled in! Woo! 00:41:45: Ghost of Tsushima getting an Aloy costume from Horizon Forbidden West (via IGN) 00:45:12: The PXLS gang is still desyncing it up in Halo Infinite and Paul had the best Halo match of his life; he is also zeroing in on Penny as a romance option in Stardew Valley! 00:55:50: Joey's still chipping away at Persona Q and is very impressed by Hitman 3's DualSense design 01:00:03: Ron's Valentine's Day pick: Don't Take It Personally, I Just Don't Like You: The Camping Trip, by DeCoster (also, Ron is correct: itch.io is independent, but Epic includes itch.io games on its storefront) https://lockerkid.itch.io/dont-take-it-personally-i-just-dont-like-you 01:12:57: Joey's Pick: Find Love or Die Trying, by Auden Jin https://audenjin.itch.io/find-love-or-die-trying 01:20:45: Paul's pick: Head Over Hooves, My Heart Bleats for You, by Blarfnip https://blarfnip.itch.io/head-over-hooves-my-heart-bleats-for-you Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Some podcasters just want to watch the world burn. We just want to talk about Batman. With the newest Bat-flick coming in March, fellow mega-Bat-fan Paul and I wanted to walk through Batman's history in video games. We do kind of breeze through the entire history of Batman games, but we focus most of our discussion on the games we've played (or that seem odd or important). We also talk more broadly about our own history with the character and universe, our favorite villains and Batman actors, toys, and all kinds of other Bat-details. We also talk about Sony's acquisition of Bungie, which Nintendo character we think would start an OnlyFans, Hitman 2 and 3, and more. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) The timestamps below are mostly only for major discussion points. There are a bit too many games and some we barely talk about. As mentioned in the episode, I've included links to emulations of some games from the Internet Archive. 00:04:00: New York Times buys Wordle 00:06:35: Sony acquires Bungie for $3.6 billion 00:18:11: Paul's still on the prowl for a bae in Stardew Valley and the whole gang is still on its Halo Infinite trip 00:23:10: Joey's drawing maps in Persona Q and *silenced pistol sound*ing his way through Hitman 2 and 3 00:27:40: Batman! 00:28:30: How we came to love Batman (early Batman movies, animated series) 00:44:07: Our favorite villains 00:49:50: Our favorite Batman actors 00:57:56: Batman (EU 1986, Ocean Software, for the Amstrad CPC and PCW, MSX, and Sinclair ZX Spectrum) https://archive.org/details/zx_Batman_1986_Ocean 01:00:27: Batman: The Caped Crusader (EU/NA 1988, Special FX Software/Ocean for the Amiga, Apple II, MS-Dos, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum) https://archive.org/details/zx_Batman_The_Caped_Crusader_Part_1_A_Bird_in_the_Hand_1988_Ocean 01:05:02: Batman (The Video Game) (EU/NA 1989, Ocean Software for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, GX4000, Amstrad CPC, MSX, ZX Spectrum) https://archive.org/details/msdos_Batman_-_The_Movie_1990 01:06:38: The Revenge of Shinobi (JP/NA 1989, EU 1990, Sega for Genesis) 01:09:50: Batman (JP 1989, EU/NA 1990, Sunsoft for NES) https://archive.org/details/batman-uprototype 01:15:32: Batman: Return of the Joker (JP/NA 1991, EU 1992, Sunsoft for NES, Game Boy, Genesis) https://archive.org/details/sg_Batman_Return_of_the_Joker_1992_Sunsoft_US https://archive.org/details/batmanreturnofthejokerprototype 01:21:06: Batman Returns (JP/NA 1992, EU 1993, Konami, Malibu Interactive, more for SNES, Genesis, Sega Master System, NES, Atari Lynx, Amiga, Game Gear, MS-DOS) https://archive.org/details/batman-returns-japan-sample https://archive.org/details/msdos_Batman_Returns_1993 01:29:10: The Adventures of Batman & Robin (NA/EU 1994, Sega/Clockwork Tortoise and Konami for Genesis, Game Gear, Sega CD, SNES) https://archive.org/details/gg_Adventures_of_Batman_and_R_The_1995Sega 01:31:47: Justice League: Task Force (1995, Sunsoft and Blizzard Entertainment for SNES, Condor for Sega Genesis) 01:34:45: Batman Forever: The Arcade Game (NA/EU 1996, JP 1997, Acclaim for arcade, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows) https://archive.org/details/arcade_batmanfr https://archive.org/details/psx_batmanf 01:37:05: Batman & Robin (NA/EU 1998, Probe Entertainment for PlayStation and game.com) https://archive.org/details/psx_batnrob 01:40:30: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (NA/EU 2000, Kemco/Ubisoft for Game Boy Color, N64, and