True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

Another busy week of headlines: Stardew Valley sequel talks, Level-5 weighs in on AI usage in the industry, GTA 6 gets a new trailer, renewed hope for a Chrono Trigger remake, Dragon Age development drama, and more!
I also highlighted a bunch of indie queer games that are in development, some of which are coming out very soon. All of these games sound amazing, so please tune in to hear more about them!
In the second half, Graeme returns to the show to discuss why he thinks Playdead’s puzzle platformer, Inside, is a queer game…?
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:07 - What I’ve Been Playing
00:05:10 - News
00:42:07 - Inside Discussion
 
This episode was recorded on May 9 and 11 2025.
 
Indie Games mentioned:
Ikuma: The Frozen Compass: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1728620/IKUMA__The_Frozen_Compass/
Unbeatable: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2240620/UNBEATABLE/
Usual June: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2702430/Usual_June/
Seasonala Cemetery: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3272690/Seasonala_Cemetery/
Battle Suit Aces: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2870530/Battle_Suit_Aces/
Wander Stars: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1575810/Wander_Stars/
Tales of Seikyu: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2340520/Tales_of_Seikyu/
Quantum Witch: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3100650/Quantum_Witch/
 
Sources:
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/triple-i-initiative
https://www.mooneyestudios.com/press/ikuma
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45348822-Galaxies-Showcase/sale/galaxies
https://blog.playstation.com/2024/08/19/unbeatable-new-song-and-immersive-ps5-gameplay-detailed-for-the-rhythm-based-anime-adventure/
https://www.ludonarracon.com/
https://gabbydarienzo.itch.io/seasonala-cemetery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bza7pWUHn0Q
https://papercastlegames.itch.io/wander-stars
https://www.fellowtravellerpresskit.com/wander-stars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm68MEd3d5c
https://x.com/rockstargames/status/1920181314092765494?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/05/stardew-valley-creator-open-to-sequel-but-admits-updates-are-much-easier
https://toby.fangamer.com/newsletters/release-time/
https://www.gamereactor.es/exclusiva-yuji-horii-contempla-un-remake-de-chrono-trigger-1407853/
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/uMHRue0UUh
https://blog.playstation.com/2025/05/07/welcome-teamlfg-to-the-playstation-studios-family/
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/05/05/xbox-asian-pacific-islander-heritage-month-2025/
https://gaymingmag.com/2025/05/yokai-fantasy-life-sim-tales-of-seikyu-launches-may-21st-on-steam-early-access/
https://automaton-media.com/en/news/level-5-ceo-says-games-are-now-being-made-80-90-by-ai-making-aesthetic-sense-a-must-for-developers/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/09/level-5s-new-yo-kai-watch-holy-horror-mansion-teaser-supposedly-features-ai-artwork
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/05/nintendo-says-ai-generated-images-were-not-used-in-mario-kart-world
https://kotaku.com/dragon-age-veilguard-anthem-mark-darrah-youtube-bioware-1851779569
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/quantum-witch-a-plot-former-inspired-by-its-creators-escape-from-a-cult-is-out-next-month/

It’s been a busy time for news and I’ve had to cut a bunch of headlines in recent episodes, so Amy-Lynn joined me to cover everything I missed!
We talk about the Game Freak hacker (finally), EA layoffs and another Titanfall cancelation, Polygon has been purchased by Game Rant’s owner (I mistakenly refer to them as Valnut), Nintendo reinforces their desire for strong diversity practice, and we also swap Switch 2 pre-order stories!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:48 - Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-order Trauma Dump
00:23:12 - News Backlog
 
This episode was recorded on May 7 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.polygon.com/pokemon/561817/pokemon-teraleak-nintendo-discord-subpoena
https://x.com/pory_leeks/status/1914434500676747489?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-cuts-around-300-roles-including-roughly-100-at-respawn
https://www.ign.com/articles/apex-legends-and-star-wars-jedi-dev-respawn-cancels-another-incubation-project-around-100-employees-impacted
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-development/apex-legends-writer-gets-laid-off-24-hours-after-the-character-she-wrote-is-revealed-because-thats-what-the-games-industry-in-2025-looks-like/
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/polygon-sale-valnet/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/flappy-bird-is-back-promising-no-web3-or-crypto-content-despite-the-team-behind-it/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/04/sea-of-stars-throes-of-the-watchmaker-dlc-finally-scores-a-release-date
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-says-it-was-the-top-publisher-on-the-playstation-store-by-pre-orders-in-q1-2025/
https://gonintendo.com/contents/48098-nintendo-says-diversity-is-important-to-the-company-and-they-will-continue-efforts
https://mobilesyrup.com/2025/05/07/eb-games-canada-president-jim-tyo-interview/

