Mind Controllers

Everyone say Hi to Nico! I’m joined by a long time friend for her first time on the podcast as we chat about video games as a form of performance instead of narrative? And later we try to process how we feel about a game Brandon enjoyed that was influenced by something that was created by Generative AI. It’s a doozy!If you leave a review of the podcast on an app, screenshot it and send it to me via DM on any of the socials, I’ll enter your name into the Pizza Raffle! One lucky winner every month will get sent a digital gift card to a pizza spot of their choice!Nico’s First Game - 01:14Article of the Week - 04:21Phoenix Wright Justice for All - 24:23Angel Engine - 43:06Wrapping Up and Thank You - 1:05:04Games we talked about this week: Olli Olli World, Phoenix Wright and Justice for All, Angel EngineCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest impressions on Demon Tides!Article of the Week: What is the Form of Play? Ludic Form and the Development of Movement in Virtual SpaceDoc Burford Articles found hereIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slight Spoilers for: Silent Hill fIt’s the Brandon and Tim show this week as we dive deep into Horror! What makes us drawn to horror? Why do we like being scared? All of this and more, plus we chat a bit about Resident Evil Requiem at the end!Also, new idea: If you leave a review on an app, screenshot it and send it to me via DM on any of the socials, I’ll enter your name into the Pizza Raffle! One lucky winner every month will get sent a digital gift card to a pizza spot of their choice!Article of the Week/Heavy Horror Convo - 04:23Why Fear? - 10:42What is a Phobia? - 21:23Why Do We Turn to Horror? - 23:44Horror Games - 29:32First Scary Game - 30:46Tim’s First Horror - 36:38Moments in Games That Have Caused Fear - 44:10Resident Evil Requiem - 55:54Pokemon Pokopia - 1:06:31Wrapping Up and Thank You - 1:10:35Games we talked about this week: Silent Hill f, Resident Evil Requiem, Monster BashListen to Tim’s great album here!Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest impressions on Demon Tides!Article of the Week: A Sense of Fear and Anxiety in Digital Games: An Analysis of Cognitive Stimuli in Slender -- The Eight PagesIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jordan returns to chat with Brandon, Courture, and Tim as we digest all the insanity going on in the gaming industry now. Then we do a quick Mewgenics chat before a rapid fire Steam Next Fest discussion.Article of the Week - 01:02Xbox - 12:27Discord and Moderation - 21:24Steam - 27:43Pokemon - 35:32Yearly Releases - 39:46Bluepoint RIP - 46:40All These Closures - 51:12Games Industry Compared to Others - 55:49Mewgenics - 1:00:52Steam Next Fest - 1:07:35Wrapping Up and Thank You - 1:16:22Games we talked about this week: Mewgenics, Menace, Dobbel Dungeon, Titanium Court, Airframe Ultra, Deep Dish Dungeon, Far Far West, DenshattackCheck out NerveLabs, an awesome indie game studio! And join their discord here!Listen to Tim’s great album here!Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link!Article of the Week: Level Design Processes and Challenges: A Cross Section of Game DevelopmentIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe returns for another episode as Brandon finds an article about Indie Games and mental health. We chat about Mewgenics, Joes love for Kingdom Hearts 1 and the fun of diving into Helldivers 2 for the first time, and then close it with Demon Tides, a brand new 3d platformer that has a lot of charm. Come hang out with us!Article of the Week - 03:29Mewgenics - 10:49Kingdom Hearts - 27:16Helldivers 2 - 32:05Yakuza 3 Kiwami and Kingdom Hearts 2 - 35:28Yugioh Master Duel - 37:27Demon Tides - 40:35Wrapping Up and Thank You - 56:07Games we talked about this week: Mewgenics, Kingdom Hearts, Demon TidesCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link!Article of the Week: Mindspacing and Play -- Indie Games in the Context of Mental Health Depiction by Moritz Wischert-ZielkeIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WARNING: This episode deals heavily with loss, and mentions of death, grief, and suicide ideation. Please take care of yourselves as you are listening through.Slight Spoilers for: Ghost of YoteiWe get fully in our feels this week as Tim joins us to chat about grief in video games! We go for a full mask off discussion of how video games have affected our lives, in both good and bad. I’d love for you to join us as we share some of the defining moments of our lives that surround video games. Also, this is a heavy episode. Please