Tales from the Backlog

Dave is joined by Moonborne and Jake Anderson to take on FromSoftware's incredible gothic/Lovecraftian horror classic, Bloodborne. FromSoftware took a big swing with Bloodborne, a game marketed as a werewolf slaying game but with a decidedly cosmic twist. Did that big swing connect? Check out the episode to find out. Follow Moonborne on Twitter and on Youtube ! [Support Tales from the Backlog on P...

Dave is joined by the wonderful Eric Gess to discuss Nintendo & MercurySteam's long-awaited entry in the beloved Metroid franchise, Metroid Dread. After a long wait, Metroid Dread released with smooth and snappy controls, upgraded combat, and a new gameplay challenge with the EMMI zones. Listen in to hear what we thought of everything! TIMESTAMPS OF NOTE: Spoiler Wall 1:48:30 For all things Er...

Dave is joined by Aaron Angle and Ryan Arrington to discuss both Persona 5 and its expansion, Persona 5 Royal, the latest in the long-running series by Atlus. Hailed as a modern JRPG classic, Persona 5 brings addictive life sim mechanics, snappy turn-based combat, stylish visual design and one hell of a soundtrack. Is there anything it can't do? Listen in to find out! TIMESTAMPS: Persona 5 11:52,...

Dave is joined by Brian Edwards from Cane & Rinse to discuss GoodbyeWorld Games' wonderful experiment with interactivity, Before Your Eyes. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Before Your Eyes 10:55, Spoiler Wall and Content Warning, 1:00:41 Find Brian on Twitter , at his blog , and on his Twitch channel . Listen to Cane and Rinse on Apple , Spotify or wherever else you podcast, follow them on Twitter and...

Dave is joined by mysticreferee to discuss part of FromSoftware's past, King's Field IV aka King's Field: The Ancient City. For everybody who has jumped on the FromSoftware train in recent years, whether it was back on the PS3 with Demon's Souls or even Elden Ring, here is a game from an older version of FromSoftware, but it still shows a lot of the world building, atmosphere and even early versio...

Announcing the Tales from the Backlog and A Top 3 Podcast Discord server! Come join us and chat about the shows and anything else! We have a cool group of people in there already and would love to have you too! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi ! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! Social Media: Instagram Twitter Faceb...

Dave is joined by the ultimate penitent one, Chris Nelson, to discuss The Game Kitchen's 2019 metroidvania, Blasphemous. Blasphemous is much more on the "vania" side of the metroidvania genre, and it brings some truly stellar imagery and pixel art, as well as some simple but fun combat to the table. Find out how we feel in detail in the episode! TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Blasphemous 8:14, Spoiler Se...

Dave is joined by Andrew Tavin, host of the TV Nopes and House of House podcasts to discuss Red Hook Studio's 2016 dungeon crawler, Darkest Dungeon. Darkest Dungeon brings pantheon-level turn-based combat, as well as heavy Lovecraft influence and some interesting mechanical ideas to the dungeon crawler genre. Find out how we feel in this thorough breakdown of the game! TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Dark...

Dave is joined by both of the hosts of the List Off! podcast to discuss Acid Nerve's 2021 indie darling, Death's Door. Death's Door was a surprise hit in 2021, bursting on the scene with a great art direction and soundtrack, and paying homage to 2D Zelda games of the past. But was it all as cool as a crow wielding a bright red lightsaber? Listen in to find out! TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Death's Door...

The Furtive Pygmy Jack Allen returns, as we put every boss in Dark Souls into a tier list. Do the tier list yourself and share it with Dave on the podcast socials! Let's compare! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi ! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! Social Media: Instagram Twitter Facebook Cover art by Jack Allen- fin...

Dave is joined by Jack Allen to talk about the perfect Valentine's Day game- Dark Souls. Don't give up, skeleton! Dark Souls is a game that changed the way many people, your host included, look at video games, and specifically the way people look at difficulty in video games. Find out why we think this is truly worthy of that Game of the Decade title. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Dark Souls 10:50, Spoi...

In the fourth edition of the Lazy Sunday Series focusing on short indie games, Dave is joined by Ryan Delaney to discuss Adam Robinson-Yu's charming hiking game, A Short Hike. In a gaming landscape full of punishing action games, blockbuster AAA titles and promises of hundred of hours of content, sometimes all your soul needs is a short hike with some cute animal characters. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00...

