Pursuing Pixels

037: It Sucks Until You Get the Double Jump

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  This week, it's ALL Metroidvanias—or maybe action-adventure platformers?  Whatever you wanna call them, we tackle a couple of games that we're checking out for the first time, and also get DJ's thoughts on a PP favorite, Chasm.  Before we get to that, followed by an open-ended Metroidvania discussion, we all sunk a little time into Ori and the Blind Forest in anticipation for the game's sequel, which comes out in a couple of months.  John & Kevin also take a look at yet another Metroidvania with procedurally-generated roguelike elements, A Robot Named Fight!, which is the game that sparked the discussion to begin with. 
 
Timestamps:
Ori and the Blind Forest  -  00:01:19
A Robot Named Fight!  -  00:19:31
Chasm  -  00:28:34
*Metroidvania Discussion  -  00:32:32
* (Eagle Island, Metroid Fusion, Yoku's Island Express, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Super Metroid, Gato Roboto, Hollow Knight, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)
 
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036: The Aptly Named Defect

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  This week, Kevin's still playing Slay the Spire—and is finally able to conquer the game thanks to some tips from Randall.  Kevin is also getting pretty deep into Sparklite, and talks a little bit about the roguelite hack-and-slash adventure with John, who just booted it up a few days ago.  Randall & John each dig into some of the more recent additions to the SNES library of games available via the Nintendo Switch Online service—Randall plays all the way through the previously-unreleased Star Fox 2 (why was this game not released again?!?) & John takes us on a journey through a semi-forgotten Capcom JRPG series, Breath of Fire 2.  John & Kevin wrap things up with the short, sweet, and honestly pretty challenging, Whipseey & The Lost Atlas, which certainly takes a visual cue or two from everyone's favorite pink puffball.
 
Timestamps:
Slay the Spire  -  00:02:13
Sparklite  -  00:08:18
Star Fox 2  -  00:18:41
Breath of Fire 2  -  00:32:40
Whipseey & The Lost Atlas  -  00:42:01
 
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035: Back of the Brain with the Cobwebs

Welcome back to Pursing Pixels.  After wrapping up 2019 last week, we're ready to keep things rolling into the new year, and back to our usual episode antics.  Some of us are still playing Slay the Spire, but that should come as little surprise to anyone.  Apart from that, Randall & John talk a little SteamWorld Quest, another card-based RPG.  Kevin & DJ pass the controller back and forth with Cluster Truck thanks to Kevin's Xbox Game Pass subscription before moving along to a truly cooperative experience with Strikey Sisters, a Breakout clone with a ton of charm & 16-bit style.  DJ & John kick things off with Bleep Bloop, a super clever little puzzler that was getting everyone in on the action.
 
Timestamps:
Bleep Bloop  -  00:01:22
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech  -  00:14:20
Clustertruck  -  00:28:14
Strikey Sisters  -  00:34:51
Slay the Spire  -  00:41:43
 
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Episode Number: Holiday Edition - 2019

Welcome back to Pursing Pixels...and happy holidays to you & yours.  We're wrapping up our first (half) year of podcasting with each of our favorite games that we've talked about since we kicked off the show, and gearing up for 2020 with a game that we're resolving to play in the coming year.  We're also forcing DJ to play Chasm because that game is just plain awesome!  Thanks for tuning in over the past six months and Happy New Year.
 
GOTYs (sort of):
Kevin:  Octahedron  -  00:01:46
Randall:  Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King  -  00:07:31
DJ:  20XX  -  00:12:53
John:  Risk of Rain 2  -  00:18:01
 
Resolutions:
John:  Transistor  -  00:25:08
DJ:  Deadbolt  -  00:26:59
Randall:  Monster Boy & The Cursed Kingdom  -  00:28:53
Kevin:  Undertale  -  00:31:10
Almost-Unanimous GOTY:  Chasm  -  00:33:19
 
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034: You Get to Play as Chunky Link

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  We squeezed in a marathon recording this week and knocked out a trifecta of episodes, including a holiday special that we will have out next week.  In the first, regular, episode of the batch we're keeping up with the trends and playing a bunch of new (and 'new') releases.  We kick things off by digging into the Shovel Knight: King of Cards campaign, the final, and perhaps the best, of the free Treasure Trove DLC that has been steadily trickling out over the last five plus years.  Then John talks a little Ashen, which is new to the Nintendo Switch.  Kevin finally gets his hands on Jamestown+, which was released on PC way back in 2011, but is finally out on consoles with two new levels, and more!  DJ gets hooked on Hopiko, and does his best work to cleanse our beloved consoles of their viruses.  Randall & John close us out with a little Super Mario Maker 2.0 update discussion, primarily digging into chunking Link's new set of maneuvers.
 
