Pix & Flix

9: Halo Infinite & Halo

Join as as we dive in to Halo Infinite and Halo the Paramount+ TV Series!
Halo Infinite is the sixth mainline entry into the Halo video game franchise, released in 2021 and developed by 343 Industries. When all hope is lost and humanity's fate hangs in the balance, Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he's ever faced.
Halo is a 2022 TV Series developed for Paramount, created by Steven Kane & Kyle Killen and starring Pablo Schreiber. Loosely adapted from the universe of the video games, aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown.

8: Back 4 Blood & Night of the Living Dead

This one is all about zombies! We talk about Back 4 Blood and the original Night of the Living Dead.
Back 4 Blood is a 2021 first-person-shooter video game developed by Turtle Rock Studios and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. From the creators of the critically-acclaimed Left 4 Dead franchise, You are at the center of a war against the Ridden. These once-human hosts of a deadly parasite have turned into terrifying creatures bent on devouring what remains of civilization. With humanity's extinction on the line, it's up to you and your friends to take the fight to the enemy, eradicate the Ridden, and reclaim the world.
Back 4 Blood is a 1968 film written and directed by George Romero, and is one of the original zombie movies before zombie movies were even a thing! A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the East Coast of the United States.
We use this pairing to discuss how zombies have evolved across pop-culture and different trends and interests that get portrayed in media following what's happening in the world around us in any different time period- but all focused on zombies!

7: Among Us & The Thing

This one is all about Among Us & The Thing! And also we talk about 12 Angry Men a little bit as well.
Among Us is a 2018 video game developed by Innersloth. Directly inspired by The Thing and blowing up in popularity during the pandemic, it is an online and local party game of teamwork and betrayal for 4-15 players...in space!
The Thing is a 1982 movie written and directed by John Carpenter. Starring Kurt Russel as the main character, a research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
12 Angry Men is a 1957 black and white film directed by Sidney Lumet and is about a jury in a New York murder trial who are frustrated by a single member whose sceptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.

6: It Takes Two & Toy Story

This episode is about It Takes Two and Toy Story and features special guests Holly (Stephen's partner) and Cathy (CJ's wife)!
It Takes Two is a two player co-operative adventure game developed by Hazelight Studios and released in 2021, winning Game of the Year at the video game awards that same year. Play as the clashing couple Cody and May, two humans turned into dolls by a magic spell. Together, trapped in a fantastical world where the unpredictable hides around every corner, they are reluctantly challenged with saving their fractured relationship.
Toy Story is an animated feature film directed by John Lasseter and released in 1995. A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's bedroom.
(we touch on Toy Story as a whole with all of the movies in this episode as well)

5: Tomb Raider & Tomb Raider

This episode is about Tomb Raider & Tomb Raider! That may sound confusing, but that's because we're covering the 2013 Tomb Raider game and the 2018 direct movie adaptaion of the same name.
Tomb Raider is a 2013 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. It is the tenth main game in the Tomb Raider franchise and is a reboot of the series, acting as the first instalment for a trilogy of games that reconstructs the origins of Lara Croft. 
Tomb Raider is also a 2018 movie directed by Roar Uthaug and stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. Adapted specifically from the 2013 video game, it follows Lara Croft - the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer - who must push herself beyond her limits when she discovers the island where her father disappeared.

4: Deathloop & Boss Level

This episode is about Deathloop and Boss Level! Both have timeloops but is that enough for them to work well as a pairing?
Deathloop is a game developed by Arkane Studios and released in 2021. You play as an assassin who is caught in a deadly time-loop on an island full of enemies. In order to succeed, you'll have to die, die and die again.
Boss Level is a film released in 2020, starring Frank Grillo and directed by Joe Carnahan. Trapped in a time loop that constantly repeats the day of his murder, a former special forces agent must unlock the mystery behind his untimely demise.

3: The Outer Worlds & Firefly

This episode is about The Outer Worlds and Firefly!
The Outer Worlds is a sci-fi role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and released in 2019. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the colony's corporate equation, you are the unplanned variable.
Firefly is a television series created by Joss Whedon and originally aired in 2002. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the colony's corporate equation, you are the unplanned variable.

2: Erica & Black Mirror Bandersnatch

In this episode we discuss the 'full-motion-video' video game Erica, paired with Black Mirror Bandersnatch! Both feature game and movie elements but one is marketed primarily as a game while the other is marketed primarily as a movie. Where do we draw the line between games and movies and does it work in these examples?
Erica released in 2019 and is a full motion video-based interactive film video game developed by Flavourworks and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It puts you directly at the heart of the mystery. Your choices, your consequences. You play as Erica who finds herself trying to solve a mystery that traumatized her many years ago.
Black Mirror Bandersnatch released in 2018 by Netflix and shares the same universe as the Black Mirror television series. It is an interactive film set in 1984 where a young programmer starts to question reality while he adapts a mad writer's dark fantasy novel into a video game.

1: Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland & Fear Street

In our very first episode we are discussing Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland and the Fear Street movie trilogy, Fear Street 1994, Fear Street 1978 and Fear Street 1666! 
Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland is a point-and-click adventure game adapted from the Goosebumps novels written by R. L. Stine, developed by Danger Close Games and released in 1996. Lizzy, Luke and Clay are trapped in Horrorland - and you must help rescue them. Escape from Werewolf, Dracula and the Horrors of HorrorLand. Solve puzzles and gather clues to free your friends from one of the creepiest places on earth.
Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666, are all directed by Leigh Janiak and released in 2021. They are adapted from the Fear Street novels, also written by R. L. Stine.
Fear Street 1994: After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
Fear Street 1978: A summer of fun turns into a gruesome fight for survival as a killer terrorizes Camp Nightwing in the cursed town of Shadyside.
Fear Street 1666: In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a witch hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, while teenagers in 1994 try to put an end to their town's curse before it is too late.