True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

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/

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/

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

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

It was a slower news week – speculation about Sony leaving the console business (maybe??), Dragon Age is probably not getting any remasters in the near future, there were layoffs because why wouldn’t there be, and Ratatan (the Patapon spiritual successor) has a new release date.
What wasn’t slower was all the news about the payment processors censoring video games. Hint: it’s escalating exactly as we expect.
But this week I’m joined by Zoe Straw who brings along her colleague Betty to discuss everything!
Betty and Zoe also give insights on the game they recently helped release into early access (Aloft), including the user experience and user interface side of things (Betty is a UI/UX designer!), advice for aspiring UI/UX designers, and what “juice” means in the games industry.
 
CONTENT WARNING: at the 20:35 mark there is a brief mention of suicide, and the payment processor discussion includes darker topics such as sexual assault and child abuse. We also discuss gender reassignment surgery briefly at the beginning of the show (non-explicit).
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:15:51 - News
00:35:49 - Payment Processor Censorship Update
01:05:10 - Queer Coworkers and Their Insights
01:34:27 - Queer Game of the Week: Disco Elysium
 
This episode was recorded on August 16 2025.
 
Sources: 
https://x.com/genki_jpn/status/1953483758667170146
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pd9OG3HmN0&ab_channel=MrMattyPlays
https://bsky.app/profile/mikebithell.bsky.social/post/3lvvmqk6r7c2b
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/patapons-delayed-spiritual-successor-ratatan-gets-a-new-early-access-release-date/
https://theintercept.com/2024/08/16/project-2025-russ-vought-porn-ban/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/1mkha72/russ_vought_is_behind_the_latest_push_threatening/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0noIS9lmR0Y
https://transnews.network/p/i-feel-violated-queer-creators-lose-livelihoods-in-itch-io-bans
https://krispycat.itch.io/
https://thisweekinvideogames.com/news/zoom-platform-games-payment-processor-rules-could-lead-to-further-delistings/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vl57n74pqo
https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/extending-our-built-in-protections-to-more-teens-on-youtube/
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-formally-asked-overturn-landmark-same-sex/story?id=124465302

Cleo is back from episode 43 and this week we’re talking about something this podcast has sorely neglected: Soulslikes! I’m certain it’s just an oversight and not because the podcast hostess has a deep seated fear of difficult games…
We talk about Bloodborne, the recently released Elden Ring: Nightreign, Nintendo’s new Fromsoft exclusive (The Duskbloods), and why queer people play Soulslike games.
We also catch up on a bunch of headlines, including 2 Nintendo Directs, 2 indie gaming events, queer game updates for the Nintendo Switch 2, and an important update regarding the payment processor censorship scandal (we will probably do a weekly check-in going forward).
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:05:22 - News
00:59:48 - Soulslikes Discussion
 
This episode was recorded on August 8 2025.
 
Queer indies discussed:
Bits & Bops: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929290/Bits__Bops/
Dead Finger Dice: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3512300/Dead_Finger_Dice/
I Write Games Not Tragedies: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3396670/I_Write_Games_Not_Tragedies/
Demonschool: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/Demonschool
 
Sources: 
https://bitsummit.org/en/
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/bitsummit2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZoLrfLcIVg
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/tactical-rpg-demonschool-finally-gets-a-launch-date-and-its-real-soon
https://herdling.game/
https://www.ballxpit.com/
https://www.rpgsite.net/news/18109-neverway-nintendo-switch-pc-release-2026-indie-world-trailer
https://necrosoftgames.com/demonschool/#game-details
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/call-of-duty-workers-at-raven-secure-first-union-contract-with-microsoft/
https://x.com/borderlands/status/1947705151093084488?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/07/assassins-creed-shadows-switch-2-rating-spotted-online
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/guilty-gear-switch-edition-update-and-dlc-arriving-fall-2025
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/08/apex-legends-switch-2-performance-and-resolution-upgrade-detailed
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/deltarune-topped-switch-2-digital-charts-in-june-while-mario-kart-world-dominated-in-active-players/
https://www.virtuosgames.com/news/adapting-for-the-future-of-game-development/
https://x.com/SuperMGames/status/1947650822768132211
https://www.ign.com/articles/splitgate-2-will-go-back-to-beta-to-undergo-a-massive-rework-amid-more-layoffs-and-splitgate-1-shutdown
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-concedes-that-the-outer-worlds-2-retail-price-was-too-high
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/07/28/xbox-gamescom-2025/
https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-is-suing-tencent-over-shameless-horizon-knock-off-game-light-of-motiram
https://automaton-media.com/en/news/nier-creator-speaks-out-against-payment-processors-pressuring-japanese-adult-content-platforms/
https://bsky.app/profile/ebihimes.bsky.social/post/3luoe7z2zps2d
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/itchio-are-seeking-out-new-payment-processors-who-are-more-comfortable-with-adult-material
https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content#addendum-faq
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/itch-io-is-relisting-free-nsfw-content-today-but-paid-content-remains-delisted-for-now/