take care while listening, and don’t be worried to take a break if needed.Games we talked about this week: Ghost of YoteiCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link!Article of the Week: Unraveling Grief: Design Space Analysis of Death-themed GamesIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a new guest this week, so please welcome Jordan Fanaris! Jordan tells us all about how he became a level designer, his previous work making the popular Black Mesa mod, his time at Heart Machine (makers of Hyper Light Breaker), and the state of the industry now! We then close it with a bit of Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator, a new game by Strange Scaffold and Xalavier Nelson Jr.Games we talked about this week: Metaphor Refantazio, Space Warlord Baby Trading SimulatorCheck out Jordan’s indie studio, NerveLabs, on SteamCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link!If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the Brandons again! Here with the article of the week about co-op gameplay, hot takes on Highguard, a fusion of SCP and Half-Life, and an interesting new Metroidvania. It’s been wild out there, so come have a seat with us.Games we talked about this week: Popucom, Highguard, Abiotic Factor, Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, Nocturnal 2Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Nocturnal 2 Demo here at this link!Article of the Week: Exploring Compatible Interaction Preferences with a Puzzle Video GameIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim joins us for his first pod of the year as we chat about an interesting game study on the use of touch and smell in VR, Tim’s obsession with Battletech, and more! It was a great pod, so I hope you hang out with us as we go down this weird rabbit hole!Games we talked about this week: Battletech, Ghost of YoteiCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Goodnight Universe here at this link!Article of the Week: Research on the interaction design of VR plant installation under the perspective of embodimentIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sorry, it's been a busy week. There are a lot of exciting things coming up with us, so please stay tuned! I appreciate you all! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slight Spoilers for: It’s the attack of the Brandons, coming at you for the first Scatterbrained of 2026! We briefly discuss the article of the week, recap Fantasy Critic from last year, and then dive into what we picked up and played over the Winter Break! Join us as we leap into the New Year!Games we talked about this week:Ghost of Yotei, Megabonk, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Abiotic Factor, Nine Kings, Ship of Fools, Palworld, Split FictionCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his latest review on Goodnight Universe here at this link!Article of the Week: Environmental Storytelling and Active Spectatorship in Walking Simulators and Exploration TheatreIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HEAVY Spoilers for and Roger, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Brandon and Joe finally come together again to discuss their Top 10 games from the year! Brandon gets pretty in his feels for this one, so be ready!Timestamps:Introduction - 00:09Pre-GOTY Setup - 01:56Honorable Mentions - 03:34Joe #10 - 06:46Brandon #10 - 12:37Joe #9 - 15:20Brandon #9 - 17:56Joe #8 - 19:44Brandon #8 - 26:36Joe #7 - 30:48Brandon #7 - 35:38Joe #6 - 41:50Brandon #6 - 46:41Joe #5 - 46:58Brandon #5 - 1:01:51Joe #4 - 1:02:02Brandon #4 - 1:14:35Joe #3 - 1:15:17Brandon #3 - 1:25:10Joe #2 - 1:36:31Brandon #2 - 1:51:01Brandon and Joe #1 - 1:57:54Heavy Spoilters for our #1 - 2:03:41Looking Forward - 2:18:05Wrapping Up the Year and Thank You! - 2:19:21Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/, an awesome site Brandon is now writing for!If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiNight in Kyoto by AVBE:https://uppbeat.io/t/avbe/night-in-kyotoLicense code: OY9ADKUOX62ZMAXYPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mind Controllers is on break for the next few weeks! Craw is traveling and then hosting some guests at his house. So hopefully we will return on December 19th!Check out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his first review on and Roger here at this link and now 2nd review of Keeper!If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slight Spoilers for: Outer Worlds 2It’s Brandon, Courture, and Tim back together again to talk about all the games we’ve been playing this