Which video game character first made you feel something beyond excitement and rage?

Smut Week has arrived, and we’re confessing our first gaming crushes, revisiting the characters developers clearly wanted us to fancy and discussing the game romances we took far too seriously.

From Chun Li, Nina Williams and Lara Croft to Solid Snake, Leon Kennedy, Shadowheart and the entire increasingly suspicious history of Hideo Kojima, prepare to learn far too much about us.

Before that, we give Gears of War E Day our verdicts, explain why Silver Pines could be one of 2026’s biggest horror surprises, discuss gaming on holiday and cautiously react to the latest unverified GTA VI footage.

We also return to GoldenEye 007 for Pixel Picks Replay before entering Gamer Court to discuss more of the most ridiculous takes in gaming

Who was your first video game crush? Give us the honest answer in the comments.

Review codes for Silver Pines were provided by Team17.

In this episode:

• Gears of War E-Day
• Silver Pines
• Main Topic: Smut Week
• Pixel Picks Replay
• Gamer Court

Subscribe for weekly gaming discussions from two adult gamer parents.

https://www.youtube.com/@PixelParentsPodcast

GET BONUS SHOWS AND MORE BY JOINING OUR ALWAYS FREE PATREON (www.patreon.com/pixelparents)

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code BMB591ST2JKNHXWE

#GamingPodcast #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 Smut Week begins

01:05 Welcome to Pixel Parents

02:06 Cabins and wedding hangovers

05:21 Housekeeping

06:46 What we have been playing

07:23 Gears of War E Day verdict

17:20 Mafia III for a fiver

19:15 The reality of holiday gaming

20:40 Control Resonant check in

23:09 Too many October games

26:06 Silver Pines impressions

39:05 GTA VI footage discussion

45:28 Entering Smut Week

46:49 Our first gaming crushes

53:19 Developers knew what they were doing

01:01:17 Personality over pixels

01:02:47 Romances we took seriously

01:09:27 The panic pause

01:10:53 Questionable character choices

01:13:31 Snog, marry or delete

01:15:56 GoldenEye Pixel Picks Replay

01:17:21 Gamer Court

01:20:46 Soundtracks over graphics

01:24:23 Gaming concerts outside London

01:27:18 Thanks for listening

—

Write to us: pixelparentspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on BlueSky: @pixelparents.bsky.social

Music & production by Sean Murray – barehandsdesigns.com

New episodes every Friday.

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Physical games were about more than owning a disc.

Game shops, midnight launches, manuals, trade ins and lending games to friends all helped make gaming feel like a visible culture.

This week, we ask what digital convenience has cost us, what today’s younger players may never experience and whether physical gaming is already beyond saving.

We also share our first impressions of Gears of War E Day, including its horror atmosphere, incredible opening act and why it feels like the Xbox game we have been waiting for, plus:

In this episode:

• Gears of War E-Day
• Ghost of Yōtei Echoes of Sekigahara
• Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave
• PES 6 Master League
• The Vale Lostbound
• Pixel Picks Replay
• Gamer Court

Subscribe for weekly gaming discussions from two adult gamer parents.

https://www.youtube.com/@PixelParentsPodcast

GET BONUS SHOWS AND MORE BY JOINING OUR ALWAYS FREE PATREON (www.patreon.com/pixelparents)

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code BMB591ST2JKNHXWE

#GamingPodcast #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 What we lose when games go digital

00:42 Butter in the beard

03:22 Welcome and housekeeping

04:25 PES 6 Master League

07:56 The Vale Lostbound

09:24 Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave

15:28 The value of comfort games

21:50 Ghost of Yōtei Echoes of Sekigahara

33:22 Moonlighter 2 and card shop life

35:18 Gears of War E Day impressions

42:18 Gears becomes survival horror

49:26 Why the Locust feel frightening again

57:26 What we lose without physical games

01:00:31 What physical gaming meant to us

01:08:08 Manuals, game shops and discovery

01:14:07 The death of midnight launches

01:20:01 What younger gamers may never experience

01:28:24 Is physical gaming already dead?

01:32:19 GoldenEye 007 Pixel Picks Replay

01:33:55 Gamer Court puts PT on trial

01:39:29 Was the seventh generation gaming’s peak?

01:41:39 Thanks for listening

—

Write to us: pixelparentspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on BlueSky: @pixelparents.bsky.social

Music & production by Sean Murray – barehandsdesigns.com

New episodes every Friday.

