February 1st has meant exactly one thing here at Chic Pixel: It’s the start of the dating sim Community Game-Along! Get in the romantic spirit for Valentine’s Day or just because romance games are awesome by playing a dating sim anytime this month to participate!
It’s time for a long overdue roundup of the November and December 2018 Community Game-Along themes! There were a lot of great games played over the two months, so read on if you’re looking for any new titles to add to your to-play list!
Hot dang, we’re on a podcasting roll! Pixel x Pixel is back for the third week in a row now, thanks to our Sweet Pool spectacular. In episode 9, we return to our regular format to discuss what we’ve been watching, doing, and, of course, playing. Anne shares why the internet is wrong about Marie Kondo, Marcus returns to some old favorites, and both share thoughts on the Resident Evil 2 one-shot demo.
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7:00 – Media Minutes: Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, Resident Evil 2 one-shot demo
37:00 – Notable News: Soldier 76 is gay, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey DLC has a whole lot of problems (spoiler warning for discussion of the DLC content), Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition announced, Valve’s 2019 plans
♫ “Willie Lomans,” “5 minutes pleasure,” and “6 pence and moon” from Alphabet Planet by Hiroki Kikuta
This is my first year purchasing a calendar by manga artist Moyoco Anno (Sakuran, Sugar Sugar Rune), so I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share! I don’t know how long Moyoco Anno has been selling limited run calendars in Japan, but I’ve been pining for one for a couple of years.
For 2019, I decided to get the wall-mounted calendar design featuring characters in kimono, which was 3,500 yen (approximately $35) with free shipping within Japan and limited to only 1000 units. At the time of this post, there are still some available, but keep in mind that you’ll need a forwarding service if you don’t live in Japan.
The calendar is a traditional style where you rip the pages off every month instead of flipping it, which is a bit daunting, so all the more reason to take a few pictures beforehand!
Here it is, our long-awaited sweet pool special episode! If you haven’t played the game yet, don’t worry, you can still tune in for the first part of the show, where we discuss sweet pool developer Nitro+chiral and boys’ love (aka BL) manga and games in general. Then, with plenty of forewarning, we get into our full spoiler-filled impressions of the game and a discussion of the broader themes touched on by the game in general!
Warning: The entire episode has a content warning for discussion of rape and violence/gore.
Anne’s Sweet Pool review
Marcus’ Sweet Pool review
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20:36 – Start of spoilers: Overall impressions
54:33 – Diving Deep: Discussion of themes
♫ “Willie Lomans,” from Alphabet Planet by Hiroki Kikuta, “chills01,” “sorrow” from Sweet Pool Soundtrack by Zizz Studio
Sweet Pool, the first of JAST Blue’s Nitro+chiral BL game localizations, is finally out in English! Not only did I have the very exciting opportunity to contribute very slightly to its release as a PR consultant, but I’m thrilled to share my thoughts on the full game with you in this review. It’s not often we get an official English BL game release, so Sweet Pool‘s release is definitely cause for excitement!
When the news was first announced that Sweet Pool was going to come out in English in time for its 10th anniversary, I was thrilled, albeit surprised. As the first Nitro+chiral game to come out officially in English, it’s a rather interesting choice… because Sweet Pool is quite notorious for its dark horror themes and grotesque, body horror elements. So, while Sweet Pool is billed as a BL game, I would recommend anyone interested in it solely for the BL elements to tread with caution.
Not sure what to play for the Disney Game Community Game-Along? You’re in luck! To celebrate the first Game-Along of 2019, I’m giving away 1 Steam key for DuckTales: Remastered! Simply enter using the widget below.
The giveaway is open worldwide until 11:59 PM PST, January 20th, 2019. After that, a random winner will be selected and I will send the code to the email address provided. Good luck!
DuckTales: Remastered Giveaway