December 2023 THEPITCHKC.COM
The Pitch’s 2023 holiday gift recommendations for the gamers in your orbit
Kansas City gamers have a serious problem: 2023 gave us way too many games to play. Whether the player in your life is into shooters, RPGs, platformers, strategy, adventure, or fighting games, this year brought no shortage of stellar experiences to get lost in. Now, with the holidays at our doorsteps, you’re probably looking for the ultimate gaming gifts for your friends and family. It wasn’t easy, but we did our best to sort out 2023’s haul. Looking for a better controller to improve your Call of Duty skills? We can help. Searching for a fun multiplayer to crack open at a party? Look no further. Need just one more person to tell you to play Baldur’s Gate III before you finally give in? We’ve got you covered. PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC players will all find something to love here.
Courtesy photo
Editor-in-Chief Brock Wilbur President & Chief Operating Officer Andrew Miller Director of Marketing & Promotions Jason Dockery Managing Editor Steph Castor Community Manager & Food Editor Sarah Sipple Sales Executive Erin Carey Music Editor Nick Spacek Film Editor Abby Olcese Little Village Creative Services Jordan Sellergren Art Director Cassondra Jones Contributing Writers Michael Mackie, Barb Shelly, Beth Lipoff, Kristen Thomas, Jordan Baranowski, Lauren Textor, Adrian Torres, Kate Frick, Scott Poore, Hana Kim, Brynn Winkler, Sofia Mongillo, Rachel Potucek Editorial Interns Emily Jacobs, Hayden Kalp, Joe Ellett, Mar’Che Boggess, Zoe Strohm Contributing Photographers Zach Bauman, Brooke Tramel, Maura Dayton, Isabella Galvan, Allison Scavo, Pilsen Photo Co-op Contributing Designers and Illustrators Alex Peak, Chloe Freeman, Jake Edmisten
This is Bremlin. His love language is “Gifts.” Cassondra Jones
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Letter from the Editor PAINT YOU IN SILVER, WRAP YOU IN COLD By Brock Wilbur
Dearest reader, Welcome to the December 2023 issue of The Pitch magazine, brought to you by your friends here in glamorous Kansas City. With Thanksgiving safely behind us, we are free to focus all of our energies on what matters most: delicious, delightful capital-
ism—the reason for the season! No applause break for capitalism? Yeah, that shouldn’t have come as a surprise in our little “Commie Rag,” as one dedicated reader loves to refer to us. They aren’t wrong, and neither am I for feeling unceremoniously conflicted each December when the time for assembling our yearly gift-giving guide comes together. Are “things” and “stuff” the best use of our time, attention, and capital, especially as the world burns around us? Probably not! Am I still the type of guy hard-coded to gift-giving as my love language, to the point where I simply cannot conceive of a greater expression of love and respect than the spiritual transfer that comes with gifting just the right hard-tofind record or sentimental candle to just the right person? No, I will, unfortunately, never stop being that dude. The records and candles will keep coming until the credit card companies finally shut me down. Giving “a thing” to someone just feels right. There’s a particular chemical rush that this season tees us up for that is simply too hard to rewrite from our coding. I know because I’ve tried. I’ve really fought back on “gift giving” in previous years—or attempted to move so far outside the box that there were no longer any boxes. There’s a transactional social construct that turns what should be personal and joyous into work-adjacent and even anxiety-crippling responsibility that can take all the fun out of the endeavor with a space vacuum-esque rush. It’s hard to be asked to care about caring in a different way than you feel like caring or caring in a language that isn’t your own. Every year, I find myself trying to reinvent the approach as if I’ll find some improbable mix of sustainability, humanity, goodness, awareness, productivity, reflection, and joy. There’s no combination of donating in someone’s name to a mutual aid group combined with buying them a video game that is going to achieve all of that, but it doesn’t stop me from trying.
That’s why I have come to adore The Pitch’s gift guide round-up so very much. The collection and selection of locally available items that support makers and move-shakers in the metro while also letting me assemble my best frontal attack on the ever-growing holiday gift “targets” in my life—well, it’s just a helpful thing to have. We hope this year’s round-up (curated by our in-house demon elf squad) will help you with your shopping spree. The other gift I’m giving, more generally to friends (and foes alike) this year… well, it feels internal, but perhaps it’s the best, most conscious gift I can hand out. If you’re a long-time reader of the “Letter from the Editor” column, you might’ve noticed that 2022 was a big year of thanking those around me for patience, kindness, and aid. 2023 was a year where I tried my best to pay that back where needed in the community and in the relationships around me. Starting with this holiday season, my plan is to finally ascend to being the sort of person who doesn’t need like I used to need. Even on my best days in years previous, I’ve always been the kind of tempest that brings towering highs and crushing lows with him wherever he goes. Now, with some stability in me, I’m just doing the work to winterize. With my SAD lamps and my therapist appointments on the books, with my pile of winter reading suggestions lining my bedroom, and with a dog whose anxiety bubble is about to burst—it’s just the right time to not be a “need” on anyone else. This Christmas, my best gift is getting my oxygen mask on first. Paint me in silver, wrap me in cold, and let’s see what happens when the giving of great goods comes alongside a little preventative good in our own hearts. Pitch in, and we’ll make it through,
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THE PITCH | December 2023 | THEPITCHKC.COM