PlayStation) https://archive.org/details/psx_batmnbey 01:44:39: Batman: Vengeance (NA/EU 2001, Ubi Soft Montreal for GameCube, PS2, Xbox, Windows, GBA) 01:46:13: Batman: Dark Tomorrow (NA/EU/JP 2003, Kemco for GameCube and Xbox) 01:53:20: Batman Begins (NA/EU 2005, Eurocom for GameCube, PS2, Xbox, GBA) 02:00:35: Lego Batman: The Videogame (NA/EU 2008, Traveller's Tales for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows, Nintendo DS, PSP) 02:03:25: Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (2008, Midway for Xbox 360 and PS3) 02:05:53: Batman: Arkham Asylum (NA/EU 2009, Rocksteady Studios for PS3, Xbox 360, Windows, Mac) Batman: Arkham City (2011, Rocksteady Studios for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Windows, Mac) Batman: Arkham Origins (2013, WB Games Montreal for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Windows) Batman: Arkham Knight (2015, Rocksteady Studios for PS4, Xbox One, and Windows) 02:24:42: Batman: Arkham VR (2016, Rocksteady Studios for PS VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive) 02:31:43: Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013, NetherRealm Studios for Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Windows, PS Vita) 02:39:05: Batman (2013, Specular Interactive for arcade) 02:44:30: Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014, Traveller's Tales for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Wii U, PS Vita, Windows, 3DS) 02:48:30: Batman: The Telltale Series (2016, Telltale Games for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, Windows) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Are you ready for some football? Well, you've come to the wrong place. We are, however, doing a fantasy video game draft this week, inspired by those of the football variety. We're picking teams from a list of the season's (year's) hottest players (games). After our teams are set, we'll track our games' Metacritic scores throughout the year. At the end of the year, the games' final Metacritic scores will be the “points” they've scored, and whoever has the most points, wins. If a game gets pushed from 2022, it's considered an “injury” and no points are awarded. Who do you think has the strongest team? Email us and let us know! Also on this episode, we discuss changes to the Halo Infinite battle pass, Raven Software's QA team unionizing, the newly announced EA Star Wars games, and what we've been playing. Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:12: Halo Infinite's Battle Pass will eventually include “premium credits” that can be used as currency to purchase shop items or future passes 00:08:25: Raven Software QA testers form union, Activision Blizzard ignores them 00:13:42: EA announces three new Star Wars games: a sequel to Fallen Order, an FPS, and a strategy game 00:21:33: More Halo talk 00:24:05: Paul has been teabagging it up in Halo Infinite (not really) and farming it up in Stardew Valley 00:29:50: Joey finished 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim and Metroid Fusion, started Persona Q and Hitman 2, chipped away at Pilotwings Resort, and failed at starting Secret of Evermore 00:41:19: Fantasy Video Game Draft 2022! The list of games we are drafting from: Horizon Forbidden West (2/18) Elden Ring (2/25) Dying Light 2: Stay Human (2/4) Martha is Dead (2/24) Gran Turismo 7 (3/4) Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (3/18) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (3/25) STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl (12/8) Sons of the Forest (5/20) Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong (5/19) Saints Row (8/23) Starfield (11/11) Bayonetta 3 (2022) Skull & Bones (2022) God of War: Ragnarok (2022) Gotham Knights (2022) GhostWire: Tokyo (2022) Goodbye Volcano High (2022) I Am Jesus Christ (2022) The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild sequel (2022) Soup Pot (2022) Stray (2022) Hogwarts Legacy (2022) Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (4/5) The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2022) Session (2022) Sifu (2/8) Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals (2022) Forspoken (5/24) Kirby and the Forgotten Land (3/25) Redfall (2022) Marvel's Midnight Suns (2022) Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (2022) Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (2022) Sonic Frontiers (2022) Splatoon 3 (2022) Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2022) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Let's