x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Tales from the Backlog

A video games podcast where Dave Jackson and guests break down and discuss the games they play. Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music and other aspects, with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle.

leisure video games

All Episodes

2:11:48

121: The Last Guardian (with Chris - Franchise Festival)

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/06/19

Fumito Ueda's trilogy of Playstation games- Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian- are idiosyncratic, minimalist art pieces. The final game in the trilogy, before the unfortunate dissolution of Japan Studio, was The Last Guardian, showcasing the uneasy partnership between an unnamed boy and a large, fearsome beast named Trico. The Last Guardian pushes back on the idea that games need to be responsive and frictionless, instead forcing you to rely on your shaky communication with an animal

en-us

2:14:31

120: Roadwarden (with Bryan Skursha - Pixelated...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/06/12

From the first screenshot I saw of Roadwarden (Moral Anxiety Studio), I knew that I needed to check the game out. The art is simple, yet striking, and any screenshot will convey the quality of writing. Once I booted up the game, I found that the choose-your-adventure writing, the confident RPG mechanics and the music wrapped this into a rich total package. Joining me in this episode is returning guest Bryan Skursha of Pixelated Playgrounds podcast. Pixelated Playgrounds is a gaming book club style

en-us

3:20:46

119: Cyberpunk 2077 + Phantom Liberty (with Adam...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/06/05

Cyberpunk 2077 has had quite a journey. From the disastrous launch, the warranted criticism, and years more work by the developers at CD Projekt Red, the game is finally in proper working condition, fine tuned into a magnificent experience. Add in the Phantom Liberty expansion, and you have some of the most compelling storytelling in AAA gaming.Joining me for the discussion is Adam Gumbert of Respawn Aim Fire, a gaming variety show, and Isle of Misfit Rolls, a D&D actual play podcast. You can check

en-us

1:48:14

118: God Hand (with Derek Van Dyke - Super Deluxe...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/05/29

Sometimes you hear about a game and you know you're going to love it. God Hand, released by Clover Studio and Capcom in 2006, is one of those games. Despite hearing about its difficulty (which was true, my hands still hurt), I loved playing this game and it deserves its resurging cult status. Now if only someone could convince Capcom that this is worth remastering. We can dream, can't we?I'm joined in this episode by the wonderful Derek Van Dyke of Super Deluxe Gamescast and Castle Bravo podcasts,

en-us

1:53:03

117: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (with Jared...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/05/22

As the Legend of Zelda series has pivoted to free-flowing and creativity-focused open words, "The Zelda Formula" has fallen by the wayside, left in the memories of those who grew up with it. That's certainly the case for me, as I welcomed the change that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom brought to the series. However, the old ways still hold a place in my heart, and I was happy to revisit The Minish Cap for this episode. This marks an interesting period in the series, where Capcom worked

en-us

1:33:59

How Gaming Has Influenced Our Taste in Music (with...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/05/15

Video games have the power to connect with players to tell stories, but have you ever considered the role that video games had in shaping your taste in music? From sports games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Madden and FIFA to rhythm games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Fuser, and even non-licensed soundtracks like Mega Man, The Last of Us and Final Fantasy...video games have had a big role in shaping the type of music we like. That's what this discussion episode is all about!My guests for this

en-us

1:49:13

116: Transistor (with Alex - Low Five Gaming)

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/05/08

Transistor, by Supergiant Games, is an interesting game to go back to after playing Hades. You can see a lot of ideas that started here in Transistor and made their way all the way to Hades, with Transistor still being a really engaging and strategic game in its own right. I loved revisiting this game, and am glad it won the poll on Patreon to appear on the show! Joining me to discuss Transistor is Alex from Low Five Gaming! Low Five Gaming is a monthly backlog book club podcast that Alex runs with

en-us

3:17:56

115: Xenogears (with Michael Berger - Bits of Time)

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/05/01

Xenogears, by Square, is one of the big RPGs of this era that I wanted to check off. As a fan of the Xenoblade Chronicles games and JRPGs in general, going back to the root of the series felt like an interesting trip back through history. A few things had initially put me off, like all of the talk about an unfinished second disc and heavy use of religious and philosophical material that I would have to research outside of the game. And I'm happy to report that both worries were unfounded- the second

en-us

2:06:40

114: Baldur's Gate 3 NON-SPOILER SECTION (with Jim...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/04/24

Sometimes I try to write clever little descriptions about the games on the show, but this week's game doesn't feel like it needs it.** Baldur's Gate 3, by **Larian Studios, excels in just about everything it sets out to do. It has impressive writing, almost unparalleled choice-based storytelling, memorable characters, a deep and engaging combat system, and tons of immersive sim elements that make each playthrough really feel like your own. It's one of the best games I've ever played, and I was

en-us

2:04:58

Baldur's Gate 3 SPOILER SECTION (with Jim Rodeman &...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/04/24

Our Baldur's Gate 3 recording ran so long, I had to split it up into two episodes. This is the full-spoiler discussion, where we talk about the decisions we made, how we solved our quests, how things turned out in our games, and much more. In particular, Jim's evil and Dark Urge playthroughs brought about some wild results that you'll love to hear about! You can find the non-spoiler portion of this episode in Episode 114 (https://talesfromthebacklog.fireside.fm/114)!TIMESTAMPS Act 1 2:48 Act 2

en-us

2:05:52

CRPG History & The Breakout Success of Baldur's Gate...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/04/17

