Girl Mode

While the rest of the world is building dick robots with everyone's favorite genderfluid elf, Willa and Robin spend this week gushing over the incredible demos at this year's Ludonarracon. Listen for our uncharacteristically positive takes on this year's upcoming narrative games, many of which still have demos available! To end the episode, Willa recommends her current horny fanfic obsession and R...

Willa and Robin are on their best behavior this week on account of a very special guest stopping by. The great Jess Reyes is here to tell us all about Honkai Star Rail, from her favorite team comp to how to pronounce names that we stubbornly refuse to get right. Tune in to hear about our favorite anime girls and maybe you'll even pick up some of Jess' absurd gacha luck. You can follow Jess on Twit...

Robin kicks off this episode by ambushing Willa with a Pollyannaish take on the collapse of democracy before we move into our less optimistic feelings about the state of games journalism (stop me if you've heard this one before). The news of Waypoint's imminent closure has us in a dour mood that can only be salved by the beautiful murder machines in the new trailer for Armored Core IV, which we wa...

We're speedrunning a few new releases and announcements this episode, starting with the most important (read: gay) news of the week. Then we leave WLW corner to talk about another Nintendo indie showcase that has people continuing to be weird about Silksong, and discuss Unrecord, a cop game that promises it has nothing to say but still looks down on you for not respecting it. We end with Willa's l...

This week, we explore the lives of our ancestors: the various imps, demons, and mutants of the X-Men! Listen in as Willa bravely explains Omega-level mutants, trans allegories, and homosexuals with cool swords while Robin slowly breaks her spirit with incessant questions. We'll be back to being mean about video games next week; part two of this sporadic series will appear when you least expect it....

It's Episode 25, a fact that Robin refuses to celebrate with Willa for no clear reason. We didn't play any of the same things this week, so we meander through Willa's take on the Mario movie (it's fine), describe some tweets to each other (they're cute), and defend the honor of visual novels from lame-ass jokes (they're annoying). Then Kratos discourse continues to ruin Willa's life but neon compu...

[Spoilers abound for Life After Magic and Citizen Sleeper!] This week, Willa and Robin take their final trip to Erlin's Eye, with the last episode of our 2022 GOTY Citizen Sleeper. We chart the very different paths we took to find community in the ruins of capitalism and get predictably choked up about it. But first, we both played another game we can't stop talking about: the magical girl visual...

In this special bonus episode, Willa and Robin sit down with the multi-talented and extremely busy Rue Dickey to discuss the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida bundle. The 500-game bundle has raised $234,000 so far for trans charities and is available until April 7 ! Listen in as we discuss the realities of fundraising, why tabletop games are so darn gay, what YOU can do to help queer people aroun...

Previews for Arkane's capitalism simulator Redfall are out, hinting at a game with lots of good ideas built on a shaky foundation. Tune in to see if a few killer pull quotes are enough to get us on board. Then we reject the very concept of timeliness to talk about Nier Automata, a game that Robin finally finished despite being a little baby who doesn't like when games are hard. We praise what may...

This week we fought demons, braved network connectivity issues, and thirsted over Lilith in the Diablo IV beta. Tune in for our takes on the good and bad in the beta and the gastronomically inadvisable way we got there. Then one of the best-reviewed games of 2005 2023 leads us into our own considerably less positive feelings on gaming's ongoing obsession with remakes, and what it might be costing...

There's a lot on our plates this week, so of course we start by talking about how hot 40-year-old Jill Valentine would be if Capcom weren't terrified of the idea of women aging. Then it's on to the Resident Evil 4 demo, Paradox Interactive's recent showcase and strategy games in general, and Willa's take on Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. We end the show with Twice and a giant block...

This week, we're talking VR: when it works and (mostly) doesn't, why it still hasn't caught on, and what would actually make us abandon our feeble bodies for the virtual realm. Robin talks about a digital mouse that made her cry, Willa hosts another installment of Horny Vampire Corner, and as usual, we end the episode by deciding everything would be better if we were in charge. Timestamps: (00:30)...

Sony got Robin a State of Play for her birthday and she's hoping they kept the receipt. We talk about what worked and (mostly) what didn't, which characters we want to step on us, and say the words Naruto Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections out loud before ending with a pre-launch autopsy of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Timestamps: (00:30) State of Play speedrun, featuring bone arm...