talk about our favorite video game cover art! “But this is an audio podcast! How are we supposed to follow along with visual things!?” I'm so glad you asked, mysterious listener. In the show notes below, you'll find a handy list of links to the game art we discuss. Please, peruse them at your leisure and write in with your own favorites! We had so many picks that we had to cut ourselves off, so we'll be doing another episode at some point, and we'd love to share some listener picks! We also chat about the possibility of new PS5 backward compatibility, the giant Take-Two/Zynga and Microsoft/Activision Blizzard acquisitions, Troy Baker's new NFT venture (and its backlash), and more! I must lay off these exclamation points. They make it so easy to convey a sense of false excitement when I'm actually in severe pain and on the verge of falling asleep, though! See!? Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:01:30: Mark Cerny files a patent for “Backwards compatibility through use of spoof clock and fine grain frequency control,” which may mean some level of backwards compatibility with older PS models is coming to the PS5 (via @shaunmcilroy on Twitter) 00:10:20: Take-Two (owner/publisher of Rockstar and 2K) buys developer Zynga for $12.7 billion! (IGN) Surely this is the most monumental video game acquisition that will occur all year! 00:11:56: Siiiiiike. Not to be outdone, in the very same week, Microsoft begins acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion 00:28:45: Troy Baker joins the NFT game – the Internet says “thanks, I hate it” 00:41:03: Joey's still loving 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim and is warming up on/winding down Metroid Fusion 00:41:57: The whole Pretty Pixels gang is still very into Halo Infinite 00:51:16: Our favorite video game cover art! 00:52:07: Paul's #5: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iy-0fNVILKFLFJ5DzIHrRVQBYtLeFDQa/view?usp=sharing  00:57:18: Ron's #5: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cLOvlyAfX894J5djo2q0J4xARTiEkd4Q/view?usp=sharing  01:01:40: Joey's #5: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VlhXIS9JwsaxqVFU4-nNTRA8ZQHjTTAe/view?usp=sharing  01:05:05 Paul's #4: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OU3x0OA4WLenqGUZAT9TpGWwMLfiMSKs/view?usp=sharing  01:11:00: Ron's #4: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14i1zc90Ds3lTGgFzK13B1ZpFJOlcHZla/view?usp=sharing  01:16:40: Joey's #4: (I mistakenly say DQ XI here, when I meant VIII) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T1Xew6c2O0B_-j8pn5D45I1pBE9NeD_Z/view?usp=sharing  01:22:08: Paul's #3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ibv0d9D18oUL-3Ic3xh_ysYNNIEJw_x9/view?usp=sharing  01:26:26: Ron's #3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1beXNyMIzGW82btCpbiIrv9hvNdMYMlm2/view?usp=sharing  01:31:45: Joey's #3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ythlrNQKRuNALfZKbUoX0lNsxjSVwGKF/view?usp=sharing and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dSh2IH1412_6HcWDe1wRf_KE825UA1YS/view?usp=sharing  01:37:07: Paul's #2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EGjUSXPY4mWhwLNbYK3-AFb5d5PNBKkf/view?usp=sharing  01:44:37: Ron's #2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GqnNG5i-T9mzGoinqi5H6dyV8iMb_vmU/view?usp=sharing  01:50:00: Joey's #2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bE2dJNb3Wx4HgCfNbSve6yAhfX87aCOp/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AUfe3aUQs_wt2g7Aeov9TFyeaog180wT/view?usp=sharing  01:55:00: Paul's #1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J1bP0cY4QVj7Oya7NbWU421faE7pRwsq/view?usp=sharing  02:01:45: Ron's #1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15-586pvOxMB1TFxNT2GSxh1y4IjDUeQo/view?usp=sharing  02:06:25: Joey's #1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NgYnRhspcwuzMtJ045oqJRIPqcpLZ_G1/view?usp=sharing  Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's Mortal Kombat time, baby! We should have waited until Monday to post this episode so that we could call it Mortal Monday but we're impatient so let's just go with Fighting Friday, shall we? That sounds like one of those cheap knock-off brands you find in weird, out-of-the-way shops. Like, “Eternal Combat,” with Jimmy Gauge, Sonia Sword, Lou Clang, and Scorpio (it's just a goth kid who dabbles in Wicca). On this episode we're talking about the real deal, though: some of the OG video game