Timestamps:
Shovel Knight: King of Cards  -  00:01:33
Ashen  -  00:22:51
Jamestown +  -  00:40:10
Hopiko  -  00:49:57
Super Mario Maker 2 (2.0 update)  -  00:58:00
 
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033: You Can Upgrade the Ace

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  We're shuffling things up a little bit this week with Kevin, Randall, & John finally get around to seeing what all the hubbub around Slay the Spire is all about.  DJ, feeling a little left out, sinks some time into the Euchre 3D app on his phone, getting some practice in for the euchre league he plays in on the weekends.  DJ primarily sticks to the online games this week with a little inspiration from Titanfall 2 and dips into Season 3 of Apex Legends before revisiting an old multiplayer favorite with The Last of Us' 'Factions' mode.  Kevin & Randall close things out with another space shooter that hearkens back to classic shmup series like Gradius & R-Type.
 
Timestamps:
Slay the Spire  -  00:01:10
Euchre 3D  -  00:17:55
Apex Legends  -  00:24:44
The Last of Us  -  00:32:08
Super Hydorah  -  00:41:47
 
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032: I‘ve Just Discovered the Concept of ‘All‘

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  We're back and sounding better than ever, and we're taking another shot at Baba is You, which was our GOTM for the month of November (and our final GOTM for the time being).  Kevin tries his best to figure out what is going on (and what DJ is talking about) in the retro-tinged metroidvania, Overwhelm.  We all take advantage of another ridiculous deal from Qubic Games and snagged One Strike on the cheap, a fun little 1v1 arcade fighter.  John wraps us up with a journey through the Pokémon franchise, as he wraps up his adventures in Pokémon Sword/Shield.
 
Timestamps:
Baba is You  -  00:01:11
Overwhelm  -  00:16:38
One Strike  -  00:24:29
Pokémon Sword/Shield  -  00:31:38
 
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031: Baba is Gone?

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  What happened to episode 30?  Only the GarageBand gods know.  Thankfully we had an extra episode in the can and we're back with number 31 without missing a beat.  And we're all still playing Baba is You, so we'll be getting back to that soon enough.
Until then, this week we're all pretty into everything we've been sinking our time into.  DJ, Kevin, John (& our buddy Glenn) played some Flat Heroes right before recording and can't wait to keep chipping away at the top spots on the leaderboards.  DJ kicks off an interstellar sci-fi adventure, Planet Alpha, and may have talked Kevin into giving the demo another try.  Randall & Kevin are inspired by Kevin's recent romp through Cave Story, and plow all the way through Studio Pixel's follow-up, Kero Blaster.  John wraps things up with (a lot of) family time and talks about his their history with the Civlization board game from the 80s, published by Avalon Hill—we dip into a brief discussion on our experience with the computer/console series, as well.
 
Timestamps;
Flat Heroes  -  00:01:23
Planet Alpha  -  00:14:28
Kero Blaster  -  00:23:07
Civilization (Board Game & Series)  -  00:34:47
 
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029: Pixelate that Font

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  Last episode with the slight change in the audio set up here, but we'll be back to normal next week.  This week, we all take advantage of Qubic Games' loyalty program of sorts, and pick up Mana Spark for a buck on the Nintendo Switch—we're a little more mixed than usual on this one.  After that, John look for some big air in Snowboarding: The Next Phase, and then takes us all on a little trip down memory lane with Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise thanks to a recent thrift store snag.  DJ tackles another tough-as-nails platformer with simplistic (and maybe confusing?) controls, Standby.  And we wrap things up with an indie classic from Studio Pixel, Cave Story, which should need no introduction.
 
Timestamps:
Mana Spark  -  00:00:55
Snowboarding: The Next Phase  -  00:19:03
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 (& series)  -  00:24:58
Standby  -  00:36:47
Cave Story+  -  00:45:15
 
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028: It Looks Like There‘s Gonna Be Some Aliens

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  We've got the whole gang back, this time with a new video setup so Kevin, DJ, & John can look Randall in the eyes—unfortunately, there's a slight dip in audio quality thanks to the new & untested setup, but we'll have things back to normal in a couple of weeks.  That said, there's nothing that will keep us from our weekly videogame gabbing, and we kick things off this week with the re-release of sorts, New Super Lucky's Tale, which we all checked out the demo for.  From there, Kevin keeps the 3D platformer revival going with another new Switch release, A Hat in Time.  Randall's on the retro beat again, looking at another great re-imagining of a forgotten classic, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors.  DJ looks at a little 'reboot' of his own, with the surprisingly difficult puzzle platformer, Seeders: Puzzle Reboot.  We close things out with Randall & John talking a little more Dragon Quest XI S, now that the two of them are both well on their way towards victory.
 