This week Ekamy and Lloyd_Lloydster join me to discuss what we’ve been playing and also cover the last two weeks of headlines.
In terms of news: Discord might see some major changes soon (for the worse). GTA VI has been delayed while Ghost of Tsushima gets a release date — but what do these things have to do with the recent Xbox price increases? Plus, Borderlands 4 had a State of Play and Oblivion Remastered was shadow dropped!
After the break, we take turns pitching the queer video games we most want to see adapted into movies or TV shows… which ones did we pick?
To cap off the show, Lloyd brings his recommendation for Queer Game of the Week: Boyfriend Dungeon!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:18 - What We’ve Been Playing
00:19:12 - News
01:13:50 - Most Wanted Queer Games as Movies/TV Shows
01:43:35 - Queer Game of the Week: Boyfriend Dungeon
 
This episode was recorded on May 4 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/news/654594/discord-new-ceo-jason-citron-humam-sakhnini
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/03/04/activision-blizzard-employee-suicide-lawsuit/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ghost-of-yotei-release-date-announced/
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2025/04/ghost-of-yoteis-ps5-price-provokes-fresh-switch-2-fury
https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-delayed-to-may-2026
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sonic-x-shadow-generations-will-be-a-switch-2-launch-game-sega-announces/
https://www.ign.com/articles/fbc-firebreak-remedys-co-op-fps-set-in-the-world-of-control-has-a-release-date
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5s-classic-playstation-themes-are-coming-back-this-week/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2623190/The_Elder_Scrolls_IV_Oblivion_Remastered/
https://mobilesyrup.com/2025/05/01/xbox-increased-prices-consoles-controllers-games-worldwide-canada/
https://www.polygon.com/pokemon/561817/pokemon-teraleak-nintendo-discord-subpoena
https://insider-gaming.com/unannounced-blade-runner-game-canceled-supermassive-games/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KlRBwf3sjY
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/split-fiction-movie-sydney-sweeney-jon-m-chu-video-game-1236377192/

Please forgive me for that dorky, bad-joke title, True Avatars!
I’m just really excited because this week, I went to the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event in Toronto and had the chance to test out the Switch 2 over a month before its official release!
I also got to play a bunch of games, including Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, Drag x Drive, and so much more! Some of my opinions were changed, and others were cemented — hit that play button to hear all of my thoughts!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:14 - General Event Info & Console Thoughts
00:14:28 - Mario Kart World
00:22:43 - Donkey Kong Bananza
00:27:43 - Metroid Prime 4
00:31:50 - Drag x Drive
00:36:12 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
00:38:31 - Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV
00:41:42 - Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
00:46:15 - GameCube NSO
00:48:47 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World
00:51:51 - Split Fiction
00:53:37 - Overall Thoughts
 
This episode was recorded on April 27 2025.
 
A couple of quick notes I missed while recording:
-  In Mario Kart World, the feather item I mentioned is designed to help you jump higher than normal
-  Jaggies are the rough, pixelated edges you can see on objects on the screen when the game resolution is lower than the screen resolution
-  It’s hard to explain, but the original Super Mario Bros game from 1983 is playable in Welcome Tour, but it’s played at its original, low resolution making it appear tiny in comparison to the 4K resolution of the screen. It appears as a tiny box and as you move through the level, the whole level stays on the screen as you progress, to show you exactly how big 4K is compared to the original NES’ resolution (it really is better if you see it)

Nicole joins me for this week’s double whammy segments: discussing that underwhelming(??) Mario Kart World Direct and the exciting premiere for The Last of Us Season 2. We share our thoughts, criticisms, and all the queer goodness.
It’s also a busy week for news: Dead by Daylight introduces the game’s first playable trans character, PlayStation Plus prices are going up in several countries, the final major patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available on all platforms — and so much more!
Queer Game of the Week also returns, and I make a case for the Final Fantasy VII remake (soon-to-be) trilogy.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:50 - News
00:17:00 - What We’ve Been Playing
00:22:30 - Mario Kart World Direct
00:45:21 - The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere
01:05:06 - Queer Game of the Week: Final Fantasy VII Remake + Rebirth
 
This episode was recorded on April 19 and 20 2025.
 
