PODCAST

Pixelated Playgrounds

Taking one game per month (old, new and everything in between) and talking though an in-depth examination of narrative, mechanics, theme, and the interplay between the three.

leisure video games

All Episodes

Mr. Saitou

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/10/15

Mr. Saitou is a beautiful and brief slice of life game with a charming world and even more charming characters. The success of its light-hearted tone is, however, underwritten by the seriousness of its premise. Mr. Saitou, is a salaryworker. He toils away in front of a computer screen for all hours, goes out for a meal he’s too tired to consume, and stumbles home in a tired, drunken stupor. Next thing we know, he’s collapsed and we’re in a hospital. After meeting a young boy named Brandon in his

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01:01:44

Starseed Pilgrim

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/09/30

In 2013 the Indie gaming scene was going strong and interesting projects were everywhere… if you knew where to look for them. This was a time before the widespread population of indies on Steam, and as such many projects were less commercial in nature. One such project, that eventually went on to be a finalist for the Excellence in Design award at the 2013 Independent Games Festival was Starseed Pilgrim. On the surface it is a Pixel art Puzzle platformer, under the surface it is a mystery,

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Within a Dead City

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/09/15

In August of 2023 Josh released another game! Within a Dead City is a tiny ‘Majesty-like’ with a striking color palette and a moody vibe. For those that haven't played Majesty, the crux of the game is you hire a group of heroes (that you do not directly control, but can influence via bounties and spells) in order to explore the land and eradicate the local fauna (aka monsters). Within a Dead City puts its own spin on this idea placing you in charge of a guild tasked with exploring a long abandoned

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00:59:27

Last Epoch

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/08/30

Last Epoch has been in Early access since 2018, a snowball of an ARPG, slowly gathering steam as it descends the mountain to eventually rest at the side of some of the all time great hack and slash RPGs. Bryan and Josh have both played a fair few of what they hoped would be the ‘successor to Dialbo II”, and most (all?) have come up short. But Eleventh Hour Games’ Kickstarter game turned long-term project is making a run for the crown. Boasting some innovative mechanics, a novel world design concept,

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01:17:02

Dredge

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/08/15

In this episode Josh and Bryan take to the high seas in 2023’s breakout debut from Black Salt Games: Dredge! The potent combination of fishing simulator and Lovecraftian horror had them instantly hooked and eager to explore the Marrows and its surrounding environs (as well as their capacity to generate fishing related puns). Dredge’s light, yet effective touch with storytelling and its subtly creepy atmosphere make it an easy recommendation for anyone who is interested in what it means to quickly

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01:28:53

Europa Universalis IV

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/07/30

Join Josh and Bryan as they navigate through a wide sampling of the historical events, political intricacies, military conquests, and fascinating narratives that Europa Universalis IV has to offer. Paradox’s magnum opus grand strategy game has you inhabiting different nations and experiencing their unique circumstances as you navigate the political landscape of Europe (and beyond) from 1444 to 1821, during the emergence of the nation-state. So grab your virtual map, prepare your armies, and get

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Hogwarts Legacy

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/07/15

In this episode, Josh and Clint receive their owls and set off to achieve their destiny in the Wizarding World with Hogwarts Legacy. Sadly, Bryan, a lowly muggle (and new father of 2 at the time of recording) could not make it for this one, but listen in as Josh and Clint uncover the secrets, spells, and adventures that await players at Hogwarts. Josh and Clint have a long history with the Harry Potter world as fan of the books and go in depth on the world-building, spellcasting system, and the

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Baldur's Gate

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/06/30

Gather your party because this episode we are venturing forth into the Forgotten Realms with Bioware’s classic Dungeons and Dragon’s adaptation, Baldur’s Gate. As they gear up for Baldur’s Gate 3, Bryan and Josh are starting with an exploration of the rich mechanics and storytelling that make Baldur’s Gate, and its expansion Tales of the Sword Coast, an iconic entry in the CRPG space to this day. Baldur’s Gate’s transition of D&D into the digital realm hews very close to it’s 2nd Edition roots,

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Red Dead Redemption 2

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/06/15

How do you follow up on one of the most celebrated open world games of all time? In 2018, Rockstar gave us their answer with the release of Red Dead Redemption 2. An instant classic, this juggernaut of AAA production value and storytelling gave us what remains one of the most well realized open worlds ever created. The production of an experience of this depth and breadth is not without its pitfalls and shortcomings from a labor standpoint, but the end result is a truly ground-breaking entry not

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Pixelated Playgrounds - Centennial Celebration

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/06/15

This episode is something a little bit different. If you had told us we would manage to stick with making a podcast through 100 episodes, I do not think any of us would have have believed you. The fact that this occurred in the midst of our trio weathering a global pandemic, having a collective 5 children, and achieving a bunch of other life and career milestones, its safe to say we would have written that possibility off entirely. However, against the odds we’re celebrating the podcast hitting 100

