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

  • 173: Max Payne (with Nomad - The Retro Wildlands)

    Episode  |  July 9th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 44 mins
    game review, max payne, remedy, retro games

    Dave is joined by Nomad (The Retro Wildlands) to discuss Remedy Entertainment's 2001 third-person shooter, Max Payne.

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    172: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (with Dan - The Greatest Story Ever Played)

    Episode  |  July 2nd, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 56 mins
    fps, game review, machinegames

    Dave is joined by Dan (The Greatest Story Ever Played) to discuss MachineGames and Bethesda's 2024 action/adventure game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

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    171: El Paso, Elsewhere (with Jacob McCourt & Luke Lewis)

    Episode  |  June 25th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 55 mins
    action games, game review, indie games

    Dave is joined by Jacob McCourt and Luke Lewis (Crossplay Conversations and more!) to discuss Strange Scaffold's 2023 bullet time third-person shooter, El Paso, Elsewhere.

  • 170: Lunacid (with Dave Cox)

    Episode  |  June 18th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 36 mins
    game review, indie games, rpg, soulslike

    Dave is joined by Dave Cox (Monster Dear Monster) to discuss Kira LLC's 2023 first-person RPG, Lunacid.

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    169: South of Midnight (with Kate Sánchez)

    Episode  |  June 11th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 26 mins
    compulsion games, game review, xbox

    Dave is joined by Kate Sánchez (But Why Tho?) to discuss Compulsion Games' 2025 southern gothic fantasy adventure, South of Midnight.

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    168: Persona 4 Golden (with Flora Merigold)

    Episode  |  June 4th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  3 hrs 17 mins
    atlus, game review, jrpg, persona

    Dave is joined by Flora Merigold (Epilogue Gaming, Left Behind Game Club) to discuss Atlus's 2012 RPG, Persona 4 Golden.

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    167: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (with Jesse Guarascia)

    Episode  |  May 28th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 19 mins
    annapurna interactive, game review, indie games, puzzle games, simogo

    Dave is joined by Jesse Guarascia (Noclip and more!) to discuss Simogo and Annapurna Interactive's 2024 puzzle box adventure game, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.

  • 166: Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (with Derek Van Dyke)

    Episode  |  May 21st, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 50 mins
    ace combat, bandai namco, game review

    Dave is joined by Derek Van Dyke to discuss Bandai Namco's 2019 air combat game, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.

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    PAX East 2025 Wrap-Up

    Episode  |  May 19th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  33 mins 44 secs
    convention, indie games

    Dave shares all 17 indie games that he had a chance to play on the floor at PAX East 2025.

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    165: SUPERHOT (with Emily Merritt - No Small Games)

    Episode  |  May 14th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 35 mins
    fps, game review, indie games

    Dave is joined by Emily Merritt (No Small Games) to discuss SUPERHOT Team's 2016 first-person shooter/puzzle game, SUPERHOT.

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    164: Monster Hunter Wilds (with Brad Gallaway)

    Episode  |  May 7th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 17 mins
    action games, capcom, game review, monster hunter

    Dave is joined by Brad Gallaway (Gamecritics.com, So...Videogames!) to discuss Capcom's 2025 action hit, Monster Hunter Wilds.

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    163: Vagrant Story (with Aidan Moher)

    Episode  |  April 30th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 34 mins
    game review, ivalice, jrpg, square enix, vagrant story

    Dave is joined by Aidan Moher to discuss Square's 2000 RPG, Vagrant Story.

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    162: Prey (2006) (with Asa GreenRiver)

    Episode  |  April 23rd, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 1 min
    fps, game review, prey, xbox 360

    Dave is joined by Asa GreenRiver to discuss Human Head Studios' 2006 sci-fi first person shooter, Prey.

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    161: Wanderstop (with Matt aka Stormageddon & CGDannyB)

    Episode  |  April 16th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 45 mins
    cozy games, game review, indie games, ivy road

    Dave is joined by Matt aka Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite podcasts) and CGDannyB to discuss Ivy Road's 2025 tea-making game, Wanderstop.

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    160: Sifu (with Ryan Juengling - List Off)

    Episode  |  April 9th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 44 mins
    game review, sloclap

    Dave is joined by Ryan Juengling (List Off) to discuss Sloclap's 2022 action game, Sifu.

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    159: Metaphor: ReFantazio (with Scott White)

    Episode  |  April 2nd, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 13 mins
    atlus, game review, jrpg, persona

    Dave is joined by Scott White (RPG University) to discuss Studio Zero and Atlus' 2024 RPG hit, Metaphor: ReFantazio.