Girl Mode

We’re both sleepy from cooking and/or eating big meals this week, so we’re meandering through a discussion of Fantasian Neo Dimension, Sony’s latest bad idea, and Ewan McGregor’s penis. Timestamps (00:40) Willa’s gonna tell you a little bit about Thanksgiving (05:15) Fantasian Neo Dimension and Final Fantasy chat (22:55) Arcane Season 2 (is bad) (32:50) The PS5P (38:30) Slitterhead minute (41:00)...

This week we’re mainly talking about Final Fantasy XIV Mobile and The Game Awards. Guess which one we get really riled up about. Timestamps (01:50) FF14 Mobile  (22:20) An incredibly cynical look at The Game Awards (52:40) The Indie Game Awards seem cool-ish (57:30) What else have Willa and Robin been up to? (feat. Threshold, Sudden Death, Neurokino Retrograde, Wicked) Mentioned this week Liz...

This week, we’re doing Game Awards discourse, playing a couple new and not-so-new games, and showing preferential treatment toward one listener with a return to our email pile. Timestamps (01:15) Who handles the fire in your relationship? (4:40) It’s Game Awards discourse season! (23:00) Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is fine (27:10) Dragon Quest 3 (but not the one you’re thinking of) (35:50) Sorry We’re...

Listen. We’re not doing great and we suspect you’re not either. After a brief chat about the election and Willa’s recent layoff, we dive into Mouthwashing, an emotionally challenging game that made us both feel like shit and is undoubtedly one of the year’s best.  If you’re looking for something positive to do with your energy after you’ve processed the results of the election, check the end...

It’s our second anniversary AND our 100th episode, a scheduling feat you wouldn’t believe was on purpose even if we tried to convince you it was. We take the time to answer some questions sent in by listeners over the past year, touching on our favorite games and inspirations, some podcasting inside baseball, and of course, the Mets. Thanks for listening!! Timestamps (03:45) First gaming loves and...

With her parasocial World Series hopes dashed, Willa has returned to the podcast to talk shit about Overwatch and the U.S. Copyright Office and listen to Robin yap about Dragon Age and Webfishing.  Timestamps (02:00) The final Mets update (07:50) Overwatch 2 wants to be Overwatch 1 (and it should) (13:35) All our homies hate the Entertainment Software Association (22:45) Dragon Age: The Veilg...

Willa has taken a vow of silence in honor of her beloved Mets, so this week Robin is joined by writer, editor, and podcaster Rachel Watts! Our giggly, tangent-filled conversation covers our favorite demos from the most recent Steam Next Fest, with lots of recommendations for promising upcoming indie games.  Timestamps (00:30) Hello Rachel Watts! (03:45) Citizen Sleeper 2 (08:15) *computer voi...

We got to play one of our mutual most anticipated games of the year this week and were apparently the only people not won over by its big sad wolf. We also talk about how fucking good Citizen Sleeper still is, and cover a new tabletop-inspired tactics game that’s very fun but maybe a little misguided. Timestamps (1:00) Let’s continue going Mets  (5:20) Neva didn’t make us cry, it just make us...

This week, we’ve both played some games but none of the same ones, so we’re telling each other about Echoes of Wisdom, Metaphor: Refantazio, UFO 50, and (extremely briefly) Diablo 4. And yes, we also talk about the Mets. Timestamps (01:05) The Mets are getting close (to the world series) (09:40) Echoes of Wisdom (30:20) Metaphor: Refantazio (56:00) UFO 50  (1:10:40) One minute of Diablo 4 (1:...

A runtime this long can only mean one thing. Our X-Men series continues this week as Willa and Robin examine the comics of noted shithead Joss Whedon.  You can follow along with this week's visual learning material here . If you're new to the show (hi, hello, so glad you're here), you may want to listen to the rest of our X-Men history lessons here before diving in! Episode 26: Giant-Size Gir...

Robin and Willa have both played The Plucky Squire, a kids’ game with some questionable puzzle design that we’re both pretty fond of nonetheless. Then we talk about some things we’re considerably less fond of, namely, just about every decision PlayStation has made recently (except a beautiful new controller). Timestamps (00:50) More Mets news (04:20) The main event (The Plucky Squire) (25:20) Pluc...

This week we played Astro Bot, a cheerful platformer/Sony commercial that everyone loves. After predictably finding a lot not to love about it, we run through the rest of our week, careening wildly from Chappell Roan to Flappy Bird and more. Timestamps (00:20) Hello new listeners (06:25) Let’s go Mets! (08:30) Astro Bot, brought to you by Sony (41:00) News grab bag (fun edition) (46:00) Robin play...

