This week, the lads pitch their dream video games and how they would approach designing them! From an original IP, to a metroidvania-inspired Die Hard Game to a My Hero Academia strategy fighting game hybrid, settle in for a fun discussion!

Find Timestamps for this Episode Below: 0:00 - Intro 1:36 - Ice Breaker: How do you feel about the year 2025 in gaming so far? 5:41 - Pitching Our Dream Games 8:16 - Luke’s Pitch 23:23 - Jacob’s Pitch 36:11 - Joseph’s Pitch 52:10 - Outro

Find us on BlueSky for show updates and more:

• Podcast: @crossplayconvos.bsky.social
• Jacob: @jacob.bsky.social
• Luke: @lukewarmlewis.bsky.social
• Joseph: @th3hoopman.bsky.social

Check out our other shows:

• Player Player Podcast
• Left Behind Game Club
• The LukeWarmGames Podcast
• Cutscenes: A Video Game Movie Podcast

In this episode, we interview 3 members of Soft Not Weak, the team behind the newly released Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To! We chatted about the development of the game, the game's release, and the team! Thank you to Réjon Taylor-Foster, Alex Abou Karam and Morgan Lavelle for the time and to Jenny Windom for organizing this interview.

Check out Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To: https://spiritswapgame.com/

You can find the team on Bluesky:

• Alex: @dirtbagboyfriend.bsky.social
• Morgan: @justmorgantime.bsky.social
• Réjon: @maximumcrash.com
• Soft Not Weak: @softnotweak.bsky.social

Find timestamps for this episode below:

• 0:00 - Intro
• 3:00 - Icebreaker: "Favorite Gaming Trend of 2025?"
• 8:10 - Start of the interview
• 8:25 - What inspired the mix of puzzle & narrative
• 15:00 - How did you put your stamp on the genre?
• 23:20 - How do you balance new/existing players to Panel de Pon-esque games?
• 32:00 - How did the narrative come to be?
• 33:45 - Were there any fun challenges that you had to overcome?
• 41:45 - Work with meltycanon
• 44:00 - Structure of Soft Not Weak
• 52:40 - Launching a game on Kickstarter
• 1:01:15 - What's next for Spirit Swap and the team?
• 1:03:35 - Outro

Resources:

• Jacob's Final Impressions of Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To
• Luke's Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To Review on LukeWarmGames

Find us on BlueSky for show updates and more:

• Podcast: @crossplayconvos.bsky.social
• Jacob: @jacob.bsky.social
• Luke: @lukewarmlewis.bsky.social
• Joseph: @th3hoopman.bsky.social

Check out our other shows:

• Player Player Podcast
• Left Behind Game Club
• The LukeWarmGames Podcast
• Cutscenes: A Video Game Movie Podcast
• Video Game Trivia

In this episode, Jacob and Luke give their thoughts on Tape 1 of the newly released Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Thanks to Don't Nod/Sandbox Strategies for sending codes for review.

Stick around after our spoiler filled chat as we also cover the recently released Afterlove EP! Thanks to Fellow Traveller for the code. We will be back in two weeks!

Find timestamps for this episode below:

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:20 - Icebreaker: "What's Your Favourite Coming of Age Story?"
• 7:10 - Introduction to Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
• 8:00 - Spoiler-Free Section on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 1
• 22:20 - Technical Performance
• 24:45 - Spoiler-Filled Thoughts
• 38:00 - Do We Want More?
• 41:00 - Afterlove EP Review
• 48:00 - Wrap-Up & Outro

Resources:

• Jacob's Written Review of Afterlove EP

Find us on BlueSky for show updates and more:

• Podcast: @crossplayconvos.bsky.social
• Jacob: @jacob.bsky.social
• Luke: @lukewarmlewis.bsky.social
• Joseph: @th3hoopman.bsky.social

Check out our other shows:

• Player Player Podcast
• Left Behind Game Club
• The LukeWarmGames Podcast
• Cutscenes: A Video Game Movie Podcast
• Video Game Trivia