What’s the cutest game you’ve ever played?
This stream opened with some real FOMO-creating what’s-new-with-you, as Angus got to talk about all the great GDC talks and games that he saw on his trip. We discussed another scoop as a new life-sim was just released: INZOI. This neatly segwayed into our question of this stream, as we asked: What’s the cutest game you’ve ever played? That soon led us to a discussion about what “cute” means and how quickly that meaning can change. From Kirby to Infinity Nikki, at the beginning, the cute games we mentioned seemed to focus on the aesthetics, and, the colour pink. Then the inevitable question popped up: when is something cute, and when is something cozy?
After our final verdict that this matter simply required loads more research, we launched into the world of Spiritfarer. Once again, we were graced with the great variety in voices and accents in creating our very own voice-overs. For an hour, we got to take on the role of Charon and talk with the ghosts that were lingering on islands and in boats, alongside our fabulous friend, Gwen (a deer with perhaps six ears, or, according to others, feathers). We built guest lodgings on our ship, as well as a garden on 30-foot poles (plants grow better when they are closer to the sun, right?). Whether Spiritfarer is cute can be up for debate, but it is for sure worth a try.
What’s your favorite game to return to?
At long last, this past Friday we returned to our beloved Stardew Valley farm. Returning was theme of the hour, with discoursing on what it really means to revisit a game (does it count as a “revisit” if you were playing it last week?), whether Keerthi would go to Elfia again after their first round this year (probably!), and how much fun it is to go back and play treasured childhood card games and/or check out what the townies are up to in the Sims (so much fun.). Those last ones were our answers to this week’s question: what’s your favorite game to return to? We debated the factors that make games re-playable and pick-back-up-able, such as reviewable lore, in-game acknowledgements of your long absence, and short, faster-paced games that encourage multiple saves. Shoutout to some namedrops from chat, which ranged from migraine-inducing to deeply satisfying on the re-play scale: Red Dead Redemption 2, Skyrim, Disco Elysium, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
After a valiant effort at some serious academic discussion, we got to what everyone was waiting for: the dawn of a new day at the delightful, fall-foliage-covered PlayTime farm. Our play session included a meditative and relaxing dance of the moonlight jellies, a deeply stressful trip into the mines (where we–well, Corine–reached level 100!), and, as always, some incredibly arbitrary home decor choices by Keerthi. If you’re keeping track, we’ve unlocked the Special Order board, Corine’s sad you can’t fish in lava, and we have more iridium eggs than we know what to do with. More importantly, we’ve been reminded of what we already knew: it’s always lovely to come back to a game that missed you when you were gone.
