Are we still a video game podcast? Well, sorta kinda! That, pop culture, and beyond as we say, (with an emphasis on the latter two lately...) But still, it's a question we find we are asking ourselves lately! tbh, We find it a little difficult to care as deeply about video games when we are so busy living through major current events and existing in the context of all in which we live (& what came before us, as you will see in this time capsule of an episode)... alas in this episode we endeavor to anyway!

This week Eric and Laurence convene to the mics to discuss the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, along with a good deal of other video games we've been spending time with us these past couple months. Then in the back half of the show, we share our feelings Charli XCX's brat as we unpack our own brat summers, and we yap at length about all of the other culture (music! live theatre! film! etc!) that we're gay for as of late! Strap in for this time capsule of an episode on Summa 2024~

Games Discussed:
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Kingdom Hearts (now on Steam!), Animal Well, Baldur's Gate 3, Lil Gator Game, Zenless Zone Zero, Overwatch 2, Lego 2K Drive

Pop girlies discussed:
Charli XCX, Tinashe (Stream "NASTY" on all platforms!!!), Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan

Theatre/Movies/TV Discussed:
Fiddler on the Roof, Urinetown, The Acolyte, The People's Joker by Vera Drew, Big Boys by Corey Sherman, Twin Peaks, Pokémon Horizons


================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Excess Express at Dusk" by Yoshito Hirano, Yuka Tsujiyoko

We've been Nasty girls for sitting on this episode for a couple weeks, but we are back! This week we discuss Luca Guadagnino's bisexual fever dream smash hit CHALLENGERS, as well as Another Crab's Treasure - a cute undersea Souls-like where you play as a hermit crab trying to get his shell back, the Met Gala (which we kinda dgaf about but discuss a bit anyway), the recent layoffs in the video game industry, Spy x Family: Code White, some theatre we've been digging into lately, the pop girlies' summer hits ("Nasty" by Tinashe & "Espresso" by Sabina Carpenter to name a few) and more!

Later, in What Else We're Gay For this week:
ERIC: Baby Reindeer
LAURENCE: The Blank Check Podcast's series on Satoshi Kon, and Suzume by Makoto Shinkai

Plus at the very end, a surprise discussion on US Season 2 of Traitors

If you're in LA, come see Eric in Hollywood Fringe Festival this June! Tickets here https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10356?tab=tickets

================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Wii Sports - Tennis Results Theme" by Kazumi Totaka

Get in the robot, listener, it's time for another Gay for Play! This week we're joined by bestie of the pod and G4P alum, Sara Brown! We get deep and philosophical about the re-release (and first North American release) of The End of Evangelion in theaters and discuss why this film and its anime is still one of the most beloved and mind-boggling series ever made, as well as a show and film rich with queer under(and over)tones. We also get into the new Stardew Valley 1.6 update, chat all about the new features that continue being added to this modern perennial classic, and why we just can't stop returning to the farm. Before all that, we have to do a dive on the new Beyoncé album Cowboy Carter, as well as our stance on country as a genre and what comes next for Queen Bey and country music as a whole. All that plus more movies, games and culture on this week's episode!

It's a real life boogie AND a real life hoedown, so join us, won't you?


What Else We're Gay For:

Eric: Quiet On Set and I'm Glad My Mom Died
Sara: Baldur's Gate 3
Laurence: Problemista

================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
Stardew Valley OST - Spring (The Valley Comes Alive) by ConcernedApe

It's all aces this week as Eric and Laurence chitchat about all the culture and games they've been playing this month. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the hotly anticipated follow-up to 2020's FF7 Remake. Rebirth reunites us with our favorite PTSD-addled twink Cloud Strife, as he and his gang of gay friends and divas leave the city of Midgar and embark on an open world adventure on their hunt for Sephiroth: fighting monsters, going on endless side-adventures, and playing countless minigames along the way (including a truly fantastic card game called Queen's Blood)
And speaking of cards, we've both been playing a ton of Balatro, a new poker-based deck-building roguelike that has us addicted like a couple of gamblers (sans any real gambling, thankfully) and has quickly made a name for itself as an early GOTY contender.

We also discuss some thoughts on the Oscars and some our favorite films from the award season, Laurence talks about how sexy Barrett Wallace is, Eric discusses Persona 3 Reload and Portal 1&2, plus we talk about Dune Part 2, the incoming albums from the pop girlies, and so much more!

