The So Many Games Podcast

The London Games Festival was held between the 13th and 19th of April 2026, and New Game Plus, the festival's indie game showcase event was held on the 16th and 17th of April.We managed to attend New Game Plus on the 17th, and it was a fun, full day of talking with developers, trying out new games, and meeting familiar faces for the first time.One of those faces was John Rogers from Gaming in the Wild, and he kindly agreed to hop onto this episode to share his thoughts on the event as a whole. We also highlight a few games that we played that deserve your attention.While at the event, I also spoke with James Bruce – co-founder of Saltstone Studios – on their game The Pale Beyond as well as their upcoming spiritual successor, The Hearth and the Harbour. We did try to find a quiet spot to talk, but unfortunately some loud people found us, which was picked up on the mics. We did our best to remove them, but they were quite stubborn to leave the audio, unfortunately.John Rogers LinksBlueSkyYoutube ChannelPodcastJames Bruce LinksSaltstone Studios WebsiteWishlist Hearth and Harbour on SteamThe Pale Beyond on SteamChapters[00:00] Intro[02:26] London Games Festival with John Rogers[59:37] Music Break – Colony from The Pale Beyond Soundtrack[1:01:13] James Bruce Interview[1:27:25] Final Thoughts & Outro[1:29:24] Messages from Creator FriendsSo Many Games LinksFollow us on ⁠BlueSky⁠Check out our ⁠website⁠Visit our Discord serverJoin our PatreonTake a look at our ⁠LinktreeIntro/outro music by ⁠Jerden CookeMusic Clip CreditsThe following tracks were used in this episode.Unstoppable – Wax Heads soundtrack, composed by Gina LoughlinColony – The Pale Beyond soundtrack, composed by James BruceOverture – The Pale Beyond soundtrack, composed by James Bruce

This month we had the opportunity to talk to Adam Stjärnljus & Klas Eriksson, the creative director and main writer of Planet of Lana and the sequel Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf.The conversation was delightful, full of interesting factoids on the development of both games and their many features, including how the idea came to be, the struggles of getting the game noticed, the amazing music and the new features of the latest game.It's a jam-packed episode, and once you're finished here, please go and give Planet of Lana II a wishlist or go buy it, as this episode drops on the day that it releases on all major platforms.If you would like to keep up to date with Wishfully and the Planet of Lana series, the best way would be to visit their website or search for Wishfully on all the major social platforms.I would like to give a huge thank you to Adam and Klas for agreeing to join me and for sharing so much knowledge on the games.Chapters[00:00] Intro[03:01] Adam & Klas Interview Part 1[35:48] Music Break[36:39] Adam & Klas Interview Part 2[1:12:43] Final Thoughts & Outro[1:14:17] Messages from Creator FriendsSo Many Games LinksFollow us on ⁠BlueSky⁠Check out our ⁠website⁠Visit our Discord serverJoin our PatreonTake a look at our ⁠LinktreeIntro/outro music by ⁠Jerden CookeMusic Clip CreditsAll clips were taken from the Planet of Lana and Planet of Lana II soundtracks, composed by Takeshi Furukawa.Clips from the following tracks were used in this episode:Tailo Village from Planet of LanaUtopia From Planet of Lana IIWemari Village from Planet of Lana IIMany thanks to Wishfully Studios for their kind permission to use these clips from the soundtrack.

