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

It is time to discover what's behind that locked Lazarette door, deduce the rest of these fates, and determine the tale of the Obra Dinn! This week is the final discussion of the game, and while we're encompassing the whoooole thing (including my attempt at summarizing the events in chronological order), our focus chapters include:

• Chapter II: A Bitter Cold
• Chapter V: Unholy Captives
• Chapter IV: The Calling
• Chapter I: Loose Cargo
• Chapter VIII: Bargain

Listen to the finale episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts!

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next month's brews ✨
​what we're playing for the month of June + supplementary materials to help you dig deeper.

For the month of June, we'll be doing something a bit different, just to keep things light and breezy during the summertime as folks are more out and about.

We're doing one game a week, each week focusing on a short title -- about 3-4 hours or less -- celebrating queer characters and teams!

First up? We kick off our hopeful month of gaming with a bit of young love, friendship, and...baseball? Yup! We're playing the (free!) Butterfly Soup, and if you haven't encountered this visual novel from 2017, this is the time to play. Please note, it's only available via Itch.io!

Below is the playthrough guide for the game, which includes the full month's schedule, links to all the game's platforms, some kick off reflection questions, and more ~

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This leads me to the reflection question for the week ~

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Reflection Question

Share your response by writing back to this message, submit a voice recording to be included in next week's episode, share in the community Discord, or simply ponder as you play. Of course, if you have other thoughts on the game you'd like to share not related to the question, please do so!

• What are some of the expectations you remember your parents/adults having for you as a teenager? How do those expectations impact you now?
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Pour Over

Supplementary recs to expand on what we're playing this week~

• What was Prop 8? The game is set in 2008 in California, at a time when election season was in full swing. The girls encounter folks campaigning for Prop 8 in the game, so I thought it'd be good to add this for a bit of context! Bonus: take some time to reflect on where you were at/what you were doing in 2008!
• Asian-Americans are not a monolith: This game addresses a lot, but one of the elements that I appreciate the most is the ways it shows how Asian-Americans are not all the same. While it's a few years old, check out this John Oliver segment on Asian-Americans in the U.S. and this NPR report from 2001 breaking down the 'model minority' myth ​

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

Play/Watch/Listen/Read

Jenny -

• Play: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, To a T Demo (Watch my gameplay)
• Watch: Game Changers: Earnest-est​

Joel -

• Play: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33​
• Watch: Conan O’Brien Must Go, Andor Season 2

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!

​Kabuto Park | May 28​ Creature Collector Wholesome Nature Enjoy summer in Kabuto Park! Catch the cutest bugs, train them and win the Summer Beetle Battles Championship in this tiny bug collection game! Upgrade your equipment to find rarer, stronger and shinier little friends.

​to a T | May 28 ​ Adventure Exploration Wholesome A charming, colorful adventure game from the creator of Katamari Damacy and the uvula team about a teen navigating life in a small town with their cute dog companion. While their body is stuck in a T-pose, they do their best to make the most of it.

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