movies, Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997). They sure are movies! We share our favorite quotes, carefully contemplate what Goro has under his… kilt? Thing? And just generally discuss the good and bad (and very bad) of these two “classics.” It was, as always, a lot of fun. We also talk about E3, Mario Kart 9, Riot Games resignation bonuses, Tabletop Sim's chat failures, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:38: E3 will once again be a digital event (via Polygon) 00:08:08: A video game analyst predicts Mario Kart 9 will be teased this year with “a twist” (via GamesIndustry.biz) 00:15:00: Riot Games offers resignation bonuses following gender discrimination lawsuit settlement (via Kotaku) 00:24:07: Tabletop Simulator removes global chat, developers say moderation “has failed” its customers (via Polygon) 00:38:30: Sony's customer service fails Paul, but he has been enjoying Mario Party Superstars and Halo (as have we all) – extended discussion of our time with Halo Infinite multiplayer 01:00:56: Joey's falling deeper in love with 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim and is experiencing some growing pains with Metroid Fusion 01:08:50: Mortal Kombaaaaaaaat! (and Mortal Kombat Annihilation) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

New Year, new games, as they say. I don't think anyone says that. Do they? Should they? No, it's terrible. Moving on. It's the start of a new year and we love looking ahead at all the (potentially) amazing games that will (potentially) come out later this year. Check out the link below to follow along as we go through the Game Informer list of upcoming games and get hyped about some of our most anticipated games. Will the Breath of the Wild sequel actually come out this year? Is Martha is Dead a Batman prequel? Will the Harry Potter fandom tear itself apart (in more ways than one) over Hogwart's Legacy? We contemplate these things and more, so check it out and send us your own most anticipated games! We also talk about the newly showcased PlayStation VR 2, what we've been playing, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) and Tab (@RandomMox) 00:01:22: Sony further reveals details of the now officially named PlayStation VR 2, including headset DualSense feedback, eye tracking, and 4K resolution 00:14:27: Joey finished Halo Infinite and Metroid: Samus Returns on the same day and moved onto 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim 00:18:40: Paul's still digging Halo Infinite and has also been playing lots of board games 00:24:20: Tab's been taking a long walk down memory lane with Harvest Moon 64 and has returned to Stardew Valley 00:28:50: Ron's been practicing his skills in Joey Kissing Simulator 2022 and also further chipping away at GTA: San Andreas 00:32:32: Our most anticipated games of 2022! Timestamps are for things we talk about in some detail, but there are other games we casually mention that aren't timestamped. Follow along at: https://www.gameinformer.com/2022 00:34:10: Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection 00:34:37: Windjammers 2 00:37:14: Horizon Forbidden West 00:42:52: Elden Ring 00:45:49: Dying Light 2 Stay Human 00:47:04: Life is Strange Remastered Collection 00:47:38: Martha is Dead 00:49:24: Gran Turismo 7 00:51:16: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 00:55:30: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin 00:56:25: Tiny Tina's Wonderland 00:58:01: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl 00:59:35: Sons of the Forest 01:01:30: Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong 01:03:22: Saints Row 01:07:16: Starfield 01:15:27: Bayonetta 3 01:17:46: Skull & Bones 01:21:32: God of War: Ragnarok 01:23:27: [GOD OF WAR SPOILERS BEGIN] 01:24:28: [End of God of War spoilers] 01:26:44: Gotham Knights 01:28:00: GhostWire: Tokyo 01:28:55: Goodbye Volcano High 01:31:25: I am Jesus Christ, lol 01:32:50: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel 01:34:16: Soup Pot 01:35:57: Stray 01:36:43: Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly 01:37:24: Hogwarts Legacy 01:42:21: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 01:46:28: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum 01:50:24: Session 01:53:30: Resident Evil Village DLC Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Happy New Year! We're saying farewell to another terrible year with a not-terrible game of Video Game Twenty Questions, inspired by the fine folks