True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

Ep. 55 - Interview w/Chris Schroyer: From Telltale Games to the Attainable Fantasy of “Three Days to Chicago”

This week it’s just me for the first half: I talk about what I’ve been playing (Three Days to Chicago, a visual novel by Chris Schroyer, as well as the news! Headlines include a character from the Fallout TV series coming to Fallout 76, A Minecraft Movie is getting a sequel, there were more layoffs, and Fortnite has officially skipped its Pride event this year.
For the second half, remember the game I mentioned I played this week? Three Days to Chicago? Well Chris Schroyer, the game’s creator, joins me for an interview! Chris has had a long and exciting career working at Telltale and other studios, and his gameography includes The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and more! He discusses his time at Telltale and his approach to what he calls “attainable fantasy” in Three Days to Chicago.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:37 - What I’ve Been Playing
00:21:29 - News
00:36:08 - Interview with Chris Schroyer
 
Note: I mentioned Super Mario Galaxy might run at 120fps on Switch 2, but a quick search after recording indicates
 
This first half was recorded on October 11 2025. The interview was recorded on October 10 2025.
 
Follow True Avatars:
Official website: https://trueavatarspodcast.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueAvatars
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/trueavatars.bsky.social
Twitter: https://x.com/TrueAvatars
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@trueavatars/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@true.avatars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trueavatars/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569951551559
 
Guests:
Chris Schroyer: https://bsky.app/profile/schroyer.bsky.social
 
Three Days to Chicago: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2495380/Three_Days_to_Chicago/
 
Sources:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-skipped-pride-this-year/1100-6535186/
https://deadline.com/2025/10/minecraft-2-release-date-1236574896/
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1o2ckvv/minecraft_sequel_announced_official_teaser_poster/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/we-are-all-hurting-metal-hellsinger-studio-closed-as-part-of-funcom-cuts/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/development-ends-on-hyper-light-breaker-as-studio-heart-machine-says-its-making-layoffs/
https://www.ign.com/articles/world-of-warcrafts-long-awaited-housing-releases-in-december
https://x.com/discussingfilm/status/1973388284895072318?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://bethesda.net/it/article/2nqh2JMnLeJnjpxwUUi5n6/inside-the-vault-burning-springs-public-test-server-release-notes
https://gaymingmag.com/2023/08/three-days-to-chicago-is-midboss-first-third-party-game/

Ep. 54 - Ghost of Yotei Impressions, EA Gaymes in Danger, Kojima Casts Hunter Schafer

For the first half of the show, Cleo and Lloyd are back to discuss yet another piece of hot gossip: EA has been purchased by Jared Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund for $55 billion, which is the second largest video game company purchase of all time. What does this mean for the queer games at EA, namely Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and The Sims?
Of course, we also talk about what we’ve been playing along with a bunch of other headlines (Kojima has cast a trans woman as a lead in his new PT-inspired horror game, and we’re pretty excited)! Plus lots of other queer game news, including indies and AAAs.
In the second half, it’s me and a new guest: Juno! Juno and I have played the first chunk of Ghost of Yotei, which features genderfluid actor Erika Ishii as the player character Atsu. We discuss minor spoilers for the early sections of the game and our experiences with it.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:01 - What We’ve Been Playing
00:25:35 - News
00:59:00 - EA Gaymes in Danger?
01:13:55 - Ghost of Yotei Discussion
 
***Minor spoilers for early section of Ghost of Yotei***
 
The news segment was recorded on Oct 3 2025, and the Ghost of Yotei segment was recorded on Oct 5 2025.
 