Dave is joined by Scott Danielson for part 2 of their own personal Hitman World of Long Podcasts Trilogy. Did you enjoy Hitman (2016)? You'll probably enjoy this game. Did you enjoy our episode about Hitman 1? Don't answer that, but you'll enjoy this episode as we dive deep into what makes this game, and this series, so good. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Hitman 2 14:50, Spoiler Section 1:45:43 Hitman S...

Dave is joined by the Duke of Education himself, Alfredo Takori of the Dukes of Gaming podcast to discuss Sabotage Studio's 2018 retreaux action platformer, The Messenger. This is a game that excels in its presentation and basic Ninja Gaiden-esque gameplay, but has a few big tricks up its sleeve. Does it pull them off? Listen in to find out. TIMESTAMPS: (0:00 intro, 15:09 The Messenger discussion,...

Dave is joined by Rick Firestone of Pixel Project Radio to discuss ZA/UM's 2019 classic, Disco Elysium. Disco Elysium was a popular pick for 2019 Game of the Year, and Rick and Dave not only agree with that status, but would both put this game in their personal all-time pantheon of must-play games. Listen in to find out why! TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Disco Elysium 12:40, Spoiler Section 2:10:00 Noah...

In the 3rd edition of the Lazy Sunday series focusing on short indie games, Dave is joined by Heather Siddiqui and Nick Greenberg to discuss the 2018 interactive visual novel by Mountains, Florence. Florence is a very short game that packs a huge emotional punch, brilliantly conveying emotions via color, music and simple gameplay mechanics. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Florence 10:50, Spoiler Section 4...

Dave is joined by anthropomorphic centipede Jim Rodeman to discuss Team Cherry's legendary metroidvania, Hollow Knight. Standing alone at the top of Metroidvania Mountain is a surprise indie hit, one that marries the lonely atmosphere of Dark Souls with best-in-class map design and fun, expressive combat. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Hollow Knight 12:23, Spoiler Section 1:33:35 Game Maker's Toolkit- Th...

Dave discusses his year in gaming, including the top games he played for the first time in 2021, each game he played that was actually released in 2021, and eventually naming his top 3 games from 2021 in the process. Thank you all for listening as the show has gotten off the ground, and I look forward to continuing to grow and improve in 2022. [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.c...

Dave is joined by Adelaide Lohkamp (she/her), who emerged from the endless fog to discuss Konami's pillar of the survival horror genre, Silent Hill 2. Dave is NOT a horror game fan, and also has trouble playing older games with very outdated gameplay and/or mechanics....so what is it that automatically vaulted Silent Hill 2 onto his "must-play" list? Listen in to find out, and keep that radio hand...

[Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi ! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! Social Media: Instagram Twitter Facebook Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple , Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!...

Dave is joined by stylish combat enthusiast Moonborne to discuss White Rabbit's incredible entry into the 2D soulslike genre, Death's Gambit. Death's Gambit, with its Afterlife expansion, is more than worthy of a seat at the table of the best 2D soulslikes, and a fun metroidvania to boot. Throw in a story that takes some interesting turns, and some cool lore ideas, and this is one that's an easy r...

Dave is joined by professional griffin rider Adam Rivera to discuss Capcom's uncanny western RPG, Dragon's Dogma. This is a game where the combat shines, and the story goes in some really weird places with some of gaming's strangest pacing. And did you know that wolves hunt in packs? TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Dragon's Dogma 8:15, 1:29:15 Follow Adam on Twitter ! And Twitch! [Support Tales from the B...

In a very special bonus episode, Dave talks about good memories playing Smash Melee and then tier ranks 42 other GameCube games. Do the tier list yourself! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi ! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! Social Media: Instagram Twitter Facebook Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.in...

Dave is joined by Ryan Delaney to discuss Frictional Games' existential horror classic, SOMA. This is a game with an absolutely top-level story that simply has to be experienced, but does the simplistic gameplay drag down the overall experience? Listen to find out what we think. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, SOMA 9:40, Spoiler Section 41:50 [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realda...

In the first in the Lazy Sunday series focusing on short indie games, Dave is joined by climbing safety enthusiast Jake Anderson to discuss Campo Santo's hit walking sim, Firewatch. Firewatch is at the same time critically acclaimed and a bit of a lightning rod for criticism. Find out what Dave and Jake think in the episode. TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Firewatch 12:15, Spoiler Section 44:47 GDC Talk o...