Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Matt aka Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite podcasts) as they discuss Yacht Club Games' long-awaited action adventure game, Mina the Hollower. Blending several influences from The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, FromSoftware's catalogue and...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Roger Reichardt of Gamerheads Podcast as they discuss Soulgame Stuidio's 2024 top-down twin-stick shooting adventure, Minishoot' Adventures. The weird apostrophe will catch your attention, but the fantastic controls and satisfying gameplay wil...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest AJ Fillari as they discuss Pyre (Supergiant Games, 2017). As your crew makes their way through their underworld hellprison, you take part in competitive rites with the goal of earning your freedom. The game explores the rhythms of sport and co...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest IdolismJ as they tackle Drakengard (Cavia, Square Enix, 2003). Drakengard has a reputation for being bad, unplayable, interesting and edgelordy to a certain extent, and we can confirm that some, but not all of those, are correct. Drakengard ch...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Claire as they deep dive Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems, Kou Shibusawa, Nintendo, 2019). They discuss the life sim and battle elements, how they tie together to make you fear permadeath even more, the four playthroughs, and muc...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Flora Merigold (Epilogue Gaming, Left Behind Game Club) as they discuss Many Nights a Whisper (Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour, 2025). Many Nights a Whisper puts you in a high-pressure situation and asks you to make tough choices that will have...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Jesse Guarascia (noclip, noclip_2 and more) as they strengthen their block-pushing muscles for a deep dive into Isles of Sea and Sky (Cicada Games, 2024). They discuss its rich world full of secrets, why Sokoban-style puzzles feel like a great...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Leah Haydu (Cane and Rinse, Character Issues) as they discuss Kingdom Hearts (Square Enix, 2001). Leah is a longtime fan and Dave just played for the first time, and that led to a great conversation about the infamous story, the Disney and Fin...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Rachel Watts (Thinky Games, Indieventure podcast) as they discuss Cairn (The Game Bakers, 2026). Cairn is a meticulous, thoughtful climbing game that takes you into the mind of an elite athlete as she attempts a climb that has never been done...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and returning guest Scott Danielson as they dive into the third and final entry in the Hitman: World of Assassination Trilogy (IO Interactive), as well as its roguelike mode, Freelancer. This whole package is an absolute treat, and this also brings the Tales fr...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Brian Edwards as they dive into one of 2025's most acclaimed games, The Séance of Blake Manor (Spooky Doorway, Raw Fury, 2025). It's a captivating mystery set in an Irish countryside manor-turned-hotel, full of both literal and figurative ghos...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Josh Galecki (Pixelated Playgrounds, Moonroof Studios) to take a long walk into the woods of Baby Steps. Developed by Bennett Foddy, Gabe Cuzillo and Maxi Boch and published by Devolver Digital, Baby Steps is an extremely unique game, one wher...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Guest info: Doug Lief (he/him) and Gen Moonen (they/them) Listen to Nostalgium Arcanum https://nostalgiumarcanum.fireside.fm/ Listen to Playing By Ear https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-by-ear/id1815995146 Listen to Still Muppeting https://www.patreon.com/c/st...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest TroytlePower as they discuss Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, developed by Troika Games and published by Activision in 2004. Any recommendation to play Bloodlines comes with all sorts of disclaimers attached, which makes it nearly irresist...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Dave recaps 13 indie games that he played on the PAX East 2026 show floor. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:25 The Secret of Weepstone 2:05 Throwback! Jai-Alai Heroes 2:59 Canvas City 3:51 DREADMOOR 5:03 Fractured Blooms 6:20 GNAW 7:31 Valor Mortis 8:32 Well Dweller 9:39 Never's...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and guest Travis Colenutt on their language-learning journey up the tower in Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc, Focus Entertainment, 2023). What do our languages say about our culture, and how can learning another language change the way we see the world? All of this...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and guest Bryan Skursha as they deep dive Death Howl (The Outer Zone, 11 Bit Studios, 2025) on their journey through the underworld to find out what the hell a soulslike deckbuilder even is. Brutal turn-based combat, a story about grieving and a mother's love,...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Josh Leslie as they discuss Skate Story, developed by Sam Eng and published by Devolver Digital in 2025. How does the skating compare to touchstone games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or skate.? How does its poetic storytelling land? How do the...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Bioshock is a title that carries weight, nearly 20 years after its 2007 release by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, and it feels like one that every gaming podcast eventually talks about. And hey, it's our turn this time- Bioshock has long been a favorite of mine that I've re...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog I always tend to take note when a game from previous generations gets a remaster and the general consensus is "hell yeah, finally!", which just so happened to be the case when Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Capcom, 2010) got the HD treatment in 2023. The DS is a real bl...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Ghost of Tsushima (2020) was one of my favorite games of that year, and happens to be episode 2(!!) of this podcast, an early game that screamed to me "you should talk about this into a microphone for 2+ hours). That being the case, Sucker Punch's follow-up, Ghost of Yot...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog The Pokémon franchise got a long-awaited shakeup with 2022's Legends: Arceus, changing the game structure, catching and battling mechanics and setting. But now that Legends has become its own subseries with 2025's Legends: Z-A, all eyes were on its own innovations and ch...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Goodnight Universe had a lot to live up to as the spiritual successor to Before Your Eyes, utilizing the same innovative webcam-based gameplay mechanics to tell a story...about a psychic baby? Well, the premise sounded weird but these creators had earned my trust, and it...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog In the eyes of many football fans, 2004 was the greatest year for football games. It also happened to be the last year before EA secured the exclusive rights to the NFL license, leaving many fans wishing we could go back to the way things were back then, and we were left...

Want more Dark Souls 2 podcasts? Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Every beloved series has its black sheep- Mario has Sunshine, Zelda has the DS games, and Dark Souls has Dark Souls 2. But to me, the things that make Dark Souls 2 divisive are the things that make it interesting. Not every new decision i...