Follow True Avatars:
Official website: https://trueavatarspodcast.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueAvatars
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/trueavatars.bsky.social
Twitter: https://x.com/TrueAvatars
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@trueavatars/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@true.avatars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trueavatars/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569951551559
 
Guests:
Cleo: https://www.instagram.com/cleostrophobia/
Lloyd: https://www.twitch.tv/lloyd_lloydster
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHCqxLtwy5g
https://www.ign.com/articles/hideo-kojima-reveals-debut-poster-for-playstation-exclusive-physint-first-cast-announcement
https://insider-gaming.com/konami-asked-fans-which-metal-gear-remade/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/classic-mech-anime-and-tactical-card-combat-collide-in-battle-chef-brigade-devs-new-rpg
https://battlesuitaces.com/
https://bsky.app/profile/tanatb.housefuckinggame.com/post/3m2aub7jc6s27
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/days-before-release-borderlands-4-is-indefinitely-delayed-on-switch-2/
https://www.theverge.com/games/784264/pokemon-legends-z-a-hands-on-fashion-nintendo-switch-2
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/avalanche-is-closing-its-liverpool-studio-following-contrabands-cancellation/
https://www.ign.com/articles/just-one-month-after-xboxs-contraband-cancelation-developer-avalanche-announces-layoffs-and-uk-studio-closure-plans
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/starbreeze-has-cancelled-its-dungeons-dragons-game-and-is-laying-off-44-staff-as-it-focuses-on-payday/
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/dune-awakening-developer-funcom-announces-redundancies
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-game-pass-is-increasing-in-price-by-50/
https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1973394895017845236?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1973395627183935628?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/9/24195312/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-ultimate-price-increase-standard-subscription
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-confirms-that-it-will-be-acquired-for-55-billion-by-investors-including-saudi-arabias-pif/
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/eas-new-owners-are-leaning-heavily-on-ai-to-make-some-money-and-its-huge-debt-go-away-which-seems-like-one-helluva-gamble-to-me/
https://insider-gaming.com/bioware-staff-worried-about-studios-future/
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaymers/comments/1nuzffk/are_we_screwed_for_the_simsbioware_games/?share_id=_1xwZ04x__KFgmQKnGdzj&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
Petition: https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-sims-from-censorship-and-political-control

Ep. 53 - I went to the Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon) and it was INCROYABLE!

Did you know there’s an entire conference focused entirely on queer games? Neither did I! So I took the train to Montreal to check it out for myself… and IT WAS SO COOL!
The Queerness and Games Conference (QGCon) is an annual 3-day conference for queer developers and queer gamers, featuring all types of games! They had board games, card games, TTRPGs… but of course, I went for the video games.
Not only did I attend a bunch of the panels, but I met a lot of amazing queer video game devs and played tons of demos for recently released and upcoming games! Some of them we’ve even talked about on the podcast before…!
Oh, and did I mention I even did some on-the-fly interviews at the conference, too?
You can see (or hear) all about it in this very special episode of True Avatars!
 
00:00:00 - Intro + QGCon Primer
00:12:04 - Day 1 - Friday Sept 26
00:12:51 - Yurivania series
00:17:04 - Three Days to Chicago
00:20:15 - Redjackets
00:25:41 - Day 2 - Sat Sept 27
00:31:10 - Rocket Adrift
00:33:16 - A Night for Flesh and Roses (+Interview)
00:53:47 - Love in the Time of Spellphage (+Interview)
01:06:09 - Neov*gina Dilation Simulator
01:07:35 - Queen Boat (+Interview)
01:16:15 - Fundamental and Incontrovertible Reality (+Interview)
01:23:51 - Banned Together
01:34:05 - Physical Queer Games
01:36:27 - Overall Thoughts + Montreal Experience
 
CONTENT WARNING: Suicide mentioned during the Queen Boat segment.
 
The interviews were recorded on September 27 2025 and the main episode was recorded on September 28 2025.
 