over at the IGN Gamescoop! podcast. Joey, Paul, and Ron each submit a game for the others to tease out by asking questions about genre, release date, perspective, and more. What games, you ask? And how did we do? Hey, we're the ones asking questions here! You'll just have to listen and play along to find out! Do you have a game recommendation? Send it in (prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com)! Go easy on us, though, and try and pick well-know, mainstream titles for now. We're not quite ready to tackle trickier, more obscure games. We also chat about an impressive win streak in Halo Infinite, the $100 million settlement in the Riot Games gender discrimination lawsuit, a new poll that reveals Japanese gamers' top 100 games of all time, and what we've (still) been playing. Have a safe and fun New Years, and we'll see you in 2022! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)  00:02:20: Halo Infinite Player (Remy “Mint Blitz) Wins 100 Free-For-All Matches in a Row (via Kotaku) 00:04:33: Riot Games to Pay $100M in Gender Discrimination Lawsuit (via Polygon) 00:09:50: 50,000 Japanese TV Viewers Rank 100 Best Video Games of All Time (via Kotaku) 00:18:54: Ron is still living his best San Andreas life in GTA: San Andreas 00:23:21: Joey's been chipping away at the Halo Infinite campaign and Metroid Samus Returns 00:25:07: Paul beat Demon's Souls! There is also some talk of shit fountains! 00:32:49: Get a free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate if you buy select bags of Trolli™ brand gummy candies. This is not an #ad but Trolli™ please send us candy anyway 00:35:00: Video Game Twenty Questions! 00:38:19: Game 1 00:51:26: Game 2 01:15:26: Game 3 01:30:19: Kitty purrs (which mess up my audio temporarily) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Happy holidays to you, dear listeners! Grab a festive mug, fill it with your favorite hot beverage, and huddle up to your phone or other podcast listening device for a very special Pretty Pixels Xmas Special. Yes, I said “special” twice, because this episode is filled with holiday magic. Join us (Ron, Paul, and Joey) as we recall some of our fondest (and… regular-ist?) Christmas and holiday memories. There are surprises, fake-outs, a virtual grandpa absolutely demolishing his real-life family members in the ring, and yes, there is even a NINTENDO 64!!! *dramatic fist pumps* (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlcqWQVVuU) And, for reasons I'm already forgetting even though we literally just finished recording, Joey shares a recent dream he had about Taylor Swift. She has a great Christmas song so that totally fits the theme. Kind of. Maybe. Let's move on. We also talk about the newest Nintendo Online Plus Expansion Pack games, the free Final Fantasy VII Remake PS5 upgrade for PS Plus members, Hades' Hugo Award win, and what we've been playing. Have fun gaming/geeky holiday stories you want to share? Send us an email and we might read it on an upcoming episode! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:57: Nintendo Switch Online Plus Expansion adds Paper Mario for the N64, and Altered Beast, ToeJam and Earl, Dynamite Headdy, Sword of Vermilion, and Thunder Force 2 (Genesis) to the service 00:07:04: PS Plus owners who redeemed FF7 Remake as a free game for the service in the spring can now get the PS5 version free of charge (via IGN) 00:08:18: Hades (2020) becomes the first video game to win a Hugo Award (via Kotaku) 00:17:49: Paul's obtained a super cool weapon in Demon's Souls and has been dipping into Halo Infinite and Back 4 Blood when he can 00:23:56: Joey's weird Taylor Swift dream 00:27:32: Ron's still playing GTA: San Andreas and is also very impressed with the Unreal 5 Matrix Experience demo 00:32:55: Joey finished Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, is still loving his time with Metroid: Samus Returns, and has been playing lots of Jackbox Party Packs 2, 3, and 6 with the family 00:43:33: Warm (some of them) and fuzzy (as in, we're old and can barely remember) Xmas memories! Referenced videos: Nintendo 64 kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlcqWQVVuU Poor kid, Xbox 360 prank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhO-OE931D4 PSP, PSP, PSP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G0LlXv-nyI Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

