Pixel Therapy Pod Pixel Therapy Pod

This week on the podcast we're chatting about Akupara Games' CRYPTMASTER -- a bizarre dungeon-crawling adventure where words control everything. It's like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, but with more necromancy. And we mean that in the best way possible.
0:55 - Patreon shoutouts
3:22 - We're going to PAX West!
6:28 - Cryptmaster conversation begins
Watch the live recording of this episode on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/RT775n2Zep4
Side Quest
tinyurl.com/opolivebranch
Operation Olive Branch is a grassroots collective effort to amplify Palestinian voices and their GoFundMes – visit the link to learn more or visit their Instagram page at @operationolivebranch.
About Pixel Therapy
We're a podcast queering and transcending video games for all kinds of gamers and those who love them--get cozy with us! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) and subscribe! Want more? Join for free or unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod

This week we're joined by AstralShift's Kira (António Lopes / @kirariinn) to talk everything Little Goody Two Shoes -- a lush, gorgeously detailed horror-adventure-visual novel following Elise, a rebellious young woman daring to build a better life for herself in a deceptively peaceful small town. The game expertly explores the queer subtext beneath the horrors of witch hunts and religious ostracization, and we had an absolutely lovely time unpacking it with the game's lead artist and co-director!
PS - there's still time to enter our giveaway of a Steam key for Little Goody Two Shoes! Just visit patreon.com/pixeltherapypod and sign up as a free or paid subscriber! The winner will be notified on Patreon by this Sunday, May 5th. Thanks, AstralShift!
0:52 - Patreon shoutouts
3:04 - Introduction of Kira
7:19 - Discussion of Little Goody Two Shoes begins
Side Quest
tinyurl.com/opolivebranch
Operation Olive Branch is a grassroots collective effort to amplify Palestinian voices and their GoFundMes – visit the link to learn more or visit their Instagram page at @operationolivebranch.
Watch the live recording of this episode on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/wp8zS3TyjX8
About Pixel Therapy
We're a podcast queering and transcending video games for all kinds of gamers and those who love them--get cozy with us! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) and subscribe! Want more? Join for free or unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, originally released in 2013 to critical and fan acclaim, transformed the way many people thought about what games could be and laid the groundwork for director Josef Fares' later explorations in cooperative mechanics (y'all may remember his title It Takes Two won Game of the Year in 2021!). Lovingly remade by Italian developer Avantgarden, critics have been torn on Brothers 2024 -- but we sure aren't! Join us as we re-traumatize ourselves on this heartbreaking adventure while Spencer recaps their experience at GDC 2024.
For real though: Content warning for discussions of gameplay involving depictions of attempted suicide and death.
0:58 - Patreon shoutouts
3:09 - Spencer went to GDC
34:58 - Brothers conversation begins
1:07:27 - Content Warning: Mention of Suicide
1:10:35 - End of Content Warning section
1:17:09 - SPOILERS for Brothers
1:35:10 - End of Spoilers
Side Quest
tinyurl.com/opolivebranch
Operation Olive Branch is a grassroots collective effort to amplify Palestinian voices and their GoFundMes – visit the link to learn more or visit their Instagram page at @operationolivebranch.
Watch the live recording of this episode on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/Etg-ZgICP-g
About Pixel Therapy
We're a podcast queering and transcending video games for all kinds of gamers and those who love them--get cozy with us! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) and subscribe! Want more? Join for free or unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod

Join us as we break down DON'T NOD's spiritual Vampyr successor, the doomed love story of ghost hunters Red and Antea in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.
0:45 - Patreon shoutouts
3:05 - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
9:10 - Showtime's The Curse
16:51 - discussion of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden begins
Side Quest
tinyurl.com/opolivebranch
Operation Olive Branch is a grassroots collective effort to amplify Palestinian voices and their GoFundMes – visit the link to learn more or visit their Instagram page at @operationolivebranch.
Watch the live recording of this episode on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/Cppl6h4hWh8
About Pixel Therapy
We're a podcast queering and transcending video games for all kinds of gamers and those who love them--get cozy with us! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) and subscribe! Want more? Join for free or unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod

This week, we're so excited to welcome cartoonist, animator, and game developer Adrienne Bazir (she/they) into the studio to talk about their 2023 timeloop RPG, In Stars and Time!
In Stars and Time is a turn-based RPG that follows a group of adventurers at the end of their journey to defeat a king slowly freezing the land in time. It's also a game about found family, snacks, cosmic indifference, and the power in knowing where you come from and embracing who you are. Safe to say it has us in a chokehold.
0:57 - patreon shoutouts
2:07 - introduction of adrienne
6:53 - discussion of In Stars and Time begins
Learn more about Adrienne and In Stars and Time:
https://www.insertdisc5.com/
https://www.instarsandtime.com/ - available now on Steam, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch!
Side Quest
https://www.instagram.com/anat.international/ 
Salma Shawa (@anat.international) is a content creator pushing followers to think critically about Palestine. Give her a follow on Instagram!
About Pixel Therapy
We're a podcast queering and transcending video games for all kinds of gamers and those who love them--get cozy with us! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) and subscribe! Want more? Join for free or unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod

Welcome to our third annual totally unserious end of year review! Let's dive into some of the games that we were especially delighted, transported, and inspired by in 2023.
3:27 - thank you!
7:14 - 2023 in games - great games vs. terrible layoffs
17:04 - recapping our year in games
31:49 - our 2023 Top 5 games
1:41:58 - honorable mentions
1:48:32 - favorite character of the year
Articles Referenced
https://www.theverge.com/24009039/video-game-layoffs-2023
Side Quest
https://www.instagram.com/connectinghumanity_/
Connecting Humanity is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting vulnerable people in conflict zones by distributing e-sims, digital sim cards allowing for connection to a cellular network, bringing vital communication to family, between medical providers and patients, and more in Gaza and beyond. Check them out on Instagram!
About Pixel Therapy
We're a podcast queering and transcending video games for all kinds of gamers and those who love them--get cozy with us! If you like what you hear, please take a moment to rate us, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts (or your listening app of choice) and subscribe! Want more? Join for free or unlock monthly bonus episodes for $2/mo at patreon.com/pixeltherapypod