Follow True Avatars:
Official website: https://trueavatarspodcast.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueAvatars
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/trueavatars.bsky.social
Twitter: https://x.com/TrueAvatars
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@trueavatars/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@true.avatars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trueavatars/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569951551559
 
Guests:
Elliot Rex White: https://necropocene.itch.io/
Kylie Szymesko: https://bsky.app/profile/kymira.ca
Ahmed Khalifa: https://amidos2006.itch.io/
Chelsea Brtis: https://bakiara.itch.io/
 
Games:
Yurivania series: https://mxashlynn.itch.io/yurivania-3
Three Days to Chicago: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2495380/Three_Days_to_Chicago/
Redjackets: https://annacwebs.itch.io/redjackets
Psychroma: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1879950/Psychroma/
Dead Finger Dice: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3512300/Dead_Finger_Dice/
A Night for Flesh and Roses: https://necropocene.itch.io/a-night-for-flesh-and-roses
Love in the Time of Spellphage: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3825300/Love_in_the_Time_of_Spellphage/
Neov*gina Dilation Simulator: https://gamedevbrook.itch.io/dilation-simulation
Queen Boat: https://amidos2006.itch.io/queen-boat
Fundamental and Incontrovertible Reality (not available online): https://bakiara.itch.io/
Banned Together: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3551960/Banned_Together/
Slasher U: An 18+ Horror Movie Dating Sim: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2655620/Slasher_U_An_18_Horror_Movie_Dating_Sim_Act_1/
Lucah: Born of a Dream: https://store.steampowered.com/app/896460/Lucah_Born_of_a_Dream/
 
Sources:
https://www.qgcon.org/
https://www.qgcon.org/2025/arcade
https://annacwebster.com/

Ep. 52 - One Year Anniversary: Let’s Make a Queer Game Tier List!

It has been exactly one year since the first episode of this podcast launched, and this episode is the biggest one we’ve ever recorded!
For the first third of the show, it’s just me, Zoey, your host and producer! I talk about the podcast’s birthday, what I’ve been playing, and the news!
In terms of news, there were a lot of gay happenings in the gayming space: Witcher season 4 has a release date and one of the trailers of all time, Randy Pitchford *really* doesn’t want to fix Borderlands 4 on PC, a queer indie game has been brought back from the dead, Mass Effect’s tv show had a casting leak, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment has a little bonus for you!
For the main segment, Ekamy and Lloyd are back! And we are ranking the biggest queer games based on how gay they are! S tier is “unquestionably gay,” and D tier is “basically a headcanon.” Are we right? Are we wrong? Get those torches and pitchforks ready, True Avatars, because we ranked a whopping 75 gaymes!!
To wrap up this massive episode, Ekamy brings a new Queer Game of the Week!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and Anniversary Chat
00:18:20 - What I’ve Been Playing
00:25:37 - News
00:46:11 - Tier List: How gay are the gayest gaymes?
02:18:45 - Queer Game of the Week: Cross the Moon
 
This episode was recorded on September 20 2025.
 
Follow True Avatars:
Official website: https://trueavatarspodcast.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueAvatars
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/trueavatars.bsky.social
Twitter: https://x.com/TrueAvatars
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@trueavatars/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@true.avatars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trueavatars/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569951551559
 
Guests:
Ekamy: https://www.twitch.tv/ekamy
Lloyd: https://www.twitch.tv/lloyd_lloydster
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQGshAJmdBU
https://www.eurogamer.net/netflixs-splinter-cell-animated-series-arrives-next-month-but-theres-no-sign-of-a-new-game
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1343626-why-was-the-witcher-recast-from-henry-cavill-to-liam-hemsworth
https://movieweb.com/the-witcher-season-4-vesemir-recast-peter-mullan/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/borderlands-4-goes-down-well-with-critics-as-gearbox-acknowledges-fov-issue
https://www.eurogamer.net/randy-pitchford-advises-borderlands-4-players-to-get-a-refund-if-theyre-not-happy-with-it-as-social-media-tirade-defending-pc-performance-continues
 
https://www.eurogamer.net/mass-effect-tv-series-casting-calls-leak-sparking-speculation-male-shepard-is-canon
https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/hardware-network/console/may-2025-pricing-updates
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/tariffs-bite-xbox-fans-even-harder-as-microsoft-once-again-increases-xbox-series-x-s-prices
https://gaymingmag.com/2025/09/exclusive-akupara-games-brings-dead-pets-unleashed-back-to-life/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNLN3VBSTzs
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1851720/Dead_Pets_Unleashed/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/disco-elysium-spin-off-studio-renames-game-and-pivots-away-from-isometric-gameplay/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/that-claim-is-startling-tencent-fires-back-at-sonys-lawsuit-accusing-it-of-cloning-horizon-with-light-of-motiram/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/hyrule-warriors-age-of-imprisonment-gets-new-trailer-revealing-some-save-data-surprises

Ep. 51 - Nintendo Direct Queer Games + “Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced” Chat with the Dev!

