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

In today's podcast ~

• Introducing Dave Jackson, host of Tales from the Backlog! He'll be our café discussion guest for the months of November and December.
• The Pastry Case: Our grab-bag of news + media we're engaging with outside of our game of the month:
  • 2026 Geeks & Grounds Game Nominations begin today! Fill out the form by November 17th for your nomination to be included. FAQ in the link as well!
  • Jenny: Quartet, Final Fantasy 16, The Haunting of Bly Manor​
  • Dave: Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Ghost of Yotei, Pokemon Legends ZA, Madden 2005, Frankenstein, Gardens of the Moon​
• Introducing this month's brew: Final Fantasy X! Dave and I discuss impact, history, and personal significance ahead of jumping in.

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

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✨ November Indie Games Highlighted ✨

​Ambrosia Sky: Act 1 | Nov 10​ Cleaning Sim Sci-Fi Emotional An immersive sim about exploring and cleansing an asteroid colony devastated by a mysterious contamination. se tased battles and choose to befriend or defeat your opponents in this episodic, anime-inspired adventure. ​(PC)

​Goodnight Universe | Nov 11​ Cinematic Adventure Story-Rich Use eye and face tracking tech pioneered in Before Your Eyes, this time you play as a 6 month old baby with psychic powers. ever, putting one foot in front of the other. ​(PC, Switch 2)

​Lumines Arise | Nov 11​ Puzzle Single Player Multiplayer From the makers of Tetris Effect Connected, Lumines gets the same treatment. ​(PC, Playstation 5, PlayStation VR2

​Winter Burrow | Nov 11​ Survival Cozy Crafting A cozy woodland survival game about a mouse returning home to restore their childhood burrow. ​ ​(PC, Switch, Xbox)

​Gigasword | Nov 23​ Metroidvania Action Platformer Carry a giant legally distinct Buster Sword, but the catch is it’s too heavy to do complicated platforming with. So, find the right moments to leave your sword behind to navigate puzzles, bring the sword to hard to reach places, and move on. ​(PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch)

​Constance | Nov 24​ Metroidvania Platformer Emotional A 2D hand-drawn action adventure featuring a paintbrush-wielding artist, striving to escape from a colorful but decaying inner-world, created by her declining mental health. ​(PC)

percolate for next time... ☕
​we're beginning our pilgrimage to Zanarkand!

For the next two months, we'll be journeying through the land of Spira. Not only will we get to know a memorable cast of characters, but through this game, we'll have lots of discussion related to faith (and THE Fayth, heh), legacy, expectations, and --most importantly -- how the heck people hold their breath so long while playing Blitzball!
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The deep dive podcast releases on November 18th~ and we'll have our community hangout to discuss the first half of the game on November 22nd (a little sooner than normal to adjust for the holiday weekend in the US).
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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:

• What are you drawn to learn more about as you explore Spira? Do you find yourself interested in a specific character, like Tidus and Yuna, or are you most intrigued by other elements, like the religion (Yevon) or Sin?

Pour Over

Supplementary books, articles, games, and resources to expand on what we're playing this month ~

• Listen to the Final Fantasy X OST (and download it for free!)
• ​Read up on the legacy and history of the infamous laughing scene (from Kotaku)
• ​Take a look at some of the (VERY) early concepts for Final Fantasy X when it was known as 17 SEVEN TEEN
• ​Mod to prevent bugs in the PC version of the game (thanks to WeGoGiant for sharing!)
• Just in case you'd like a walkthrough to help guide your time in Spira, here's a handy one from IGN! (Hint: For November, we're playing until the start of Chapter 7!)

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