Tales from the Backlog Blog

Mini Review- Blasphemous 2

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

Team17 and The Game Kitchen were kind enough to grant me a review code for Blasphemous 2. Thanks Team17 and The Game Kitchen!

Game- Blasphemous 2
Developer- The Game Kitchen
Publisher- Team17
Release Date- August 24th, 2023
Available Platforms- Switch, PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, GOG, Epic
I played on- Switch
Play time- 17 hours

Accessibility Options: Rumble On/Off, Screen Shake On/Off

The Penitent One is back. Screenshot from Nintendo Switch.

The original Blasphemous is one of my favorite 2D action/metroidvania games out there- I've played it twice, and it was featured in an early episode of Tales from the Backlog. So any time one of my favorites gets an announced sequel, there is a mix of excitement and nervousness from those times I've been burned before. Fret not though, because I'm happy to say that Blasphemous 2 is a fantastic iteration on what I loved about the first game.

Blasphemous 2 once again puts you in the shiny metal boots and conical hat of The Penitent One (also known as Penitente if you play with Spanish voice acting, which you SHOULD), sworn to silence and fated to destroy the hideous creations of an almighty force known as The Miracle, the primary antagonistic force in the first game and this game world in general. I can't discuss what's going on with the Miracle in this game yet, but suffice to say- if you played the first game, you know this is bad news. And with that, your Penitente is off and running through the game's deeply religious world of Cvstodia, with its gorgeous and sometimes disturbing pixel art inspired by Roman Catholicism and wonderful, moody acoustic guitar-based soundtrack.

If you like imaginative boss and creature designs, Blasphemous 2 is your kind of game. Screenshot from Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay in Blasphemous 2 follows the metroidvania design from the first game, but there have been a few changes to really enhance this experience and activate my own personal Metroidvania Backtracking Sicko Mode. The first game had key items that unlocked traversal abilities, but many of them were dressed-up keys rather than multi-purpose upgrades. Blasphemous 2 is a big improvement in this way- your "keys" all double as movement abilities, platforming moves, and/or entirely new weapons. At the beginning of the game, you get to pick one of three weapons: Veredicto (a big bonk mace/flail with a fire ability), Sarmiento & Centella (a dual-wielded 1-2 sword-and-dagger combo with lightning powers), and Ruego al Alba (a serrated weapon with blood magic).

I picked Veredicto because it does great stagger damage and can hit enemies twice in one swing if you line things up correctly. You'll eventually pick up all three weapons, giving you much greater possibility for expression and changing tactics to meet the needs of different combat situations, rather than the ever-present block-counter-execution order of operations in the first game. To give you an example- Veredicto has a wide swing and can hit an enemy multiple times, but cannot block at all. The other two weapons can block, but have much shorter range. However, the utility of the new weapons doesn't stop there- they are all used for movement and puzzle solving as well. Veredicto can ring giant bells that make platforms appear, Sarmiento & Centella allows you to teleport between mirror statues around levels, and Ruego al Alba can break certain types of barriers with a powerful plunging attack. This is the biggest change, and is a marked improvement over the original game.

Blasphemous 2 has also made improvements in other areas. Gone are the instant-death spikes during platforming challenges; in Blasphemous 2, you take damage and return to the last solid ground you stood on. Altars (checkpoints analogous to bonfires from the Souls series) are more plentiful, as are the portals you use to fast travel around the world. The Kickstarter backer bone item rewards from the first game are replaced by meaningful treasures that reward your exploration. And while difficulty was another sticking point for some people in the original Blasphemous, I did not find Blasphemous 2 to be any more difficult than the average combat-focused 2D action game, with all but one boss requiring between 1-5 attempts to learn their attacks and emerge victorious.

The Game Kitchen has some of the best pixel art in the business. Screenshot from Nintendo Switch.

All told, Blasphemous 2 is a fantastic entry in both its own growing series and the metroidvania genre as a whole. It is an easy recommendation for fans of the genre, those who love beautiful and evocative pixel art, and anyone who loves games that let them attack and dethrone God. The Game Kitchen continues to make great games, and have cemented themselves as one of my favorite indie developers out there.

If you're in the mood for more Blasphemous 2 content, make sure you subscribe to the Tales from the Backlog podcast for a full deep dive episode coming in a few months!

Tales from the Backlog 73: Pentiment

Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

There's been a lot of pessimism around Xbox lately in the wake of Refall's launch and reception, and coupled with Phil Spencer's comments about Xbox's relative inability to compete in Sony and Nintendo's games (comments that I feel were taken out of context, in my opinion), it has left many wondering what Xbox's role in the market is. And while it may be true that Xbox is struggling to compete with the high-profile, Game of the Year nominees that Sony and Nintendo pump out every year, Xbox has found a niche in my gaming world that I really appreciate. I love how Microsoft has empowered their subsidiary studios like Tango Gameworks and Obsidian Entertainment to pursue passion projects like Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment.

Now, it may be true that Obsidian has more leash than the average studio, considering their reputation (and that they're also working on Avowed, a more mainstream first-person RPG), but Pentiment is the kind of game that we don't really see out of AAA gaming anymore. It's got a very stylized art style, modeled after medieval woodcuts and manuscript art, and the gameplay is just walking (lots of it) and talking (lots of it). It probably didn't sell very well when stacked up against other AAA games from 2022 (though it was on Game Pass on day one), and I don't think it was projected to sell millions of copies anyway. Instead, without the pressures of selling millions of copies and appealing to the mainstream, Obsidian was free to pour their heart into Pentiment and make it exactly the game that they had envisioned for all of those years. I might be wrong, I've been wrong before, but I think that I see this type of creative freedom more often from Xbox than the other major players....well, maybe not from Nintendo, but they're always off to the side doing their own thing. Pentiment is a great game, and I hope Xbox continues to see whatever results they want from games like it so we can continue to see passion projects get AAA funding like this.

Joining me in episode 73 to discuss Pentiment is TroytlePower! Troy is a writer and podcaster doing indie game reviews and audio-only let's play podcasts. You can find Troy on Twitter and check out Troy's writing and podcasts at his website!

You can listen to episode 73 of Tales from the Backlog (Pentiment) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 72: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

This is going to be a more personal blog than most, because The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild means more to me on a personal level than most games I do for the show. I won't be talking much about the game itself here, but of course there is a 3 hour podcast link at the bottom of this blog for all of that. Instead, I'd just like to reflect a bit. Video games have always been one of my favorite hobbies, but in 2015, that started to wind down. In 2015, I packed my whole life into two suitcases and moved to South Korea to teach English. Gaming was so important to me that my one carry-on bag included my Xbox 360 and my Wii U. I bought a voltage converter as soon as I arrived so that the different voltage from the outlets in Korea wouldn't fry my consoles. And then....I just didn't play much.

I spent the next few years playing games very sparingly. I picked at Dark Souls 2 but ultimately gave up. I played Xenoblade Chronicles but again, gave up before the end. I had the distinct feeling, especially after I felt burned out by Xenoblade Chronicles, that I was just done playing games. It wasn't like I was suddenly busy- I lived alone in a studio apartment and spent a lot of time watching tv and traveling, but video games had just lost their magic. And then....I heard about a new Zelda game. The Legend of Zelda has been one of my all time favorite series, ever since I played Link's Awakening on the GameBoy as a kid. So I remember having the distinct thought, "I'll play this, and then I'll sell my consoles and move on". So I bought Breath of the Wild for my Wii U and settled in for my last video game.

Obviously since I'm writing a blog about episode 72 of a gaming podcast, that's not how it all worked out, and I can directly attribute it to Breath of the Wild. It was a truly magical experience playing it back in 2017, and despite some of my worries about revisiting it in 2023, it remained just as joyous the second time around. And when we finally got a release date for Tears of the Kingdom, I knew that this game had to be a part of Tales from the Backlog. So joining me for episode 72 are Jake and Cameron from the Pre-Order Bonus podcast (Website, Twitter). It's a big game to break down the way I like to do, but I'm very happy with the result.

You can listen to episode 72 of Tales from the Backlog (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 71: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin got well and truly dunked on when its first trailer hit the internet. Every third word was "chaos", the memes were flying, and lots of people wrote the game off entirely. But when the dust settled, we were all kind of left with the question....what is this game? Is it a Final Fantasy remake? Is it a soulslike? Is it a joke game? Well...now that I've played it, I can definitively say- it's none of those things. What this game IS, is a classic Team Ninja-style game with references to the entire Final Fantasy series....and one of gaming's most ridiculous protagonists. Stranger of Paradise really made me think about "the 7/10 game" and their place in the gaming landscape.