What Else We're Gay For:

Laurence: Bottoms (2023)
Eric: Mexico City!
================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

Time marches ever onward, and here we are, with our first episode of 2024!
Back in January (sorry for the delay, it's been a busy start to the year for us) we sat down with one of our OG G4P guests and dear dear friend Leo Grierson to discuss digital theatre and storytelling, A.I. and our complex and evolving opinions on the technology, the joys of grad school, the best farming sims to enjoy whilst recovering from top surgery, and so many more games and movies we've been into lately

Games discussed include Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, Wylde Flowers, Coral Island, Hitman Freelancer, Cult of the Lamb, Strange Horticulture

What Else We're Gay For:

Laurence: Delicious In Dungeon & Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Eric: Bluey
Leo: Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods by Bailey Williams & Theatre of the Unimpressed by Jordan Tannahill

================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

"The GOTYs, said to portend... untold slayage, and the end of the *year*~"

2023 is over! And we find ourselves at the end of a truly landmark year for gaming.
On this episode we discuss some of our favorite games of 2023. We each pick 5 games from our personal lists that we want to highlight, then culminate the show with 3 "joint slays": games that made both of our lists that we want to celebrate together, the last of which we are considering to be our official pick for 2023 Game of the Year.
Join us as we celebrate these games, a whole lot of honorable (& dishonorable) mentions, games we didn't play but plan to in the future, and a whole lot more!

What Else We're Gay For:
Laurence: The Steam Deck OLED
Eric: Tokyo Godfathers (2003) dir. Satoshi Kon

YouTube link mentioned in the show: MyHouse.WAD - Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod
================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

MUSIC THIS WEEK (Spoilers kinda):

Ochette, the Hunter - Octopath Traveler 2 - by Yasunori Nishiki
Thulludhadi Valasu - Venba - by Alpha Something ft. Kaber Vasuki, Ramya Ramachandran
Title Theme - Pikmin 4 - by Kenta Nagata, Asuka Hayazaki, & Soshi Abe
Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - by Manaka Kataoka & Masato Ohashi

We back y'all. This week Eric and Laurence hop back on the mics after a much needed break & discuss gaming ruts, our teacher-eras, the end of the actor's strike, AI, some light predictions for the Game Awards (we recorded this episode 2 days before the ceremony) and of course, gaaaaaames!

Games discussed include: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (a slay), Alan Wake (the first one), Super Mario Wonder (wowie-zowie!), Overwatch 2 (fun and for the gays), Baldur's Gate 3 (which recently added ball-jiggle physics), Sea of Stars (also a slay!), and more.

Later in the show we catch up on a couple movies and TV shows we've been watching including The Boy and the Heron, The Marvels, The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Jujutsu Kaisen S2.

What Else We're Gay For This Week:

LAURENCE: The Devil's Plan (Netflix)
ERIC: When the makers of Pokémon Go and Sleep No More tried to reinvent theater

It's been over 3 years since we first launched this show. Thanks so much to everyone who has stuck with us, we love y'all for listening and can't wait to bring you more in the future! <3

================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Piranha Plants On Parade" by Koji Kondo, Shiho Fujii, Sayako Doi, Chisaki Shimazu

Autumn has officially begun, and with it, massive Role-Playing Games have arisen as some of hottest games of the season. We're leaning into this genre trend this week and discussing 4 games we've been playing!
-First we have the stellar new RPG Baldur's Gate 3, a colossal Dungeons & Dragons-based adventure where dialog choices & character interactions massively impact the story (and also all your party members are super gay and horny for you),
- A stellar new flop in Starfield from Bethesda, a space exploration RPG from the creators of Skyrim and Fallout that unfortunately feels dated and limiting in comparison to some of the other games in the spotlight right now.
-A "Drag Race All-Stars"-level comeback from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (the new DLC expansion and 2.0 update from CD Projekt RED's 2020 open-world action RPG that had a famously rocky launch),
-And finally 2019's Disco Elysium, A gorgeously-written murder-mystery/noire RPG that has been in our backlog for ages and kinda fits in perfectly in comparison to the other games on this list in different ways. We've had so many people recommend this game to us and this felt like a perfect time to dig into it, and oh are we so glad we did!

What Else We're Gay For:

LAURENCE: Sea of Stars
ERIC: Rotting in the Sun (now streaming exclusively on MUBI)

================
Get in touch with us!

EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.com

FOLLOW G4P

Twitter: @GayForPlayPod
Instagram: @GayForPlayPod
Twitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypod

Support the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON

========
CREDITS
Intro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)

Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)

Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary, Elijah Punzal, Trevor McTavish,<3

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
"Martinaise District Theme 1" by Sea Power