this week's brew 🎧
​what we discussed in this week's episode!

The Pastry Case: Our grab-bag of news + media we're engaging with outside of our game of the month.

Introducing Chris! Every month, we're joined with another voice from the industry, and this January, we've got the incredible Chris (they/them) of Honest Indies adding their insights to the games to keep an eye on for 2026 as well as their reflections on Gas Station Story.

(Some of our) Most Anticipated Games of 2026: We talk through why we're excited for each game -- as well as emphasize that these aren't the ONLY six we're looking forward to! What games are you most highly anticipating? Let me know! ^_^

• Chris: Esoteric Ebb, Fishbowl, Building Relationships, Truth Scrapper, Woodo, Virtue and a Sledgehammer​
• Jenny: Hermit & Pig, Loftia, Neverway, ONTOS, Wylde Society, SacriFire​

What we're excited about:

• Chris:
  • Trying to beat the final boss of FFX (that 2nd phase keeps killing me). Learning how to play Magic the Gathering.
  • Watching whatever anime my partner chooses. Lately that’s meant Dandadan & My Hero Academia: Vigilantes​
  • Reading so much manga (9 weekly & 5 more that are more sporadic). Shoutout to You And I Are Polar Opposites!
  • Listening to Caroline Rose, St. Vincent, and Courntey Barnett. I have a soft spot for sapphic singers.
• Jenny:
  • Replaying Undertale…and it feels like coming home.
  • Watching Rings of Power, and I feel like not enough people hyped it up to me!
  • I've otherwise been attempting to limit my phone time and work on my cross-stitching / enjoying cooking and baking again. I'm going to be trying this salt bread recipe soon (let me know if you have any tips!)

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

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✨ January Game Releases ✨

​Cassette Boy | Jan 14​ Action Adventure 2.5D What you can’t see… doesn’t exist. CASSETTE BOY is a puzzle action RPG where you control perspective to change the world you see. Rotate a 2D pixel-styled 3D world, using disappearing obstacles and newly appearing paths to uncover the mystery of the vanished moon. ​(PC)

​Kejora | Jan 14​ Puzzle 2D Platformer Hand-drawn When Kejora realizes that her peaceful village has been reliving the same day over and over, she and her friends seek out to try and uncover the origin of the mysterious time loop cursed on her village ​(PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5)

​MIO: Memories in Orbit | Jan 20​ Metroidvania Single Player Atmospheric Play as android MIO in this mesmerizing metroidvania where you explore the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with machines gone rogue. Uncover its secrets, enhance MIO's abilities, and save the spaceship and its residents from oblivion. ​(PC, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch/Switch 2)

​Wanderling | Jan 26​ 2D Platformer Difficult Procedural Generation Wanderling is a no-combat roguelike platformer about exploration. Die, retry, and mark your path deeper into a dungeon filled with traps and enemies. You get 8 tries to gain the upgrades and map knowledge needed to clear each dungeon. ​(PC)

​Cairn | Jan 29​ Unforgiving Open World Exploration Reach a summit never climbed before in this survival-climber from the creators of Furi and Haven. Climb anywhere and plan your route carefully, managing pitons and resources to survive unforgiving Mount Kami. Discover what Aava is willing to sacrifice to achieve the ascent of a lifetime. ​(PC, PlayStation 5)

​Don't Stop, Girlypop!​ Fast-paced FPS 1990s Spread the love! Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is a Y2K arena movement shooter where standing still is not an option. ❤ Just ❤ Don’t ❤ Stop ❤ Moving! ❤ ​(PC)

brewing for next time... ☕
​time to clock in to our shift...are you ready?

What is it like to live in tumultuous times? Heh. That feels almost satirical to ask, considering we're currently living through some pretty dark moments right now. Gas Station Story is a game set in dire times, where the galaxy seems like it's undergoing massive upheaval -- and yet, your character is one who isn't a direct participant on the front lines. Instead, you play "The Clerk": someone just trying to survive until the next paycheck.-

This game is a shorter one -- only about five hours to reach an ending -- and rather than focusing on complex combat systems or deep lore and secrets to discover, Gas Station Story strives to share a personal story and get you to consider what life can look like to find solace in people around us -- even when everything else feels insurmountable.

Before you play, take a look at the resources below. Some are more lighthearted and related more directly to the game; others are more tangentially connected, relating to the real-world topics addressed in the narrative. If you find more you'd like to share, or want to join the conversation about the game, please feel free to hop into the Discord!
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The deep dive podcast releases January 27th ~ and we'll have our community hangout (in Discord) to discuss our thoughts on this game on January 31st!
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Find all the details and schedule for this month in the playthrough guide:

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Reflection

Share your thoughts, questions, and reactions with the wider community! You can do that by writing back to this email, submitting a voice recording to be included in the next episode, sharing experiences in the community Discord, or simply pondering as you play. Here's a question to get you started:

• There are Big Events (™) happening all around us, but we still need to live our lives. How do you balance awareness of what’s going on along with the ability to stay present in day to day routines and tasks? (I’ll write my response in the next newsletter – feel free to write me your thoughts, and I’ll respond!)

Pour Over

As we're winding down our time with the game, here's a summary of resources shared earlier this month (plus a couple new ones) to help expand your experience with the game ~

• Read the Development Logs from enzi that detail both technical aspects of the game as well as some of the dev’s thoughts regarding the world’s lore, gender, and relationships within the game.
• Listen to the OST with songs composed by Emberlynn Bland, enzi, Doma Rocket, and robotmeadows.
• Want your portfolio picture to be in theme for this month (or any picture, really)? Why not try out this Game Boy Camera image converter (shoutout and thanks to Olivvybee for creating this and making it free!)
• Play enzi’s previous game, Pierrot a la Mode, also set in the same universe as Gas Station Story! This title is only 15-20 minutes, has three endings, and was made during the Big Mode Game Jam.
• Inspired to make a Game Boy-esque title of your own? GB Studio is the free engine that Gas Station Story was created in, and you can download it here via Itch.io.
• Poor working and economic conditions play a major role in demoralizing The Clerk and Sam in this game. Learn a bit about how unions can benefit the working class in this article, "How Unions are Crucial for Building Working Class Economic Power" (Center for American Progress, 2023) and check out the unionization work being done across the globe for the game industry via the Game Workers Coalition.
• Even though your character is in a role interacting with other people all day, you may notice that this is a world where they -- and folks in general -- feel lonely and isolated as they run about doing their daily tasks. In "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation" (hhs.gov, 2023), you can read more about why social connectedness, empathy, and belonging are critical to our well-being. And, whether you're feeling lonely yourself or want to help create systems and spaces to combat loneliness, how you can go about taking action. As a side note: if you've been wondering about small ways to take action and find community as the world feels like it's whirling out of control? YOU'RE DOING IT! By signing up here, writing a response, or even hopping into the Discord: that's a first step towards putting yourself out there to get to know other people and find additional ways to connect. <3

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 -- we've had a bevvy of new folks join in (and I'm working on writing back to everyone, apologies if it takes an extra day or two!). Please do say hi if you haven't already by responding to this message or by hopping into the discord and introducing yourself to others.
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The best part of this group of people is just that: it's a kind, thoughtful community of folks who're all connected initially through our love of games, and have found additional ways to get to know and bond with one another. It can be nerve-wracking to just start chatting (I can empathize as someone who leans towards introversion and shyness!), but I encourage you to do so ~ it's worth it!

Take care, and talk soon!

🌻Jenny