The gaming landscape is so full of games aping what makes other games successful that we end up with a lot of games that are of good quality but otherwise unremarkable. And then on the other side of the room are games like Stranger of Paradise, this year's Wanted Dead, and the like. Stranger of Paradise uses the setting of the first Final Fantasy game to give Jack space to cook, and cook he does. He's brash, he "doesn't give a fuck what your name is!" (actual quote of Jack interrupting a boss's monologue), and he apparently carries an mp3 player with dollar store nu-metal on it. All the while, friend of the show Tetsuya Nomura weaves a wild web of a story, and longtime fans of the series enjoy crystallizing and smashing Tonberrys and Marlboros. The result is a game that does swing and miss in some areas, but will leave a mark in your memory more than a lot of games that might be "better" but don't leave a lasting impression. So which of those would you rather play? I know my answer.

Joining me to discuss Stranger of Paradise is Eric Gess of The Unlockables and Keith Gasper of The Main Quest, two podcasts that are great and worth your time. The Unlockables is a dual-threat podcast talking to other gaming content creators about their gaming histories AND going through the entire Kingdom Hearts series to definitively make sense of the story. The Main Quest is Keith's personal mission to replay every game he has ever played and see how they hold up today. Both shows are great and well worth your listening time. Click the links to check out their shows!

You can listen to episode 71 of Tales from the Backlog (Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 70: Red Dead Redemption 2

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

I've had a few things on my mind since playing Red Dead Redemption 2, by Rockstar Games, for the second time. I'm amazed by the storytelling and planting of seeds that will take root and emerge dozens of hours later. I'm once again impressed by Rockstar's decision to give us a brand new protagonist (Arthur Morgan) for a prequel to a game that had a strong protagonist (John Marston). And I'm wrestling with both sides of the developer crunch coin; it's hard to argue for crunch, and it's hard to argue against the completed game that resulted.

Let's tackle the crunch issue first. Rockstar has become one of the poster children for the pervasive issue of crunch in video game development. As reported by Jason Schreier, some developers at Rockstar crunched for "months, even years" as the game's final release date drew near. From a human perspective (and to be clear, this is the more important perspective), it sucks to hear that some people have burned themselves out, missed family events, birthdays and the like, and I will always take a lengthy delay if it means that the people making the game can live normal lives. The other side is that Red Dead Redemption 2 already took 8 years to make, was delayed several times, and all of that crunch still happened. You can blame poor project management if you'd like (I don't know enough about that to make a real comment there), but the results speak for themselves- this is one of the greatest games I've ever played. All of the realism, animations and simulation elements that we praised in the podcast were the result of all of those overtime hours. How do you reconcile hating the process but loving the result? Can both of those feelings coexist? I don't have the answer, but with a game like this, it's certainly going to be part of the conversation.

The other thought that has been rolling around in my head is both how great the choice to introduce a new protagonist for this prequel was, and how well they subverted our expectations with how it would all play out. John Marston was the protagonist of the original Red Dead Redemption, and he's present in the prequel as well, but the player controls Arthur Morgan. You still get to see John become the person that he was at the beginning of the original game, but you see it through somebody else's eyes this time. The brilliant part is how Rockstar weaved John's story into Arthur's, while also putting so much work into Arthur's own narrative that he is now one of my favorite video game protagonists of all time. It was a bold choice to shift the main character focus onto Arthur, who was not in the original Red Dead Redemption, and it paid off in all of the best ways. It is truly masterful storytelling.

Joining me in episode 70 to discuss Red Dead Redemption 2 are Alex & Luke, hosts of Low Five Gaming. Low Five is a monthly video game book club podcast. On the 15th of every month they release an episode, containing a full discussion of the game, and announce the game for the 15th of the next month. I love chatting with the guys in their Discord server in the month leading up to the episode while I play along with the show, and then listening to their fantastic and entertaining podcasts. You can check out everything Low Five at their website!

You can listen to episode 70 of Tales from the Backlog (Red Dead Redemption 2) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 69: Catherine: Full Body

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

One of the bygone ways of game discovery, for me at least, is walking through GameStop or Walmart and just picking things out that had cool covers (or more often, ignoring the ones with forgettable covers- sorry Nier and Spec Ops: The Line!). These days, I either walk in to GameStop or check one of the online storefronts with a game in mind; money is too tight to just browse. Sometimes, however, a game's cover will catch your attention regardless of why you came into the store- such is the case with Catherine, and its re-release, Catherine: Full Body. The cover of Catherine: Full Body depicts a man, to quote myself in the podcast episode, "drowning in titties", and that was enough to make me wonder what the game is, regardless of my general aversion to games that try to titillate. The discovery that the game was made by Atlus just made me want to play it even more, despite not knowing what to expect at all.

Going in fairly blind turned out to be the right choice. Catherine: Full Body started out as a pretty interesting game, from the inciting event of the main character Vincent Brooks cheating on his girlfriend Katherine with a young woman named Catherine to the introduction of the game's many puzzle levels where Vincent is forced to take up the seemingly endless climb to his own salvation. But what lies under the surface is a surprisingly coherent and interesting social commentary on a pertinent issue in modern-day Japan, leaving me much more satisfied with the game's plot than I initially thought would be possible. There are many layers to the story and cast of characters in Catherine: Full Body, and blatant transphobic issues aside, I really enjoyed my experience with it.

Joining me in episode 69 of Tales from the Backlog to discuss Catherine: Full Body are Rick Firestone from Pixel Project Radio and Ryan Juengling from List Off!. It's always a pleasure to chat about games with these guys, and both have been featured many times on Tales from the Backlog in the past. Check out Rick on Pixel Project Radio and Ryan on List Off!, and all three of us making appearances on each show!

You can listen to episode 69 of Tales from the Backlog (Catherine: Full Body) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 68: Silicon Dreams | cyberpunk interrogation

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Silicon Dreams | cyberpunk interrogation has a killer elevator pitch- "Blade Runner meets Papers, Please". Developer Clockwork Bird have taken the Voight-Kampff test idea from Blade Runner and added the oppressive workplace pressures of Papers, Please to create a really compelling interrogation game, but it may or may not be worth your time if the game was just a shallow mashup of those influences. Silicon Dreams also weaves a greater narrative into your series of interrogations, but that greater narrative is in well-worn territory at this point. The biggest win for the storytelling in Silicon Dreams is that it uses your player character's unique perspective to tell that story in a fresh way.

In Silicon Dreams, you play as an android interrogator tasked with interviewing other androids who are displaying faulty or unwanted behaviors. You use questioning, tone, and emotional manipulation to get the information that you need about each subject, and all the while your employer, Kronos, is observing and judging your every decision. Meanwhile, the greater story is unfolding, but crucially, you are not out on the streets to see what's happening for yourself. You are an android worker who only exists in your work and sleep space. Any information you get about what's happening on the outside is second-hand- a perspective that mirrors our own in the real world. We may try to follow local or world events as closely as we can, but the gravity of those events is only as great as our proximity. For some people, it's easy to just brush them off because they "don't affect me"...until suddenly they do.

Joining me in episode 68 of Tales from the Backlog to discuss Silicon Dreams is Scott Danielson. Scott is a longtime friend of mine and was previously a guest on the Hitman (2016) and Hitman 2 (2018) episodes of the show. We had a wonderful conversation about the things I mentioned earlier in the blog, as well as the different paths our stories took and how our individual actions and mindsets led to those outcomes. And a big thank you to Clockwork Bird for reaching out and providing us with Steam codes so we could try this game out!

You can listen to episode 68 of Tales from the Backlog (Silicon Dreams) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 67: Chained Echoes

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In the Shovel Knight episode and blog, I talked about how that game really succeeds at both tapping into your nostalgia and being modern at the same time. This has kind of become a shorthand in my games vocabulary now, the "Shovel Knight treatment" referring to games that pull this feat off, like The Messenger did for Ninja Gaiden, Infernax did for Castlevania...and now like Chained Echoes does for the the JRPG classics of yesteryear, like Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden, Secret of Mana and many others.

There are a lot of complaints that people, myself included, point to when talking about those old RPGs, however. As time passes and suddenly it's been a decade or two since we play some of those games, we tend to forget some of the issues that can plague the genre like grinding to overpower enemies instead of strategizing, abrupt scope increases where suddenly you're fighting God for some reason, bad random encounter rates, and many more. So a game getting "the Shovel Knight treatment" can modernize all of these things, but the most important thing is that they need to be good enough to stand on their own. Chained Echoes, by solo developer Matthias Linda, would not be half the game it is if it JUST added modern quality of life improvements. What really makes Chained Echoes stand out is that it introduces a really fun combat system that requires your full attention in nearly every battle throughout the game, tells an engrossing story full of intrigue, failures and successes, and ties it all up really nicely while clearly setting up a sequel. I came out of my time with Chained Echoes confident that not only did it successfully write a love letter to the games that inspired it, but that it itself stands among those titans of the genre on its own merits.