Jakefriend is a solo developer from Canada. The first act from his debut game, Scrabdackle, has recently been released, and Jake was very kind in spending some of his rare spare time to talk to us about the game.Jake shared some really interesting details about the development of the game, from the concept to how he landed on the locations to how he ended up with the episodic release idea.If you would like to keep up with Jake and Scrabdackle, then you can follow him on BlueSky, or he is very active in his Discord server.Please visit Scrabdackle's Steam pageWe also have a written review of Scrabdackle on So Many Games.Many thanks to our patrons, John, Kammy, Antonia, Ruzzh and Cerys, who we are incredibly lucky to have. If you would like to see what we offer and support independent video game coverage, then please take a look at our Patreon.Correction: I mention the game is published by Fellow Traveller in the intro, but this is not entirely accurate, as Fellow Traveller is co-publishing the game alongside Jakefriend.Chapters[00:00] Intro[02:14] Jakefriend Interview[29:23] Music Break[29:50] Jakefriend Interview Part 2[1:01:57] Final Thoughts & OutroSo Many Games LinksFollow us on ⁠BlueSky⁠Check out our ⁠website⁠Visit our Discord serverJoin our PatreonTake a look at our ⁠LinktreeMusic by ⁠Jerden CookeMusic Clip CreditsAll clips were taken from the Scrabdackle soundtrack, composed by Jakefriend. The following tracks were used in this episode:House of Beak and BladeLand of pride and PlumageOne Bat AttitudeMany thanks to Jake for his kind permission to use these clips from the soundtrack.

AdventureX is a narrative adventure gaming event held annually in London, and we took ourselves along for this year's offering.Find out how we found the event and how we found the game selection, and we report on the panels that were held throughout the weekend.We also took the opportunity to interview some of the attendees and for part one of our coverage, you can find interviews with The Dark Queen of Mortholme developer Mosu, the Séance of Blake Manors Narrative Director Dave McCabe and the developer behind the 2022 coming-of-age point-and-click game Meridith Gran and to cap off the episode, I had a wonderful chat with Saly Beaumont about AdventureX and her role as Olivia D'arcy from The Séance of Blake Manor.A huge thank you goes to everyone that I talked to at the event for their time and to the organisers for being so open and welcoming.Chapters[00:00] Intro[02:51] AdventureX Impression[05:02] Mosu Interview[16:13] More AdventureX Impressions[17:29] Dave McCabe Interview[39:48] Meridith Gran Interview[56:50] Sally Beaumont Interview[1:25:18] Final Thoughts & OutroSo Many Games LinksFollow us on ⁠BlueSky⁠Check out our ⁠website⁠Visit our Discord serverJoin our PatreonTake a look at our ⁠LinktreeMusic by ⁠Jerden CookeMusic Clip CreditsThe Dark Queen of Mortholme – Main Theme Composed by MosuThe Dark Queen of Mortholme – Enraged Dark Queen Composed by MosuThe Séance of Blake Manor – Title Screen Composed by Clement PanchoutThe Séance of Blake Manor – Vincent Varley Composed by Clement PanchoutPerfect Tides – Main Theme Composed by Daniel KobylarzPerfect Tides – Mainland 1 Composed by Daniel KobylarzThe Séance of Blake Manor – Evelyn's Theme Composed by Clement PanchoutHeartspell – Notes Passed Composed by Dire Kitten Games

We break from the usual format to bring you a deep discussion on one of this year's biggest games, Hollow Knight: Silksong.Jason is joined by fellow So Many Games writers Matt and Erik to share their experiences of their playthroughs of the game. We delve into most aspects of the game in our discussion, from our expectations. coming into the game to our favourite locations, mechanics, its difficulty level and a meaty chat on the game's bosses.Although we split this episode into two, with the second part dedicated to a heavy spoilery discussion, some very light spoilers did creep into the first part; such was our enthusiasm for the game.Make sure to stick around to the very end of the podcast, as this episode debuts us playing adverts from our content creator friends. You may discover your next favourite podcast!Check out our written review of Hollow Knight: SilksongTake a look at Matt's podcast, Bit Harmony and Erik's podcast, Pages of PlayChapters[00:00] Intro[06:34] Hollow Knight: Silksong[43:49] Musical Break – Moss Grotto Composed by Christopher Larkin[44:30] Music Break – Hollow Knight: Silksong Spoilers Chat[1:36:31] OutroSo Many Games LinksFollow us on ⁠BlueSky⁠Check out our ⁠website⁠Join our Discord serverTake a look at our ⁠LinktreeMusic by ⁠Jerden CookeThe music clip used in the break is Moss Grotto from the Hollow Knight: Silksong soundtrack composed by Christopher Larkin

