From a better era of licensed games comes The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (PS2, GameCube, Xbox version). No live service nonsense, no microtransactions, just good arcadey fun reliving the best action scenes from the movie, along with tons of little goodies for fans of the movies. This was a blast, and I hope you enjoy reliving this game with us. Joining me for this episode is Chris Dominguez, one of the hosts of A Novel Console, a weekly podcast about gaming, books and food that he...

The day a new Yakuza / Like a Dragon game drops is like a holiday for me. Imagine my surprise and delight when I realized that we don't have to wait years for new games in the series anymore, as we got the Like a Dragon Ishin! remaster earlier in 2023, and then the connecting game, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name to set up the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name didn't need to exist, but I think it does a lot of...

Rain World, developed by Videocult, is the true definition of a cult hit. If you look on review aggregator websites, you'll see extremely mixed reviews. However, if you ask in Discord servers, subreddits, etc you'll find so many people with feverish praise. It was only a matter of time before I had to try it out for myself, and this was the winner of a Patreon poll! Shoutout to everyone who voted for it, and shoutout to my wonderful guest soccr for joining me to...

GAME NUMBER 100 ON THE PODCAST! And what a unique game to talk about for #100! Killer7, by Suda51's Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom, is a game unlike any other. An unholy mashup of rail shooter, adventure game, crime fantasy and political drama, you'll never play another game quite like this. Joining me for this episode is Andre from Fine Time podcast, which you can check out HERE or on your favorite podcast app. I highly recommend starting with their great two part series on the Capcom...

2023 has been absolutely packed with great games, and now is the time to reflect on the new games I played over the past year. Despite missing a lot of popular releases like Alan Wake 2, Super Mario Wonder, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Armored Core VI, Lies of P and many more, I still played so many good games that it was tough to make a top 10! But alas, this is the podcaster's curse, so I present to you- 2023 in Review. From anticipated megahits like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,...

This is an important one for me. Final Fantasy X has been one of my favorite games ever since I played it for the first time almost 20 years ago. Square really made a complete game here- story setup, characters, combat, music...total package. Joining me to discuss it are Ryan Batie and Chris Taylor from JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thrice. You can find them and all of the other things on the Pitch Drop network by following this link! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening...

Blasphemous 2, by The Game Kitchen, is a straight putt as far as sequels go, but that turned out to be a great thing. The Game Kitchen seemingly took lots of feedback into account, smoothed out some rough edges and greatly improved the metroidvania design of Blasphemous 2. The result is one of my favorite games of the year, and one that I was happy to invite longtime friend and frequent podcast guest Chris Nelson back for! Chris was a guest on episode 20 about the original Blasphemous, so go...

After playing The Messenger, I could not wait for what Sabotage Studio would make next, so I looked them up, found the Sea of Stars kickstarter page and backed it while the credits for The Messenger were still rolling. To say I was excited would be an understatement. In reality....Sea of Stars is a disappointment. Not a bad game, but not a great game either. I'm joined in this episode by two many time guests on the show, Aaron Angle and Ryan Arrington, to break it all down....

From Assassin's Creed to Spider-Man, Yakuza, Persona and Grand Theft Auto, video games can take us on a sort of virtual tourism journey. But hiding in the background, there are tons of other** games set in real-world locations outside of The United States, Western Europe and Japan*. **Randall Quiggle* and Ozzy Garcia join me to shine a light on some games that might teach you a little bit about culture while you take in the sights. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Our Examples 1:13 Community Examples...

This one is a spicy meatball. Few game series inspire the amount of praise, vitriol and everything in between as Final Fantasy does, and the latest entry, Final Fantasy XVI is no different. A series famous for continuous reinvention reinvents itself once again as a dark fantasy action game, and I knew I had to get a couple of great guests on the show to talk about it. This week I'm joined by Eric Gess (The Unlockables) and Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio) to discuss it all....

To my knowledge, this is the only podcast ever recorded at over 1000 km/h. F-Zero X, by Nintendo EAD for the Nintendo 64 features hyperspeed racing, buttery smooth gameplay and an absolutely incredible shredding speed metal soundtrack. Joining me on this high-speed podcast is Dave Pietrangelo of Remember 64, Back in My Day, Creature Cast and Console Creatures. You can find everything Dave is doing by following this link! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:57 Story...

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR for those in the know) was, for many of us longtime fans, the Star Wars game that we had always dreamed of- a game that let you explore famous planets from the movies, become a jedi, befriend wookiees and play through an acclaimed story. But that was 20 years ago, and Star Wars games have come a long way. How well did KOTOR hold up along the years? Its story is still famous, but is it a one-trick pony if you've played before? Joining me for this...

Tales from the Backlog is 2 years old! To celebrate, I am doing the yearly mailbag episode! I answer your questions about my favorite episodes of the show, how I choose the games for the show, podcasting and much more! Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! 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...