A Pretty Pixels Superstorm is sweeping over all four regular hosts this evening, and three of us are hunkering down and recording the much awaited sequel to Who Knew That Review?, which Joey has lovingly dubbed Who Knew That Review Part II! Paul joins the fray this time, as he, Joey, and Ron read old video game reviews, omitting key words and phrases, trying to guess the game being discussed. We were a little all over the place this time but we're finding a groove and looking forward to another round soon! If you have a game review that you'd like to suggest, email us at the email below. That aside, we also talk about the new PlayStation controller and cover colors, the massive Back 4 Blood update dropping tomorrow, and what we've been playing. Next week is a very holiday themed episode, with the same trio revisiting tales of Christmas Past, reminiscing about video game or nerdy gifts and memories. “Nintendo 64!!!!!!!!” Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:33: Sony introduces beautiful new Dual Sense and PS5 cover colors, coming soon (via PlayStation blog) 00:07:28: Back 4 Blood finally gets a massive update that addresses many gamer concerns 00:13:38: Ron's been playing Halo Infinite (as have we all) and running down a dream in GTA: San Andreas 00:22:00: Paul's been beating Mario at his own game in Mario Party Superstars and rolling around in Demon's Souls 00:23:16: Joey's finished with Jurassic World Evolution 2, has started Metroid: Samus Returns, and is blazing through Halo 4 00:25:44: Who Knew That Review? Part II! 00:28:31: Game 1 (Ron) 00:38:00: Game 2 (Joey) 00:43:30: Game 3 (Paul) 00:50:25: Game 4 (Ron) 00:56:45: Game 5 (Joey) 01:05:52: Game 6 (Paul) 01:10:50: Bonus game! Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

We were so excited to record our first ever Games of the Year episode, and the whole gang's here! As fans of gaming podcasts new and old, we've always dreamed of the day we, too, could immortalize our own tributes to the games we've loved in a given year. We briefly discuss The Game Awards and report who among us had the most accurate predictions, we touch on the recent layoffs by an Activision/Blizzard studio, talk about Sony's rumored Xbox Game Pass-like subscription service, chat about Halo and other things we've been playing, and then we get into it – our favorite games of 2021. There was not nearly as much crossover as we'd expected! We've all been playing Halo Infinite, but will it land on anyone's list? What about the remasters and re-releases of the year, like Final Fantasy VII: Remake Intergrade and Mass Effect Legendary Edition? Did we go with the big blockbusters or remember the little indies? No spoilers here but take a listen and let us know YOUR top games of 2021! We also give out some very exclusive and prestigious awards, such as Hey, Good Lookin' (Best Visuals/Graphics), Regretfully Backlogged, Most Annoying Enemy, Best Game Hunk and Babe, and more! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) and @RandomMox (Tab) 00:01:45: Raven Software, an Activision/Blizzard studio that works on CoD, lays off QA workers (WaPo, Polygon) 00:04:40: Sony's reported Game Pass-tyle service may be here by spring 2022 (Bloomberg) 00:08:44: Masayuki Uemura, lead architect of the NES and SNES, dies at 78 00:10:21: You can't report abusive/toxic players in Halo Infinite's multiplayer (and other Halo Infinite discussion) 00:22:43: Joey is almost done with Jurassic World Evolution 2 and breezed through Sakura Succubus 3 00:23:27: Paul finished up Far Cry 6 and dived right into Demon's Souls 00:26:05: Tab's been mowing lawns and avoiding walls in Lawnmower Simulator 00:27:31: Ron's been grinding away at GTA: Vice City 00:29:18: The gang unloads on the ridiculousness that is The Game Awards, actively lamenting the lack of respect for the “Awards” part of that title, which seems like it should be important, in favor of cramming as many paid advertisements, trailers, and nods as possible (oh, and we reveal which of us won our predictions episode!) 