Joining me to discuss Chained Echoes in episode 67 is Aaron Angle, one of my oldest friends and co-host with me on A Top 3 Podcast. As soon as I finished the prologue of Chained Echoes, I started pestering Aaron to play this, because we've spent the last 20 years talking about video games just like this. If you're not aware, A Top 3 Podcast is a list show that Aaron and I do with our other great friends Alan and Bloodbath. Each episode is a top 3 list or a draft or something of that nature. We've been doing the show for a few years now, and it's a much different vibe than Tales from the Backlog. You can check it out by searching your favorite podcast app or following [this link](atop3podcast.fireside.fm).

You can listen to episode 67 of Tales from the Backlog (Chained Echoes) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Mini Review- DREDGE

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 10:00:00 -0400

Team17 and Black Salt Games were kind enough to grant me a review code for DREDGE, weeks ahead of release. Since my podcast process takes a while to schedule a guest, record and edit, I've decided to try my hand at writing up a short review to whet your appetite for the upcoming podcast episode. Enjoy!

Game- DREDGE
Developer- Black Salt Games
Publisher- Team17
Release Date- March 30th, 2023
Available Platforms- Switch, PS4/5, Xbox, Steam, GOG
Play time- 10-15 hours

Game of Thrones taught us that the night is dark and full of terrors. Deep Blue Sea taught us that the sea is also dark and full of terrors. When those two landmark pieces of media meet, you get something like DREDGE. DREDGE, developed by Black Salt Games and published by Team17, is a Lovecraftian horror fishing game where you assume the role of a nameless sea captain. At the beginning of the game, your fishing boat is dashed against the rocks near the settlement of Greater Marrow. The kindly mayor of the town sets you up with a replacement boat so that you can continue fishing and pay off your debt. It's a real Tom Nook situation, but this time you need to catch and sell fish, done via a timing-based QTE minigame, to pay off your boat. You will also pull up salvage materials that you can use to upgrade your boat to catch and hold more fish and salvage to upgrade your boat to catch and hold more fish and salvage to- sounds familiar, right?

It's all what you expect for a little while. You'll go out fishing, you'll catch some salmon, maybe a squid, and you're reminded of how relaxing and satisfying fishing can be. That is, until you pull up the next squid and it has one giant, all-knowing eye. Suddenly the local fishmonger is taking a keen interest, the lighthouse keeper is shouting cryptic warnings at you, and what the hell are those lights and sounds coming from the sea at night? This is when DREDGE moves from the compulsion-based crafting game just like any other to something more unique. You start to have the feeling that you need to go fish at night to find a specific type of eel, but you don't want to fish at night because it is scary out there. It's super dark and you can't afford the good lights yet. Things pop in and out of your periphery, teasing you while you try to dredge up one more sunken bolt of cloth like the trash goblin you are. I found myself frantically racing back to port when the sun started to set, and I won't spoil anything in this review, but my fears were not baseless. The night is dark and full of terrors, after all.

The story of DREDGE takes big inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft and the idea that there are things out there, all around us, that cannot and should not be perceived. Ever since I read the first paragraph of The Call of Cthulhu, I've been enamored by the idea that it is a blessing that we can't perceive what's behind the veil, and in that respect, DREDGE does a decent job with its own Lovecraftian story. The story of DREDGE unfolds slowly as you progress from zone to zone, and I can say that it takes a satisfying turn before the credits roll. I will also say that I appreciate a Lovecraftian story that places the majority of its focus on the forbidden knowledge side of things, and I'm happy to say that DREDGE has more in the way of shady figures, strange lights in the distance and dusty old tomes than relying on throwing monsters in your face. Despite it not really living up to some other Lovecraftian stories in games I've played, like Bloodborne and The Last Door, it's a story that adds a lot of flavor while you're working through the upgrade trees and moving from location to location.

In 2023, the video game landscape is chock full of crafting, whether it be AAA action-adventure games with crafting systems or games that are totally built around it. All in all, DREDGE is a fun take on the genre, taking the usual gather-craft-upgrade-gather-repeat loop and giving it a few new twists, like the focus on fishing and Lovecraftian ideas. If you like any of the things I just mentioned, it's safe to say you'll find something to like in DREDGE, even if the game is not likely to blow you away. And you'll have something to look forward to, as there will be a full episode of Tales from the Backlog about Dredge in the coming months! So get out there, captain, and prepare to discuss what lurks beneath.

Tales from the Backlog 66: Nier: Replicant

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Nier: Replicant really got me thinking. The game has an excellent story, with plot twists, rug pulls and tears aplenty. It's got a memorable group of characters, including including the stuck-up talking book Grimoire Weiss, the scantily clad badass Kaine, and the lovable sweetheart Emil. The new version has redone combat that is flashy and kinetic, if a bit repetitive. And the music! It goes without saying at this point, but the music is incredible at providing melody, atmosphere and emotion as you work your way through the game. But there's only one problem- the game is incredibly tedious and repetitive....by design.

You'll spend much of Nier: Replicant doing the same things you've already done. Traversing the same open levels, following the same route, fighting the same enemies, even doing the same quests. This was fine the first few times, since I played Nier: Automata before, I kind of knew what I was in for. But the repetition goes so much further in Replicant than it ever goes in Automata, to the point where it is actively frustrating and not the least bit fun. I often found myself sitting down in front of my monitor to play Replicant, but always wanting to do something else instead of going to the Junk Heap for the 57th time. So much of Replicant is not fun, which seems to go against the very idea you're playing a video game, right? Well....kind of. I hate to leave this blog on a cliffhanger, but I'm recording a discussion episode literally tomorrow about this very topic...inspired by this very game. So you'll have to wait until May to hear that full discussion, but for now it'll suffice to say that yes, in the moment, playing Replicant was frustrating and not fun for long stretches of time. However, I think that it was done with purpose, and when you take into account what the game is trying to say with its many endings...it makes sense for the game to be as tedious as it is. Whether it was all worth it will be up to each individual player, but it worked for me in the end.

Joining me to discuss the story, characters and gameplay is none other than Brian Edwards! You may have heard Brian on the wonderful Character Issues and Cane and Rinse podcasts. Cane and Rinse was one of the biggest inspirations for this podcast, doing extremely detailed and thoughtful deep dive retrospectives on video games, and Character Issues is a very fun and extremely scientific quest to rank every video game character, from best to worst. Brian is a wonderful person and I loved this conversation with him- you should check out Character Issues and Cane and Rinse by following the links!

You can listen to episode 66 of Tales from the Backlog (Nier: Replicant) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 65: Eastward

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Eastward is paying homage to some of the developer Pixpil's favorite games of yesteryear, namely The Legend of Zelda series, Dragon Quest and Earthbound, but oddly enough, my experience playing it was not dominated by comparisons to those influences. Instead, I spent a lot of my time playing Eastward thinking about the nature of the silent protagonist. In Eastward, your main character is named John, and John is a silent protagonist. In the opening cinematic before the main menu, John finds Sam in a kind of life support tank deep within the mine he works in. As the game itself begins, he adopts her as his daughter and yada yada yada, they're forced to travel together across a post-apocalyptic world. If you're thinking to yourself "huh, that sounds a lot like The Last of Us!" you'd be right! And so as I played, I actually thought about that game more often than the others.

I got the feeling while playing this game that John is a silent protagonist not because there is a good story reason for it, but because Ness is a silent protagonist in Earthbound, the Hero is a silent protagonist in Dragon Quest, and Link is a silent protagonist in (most) Zelda games. But the game that has the most similar story and character setup to Eastward, The Last of Us, crucially does not have a silent protagonist. In The Last of Us, you are not only able to see and experience how Ellie feels, but crucially, you get Joel's side of things as he slowly opens up to Ellie throughout the game. In Eastward, I never got a good sense of how John feels about this situation that he's found himself in (adopting a little girl he found in a cave, being exiled from his hometown underground and forced to travel across the dangerous surface) other than feeling protective of Sam. There are many, many story beats throughout Eastward that fell completely flat for me because there was a clear opportunity to have John express himself. But instead, he stands there like a sack of potatoes as the story happens around him. John is not a blank slate for me to imprint myself on- he is a poor man, who has toiled away in the mines until suddenly everything got shaken up, as described earlier. Giving him any sort of personality, letting me know how he feels about literally any of these wacky situations would have gone so far toward me enjoying the story more than I did. Instead, John ho-hums and putzes his way through the game, barely reacting to what's happening around him...and I soon found myself doing the same.

