Tales from the Backlog

Some games are released, garner acclaim and fans, and fade into our Nostalgia centers. Some games, however, keep growing until they are something much bigger. The Last of Us is a trend-setter, influencing the direction of Sony's first-party titles of the past decade, while also being remastered AND remade before spinning out into a multimedia franchise. But does it deserve the hype and continuing...

The 2022 Summer Retrolympics are here, hosted by the Secret Levels podcast! It was originally posted on their feed, but I'm posting here for my listeners- this is a podcast collaboration like no other. The Retrolympics is a retro gaming trivia show featuring great podcasts from around the indie gaming podcast scene. Check out all of the participants, they all have my highest recommendation! The ho...

Some games are fun to explore, some games create worlds that amaze you, some games tell stories you'll never forget...and some games do all of the above. Mobius Digital's 2019 space exploration sim Outer Wilds certainly qualifies. But was it all love all the time? Joining me to discuss it all is the great Keith Gasper from The Main Quest podcast! TIMESTAMPS Intro/Personal Histories/Opening Thought...

This is a preview of a patron-only Tales from the Backlog VIP episode about my top 25 games of all time. Want to hear the whole thing, higher-bitrate Tales from the Backlog episodes, and many more bonus episodes to come? Head over to the Patreon page- $5/month or higher gets you the VIP feed! Thanks for listening! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me...

After years of making critically acclaimed games in a genre that doesn't historically sell, Arkane Studios jumped on the roguelike time loop trend with their flashy, stylish Deathloop. It should have been a home run, right? The marriage of Arkane Studios' best-in-class level design and aesthetics with a game concept that would require players to use their tools creatively, lest they need to start...

Vampire Survivors is a special game. There are no complicated mechanics to learn, no story to keep track of, no lore to uncover, no enemy attack patterns to learn, no crafting systems, and no loot tables, and despite this, we can't stop playing it. It is pure video game, and it is a breath of fresh air in an era where video games keep getting bigger and more complex. Dave is joined by good friend...

Mega Man games have always been a bit of a struggle for me, since I didn't grow up playing the series (or the NES/SNES in general), but Mega Man X is often cited as one of the system's best, and a game that means a lot to a lot of people. So I had to get one of those people to compare our very different histories and experiences. Chris Nelson obliged, and we had a great chat about my experience, w...

Tales from the Backlog's Patreon campaign has just launched, and I'd like to give people an idea of what kind of bonus content they can expect, so here is a little treat- a preview of a solo episode about Stray. You can hear the full episode, with many more to come, by [supporting the Patreon](patreon.com/realdavejackson) page at the $5 tier or higher. Thanks! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Pa...

Hello there! Tales from the Backlog is now listener-supported via Patreon! This is a short announcement and explanation of the current support tiers! [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.instagra...

Wrapping up Elden Ring month, as per tradition, Dave is joined by Jim Rodeman to tier-rank the Elden Ring bosses. TOGETHAAAAA we go through all of the bosses labelled as "Great Enemy" and above! Do the tier list yourself HERE and [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: Inst...

During the pre-release marketing cycle for Elden Ring, the game's director and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki made comments to the effect that "Elden Ring will be the most accessible FromSoftware game to date, and that we think that more people will finish Elden Ring than any of the previous games". Dave is joined by Aaron Angle and Ryan Arrington to discuss one simple question- why is E...

Elden Ring Month continues! FromSoftware certainly didn't invent the open world, and they didn't really invent any of the open world design decisions that helped make Elden Ring a success. So what makes a good open world? In this Break from the Backlog, Dave is joined by Andrew and Dylan from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to discuss open-world games as a whole, as well as how FromSoftware lear...

Elden Ring Month has begun on Tales from the Backlog! Up first, Dave is joined by Ryan Juengling from List Off! to discuss FromSoftware's game of the generation candidate, Elden Ring. With the elevator pitch of simply "Open-world Dark Souls" and wild expectations from fans, Elden Ring had a higher bar to clear than many new releases. Did it meet or even exceed expectations, or did it fall short? L...

