Gay for Play: A Video Game Podcast

This week, Laurence and Eric meet up for a more casual eppy to discuss this week's Nintendo Direct, Sony State of Play, Tokyo Game Show announcements, and more gaming news*! (*and by "more gaming news" we mean a long tangent about astrology and how 6 planets are in retrograde right now which is really harshing our vibe.) But hey! The sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild finally has a name/release date, Pikmin 4 is real, and God of War: Ragnarok looks good, so even though the stars are giving us grief rn, the future looks bright, for games at least!
Later in the episode, we discuss ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area, a new indie visual novel/dating simulator releasing later this month, which thanks to the folks at Veritable Joy Studios for sending us a review copy, we got a chance to play early! ValiDate features a cast of 12 Black and Brown characters across a diverse set of ethnicities, nationalities, sexuality, and gender identities. We first heard about this game over a year ago and it piqued our interest as the kind of game that we really wanted to see from this genre, so we're so excited and honored to have a chance to check it out!
Plus, Laurence shares his thoughts on Splatoon 3, the newest entry in Nintendo's team-based 3rd-person shooter series that is its most fun and gayest entry yet. It's a fresh episode all around, we hope you enjoy!
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Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

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CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3

This week we are thrilled to be joined by our *EXTRA* special guest, Travis Ryans!! Travis (they/he) is one of the hosts Rainbow Road: A Gay Gaming Podcast, our fellow queer gaming podcast sibling to the north.
They join us to discuss PREY, the 2017 FPS/immersive sim from Arkane Studios and Bethesda about a space station overrun by a hostile spooky alien force known as the Typhon. We dive into the game's themes of morality, empathy, queerness, and iconic moments that can only be experienced through the medium of games.
Then, in the second half of the show, we discuss a *new* post-apocalyptic video game that's taking the world by storm; STRAY, where you play as a lost cat making their way through an underground city of AI robots many many centuries after the disappearance of all humans from the cities walls. We share our early impressions on this haunting, but deeply soothing (and cute) video game.
This has been a collab a long time in the making and we're beyond glad we finally had a chance to have Travis on. Make sure you give a listen to @RainbowRoadPod if you're craving more wonderful queer gaming podcasts in your life!
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Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Everything Is Going to Be Ok" by Mick Gordon
"Rikonium" by Yann Van Der Cruyssen

"Category: Pink Round Puff he's the BALL... Alien SUPAstar!"
Today we are talking about beloved Nintendo icon Kirby!!!
Created by then-19-year-old Masahiro Sakurai (who later went on to create the Super Smash Bros. series), Kirby first hit the scene in 1992 with Kirby's Dream Land for the Nintendo Game Boy. Kirby was designed to be approachable to new and younger players unfamiliar with games, and since his inception Kirby has been known as a series with something to offer for everyone: beloved by newcomers and veteran players alike.
Kirby superfan and artist Alejandro Muñoz (@sequin.horchata on IG) joins us to talk about our connection to this loveable pink boy, our first and favorite Kirby games, (including Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and the criminally underrated Kirby Air Ride) and our thoughts on his latest escapade in the 2022 Switch game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby's first true 3D platformer.
We also discuss Kirby-creator Masahiro Sakurai's recently started YouTube Channel, where he discusses game development concepts as well as retrospectives on his past projects (including a video on Kirby's Dream Land, which he released the night before we recorded this episode!)
Later in the show in "What else we're gay for" this week, we discuss Yakuza: Like a Dragon, HBO's Hacks, Pikmin Bloom, Tower of Fantasy, and more!
========
Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Green Greens" - composed by Jun Ishikawa (from Kirby Super Star Ultra)
"City Trial" - composed by Shogo Sakai & Jun Ishikawa (from Kirby Air Ride)
"Above the Clouds (Butter Building)" - composed by Hirokazu Ando (from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)

After a couple months of having lovely guests on the pod, this week Eric and Laurence sit down one-on-one for a classic catch up on the truly wild amount of culture that's been happening.
From the "Don't Worry Darling" drama, to Lea Michele debuting in Funny Girl, to Queen Liz 2 kicking the bucket and reincarnating as Trisha Paytas's baby— there's a LOT to discuss.
Plus, Video Games! We played a couple of great ones this week.
Immortality is the latest FMV (Full-Motion Video) game by "Her Story"-creator Sam Barlow, in which you, the player, scrub through uncovered footage of 3 unreleased movies starring fictional actress Marissa Marcel, who has since gone missing. As you scrub though and interact with the camera footage, you uncover the mystery of what happened to her & the other actors in the film, as well as a darker, spookier, meta mystery that unfolds.
On the total opposite end of the spectrum, we have Ooblets!! A charming new life-sim that blends the farming of Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley with the monster-collecting of Pokémon. We discuss its charms, strengths, and gripes, as well as some other life-sim games that we're playing/want to play soon.
It's a big slay of an episode, we hope you enjoy it!
========
Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3
MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Art" by Nainata Desai
"Fashion, But Kinda Sad" by Pedro Silva

The boys are back from a nice little vacay to discuss their recent trips to the famous Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure theme parks! We went in the same week but on different days from each other, and we review our experiences, ruminate on whether Disney is in its flop era, talk about childhood joy, Disney adults, Star Wars slaying, Marvel's Flop Avengers Campus, and the overall state of the theme park experience in 2022.
Later in the episode, to keep the Disney train rolling, we discuss DISNEY DREAMLIGHT VALLEY, Disney's foray into the life-sim genre hoping to capitalize off of the success of the Animal Crossings and Stardews of the gaming world. How does it hold up in comparison? Stay tuned and find out our thoughts mama!
========
Get in touch with us!
EMAIL US at [email protected]
FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod
Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)
Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)
Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish, Travis Ryans & Martha Turner <3