I know I write this into every episode description, but this week’s episode is not-hyperbolically jam packed full of news and content!
First up, Amy-Lynn and I discuss the headlines and the surprisingly long Nintendo Direct, which had new trailers for lots of queer games!
In the second half, Ekamy, Lloyd, and I are joined by Endellion, one half of the Zorkie Studios dev team who is back to talk about the release of Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced. Known as QDRP for short, the adorable yet grim visual novel is about Jin, a psychline whose job it is to approve life-changing body modifications. Jin also has to make money to save their dying rabbit Nibbles, but will you be able to make enough money while also making the right choices for who should be approved for their body mods?
Endellion was previously a guest on True Avatars back in Ep. 28, so I recommend going back to listen to that episode as well!
 
NOTE: At one point, Endellion mentions that a 2-4 hours visual novel has a typical word count of 400K-800K words, but they actually meant 40K-80K words.
 
SPOILER WARNING: The discussion is spoiler-free until the very end of the episode (please see the timecodes below).
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:00 - News
00:10:06 - Nintendo Direct
00:56:43 - Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced Discussion feat. Endellion
01:44:48 - Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced SPOILERS
 
CONTENT WARNING: Some ableist language was muted throughout the episode.
 
The Nintendo Direct discussion was recorded on September 12 2025. The conversation with Endellion was recorded on September 4 2025.
 
Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3164710/Quality_Dreams_Reasonably_Priced/
 
Sources:
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sonic-racing-crossworlds-is-getting-a-single-player-demo-next-week/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/elden-ring-nightreign-gets-a-free-high-difficulty-mode-called-deep-of-night/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/bafta-games-in-concert/
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/borderlands-4-launches-to-mostly-negative-reviews-on-steam-thanks-to-widespread-performance-problems-and-crashes/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/warframe-devs-on-switch-2-version-thanks-to-our-friends-at-nintendo-we-are-on-it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWIEv_aksvo
https://x.com/finalfantasyvii/status/1966514225117118813?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22oUOztp-88
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/pokemon-legends-z-as-mega-chesnaught-mega-delphox-and-mega-greninja-can-only-be-obtained-via-online-ranked-battles/

Ep. 50.5 - REVIEW - Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced

Zorkie Studios has generously supplied the podcast with a review copy of this exciting visual novel!
We have previously discussed QDRP (for short) at length on the podcast, so come hear my thoughts on the final product!
Spoiler alert: the game is incredible.

Ep. 50 - The Life is Strange TV show is FINALLY happening

Amy-Lynn and Cleo are back on this week to discuss the small but mighty headlines this week! The Life is Strange TV show is finally moving forward (at Amazon of all places), Evo (the esports event) has a brand new owner, Final Fantasy XIV might be getting some changes, there were more layoffs, and Amy-Lynn gives us her thoughts on the payment processor scandal.
And now that Hollow Knight: Silksong is out (Cleo played some of it in disbelief), we debate the video games industry many pricing issues in this cost of living crisis. Silksong is priced very low for such a high profile game, and other indies might be negatively affected. The major publishers are also increasing their AAA prices this year, so who is really to blame?
We also talk about other games we’ve been playing and Cleo brings another Queer Game of the Week!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:09 - What We’ve Been Playing
00:18:11 - News
01:02:10 - The video games industry has a pricing problem
01:25:03 - Queer Game of the Week: Chicory: A Colorful Tale
 
This episode was recorded on Sept 6 2025.
 