After an exciting announcement about the podcast, we have a wide-ranging show this week, covering the return of sword discourse, two recent PlayStation games we feel weird about, and some brief thoughts on a whole bunch of news that broke this week.  Timestamps (00:30) We’re officially garbage (04:30) Echoes of Wisdom and the return of sword discourse (19:50) RIP Concord (27:50) Astro Bo...

In today’s episode, we’re feeling normal about last week’s sicko-centric Nintendo Direct double feature. We cover a surprisingly stacked set of announcements, revisit the dating sim discourse that will never die, and predictably have different reactions to a re-release of a certified Old Person Game. Timestamps (01:30) Two normal people talk about the Indie World Showcase (14:00) Date Everything a...

Willa makes her triumphant return and we celebrate by talking about everything we liked and mostly didn’t from Gamescom Opening Night Live. We cover takes both good and bad, commit to playing yet another game we definitely don’t have the time for, and run through the best (and in one case worst) of what we’ve been playing, watching, and eating this week. Timestamps (02:40) Gamescom sure did happen...

With Willa fleeing the country for reasons I can’t disclose here, Into the Aether cohost Brendon Bigley stopped by to chat this week! We cover Shy Guy Surfing, Brendon’s most formative childhood game, the surprising 2024 release he can’t stand, and of course, where the key grips stand on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Timestamps (00:30) What’s your deal, man? (16:00) Shy Guy Surfing and other act...

Borderlands the movie is out and we couldn't be more excited to hear about how terrible it is. After that, we realize that a sequel to The Order 1886 would be the best game ever, get cautiously excited about two newly announced spiritual sequels, and talk about a couple of new games we actually liked. Timestamps (01:30) A vault full of disappointing bullshit (15:00) The Order 1986 (24:00) ONE BTN...

Shockingly, the news remains bad, so we’re keeping it short this week for the good of all of our mental health. We cover the Olympics, Star Wars Outlaws, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and another awful week for the games industry and games media. Timestamps  (01:00) I guess this is a sports podcast now (11:50) Maybe Star Wars Outlaws will be good? (15:40) Let’s get sad! (RIP Game Informer, fuck Ga...

Like most weeks, there’s a lot of bad news this week, as we talk through the death by restructuring of Humble Games and Ubisoft making everything worse by both-sidesing racism. Then we pull out of a nosedive with a SAG-AFTRA strike and the formation of a massive game dev union at Blizzard, complete with a little union 101 session courtesy of a listener’s questions and quotes from World of Warcraft...

We’re running through some news updates first this week, from alarming details about the death of one of the best game studios ever to Overwatch’s latest attempt to convince us it’s good again. Then we talk through some recent games we’ve been getting into, and by recent we mean some of them are 20 years old. Timestamps (00:20) The Mets are not doing great (03:20) Spooky scary bag head man update...

There’s lots of news to cover this week, so we’re spending half an hour talking about Endwalker instead. Also the Mets missed their shot this week and we’re bummed about it. Timestamps (00:30) Having a non-apocalyptic one (01:30) Mets update (04:00) Spooky scary bag head man (07:00) Xbox Game Pass sucks now (16:40) Jeanne d’Arc hive rise up (19:00) Willa finished Endwalker/Tons of FFXIV spoilers (...

We’re halfway through 2024, so this week we’re running through our GOTFHOTY (Game of the First Half of the Year) picks and of course talking shit on this year’s most beloved games that we don’t like. Timestamps (00:30) Copious table setting (03:30) Six months of being haters (the worst game of the year) (19:00) Games we need to go back to (24:00) Underrated games (26:20) Surprise Mets break (28:00...

As usual, we kick things off this week with Willa’s thoughts on the Mets, then move into Willa’s thoughts on Endwalker (which she likes less than the Mets). After an Alan Wake detour, we then dive into the excruciating but still funny Shadow of the Erdtree difficulty discourse and other meandering thoughts about Elden Ring. Let’s go Mets! Timestamps (00:30) Willa is here to talk about the Mets (11...

We survived the game showcase gauntlet and our reward is one more game showcase — but good this time! This week is a Nintendo Direct spectacular covering everything from the Apple Arcade jailbreak to the surprisingly controversial Legend of Zelda game where we finally get to fucking play as Zelda. Timestamps (01:00) Nintendogz, Catgirl Simulators, and the Nintendo Direct (04:10) Mario and Luigi: B...

Fresh off SGF, we’re covering even more showcases this week, with Ubisoft Forward and Willa’s takes on the Tribeca games selection. We’re also running down some great Steam demos for games that should be on our radar. And if that’s not enough for you, Into the Aether invited us to be guest hosts this week (for some reason) along with Emily Price , Tamoor Hussain , and AJ Fillari , so please check...