00:38:47: Our 2021 Games of the Year! We each go through our top five favorite games and then quickly shout out a few bonus games 01:32:58: Joey: I said “Talia” twice, like an absolute monster. I know your name, Tali, my love. Please forgive me ☹ 01:59:15: Specific game “awards” (Late to the Party/Oldies but Goodies, Hey, Good Lookin', Best Music/Soundtrack, Best Game Hunk, Best Game Babe, Most Annoying Enemy, Best Dressed, and Regretfully Backlogged) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's the end of the year, which means we'll soon be inundated with video game award shows and Best Of lists galore. We'll have our own version of that next week but this week we wanted to take you on a journey. A time-travel journey. Grab your Discman and hop in the DeLorean, we're heading back to 1996 with EGM's 1996 Video Game Buyer's Guide! Who was the “Best Game Hunk” of 1995? And what was EGM's “most anticipated” console (that had already been released at time of publication)? Does their Game of the Year hold up? Listen to find out! We also chat about the disappointing Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales this year, Warner Bros.'s new Smash-style fighter, and what we've been playing. Come back next year for our 2021 games of the year – the whole crew will be there! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:04:42: Black Friday/Cyber Monday disappoints 00:14:10: Warner Bros.' character fighter is real and coming in 2022 00:22:03: Ron dives into GTA: Vice City and is still playing Back 4 Blood with Joey 00:34:42: Joey's playing Halo with Tab, was blown away by Before Your Eyes and is still tending dinos in Jurassic World Evolution 2 00:48:36: The 1996 Video Game Buyer's Guide (by EGM) 02:12:43: The Glove: https://www.looper.com/281642/what-you-didnt-know-about-n64s-bizarre-glove-controller/ Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

It's almost time for The Game Awards (December 9, 6pm CST) and we (Joey, Tab, Ron, and Paul) thought it might be fun to make some predictions! We're not fancy, shmancy video game journalists, so we don't have extensive experience with most of the games nominated. But we DO have opinions based on sometimes nothing more than a small picture uploaded to The Game Awards' web site or the existence of a particular musical instrument in a game! Join us as we discuss every category, making predictions and talking occasionally about who we actually want to win these things. We're a little critical of The Game Awards, but we do hope that game developers are actually honored by the awards they are nominated for and that these awards get better in terms of highlighting and awarding important games and voices. Check back with us after the awards to find out how we did, and if you want to send us your own predictions, you know where to reach us! We also continue to collectively shake our heads at Bobby Kotick's BS, talk about what Harmonix might bring to Fortnite now that they've joined Epic, and what we've been playing! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey), @RandomMox (Tab), and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:42: Bobby Kotick drafted the infamous Fran Townsend email, then turned around and agreed with criticism of it and let her take the fall (via The Wall Street Journal and Kotaku). The audacity 00:10:04: Harmonix joins Epic Games, will make content for Fortnite 00:15:48: Tab and the gang are still mostly enjoying Back 4 Blood, plus we've been dipping our toes in the Halo Infinite multiplayer 00:23:39: Ron's finishing up collectables in GTA III and he and Joey have delved into Radiohead's Kid A Mnesiac Exhibition 00:32:26: Paul's still blasting his way through Far Cry 6 and gettin' stars in Mario Party Superstars 00:43:35: Joey's been raising some dino babies in Jurassic World Evolution 2 00:45:10: The Game Awards predictions! Time stamps for individual categories and the points we're awarding are: 01:00:43: Best eSports Event (1 point) 01:04:20: Best eSports Coach (1 point) 01:05:54: Best eSports Team (1 point) 01:07:29: Best eSports Athlete (1 point) 01:09:35: Best eSports Game (1 point) 01:11:40: Most Anticipated Game (1 point) 01:15:00: Best Debut Indie 01:16:55: Content Creator of the Year (1 point) 01:18:52: Best Multiplayer (2 points) 01:20:48: Best Sports/Racing (2 points) 01:22:48: Best Sim/Strategy (2 points) 01:26:39: Best Family (2 points) 01:30:16: Best Fighting (2 points) 01:33:09: Best Role Playing (2 points) 01:36:12: Best Action/Adventure (2 points) 01:39:03: Best Action Game (2 points) 01:43:05: Best VR/AR (2 points) 01:45:09: Innovation in Accessibility (2 points) 01:47:58: Best Community Support (1 point) 01:50:46: Best Mobile Game (1 point) 01:51:50: Best Indie (2 points) 01:58:25: Best Ongoing (2 points) 02:00:01: Games for Impact (2 points) 02:02:50: Best Performance (2 points) 02:06:07: Best Audio Design (2 points) 02:07:33: Best Score and Music (3 points) 02:10:38: Best Art Direction (3 points) 02:13:06: Best Narrative (3 points) 02:14:48: Best Game Direction (3 