Folks, it's been a rough couple of weeks, so we're taking a break from reality to tackle one of the great questions of our time: Which video games are Die Hards? Tune in as we discuss whether all video games are actually about fighting your dad and develop a unified theory of all fiction. Timestamps: (01:20) Die Hards and Reverse Die Hards (41:50) What have Willa and Robin been up to this week? Mu...

The worst February of our lives continues with the release of Hogwarts Legacy. We discuss how the media failed to take its significance seriously, why our reactions are about more than just a game, and why, yes, supporting it does make you a bad person.  We cap off this week’s fun-filled episode with a genuinely much cheerier segment recommending some great games by and about trans people tha...

Listen, this is a weird one. Robin got laid off so we spend the first part of the show bemoaning the state of games media and getting very sappy about our role in it. In a futile attempt to lift the mood, we then discuss comfort games: what we look for when we need a pick-me-up and some of our personal favorites. As always, we end with the fun bird fact of the week. Timestamps (00:30) The layoff s...

Get ready to jam with Girl Mode as Willa and Robin talk about the overnight success of Hi-Fi Rush and rhythm games throughout the years in this musical-themed episode. Timestamps: (00:20) Hi-Fi Rush shadow drops into our hearts (22:08) New wave rhythm games (31:10) Old-school rhythm (35:36) What have Robin and Willa been up to this week? Articles referenced: Diego Arguello on rhythm games for Tech...

This week, Willa and Robin talk about two recent video game adaptations: one that's going away too soon and one that we just can't get away from. We also learned that Marvel's Avengers was apparently still a thing, and Willa breaks Robin's heart with breaking news. (0:40) R.I.P. Marvel's Avengers (3:40) The Last of Us is one of the television shows ever made (41:30) Nier Automata Ver1.1a, with a s...

This week we are here to kick ass and romance video game women, and we are all out of ass to kick. With Persona 3 and Fire Emblem Engage now out we discuss the pros and cons of each series and how well each franchise enables our desire to smooch as many characters as possible. Timestamps: (00:15) Persona and Fire Emblem Engage (36:44) What have Robin and Willa been up to this week? Articles refere...

We're kicking off 2023 by meandering through a few completely disparate topics, including Wizards of the Coast's busy week of pissing people off. Willa is the Elden Lord, Robin is previewing Fire Emblem Engage, and we're both confused about Blaseball. Somehow, we find another way to talk about Signalis. Timestamps: (1:00) Ranni and Millicent appreciation hour (15:35) WotC makes a bunch of wild dec...

New year, same Girl Mode nonsense. To ring in 2023, we talk about the games (big and small) that we can't wait to play in the coming year as well as some more nebulous "gamer resolutions" that Willa and Robin will surely regret committing to come December 2023. Timestamps: (00:07) Intro (00:57) Girl Mode's most anticipated games of 2023 (30:15) New Year's gamer resolutions (41:00) What else have R...

It's Final Fantasy's 35th anniversary this month! For the final Girl Mode episode of 2022, we talk about our history with the series, fret about its future, and discuss why FFXIV is peak Final Fantasy, all while Robin struggles to remember a single character other than Freya. Music: Order by ComaStudio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gaming's biggest night is here. That's right, it's time for the Girlies!!! Robin and Willa do something no one else has thought of and hold an award show for the best (and not-so-best) games of the year. Who will take home the coveted award of Game of the Year? Listen and find out! Timestamps: 00:15 The Girlies, gaming's biggest night 52:50 What have Willa and Robin been up to? Music: Order by Com...

It's a Girl Mode double feature! This week, Willa and Robin swap some of their favorite games of 2022, with unexpected results. We talk about what worked and didn't work for us in Sephonie and Signalis, a pair of games that couldn't look more different but are full of surprising parallels. Then, it's the moment you've all been waiting for: Willa's festive jam tier list. Timestamps: 00:30 Intro 03:...

Having trouble tackling your backlog? Just remember that death comes for us all! Girl Mode gives you more helpful tips like this to deal with the constant influx of games and the struggle of how we ever beat any of them (like that will happen). Then it's the fun things we've been up to and a special musical ending. Timestamps: (0:17) Contemplating backlogs and our own mortality.  (40:50) What...