Welcome to Emmi & Annie's year in review, including our definitive video game crush of 2025, episode stats, and a cocktail or two. Thanks for a great year of talking indie. We're really looking forward to the next one.

Girl Mode and the episode we guested on back in May

Emmi’s non-EATI recs

The Apothecary Diaries

• Manga
• Light novels
• Anime

Coffee Rush board game

Delicious in Dungeon

Heated Rivalry

Tinto de Verano

Annie’s non-EATI recs

The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin

Common Side Effects (animated series on HBO Max)

Saturday Edition on Playdate

Every single game we talked about in this episode:

Aviary Attorney

Balatro

Blue Prince

Carimara - Beneath the forlorn limbs

Co-op Kaiju Horror Cooking

The Chef’s Shift

Dave the Diver

Death of the Reprobate

Dredge

Drova - Forsaken Kin

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time

FlyKnight

Hades II

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Infinity Nikki

Many Nights a Whisper

Mouthwashing

Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst

Pajama Sam: No Need To Hide When It’s Dark Outside

PEAK

Saturday Edition

Squirreled Away

Tiny Garden

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4

Music:
Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Watch Annie and Robin of Girl Mode stream games! https://www.twitch.tv/parallelplayers

Listen on our website! https://eati.games

Emmi and Annie battle motion sickness to answer a ghost’s questions three.

Chapters:

(00:30) News

(06:45) State of Silksong

(10:32) Carimara Discussion

(01:08:22) Upcoming Games

News Links:

Netflix to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion (GamesIndustry.biz, Dec. 5)

Netflix sells studio Spry Fox back to original owners (PC Gamer, Dec. 5)

Micron announces exit from Crucial consumer business (Dec. 3)

2025 PC Gaming Show highlights (PC Gamer, Dec. 4)

Carimara Links:

Interview with Carimara Dev Bastinus Rex (Six One Indie, May 22)

TRIP demo by Bastinus Rex (Itch.io)

Bastinus Rex talking about workflow between art and code (Reddit, August 2025)

Blog which provided some folklore reference for Carimara (Benoit Reveur)

Upcoming Games Mentioned:

Rhyolite, Dec 11

Bearly Brave, Dec 15

Music:
Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Watch Annie and Robin of Girl Mode stream games! https://www.twitch.tv/parallelplayers

Listen on our website!https://eati.games

This week we’re talking Dave the Diver, killer whales, and the Ratatouille of it all in Part 2 of our Fishing Game Duology.

Chapters:

(01:02) News + State of Silksong

(25:23) Dave the Diver

(01:11:23) Upcoming Games

News Links:

NYT on the Saudi Arabia PIF being low on funds

Game Developer on the Unity/Fortnite partnership

NYT interview with Roblox’s CEO

Science Daily on new research on West Coast orcas

Lime Kiln Point State Park and the Whale Museum are great places to visit on San Juan Island

Infinity Nikki v2.0 promo video

Wired on Steam Machine

Dave the Diver Links:

PC Gamer interview with director of Dave the Diver (July 25, 2023)

Disappearance of billions of crabs around Alaska (CNN, August 2024)

The problem with nature documentaries (The Atlantic, April 2021)

Upcoming Games Mentioned:

Randomice, Nov 25

Knight of the Lions, Nov 27

Effulgence RPG, Dec 2 (early access)

Octopath Traveler 0, Dec 4

Death Howl, Dec 9

Music:
Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Watch Annie and Robin of Girl Mode stream games! https://www.twitch.tv/parallelplayers

Listen on our website! https://eati.games

Dredge, the yawning horror of that which we cannot change, and you.

Part 1 of our Fishing Game Duology. Look out for Part 2 in a couple weeks.

Links:

80 Level interview with Black Salt Games (November 16, 2023)

The Game Awards' Future Class program remains on ice (November 6, 2025)

How poor leadership slows down game development (November 4, 2025)

Chapters:

(00:37) News + State of Silksong

(14:57) Dredge

(52:29) Upcoming Games

Upcoming Games Mentioned:

Morsels, Nov 18

Kingdoms of the Dump, Nov 18

Demonschool, Nov 19

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, Nov 19 (Early Access)

Constance, Nov 24

Music:

Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Watch Annie and Robin of Girl Mode stream games! https://www.twitch.tv/parallelplayers

Listen on our website! https://eati.games

Slay ‘er? I barely know ‘er!

Beware: discussions of blood, gore, body horror, cannibalism, the works.

