Pixel Sift Podcasts

Everyone has a horror story to tell when it comes to renting, there are some downright scary experiences out there, and Sydney's Fuzzy Ghost are trying to collect the best of the worst for their next game JANET DEMORNAY IS A SLUMLORD (AND A WITCH), or JDM for short. Award winning Australian developers Scott Ford and Pete Foley join us to share the …

The digital boardgame ARMELLO was how Melbourne's League of Geeks made their name but seven years since that ground breaking indie game was released the studio this year will be sharing not one but two new games. Kelsey Gamble is the Publishing Producer and has a hand in both the scifi anime colony sim JUMPLIGHT ODYSSEY and the hellish political ga…

STRAY GODS: THE ROLEPLAYING MUSICAL combines narrative adventure games with realtime dynamic songs that change as you make choices. Liam Esler, Managing Director of Melbourne's Summerfall Studios shares how musicians Montaigne and Tripod helped create the soundtrack to this game inspired by the musical episode of Buffy. Written by David Gaider (DRA…

Retro inspired videogames are a dime a dozen but what happens if you lean in all the way, play with the nostalgic experiences of those people who grew up with the NES and the Gameboy to make something truly modern. Joshua Hallaran from Critical Games has been working on 8-BIT ADVENTURES 2 for seven years, studying the classics and creating a true l…

What is a game without it's soundtrack? Meena Shamaly, composer and host of ABC Classic's The Game Show joins Gianni for a musical journey through some of the best sounds in video games. Check out the full list on our website: The Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2022 with Meena Shamaly Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a co…

What is a game without it's soundtrack? Meena Shamaly, composer and host of ABC Classic's The Game Show joins Gianni for a musical journey through some of the best sounds in video games. Check out the full list on our website: The Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2022 with Meena Shamaly Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a co…

It's our bumper Game of The Year special, we've got six different games for you as well as a bunch of honourable mentions from the SIFTER team. It was a very hard choice this year with lots of incredible games. You can read a full write up of our favourites on the SIFTER website. SIFTER's 2022 Games of the Year Support SIFTER's independent gaming j…

It's our bumper Game of The Year special, we've got six different games for you as well as a bunch of honourable mentions from the SIFTER team. It was a very hard choice this year with lots of incredible games. You can read a full write up of our favourites on the SIFTER website. SIFTER's 2022 Games of the Year Support SIFTER's independent gaming j…

PENTIMENT is the sort of game that I don't expect is going to appeal to everyone, the point and click narrative game from Obsidian Entertainment (THE OUTER WORLDS, PILLARS OF ETERNITY) is very dense and it takes its time unfolding. Fans of history and the evolution of culture are in for something pretty special as you walk the labyrinth in contempl…

Alex Johannsson has been working on MORSE, inspired by a love of alt controllers and limited button inputs, in this game that combines real morse code and grid based combat. Alex joins Gianni to talk about the development of the game over many years and why cool weird controllers are really a big source of inspiration. Support SIFTER's independent …

GOTHAM KNIGHTS is an intriguing experiment - a superhero action game that is torn between being a solid narrative experience and something else entirely that is soured with odd loot systems, uninspiring character ability trees and a fundamentally flawed mission and world design that feels cut and paste and repetitive in the worst ways. Read a writt…

Miltia is one of the biggest Vtubers in Australia, a partnered streamer on Twitch and she's made a career connecting with fans all over the world. You'll find her playing Apex Legends most days and she said vtubing as really allowed her to connect better with her audience. Mitch finds out what it's like vtubing, how the community responded to her n…

OVERWATCH 2 brings the team based shooter into the free to play era with some pretty questionable monetisation but ultimately extremely fun multiplayer gameplay. Adam Christou, Mitch Loh and Gianni Di Giovanni share their first impressions of Blizzard's once legendary game. SIFTER is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus,…

Jeff Van Dyck is a BAFTA award winning composer and sound designer, who has worked on FIFA, the TOTAL WAR series, and most recently UNPACKING as one third of Queensland based studio Witch Beam Games. Jeff shares the story of how he came to work with a small indie studio after working Triple A titles for years, the story telling in each of the piece…

WE ARE OFK is an episodic visual novel by Team OFK that pulls together a lot of really interesting elements. It's not only got it's own virtual band with an EP of great electronic pop, but contains some of the most genuinely written conversations you'd expect to overhear from that cool group of twenty somethings in the bar. Director/Writer, actor a…

Starring legendary Australian actors Michael Caton, Anne Charleston and newcomer Nancy Curtis as lead character Casey, WAYWARD STRAND is a very Australian narrative indie game with as much voice acting as 18 feature films. Nancy Curtis who plays Casey and Maize Wallin sound designer, audio programmer and composer from developer Ghost Pattern share …

Do you remember WAY TO THE WOODS? The post apocalyptic game where you play as a magical deer moving through the ruins of humanity was revealed in 2019 as an Xbox exclusive but for mostly solo developer Ant Tan, it's been a long process of getting everything right. We sit down with Ant to find out some of the design inspirations, learn more about th…

