True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

Two major topics this week, True Avatars!
Of course, we have a few smaller headlines, including the Steam Spring Sale (go pick up some queer indie games!) and the Silent Hill f reveal.
But then there’s the major headline: Amy-Lynn and Lloyd_Lloydster join me to discuss how Scopely, a predatory mobile game company that’s owned by a country with a certain concerning track record, has purchased Niantic, the owner of Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now. How will Pokémon GO change under its new owners?
In the second half, I’m joined by my partner Nicole to talk about our experience playing Split Fiction together! We share our thoughts on the exciting new co-op game from the It Takes Two devs, and what it’s like to game with your partner in a queer relationship.
Don’t forget to listen to the end for the Queer Game of the Week!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:08:43 - News
00:21:20 - Scopely Buys Pokémon GO
01:10:00 - Split Fiction
01:57:55 - Queer Game of the Week: The Quarry
 
This episode was recorded on March 14 & 15 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for the first 5 hours of Split Fiction***
 
The game mentioned by Amy-Lynn is Rise of the Golden Idol.
The game mentioned by Nicole is Strikers 1945.
 
Sources:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/03/chrono-trigger-to-celebrate-30th-anniversary-with-various-projects
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/powerwash-simulator-2-is-coming-this-year-to-ps5-xbox-series-and-pc/
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/3694679839286985808
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag157nqMV0Q
https://deadline.com/2025/03/pokemon-go-video-games-niantic-acquired-by-scopely-billion-1236324110/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Monopoly_GO/comments/18wmfr4/this_game_is_so_predatory_its_put_me_off/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Monopoly_GO/comments/16grtwf/officially_done/
https://kotaku.com/pokemon-go-scopely-niantic-saudi-arabia-monster-hunter-1851769360

Ekamy and I played a lot of queer game demos this week, as part of Steam Next Fest!
This week's headlines include the future of “The Last of Us” series, tariffs affecting physical media, Fable got delayed, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is being given out for FREE (kinda), and much more!
Steam’s Next Fest is a big deal, because there’s always lots of upcoming indie games to try — which means brand new LGBTQ+ games!! We played a bunch of them and share our thoughts! See timecodes for specific games.
ALSO: I’ve introduced a new segment going forward: Queer Game of the Week! Tune in to hear all about Ekamy’s pick, and the criteria for what qualifies! Each week, the show will highlight a different queer game, so don’t miss it!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:05 - News
00:36:56 - Steam Next Fest
00:39:04 - Truer Than You
00:43:50 - Paper Trails: A Scrapbooking Story
00:49:05 - Monster Prom 4: Monster Con
00:56:05 - Toward Dawn
01:07:15 - Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced
01:17:00 - Tempopo
01:22:43 - A Pizza Delivery
01:28:21 - Couple Maker
01:31:25 - Queer Game of the Week: Tacoma
 
This episode was recorded on March 6 2025.
 
Sources:
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/the-last-of-us-season-2-abby-video-game-changes-backlash-1236327786/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/trump-tariffs-threaten-the-future-of-physical-video-games-analyst-warns/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-trump-trade-war-deal-1.7476311
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-has-officially-delayed-fable-to-2026-its-definitely-worth-the-wait/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/warner-bros-is-reportedly-closing-three-game-studios-and-canceling-wonder-woman/
https://blog.playstation.com/2025/02/26/playstation-plus-monthly-games-for-march-dragon-age-the-veilguard-sonic-colors-ultimate-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-the-cowabunga-collection/
https://x.com/concernedape/status/1894884302552436799?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/activision-taps-ai-for-sneak-peek-at-possible-guitar-hero-call-of-duty-and-crash-bandicoot-games/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sega-promises-fewer-new-games-but-deeper-investments-in-sonic-atlus-and-like-a-dragon/

Pokémon Day finally arrived, and we’re REALLY excited for Legends Z-A, the Paris-inspired followup to one of the best Pokémon games in recent memory.
Amy-Lynn and Nicole join me as we talk about our favourite moments from the Pokémon Presents overall, plus a lot of speculation and theories as we digest our first look at gameplay for Legends Z-A.
Unfortunately, this week was super busy, so I’ll be back next week to discuss the Steam Next Fest and the other headlines I missed. Thank you for your patience, True Avatars!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and Pokémon Presents Thoughts
00:20:54 - Legends Z-A Discussion
 
This episode was recorded on March 2 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7FTkUFU7nw

The Amies are back and we’re talking about all the news from the last two weeks, including "The Last of Us" Season 2's premiere date, another “Deltarune” update, surprising layoffs on “Marvel Rivals,” and Nintendo ending its loyalty program.
In the second half, we’re discussing initial thoughts on the new bisexual AF game “Lost Records: Bloom & Rage” (from the company that brought us “Life is Strange”), the network test for “Sonic Racing CrossWorlds,” and our predictions for the Pokémon Presents that will stream on Pokémon Day.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:06:11 - News
00:47:13 - Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
01:15:10 - Sonic Racing CrossWorlds (Network Test)
01:41:40 - Pokémon Day Predictions
 
This episode was recorded on February 23 2025.
 