Sources:
https://baldursgate3.game/news/the-final-patch-new-subclasses-photo-mode-and-cross-play_138
https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1912572302556078316?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://gamerant.com/playstation-plus-price-hike-canada/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZRGDZCl9pg
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/metal-gear-in-concert-coming-to-london-later-this-year/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/niantic-is-laying-off-68-employees-after-selling-its-game-business-for-3-5-billion
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-witcher-4-beta-test-invites-are-a-scam-cd-projekt-red-warns/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZblwGH-C7eg
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/metal-gear-in-concert-coming-to-london-later-this-year/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq4uCJDwO9U
https://www.ign.com/articles/our-big-nintendo-switch-2-interview-with-nintendo-of-americas-bill-trinen

This week Amy-Lynn joins me to catch up on what we’ve been playing (and want to play)!
In particular, we discuss Spilled!, which is a recently released cosy game from a queer dev about cleaning up oil spills! It’s really good, and True Avatars is here with many of the reasons you need to check it out.
We also cover a bunch of queer headlines! The Last of Us TV series has been renewed for Season 3 early, Sims 4 receives a free queer content update, Hades II and Cyberpunk 2077 have some Nintendo Switch 2 news, and we discuss what’s going wrong with PlayStation’s upcoming concerts.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:21 - What We’ve Been Playing
00:23:41 - News
 
This episode was recorded on April 11 2025.
 
Sources:
Spilled!: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2240080/Spilled/
https://x.com/lentegamedev/status/1909633823362417074?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://x.com/naughty_dog/status/1909999973258719307?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.gamingbible.com/news/tv-and-film/last-of-us-tv-not-extend-beyond-games-943649-20250401
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/hades-2-will-be-a-nintendo-switch-2-console-exclusive-at-launch/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/04/switch-2-allows-players-to-create-per-game-controller-profiles
https://gaymingmag.com/2025/04/sims-4-release-new-pride-ful-items-for-create-a-sim-and-build-buy-modes/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXFGmnNbp5s
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2318330/Neverway/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xboxs-big-summer-showcase-is-officially-returning-in-june/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-the-concert-is-reportedly-cancelling-numerous-tour-dates-and-delaying-others/
https://bsky.app/profile/cyberpunk.net/post/3llw6kniz4s2f

Back in Episode 24, we played several game demos during Steam Next Fest. One of those demos was “Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced,” a dystopian visual novel from Zorkie Studios with a surprising premise — what if you had the ability to approve or decline someone’s gender-affirming care?
That’s an oversimplification of the game’s narrative, but QDRP (as it’s affectionately called) is a game that’s queer through and through — and this week, I have Endellion, one of two developers making the game, here for an interview!
Endellion discusses their favourite games, what inspired QDRP’s story, how they’re designing a grim and futuristic world, and even expands the visual novel genre!
Plus, I have all the recent headlines, including the Zelda movie release date, how layoffs impacted a very popular (and recent) queer game, new accessibility tags on digital game storefronts, and the tariffs’ effect on the Nintendo Switch 2.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:46 - News
00:22:31 - Interview with Endellion of Zorkie Studios
 
This episode was recorded on April 6 2025. The interview was recorded on March 25 2025.
 
Sources:
Zelda movie release date: Nintendo Today app
https://productionlist.com/production/the-legend-of-zelda/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoVfBvxKdm0
https://www.ign.com/articles/gamestop-plans-to-close-a-significant-number-of-stores-and-invest-into-bitcoin
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/tomb-raider-studio-crystal-dynamics-has-confirmed-several-layoffs/
https://aftermath.site/gdc-awards-deck-nine-laid-off-developers-life-is-strange-double-exposure
https://accessiblegames.com/about/
https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/introducing-the-accessible-games-initiative/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendo-delays-switch-2-pre-orders-in-the-us-due-to-trump-tariffs/
https://www.ign.com/articles/esa-responds-to-trump-tariffs-if-we-think-its-just-the-switch-2-then-we-arent-taking-it-seriously