Timestamps:
New Super Lucky's Tale  -  00:01:03
A Hat in Time  -  00:10:47
The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors  -  00:20:28
Seeders: Puzzle Reboot  -  00:29:01
Dragon Quest XI S: Tales of an Elusive Age  -  00:38:22
 
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027: Downloading the Demo Now

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  John is on an impromptu honeymoon, so we're back to the original trio for this week.  Randall is on the Nintendo beat per usual, and gets in the Halloween spirit with their newest release, Luigi's Mansion 3.  Kevin is bent on his usual tough-as-nails platformers and digs into a couple of small-ish indie titles, Kuso & Atomik RunGunJumpGun.  DJ & Kevin are still chasing down the horizon in Race the Sun, which is quite the seductive autorunner experience—we've still gotta get our hands on a VR rig at some point!  We also check out the demo for an unassuming 2.5D platformer that none of us had ever heard of, Jet Kave Adventure.  DJ also has a short segment on Linelight, an attempt to reduce gameplay down to its most basic form.
 
Timestamps:
Luigi's Mansion 3  -  00:01:20
Kuso  -  00:13:07
Linelight  -  00:21:13
Atomik RunGunJumpGun  -  00:26:28
Race the Sun  -  00:33:01
Jet Kave Adventure  -  00:39:19
 
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026: Goop Spikes

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  Kevin finishes another game, believe it or not, and digs into Anodyne with John, who is just getting into its early stages.  Randall journeys back to an Elusive Age and somehow remembers the full title for Dragon Quest XI on Switch.  John sticks in the realm of JRPGs and gets into the many quality of life improvements offered up in the new Remasters of the Final Fantasy series.  DJ's still hanging around and hacking away in the Darkest Dungeon.  And, to no one's surprise at all, Kevin's playing another indie platformer, Bomb Chicken.
 
Timestamps:
Anodyne  -  00:01:09
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age  -  00:16:50
Final Fantasy (Remasters)  -  00:29:06
Darkest Dungeon  -  00:39:31
Bomb Chicken  -  00:50:22
 
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025: Now I Gotta Do a Real Run

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  Randall's back this week just in time for October's GOTM, Caveblazers.  He's also back to give us some early impressions of Nintendo's latest exercise-centric endeavor, Ring Fit Adventure—though it is certainly not the ideal game when you're under the weather.  Kevin introduces DJ & John (and himself) to Race the Sun, a mighty thrilling, minimalistic auto-runner (flier?) experience.  (Is Kevin ever gonna get the VR setup he keeps talking about?)  John & Kevin get into a bit of a predicament with the visual novel/puzzle battler hybrid, The World Next Door.  We also take some time to talk some more DOOM, as DJ inspired John to play through the entire game all over again, and we get some thoughts from Randall's end, as well.
 
Timestamps:
Caveblazers  -  00:01:47
Ring Fit Adventure  -  00:31:11
Race the Sun  -  00:42:16
The World Next Door  -  00:52:26
DOOM (2016)  -  01:02:29
 
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024: Happy to Have it Back in My Life

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  We're bent on utter destruction with a bunch of combat-heavy games to talk about this week.  John is on the crew full-time, but we're still missing Randall for this one.  Kevin gets things started with a new release of an early indie classic from Vlambeer, Super Crate Box.  DJ finally gets around to trying his hand at 20XX—he beats it on hard mode and unlocks new characters that we didn't even know existed, to no one's surprise at all.  John straps into his mech and turns his brain off (is that safe?) with the slightly under the radar, Nintendo-published Daemon X Machina.  DJ takes us down to the gruesomely pixelated depths of the underworld with Slain: Back From Hell.  We hang out a little while longer in the netherworld as John & DJ get into DOOM (2016) in anticipation of the upcoming (and slightly delayed) DOOM Eternal.
 
Timestamps:
Super Crate Box  -  00:01:10
20XX  -  00:08:39
Daemon X Machina  -  00:12:13
Slain: Back From Hell  -  00:25:50
DOOM (2016)  -  00:32:09
 
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023: It‘s a Wish List Game

Welcome back to Pursuing Pixels.  This week, John fills in for Randall, and also joins the podcast full-time!  (Or, at least whenever he can.)  He's also a man of his word and is back to share some brief thoughts on a PP favorite, Chasm.  Apart from that, we dance over to Cadence of Hyrule thank to a little nudge from Link's Awakening last week.  John and Kevin each dip into new puzzle games out on the Switch—Cyber Protocol puts Kevin into a trance with it's neon-cyberpunk aesthetic & John introduces the rest of us to Crossniq+, a competitive puzzler with serious Y2K-era aesthetics.  Kevin & DJ also blast their way through Omega Strike...a wish list game.
 
Timestamps:
Cadence of Hyrule  -  00:01:15
Chasm  -  00:12:13
Omega Strike  -  00:17:24
Crossniq +  -  00:26:30
Cyber Protocol  -  00:34:12
 
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