About the show

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.

Tales from the Backlog on social media

Episodes and Blog Entries

  • 210: Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines (with TroytlePower)

    Episode  |  April 8th, 2026  |  3 hrs 7 mins
    action, crpg, game review, rpg, troika games

    Dave is joined by TroytlePower to discuss Troika Games' 2004 action role-playing game, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines.

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    PAX East 2026 Wrap-Up

    Episode  |  April 5th, 2026  |  19 mins 5 secs
    indie games, pax east

    Dave shares 13 indie games that he played on the PAX East 2026 show floor.

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    209: Chants of Sennaar (with Travis Colenutt - Left Behind Game Club)

    Episode  |  April 1st, 2026  |  2 hrs 24 mins
    adventure, focus entertainment, game review, indie, puzzle, rundisc

    Dave is joined by Travis Colenutt (Left Behind Game Club) to discuss Rundisc and Focus Entertainment's 2023 language puzzle game, Chants of Sennaar.

  • 208: Death Howl (with Bryan Skursha - Pixelated Playgrounds)

    Episode  |  March 25th, 2026  |  2 hrs 24 mins
    11 bit studios, death howl, deckbuilder, game review, soulslike, the outer zone, turn-based combat

    Dave is joined by Bryan Skursha (Pixelated Playgrounds) to discuss The Outer Zone and 11 Bit Studios' 2025 Soulslike deckbuilder, Death Howl.

  • 207: Skate Story (with Josh Leslie - IndieQuest)

    Episode  |  March 18th, 2026  |  2 hrs 7 mins
    adventure, devolver digital, game review, sam eng, skate story, skateboarding

    Dave is joined by Josh Leslie (IndieQuest) to discuss Sam Eng and Devolver Digital's 2025 skateboarding game, Skate Story.

  • 206: Bioshock (with Joseph Hooper - Crossplay Conversations)

    Episode  |  March 11th, 2026  |  2 hrs 31 mins
    2k games, bioshock, fps, game review, horror, immersive sim, irrational games

    Dave is joined by Joseph Hooper (Crossplay Conversations, Player Player, Can't Pause) to discuss 2K Boston and 2K Australia's seminal 2007 horror FPS, Bioshock.

  • 205: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (with Steve aka Blinkoom)

    Episode  |  March 4th, 2026  |  2 hrs 2 mins
    adventure, capcom, game review, nintendo ds, puzzle

    Dave is joined by Steve (IndieQuest, Polykill Podcast) to discuss Capcom's 2010 puzzle adventure game for the Nintendo DS, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

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    204: Ghost of Yōtei (with Jacob Price - The Pre-Order Bonus)

    Episode  |  February 25th, 2026  |  2 hrs 52 mins
    action, game review, ghost of, open world, playstation, rpg, sony, sucker punch productions

    Dave is joined by Jacob Price (The Pre-Order Bonus) to discuss Sucker Punch Productions' 2025 historical fantasy, Ghost of Yōtei.

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    203: Pokémon Legends: Z-A (with Kenneth Shepard)

    Episode  |  February 18th, 2026  |  1 hr 51 mins
    game freak, game review, nintendo, pokemon, rpg

    Dave is joined by Kenneth Shepard (Kotaku, Normandy FM) to discuss Game Freak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's latest in the Pokémon Legends series, Z-A.

  • 202: Goodnight Universe (with Jill Grodt - The Indie Informer)

    Episode  |  February 11th, 2026  |  1 hr 51 mins
    adventure, game review, indie games, nice dream

    Dave is joined by Jill Grodt (The Indie Informer) to discuss Nice Dreams and Skybound Games' 2025 webcam-based interactive narrative game, Goodnight Universe.

  • 201: Madden 2005 vs ESPN NFL 2K5 (with Chris Coplien & Adam Gumbert)

    Episode  |  February 4th, 2026  |  1 hr 41 mins
    game review, retro, sports

    Dave is joined by Chris Coplien (Retro Hangover) and Adam Gumbert (Respawn, Aim, Fire & The Tier List) to discuss which game is best- Madden 2005 or ESPN NFL 2K5.

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    200: Dark Souls II (with Ryan Batie - Lightning Strikes Thrice)

    Episode  |  January 28th, 2026  |  2 hrs 36 mins
    action, dark souls, dark souls 2, game review, rpg, soulslike

    Dave is joined by Ryan Batie (Lightning Strikes Thrice) to discuss FromSoftware's 2014 action RPG, Dark Souls II, and its expansion, Scholar of the First Sin.

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    199: Hollow Knight: Silksong (with Jenny Windom - Geeks & Grounds)

    Episode  |  January 21st, 2026  |  3 hrs 23 mins
    game review, hollow knight, indie games, metroidvania, soulslike, team cherry

    Dave is joined by Jenny Windom (Geeks & Grounds) to discuss Team Cherry's long awaited Hollow Knight sequel, 2025's Hollow Knight: Silksong.

  • 198: Crazy Taxi (with Darren Hupke - Pixels & Polygons)

    Episode  |  January 14th, 2026  |  1 hr 3 mins
    arcade, driving, game review, retro, sega

    Dave is joined by Darren Hupke (Pixels & Polygons) to discuss Sega's 2000 arcade driving game, Crazy Taxi.

  • Backlog Resolutions 2026

    Episode  |  January 7th, 2026  |  2 hrs 19 mins
    backlog resolutions, discussion

    Dave is joined by backlog resolutioners CtrlAltNoob, Athunderheart and Soccr to discuss their experiences doing the Backlog Resolutions challenge in 2025, and talk about the new resolutions for 2026.

  • 2025 In Review/Games of the Year

    Episode  |  December 31st, 2025  |  1 hr 23 mins
    year in review

    Dave reflects on 2025 in gaming, talks about his favorite games that released in 2025 and names his game of the year.