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Resident Evil 4

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/05/30

In keeping with its incredible run of Resident Evil Remasters, Capcom’s latest outing sought to remaster perhaps the most beloved game in the series, Resident Evil 4. Bryan has had his eye on playing Resident Evil 4 in one form or another since the book club first played Resident Evil 7 years ago, so when this remaster finally launched Bryan and Clint jumped in with both feet. Its always risky revisiting and remaster a highly acclaimed title, but this team proved it was up to the task. The 2023

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Citizen Sleeper

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/05/15

Even in the year 2022, which was overflowing with excellent narrative-driven games, Citizen Sleeper stands out as a uniquely strong experience. In Citizen Sleeper, the second game from Jump Over The Age, the player takes on the role of the titular ‘Sleeper’, a human whose mind has been digitized and put into a robot body to work in the service of the Essen-Arp corporation. You are on the run from Essen-Arp and have just arrived on a space station called Erlin’s Eye. Utilizing a novel dice-based

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Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/04/30

In early 2022 we were almost 26 years into Pokemon’s existence as a francise when Pokemon: Legends Arceus released for Nintendo Switch on January 28th. Pokemon is famous (or notorious?) for its formulaic gameplay design and Legends Arceus is one of several entries over the years that bucks that trend to try out something new. Throwing out the gyms and badges structure for a more free-form, exploration and collection focused experience that injects a healthy dose of modern game design into the tried

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Backpack Hero

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/04/15

Pack your bags and join Josh and Bryan for a dip into this recent rouge-lite with a concept so good its hard to believe it hasn’t been done before: Inventory Tetris as RPG mechanic. Organizing your inventory is often a key aspect of certain adventure and survival games, but what if one were to use as the central mechanic for a run-based, rogue-lite, dungeon crawler? The answer is Backpack Hero! Crafting your perfect backpack with adjacency bonuses and synergies is compelling in itself, but this

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Lil Gator Game

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/03/30

Drawing inspiration from a Short Hike and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Lil Gator game is a short and sweet exploration platformer about, you guessed it, a lil gator. You are charged with helping lil Gator round him his friends to join in the biggest and best make believe game ever. Bryan and Josh were immediately drawn in by the ‘Short-Hike-ness’ but quickly realized the games smart and snappy writing was being used to convey some very universal and heartfelt themes and situations. So

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Chess Club ft. Shotgun King and Chessplosion

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/03/15

Welcome to Chess Club! Chess and roguelikes seem like a strange match, but in this episode Bryan and Josh explore two such games that use the tried and true mechanics of chess and mash them up with the roguelike video game genre (and a few other genres as well). The first game discussed, Shotgun King, is a run based game where you play as a single piece (the black king) and instead of taking out the enemy pieces with traditional chess moves, you have a shotgun. A simple, elegant premise with a

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Case of the Golden Idol

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/02/28

Bryan and Josh are on the Case! The Case of the Golden Idol, that is. This deductive logic puzzle game set in the 18th century and spanning a 40 year period, follows the Idol as it changes hands and drastically affects the fortunes of its owners. The game presents as a series of logic puzzles in which players collect clues to connect together concepts, characters, and evidence to provide context to the story. Once it began receiving favorable comparisons to Return of the Obra Dinn, Bryan and Josh

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Narita Boy

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/02/15

Take a trip down a neon-drenched memory lane with Bryan and Josh as they play 2021 action platformer, Narita Boy! Sporting some of the most striking pixel art we have ever seen, Narita Boy’s aesthetic alone warrants the price of admission. As they made their way through the digital kingdom, Bryan and Josh reflected on their time with the game and on the 1980’s era nostalgia it is channeling. Narita Boy punches above its weight by pairing its action packed techno-quest with some truly poignant

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Batman: Arkham Knight

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/01/30

This podcast is vengeance. It is the Knight. It. Is. Batman! Batman Arkham Knight to be exact. Clint has been a longtime fan of this game and the series, and Bryan had been looking for a reason to complete his journey through the Arkham trilogy, so together they ventured out into the cold, autumnal Gotham air and recorded a podcast about what its like to inhabit Batman in Arkham Knight. Batman is a character they both have a lot of fondness (and some criticism for), and this outting being the most

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ArenaCast ft. Vampire Survivors, 20 Minutes til Dawn,...

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2023/01/16

Bullet Heavens. Action Roguelikes. Arena Shooters. Crowd Management Games. Survive ‘em ups… the list goes on. Whatever you call them, thanks to Vampire Survivors they were a big story in 2022. In this podcast, Bryan and Josh sample three games from this burgeoning genre, popularized by Ponkle’s breakout hit, and quickly iterated on by a legion of creative developers. Our selection includes: The OG - Vampire SurvivorsThe Stylish Successor - 20 Minutes til Dawnand The Quirky Cousin- Boneraiser

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