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Today we're talking about the February 2026 Next Fest! 

Discussed in the episode:
Games that will almost certainly be covered by dotzip
Unhomely - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2941990/Unhomely/
I’m Making a Monster - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4047160/Im_Making_a_Monster/

Brain goes burr
VHOLUME - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4131730/VHOLUME/
Tileweaver - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4006200/Tileweaver/
Cursed Words - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856460/Cursed_Words/
Pachincro - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4200890/Pachincro/
The Loopler - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4150860/The_Loopler/
The Magus Circle - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2796640/The_Magus_Circle/
Runeomicon - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3160570/Runeomicon/
Modulus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2779120/Modulus/
Raccoon - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3784030/RACCOIN_Coin_Pusher_Roguelike/

I love whatever is wrong you
Rewind 99 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3977290/Rewind_99/
Busbound - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2095420/Bus_Bound/
Nightfall Cafe - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3816920/Nightfall_Cafe/
All Will Rise - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3165340/All_Will_Rise/ (on Kickstarter: All Will Rise: a narrative courtroom deck-builder )
AtmosFar - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1798230/ATMOSFAR/
West - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4302000/West/

Shoutout to Newgrounds.com
Chipmatic - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3780950/Chipmatic/
Mining Merchant - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3744080/Mining_Merchant/

Maybe that zoloft didn't block ALL my emotions
Hozy - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3326230/Hozy/
Memento - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2474770/Momento/
inKONBINI - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2723430/inKONBINI_One_Store_Many_Stories/
A Study In Blue - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4280150/A_Study_in_Blue/
Deep Snow Delivery - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3281970/Deep_Snow_Delivery/

This one's on the computer
Lost Wiki: Kozlovka - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4018950/Lost_Wiki_Kozlovka/
Human.exe - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4016270/Humanexe/
MMO 98 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3907940/MMO_98/
Secrets of Suburbia - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3111050/Secrets_Of_Suburbia/

What the fuck (affectionate)
Panthalassa - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2955720/Panthalassa/
WOODROT - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3896040/WOODROT/
THREE VERSES³ - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3139120/THREE_VERSES/
Burden Street Station - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3126340/Burden_Street_Station/

Feast for the Eyes
Petrichor - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4168440/Petrichor/
Phonopolis - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1206070/Phonopolis/ (nocaps on YouTube: i played every game by Amanita Design)
Titanium Court - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2364580/Titanium_Court/
Helix: Descent N Ascent - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2736370/Helix_Descent_N_Ascent/
Pluto - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3057670/Pluto/
HYPNOS - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2861210/HYPNOS/

The dotzip award for the most questionable idle animations
Super Alloy Crush -  https://store.steampowered.com/app/3092360/Super_Alloy_Crush/

Hot girl walks
Dreamcore: Rabbit Hole - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4149700/Dreamcore_Rabbit_Hole/
Plum Road Tea Dream - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3206340/Plum_Road_Tea_Dream/
Walk the Frog - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3336240/Walk_The_Frog/
nophenia - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3979330/nophenia/
Gloomveil - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3156020/Gloomveil/

Women su...

i ain't interpreting all that. i'm happy for you tho. or sorry that happened
Today we're talking about Eclipsium by Housefire! A game about walking around and unspeakable things happening to your hand.

Get Eclipsium on Steam!!! Follow Housefire's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:
AJ on The Worst Community Report
AJ's 2025 Game of the Year video on YouTube
Eclipsium (Original Game Soundtrack) by Hudson Bikichky on Bandcamp
AJ's playthrough of the beginning of Eclipsium on YouTube
Finding Emilie by Radiolab
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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

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Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine and check out his new project Foster Hope!

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

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Timecodes:

(00:00) - Listen to AJ on The Worst Garbage Community Report :-)

(01:45) - Welcome to the game

(03:31) - What is Eclipsium?

(04:58) - What'd we think

(08:30) - Bugs?

(10:00) - The music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The sound!!!!!!!!!!

(13:10) - The hand and the things done to the hand

(15:42) - Heading to spoilers

(16:11) - Chase wants to talk about the images

(20:01) - Kim wants to talk about judgment

(22:48) - Robin wants to talk about it literally

(25:16) - AJ wants to talk about the opting-in

(27:24) - What death means and religious imagery

(34:21) - Going to the panopticon

(47:27) - They can't ALL be PT!!!