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🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts

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What are the nine games that made you the gamer you are today?

Scott and Liam join the social media trend, but the grid only tells part of the story.

We explain how these games shaped our tastes, friendships, families and different stages of our lives.

These are not simply our nine favourite games. They are the games that made us.

In this episode:

• Minecraft Dungeons II review
• Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave
• Control Resonant
• Star Wars Zero Company
• FC 27
• The Witcher 3 Remastered
• The Last of Us Part I in Pixel Picks Replay
• October 2026 Pixel Picks Replay selection

Subscribe for weekly gaming discussions from two adult gamer parents.

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GET BONUS SHOWS AND MORE BY JOINING OUR ALWAYS FREE PATREON (www.patreon.com/pixelparents)

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code BMB591ST2JKNHXWE

#GamingPodcast #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 The nine games that made us

00:41 Welcome to Pixel Parents

07:06 Minecraft Dungeons II review

15:42 Onimusha and Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave

24:22 Control Resonant first impressions

30:18 Star Wars Zero Company

38:34 Is FC 27 worth returning to?

42:14 The Witcher 3 Remastered

47:00 Gears of War E Day review leak

49:26 Will we see more GTA VI?

52:30 Scott fights back against scam callers

55:52 The nine games that made us

57:44 The games that started everything

01:06:49 Games that shaped our tastes

01:11:11 Games tied to friendship

01:14:18 Games that helped us through life

01:17:09 Our most surprising choices

01:23:38 The final games

01:32:23 The games that missed out

01:35:37 Pixel Picks Replay

01:36:21 The Last of Us Part I

01:44:00 October’s game revealed

01:45:20 Closing

—

Write to us: pixelparentspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on BlueSky: @pixelparents.bsky.social

Music & production by Sean Murray – barehandsdesigns.com

New episodes every Friday.

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PlayStation is still the default place to play for millions of people.

But after an uneven PS5 generation, rising prices and a failed live service push, Sony appears to have lost some of its identity.

We look at what PlayStation still gets right, where its confidence has gone and the changes we would make before PS6. That includes more creative games, better communication, new franchises and a return for the studios and ideas that once made PlayStation feel different.

Liam also shares his early verdict on Marvel’s Wolverine. It is polished, violent and refreshingly linear, but does it justify its £70 price?

Elsewhere, Scott continues his Onimusha Way of the Sword obsession, Liam gives The Blood of Dawnwalker his final verdict and Folk Hero earns the highest possible recommendation. It is ideal for playing on the cludgie.

And of course, we’re back in the dock with this week’s Gamer court!

Subscribe for weekly gaming discussions from two adult gamer parents.

https://www.youtube.com/@PixelParentsPodcast

In this episode:

• The Blood of Dawnwalker review
• Marvel’s Wolverine Impressions
• Onimusha Way of the Sword
• Folk Hero Review
• Main Topic: Fixing PlayStation
• Gamer Court

GET BONUS SHOWS AND MORE BY JOINING OUR ALWAYS FREE PATREON (www.patreon.com/pixelparents)

Music licensed through Soundstripe.Code BMB591ST2JKNHXWE

#GamingPodcast #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 This week on Pixel Parents

00:48 Scott returns

04:38 Onimusha Way of the Sword

09:27 The Blood of Dawnwalker review

21:27 Folk Hero review

27:24 Finding time for Fire Emblem

29:25 The return of Solitaire

30:33 Marvel’s Wolverine impressions

50:56 Fixing PlayStation

52:19 Where PlayStation stands today

57:24 The identity of PS5

1:07:19 Revive Japan Studio and Bluepoint

1:11:50 PlayStation, Kojima and Physint

1:16:18 The live service problem

1:23:26 PlayStation needs to communicate

1:28:29 How PlayStation gets its confidence back

1:33:17 The exclusive PlayStation needs

1:37:06 Pixel Picks Replay

1:37:34 Gamer Court

1:41:20 Are gaming subscriptions essential?

1:44:23 Closing the show

—

Write to us: pixelparentspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on BlueSky: @pixelparents.bsky.social

Music & production by Sean Murray – barehandsdesigns.com

New episodes every Friday.

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We all have gaming opinions that aged badly. Scott has six of them.

In this solo episode, he admits he was wrong about Fortnite, game difficulty, digital ownership, Nintendo, Early Access and video game remakes.

He also looks at how age, parenthood and limited free time have changed what he wants from games.

