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

Pyre

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/10/30

In this episode Josh and Bryan are talking about Pyre developed by Supergiant Games and released in 2017 for PC, Mac, Linux, and PlayStation 4. Pyre is considered by some to be Supergiant’s most experimental and heartfelt title, a mystical mix of visual novel and ritualistic sport. From the creators of Bastion, Transistor, and Hades, Pyre stands apart for its boldness a “mournful revolution” where victory means saying goodbye to a beloved comrade, and every loss fuels the greater cause of

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UFO 50

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/10/15

In this episode Bryan and Josh are diving into UFO 50, the long-awaited indie collaboration from Derek Yu, Jon Perry, Eirik Suhrke, Paul Hubans, Ojiro Fumoto, and Tyriq Plummer. It collects fifty original games into one sprawling anthology made by a fictional company called UFO Soft between 1982 and 1989. They explore its meta-narrative, collective authorship, its “lost console” aesthetic, and how its ambitious scope becomes a keen commentary on the experience of creating games across a console

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Monument Valley

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/09/30

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh explore the impossible geometry of Monument Valley, the 2014 iOS puzzle classic from ustwo games that transformed the mobile landscape with its serene vibes, minimalist Escher-inspired design, and ingenious visual mechanics. Listen in as the guys dive into the game’s meditative atmosphere, its sparse but evocative storytelling through Princess Ida’s journey, and the meticulous development process that focused on polish over size. They also

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CIPHER ZERO

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/09/15

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh dive into Cipher Zero, the minimalist logic puzzler developed by Boston-based indie studio Zapdot and released in July 2025. Beginning life as a Ludum Dare entrant, Cipher Zero has evolved into a sprawling collection of nearly 400 handcrafted puzzles, each one teaching players through experimentation rather than exposition. With its sleek UI, geometric art, and reactive industrial soundtrack, the game communicates ideas wordlessly, then layers

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Spirit City: Lo Fi Sessions and Rusty's Retirement

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/08/30

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh dive into the cozy corner of gaming with two titles redefining what it means to “play” in the background: Rusty’s Retirement, the low-screen-real-estate Stardew that keeps your crops thriving while you multitask, and Spirit City: Lo-Fi Sessions, a beautiful blend of productivity and play that turns your to-do list into an aesthetic experience. We’ll unpack how these games fit (or don’t fit) into our lives, explore why ambient gaming is on the

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Metal Garden

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/08/15

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh explore Metal Garden, a short but atmospheric indie FPS from solo Croatian developer Alexandra Herout, released under the name Tinerasoft. Set in a crumbling megastructure reclaimed by nature, the game blends old-school shooting mechanics with immersive environmental storytelling, subtle lore, and haunting mid-2000s aesthetics. Ammo scarcity, limb damage, and weighty weapons make every encounter tense, while double-jump platforming and cryptic

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Peglin and Ballionaire

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/07/30

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh plunge into the pachinko-powered chaos of Peglin and Ballionaire: Two roguelikes that reimagine physics-based randomness as strategic gameplay. From Peglin’s fantasy-infused, Slay-the-Spire-meets-Peggle mechanics to Ballionaire’s neon-drenched, idle arcade spectacle, they discuss how each title transforms the humble falling ball into a vehicle for experimentation, synergies, and absurd score-chasing. Along the way, they dive into the history

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Umurangi Generation

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/07/15

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh dive into Umurangi Generation, the vibrant, potent, and subversive photography game from Māori developer Naphtali Faulkner. Set in a near-future Aotearoa (New Zealand) under invasion and authoritarian control, the game asks players not to save the world, but to document its unraveling. Bryan and Josh explore how Faulkner’s anger at systemic failure, fueled by the bushfires and pandemic response, shapes the game’s unapologetic aesthetics,

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Cyberpunk 2077

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/06/30

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh jack into the neon-drenched, yet utterly dismal world of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red’s ambitious yet turbulent foray into dystopian sci-fi. Based on Mike Pondsmith’s classic tabletop RPG, the game places players in the boots of V, a mercenary struggling to survive in the megacity of Night City while sharing brain space with a digital ghost. From bugs to bikes, dialogue quirks to faction dynamics, Josh and Bryan dissect how Cyberpunk 2077

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Blue Prince

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/06/15

In this episode Josh and Bryan have a relatively timely (for them) discussion of 2025’s surprise indie hit Blue Prince! Blue Prince puts you in the shoes of Simon P. Jones, a boy who recently willed the Mt. Holly Estate, a mansion owned by his deceased great uncle Herbert S. Sinclair. There’s one catch: Simon must locate a hidden 46th room within the mansion in order to secure his inheritance. In addition to this challenge the estate’s rooms continually reset and re-arrange each day. What starts as

