In today’s newsletter:

• the first g&g episode of the year!
• some of our 'most anticipated' titles for 2025
• a writing challenge

this week's brew ☕
​our discussion on what we played over the last week + next week's focus.

Happy New Year!
​
​We’ll start the year with a new job title: Director of the Federal Bureau of Control. Time to figure out what exactly that means!
​
In this episode, we delve into our first impressions as we start Control: while Joel has played before, this is my first time, and I've spent most of this first section just absorbing the vocabulary (HRA? Hiss? FBC? Resonance?) as well as getting the hang of my new Jedi powers. Everything seems to be falling into place a little TOO conveniently, though, so while I'm having a great time, I also feel a bit suspicious about the agendas of the people (and paranormal beings) I've encountered thus far.

This is a game about control (the title clued me in 😁) so I'm trying to keep track of the ways that different characters -- and the organization itself -- seem to grasp for control in various situations. Trent with his distrust and paranoia, Jesse utilizing her newfound powers...it's all still very fresh, and there is still SO much lore for me to read through, but I'm hooked.

Pour Over

Snag some pour-over coffee and pour over these supplementary recs to expand your gameplay experience.

• Watch. Control draws inspiration from an array of sci-fi and horror media. If you’re looking for movies or shows to stay in this vibe for January, check out some throwbacks like Men in Black, Twin Peaks, Roswell, and The X-Files for additional supernatural viewing.
  • While not paranormal, Severence (which is getting its second season next week) is outstanding and similar in tone. Think cold architecture, 60's styling, and a corporate entity with something to hide...
• Read. If you love weird horror and the paranormal and you haven’t heard of The SCP Foundation: it is time. The SCP Foundation is essentially a collaborative online project and fiction writing format that has grown into a database of documents all exploring the overarching question: What if paranormal phenomena were real? There’s much more to it (this is a major simplification) so if you’re intrigued — or you want to read the SCPs folks have written — check it out. (Shoutout to Hana in Discord for this one!)
  • Write. Want to go a step further? Why not try out the SCP formula and brainstorm your own phenomena? Their team created a page to guide curious writers who’d like to give it a try. If you do, feel free to share in the Discord or respond to this message!

Reflection Question

Have a response to the question? Want to share your thoughts on the game? Leave a 60-second voice message and you’ll have the chance to be featured on a future podcast episode!

Next Week's Brew

We’ll continue with Control! Play from “Old Boys’ Club” until you unlock “The Face of the Enemy”. The discussion episode releases on Tuesday, Feb 14th! Enjoy ~

The Pastry Case 🥐
​our grab-bag of topics and links from the show -- gaming and not-gaming!

Most Anticipated Games of 2025

While there are WAY more games than we could list here, we each narrowed it down to three titles to highlight.

Jenny

• ​Blue Prince - A shifting house? Political intrigue? Count me in!
• ​Promise Mascot Agency - Manage misfit mascots in this narrative game about an exiled yakuza.
• ​Moth Kubit - Weird RPGs are my jam, and this one about a bug salaryman investigating the mysteries of his workplace has my spidey-senses tingling.

Joel

• ​Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game - For any fan of Lord of the Rings!
• ​Split Fiction - What happens when sci-fi and fantasy meet? What looks to be a unique genre-blend take on co-op games.
• ​Ghost of Yotai - Fingers crossed it doesn’t have the “map reset” moment of its predecessor!

Play/Watch/Listen/Read

Since we’ve been on a break, we’ve gone through LOTS of media. This week, we’re gonna just list ‘em out!

Jenny

• Games: Infinity Nikki, Balatro, Spirit Swap (playtesting, because we launch on Feb 3rd! YAY!)
• Books: Wind and Truth, Attack from Within
• TV: Squid Game 2

Joel

• Games: Metaphor Re: Fantazio, Neva, Mario Kart
• Books: Wind and Truth; Heavenly Tyrant
• Movies: Nosforatu, War of the Rohirim

Notable Releases This Week

Games to keep an eye on if you're looking for more to play.

Unless| 10​ ​Platforming Pixel **Free Steam Demo Available** Take a trip back to the nostalgic era of pure platforming games built without gimmicks and minimal story. Race through bite-sized levels solo, or with a co-op helper in pursuit of achieving elusive S-Rank times.

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

​​​​​

Hope you all have had a good start to 2025 — I’m VERY excited for Geeks & Grounds this year, and I feel like we’ve got lots of fun discussions, hangouts, and games in store.
​
One of my New Year's resolutions? Continuing to make this little corner of the internet a great place to be, finding more ways to highlight devs and their amazing work, and fostering more ways for us to enjoy our time together.
​
Until next time! 💛

Jenny