Bsushi | Bryan - Pixelated Playgrounds Podcast

Promise Mascot Agency — Pixelated Playgrounds On this episode Bryan and Josh drive into Promise Mascot Agency, developed by Kaizen Game Works, the team behind Paradise Killer. Released in April 2025 for Windows, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, ...

In our latest podcast Josh and I did a deep dive (drive?) on Promise Mascot Agency, which blends open-world driving, management sim mechanics, visual novel storytelling, and yakuza crime drama into an experience that was my Game of the Year in 2025. Its earnest, stylish, and has impeccable vibes.

Pumped for this! Always fun to guest on TFTBL!

Tales from the Backlog March 2026 Schedule March 4th- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, with Steve aka Blinkoom from Indie Quest March 11th- Bioshock, with Joseph Hooper of Crossplay Conversations March 18th- Skate Story, with Josh Leslie of Indie Quest March 25th- Death Howl, with Bryan Skursha of Pixelated Playgrounds Tales from the WAY-Backlog on Patreon- DOOM (1993)

Here's what's coming to Tales from the Backlog in March! @indiequestpod.com takes over the guest chair for a few episodes, @th3hoopman.bsky.social makes his debut, and @bsushi.bsky.social is back for another great indie.

Hope you're excited for these!

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode, Bryan and Clint ride off into Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Picking up directly after the first game, Warhorse Studios’ historical RPG returns us to early 15th-century Bohemia, follow...

Clint and I recently had a lengthy conversation about Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, which made each of our top 5 games of 2025. Listen in as we examine the series’ fixation on historical accuracy, immersion, and realism, and how its simulation of everyday medieval life grounds the game’s themes.

Thanks for the kind words, Sam! We had a lot of fun recording it. Certainly a game that has an interesting story in more ways than one!

Dialogue Tree | 032: Some dreams come true: Alpha Chrome Yayo on Promise Mascot Agency Promises made, promises kept. My game of the year, and the man who made that happen. Alpha Chrome Yayo: https://alphachromeyayo.bandcamp.com/ Promise Mascot Agency OST: https://kaizengameworks.band...

@bsushi.bsky.social Just listened to your 2025 GOTY episode. Quite liked your no.1…

I went long on PMA with the composer of the soundtrack. You might like it 🙂

www.dialoguetree.cc/episodes/032...

Games of the Year 2025 — Pixelated Playgrounds Happy New Year! To kick things off in 2026 we recorded a quick episode on our individual Top 5 Games of the Year for 2025! So listen in as the guys discuss the top 5 games they enjoyed in 2025 among o...

Happy New Year! To kick things off in 2026 we recorded a quick episode on our individual Top 5 Games of the Year for 2025! So listen in as the guys discuss the top 5 games they enjoyed in 2025 among others, take a look forward to 2026, and just generally chill out and reminisce on a year of gaming!

Fantastic episode, Andrew! We just recorded a full length ep on PMA ourselves, and we definitely have many similar feelings on what makes the game so special. Thanks for sharing and for making such a great show!

Hollow Knight: Silksong — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode of Pixelated Playground s , Bryan, Josh, and Clint finally arrive in Pharloom and dive deep into Hollow Knight: Silksong . We all fell in love with Hollow Knight when it launched in...

To close out 2025 Bryan, Josh, and Clint finally arrive in Pharloom and dive deep into Hollow Knight: Silksong! So join us as we explore and break down Team Cherry’s world of bugs, beasts, beauty, and bosses.

Thanks Erik, and the admiration is mutual! It’s always a pleasure to see a new PoP ‘pop’ into my feed and I had a blast discussing games with you on Off the Shelf!

Loop Hero and Ball x Pit — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Josh and Bryan dive into a Roguelite Roundup double feature with Loop Hero (2021) and Ball x Pit (2025), exploring how each game twists genre conventions in i...

Do you like loops? Do you like Pits? Do you like novel takes on the roguelite genre? If you answered 'yes!' to any of these, check out the latest Pixelated Playgrounds discussion on Loop Hero (2021) and Ball x Pit (2025)!

Thanks so much for sharing!

Happy to be among some great company in this list! Thanks @storyeverpod.bsky.social!

It is one hell of a ride… story is on the razor’s edge of needing a content warning, but also benefiting from not having one…

and Roger — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh dive into and Roger , a short but emotionally powerful experience from developer TearyHand Studio. Initially framed as a horror story, the gam...