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Keep Driving

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/05/30

In this podcast Josh and Bryan hit the road! … And the road hits back! While crisscrossing the fictional countryside in YCJY Games’ Keep Driving both of our hosts recorded their fair share of stories and this podcast was the perfect opportunity to share them with each other, and with all of you! Borrowing inspiration from Oregon Trail and injecting a healthy dose of 2000’s era coming-of-age nostalgia, Keep Driving generates stories that will inevitably resonate players of a certain vintage.Aside

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Shogun Showdown

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/05/15

Bryan and Josh recently took off the gloves and picked up a katana to play Shogun Showdown, a kinetic turn-based tactics game that has you dispatching waves of enemy warriors through careful positioning and timely deployment of combat skills. Sporting roguelike and deckbuilding elements along with a strong Japanese-inspired pixel art aesthetic, Shogun Showdown is surprisingly deep for operating on a 1-dimentional battlefield. Like most of the guys’ favorite roguelikes, the game allows the player a

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Slay the Princess

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/04/30

You're on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Podcast… I mean Princess. In this episode Bryan, Josh, and Clint steel their nerves and descend the staircase to discuss Slay the Princess. Developed by Black Tabby Games and released for PC in 2024, Slay the Princess was developed as a side project to support the ongoing development of their other game Scarlet Hollow. And what a side project it is! Boasting a dizzying variety of possible

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Neongarten

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/04/15

Have you ever wanted to play a turn-based city builder that’s inspired by Luck be a Landlord and Islanders? That’s drenched in a stylish cyberpunk aesthetic and boasts intricate tactical depth? One with a dark sense of humor and killer hip-hop inspired soundtrack? Well you’re in luck! Josh’s latest game, Neongarten, is releasing on April 22nd, 2025 on Steam! As is tradition, Bryan and Josh sat down to record a podcast about the game, its inspirations, and the process of creating it. Neongarten was a

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Persona 4 Golden

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/03/30

In this episode Bryan and Josh welcome host of Tales from the Backlog, Dave Jackson, to discuss Persona 4 Golden! Bryan’s played Persona 5, Josh has played Persona 3, so now they’re meeting in the middle and asked Dave to join for a wide ranging discussion that starts with an analysis of the studio’s evolving approach to game design then pivots to a deep dive of Persona 4 Golden’s characters, combat mechanics, and broader themes. The Persona series is an interesting game for multiple reasons, not

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Game Poems (ft. Every Day the Same Dream and Under a...

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/03/15

In this atypical episode of Pixelated Playgrounds Josh and Bryan talk through a couple of “Game Poems”. A “Game Poem” (as defined by Josh) is “An experimental/artsy/short game or some combination therein. A game that the player can play once, for five or thirty minutes, and experience a distinct sort of message." Two such games are Every Day the Same Dream, released in 2009 by Molleindustria and Every Day the Same Dream released in 2020 by Cecile Richard. Every Day the Same Dream bills itself as a

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Horizon: Zero Dawn & Forbidden West

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/02/28

Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West have had an uphill battle to become some of the most successful AAA open world games. The first entry released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the follow-up came out just ahead of Elden Ring, two games that are not just direct competitors for the Horizon series, but also genre re-defining titles. Yet, much like the series’ protagonist, Aloy, the Horizon games have persisted. They have eventually found their audience and

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Arctic Eggs and CLICKOLDING

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/02/15

The indie game space is full of creative and inspiring projects. Projects that spark joy. Projects that make you feel a sense of awe, or joy, or wonder…. and then there are some that are just plain unhinged. In this episode Bryan and Josh discuss two games that are very different, but equally unhinged: Arctic Eggs and CLICKOLDING.Arctic Eggs by the Water Museum puts you in the shoes of a nameless, faceless, drone in a post apocalyptic antarctica with but one remit: cook eggs for the people. From

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/01/30

There was probably no greater end of the year gaming surprise in 2024 than the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Clint’s skepticism about swapping out Harrison Ford for Troy Baker was only matched by Bryan’s confusion about what this game was supposed to be drawing comparisons to Dishonored and Hitman, while being developed by the studio behind Wolfenstein, Machine Games, and the producer of the last several Elder Scrolls games, Todd Howard. It turns out Baker delivered the performance

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Pixelated Playground’s Top 5 Games of the Year 2024

Pixelated Playgrounds ·

2025/01/15

Happy New Year! This year Bryan, Josh, and Clint tried something a bit different… which every other video game podcast on earth is already doing: We recorded our Games of the Year for 2024! So listen in as the guys discuss the top 5 games they enjoyed in 2024 among others and take a look forward to 2025 and just generally chill out and reminisce on a year of gaming!Here’s what we talked about:Look back at 2024 / Plans for 2025Games we have our eyes on to coverGames you missed in 2024 and still want

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