For episode six of the podcast, Jason was joined by voice actor Sally Beaumont.Sally has been a staple of video game voice acting, starring in many high-profile games including Harold Halibut, Loco Motive and Old Skies.Sally was very kind to spend some of her spare time to talk about her time voicing Fia from Old Skies and on voice acting itself. It was a fascinating and fun conversation that we hope you enjoy listening to.We also had questions from the community, so thank you to Astronoluke and Louie for the questions featured in this episode.Sally Beaumont LinksPlease visit Sally's YouTube channel, where she has a host of behind-the-scenes videos from when she was recording for Fia.Follow Sally on BlueSky, and if you are after a highly skilled voice actor, then please check out her website.Chapters[00:00] Intro[00:44] Sally on Old Skies and Voice Acting[45:43] Musical Break[46:08] More Old Skies![1:24:08] OutroSo Many Games LinksFollow us on ⁠BlueSky⁠Check out our ⁠website⁠Take a look at our ⁠LinktreeMusic by ⁠Jerden CookeThe music clip used in the break comes from the Old Skies soundtrack composed by Thomas Regin. Permission was kindly granted by David Gilbert.

For episode four of the So Many Games podcast, we are joined by two fantastic people. Firstly, So Many Games writer and podcaster Erik Lunde joins in the fun as co-host on his first appearance on the podcast. And for our second guest, we were delighted to welcome the amazing Jenny Windom!In the first half of the episode, we chat about her many projects, including the Wholesome Directs, her podcasts and being a classroom teacher! In the second part we discuss three indie games that have left important impressions on Jenny. Those games were 1000xresist, The Outer Wilds and In Stars & Time. We get into why these games are so important to Jenny, as well as Jason & Erik sharing some of their thoughts too!*Important Note*When we first started making this podcast, we were determined to make these as video podcasts. Over the last three episodes, our naivety has shown that this way was a much deeper time sink than we ever thought. So we have come to the decision to prioritise the audio version over its video counterpart. We will still release on YouTube, with a custom video, but the production of the video will be heavily scaled back. We apologise if this causes any disappointment, and we wish we had more time to dedicate to it, but sadly that is not the case. Many thanks for your understanding and we hope you'll continue to enjoy our podcast.*Chapters*00:00 Intro00:16 Jenny's Projects34:54 Jenny's Favourite Indies1:27:15 Outro*Jenny Windom Links*- Wholesome Direct- Geeks and Grounds- The Indie Council- Jenny on BlueSky- Jenny on Instagram*So Many Games Links*- Follow us on BlueSky- Check out our website- Take a look at our Linktree for all of our links- Music by Jerden Cooke

Episode 2 of the So Many Games podcast is filled with Ultros goodness as we welcome the narrative designer of the game, Pelle Cahndlerby and the writer of the upcoming Lost in Cult Design Works Ultros book, John Rogers, to the show. The first half of the episode focuses on the Ultros design works book, how John got involved with the project, what to expect to find inside the book, and that mightily impressive deluxe version.The second half concentrates on the development of Ultros, how Pelle tackled the writing of the game and its many characters, plus a bunch more amazing chat on the game. Many thanks to Pelle and John for taking time out to join me, and below you can find links to their social media and other projects.*Chapters*00:00 - Intro06:38 - Ultros Design Works Book27:48 - Ultros Trailer29:09 - Ultros Development1:13:50 - Outro*Links*Follow Pelle on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cahndlerby.bsky.socialFollow John on BlueSky:https://bsky.app/profile/gaminginthewild.bsky.socialFind the Gaming in the Wild Podcast on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0gVnXCO1k5CuFXLnKOB3P5Ultros Steam Page (now also available on Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PS5):https://store.steampowered.com/app/2386310/Ultros/Take a look at the So Many Games website:https://somanygames.co.ukFind So Many Games on BlueSky:https://bsky.app/profile/somanygames.co.ukCheck our Linktree for all our links:https://linktr.ee/somanygames