Emotive Pixels — Marginalia on Videogames
By Nate, Craig, Will, and sometimes Pauly
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Category: Video Games
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Episodes: 108
Description
A one-game-at-a-time deep dive podcast where we treat videogames like texts worth reading closely. Each episode, we pick a game, spoil its story, and dig into it the way you would with a book club—except we’re usually reading an academic book alongside it and using it as a lens for discussion. Season 5 focuses on AAA games and what that label actually means in practice. Friendly to listeners who haven’t played the games, but unapologetically spoil-heavy and discussion-driven.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — The beauty of longevity
|
Sep 07, 2026 |
|
Q-Up — Art Happened — What is a game?
|
Aug 10, 2026 |
|
Stellar Blade — K-Feminism 101 (AAA in 2026: First Studio Releases)
|
Apr 07, 2026 |
|
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden & Dragon Age: The Veilguard (AAA in 2026: Polish)
|
Mar 02, 2026 |
|
Book Club: Ender’s Game — Getting to Know Will
|
Feb 02, 2026 |
|
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Wanderwunder (AAA in 2025: Ludomaximalism)
|
Jan 05, 2026 |
|
Blue Prince — Three Mediocre Mechanics (AAA? in 2025: Death of Monoculture)
|
Dec 01, 2025 |
|
Emotive Pixels Episode 100: The Bracket Battle (Part 1)
|
Nov 10, 2025 |
|
Metaphor: ReFantazio — Political Personas (AAA in 2025: JRPGs)
|
Jul 07, 2025 |
|
Baldur's Gate 3 — Mile Wide, Inch Deep (AAA in 2025: Awards & Expectations)
|
May 05, 2025 |
|
Cyberpunk 2077 — Singleplayer Live Services (AAA in 2025: Fidelity & Launch)
|
Apr 10, 2025 |
|
Pixel Array V (ft. UFO 50, Astro Bot, Home Safety Hotline, and more!)
|
Mar 03, 2025 |
|
Immortals of Aveum — Immoral Birds (AAA in 2025: What is AA?)
|
Feb 03, 2025 |
|
Caravan SandWitch: French Touch
|
Jan 06, 2025 |
|
Still Wakes the Deep: Oil Rig Runaway
|
Dec 02, 2024 |
|
Silent Hill 2 Remake: Spoopy Szn '24
|
Oct 31, 2024 |
|
Pacific Drive: Rattle Royale
|
Oct 07, 2024 |
|
Harold Halibut: Capitalism in Clay
|
Sep 02, 2024 |
|
Elden Ring: Neoliberal Dismay
|
Aug 05, 2024 |
|
Indika: How not to be a nun
|
Jul 01, 2024 |
|
Pixel Array IV (ft. Chess for Idiots, The Thaumaturge, Red Dead Redemption 2, and more!)
|
May 28, 2024 |
|
Balatro: Solitaire-y Runs 🃏
|
May 13, 2024 |
|
VR DJing, racing sims, Persona 5, Jett: The Far Shore, Foam Stars — Pixel Array III
|
Apr 01, 2024 |
|
The Talos Principle 2: Megastructures and Philosophy
|
Mar 18, 2024 |
|
Forza Motorsport: Criticism Chicane
|
Feb 05, 2024 |
|
Pixel Array II (ft. Playdate & 2023 GOTYs)
|
Jan 03, 2024 |
|
Alan Wake 2: Postmodernism 101
|
Dec 05, 2023 |
|
Dead Space Remake: Glen Schofield's Delight & Despair (ft. The Callisto Protocol)
|
Nov 06, 2023 |
|
Oxenfree II: Confused about Parentage
|
Oct 02, 2023 |
|
Pixel Array I (ft. Stranger of Paradise, Cult of the Lamb, and more!)
|
Sep 04, 2023 |
|
Humanity: Mizuguchi's genre-morphing puzzler 🐕
|
Aug 07, 2023 |
|
Alan Wake: Quantifying dickishness 🔦
|
Jul 03, 2023 |
|
Hi-Fi Rush: Why did you have to murder Tango?!
|
Apr 03, 2023 |
|
Pentiment: A historical, theological perspective
|
Mar 13, 2023 |
|
Half-Life Alyx: Headcrab VR
|
Mar 06, 2023 |
|
Need For Speed Unbound: Unexpected politics
|
Feb 20, 2023 |
|
Gods of War for Outsiders
|
Feb 14, 2023 |
|
Disco Elysium: Views from the East
|
Dec 01, 2022 |
|
Immortality, part 2: Finding Meaning
|
Nov 20, 2022 |
|
Immortality: A love letter to film 📽️
|
Oct 27, 2022 |
|
Final Fantasy VII Remake & Intergrade: Fandom's delight
|
Jun 17, 2022 |
|
In Space With Markiplier: Who doesn't love Markiplier?