Sources:
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/life-is-strange-tv-series-amazon-charlie-covell-luckychap-1236509181/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/final-fantasy-14-director-yoshi-p-says-the-game-needs-a-major-change-in-content-hierarchy/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/saudi-firm-acquires-co-ownership-of-evo-fighting-game-tournaments/
https://esportsadvocate.net/2025/09/sonicfox-vows-to-champion-lgbtq-rights-at-future-evo-events/
https://x.com/SonicFox/status/1962980285458636887
https://observer.co.uk/news/business/article/saudi-takeover-of-gaming-industry-leaves-little-room-for-dissent
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-02/-perfect-dark-developer-lays-off-staff-after-funding-deal-falls-through?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc1NjgzNDY3OSwiZXhwIjoxNzU3NDM5NDc5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUMVoyQTRHUTdMRlEwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.iGoAomXADlAaCsr4KgsTEy8oHTbv4k9XTSl7NVtRZXo&leadSource=uverify+wall
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/i-cant-afford-to-give-it-away-for-free-silksongs-low-price-is-causing-devs-to-re-evaluate-their-own-games
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5-digital-edition-consoles-are-reportedly-getting-a-quiet-storage-downgrade/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/gen-z-is-cutting-back-on-video-game-purchases-like-really-cutting-back/

Episode 49 - Naked Snakes and Autumn Gaymes

It’s September, which means we’re on the cusp of an avalanche of new releases… but that also means an avalanche of new queer games! There’s basically one every week until the end of November! That’s wild right? I wonder what all those games are! What if there was a podcast that discussed all of these games in one convenient place? Oh wait!
For the first half of the episode, it’s just me, and I also cover a bunch of headlines: Microsoft and The First Descendent are doing some scummy things with AI, PlayStation and Xbox have improved their offerings for once, Stardew Valley is getting yet another content update (does Concerned Ape sleep?), and a classic queer game got shadowdropped on modern platforms.
Oh, and yes, there is more troublesome news on the payment processor/censorship front, because our descent into fascism hasn’t progressed far enough.
In the second half, Bettie returns from episode 26 with her partner to compare and contrast the new Metal Gear Solid Delta remake with the original – and we also talk about exactly how gay everyone is!
Also, there’s news on the future of the podcast! ;)
 
00:00:00 - Intro and Podcast Update
00:09:14 - Queer Games Releasing this Fall
00:29:30 - News
00:44:20 - Payment Processor Update
00:53:24 - Metal Gear Solid Delta Discussion
 
This episode was recorded on August 31 2025.
 
Queer Games Mentioned:
Sept 8 - Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced
Sept 18 - Ratatan
Sept 19 - Wander Stars
Sept 25 - Sonic Racing CrossWorlds
Oct 2 - Ghost of Yotei
Oct 10 - Nomia
Oct 16 - Pokémon Legends Z-A
Oct 29 - Outer Worlds 2
Nov 6 - UNBEATABLE
Nov 6 - Syberia Remastered
Nov 13 - Love at the Milky Way Diner
Nov 19 - Demonschool
Nov TBA - Heartspell: Horizon Academy
TBA 2025 - Frame of Mind: A game of thoughts
TBA 2025 - Building Relationships
TBA 2025 - Coffee Talk Tokyo
TBA 2025 - Usual June
TBA 2025 - Winter Burrow
TBA 2025 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
 
Sources:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/demonschool-gets-last-minute-delay-to-avoid-silksong
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3608900/NOMIA/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2113350/Heartspell_Horizon_Academy/
https://necrosoftgames.com/demonschool/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1575810/Wander_Stars/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3660220/Syberia__Remastered/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3008740/Winter_Burrow/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2702430/Usual_June/
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2025/08/25/ps-store-game-refunds-made-easier-by-sony/
https://www.theverge.com/news/766762/microsoft-xbox-cloud-gaming-game-pass-core-standard-pc-games
https://mobilegamer.biz/inside-king-layoff-lawsuits-toxic-leaders-toothless-ethics-teams-low-morale-and-mandatory-ai-use/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/they-stole-my-face-streamer-claims-the-first-descendant-ads-used-ai-to-make-it-look-like-hes-promoting-it/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/surprise-ps1-cult-classic-fear-effect-just-shadow-dropped-on-switch
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3504570/Fear_Effect/
https://x.com/concernedape/status/1961864959484412104?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://automaton-media.com/en/news/steam-adult-game-programmer-has-account-frozen-by-paypal-80000-in-earnings-withheld/
https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/1mzsj8l/i_owe_a_massive_corporation_tax_bill_to_hmrc_and/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/steam-now-requires-age-verification-in-the-uk-for-mature-game-pages/