This week I have a less conventional interview — a spoilercast — with the lead developer of Misc. A Tiny Tale: Michael Pearce!
Misc. A Tiny Tale is the recently released 3D platformer-collectathon inspired by games like Chibi Robo and Super Mario Sunshine, and Michael is joining me to discuss everything we can fit into 90 minutes.
We chat about the “miscellaneous” character design, the narrator, game mechanics, music, speedrunning, the ending, and bringing his dream to life!
Plus maybe some hints at more tiny tales in the future…
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:24 - Spoilercast with Michael Pearce
 
This episode was recorded on July 9 2025.
 
***Also contains spoilers for the ending of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
 
Misc. A Tiny Tale: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1308940/Misc_A_Tiny_Tale/

This week I took a break from news (I’m moving!) and interviewed betalars, the lead dev behind Frame of Mind: A game of thoughts. This is a point-and-click cosy game about processing one’s own thoughts with a unique “mind board” style of gameplay. Neurodivergence, accessibility, and queerness are all very important elements in the design, too.
betalars has a lot of amazing insights, including what it’s like to develop games as a neurodivergent person, building a scene around music and ambience, and changing the gameplay to suit players’ needs.
There is also a very interesting gameplay mechanic that manifests as you progress through the story!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:07 - Interview with betalars
 
This episode was recorded on July 20 2025.
 
Frame of Mind: A game of thoughts: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2515480/Frame_of_Mind__A_game_of_thoughts/

This week, Steam was forced to removed a bunch of overly explicit games at the behest of Visa and Mastercard, the two most important payment processors that allow Steam to make money.
The games that were removed were not queer (they were of the much more “aggressive” variety) — but where is the line drawn? How long before queer games are equated in the same breath as games that are actually explicit? Will Visa and Mastercard force Steam to purge games with the LGBTQ+ tag?
This subject matter is heavy and this episode contains a content warning before the discussion.
In the first half of the episode, we discuss what we’ve been playing (including Donkey Kong Bananza!) and the news.
Headlines include: a release year for The Last of Us Season 3, Donkey Kong is getting his own movie, Nintendo has found their Link and Zelda for the live action Legend of Zelda movie, Cyberpunk 2077 got a surprise content update, some disappointing AI news, and much more!
Joining me for all of this is Lloyd_Lloydster and newcomer Cleo, who also brings our Queer Game of the Week.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:06:08 - What We’ve Been Playing
00:28:00 - News
00:57:22 - Is this our last chance to play queer games on Steam?
01:43:19 - Queer Game of the Week: Tell Me Why
 
This episode was recorded on July 19 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Unpacking (from 01:27:45 to 01:28:56)
 
Sources:
https://game8.co/games/Donkey-Kong-Bananza/archives/537239
https://publicrecords.copyright.gov/detailed-record/rmm_voyager_V01503556900000
https://deadline.com/2025/01/shrek-5-minions-3-release-dates-1236254122/
https://x.com/nintendo/status/1945433161124688335?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-last-of-us-season-3-planned-for-2027-and-could-be-the-series-end-hbo-boss-says
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/assassins-creed-live-action-series-netflix-1236463572/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/steam-games-disclosing-generative-ai-use-are-up-800-this-year/
https://mobilegamer.biz/laid-off-king-staff-set-to-be-replaced-by-the-ai-tools-they-helped-build-say-sources/
https://x.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1945287268748361864
https://www.youtube.com/live/aFLKoZaHak8
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/7-months-after-cyberpunks-last-update-yet-more-new-content-has-been-revealed/
https://www.reddit.com/r/GirlGamers/s/1iP8uKRjrc
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/gettingstarted/onboarding
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/07/valve-gets-pressured-by-payment-processors-with-a-new-rule-for-game-devs-and-various-adult-games-removed/
https://www.newsweek.com/why-visa-mastercard-being-blamed-onlyfans-banning-explicit-content-pornography-1621570
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-whistleblower-says-mastercard-visa-failed-stop-payments-child-sex-abuse-2025-01-24/
https://19thnews.org/2024/08/project-2025-anti-trans-policies-impact-families/
https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/news/whats-happening-with-us-book-bans-under-trump
https://publishyourpurpose.com/blog/why-book-banning-bad/
https://hmd.org.uk/resource/6-may-1933-looting-of-the-institute-of-sexology/
https://www.them.us/story/stonewall-bisexuals

Thanks to Tinyware Games, True Avatars has received a review code for the mascot platformer-inspired Misc. A Tiny Tale.
Come hear Zoey’s thoughts on this adorable (and queer) game!