points) 02:18:11: Game of the Year (4 points) Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Now listen up, fruit flies! For the first time ever, we have all four videoheads (all of this rad 90s lingo will make sense by the end of the episode, I promise) together at last! We just couldn't resist the siren's call of The Wizard (1989), starring Fred Savage, Jenny Lewis, Luke Edwards, Beau Bridges, and Christian Slater. Maybe you've heard of it? It has 97 NES games and a Power Glove that's – you guessed it – so bad. As we did with the Uwe Boll movies, we talk about themes, favorite lines, 80s fashion choices, one of the pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man's mullet, and so much more. If you've never seen The Wizard and are down to join in on our exploration of Nintendo's most successful movie featuring a Super Mario Bros. game, you can stream it on Hulu Premium (Starz), rent it from Amazon or YouTube for $3.99, or buy it on Blu-Ray from Shout Factory's web site (https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-wizard-collector-s-edition?product_id=7300). Let us know what we missed by emailing us! Movie aside, we chat about Back 4 Blood, the GTA Trilogy, Far Cry 6 DLC, Mario Party Superstars, Metroid Dread, Jurassic World Evolution 2, the newest Activision/Blizzard allegations and non-apologies, the new Halo's multiplayer mode and show trailer dropping, Xbox's social media manager dropping the Xbox Twitter account (off the face of the Earth… for a bit), and the adorable new trailer for Little Kitty, Big City. Did you catch all that? I know! It's a lot. So grab your Power Glove, press some buttons pointlessly, and let's get to it! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey), @RandomMox (Tab), and @bigbadron (Ron) 00:02:07: The Xbox Twitter account disappears completely 00:03:18: Halo Infinite's multiplayer mode drops early (and free) 00:07:56: A brief teaser for the new Halo drops, coming in 2022 00:10:06: Little Kitty, Big City is announced with an adorably cheeky trailer, coming to PC and consoles in 2022 00:11:43: *sigh* Ah, shit. Here we go again. New allegations of mismanagement and attempts to play down previously revealed sexual assault and harassment claims are revealed by The Wall Street Journal, naming CEO Bobby Kotick, specifically. Kotick and co. do not respond very well 00:18:49: Paul's been playing Far Cry 6 and Mario Party Superstars (w/ Joey and pals) 00:24:27: Ron's been glitching it up in the newly remastered GTA 3 00:32:41: Tab's been exploring the mind of Vaas in the new Far Cry 6 DLC 00:38:51: Joey finished Metroid Dread and is currently loving Jurassic World Evolution 2 00:47:14: The whole gang has been playing Back 4 Blood 00:56:05: The Wizard, babyyyyyyy! Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com 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

Tab's back to talk with Joey about food in games! We talk about the delicious sushi in Persona 5, the exquisite sushi in Yakuza 0, the mouth watering sushi in Joey's stomach because as soon as he was done recording this episode he put in an order for carry-out sushi from his favorite local place. Mmm. Sushi. We talk about the impact on atmosphere and world-building that food in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Final Fantasy XV makes, and more broadly how games like these make us want coffee, curry, or whatever damn delicious thing is on our screen. Tab also talks about their seemingly never-ending quest to get an Xbox Series X, and we touch on news stories like Dr. Lupo's leap to YouTube, the new Saints Row game, Steam's dumb refund policy hurting game developers, and a few bits and bobs from Gamescom 2021. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll catch you next week! Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com We're on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) 00:06:44: Xbox releases beautiful new controller (Aqua Shift) 00:08:42: Emika Games, developer of Summer of '58, gets screwed by Steam's 2-hour refund rule 00:11:03: Gamescom bits: April O'Neil in Shredder's Revenge, Morgana in Monkey Ball, Halo and Horizon get release dates, new Saints Row game 00:14:40: Dr. Lupo makes a Dr. Leapo exclusively over to YouTube Gaming 00:26:13: Joey finally finishes Persona 5 Royal (again), still rockin' with Microsoft Flight Simulator 00:32:54: Slap on a bib and grab a fork, we're talking about food in games! Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com