Joining me on the podcast to discuss Eastward is Chris Dominguez, one of the two hosts of A Novel Console, a podcast dedicated to video games, books and food. As I told them on the show- if you're not up for video games, books and food, I don't know what to tell you. You can check out their show by following this link, and I was also on their show last week to talk about The Lord of the Rings and all of the other Tolkien adaptations.

You can listen to episode 65 of Tales from the Backlog (Eastward) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 64: God of War: Ragnarök

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0500

As a direct sequel to 2018's smash hit reboot of the God of War franchise, God of War: Ragnarök had an extremely high bar to clear. It had to meet the emotional weight of the first game, a touching story of the protagonist Kratos warming up to his son Atreus as a family member and as a god like himself. It had to to iterate on a really satisfying combat system. It had to pay off on the promise set up at the end of God of War 2018 to introduce Thor and Odin into the story, two characters that have seen intense media exposure since the rise of the MCU (more on this later). And in the end, God of War: Ragnarök succeeded in a lot of ways, but in my opinion, fell flat in the most important one.

First things first, God of War: Ragnarök is a really fun game, owing to the strength of its combat. God of War (2018) built the foundation, and this game expanded on it. More weapons, more skills, and even bigger shakeups that I won't spoil in a blog post like this, but suffice to say, the promise of a sequel to the combat felt great to me. God of War (2018)'s puzzles were my least favorite part of that game, and the puzzles in God of War: Ragnarök are my least favorite gameplay aspect of this game. But the area where God of War: Ragnarök really let me down was its move away from the weighty, grounded tone of the first game. God of War (2018) was not a funny game, despite having a few comic relief characters in Mimir, Brok and Sindri, and I really loved that about it. It is a serious story with moments of levity. God of War: Ragnarök tips the scales too far in favor of humor, n my opinion, and loses a lot of the grounded tone that made the first game's story and worldbuilding such a success. Every other character that you meet in God of War: Ragnarök feels pulled straight out of Thor: Ragnarök- characters that quip their way through life to the point where they don't feel at all like real people. It really clashes with the tone that the first game established, to the point where story beats don't land the way they should, and only the larger frame story that was teased at the end of God of War (2018) worked for me.

Joining me to discuss God of War: Ragnarök is Ryan, host of the now-retired List Off! podcast. Brian and Ryan have tipped their hats and ridden off into the sunset, but they have 2 years of video game lists on their show List Off! that I highly recommend! You can find their show by searching in your favorite podcast app or by following this link!

You can listen to episode 64 of Tales from the Backlog (God of War: Ragnarok) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 63: Tunic

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

There are lots of games that I'd love to "Eternal Sunshine" out of my memory and try again for the first time. Nier: Automata. Red Dead Redemption 2. Bloodborne. Elden Ring. Wonderful stories, open worlds ripe for exploration, the first time you see your character reborn as a baby squid....all wonderful experiences. Tunic (developed by Andrew Shouldice and published by Finji) is also on the Eternal Sunshine Wishlist, but for a different reason than the previously listed games. Tunic is on that list because you only get one chance to truly experience Tunic in its intended way....and I biffed it.

Tunic, unlike many modern games, asks a lot of the player to hold up their end of the bargain. Where almost all modern games include extensive tutorialization, Tunic hearkens back to the era of learning how to play a by consulting the game manual. Simple mechanics like your dodge roll, how to upgrade your character, where you should be going next and what you should be doing there are all located not within tutorial pop-ups, but within pages of the game's manual that you find as treasures around the game world. The game does explain these things adequately, but it is on the player to not only refer to the manual often to learn, but to remember what they read or check back often as new problems arise. This is where one of my main problems arose- I found a manual page explaining a key mechanic, but it was right before a boss fight so I decided I would check back on it later...and promptly forgot. This happened a few times, as manual pages may explain mechanics that you yourself will need hours later, and I do fault myself for this. So I am left with the feeling that I would like another try, that I can do better, that a game can trust me to do my part and that I won't let it down...but I won't get that chance with Tunic, becuase it's a one-try deal. Now, it's not all on me, as I do truly believe that this game is far too difficult on its standard difficulty setting, and merely "pretty fucking hard" on its "reduced" difficulty setting, and there are a few enemy mechanics throughout the game that are hateful. But I come away from this experience feeling a great deal of respect for Andrew Shouldice's vision for what this game should be, and wishing for a second chance that will never happen.

Joining me for episode 63 of Tales from the Backlog is Ryan Batie of Lightning Strikes Thrice podcast. Anybody who knows Ryan and what they value in video games knows that Tunic was almost made for them, so I was very excited to talk with them about this game in particular, and the conversation was exactly what I had hoped. Lightning Strikes Thrice is a games club podcast about JRPGs, so if you like Final Fantasy, the Xeno series and many more, you can and should check out the show on your favorite podcast app or by following this link!

You can listen to episode 63 of Tales from the Backlog (Tunic) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 62: Spiritfarer

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

In the words of Thunder Lotus Games, Spiritfarer is "a cozy management game about dying", and I don't think I could have summed up the experience of playing any better than that. The subject material, along with the colorful art and expressive animations that the trailer showed off, really drew me in- indie games often tap into the deeper, more affecting and personal levels of their subject material than a AAA game with a similar premise would reach. Spiritfarer merges addicting management/crafting gameplay with both small vignettes about individual characters, their lives and how they died, and a larger narrative surrounding the main character Stella and her role in all of this.

The experience of playing Spiritfarer will be different for everybody. Your player character Stella takes on the role of the Spiritfarer from Charon, and it is her task to help the game's 16 "spirit" characters prepare to move on to the afterlife. Preparing to move on is different for every spirit, as you may expect. Some of them need closure on unfinished storylines from their lives. Some of them just need a place to be comfortable for a while. Some of them need to try to rekindle relationships from their pasts. But the key thing is that none of them will go on to the afterlife until they are ready, and in the process of helping them prepare, you will learn so much about their lives, their relationships, their regrets, their triumphs, and how they died. Since each of the 16 spirits have different backstories and causes of death, different characters will resonate with different people playing the game. I guess I would consider myself fortunate that I did not personally connect with many of the characters' stories, but there were still several that hit me in a way that felt unique to me, and I would venture to guess that most people playing will find their own group of spirits with whom they personally can relate to. And in that way, Spiritfarer absolutely succeeds at its main goal- to explore personal stories of death and the effects that the people we meet leave on us.

Joining me for episode 62 of Tales from the Backlog (Spiritfarer) are Charlie and Lauren Young. I knew that this would be a great episode to chat with both of them because they are both intelligent and well-spoken, but it turns out that this game in particular made personal connections with them that they were kind enough to share on the show, and confirmed my suspicions that this game handled extremely personal and sensitive content effectively and with the proper respect. I really appreciate what Charlie and Lauren brought to the show, and this turned out to be exactly the conversation I wanted to have on the show; this spoiler section is one of my favorites I've ever done.

You can listen to episode 62 of Tales from the Backlog (Spiritfarer) in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 61: Metal Gear Solid

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

This podcast has served the purpose of helping me work through my backlog (along with some new releases along the way), but the podcast has also helped me work my way through holes in my gaming history. This episode is the latest on my history tour- until December of last year, I had never played Metal Gear Solid. I had a Playstation for a very short period of time when I was a kid, but we only had a few games and sold it pretty quickly because the N64 was dominating our house. My exposure to Metal Gear was limited to the Gameboy Color game (Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel) and several playthroughs of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. So when Mick Arcade reached out to me to come on the show, we quickly arrived at Metal Gear Solid as the perfect game to make it happen.

Metal Gear Solid is incredibly outdated in lots of ways, but is overall a fun experience. The gameplay ranges from awful (the final boss) to extremely fun (the second Vulcan Raven fight) and everything in between. The controls are of an age where anything was acceptable. The story is built on plot twists upon plot twists that don't really seem concerned with fitting together. Instead of being a story that tells a suspenseful and compelling narrative, Metal Gear Solid hits you with a major plot twist every hour until you have no choice but to stop trying to make it all make sense and let it wash over you. So despite what a mixed bag of frustrations, comedy, shocking reveals and juvenile choices Metal Gear Solid is, I had a pretty positive experience with it and am glad I played it.

