At the beginning of September, we spent a jam-packed whirlwind of a weekend at this year's PAX West Convention in Seattle, WA. A celebration of gaming and gaming culture featuring panels, a massive expo-hall, and more, PAX West is one of the biggest gaming conventions in the world with over 100,000 attendees present this year alone. We put our time there to good use, getting hands-on demos with more than 40 games and recording interviews with over a dozen game-makers, so now we're breaking down the best stuff we saw in two hefty episodes releasing a week apart. Here's Part 1, enjoy!

Find the full list of every game we're covering with links to Wishlist on Steam and learn more on our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/fill-up-your-our-112451704

0:53 - Patreon shoutouts

3:58 - We went to fucking PAX West!!

16:45 - The Big Con

21:09 - Astro Bot

27:43 - Spiral, feat. an interview with Jess Vaillancourt (she/her), Project Manager at Folklore Games

37:35 - Seasonspree

41:51 - Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

47:08 - Beastieball, feat. an interview with Director Greg Lobanov (he/him) and Beastie Art Director Alexis Dean-Jones (she/her) from Wishes Unlimited

53:35 - Techno Banter, feat. an interview with Tom Tomaszewski (he/him), Head of Studio at publisher Crunching Koalas

1:02:36 - Outrider Mako

1:05:33 - Tears of Metal

1:10:14 - Feltopia, feat. an interview with Andrea Love (she/her), Creative Director at Wooly Games

1:17:40 - Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch

1:22:04 - Everdeep Aurora

1:27:49 - Herdling, feat. an interview with Co-Founder and Creative Director Don Schmocker (he/him) and 3D Artist Samuel Flores (he/him) from Okomotive

1:42:02 - despelote

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

You give me a genderless, silent protagonist, and you bet I will project ALL OF THE FEELINGS onto your tower defense game. A unique blend of action and strategy, Capcom's Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess puts players in the role of Soh, protector of the maiden Yoshiro, as they slice with elegant, dance-like sword moves and strategically command villagers against ominous foes in their journey to cleanse their mountain home of corruption.

1:05 - Patreon shoutouts

4:34 - Yuri on Ice

9:20 - Creatures of Ava

12:37 - Kunitsu-Gami conversation 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/vFyXnYqPiaE

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

We do not choose what we inherit, but we can choose what we carry. This week we're joined by sunset visitor 斜陽過客 Creative Director Remy Siu and Narrative Designer Pinki Li to chat about their journey as indie devs bringing 1000xRESIST to life -- and the resonance that has been deeply felt by players within and outside of the Asian diaspora.

Hailed by PASTE Magazine as one of the best games in the genre AND one of the best games of the year (agreed), 1000xRESIST is a thrilling sci-fi adventure where a disease spread by an alien invasion keeps you underground. You are Watcher, dutifully fulfilling your purpose in serving the ALLMOTHER -- until the day you discover a shocking secret that changes everything.

1:11 - Patreon shoutouts

2:21 - Welcome Pinki and Remy!

11:29 - 1000xResist conversation begins

52:34 - 1:01:45 - SPOILERS!!

1:05:42 - 1:13:15 - MORE SPOILERS!!

Read the essay '1000xRESIST is a game for a post-2019 Hong Kong protest generation of diaspora children that doesn't exist yet' by kastelpls: https://cohost.org/highimpactsex/post/5960606-1000x-resist-is-a-gam

Watch the live recording of this episode on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/YIubeBZyPbM

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 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