Links:

Nota Press by Reba Elliott open for submissions for Game Books

Arimia Dev - Interview with Black Tabby Games (November 29th, 2024)

Gamespot - Review of Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut (November 18th, 2024)

Favorite Childhood AMVs:

Naruto - Das Omen

Ouran High School Never Ends (Anime North 2008 Best in Show)

Mahou Shoujo Requiem AMV Best in Show 2011

Chapters:

(00:00:30) Call for submissions for Nota Press

(00:03:53) State of Silksong (and Infinity Nikki)

(00:08:04) Gaming PCs, mechanical keyboards, and AMVs

(00:12:49) Slay the Princess

(01:22:01) Upcoming Games

Upcoming Games Mentioned:

UNBEATABLE, Nov 6

Whiskerwood, Nov 6

Possessor(s), Nov 11

Winter Burrow, Nov 12

Music:
Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Watch Annie and Robin of Girl Mode stream games! https://www.twitch.tv/parallelplayers

Listen on our website! https://eati.games

This one’s for the late game freaks.

Links:

EA considering private buyout (which has since been confirmed): https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/ea-private-deal-buyout-video-game-maker-808aefec

Hades II v1.0 out as of Sep 25: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145350/Hades_II

Infinity Nikki Girlcott context from Girl Mode’s Robin Bea: https://www.inverse.com/gaming/infinity-nikki-season-controversy-update-apology-girlcott

Blue Prince late-game Steam megathread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1569580/discussions/0/599650845622083710/

Referenced late-game review from Phil Hornshaw: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blue-prince-doesnt-have-a-satisfying-ending-but-thats-the-point/1100-6532795/

Chapters:

(00:00:30) News

(00:06:49) Blue Prince - The Late Game

(02:08:30) State of Silksong (and Infinity Nikki)

(02:12:40) Silksong Skull Tyrant Spoilers Begin

(02:16:16) Silksong Skull Tyrant Spoilers End

(02:19:23) Upcoming Games except they’re all out now

Now Available Games Mentioned:

Éalú, Oct 2

Carimara, Oct 6

Totally Accurate Kissing Booth Simulator, Oct 7

Absolum, Oct 9

Undusted: Letters from the Past, Oct 13

Music:

Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Listen on our website! https://eati.games

Sorry it took so long to get back. We got lost in this mansion where the layout changed every day. We've been subsisting on turnips and bananas since June. As always, spoilers abound.

Featuring a new recurring segment, the State of Silksong.

News Links:

Indie game delays due to Silksong release (Game Developer)

A recap of recent Nintendo Direct (Polygon)

Hades II v1.0 Coming Soon Trailer

Annie & Robin’s Twitch, Parallel Players

Robin on Bluesky

Robin and Willa’s podcast, Girl Mode

Blue Prince Links:

Maze by Christopher Manson on the Internet Archive

VICE Interview with Tonda Ros

Myster Rogers YouTube interview with Tonda Ros (Myster Rogers also being the lead playtester for the game)

Review in the NYT

Chapters:

(00:25) News

(09:43) Blue Prince (Part 1)

(01:23:06) State of Silksong

(01:32:37) Upcoming Games

Upcoming Games Mentioned:

Henry Half-head, out Sept. 16th

Strange Antiquities, out Sept. 17th

Goblin Cleanup, out Sept. 18th

Easy Delivery Co., out Sept. 18th

Demonschool, out Nov 19th

Music:
Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Listen on our website! https://eati.games

Annie and Emmi revisit games from their respective childhoods. Annie brings Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst, a game about being friends with your ex, and Emmi brings Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside, a star vehicle for Pamela Adlon. Spoilers for games that are decades old.

This episode was deeply cursed with recording issues, roommate noises, and college youths having a party down the street, so apologies for any audio weirdness or abrupt cuts. Our schedules have also been cursed which unfortunately means no news or upcoming games this week.

Announcements:

We were invited to guest on Girl Mode and had a blast! Thank you so much to Robin for having us. Check out the episode here and follow Girl Mode on Bluesky.

Following the release of this episode, we’ll be taking a temporary break from recording so Emmi and Annie can recover from the end of the school year. We’ll be back soon! In the meantime, you can follow Annie @stellarine.bsky.social and Emmi @not-emmy.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Chapters:

(00:33) Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst

(39:39) Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside

Music:
Bit Forest Intro music by Bertsz -- https://freesound.org/s/545457/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Follow us on bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/eati.games

Listen on our website! https://eati.games