Nintendo’s Switch 2 directly finally arrived and we have all our initial thoughts and reactions in this bonus episode!
Joining me this week are Ekamy and game dev Zoe Straw as we discuss the specs, the games (which look awesome, and some of which are queer!), and the very controversial prices.
Could Nintendo be overestimating what fans are willing to pay? Are the games exciting enough to make us overlook the huge price increases? Tune in to hear our thoughts!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:58 - Nintendo Switch 2 Discussion
 
This episode was recorded on April 3 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrTVeYm4iIM
https://www.sega.com/news/sega-announces-yakuza-0-director-s-cut-raidou-remastered-puyo-puyo-tetris-2s-sonic-x-shadow
https://x.com/wario64/status/1907588922424676623
https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1907842046246953352
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/04/the-switch-2-will-emulate-switch-games-because-it-shares-no-internal-hardware-with-its-predecessor

Nintendo surprised us with a last minute Direct, a livestream focused entirely on upcoming games coming to the original Nintendo Switch. Possibly the final Switch 1-focused direct.. ever. Ekamy and Lloyd_Lloydster join me to talk about all the announcements including Metroid Prime 4, Rift of the Necrodancer (feat. Celeste!), Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (which might have gay marriage?), and Virtual Game Cards.
In the second half, we debate the thesis of an article from Xtra Magazine: “The queer fantasy of playersexuality.” What is playersexuality? Does it make a game queer, or is it queer erasure? What does the future of queer romance in video games look like? Tune in to hear our thoughts on these questions and many more!
This episode went a bit longer than expected, so Queer Game of the Week will return in Episode 28.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:17 - Nintendo Direct (March 26) Impressions
00:59:11 - The Playersexuality Debate
 
This episode was recorded on March 27 2025.
***MINOR SPOILERS for Pokémon Legends Z-A***
 
Sources:
The queer fantasy of playersexuality: https://xtramagazine.com/culture/playersexuality-gaming-queer-representation-270263
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OqoRxXUjGA
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/nintendo-apologizes-omitting-gay-marriage-tomodachi-life-n101861
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendo-small-print-suggests-some-switch-games-will-get-enhanced-switch-2-editions/
https://www.thegamer.com/best-playersexual-romance-games/

This week was packed with news: there's an update on the Scopely-Pokémon GO purchase, Ubisoft has a team of lawyers ready to deter toxic gamers, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure wins an award… but nobody is there to claim it?!
Plus, Day of the Devs just had an event in San Francisco and there were some very exciting queer indie games shown off!
In the second half of the episode, I’m joined by my friend Shivani to talk about collecting retro video games, the importance of physical media, and Queer Game of the Week!
I also just want to apologize if I seem a bit more scattered than usual, it’s been a busy month for me and I think the exhaustion is catching up a bit.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:18 - News
00:23:51 - Day of the Devs
00:36:33 - Retro Game Collecting w/Shivani
01:15:24 - Queer Game of the Week: Metal Gear Solid
 
This episode was recorded on March 22 & 23 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Metal Gear Solid franchise***
 
Day of the Devs:
Altered Alma: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2190700/Altered_Alma/
Demonschool: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/Demonschool/
Fishbowl: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638070/Fishbowl/
Bugaboo Pocket: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1985740/Bugaboo_Pocket/
Building Relationships: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2666920/Building_Relationships/
Spilled!: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2240080/Spilled/
 
Sources:
https://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-lawyers-shadows-harassment-plan/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5s-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-remake-is-still-in-development-studio-confirms/
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/lego-is-going-to-make-its-videogames-in-house-from-now-on-says-it-would-almost-rather-overinvest/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/03/eight-months-after-gamestop-shut-it-down-game-informer-is-teasing-a-comeback
https://www.polygon.com/gaming/538959/blobun-lesbian-toggle-steam-lgbtq-option-setting
https://kotaku.com/life-strange-double-exposure-award-gdc-2025-layoffs-1851771282
https://www.polygon.com/pokemon-go/541768/scopely-niantic-interview-michael-steranka
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43041140/sale/DayoftheDevs2025SanFrancisco
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2awesomestudio/altered-alma/description
https://bugaboopocket.com/press/index.php