week! Brandon and Courture talk about their time with Outer Worlds 2 and how it doesn’t quite live up to the expectations it sets for itself at the start of the game. And Tim tells us about his new foray into RTS games.Games we talked about this week: and Roger, Keeper, Outer Worlds 2, Battle of Wesnot, BattletchCheck out https://www.startmenu.co.uk/ , an awesome site Brandon is now writing for! And check out his first review on and Roger here at this link!To find out more about Tim’s music, check out: www.whisp.band !If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spoilers for: Pokemon Legends ZAMemo returns and Joe joins us as we get the 3 biggest Pokemon fans we know in one podcast to discuss the latest entry by GameFreak! We chat about our likes and dislikes as life long Pokemon fans.Games we talked about this week: Pokemon Go, Sleep, Legends ZAIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spoilers for: Silksong, Digimon Story, and Before Your EyesCourture returns to chat about Silksong, one of his favorite games this year! Then we talk about our frustrations with Game Freak and Legends ZA, Nintendo’s grip on pricing, Xbox’s slow downfall, and end it with the return of the article of the week! It’s a doozy!Games we talked about this week: Silksong, Digimon Story, Before Your Eyes, To The Moon, DispatchArticle of the Week: Unraveling Grief: Design Space Analysis of Death-themed GamesIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on InstagramPanel on Silkpostinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSkbylysplI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HEAVY Spoilers for: Silent Hill f , Spoilers for Hades 2Who’s this???! Courture joins us again after a long time away. And we are joined by a new friend, Tim!! Come hang out as we digest the ending of Silent Hill f, our love for Hades 2, and the vibrant Smash Melee community! Note: Courture’s audio got cut off towards the end so I edited around that 🙁Games we talked about this week: Silent Hill f, Hades 2, Smash Bros MeleeIntro - 00:00:02Silent Hill f (heavy Spoilers) - 00:06:43Hades 2 - 00:43:04Smash Bros Melee - 01:00:54Wrap Up - 01:26:58Article of the Week: If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagramhttps://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/7fhrgr/synchronicity_between_paul_blart_2_and_dark_side/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spoilers for: Digimon Story: Time Stranger, Silent Hill fWow, it has been way too long! Joe and I give brief life updates before diving into everything that we’ve been up to lately, including loving Digimon. Thank you for being our friends!Games we talked about this week: Digimon Story: Time Stranger, Borderlands 4, Silent Hill f, Megabonk, Dune AwakeningIf you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spoilers for: And Roger, Donkey Kong BananzaJoe has returned from EVO 2025! Craw played several short indie narrative heavy games that made him feel things. Come hang out while we chat about why we cried for different reasons!Games we talked about this week: Marvel Tolkon, Donkey Kong Bananza, Nightreign, Dead Take, And Roger, Peak Article of the Week: If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In typical fashion, we have overbooked ourselves a bit and were not able to line up our schedules this week. We are hoping next week we will get to tell you all about Joe's time at Evo 2025! Thank you again for your support! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe and Craw are back and had a surprisingly fun time with the Horse Girl Gacha Game, Uma Musume?! We talk about Nintendo’s latest game: Donkey Kong Bananza, then dive into our disappointment with the latest Pokemon Presents. Come join us in this week’s salt factory!Games we talked about this week: Death Stranding 2, Nen Impact, Donkey Kong Bananza, Uma MusumeArticle of the Week: If you are experiencing any sort of mental health distress, or just need someone to talk to, please call 988 contact some of these resources gathered on https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Feel free to message us with suggestions for games or questions at our socials and we’ll respond to your question on the upcoming pod! Be sure to follow us on socials like Youtube, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Twitch. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast listening app!Support our Patreon at patreon.com/MindControllers and get a thank you sticker!Tracks are: "We Decide" by TatamiPodcast Art by @_forza_art on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.