(50:03) - An actually interesting series of hallways

(56:47) - Big Takeaways

(56:59) - AJ's Big Takeaway

(59:42) - Chase's Big Takeaway

(01:04:08) - Kim's Big Takeaway

(01:06:19) - Robin's Big Takeaway

(01:09:39) - The end of the game hot damn

(01:09:57) - Thanks for listening!

★ Support this podcast ★

Guy whose only played Sayonara Wild Hearts: "I'm getting a lot of Sayonara Wild Hearts energy in this game."

Today we're talking about Toroa: Skycall by Atawhai Interactive! A game about gliding and just hangin' out.

Get Toroa: Skycall on Steam!!! Follow Atawhai Interactive's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:
The sourdough shaping video that AJ talked about by Matthew James Duffy on YouTube Shorts(tm)
TWG Steam Curator Page
Making Kin with the Machines, Archer et al. from the Journal of Design and Science by MIT Press
Royal Albatross Centre 
---

Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari
---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - The end of a 20 minute conversation

(02:31) - We're not fighting!!!

(03:43) - fort.nite ????

(05:52) - Oh right the podcast

(06:12) - What is Toroa: Skycall

(07:36) - This game feels AMAZING

(10:21) - The MUSIC

(11:38) - The game is steeped in culture

(13:46) - Talking to other animals

(17:02) - Songs of the sea have been dulled by the drums of progress

(21:48) - The game wants you to just hang out

(23:05) - Bird heaven????

(28:49) - Everything is connected

(33:57) - You get where you're going

(35:57) - Made with love

(36:31) - Everything is connected!!!

(37:15) - Big Takeaways

(37:17) - Kim's Big Takeaway

(42:31) - AJ's Big Takeaway

(47:09) - Help the Northern Royal Albatross!!!

(47:38) - Thank you for listening!

★ Support this podcast ★

This is a sports game! Well it's a game that centers around a sport... Er, it's a game that has a sport as a central narrative piece... uh...

Today we're talking about despelote by Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena! A game about soccer and tuning out the adults in your life.

Get despelote on Steam, Switch, or Playstation!!! Follow Julian's work on his website! Follow Sebastián on his website!
Follow Matt on his YouTube channel, Flow State!

Discussed in the episode:
A Sportslike Manifesto by Grapefruit Games
Despelote review: miraculous slice-of-life soccer game pulls a hat trick by Moises Taveras for Digital Trends
Additional links:
Despelote with Moises Taveras by Tales from the Backlog on YouTube
---

Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari
---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - The sausage gets made

(00:19) - Babby's first intro

(01:34) - The Sports Corner

(04:20) - What is despelote?

(08:13) - Sportslike

(11:24) - Witholding the big stuff

(13:35) - Making it back to the bench

(14:36) - The first ten minutes

(18:39) - Standout moments

(26:07) - Being a child among adults

(31:24) - What happened...

(32:43) - Turn the game on!

(35:06) - Crossing narrative lines

(37:22) - The very end

(41:11) - Big Takeaways

(41:16) - Matt's Big Takeaway

(44:12) - Robin's Big Takeaway

(46:27) - Chase's Big Takeaway

(49:43) - Thank you Matt for coming on!

(49:53) - Chase attempts an outro

★ Support this podcast ★

Would you mind picking me up a mystery skull while you're out?

Today we're talking about Dépanneur Nocturne by KO_OP! A game about getting little treats and going to the washroom.

Get Dépanneur Nocturne on Steam!!! Follow Ko_OP's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:
_amaranthine's (Jake's) new project Foster Hope on bandcamp!
---

Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari
---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - Eldot Ring

(00:21) - ahem

(00:34) - Snow day!!!!!!

(01:38) - What is Depanneur Nocturne?

(02:31) - This is a game about existing in a new place

(10:11) - The backroom

(11:25) - Going to the washroom

(15:31) - Sharing little secrets

(18:27) - The cashier

(23:01) - Our big takeaways for our beautiful partner

(29:40) - Big Takeaways

(29:53) - AJ's Big Takeaway

(31:42) - Robin's Big Takeaway

(33:16) - A beautiful game about going shopping

(33:52) - Thanks for listening!

★ Support this podcast ★