Anna Bell

I’ve been having a bit of a love/hate relationship with cozy games of late, because to me there can be a fine line between smoothing over the rougher edges of reality and utterly obliterating them to the extent that it seems like a cruel mockery of lived experience. I’ve enjoyed Wanderstop so far, and part of that is that there’s clearly some kind of magic surrounding the tea shop, where you don’t have to worry about your expertise as a tea seller or the solvency of the shop. The other is that this is a temporary escape, a short respite to breathe deep, enjoy your surroundings and the tea, and then move on. Of course, the escapism is that you get to move on when you’re ready and only then, but who’s counting.

This is The Queue, our daily column where you ask us questions and just sit for a minute. Listen to the birds. It’ll be okay.

Ironwood Studios pushed a huge update to Pacific Drive earlier this week, so I'm happy to report that Mel's back, baby.

After a short apology for his scratchy voice, Matt leads the cohosts in discussion on a number of topics.

Last week we got the cat-themed ARPG Cat Quest for free from the Epic store, so hopefully you liked that because there's more where that came from, literally.

Along with several other features, today's Nintendo Switch 2 Direct gave us a release date for the highly anticipated console: June 5, 2025, with preorders beginning April 8.

ZeniMax Workers United, represented by the Communication Workers of America local 2100, 2108, and 6215, have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, after current negotations have dragged on for over two years.

I have a doctor’s appointment in a little bit, and I need to make sure I get the laundry in before that so it has time to run so I can dry it. I’ll probably vacuum a bit later. Maybe go get a coffee if I’m good at the doctor’s.

Anyway, this is The Queue, our daily column where you ask us questions and we’ll give you the answers, just like every other day.

While we do enjoy going off on wild tangents or thinking about "what if," sometimes it's important to just go back to the crucial source material.

Ah, to be a tiny rabbit made of rice, dunking a cucumber slice into a mug of steaming hot tea in a cozy breakfast nook.

Hearthstone's new expansion Into the Emerald Dream was our lead story this week, as the two sides don't seem all that well balanced between good and morally gray, let's say.