Playing THE LAST OF US PART 1, the PlayStation 5 remake of the original game makes me wish this was the very first time I was playing the series, taking my first steps into post apocalyptic cordyceps infected world. But this game is for better and worse the ultimate version of that 2013 title, which means if you've experienced Joel and Ellie's firs…

CURSED TO GOLF is a rogue-like or as developer Liam Edwards likes to call it a "golf-like" platformer with some excellent tunes and beautiful pixel art graphics. We speak to Liam about the origins of the game as a small personal project, building up the team to polish it, design decisions and gameplay design as well has find out what tips he'd give…

CULT OF THE LAMB is one of the best single player games of the year, you'll feel compelled to keep moving through both combat and base building modes as you aim for that next attainable upgrade or giant boss to defeat. Chris Button (Byteside) joins Mainstream to discuss Massive Monster's excellent cult simulator. Read our written review on the SIFT…

CULT OF THE LAMB is really two different games in one, a town builder and a dungeon crawler, but they've been welded together using arcane magics by the creative team at Massive Monster (THE ADVENTURE PALS, NEVER GIVE UP) into an experience that keeps you busy. Julian Wilton, Creative Director and Will Mesilane, UI Developer share the secrets hidde…

STRAY is a new perspective on a post-apocalyptic science fiction, and playing as a cat through this story is a blast. Heavily drawing from cyberpunk aesthetics and some of the anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist themes common in the genre it does however fall into some of the same pitfalls. Heavily influenced by the neon streets of Hong Kong and…

CARD SHARK is a beautiful picture book styled video game where you cheat your way through 18th century France and every single graphic you see was hand printed and then scanned into the game. Lead artist and animator Nicolai Troshinsky was inspired by a love of card magic and sleight of hand, as well as a 1975 Stanley Kubrick film to build this ama…

FIRE EMBLEM WARRIORS: THREE HOPES takes the best part of the Warriors franchise and effortlessly mixes it with the core elements of the most recent Fire Emblem series – the dramatic Game Of Thrones style storyline, a charismatic cast of characters, a likeable new protagonist and a strong focus on managing and commanding your troops in the heat of b…

WITCH STRANDINGS is a mouse controlled "strand-type" game, where you make connections and paths across a cursed world. Even though Hideo Kojima wanted to turn DEATH STRANDING into a genre, it was Xalavier Nelson Jr and the team at Strange Scaffold who did it first Learn more about this open world adventure through a forest, how the game runs WOLFEN…

DLC and expansions could be a possibility for NEON WHITE, the anime inspired speedrunning shooter , but you'll need to let Game Director Ben Esposito know what you'd like to see. Ben shares the Y2K Dreamcast aesthetics of import CDs from Japan and how Machine Girl's music shaped this world, what they are doing about leaderboard cheaters, as well as…

THE QUARRY by Supermassive Games is a masterwork of genre fiction and really cleverly written ode to those eighties and nineties teen slasher flicks. SIFTER is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny St…

Everyone is talking about V RISING, Stunlock Studios' survival game which has just entered early access and then rocketed up the Steam charts to be one of the most popular new titles around. For Community Manager Jeremy Fielding, it's a dream come true, this is the first game Fielding has worked on and there's also the challenge of managing more th…

What if Link was a cute fox? At first glance TUNIC looks like a beautiful spiritual successor to THE LEGEND OF ZELDA franchise, but as lead developer Andrew Shouldice shares with us in this interview, it also embraces modern "souls-like" gameplay. TUNIC is filled with lots and lots of secrets, the game was at one time called Secret Legend, and Shou…

Grab your joycon, tighten your wrist strap and bowl, smash or spike your way to victory. If you had a Wii you almost certainly played WII SPORTS, the 2006 title sold 82 million copies by the end of that console's life in 2017. NINTENDO SWITCH SPORTS is a slick sequel with plenty of innovation and polish that could become another cult classic. Read …

TREK TO YOMI's crackling and popping of a dusty film reel samurai film aesthetic hits you quickly when you first load into the game.This is a serious cinematic experience. We're doing everything in black and white, there's using gorgeous camera angles. Read our written review on the SIFTER website: TREK TO YOMI, a side scrolling samurai epic and a …

CITIZEN SLEEPER is a tabletop inspired roleplaying game from Gareth Damian Martin (IN OTHER WATERS) that puts you in the shoes of person trying to escape their digital enslavement in the far future. If it sounds grim, in parts it is, but quickly you discover your place in the world where you can make a life. Each day you've got just the dice you've…

Inspired heavily by the CARMEN SANDIEGO series, CHINATOWN DETECTIVE AGENCY is a contemporary take on the format set in a cyberpunk Singapore in 2037 where social and government support has languished. Creative Director Mark Fillon from Singapore's General Interactive Co shares the authentic design and characters you'll meet as you jet off around th…

You won't have played anything quite like 13 SENTINELS: AEGIS RIM, this multi-protagonist mecha anime game is so compelling and layered it's actually mindblowing how well all the parts work together. Step into the highschool drama of budding relationships, interschool rivalries in Sakura High School just before the world ends and you need to jump i…