Episode 48 - How do you make queer characters feel real? - Interview with Kelly Gilkes (Matchmaker: Dungeon Heart)

This week is a bit of a shorter episode, True Avatars (I may or may not have speedran the news…), but it’s still a great one!
This week I had the chance to interview the lovely Kelly Gilkes, the Lead Artist behind the 9 amazing romanceable NPCs in the enjoyable queer indie, Matchmaker: Dungeon Heart! She and I discussed body positivity, gaining many perspectives to create honest, relatable characters, and even the voice acting!
In the first half, of course there’s the headlines. For this, it’s just me this week. Gamescom Opening Night Live had a bunch of queer and queer-adjacent announcements, two queer games are doing a collab, The Last of Us Online may live on in a different form, Kirby Air Riders and Hollow Knight Silksong both finally have release dates, Games Done Quick is getting a little queer, and so much more!
And thankfully, no scary developments on the payment processor/game censorship front!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:02:42 - News
00:21:47 - Interview with Kelly Gilkes (Matchmaker: Dungeon Heart)
 
This episode was recorded on August 24 2025. The interview was recorded on August 20 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74oh7zD_jxI&ab_channel=thegameawards
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/psa-sonic-racing-crossworlds-open-network-test-for-switch-announced
https://asia.sega.com/SonicRacingCrossWorlds/en/news/open-network-test.html
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2863680/ZERO_PARADES/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2058730/The_Darkest_Files/
https://www.ign.com/articles/cronos-the-new-dawn-stars-you-as-a-soul-collecting-time-traveler
https://www.ign.com/articles/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-legacy-of-the-forge-dlc-trailer-reveals-september-release-date-and-henrys-new-home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XGeJwsUP9c
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-08-21/why-silksong-team-cherry-s-sequel-to-hollow-knight-took-so-long-to-make?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc1NTc4NjYzOSwiZXhwIjoxNzU2MzkxNDM5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUMUNMTUpHUFdDUFcwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.oTN8q1m9pNWFv7oW-n3vzq-hRWAxrDx9B7iF80RdTzk&leadSource=uverify%20wall
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/yoshi-p-reveals-positive-discussions-over-nintendo-switch-2-final-fantasy-14-port/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/director-of-scrapped-the-last-of-us-online-says-his-new-us-japan-studio-is-making-a-cinematic-multiplayer-title/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-20/take-two-guts-bioshock-studio-after-a-decade-of-development?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc1NTcxNDU0NSwiZXhwIjoxNzU2MzE5MzQ1LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUMUIxVEZHUFFRN1cwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.zVepbosqQPRpkHaMvUcaBAlKk73_0IkMGOvNKaKU6mE&leadSource=uverify%20wall
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNjJspJsFh5/?igsh=MXQ1aDB1ZmtycjV5dA%3D%3D
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/dragon-age-and-gears-of-war-headline-xbox-game-pass-august-line-up/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-is-officially-getting-halo-content-in-the-form-of-helldivers-collab/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/its-almost-showtime-for-overwatch-2s-new-persona-collab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtkHiB7WKf4

Episode 47.5 - REVIEW - Matchmaker: Dungeon Heart

Thanks to Ghost Moth, True Avatars has received a review code for this Match-3/Dating Sim/RPG mashup.
Come hear Zoey’s thoughts on this addictive queer game!
 
Note: I forgot to mention that the voice acting is also wonderful!
 
Link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=238zmGuqZm4