Joining me for episode 61 is the aforementioned Mick Arcade. Mick is a professional voice actor, Twitch streamer, podcaster and overall content creator. It was an absolute blast chatting with him about Metal Gear Solid and hearing him do all the voices from the game. You can check out what he's doing by following this link!

You can listen to episode 61 of Tales from the Backlog (Metal Gear Solid) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 60: Bayonetta 3

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Whew, it's Monday morning and I'm not sure how to smoothly introduce the main thing I want to discuss in this blog, so we'll just rip the band-aid off now- Bayonetta 3 was a huge disappointment for me on almost every level. The Bayonetta series hit a sweet spot for me, a sublime mashup of over-the-top spectacle, empowerment and cheesy dialogue with...not quite a disregard for plot, but telling a plot that mainly exists to get us familiar with Bayonetta, and then allow her personality and powers to take center stage all of the ridiculous situations that arise. However, it is apparent to me that PlatinumGames decided between Bayonetta 2 and 3 that the way things worked was not enough.

Aside from the combat while playing as Bayonetta, almost everything is different in Bayonetta 3. There are two other playable protagonists, Viola (new to the series) and Jeanne (not new, but newly playable) and their gameplay sections are mixed-to-awful. Each level is much more open, with lots of platforming and puzzle solving challenges, but the majority of these are not good fits for the combat-focused game engine. And this game had a voice acting controversy before release, but that was quickly resolved and replaced by a new one...this game has a truly horrible story. At the beginning of the game, Bayonetta is fighting a multiverse-traveling entity and loses. After a cutscene, we open on a sunny day to...Bayonetta, dragging her man-servant Enzo along for another day of shopping. She quickly realizes she must traverse the multiverse to save different dimensions, meeting other Bayonettas along the way. Sounds cool, right? Well, the writers at PlatinumGames decided that this was going to be their swing at telling an affecting story full of character drama, high stakes, and tragedy. And in my opinion, this not only missed the mark in those departments, but also diverted too far away from the thing that made Bayonetta stories fun in the first place- wild situations that allow Bayonetta's personality to take center stage. And I won't spoil the ending here, but just allow me to say that it feels like Platinum has totally lost the plot on why people like Bayonetta, the character, in the first place.

So that's a lot, right? I went into this recording with a lot of thoughts, and I was lucky enough to be joined by** Matt aka Stormageddon*, host of many podcasts, including *"Fun" and Games*, **Reignite, **Screen Snark, **CPOV: Autographs*, among many more on the Certain POV podcast network. If you're listening to Tales from the Backlog because you like video games (likely), then I cannot recommend "Fun" and Games enough. And if you want a play-along style show for Mass Effect and Dragon Age, check out Reignite! You can find all of Matt's podcasts by following this link!

You can listen to episode 60 of Tales from the Backlog (Bayonetta 3) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 59: Final Fantasy IX

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

You may not be aware, but I play a lot of video games and have a lot of video game opinions. But despite how confident I am in my own opinions, I also have a pathological need to understand what other people see in games. When a game is widely beloved but I bounced off, or when people name a game I really disliked as their favorite of all time, I don't necessarily second-guess my own experience, but I definitely start to feel the urge to play that game again and attempt to see what other people see in it. Final Fantasy IX is the latest example of this urge, and I got that final push when this game won the Final Fantasy poll on my Patreon page.

The first time I played Final Fantasy IX, I didn't like much about it, to be honest. I thought the story was mostly boring, the combat felt old, and I didn't connect with many of the characters save Vivi...I mean, I'm not a monster. A few years later, as I started to get into podcasting and surrounded myself with the people who I ended up talking about games with on a near-daily basis, Final Fantasy IX kept getting mentioned as some people's favorite games of all time, and that need to Understand started kicking in. So I decided to throw it in that Final Fantasy poll, and many of those same friends pushed it to the top. And so, the quest to Understand began...and I'm happy to say that not only do I now "get it", but I actually really enjoyed the story and characters the second time around. There are still some things I don't like much, but I'm happy to say that I get it now.

Joining me for this breakdown and discussion on Final Fantasy IX are two wonderful guests, Rick Firestone from Pixel Project Radio and Alejandro Ortiz from A Random Gamer's Corner. I just played Final Fantasy IX for the second time, Rick is a longtime Final Fantasy IX fan, and Alejandro is a first-time player, so I think we got a great mix of perspectives on this episode. Rick is a many-time returning guest on the show, and Alejandro is joining for the first time, and both run gaming podcasts that you should check out. You can find Pixel Project Radio HERE and A Random Gamer's Corner HERE.

You can listen to episode 59 of Tales from the Backlog (Final Fantasy IX) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 58: Shovel Knight

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

In making Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games set out to create a game that captures the nostalgia and rosy memories that many people have for favorites of the 8-bit generation, like Castlevania, Mega Man, Ducktales, and The Legend of Zelda: Adventure of Link. The issue for me is...I don't like any of those games. I recently took stock, and of the top 20 NES games that you could bring to me...I don't think I like any of them not named Mario or Tetris. So, Shovel Knight is made for people who aren't me, right? What happens when a game is made with the stated goal of appealing to nostalgia that I don't have?

Well, it turns out that that didn't matter at all, because Shovel Knight is just an outstanding game. The controls are snappy, the tutorialization is best-in-class, the boss fights are fair and fun to learn, the soundtrack BANGS, and there is just enough story to make you care about the characters just a bit. Shovel Knight also replaces lots of frustrating things about many games from that generation by doing away with lives and game overs, instituting a checkpoint system, and doing away with cheap difficulty tactics designed to eat quarters or pad game length. It's a joy to play from start to finish, and the fact that I didn't catch tons of references to Zelda 2 or Ducktales didn't matter at all, because Shovel Knight stands on its own...and in my opinion, stands above its inspirations.

Joining me in this episode to discuss Shovel Knight is Mikey Tabletop from Big Drink Energy. Mikey is a treasured member of our podcasting community, and it was a blast to go through the game with him. Big Drink Energy is a podcast that uses energy drink reviews as a springboard for discussion, and you can find all things BDE by following this link.

You can listen to episode 58 of Tales from the Backlog (Shovel Knight) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 57: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

A strong first impression can go a long way, as the saying goes. This may be most commonly used to describe a job interview, or even firing up a random indie podcast about video games, but it also holds true for long video games. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (MonolithSoft) made a STRONG first impression, detailing its world of Aionios, its forever-warring nations of Agnus and Keves, its toy soldiers with artificial lifespans, and its flame clocks looming both over and inside all of the inhabitants. I was absolutely floored by the worldbuilding done in the first hour, and the momentum continued as the main cast was revealed and their quest began.

But then 5 hours went by with the momentum maintained via inertia alone. Then 5 more hours went by, and the friction started to slow things down. Then 10 more hours went by, and by this point I started to question myself. The dreaded question that a video game should never prompt of its players- "Am I having fun?" The combat did little to evolve from its opening hours (and truthfully never really did for the rest of the game), and the fantastic worldbuilding gave way to uninspired mustache-twirling villains and room-temperature oatmeal combat. But despite all of this, the promise of the first few hours remained as enticing as always. The payoffs that were teased, the mystery that was introduced...I still wanted to see them through. So I gritted my teeth, paced out my play sessions, and made it to the biggest climax moment of the game (if you know, you know), and from that point on, the ball started rolling downhill again, all the way until it smashed through everything in its path to the ending.

Joining me to discuss all of that in episode 57 is Kolby from Switch it Up. Switch it Up is a mostly Nintendo-focused podcast where Kolby and his co-host Tyler discuss the Nintendo games they're playing, list and re-evaluate their favorite games of all time, and dive into whatever Nintendo topic or game strikes their fancy. You can, and should, find their show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Twitter!

You can listen to episode 57 of Tales from the Backlog (Xenoblade Chronicles 3) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 56: The Forgotten City

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

As somebody who plays video games as a primary form of entertainment, sometimes I find myself playing a bunch of games with big mechanical or time commitments in a row. It’s in those moments that I start to think to myself, “I could really use a palate cleanse right now.”

Enter The Forgotten City. A 5-10 hour game with no complex mechanics to wrap my head around, no combat to learn, and no bloat to grit my teeth through. I was immediately hooked by The Forgotten City’s central premise: there is a “Golden Rule”, which states that if one person commits a sin, everybody dies, and somebody is going to break that rule soon. It’s up to your character to figure out who is going to do it, and in the process get to know the characters, see how they live under this constant threat, and figure out why things are the way they are. It was a real breath of fresh air during a time in the year where long JRPGs were bogging me down.

