Means of Play

Life can feel a lot like being trapped inside a glass fishbowl. In Episode 9 of the Means of Play podcast, NerdPastor Nate and Ian (Cozy Tea Pastor) read the beautifully devastating indie game Fishbowl by imissmyfriends.studio. Set during the onset of the 2020 global pandemic, Fishbowl follows 21-year-old Alo as she navigates forced isolation, the transition to adulthood, and the profound grief of...

A ritual game about wishes, authority, and the ache of success. Many Nights a Whisper looks like a simple hour-long slingshot challenge, but Nathan and Ian uncover a far stranger question: what happens when you are the one deciding whether other people’s deepest wishes get to exist? Nathan and Ian sit with this short, surreal narrative experience from Deconstructing and Selkie Harbor, where you pl...

Is eternal life a blessing or an inescapable trap? In this episode of the Means of Play podcast, Nerd Pastor Nate and Cozy T Pastor Ian read the psychedelic rhythm RPG Everhood as a sacred text. We explore the mercy of endings, moral relativism, and why this indie masterpiece is the perfect philosophical response to Undertale. Welcome to the Means of Play podcast, where Cozy Tea Pastor Ian and Ner...

Are farming simulators teaching us how to be human? In this episode of Means of Play, Ian and Nate utilize the ancient practice of Lectio Divina to read the newly released 1.0 version of Fields of Mistria not merely as a cozy game, but as a sacred text. Welcome to the Means of Play podcast, where Cozy Tea Pastor Ian and Nerd Pastor Nate read video games like sacred texts. 👇 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM Y...

Welcome to the Means of Play podcast, where Cozy Tea Pastor Ian and Nerd Pastor Nate read video games like sacred texts. In this episode, we sit down at the counter of Coffee Talk Tokyo to explore what a late-night cafe for humans and Yokai teaches us about hospitality, community, and humanity. Released in May 2026 by Toge Productions and Chorus Worldwide, Coffee Talk Tokyo moves the beloved serie...

How does a sepia-toned indie game capture the beautifully imperfect, fragmented reality of human memory? In this episode of the Means of Play podcast, NerdPastor Nate and Cozy Tea Pastor (Ian) offer a close, pastoral reading of Despelote, the BAFTA-winning, semi-autobiographical slice-of-life game developed by Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena. Wandering the photogrammetry-scanned streets of Q...

Discover how the game Mixtape becomes a vessel for nostalgia, relationships, and life's transitions. Join Cozy Tea Pastor and Nerd Pastor Nate as they explore the storytelling power of music, liturgy, and memory in this evocative narrative game. Main Topics: - The role of music as a form of liturgy and intentionality in storytelling - How Mixtape captures the essence of relationships and remembran...

How does a completely wordless video game translate the emotional weight of relational compromise, personal evolution, and the quiet triumph of finding room for all of who you are into interactive play? In this episode of the Means of Play podcast, Cozy Tea Pastor (Ian) and NerdPastorNate (Nathan) offer a close reading of Unpacking, the award-winning zen puzzle game developed by Witch Beam and pub...

How does a video game translate the overwhelming cognitive load of teenage life, disordered eating, and spiritual burnout into interactive play? In this episode of the Means of Play podcast, Cozy Tea Pastor (Ian) and NerdPastorNate (Nathan) offer a close reading of 'Consume Me', the semi-autobiographical life simulator developed by Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson, and published by Hexecutable. Winn...