Also, here are the details for the five Psychroma Steam keys, details/enter here:
https://bsky.app/profile/trueavatars.bsky.social/post/3limzhrriek2s
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGTnYPsJ1CO/?igsh=ZTQ3aXJuNmFtc2h2
https://x.com/trueavatars/status/1892656365480382755?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
 
Sources:
https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1892325222931382761?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_fmEDsQPh4&ab_channel=BandaiNamcoEntertainmentAmerica
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/02/dont-worry-dragon-quest-xii-is-still-in-development
https://www.fantasylife.jp/fli/en/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrpGYTlCjNQ&ab_channel=SupergiantGames
https://mynintendonews.com/2025/02/16/xbox-to-show-nintendo-and-playstation-logos-in-all-future-showcases/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvel-rivals-support-studio-director-shares-that-he-and-his-team-were-just-laid-off.1112481/
https://bsky.app/profile/tobyfox.undertale.com/post/3lidfymh7lk2p
https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-on-potential-impact-of-u-s-tariffs-switch/
https://my.nintendo.com/news/97495f34d09fb076
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45255/~/nintendo-switch-game-vouchers-faq

In the first segment, I discuss the PlayStation State of Play and all the games shown off, including “Sonic Racing CrossWorlds,” “Borderlands 4,” “Darwin’s Paradox,” and “Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.”
Then later on I’m joined by Toronto-based developer Rocket Adrift — Sloane Smith, Lindsay Rollins, and Titus McNally — for an in-depth interview on “Psychroma” and “Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance.”
Rocket Adrift are a team of trans, black, and neurodivergent game devs, and their games heavily reflect the diversity and experiences of their team.
We discuss what made Raptor Boyfriend (a visual novel dating sim) and Psychroma (a psychological horror side-scroller) so different, the inspiration behind the cyberpunk themes in Psychroma, what it’s like to localize a game into 16 different languages, and much more — they even tease their next game!
 
00:00:00 - PlayStation State of Play
00:31:14 - Interview with Rocket Adrift
 
This episode was recorded on February 13 and 16 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Psychroma***
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQtPbTOhLEc&ab_channel=PlayStation
https://blog.playstation.com/2025/02/12/sonic-racing-crossworlds-gameplay-revealed-new-mechanics-detailed/
https://www.sonicstadium.org/news/games/sonic-racing-crossworlds-to-have-largest-sonic-racer-roster-including-sage-will-have-sega-characters-r2817/

This week I’m joined by a returning guest, Lloyd_Lloydster (he/him), who’s here to help me cover a busy week of news stories! Headlines include how tariffs might affect the games industry, lots of Nintendo Switch 2 news, and how “Kingdom Come Deliverance II” has some queer representation! Plus so much more.
In the second half, it’s just me, as I talk about my thoughts and reactions to playing two very cool and very queer video games: “Psychroma” and “Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance.”
These games were developed by a small indie team called Rocket Adrift, who consist of trans, black, and neurodivergent game devs!
I’ve had a bunch of requests for more queer game recommendations, and both games are at the top of my list — come listen and find out why!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:10:38 - News
00:57:57 - Psychroma Discussion
01:18:27 - Raptor Boyfriend Discussion
01:36:58 - Psychroma SPOILERS
 
This episode was recorded on February 9 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Psychroma***
 
Sources:
https://www.ign.com/articles/trumps-tariffs-on-video-games-would-cause-significant-harm-to-everyday-americans-esa-warns
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/switch-2-price/
https://www.nintendo.com/successor/en-us/nintendo-direct/index.html
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2025027803
https://x.com/stealth40k/status/1887606216609706170?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.theesa.com/entertainment-software-association-unveils-iicon-game-changing-thought-leader-summit-to-harness-the-power-of-interactive-entertainment-and-shape-the-future-of-business-and-culture/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/take-two-ceo-says-ai-could-increase-employment-and-productivity-as-long-as-ip-isnt-infringed/
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2s-developer-is-fed-up-of-being-dragged-into-the-culture-war-it-seems-like-someone-is-always-trying-to-brand-us-somehow-and-we-are-just-trying-to-make-a-cool-videogame/