During the first few months after Baldur's Gate 3 released, I heard a similar refrain coming from my friends and people on social media- people would say something like "I normally don't play RPGs like this, but I love Baldur's Gate 3! Flash forward 6 months and now Baldur's Gate 3 has swept the major award shows and broken into the top 10 most-played list on Steam. How did a game from such a niche genre break into the mainstream?In order to answer this, I invited CRPG historian and writer/editor

en-us

1:57:00

113: The Case of the Golden Idol (with NinaStruggles)

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/04/10

From the first time I saw a screenshot of The Case of the Golden Idol, by Color Gray Games, I was struck by these caricaturish portraits and knew I'd have to follow up on it someday. Then the comparisons to a favorite of mine, Return of the Obra Dinn, started rolling in and I knew I would have to play it sooner rather than later. And a big shoutout to community member Soccr for buying this for me in our Discord server Secret Santa! Yay!Joining me to discuss The Case of the Golden Idol is

en-us

1:22:11

112: Sunset Overdrive (with Goohi)

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/04/03

Sunset Overdrive feels like a game that's been lost to time, doomed to a life of only being mentioned when a new game comes out that reminds people of it, despite being made by one of the industry's heavyweights (Insomniac Games) in the not so distant past. It's got a goofy tone, a bangin punk rock soundtrack, and an exquisite movement system that never gets old, but its mission design starts to wear thin long before the credits roll. Joining me to discuss Sunset Overdrive is streamer and YouTuber

en-us

1:20:34

111: Balatro (with Matt aka Stormageddon & Aaron...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/03/29

SURPRISE! Balatro comes for us all. Developed by solo developer LocalThunk and published by Playstack, the poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder has singlehandedly caused productivity to drop by 7% worldwide since its 2024 release. Thank you to Playstack and LocalThunk for providing me with a review code so that I could become a statistic! Joining me to talk about the game, its strengths and weaknesses, our favorite strategies and beginner tips are Matt aka Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite,

en-us

43:17

PAX East 2024: Reflections & Games Played

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/03/27

This is the PAX East 2024 retrospective and run-through of all of the games I played! Woooo!Games featured: Animal Well (https://store.steampowered.com/app/813230/ANIMAL_WELL/): The Art of Flight (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1706800/The_Art_Of_Flight/) Duck Paradox (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2058150/Duck_Paradox/) Enter the Chronosphere (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1969810/Enter_the_Chronosphere/) Fallen Aces (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1411910/Fallen_Aces/) Fretless

en-us

2:33:46

110: Titanfall 2 (with Adam & Cory - Half Tone Takes)

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/03/20

Titanfall 2, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA, is one of those unfortunate games that seems to be universally beloved, but apparently didn't sell well enough for them to continue the series. Instead, Respawn is stuck in the Apex Legends and Star Wars mines for the foreseeable future, and we're left to replay this wonderful campaign (and multiplayer for some) and wonder what might have been. Titanfall 2 lives up to the hype, folks!My guests for this episode are Adam Bucceri and

en-us

2:55:09

109: Resident Evil 2 Remake (with Gerry - Super Ghost...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/03/13

-Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! (https://patreon.com/realdavejackson) or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson)! Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server! (https://discord.gg/V3ZHz3vYQR) Social Media: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/tftblpod) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TalesfromtheBacklog/) Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

en-us

2:42:12

108: Final Fantasy X-2 (with Adam - The Good, The Bad...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/03/06

How do you follow up a story that ends the way that Final Fantasy X did? Well, Square decided that Final Fantasy X-2 needed to shake things up. Most sequels escalate, but that wasn't really an option here, and so the girlpower J-Pop Final Fantasy game was born. This game gets a lot of hate out there, but not for the reasons that I think deserve it. Joining me to discuss Final Fantasy X-2 is Adam from The Good, The Bad & The Backlog. You can and should check out his show by following this link

en-us

2:38:00

Evaluating Retro Games Roundtable

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/02/28

In this discussion, Dave is joined by Chris Coplien (Retro Hangover podcast (https://linktr.ee/retrohangover)), Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio podcast (https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio)) and Andre (Fine Time podcast (https://linktr.ee/FineTimePodcast)) to discuss the challenges and our personal approaches to evaluating retro games. In this episode, we discuss our perspectives and some specific games like Rocket Knight Adventures, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Monkey Ball, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon

en-us

2:20:53

107: Final Fantasy VII Remake (with Aaron Angle &...

Tales from the Backlog ·

2024/02/21

How do you remake one of the most beloved games of all time? How do you fend off the masses who want to hold you to every decision made over 20 years ago? Well, in our opinion, Square Enix figured out the way with Final Fantasy VII Remake. This is a shining example of how a remake can update the graphics, completely revamp the gameplay, add voice acting, re-orchestrate the music....and still keep the heart and soul of the original game intact. It's a masterful game, and I was joined by returning

en-us

254 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

詭哭郎嚎

郎祖筠 & FMTaiwan製作團隊

Ron en Erik Podcast

Ron en Erik

Poor Man"s Pinball Podcast

Poor Men Ian and Drew

WeAreChange on Odysee

WeAreChange