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 least of which are its design priorities which focus on atypical areas such as UI design and Music, and writing. By the same token analyzing a social / life sim game from 2008 in 2025 is not without its pitfalls including the sometimes clumsy handling of representation and other social issues. Even so, the artistry of the game’s stylish design and writing, combined with a unique take on themes of personal growth rooted in Jungian psychology, are certainly with the price of admission.

Show Notes:

Dave’s Podcast - Tales from the Backlog

Persona 4 Reincarnation

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Experience Myriad Truths

Josh - Solid Detective Story

Dave - Jungian Scooby Doo

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 game about alienation and refusal of labour, while Under A Star Called Sun is described as a sci-fi bitsy game about grieving, holding on to fading memories, and carrying the world on your shoulders. Both are able to be played in 5-10 minutes or less and are readily available online, so if you’ve ever been wary to listen because of our spoiler policy, now is the time to subvert it!

Bryan and Josh also take a tangent into the history of browser games and reminisce a bit on some of their favorites, so boot up your ancient laptop that still has a running version of Flash and listen in to this episode on Game Poems!

Show Notes:

Every Day the Same Dream

Under A Star Called Sun

Molleindustria

The Actor and the Audience by Josh Galecki

I Am Sitting in a Room by Alvin Lucier

Three Word Reviews:

Under A Star Called Sun

Bryan - Smelling Digital Roses

Josh - Actor and Audience

Every Day The Same Dream

Bryan - Potent Fading Memory

Josh - Treachery of Memory

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 have delivered some of the best Open World gaming the current generation has seen as of 2025.

While the Horizon games on their face are a visual feast focused on hunting down robotic dinosaurs in a stunning post apocalypse, what lies beneath the surface is what kept Bryan and Clint coming back for more. A sweeping sci-fi story with ambitious and surprising writing drives Horizon’s cybernetic heart forward. That and a surprisingly deep combat system that forces you to use all parts of the robotic buffalo.

In this podcast Clint and Bryan discuss the sweeping story told across both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West before focusing in on the finer points of the more recent entry. So grab your bow and spear and tune your focus in to Pixelated Playgrounds as we discuss the Horizon Series!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Defying Human Nature

Clint - Giant Robot Dinosaurs!

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 there it… goes places….

CLICKOLDING by Strange Scaffold was originally on Josh and Bryan’s list to cover in the Halloween timeframe but instead of being scary it was more just unsettling, so they held off to find an equally oddball game to discuss in tandem. The purpose of the game is simple: The man in the corner of your hotel room wants you to click a tally counter and he wants to watch you click it. Its a surreal and sometimes upsetting experience that takes only 40 minutes or so to complete.

So sit down, have an egg, and start clicking as we talk through the deeply strange experiences of Arctic Eggs and CLICKOLDING!

Three Word Reviews:

Arctic Eggs

Bryan - End Times Vibing

Josh - A Compelling Gravity

CLICKOLDING

Bryan - Clicking Through It

Josh - A Harsh Light

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 of the year as Indiana Jones and the game itself turned out to be a sprawling and pitch perfect first person 3d adventure game with stealth, puzzling, and a not-insignificant amount of using improvised weaponry against fascists: Truly the most appropriate thing for Indiana Jones to be doing.

So Bryan, Josh, and Clint set off on their respective journeys to uncover the mysteries of the Great Circle. Clint’s took a long a circuitous route through all manner of optional side content, Bryan’s was a bit more on the straight and narrow, and Josh’s ended a bit prematurely. Regardless of where they ended all three of our hosts enjoyed the sites, sounds, and hi-jinks they got up to along the way. So pull up your old timey phonograph and listen in the guys discuss Indiana Jones and the Great Circle!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Museum Worthy Adventure

Josh - Scenes and Signposts

Clint - An Instant Classic

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 2025

Games we have our eyes on to cover

Games you missed in 2024 and still want to play

The Top 5’s

5’s

4’s

3’s

2’s

1’s

Honrable Mentions

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The 5’s

Clint Game #5 - Stellar Blade

Josh Game #5 - DotAGE

Bryan Game #5 - Metaphor: ReFantazio

The 4’s

Clint Game #4 - Black Myth: Wukong

Josh Game #4 - Tiny Glade

Bryan Game #4 - Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

The 3’s

Clint Game #3 - Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2

Josh Game #3 - Arco

Bryan Game #3 - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

The 2’s

Clint Game #2 - Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Josh Game #2 - Animal Well

Bryan Game #2 - 1000xResist

The 1’s

Clint Game #1 - Helldivers 2

Josh Game #1 - 1000xResist

Bryan Game #1 - Unicorn Overlord

Black Myth Wukong is perhaps the least ‘under the radar’ game to have ever caught Clint and Bryan by surprise. As the breakout single player offering from GameScience, a team of former Tencent employees hailing from China, Wukong is certainly a game that is entering the 3rd person action genre during a moment of particularly stringent demands for both novelty and quality. Luckily for us, Black Myth: Wukong succeeded on both counts to provide an extremely polished action game experience borrowing some mechanical flourishes from the Soul-like genre and infusing a high level of care for its source material: the 500 year old Chinese classic, Journey to the West. While neither Clint nor Bryan have much exposure to that source material aside from what has been adapted previously to suit western audiences (see Dragon Ball, etc.) both were quite impressed with the cinematic quality on display with this particular adaption. So join Clint and Bryan for a quick drink from the gourd as they chat about the experience and spectacle that is Black Myth: Wukong!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Senational Simian Storytelling

Clint - Top-notch Monkey Business

In this episode, Josh and Bryan don their pixelated sombreros and head into the Mesoamerican wilderness to check out the latest in indie tactical greatness with Arco! Boasting some snappy writing, inventive tactical gameplay, and truly gorgeous pixel artistry, Arco has a lot on offer. Arco is the product of Polish pixel artist Franek Nowotniak (one of Josh’s pixel artist idols), Australian game developer Max Cahill, Spanish composer and sound designer José Ramón "Bibiki" García, and Mexican developer Antonio "Fayer" Uribe, and published by Panic Inc. While it initially did not have the commercial success the team hoped for, it has begun to quickly rack up awards and nominations as we near the end of 2024. It can be tough to break through in today’s indie landscape, with so many high quality games coming out every week, but Arco is beyond a shadow of a doubt a game that is worth your time. From the compelling “inverse Western” story which conveys a unique perspective on the history of the colonization of the Americas, to the novel tactical mechanics which integrate player choice in a profound and intriguing way, you will not find many games that feel as tight and well integrated as Arco. So saddle up and join Bryan and Josh on their quest for revenge, er I mean, discussion as they journey through Arco!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Personal Pixelated Parables

Josh - Fresh Tactical Take