The influence of H.P. Lovecraft on the domain of (video) games can hardly be overestimated. The introduction of the sanity meter, the ripples of madness in Bloodborne, and Batman’s Arkham Asylum—the exploration on the fringes of knowledge fascinates today still. We discuss Lovecraftian aesthetics with horror aficionado Richard Mertens, who is not only the newest…
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Time to return to Monkey Island! For the series’ original creator Ron Gilbert as well as for us—after many years and some mixed experiences. Does Return to Monkey Island hold up as a proper sequel to the original titles? – Here’s our review!
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We are turning 50 years, uhm, episodes old! And at the same time, we are celebrating our one year anniversary. What an occasion! So let’s go ahead and ponder some “would you rather” questions. For fun! Shownotes Nintendo Direct, 09/13/2022 (Nintendo)
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Many of us still have vivid memories of 11 September 2001. The worlds deadliest terrorist attack left a gaping wound of societal trauma. Video games are no exception to this. So today, on the attack’s anniversary, we are dissecting how 9/11 changed video game culture, how individual games were altered, and how games actively engaged…
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This is one of our monthly plus episodes. You can access it by subscribing to Studying Pixels Plus. You will then receive an individual plus feed that you can add to your favourite podcast app. It is so easy to be wrong! Especially in academic discourse, it is important to watch out for logical fallacies that…
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Exploring a cyberpunk dystopia from a cat’s perspective—best idea ever. But does Stray hold up to scrutiny? Or does it cutify the dire setting? – Here’s our review!
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Gamescom, the biggest video game trade show in the world, has come and gone. Of course, we were there to check out a whole range of games and to discuss the status quo of video game culture with experts. Here is our report! Shownotes 00:05:42 One Piece Odyssey 00:09:24 Floodland (with Kacper Kwiatkowski, Co-Boss and…
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With its plague themed setting and its sprinkles of role-play mechanics, Thymesia attempts to employ the strengths of Soulsborne games and run with them. But does it manage to stand out enough? Here’s our review!
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Technically, JRPG simply stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game. Yet, it seems like the genre ascription has taken on a life of its own. Is every RPG made in Japan automatically a JRPG? And what differentiates them from Western RPGs? Here’s our take on the matter! Shownotes Japanische Rollenspiele: Was macht ein Spiel zum JRPG? –…
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Each year a new, mainline Pokémon game comes and goes. This time, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet promise a continuation of the series’ tradition while also integrating the innovations of recent titles. We discuss what we know so far. Shownotes Our Pokémon Legends: Arceus review Everything we know about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Nicole Carpenter) Pokémon…
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