|
Jun 06, 2022 |
|
Psychonauts 2: Gaming mental health
|
May 25, 2022 |
|
Return of the Obra Dinn: Disappointing Lucas Pope
|
May 07, 2022 |
|
Paradise Killer: Citypop Detective
|
Feb 10, 2022 |
|
What Remains of Edith Finch: The best WAlking simulator
|
Sep 04, 2021 |
|
Death Stranding: Prophesizing pandemic problems
|
Aug 14, 2021 |
|
GeoGuessr vs. Microsoft Flight Simulator: Processing 2020's vicarious travel experiences
|
Jul 24, 2021 |
|
Kentucky Route Zero: The messy heart of American recession
|
Jun 26, 2021 |
|
SnowRunner: Beautiful vistas, large trucks, dramatic development
|
May 23, 2021 |
|
The Talos Principle vs. The Witness: Dueling Puzzie Titans
|
May 08, 2021 |
|
Need For Speed (2015)
|
May 01, 2021 |
|
The Fallout 4 rantcast
|
Apr 24, 2021 |
|
Horizon Zero Dawn: Robot Dinosaur Fun Time
|
Apr 17, 2021 |
|
Virginia (2016)
|
Apr 10, 2021 |
|
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016)
|
Apr 03, 2021 |
|
Never Alone/Kisima Inŋitchuŋa: Iñupiat co-op storytime
|
Mar 27, 2021 |
|
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010)
|
Mar 20, 2021 |
|
Firewatch (2016)
|
May 18, 2017 |
|
The Beginner's Guide spoilercast - with a psychologist!
|
Feb 13, 2017 |
|
The Stanley Parable (2011)
|
Feb 04, 2017 |
|
The Persona 4 rantcast
|
Jan 11, 2017 |
|
Mass Effect 1 (2007)
|
Dec 30, 2016 |
|
Actual book club: Mass Effect: Revelation - A Mass Effect book!
|
Dec 16, 2016 |
|
Papers, Please (2013)
|
Dec 04, 2016 |
|
PixelJunk Eden (2008) vs. Electronic Super Joy (2013)
|
Oct 09, 2016 |
|
Pokémon Go (2016)
|
Jul 25, 2016 |
|
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime — A great couch co-op game for partners
|
Jul 17, 2016 |
|
HackNet (2015)
|
Jun 16, 2016 |
|
NetHack (1987)
|
May 29, 2016 |
|
Motorstorm and Driveclub (RIP Evolution Studios)
|
Apr 12, 2016 |
|
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011)
|
Mar 29, 2016 |
|
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2013)
|
Mar 08, 2016 |
|
Until Dawn (2015)
|
Nov 17, 2015 |
|
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
|
Nov 10, 2015 |
|
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter vs. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: Comparing shiny apparitions
|
Oct 27, 2015 |
|
Sins of a Solar Empire (2008-2011)
|
Sep 29, 2015 |
|
Bastion (2011)
|
Sep 22, 2015 |
|
South Park: The Stick of Truth (2014)
|
Sep 15, 2015 |
|
Fallout Shelter (2015)
|
Aug 11, 2015 |
|
Her Story (2015)
|
Aug 04, 2015 |
|
Frog Fractions (2012)
|
Jul 28, 2015 |
|
Distant Worlds: Seattle Symphony Review
|
Jul 15, 2015 |
|
Device 6 spoilercast - An ergodic iOS text game
|
Jul 14, 2015 |
|
Shovel Knight (2014)
|
Jul 07, 2015 |
|
Civilization: Beyond Earth vs. Endless Legend — Comparing two futuristic 4Xes
|
Jun 30, 2015 |
|
The Walking Dead: Season 2 Episodes 4 & 5 (2014)
|
Jun 23, 2015 |
|
Cities: Skylines vs. SimCity reboot: Contrasting visions of citybuilders
|
Jun 10, 2015 |
|
The Fall: Nate can be negative
|
May 19, 2015 |
|
Far Cry 4 (2014)
|
May 12, 2015 |
|
Hotline Miami & Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number — Psychedelic gore and lore
|
May 05, 2015 |
|
DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010)
|
Apr 28, 2015 |
|
The Order: 1886 (2015)
|
Apr 21, 2015 |
|
Spec Ops: The Line (2012)
|
Apr 14, 2015 |
|
Sunset Overdrive (2014)
|
Apr 07, 2015 |
|
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007)
|
Mar 31, 2015 |
|
NCIS: The Videogame — Easy Playstation trophies + cringe
|
Mar 09, 2015 |
|
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
|
Mar 02, 2015 |
|
Uplink (2002)
|
Feb 17, 2015 |
|
The Walking Dead: Season 2 Episodes 2 & 3 (2014)
|
Jan 26, 2015 |
|
Gone Home (2013)
|
Nov 18, 2014 |
|
Heavy Rain: JASON!
|
Sep 04, 2014 |
|
Tomb Raider (2013)
|
Aug 21, 2014 |
|
The Walking Dead: Season 2 Episode 1 [part 2] (2013)
|
Jul 20, 2014 |
|
The Walking Dead: Season 2 Episode 1 [part 1] (2013)
|
Jul 20, 2014 |
|
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons spoilercast
|
Jul 02, 2014 |
|
The Final Fantasy X rantcast - Our first episode!
|
Jun 07, 2014 |
|
2022 EP Re-introduction!
|
Jun 06, 2014 |