Scott also shares his first impressions of Onimusha Way of the Sword, reacts to Nintendo’s Ocarina of Time remake and the latest Nintendo Direct, and discusses Xbox stepping in to publish Hideo Kojima’s Physint after PlayStation cancelled its involvement.

#GamingPodcast #Onimusha #NintendoDirect

Subscribe for weekly gaming discussions from two adult gamer parents.

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In this episode:

• Onimusha Way of the Sword
• Nintendo/Zelda Direct
• Kojima Productions and XBOX partner for Physint
• Scott becomes Frasier Crane

GET BONUS SHOWS AND MORE BY JOINING OUR ALWAYS FREE PATREON (www.patreon.com/pixelparents)

Music licensed through Soundstripe.Code BMB591ST2JKNHXWE

#GamingPodcast #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 Gaming opinions that aged badly

00:43 Scott takes over the podcast

03:08 Onimusha Way of the Sword impressions

14:57 The Legend of Zelda Direct

17:23 Ocarina of Time remake gameplay

22:13 Nintendo Direct reactions

24:37 Professor Layton and Metroid

29:18 Persona 4, Persona 6 and Kirby

31:45 Xbox saves Kojima’s Physint

34:09 Does the move actually matter?

36:33 PlayStation’s troubling direction

40:47 Gaming hot takes that went cold

43:08 Difficulty does not make a game better

45:34 Digital games won

47:58 Scott was wrong about Nintendo

50:21 Early Access and unfinished games

52:46 Remakes are not inherently lazy

55:13 Age and parenthood changed everything

57:38 September’s next big releases

01:02:23 Sign off

---

Write to us: pixelparentspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on BlueSky: @pixelparents.bsky.social
Music & production by Sean Murray – barehandsdesigns.com

New episodes every Friday.

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Listen on Apple Podcasts

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Should developers stop abandoning successful single-player games after one expansion pass?

The Witcher 3 is returning with Songs of the Past, giving players a reason to revisit Geralt’s world more than a decade later. This week, we ask which other finished games deserve the same treatment.

Scott wants more Sekiro, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Mario Odyssey and Days Gone. Liam makes the case for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Batman: Arkham Knight and another Bloodborne expansion.

We also endure PlayStation’s latest State of Play, deliver our final thoughts on Starfield for Pixel Picks Replay and take Sonic the Hedgehog to Gamer Court.

Which finished game deserves one more expansion? Let us know.

Subscribe for weekly gaming discussions from two adult gamer parents.

https://www.youtube.com/@PixelParentsPodcast

In this episode:

• Our first impressions of The Blood of Dawnwalker
• Surviving September’s packed release schedule
• Final Fantasy VII Revelation and PlayStation’s latest State of Play
• Scott’s long-awaited Starfield verdict
• Gamer Court

GET BONUS SHOWS AND MORE BY JOINING OUR ALWAYS FREE PATREON (www.patreon.com/pixelparents)

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code BMB591ST2JKNHXWE

#GamingPodcast #TheWitcher3 #GamingPodcast

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 Which finished games deserve more DLC?

00:34 Scott returns after the sleep regression

05:45 What we’ve been playing

06:18 Scott finally plays Parasite Eve

11:29 Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo

15:05 Liam returns to Marvel Snap

16:14 A Plague Tale Legacy

18:04 Ghost of Yōtei platinum

19:30 The Blood of Dawnwalker first impressions

24:19 Surviving September’s new releases

29:36 PlayStation State of Play reactions

31:48 Final Fantasy VII Revelation

38:12 Until Dawn and Ghost of Yōtei updates

44:23 The State of Play verdict

45:48 Which games deserve one more expansion?

46:51 Why The Witcher 3 can return

54:31 Sekiro

55:09 Metal Gear Solid V

57:33 Red Dead Redemption 2

59:29 Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

01:03:35 Super Mario Odyssey

01:06:42 Batman: Arkham Knight

01:10:34 Days Gone

01:14:03 Bloodborne

01:20:56 Starfield Pixel Picks Replay

01:31:54 Gamer Court

01:33:42 Has Sonic ever had a good game?

01:38:12 Should gaming showcases happen once a year?

01:43:28 Sign-off

---

Write to us: pixelparentspodcast@gmail.comFollow us on BlueSky: @pixelparents.bsky.social
Music & production by Sean Murray – barehandsdesigns.com

New episodes every Friday.

🎧 Listen on Spotify

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