Signalis, by rose-engine is a game that seems to inspire everybody who plays it to jump at every chance to talk about it (or record nearly 3 hour podcasts about it, in our case). From its undeniable aesthetics calling back to the 32-bit era of Resident Evil and Silent Hill to its dreamlike story about android replikas in a cosmic horror/space sci-fi setting, Signalis leaves an impact. Luckily for me, Chris Coplien and Shane Koski of Retro Hangover were kind enough to join me for a...

Put another tally in the "Dave is covering a game on the podcast that he swore he'd never play" list- life came at me fast, I suppose. Dead Space (2023), Motive Studio and EA's remake of the original Dead Space from 2008 is an incredible visual upgrade on already great gameplay, though it does wear out its welcome as it seems to run out of novel gameplay ideas well before the story has wrapped up. Joining me to discuss Dead Space is Chris aka Vertigo2Hell, a Twitch streamer who specializes in...

Iron Lung, developed and published by David Szymanski in 2022, was a game I was sure I would never play. Frequently topping "Scariest Games Ever" lists around the internet, mixing thalassophobia, claustrophobia, rustophobia and more, I always figured I would just hear about it from afar. But as a convert to horror games, I liked the idea of giving this one a go. After all, a $6, 1 hour game is a good pitch if you're looking for that final push. It turns out that Iron Lung is really great! And...

Ahhh....another October brings another spooky month of games, and another guest appearance by all-star Adelaide Lohkamp. This time, she's joining me to talk about the game that popularized an entire genre. Well, the remake. That's right, we're talking about Capcom's 2002 remake of Resident Evil, originally released for the GameCube in 2002. You can check out Adelaide's YouTube Channel and Twitch page for more great stuff from her! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts...

Longtime listeners of Tales from the Backlog will have heard me say something to the effect of "I don't like horror games and I will never play one", but as they say- life comes at you fast. I've become a big fan of horror games, and so I wanted to make a discussion episode asking "how did we get here?". To help me discuss the notion of "geting into horror games", I've assembled a 4-piece band of true horror sickos- Adam Bucceri (Enter the Survival Horror, Half Tone Takes), Matty aka The Dog...

Ah yes, another series and character that I had never heard of before they appeared in Super Smash Bros. Kid Icarus: Uprising and its main character, Pit, made an impression on me through the Smash Bros. series, but I had never played a game in the series....until now! Project Sora and Nintendo put out a respectable, but flawed rail shooter/3rd person action hybrid, and I'm joined by action game master TripleSMoon to discuss it! You can find Moon at his YouTube channel for longplays and...

Wario World, developed by Treasure and published by** Nintendo*, feels like a forgotten game. People still talk about the **Wario Land* series from the Game Boy era, and everyone loves WarioWare, but did you know that Wario had a 3D platformer/beat 'em up on the GameCube? Thrak (The 3DO Experience) joins me on this patron-voted episode to discuss it! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:26 Story Setup/Characterization of Wario/Voice Acting 21:21 Gameplay 37:57 Boss...

I got into gaming in the 1990s, but my introduction to gaming was handheld consoles like the Game Gear and Game Boy, not PC games (aside from whatever my schools had in the computer labs), so the golden era of PC point-and-click adventure games completely missed me. Luckily, through the power of technology, I'm able to go back and revisit some of the formative classics that shaped many childhoods. The Secret of Monkey Island, by Lucasfilm Games is one of those classics, and I was happy to...

After the success of The Witcher 3, the second game in the Witcher franchise seems to have been instantly forgotten, despite garnering lots of acclaim back when it released in 2011. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is an incredibly ambitious game by CD Projekt Red, with a branching narrative that still puts modern AAA games to shame, but is severely hampered by outdated and inscrutable gameplay design. Joining me to discuss The Witcher 2 are Andrew Kimball & Dylan Wren, hosts of Your...

The black sheep in the Metroid series, Metroid 2: Return of Samus, was originally developed and published by Nintendo for Game Boy in 1991, and has since seen two well-known remakes- the fan remake AM2R, developed by Milton Guasti and released for PC in 2016, as well as MercurySteam and Nintendo's official remake, Metroid: Samus Returns, released in 2017 for the 3DS. This episode is a compare and contrast episode, featuring all three games. Joining me for this episode are three Metroid...

In this Break from the Backlog, I'm joined by Jim Rodeman, Mikey Tabletop (Big Drink Energy) and Kolby (Switch It Up) to discuss one of my favorite underrated things about the Super Smash Bros. series- how it has introduced me to so many of my favorite characters, games and game series throughout the years. We talk about how without Super Smash Bros, we may not have played series like Fire Emblem, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Ice Climbers, Bayonetta, Xenoblade Chronicles and so many more. You should...

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a teamup between PlatinumGames and Konami brings incredible action gameplay into the world of Metal Gear. This game is fantastic, memorable, memeable and so much more. I was lucky enough to be joined by Jacob McCourt for this episode, as we walk through its wild story and dismemberment-focused gameplay. You should check out Jacob's podcasts, Left Behind Game Club, Cutscenes: A Video Game Movie & TV Podcast and Crossplay Conversations and follow him on...