What does a creepy cat and a creepy cafe have in common (hint: they're creepy), and why are we talking all things cursed in this episode? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast is a two-player back-and-forth this week as Will and I discuss everything from Cinderella's crops to a speedy hedgehog in a car.
Will dives straight into Play Together's Halloween update, where said cursed farms and spectral princesses abound, and as we talk about the oddities of monsters popping up all over Kaia Island, we also ponder the mysteries of just why Cinderella might be cursing an entire town with nightmare veggies.
Speaking of cursed critters, Escape Game: Cat and Cafe is, at first glance, supposed to be a relaxing puzzler where you cosy up with a cute cat and a lovely little cafe - but honestly, with the way the visuals are presented and the mystery of this odd "escape game", it looks more like there's some form of impending doom just lurking around the corner or bubbling beneath the surface here. It's entirely free to play though, so if you're curious, you can give it a go and see for yourself (or we might just be overthinking things and it really is just a puzzler about a cafe and a cat).
Moving on to more festive news, Bleach: Brave Souls is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a cool offline event where the OG voice cast will be doing live readings next month, as well as a bunch of freebies within the RPG itself. Everyone's favourite blue hedgehog is also a testament to long-running franchises, which is how we segue into Sonic Rumble and its release window next month.
We talk a bit about how multiplayer Sonic games have never really taken off - mainly because there's one that actually put Sonic in a car - but with any luck, this new Stumble Guys-esque adventure will be just the thing to kick off the genre.
And finally, we end the episode with a bang by announcing that nominations for the 12th Pocket Gamer Awards are now open! You can nominate your faves across a variety of categories, so if, like me, you love Shogun Showdown's roguelike card battles, or, like Will, you fancy Super Farming Boy's quirky anti-capitalism charm, then this is your chance to flaunt your fandom.