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

  • Baldur's Gate 3 SPOILER SECTION (with Jim Rodeman & Chris Rettig)

    Episode  |  April 24th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 4 mins
    baldur's gate, crpg, game review, larian studios

    Dave is joined once again by Jim Rodeman and Chris Rettig for part 2 of our Baldur's Gate 3 discussion, full spoilers this time.

  • 114: Baldur's Gate 3 NON-SPOILER SECTION (with Jim Rodeman & Chris Rettig)

    Episode  |  April 24th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 6 mins
    baldur's gate, crpg, game review, larian studios

    Dave is joined by Jim Rodeman and Chris Rettig to discuss Baldur's Gate 3, the much-decorated 2023 RPG by Larian Studios.

  •

    CRPG History & The Breakout Success of Baldur's Gate 3 (with Felipe Pepe - The CPRG Book)

    Episode  |  April 17th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 5 mins
    baldur's gate, break from the backlog, crpgs, discussion

    Dave is joined by Felipe Pepe (editor and contributing writer for The CRPG Book) to discuss CRPG history and why Baldur's Gate 3 broke out of the relatively small niche that games of the genre generally occupy.

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

    Episode  |  April 10th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 57 mins
    game review, indie games, puzzle games

    Dave is joined by streamer NinaStruggles to discuss The Case of the Golden Idol, the 2022 mystery/deduction game by Color Gray Games.

  • 112: Sunset Overdrive (with Goohi)

    Episode  |  April 3rd, 2024  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 22 mins
    game review, insomniac games

    Dave is joined by streamer/YouTube creator Goohi to discuss Sunset Overdrive, the 2014 free-flowing 3rd person action-adventure game by Insomniac Games.

  • 111: Balatro (with Matt aka Stormageddon & Aaron Klaassen)

    Episode  |  March 29th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 20 mins
    deckbuilder, game review, roguelike

    Dave is joined by Matt aka Stormageddon ("Fun" and Games, Reignite, Screen Snark) and Aaron Klaassen (SuperPod Saga) to discuss LocalThunk's breakout deckbuilding roguelike hit, Balatro.

  •

    PAX East 2024: Reflections & Games Played

    Episode  |  March 27th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  43 mins 17 secs
    break from the backlog, convention

    Dave reflects on the experience of going to and participating in PAX East 2024 and talks about the games he tried.

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

    Episode  |  March 20th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 33 mins
    fps, game review, respawn entertainment

    Dave is joined by Adam Bucceri and Cory Revis, the hosts of Half Tone Takes, to discuss Respawn Entertainment's 2016 FPS, Titanfall 2.

  • 109: Resident Evil 2 Remake (with Gerry - Super Ghost Radio & Nick - Friday Night Gamecast)

    Episode  |  March 13th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 55 mins
    capcom, game review, resident evil

    Dave is joined by Gerry (Super Ghost Radio) and Nick (Friday Night Gamecast) to discuss Capcom's remake of Resident Evil 2, released in 2019.

  • 108: Final Fantasy X-2 (with Adam - The Good, The Bad & The Backlog)

    Episode  |  March 6th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 42 mins
    final fantasy, game review, square enix

    Dave is joined by Adam (The Good, The Bad & The Backlog) to discuss Square's first sequel in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy X-2.

  • Evaluating Retro Games Roundtable

    Episode  |  February 28th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 38 mins
    break from the backlog, roundtable

    Dave is joined by Chris Coplien (Retro Hangover), Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio) and Andre (Fine Time) to discuss the challenges and our personal approaches to evaluating retro games.

  • 107: Final Fantasy VII Remake (with Aaron Angle & Ryan Arrington)

    Episode  |  February 21st, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 20 mins
    final fantasy, game review, jrpg, square enix

    Dave is joined by Aaron Angle and Ryan Arrington to discuss Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Remake.

  • 106: This War of Mine (with Alex - First Five)

    Episode  |  February 14th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 36 mins
    11 bit studios, game review, indie games, survival games

    Dave is joined by Alex, host of the First Five YouTube channel, to discuss 11 Bit Studios' war survival/simulation game, This War of Mine.

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    105: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (with Gaming Memories)

    Episode  |  February 7th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 43 mins
    game review, kojima, konami, metal gear solid, ps2

    Dave is joined by The Profit from Gaming Memories to discuss Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami's 2001 follow-up to the breakout hit Metal Gear Solid.

  • 104: South Park: The Stick of Truth (with Adam Rivera)

    Episode  |  January 31st, 2024  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 53 mins
    game review, licensed games, obsidian entertainment, rpg

    Dave is joined by Adam Rivera to discuss Obsidian and South Park Studios' South Park: The Stick of Truth.

  • 103: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (PS2) (with Chris Dominguez- A Novel Console)

    Episode  |  January 24th, 2024  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 20 mins
    ea, game review, licensed games

    Dave is joined by Chris Dominguez from A Novel Console to discuss EA's Lord of the Rings: Return of the King adaptation for the PS2/GameCube/Xbox.