Joining me in episode 56 to break it down is Chris from the 1 Hour, 1 Decision podcast. Chris and his co-host Tom take a random game from Xbox Game Pass each week, play an hour of it, and discuss whether they want to keep playing. You can find them on any podcast app or from their website!

You can listen to episode 56 of Tales from the Backlog (The Forgotten City) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 55: Inscryption

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Hype has a lot of power over me. I succumb to the Game of the Moment hype pretty often, and even if it doesn’t result in me buying a game, I will certainly feel some degree of FOMO. But as somebody who does not own all gaming platforms out there, sometimes the hype happens around me and I’m just left helpless. Such was the case with Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games), which originally released only on PC, and my computer at the time struggled to run games in 3D, regardless of how old they are. And to add a little salt on the wound, Inscryption is one of those games where people tell you “Don’t spoil ANYTHING before you play it. Go in TOTALLY blind!”. So I waited, and waited, and waited, until it finally released on Playstation earlier this year.

I had managed to stay relatively unspoiled, though I’m familiar with Daniel Mullins’ shtick. And despite all of the hype, and all of the hush-hush…Inscryption lived up to the hype. At its core, it’s a brilliant, yet simple card game. Surrounding the core, however, are aesthetic, atmospheric and story elements that simply have to be experienced for yourself. The marriage of Halloween-colored aesthetics, low-fi 3D visuals and incredibly effective sound design build an atmosphere you can cut with a knife, setting the scene for seemingly high-stakes card games as you work to unravel the mystery.

Joining me in episode 55 of Tales from the Backlog to help make sense of it all is John Rogers, host of the gaming podcast Gaming in the Wild. John describes GITW as "a look at games from the artistic and creative side of the tracks", where he talks about what he's playing and reviews new games, trying to focus on indies that are worth your time. You can find everything GITW by following this link or searching in your favorite podcast app.

You can listen to episode 55 of Tales from the Backlog (Inscryption) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 54: Pokemon Trading Card Game (Gameboy Color)

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Longtime friends and listeners of the show know that I am not one to be ruled by nostalgia for video games, and for this reason, I am not often eager to revisit the games that shaped my childhood. But my story of growing up with video games really begins when, at age 10, I was afflicted with a chronic case of Pokemania. What started with a Gameboy Pocket and Pokemon Red quickly spun into Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Snap, Pokemon toys at Burger King....and the cards. I collected cards, begged my parents for booster packs when we went to Target, looked up their values in magazines...but didn't really play the game. The only real experience I had with the rules of the game and card battles came from the Gameboy Color game from the year 2000.

The Pokemon Trading Card Game (GBC) is still a fun game to play in 2022, but it struck me how much innovation that trading card games and deckbuilders have undergone in the two decades since its release, especially when it comes to video games. Decks have become smaller, roguelike mechanics have been emphasized, and deck synergies have become the name of the game. The Pokemon Trading Card game doesn't emphasize any of these things, and as such it's one of the more simple deckbuilding games that I've played in the past five years. The Pokemon Trading Card game is also one of the more frustrating deckbuilders that I've played in recent memory, as grand strategies, synergies, and even your capability to attack other Pokemon all come down to some random element, due to the size of the deck and the game's reliance on literal coin flips. I still enjoyed the game itself, and enjoyed seeing all of those sweet, sweet chunky Gen 1 Pokemon designs. This was a fun game to replay and think about!

Joining me for this episode is Bill Barber, host of Gaming & Collecting, which is a nostalgia-based look through the history of video games and anime. Bill and his sister Alex take on a different topic each week, and it's a great mix of nostalgia and knowledge. You can check out everything they're doing by following THIS LINK.

You can listen to episode 54 of Tales from the Backlog (Pokemon Trading Card Game) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 53: Nier: Automata

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Some games make such an impression on its players that they develop a cult-like following, with people breathlessly extolling their virtues whenever the situation is right, and sometimes when the situation doesn't call for it! Nier: Automata is one of those games, the unlikely combination of the enigmatic creator Yoko Taro and the stylish action game extraordinaires at PlatinumGames. The previous game in the series, Nier, garnered praise for its story and music, but criticism for its repetitive and unweildy gameplay, so the addition of the flashy, smooth combat from Platinum was just what the doctor ordered. The missing piece turned out to be....making the game fun to play. And it's not just the melee combat we've come to know and love from Platinum...Nier: Automata also wisely shakes up the gameplay early and often throughout its 25-35 hour runtime. Hack and slash gives way to side-scrolling shoot-em-up, which gives way to top-down twin-stick shooter sections, which give way to a 1-on-1 kaiju battle at one point. This smart decision allows the gameplay to stay fresh and enjoyable while the players get through the real selling point- the story.

Nier: Automata uses storytelling and the fact that you're playing a video game in a lot of interesting ways, and not in the meta way that you might expect from a game like Doki Doki Literature Club or even Metal Gear Solid. Less gimmicky meta things that will only be cool once, and more using the fact that you can continue the same plot from another character's point of view, you can cut away from the action for a fourth wall breaking conversation, and many other ways that take this story and fit it perfectly to the medium. Now that may sound fun, but what about the actual story? The journey of 2B and 9S as they attempt to fight off the machine threat as what they know to be true keeps crumbling around them is one I'll never forget, and I have to tip my cap to Yoko Taro for all of the surprises, thrills and tears along the way. And of course, no blog or podcast about Nier: Automata would be complete without mentioning the name Keichi Okabe, who put together an absolutely S-tier soundtrack that reinforces the story. This is the real shit.

I was lucky enough to be joined by not one, but two wonderful guests for this episode. First is Andrew Kimball from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers, who is a returning guest on the show, previously heard in the Bloodborne Bosses Tier List and FromSoftware and the Open World episodes. You can find Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers at their website, YouTube channel, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Also joining us is musician and streamer Katie Shesko. Katie does flute covers of video game, anime and TV music, as well as Twitch streams. You can find her on YouTube, [Twitch](www.twitch.tv/katieshesko) and Spotify.

You can listen to episode 53 of Tales from the Backlog (Nier: Automata) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 52: Prey: Mooncrash

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Last week, I kind of lamented how I waited too long to play Prey, despite my love for Arkane Studios and everything that they've done in the past decade plus. Well, I'm back with that sentiment this week, only this week it feels even more egregious. Prey: Mooncrash was included in the "ultimate edition" of Prey that I bought, but at the time it just did not register with me what the promise of a roguelike version of Prey would actually be. I do have some roguelike fatigue, and roguelike fatigue was at its peak when I first played Prey in 2020 or so. So I ignored Mooncrash until Deathloop released, and some content creators that I generally vibe with, namely SkillUp and Game Maker's Toolkit spent a lot of their Deathloop reviews talking about Mooncrash, comparing it favorably to the newer game.

When I finally booted up Mooncrash, after I had completed Deathloop (and recorded and released an episode on the show), I was immediately greeted by all of the potential that Deathloop had. Learn the levels, figure out how to pull off the perfect loop. But unlike Deathloop, Mooncrash made me figure out how to execute the perfect loop myself. I would need to do the planning, I would need to do the preparation, and I would need to execute in order to get all five of the characters out in one go. Deathloop only makes you execute- the planning and prep are done for you by the game. So the comparisons were totally right! Add in a lot more immersive sim systems (owing to the main game), and you have a delightful puzzle that I had a great time with from start to finish.

Joining me in episode 52 of Tales from the Backlog to discuss Prey: Mooncrash are Adam & Kiaran, the hosts of The Good, the Bad & the Backlog. The Good, the Bad & the Backlog is a gaming podcast not unlike Tales from the Backlog (backlog bois unite), where each episode, Adam and Kiaran cover a game that at least one of them had not previously finished. They do a great job of breaking the games down and always entertain with the banter between them.

You can listen to episode 52 of Tales from the Backlog (Prey: Mooncrash) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 51: Prey (2017)

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

I missed quite a bit during The Dark Years, when I stepped away from gaming for period of 4 years or so. I missed the PS4/XBone generation really taking off, I missed the release of the Switch, and some game that I really enjoyed in The Before Times faded into memory. One of those games was Dishonored, a game that I loved when it first released. So, as I've said many times, when I bought a PS4 and googled "best ps4 games", a game I'd never heard of kept popping up on the lists. That game was called Prey, and it just so happens, it was made by Arkane Studios, the developers of Dishonored. Prey went straight on the wishlist, where it sat because I was too worried that it would be scary.