If you work in the games industry it can be surprisingly complex to get your name into the end credits, that ending sequence often doesn't include everyone who helped to ship that video game. Project based work and short contracts, and inconsistent recognition makes it more complex than you'd think for developers to get the acknowledgement of the w…

KIRBY AND THE FORGOTTEN LAND the new platformer in the long running Kirby Series from HAL Laboratory is both familiar and new enough to have something for all players. Fiona and Gianni explore this fun new adventure for the most powerful pink ball around which is out now on Nintendo Switch. Read our written review on the SIFTER website: Get absorbe…

André Read always wanted to make a real time strategy game. A huge fan of the genre, it was many years working in the industry before he got his chance with TFC: THE FERTILE CRESCENT set in the plains of Mesopotamia. Teaming up with Anders Grønningsæter the two person team at Wield Interactive have crafted a multiplayer RTS game built with their Di…

Heartfelt writing that comes from a deep love of tabletop gaming, and some stellar performances from Ashly Burch, Andy Samberg, Wanda Sykes and Will Arnett makes TINY TINA'S WONDERLANDS a fun take on the tried and true looter-shooter format. Gianni a relative newbie to BORDERLANDS series joins Mitch a long time veteran as they enter the Wonderlands…

Philip Buchanan from It's Anecdotal was part of the teams that made the awarding winning LARA CROFT GO, HITMAN GO and DEUS EX GO mobile games, and had has just released the charming multiplayer party game MINI MATCHES. It's a collection of Philip's favourite genres with excellent visual design and something for everyone. Learn more about how making…

WolfEye Studios' debut game is a creative isometric action rpg that sees you exploring a world rich with interactivity and intricate systems to exploit. READ OUR REVIEW: WEIRD WEST wants you to play creatively and experiment with its systems WEIRD WEST wants to push back at you. It wants to make every step you take through its dust covered; occult …

If you want to experience the nostalgia of visiting Tokyo, there are few other games that capture the feel of that city like GHOSTWIRE TOKYO, but it's a city devoid of life emptied of the thrum of humanity. This action adventure game set in a world of spirits and magic, is an ambitious departure for Tango Gameworks (THE EVIL WITHIN) but while you c…

ELDEN RING, the latest game from Japanese studio FromSoftware, has sold over 12 million copies since its release in late February. This massive, open-world adventure-rpg continues to build on the legacy and foundation of FromSoftware's previous works in DARK SOULS and BLOODBORNE, throwing players into a dark fantasy world filled with rich lore and …

After seven years without any federal government support for the games industry, a new grant program called the $6 million Games Expansion Pack from Screen Australia was announced on Friday last week. This program replaces a successful but prematurely cancelled fund called the Australian Interactive Games Fund which was axed when this government ca…

CONAN CHOP CHOP is a reimagining of the world of Conan The Barbarian that sees the rippling oiled muscles replaced with cartoony top town aesthetic reminiscent of Flash games or kids cartoons. It's the first console title for Mighty Kingdom, a studio that is more well known for their mobile titles, but it was an excellent creative challenge for Kim…

HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST is the blockbuster sequel the 2016 title HORIZON ZERO DAWN, a third person action game with wonderfully designed elements that keep you hooked. An early contender for one of the most beautiful games ever produced this game takes the open world exploration and combat of the first game, and fills in the gaps to make a believabl…

Explore a drowned society, a city that has sunk beneath the waves and discover how life has continued after people in non-combat adventure game SUBMERGED: HIDDEN DEPTHS. The sequel to 2015's SUBMERGED might not exist if not for Google Stadia, it was an exclusive title for the streaming service, which meant it couldn't be played in the Uppercut Game…

The Pokémon series celebrated 25 years last year and this year POKÉMON LEGENDS ARCEUS is one of the biggest departures from the tried and true format. In a semi-open world where danger is all around you, this game feels like the closest to actually living the world of the anime series. Mitchel Loh and Gianni Di Giovanni share their thoughts on thei…

Welcome to Walkthrough SIFTER's brand new weekly news recap show. Each Sunday we'll highlight some of the biggest stories in video games to keep you up to date. Your host on each episode of Walkthrough is Kyle Pauletto, an accomplished journalist with a keen interest in bringing you the best gaming stories each week THIS WEEK: Nintendo outlines 202…

Welcome to Walkthrough SIFTER's brand new weekly news recap show. Each Sunday we'll highlight some of the biggest stories in video games to keep you up to date. Your host on each episode of Walkthrough is Kyle Pauletto, an accomplished journalist with a keen interest in bringing you the best gaming stories each week THIS WEEK: Nintendo outlines 202…

You might be just a nobody, but it's up to you to take up the heroic mantle in Drinkbox Studios' (GUACAMELEE) new rogue-lite roleplaying game NOBODY SAVES THE WORLD. In this game you change form into bodybuilders, rats, mermaids and necromancers to complete quests, delve through dungeons and fight off the calamity facing everyone. Adam is joined by…