this week's brew 🎧
​what we played this week + supplementary materials to help you dig deeper.

We're taking next week off (and I'm technically out of office already visiting family in Korea!) but before we touch some grass and eat some snacks, I wanted to be sure to close out our official time with Arco.

Joel and I had a blast chatting with Fáyer, the one of the writers and programmers for Arco. His influence was a primary factor in the game moving from a roguelike and multiplayer direction into the more narrative focused, linear story we have today. It was fascinating to hear how the development team's journey paralleled the characters of the game in the ways they found one another, and how much of the process was quite iterative!
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Pour Over

Check out supplementary recs to expand on what we discussed in the interview!

• Play: Pancito Merge, the latest game from Fáyer inspired by Suika Game (a personal favorite of mine!)
• Follow: If you'd like to keep an eye on the Arco team and their next projects, find them on Bluesky!
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Next Month's Brew: We're off next week, but it's good chance to get started on our April title, the community-selected, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage!
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We'll be releasing the first discussion episode (covering Tape One) on April 15th, so feel free to pick it up, check out the playthrough guide, and get a head start on gathering your thoughts on the game.

the pastry case 🥐
​our grab-bag of topics related to the industry and other media we've engaged with.

Fáyer -

• Watch: Severance​
• Play: despelote, Crow Country, UFO 50​

Jenny -

• Watch: Adolescence​
• Read: Never Whistle At Night, Kinda Korean: Stories from an American Life​

Joel -

• Watch: EXU: Divergence​

This Weeks' Game Releases

Two titles that I'm keeping an eye on, and that may be worth picking up if you'd like something new to enjoy!

​Bugaboo Pocket | Apr 2​ Virtual Pet Creature Collector Casual The demo for this game completely won me over, and I'm so happy it's finally here! Play as scientist studying insects and wildlife in an area previously ravaged by wildfire. Raise cute lil bugs (all inspired by real world critters) and help restore the ecosystem.

​Oddventure (EA) | Apr 3​ Early Access Adventure RPG I'm honestly a bit torn on this one, as I think the sense of humor may run a bit more edgy and nihilistic than I'll end up enjoying. But, I also am a sucker for quirky, pixel art RPGs that give you a choice between compassion and cruelty (a la Undertale) so I'll at least be giving this a try!

Stay in the loop -- listen to the weekly podcast on Spotify and Apple, hang with the community in Discord, and find us on Instagram!

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Thanks for joining our digital café this week -- talk soon!

Jenny