Prey finally went on a giant sale, and it was too cheap to pass up. Finally, my hand was forced, and I was set with the cruel task of playing a game in a genre that I love, by a developer that I love. Life is hard sometimes. I booted up Prey, got about 15 minutes in, and promptly got so scared that I uninstalled the game. After about a week, I gathered my confidence, reinstalled it....and played another 10 minutes before getting so scared that I uninstalled it. So again, I steeled myself, turned it back on about a week later, and the rest was history. As far as the things that I find fun in video games, Prey hits those at peak levels. I've come to find that immersive sims are one of my favorite genres of video game, because peak video game, to me, is seeing a locked door, difficult enemy or other obstacle, assessing my toolkit and abilities, and problem solving my way past it. Prey sets you up in these moments constantly, and tells a fun story along the way.

Joining me in episode 51 to talk about Prey are Nick & Will from Friday Night Gamecast. Friday Night Gamecast is a high quality gaming podcast where Nick and Will discuss the latest gaming news, do deep dives on single games, talk about topics, and much more. Both of them bring a great perspective to the greater conversation, and their chemistry as hosts is very fun to hear. You can, and should, check out Friday Night Gamecast by clicking this link.

You can listen to episode 51 of Tales from the Backlog (Prey) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 50: Citizen Sleeper

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

I first heard of Gareth Damian Martin and their work from a random tip in a "Hidden Indie Gems" type of YouTube video that led me to In Other Waters. In Other Waters is an interesting adventure game that uses a deep sea diving interface to both make the world feel alien and put the focus on the excellent writing. When I heard that Martin's game studio Jump Over the Age had a new game out in 2022, I instantly put it on my wishlist, sight unseen.

Citizen Sleeper takes the same writing quality from In Other Waters, but shifts the focus away from uncovering a mystery and places it on characters and worldbuilding. You play as a Sleeper, an emulated consciousness inside of a robot shell, created to work off a person's massive debts while the real body is placed in cryosleep. Your character has escaped this indentured servitude, however, and is now being hunted by the corporation that owns the robot shell. This opening hook absolutely grabbed me, and in tandem with an elegant dice system, Citizen Sleeper quickly became a game I couldn't put down.

Joining me for this episode is Christopher Love, also known as DeadbeatPunk, from the lovely WTFDYW?! podcast. WTFDYW?! is a weekly 30 minute podcast where a guest is asked the simple question- "What the fuck do you want?", the guest kindly tells Punk what the fuck they want, and the discussion is on. It's a fun show, and the grab bag nature of it means that you get something interesting each week. You can find podcast links and everything else at the show's website.

You can listen to episode 50 of Tales from the Backlog (Citizen Sleeper) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 49: The Quarry

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0400

When I first got a PS4, I was looking for cheap games to play and started in the "PS Hits" category. There was a game in there that looked interesting, but the cover art looked scary. That game was Until Dawn, and further digging into it told me that it was one of the scariest games on the console...so I promptly put it in the "will never play" category until I was invited to go on Play Along Podcast for their Get Rec'd series. I recommended Jared play Dark Souls, and he recommended.....Until Dawn (you can listen to the episode here). And despite my reservations, I loved it! So when The Quarry was released, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would play it.

The Quarry is an improvement on Until Dawn in many ways. It looks incredible, has more likable characters, and tells a fun mystery in a different way than its predecessor. But despite these, I think The Quarry is missing some of the secret sauce that made Until Dawn such a fun time. By having more likable characters, it becomes less fun to have them die in gruesome ways (and depending on your choices, they can die in gruesome ways), and part of the joy of Until Dawn for me was throwing caution to the wind and just letting the deaths happen as they come. But despite this, I had a blast playing The Quarry and couldn't wait to talk about it on the podcast.

Joining me for episode 49 is Liv Beyer from Between 2 Gamers. Between 2 Gamers is a variety gaming podcast doing two episodes per week covering topics, game reviews, news and more. Liv and Frewy bring a lot of energy and passion to the gaming content world, and I recommend you check them out by clicking this link!

You can listen to episode 49 of Tales from the Backlog (The Quarry) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 48: The Last Door

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0400

The Last Door is a mashup of two genres I rarely play. I don't seek out horror games (I keep telling myself that), and I've never played a point-and-click adventure game before. But a few things grabbed my attention when this week's guest, Adelaide Lohkamp, asked if I'd be interested in playing this for the show.

While I don't seek out horror games to play, I DO seek out Lovecraftian horror after Bloodborne hooked me on the main ideas.
This game was made by The Game Kitchen, the Spanish game studio behind Blasphemous, one of my favorite metroidvanias ever made.

And so we were off! And if I take away anything from this game, it will be two things: Never assume that there is a minimum number of pixels that can make a game scary, and seek out Lovecraftian horror media that understands the secret sauce that makes Lovecraft's ideas so fascinating. For me, it was never the idea of Cthulhu attacking, or seeing a shambler that made me think about what I read. The simple idea that there are things out there that we cannot perceive, and even if we could, they would break our simple brains....that's the idea worth exploring, and The Last Door truly understands that.

Joining me to discuss The Last Door is the aforementioned Adelaide Lohkamp, a returning guest on the show. She was previously a guest on the Silent Hill 2 episode last year. This was a really great discussion, and I hope you enjoy the episode!

You can listen to episode 48 of Tales from the Backlog (The Last Door) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 46: Resident Evil 4

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This is becoming a trend this summer/fall on Tales from the Backlog. Yet another critically and nostalgic...ally(?) loved game that I never played, and a horror game to boot! I had convinced myself of several things before playing Resident Evil 4:

I was sure that I would never play a Resident Evil game. I had never played one before, except for a light gun game at Dave & Buster's. I don't really like horror games, and I had heard people talk about how some games in the series, like RE7 are incredibly scary.
I was sure that I would hate this gameplay. I had seen videos of zombie enemies slowly wandering toward the player, I had seen how you're not able to move and shoot at the same time, and I had seen how many bullets some of the enemies take to bring down. I was SURE that I would hate this.
And when I first started Tales from the Backlog (almost a year ago!), I reached out to a lot of my video game friends to see who wanted to come on the show, and Michael Mays responded "Let me know if you want to do an episode about RE4", I was SURE I would never do that.

Luckily for everybody, I was wrong on all counts. This game rules! And I hope you enjoy the episode!

You can listen to episode 46 of Tales from the Backlog (Resident Evil 4) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 45: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

On its surface, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is not a game for me. It's half visual novel (I've never played one) and half real-time strategy (I really, really don't like these), and it's all in a very anime aesthetic (Dave repellent). So Dave, you might ask, Dave why the hell did you play this? Well, voice in my head, I like to read video game reviews, and I had heard that the story of 13 Sentinels was incredible, and a great story can carry a lot of weight for me. So I checked out a review on one of the popular gaming websites, I forget which one, and the reviewer activated my killphrase. They said, quoting from memory here, "13 Sentinels has a story reminiscent of the television show LOST," and as soon as I read that, I said "god damnit!" out loud, closed my laptop and added it to my ps4 wishlist.

And you know what? God damnit, they were right! LOST spun a complicated web, constantly introducing four new questions for one question it resolved. Granted, LOST handwaved away many of its impossible questions with the secret answer of "it's a magical island", but it sustained such a feverish internet fan base through constant cliffhangers and new plot threads. This is also how 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim tells its story. You start small, but quickly expand into mysteries and ideas far beyond what you might even imagine by reading this. Of course, I won't spoil anything in this blog, but that type of storytelling is extremely my shit, and here's the kicker- it sticks the landing! Any major question that gets brought up gets a satisfying answer, which is truly remarkable when you realize that every attempt to tell the story quickly gets into Pepe Silvia territory.

And so it's my great pleasure to discuss this mindfuck of a game with frequent guest Rick Firestone. Rick hosts a wonderful show called Pixel Project Radio along with his co-host Ben, and it gets my absolute highest recommendation. PPR does deep dives on video games, in a similar vein as Tales from the Backlog, but their show includes a beat-by-beat story breakdown with all of the perspective, intelligent conversation and love that you would want. They also do one-off episodes, like video game music (they're both trained musicians), Studio Ghibli movies, and a beginner's guide to visual novels (perfect for 13 Sentinels fans looking to expand). Check them out via THIS LINK, you won't regret it.

You can listen to episode 45 of Tales from the Backlog (13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 44: Undertale

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Last week in the Chrono Trigger blog, I discussed the issues I had with trying to capture 30 years of other poeple's nostalgia when coming to a fan favorite game late. Well, in this case I wasn't 30 years late, but in some ways the fandom for Undertale is even louder and more rabid than for Chrono Trigger. One thing I did have going for me with Undertale, however, is that for all of the people yelling about it (positively and negatively), I avoided most spoilers for the game, except for the fact that you can kill things or not.

