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Jenny | Geeks & Grounds

Geeks & Grounds is an asynchronous, monthly game club where we play video games and brew good conversation, together! ☕ Each week, receive a newsletter with a reflection question and curated materials meant to help you thoughtfully connect with the games we play.

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Dashing into Hyper Light Drifter [Geeks & Grounds #058]

get ready for some precise combat and mysterious storytelling this week's brew ☕The section of the game we're focusing on this week. A world in ruins. A population decimated. We begin our May game, Hyper Light Drifter, with a desolate, pixel art landscape that indicates a tragedy has come and gone. Life seems to be moving forward, but your character — and maybe others in this world — are living with a mysterious, chronic, and (quite possibly) terminal illness. Will we find the cure? As we...

18 days ago • 2 min read

this week's brew ☕The section of the game we're focusing on this week. This week, we're finishing our time with American Arcadia! If you haven't yet picked up the game and are wanting to join in the conversation, you've still got a chance! The game is about 5-6 hours long, and our hangout is this Saturday in Discord. Get ready for a discussion with the community kicking off at 3pm PST (bring questions, in-game highlights and feedback, and your favorite cozy beverage!) Trevor's run has spanned...

25 days ago • 6 min read

get ready to run this month's brew ☕Introducing the game we're focusing on this month: American Arcadia. Welcome to a world of science, technology, entertainment ...and 24/7 surveillance? For April, we're playing American Arcadia, a game I've been looking forward to discussing since its November launch last year. Not only does it blend some of my favorite media and themes to discuss -- movies like The Truman Show, reality television, corporate Disney, and the increasing 'contentification' of...

about 2 months ago • 4 min read

this week's brew ☕The section of the game we're focusing on this week. As you play Gris, you’ll quickly notice that there really isn’t overt text or dialogue explaining everything to you. The game relies on your interpretations, your experiences, to help inform what you take away. I did make the intentional choice to share — if you hadn’t figured it out via the game’s store pages — that the developers intended for this title to be about grief. In fact, it draws from a popular Western...

2 months ago • 3 min read

Our March 2024 selection is Gris: a breathtaking game about grief. this week's brew ☕What we're playing this week -- it's a new month, so we're starting a new game! With nearly no text and a stunning watercolor style, Gris is one of those games that certainly will stand out. Developed by Nomada Studio, and published by Devolver Digital, this beautiful puzzle platformer is what we’ll take our time percolating over for March! Beyond the stunning artwork, Gris — at its core — is the journey of a...

3 months ago • 2 min read

this week's brew ☕ Happy Valentine's Day! (Belated, yes, I know 😅) If you happen to celebrate, hope you enjoyed time with people you care about and chocolate! These next two weeks are quite busy for me -- some of you may already know this, but my day-job is working at a game publisher, and we've got two titles launching in the next two weeks! It's very exciting, but also quite hectic, and I'm really happy to be able to have the excuse of keeping up with G&G to make sure I take time to enjoy...

3 months ago • 4 min read

this week's brew ☕Our gaming focus for the week. How was returning home as Jala last week? It’s definitely rough to see the ways folks have been hurt by Jala, so I’ve been playing as someone who has returning unexpectedly, but with the goal of remedying past relationships. What’s really fascinating about this game is that there are a variety of dialogue options— some more apologetic and others not so — I’d love to hear from you if you’re playing Jala a bit differently! I appreciate that...

3 months ago • 4 min read

this week's brew ☕ Who HASN’T felt like they’ve made a mess of things in the past — especially in the realm of relationships, whether romantic or platonic. Our game this month not only embraces the idea of acknowledging the mistakes we’ve made, but puts our protagonist, Jala, in a very unique position: she’s got an opportunity to face her past choices head on and (perhaps) finally grow from them. Thirsty Suitors is a ROMP, to say the least. Minimalism is not the word I’d use to describe this...

4 months ago • 4 min read

this week's brew ☕ We’ve spent hours with dear, young Niko at this point journeying through the Barrens, into the Glen, past the Refuge. Our time with this little cat human has involved silly moments, we’ve learned about their family, their favorite food, and even communicated directly with them about ourselves and our journey’s purpose. I CARE about Niko. After the Tower and the credits roll, there’s a familiar pang for me, a bit of melancholy. Our time is done, the decision is final. Yes, I...

4 months ago • 3 min read

this week's brew ☕ Ascend the Tower and restore the sun! If you’ve been following along with the G&G timeline, this week, we’ve finally made it to the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the Tower! We’ve trekked through the Glens and Refuge (listen to the podcast discussion and summary here) and embedded ourselves a bit more into the world. A far cry from the Barrens at the start, this world has villages and a major city filled with folks who’re just trying to get by. Fishing, herding,...

4 months ago • 4 min read
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