This week on Zed Games, Paul and Maylee swap more than PAX tales before Zahra brings us the week in psychically enhancing #GamingNews and the team talk Game Freak freaky leaky news.
Paul gets the feels playing Neva from Nomada Studio. And Alexis drops in and the team talks the indie presence at this year’s PAX Aus. Plus some extra interviews in between from the developers from Away From Home (Squishy), Drăculești (Fine Feathered Friends), and Game Over (Jacob Houston)
This week on Zed Games Hazel, Zahra, and Caroline talk playing with their plorts before Zahra brings us the week in Gaming News with the team talking Screen Queensland funding and monopoly. Zahra then plays god in the remake Age of Mythology: Retold. Then the crew touts the treasures awarded in this year’s Australian Game Design Awards.
Paul, Zahra, and Caroline battle the void before Maylee brings us the week in Gaming News and the team talks The Sims microtransactions. Paul dressed up to paddle some balls in Pinball Spire from Apparition Games. Then Zahra double dips with two reviews. Firstly, they put on their gardening shoes in Pikmin Bloom from Niantic Labs and then struggle with the puzzle in Coral Cove. And don’t forget some of us will be down at PAX next week!
Maylee and Peter join us again for a view into social gaming before Paul brings us his signature Gaming News. Peter revisits The Spell Brigade from Bolt Blaster Games as it hits early access. And Maylee gets overwhelmed with fluids in Tavern Manager Simulator.
This week on Zed Games… Zahra, Hazel, and Paul start us off with confirmation that Zahra’s brain is indeed blue from all the Sonic they consume, then Tobi brings us the week in Gaming News. Zahra interviews Deola D’brown from MADE Concepts and their PLAYGRND Showdown and their eGame competition happening at the Brisbane Showgrounds 21st and 22nd September. Paul ages rapidly in the multi-aesthetic/dimentional The Plucky Squire developed by All Possible Futures. Zahra channels their intergalactic conservationist flute player while reviewing Creatures of Ava from Inverge Studios. And Paul shares the haptics in Astro Bot.
In Aussie Gaming Headlines, Billy Mitchell has finally arrived on Australian soil in his bid to sue youtuber Karl Jobst for defamation. The disputed Donkey Kong record holder is defending the claim that his actions against the late youtuber Ben Smith aka Apollo Legend were a “significant factor in Mr Smith taking his own life” and that he “hounded Mr Smith to death.” The case is ongoing.
Dungeons and Dragons has again been caught in the crossfire as an Albany council held a meeting regarding the removal of sex education books to be removed from the library. While the motion was defeated the group Keeping Children Safe Albany lead by former One Nation candidate Michelle Kinsella called the books “borderline pornographic”, and has previously claimed that transgender people hijacked Pride for an ”agenda” and that D&D could be used to “groom children.”
In better news, Australian Games Classifications will be updated from September 22 to push the classification of games that allow the purchase of chance, mystery items, or loot boxes with real money to the M rating (not recommended for children under 15 years of age) and any game containing simulated gambling to R18+.
On the Business side of gaming (also known as – hiring, firing, and foreclosures), all 25 staff from Annapurna Interactive have resigned after the gaming division failed to convince founder Megan Ellison to allow them to spin the gaming segment as its own company. After Ellison pulled out of negotiations earlier this month president Nathan Gary, and co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella resigned. Ellison has stated the company is still committed to the upcoming games releases such as Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, Ghost Bike and Wanderstop. Annapurna Interactive is known for the games Stray, Outer Wilds, and more
Microsoft went through a round of restructuring September 12, laying off another 650 “mostly corporate and supporting” staff in from Activision Blizzard and Xbox to add to the 1,900 staff cut in January. Xbox chief Phiil Spencer announced the layoffs in an internal memo claiming the cuts were needed for to organise the “business for long term success.”
And now for the bytes.
Now for the Game Releases!
This week Hazel and Zahra take the reins, talking what they’ve been playing before Maylee brings us a doozy in Gaming News and the team discusses the disappointing PS5 Pro announcement. Paul then enjoys jumping off cliffs in safety while reviewing Caravan Sand Witch from Plane Toast. Then Hazel and Zahra get crazy/crabby while reviewing the crab based cartoony soulslike Another Crab’s Treasure from Agro Crab.
This week on Zed Games agents of Chaos Paul and Caroline talk the week in Gaming News from Zahra, the death of Concord, Secret Level, and game conservation. Paul proves words hurt more than sticks and stones while reviewing Leximan. Caroline rolls up their chilly balls in a review of the puzzler A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build. And then Paul returns to get gooey to review the game Dros.
Maylee and Peter talk mini painting before Paul brings us the best in Gaming News and Sonic trauma, Then Zahra unravels in narrative puzzler while playing A Star Named EOS from Silver Lining Studio. And Maylee teases a review of Tavern Keeper coming next week!
This week on Zed Games Maylee, Peter, and Caroline organise boardgame nights before Tobi brings us the week in Gaming News, Caroline gets not so clicky in the the idle farmer games Plantera 1 and 2 developed by VaragtP. Peter does an elevator pitch of Leaderboard. Then Zahra channels their inner deity and embraces the carcinization within while reviewing of Crab God developed by Chaos Theory Games.