My oldest and gayest friend, Graeme, is back! Graeme is a gay man and he previously joined me in Episode 2 (which you should definitely go back and check out)!
In the first chunk, it’s just me as I cover games I’ve been playing and the not-so-great news about Bioware this week.
Graeme pops in for the second chunk, and he and I talk about how video games helped us explore our sexuality and gender (respectively) before we came out of the closet.
Our conversation hits a lot of interesting points, including how non-queer video games can offer queer ideas through “otherness," how they can help you take steps to come out, and even help you discover the kind of queer person you want to be.
We also discuss how the closet restricted our interests and hobbies, which included video games.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What I’ve Been Playing
00:13:45 - News
00:32:40 - Discovering Our Identities through Video Games
 
This episode was recorded on February 1 and February 2 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Final Fantasy XIII***
 
Sources:
https://blog.bioware.com/2025/01/29/bioware-studio-update/
https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-effect-5-bioware-doesnt-require-support-from-the-full-studio-ea-moves-some-staff-to-other-teams
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/Bp6vu2dqtI
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-01-31/electronic-arts-slashes-bioware-after-dragon-age-sales-miss
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/astro-bot-and-black-myth-wukong-lead-the-game-developers-choice-awards-nominations/
https://gamechoiceawards.com/categories
https://deadline.com/2025/01/beyond-two-souls-video-game-television-series-elliot-page-pageboy-1236267129/

This week I welcome Lloyd_Lloydster! Lloyd is a trans man and Twitch streamer who socially transitioned in real time in front of his audience.
In the first half of the episode, it’s just me, Zoey, as I talk about the games I’ve played, and the news. Headlines include the cancelation of Earthblade from Extremely OK Games (Celeste), the GLAAD Media Awards, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s underperformance, and a lot more.
In the second half, Lloyd joins me to talk about keeping himself safe online, finding his community on streams, and the joys of exploring his gender identity through video games.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What I’ve Been Playing
00:11:57 - News
00:32:07 - Interview with Lloyd_Lloydster
 
This episode was recorded on January 23 and January 26 2025.
 
***SPOILERS: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Super Mario Odyssey***
 
Sources:
https://exok.com/posts/2025-01-22-earthblade-final-update/
https://glaad.org/mediaawards/36/nominees/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0D-0jraRZQ&ab_channel=GameTrailers
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sonic-4-release-date-march-2027-1236280697/
https://dont-nod.com/en/lost-records-bloom-and-rage-faq/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySygveWfuKE&ab_channel=Xbox
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/there-is-hope-that-gta-6-will-cost-as-much-as-100-says-analyst/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-blames-underperformance-of-dragon-age-and-ea-fc25-as-it-lowers-forecast/

Zoe Straw is back, and this week she’s here to talk about a game she worked on called Aloft (the new cosy survival game from Astrolabe Interactive). Come hear about what it’s like to launch a game in early access!
But wait, there’s more! Zoe also recently participated in a game jam, where she developed an arcade shooter with a unique gravity-based mechanic. She speaks in depth about what it was like to develop this game over the span of three(!) days.
As usual, we also discuss the news (very Microsoft-centered this week), what we’ve been playing, and Zoe also talks about a prototype for Naughty Gear, a Christmas-themed parody of Metal Gear Solid.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:14:36 - News
00:28:20 - Aloft launches in early access
00:55:58 - Zoe’s Game Jam
01:16:28 - Naughty Gear (and more Game Jam)
 
This episode was recorded on January 18 2025.
 
Gravity Strike: https://zoeleet.itch.io/gravity-strike
 
Sources:
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-and-several-la-based-playstation-studios-donate-to-wildfire-relief-efforts/
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/24338778/microsoft-xbox-handheld-pc-gaming
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-makes-layoffs-across-several-divisions-including-gaming/

Hi True Avatars, and welcome to your first ever bonus episode!
Join me and the Amies as we discuss everything from the big Switch 2 reveal trailer, plus some more rumours and speculation… and of course, the new Mario Kart!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:32:10 - New Mario Kart discussion
 
This episode was recorded on January 17 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itpcsQQvgAQ&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica
https://x.com/pldhnet/status/1879924762539094509?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://x.com/pierre485_/status/1879883084763676862?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/nintendo-switch-2-experience/?srsltid=AfmBOopR-svolE6s1z86WU8f9UKpA67SISq8iSuXUWlCSNZWV2QdqEGZ
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/switch-2-tour-schedule/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-16/nintendo-to-unveil-next-generation-switch-2-in-april
https://x.com/pierre485_/status/1879910137781219776?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/a-nintendo-direct-focusing-on-games-for-the-original-switch-is-coming-next-month-its-claimed/