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Josh and I dive into 'and Roger', a short but emotionally powerful experience from developer TearyHand Studio. I'd highly recommend you go in blind to this ~1 hour long experience. It is incredibly moving.

Thanks, John! Its a complex game to discuss, but I really enjoyed pulling this one apart and thinking about what made it special.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode, Bryan and Josh dive deep into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the 2025 dark fantasy RPG from French studio Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive. This is the first out...

In the latest episode Josh and I discuss Clair Obscur Expedition 33! Its an incredible game with an equally remarkable story of its inception and development. So listen in as we discuss one of my favorite games of 2025, and a truly special RPG experience! For Those Who Come After!

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode, Bryan and Josh dive deep into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the 2025 dark fantasy RPG from French studio Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive. This is the first out...

For we who come after, Pixellated Playgrounds (@bsushi.bsky.social @jgalecki.bsky.social) just dropped a Clair Obscur episode. I love this show! www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/bookclub/cla...

Thanks for the shout out, John! Pyre's always been a favorite of mine, and I simply cannot get enough of its soundtrack!

Pyre — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode Josh and Bryan are talking about Pyre developed by Supergiant Games and released in 2017 for PC, Mac, Linux, and PlayStation 4. Pyre is considered by some to be Supergiant’s most ex...

Pixelated Playgrounds (@bsushi.bsky.social @jgalecki.bsky.social) is one of my very favourite pods. They do spoilerful, amiable, thoughtful reviews, and hearing them gently disagree & tussle over the mechanics of Pyre was super fun. pixelatedplaygrounds.com/bookclub/pyre

Pyre — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode Josh and Bryan are talking about Pyre developed by Supergiant Games and released in 2017 for PC, Mac, Linux, and PlayStation 4. Pyre is considered by some to be Supergiant’s most ex...

To close out October, @jgalecki.bsky.social and I discussed Supergiant's most experimental game to date: Pyre! If you've been feeling like you've been stuck in the Downside lately, give it a listen and stick around for a discussion of the game's underlying message of change worth fighting for.

UFO 50 — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode Bryan and Josh are diving into UFO 50, the long-awaited indie collaboration from Derek Yu, Jon Perry, Eirik Suhrke, Paul Hubans, Ojiro Fumoto, and Tyriq Plummer. It collects fifty orig...

In our latest podcast, @jgalecki.bsky.social and I explore the fictional retro console compendium of UFO 50! Its blend of unique twists on classic retro gaming concepts and intriguing meta-fiction kept us guessing about what would come next with each cartridge we dusted off! Enjoy!

Lots of excellent follows in here, check it out!

Monument Valley — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds , Bryan and Josh explore the impossible geometry of Monument Valley , the 2014 iOS puzzle classic from ustwo games that transformed the mobile landscape with...

In our most recent episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Josh and I reflected on Monument Valley and how it stood apart from its peers on iOS through its artfulness, elegance, and serenity. Short game summer is coming to a close, so we'll be diving into some longer form titles in the coming months!

Spirit City: Lo Fi Sessions and Rusty's Retirement — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Bryan and Josh dive into the cozy corner of gaming with two titles redefining what it means to “play” in the background: Rusty’s Retirement, the low-screen-re...

In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds, Josh and I dive into the cozy corner of gaming with two titles redefining what it means to “play” in the background: Rusty’s Retirement and Spirit City: Lo Fi Sessions
www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/bookclub/spi...

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it. Excellent games too!

Umurangi Generation — Pixelated Playgrounds In this episode of Pixelated Playgrounds , Bryan and Josh dive into Umurangi Generation , the vibrant, potent, and subversive photography game from Māori developer Naphtali Faulkner. Set in a near-f...

Are you interested in: 1) 5 year old Indie Gems that feel strangely prescient? 2) Photography simulators with an unexpected amount of technical depth? 3) Lo-Fi aesthetics and music to match? If you answered Yes to any of these, check out our latest podcast on Umurangi Generation!

Slay the Princess — Pixelated Playgrounds You're on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Podcast… I mean Princess. In this episode Bryan, Josh, and Clint steel their nerves and de...

‘You're on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Podcast… uh, I mean Princess.’ In this episode Bryan, Josh, and Clint steel their nerves and descend the staircase to discuss Slay the Princess!

Yeah, I should just commit to this approach. I do want to see more and the game has excellent ‘long term play’ features with its character chapter summaries.

I guess that would make several of us in this thread. Didn’t take away from what I did play. The design and music, especially Paritio’s theme, was worth the price of admission.