As someone who didn't grow up playing PC games in general, Half-Life 2 totally evaded me until I started seeing the Half-Life 3 desperation memes. So as I've attempted to get into PC gaming a bit more, or at least go back and play some of the classics, Half-Life 2 was always on the list. And the promise of doing a podcast with Jay Davis (Super Bracket Bros) was all the inspiration I needed to fina...

Dave is joined by Rick Firestone from Pixel Project Radio to discuss Ryu Ga Gotoku's refresh of the Yakuza franchise. Yakuza: Like a Dragon brings a new protagonist and turn-based combat into the franchise, so tune in to find out how Rick and Dave feel about it. TIMESTAMPS: Intro, Personal Histories and Opening Thoughts 0:26 Story Setup 13:34 Combat 47:37 Side Content and Final Thoughts 1:19:28 Sp...

Dave is joined by Nave from the Gaming Together Podcast to discuss Studio Pixel Punk's inventive action game, Unsighted. Unsighted merges a little bit of Zelda, a little bit of metroidvania, a little bit of Souls and a unique time mechanic- listen in to find out what we thought! *I experienced some recording issues that caused a sound quality drop in this episode- technology is a real pain sometim...

Dave is joined by Alan Nichols to discuss The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. What was once little brother to the much more popular Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask has begun to resonate with many of us who grew up with the N64 during our childhoods. Add in some things that hit a bit closer to home since the pandemic started, and we have a game worth revisiting. But did the gameplay hold up? Listen...

Dave is joined by tabletop RPG developer Adam Bucceri to discuss Shadow of the Colossus. Originally released on the PS2 back in 2005, Shadow of the Colossus stands today as a truly unique experience in gaming, one that has yet to be replicated. Find out what we thought, plus a discussion on the merits of game remakes! TIMESTAMPS: Intro/Personal Histories 0:42 Story and Presentation 18:12 Gameplay...

(Full spoilers!) Dave is joined by returning guest Jake Anderson to tier-rank the bosses in Dark Souls 3. This is a game with some boss fights that are among the best in the whole series, and some that are straight up Not Fun. Find out where we're ranking bosses like Abyss Watchers, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Slave Knight Gael and Sister Friede. Make your own Dark Souls 3 bosses tier list here A...

Dave is joined once again by Adam Rivera to discuss the finale (for now) in the Dark Souls series. Dark Souls 3 combined the faster gameplay of Bloodborne with the usual Dark Souls gameplay, but was it a happy marriage? And what's going on with all the fan service? Find out how we feel in this episode! *Both Adam and I had some technical issues in this recording that affected the audio quality, bu...

Dave is joined by Jared Moss from Play Along Podcast to discuss Game Freak's 2022 hit, Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Representing a major shakeup to the established Pokemon formula, Legends makes changes to nearly every core mechanic that we've all come to know as "how Pokemon works". Was it really the game that fans have been asking for for decades? Listen in to find out what Dave and Jared thought. T...

Dave is joined by the author of the Book of Love, Aaron Angle, to discuss Hazelight Studio's 2021 Game of the Year winner, It Takes Two. This game has garnered a lot of attention, and Dave and Aaron agree that some parts of the game really deserve all of the accolades. The other parts, on the other hand? Listen in to find out. Timestamps: Personal histories, story and gameplay 7:45 Sound design, m...

Dave is joined by Ryan Delaney to talk about Housemarque's 2021 action roguelike hit, Returnal. Returnal brings bullet hell to 3D and adds an intriguing sci-fi story on the roguelike structure. Did this work for us on all fronts? Find out in the episode. *The Returnal: Ascension DLC was announced and release after this episode was recorded. I added a small section at the end about my story theorie...

Dave is joined by Keith from the wonderful The Main Quest podcast to talk about 1994's cult classic JRPG, Earthbound. Find everything Main Quest HERE! [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.instagr...

Dave is joined by Andrew Kimball and Dylan Wren from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers to tier rank the Bloodborne bosses. This episode contains full spoilers for Bloodborne! Find Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers on your podcast platform of choice, YouTube , Twitch or their website and follow them on Twitter and Instagram . [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson)...