So once again, off on the quest to see what millions of screaming internet denizens love about a game, and I've gotta say....Undertale is ok! I enjoyed most of my time with the game, and there were some real standout moments, bolstered by a god-tier soundtrack. And as I was playing, I was given plenty of things to think about- perfect for an episode of Tales from the Backlog.

Joining me in episode 44 of Tales from the Backlog to discuss Undertale is returning guest Eric Gess, host of The Unlockables. Eric describes The Unlockables as "The story of video games, the people who play them, and the memories made along the way." Eric has really made a name for himself as a truly great guy who interviews other gaming content creators, and he has recently embarked on his quest to organize and tell the complete story of Kingdom Hearts in his Guiding Keys: The Story of Kingdom Hearts series. You can find The Unlockables by following this link!

You can listen to episode 44 of Tales from the Backlog (Undertale) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 43: Chrono Trigger

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Do you have a game in your history as a gamer that you didn't grow up loving, but seemingly all of your friends did? I grew up playing the GameBoy and Nintendo 64 primarily, which are both great consoles that left me with lifelong memories, but they're both lacking in one major genre- JRPGs. My first JPRG was probably Golden Sun, all the way on the GameBoy Advance, or maybe Final Fantasy VI, also on the GBA. But all this time, I had heard from friends about this incredible game for Super Nintendo called Chrono Trigger, but used cartridges were expensive, even back then. So in the end, Chrono Trigger fell into that list of games that I would have liked to play, but thought I wouldn't get the chance.

Fast forward to 2020, when I was looking through the iPhone App Store for a game to play on my lunch breaks at work. Square Enix had ported some Final Fantasy games for iOS, but lo and behold, there was Chrono Trigger! So I bought it, played on my lunch breaks, thought it was fine, and put the game down. It wasn't until a few years later when I realized that I just don't jive with RPGs on my phone- too tough to pay attention. Chrono Trigger ended up getting a second chance on my new (used) 3DS- and the rest was history. An episode of Tales from the Backlog was bound to happen.

Joining me for episode 43 of Tales from the Backlog is Josh Covel, host of Still Loading. Still Loading is a video games variety podcast, self-described as "a podcast on video games, their culture and their history", with episodes ranging from game reviews, retrospectives, developer interviews and podcaster interviews. Josh has been doing Still Loading for a long time, and this is a professional show with great insights into game development, storytelling and content creation. You can find Still Loading on Twitter, Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Twitch.

You can listen to episode 43 of Tales from the Backlog (Chrono Trigger) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 42: Spec Ops: The Line

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

We're up to episode 42 of Tales from the Backlog, yet one of the world's most popular gaming genres has been absent thusfar- the military shooter. I believe that a lot of the popular franchises serve as enlistment propaganda, and I just generally don't like shooters in general, unless there is something interesting going on. For example, if you just take a look at the box art for Spec Ops: The Line, there is nothing indicating that it would be anything more than your standard game set in a desert place where you're killing terrorists.

So imagine my surprise when I start listening to video game podcasts years and years later and start hearing how Spec Ops: The Line is being lauded for going where military shooters (and video games) rarely go, telling an unforgettable story with a depth that can only be fully uncovered by playing the game multiple times. Add in some competent 3rd person shooter gameplay with suprisingly good enemy and team AI, and you have the recipe for a special game- so special that I sleeved the entire game in one 6 hour play session.

Joining me in episode 42 of Tales from the Backlog is Chris Coplien, one of the hosts of Retro Hangover. Retro Hangover is a retro games podcast covering all kinds of games from years past, and Chris and his co-host Shane have a great dynamic that makes it a very entertaining show. Retro Hangover is Backlog Approved and you can find their show by following this link.

You can listen to episode 42 of Tales from the Backlog (Spec Ops: The Line) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 41: The Last of Us

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Last week in the Outer Wilds blog, I said that some games deserve a second chance. Well, it turns out that for the second week in a row, some games deserve a second chance. The first time I played The Last of Us (Naughty Dog, 2013), I thought that the story was as advertised, but had a lot of trouble clicking with the gameplay and eventually got frustrated and quit. But some games deserve a second chance. Almost 10 years later, I decided to give it another shot with the help of a trump card- Easy mode. Naughty Dog has a bad habit of making enemies into bullet sponges, and Easy mode eliminates that frustration. With that on my side, I was finally able to play through The Last of Us to the end (and what an ending it was!) to prepare for a discussion on the podcast!

Joining me in episode 41 to talk about The Last of Us is Ben Robinson from Play Along Podcast. Play Along Podcast is a games club podcast that breaks games down into small sections and meets each week to discuss. A typical game takes them several weeks to complete, so anybody can...play along. They also do a fun side series called Get Rec'd, where one of the hosts and a guest recommend a game to each other, play as much as they can, and then meet to discuss. I recommend the show, and you can find everything Play Along at this link!

You can listen to episode 41 of Tales from the Backlog (The Last of Us) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 40: Outer Wilds

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Some games deserve a second chance. The first time I played Outer Wilds, I enjoyed the mystery and the experience of exploring a mini solar system, but got very frustrated by what I thought was supposed to be an opening area and a [REDACTED] mechanic that resulted in a lot of wasted time. I then became "the one guy in the channel who didn't like Outer Wilds", which was kinda fun for a while, but I always had a nagging thought that told me to give the game another shot. Nothing worse than the feeling that everybody else is "getting it" while you don't, right?

So I decided to give it that second chance, and I'm glad I did. There are a lot of things to commend Mobius Digital for, but the fact that they created a fully open-world, clockwork solar system to explore with state changes and unique mechanics for each planet is truly a marvel. It would have made one hell of a tech demo (and it did!), but they also managed to weave one of gaming's most engrossing stories into this clockwork system. The result is a game driven by exploration and the desire to learn more, as opposed to the carrots that so many open-world games dangle in front of players to entice them to explore. And despite some big frustrations with one late-game section, I will forever be impressed by what Mobius accomplished here.

Joining me to discuss Outer Wilds is the host of The Main Quest podcast, Keith Gasper. Keith is a great podcaster, an even better dude, and a returning guest on the show, previously heard on the Earthbound episode. The Main Quest podcast is Keith's personal journey to revisit every game he played throughout his childhood and early adulthood, burning down the nostalgia within...or not! It's a great podcast, and he doesn't just play the hits. You can find everything Main Quest via this link.

You can listen to episode 40 of Tales from the Backlog (Outer Wilds) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 39: Deathloop

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Arkane Studios has long been one of my favorite developers, occupying the rare space in the pantheon where no matter what they put out, no matter what direction they choose for their newest game, I know that I will play it and probably enjoy it. Dishonored and Dishonored 2 were both level design and power fantasy treats, while Prey took a space station alien invasion plot in very interesting and surprising directions. But despite the permissive, play-your-way game design at the core of these great games, I always tend to play them the same way. Sneak around, plan a route, sneak around in the shadows or along rooftops or hanging structures, quicksave, get caught, quickload, and try again. Despite having the tools to go loud and cause mayhem, I always default to the quiet play style.

Enter Deathloop. In a world that resets at the end of each day, why not throw caution to the wind? That's the question that Deathloop is asking, both mechanically and thematically. Its characters are a collection of the worst people possible, and your (the player's) mistakes are wiped clean at the end of each day. Why not have a little fun? Deathloop is a flawed game, but it scores one resounding victory over its predecessors- it's finally more fun to go loud.

Joining me to discuss Deathloop in episode 39 of Tales from the Backlog is Morgan Remington, a Twitch streamer and pocaster and captain of the Intergalactic Pinecone. Morgan streams all kinds of games, but you can find all kinds of Nintendo games, from Donkey Kong Country to Monster Hunter over on his streams. You can check out Morgan and all things Intergalactic Pinecone on Twitch, on YouTube, on Twitter, and on Instagram.

You can listen to episode 39 of Tales from the Backlog (Deathloop) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 38: Vampire Survivors

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Make sure you're sitting down before you read further. Are you sitting down? What I'm about to write might shock you, so just, for your safety, take a seat. Ok. (Deep breath). I play a lot of video games, and I listen to a lot of podcasts about video games. I feel like I'm pretty close to the goings on in the video game world. Despite that, sometimes a game seemingly comes out of nowhere to take the gaming world by storm. Vampire Survivors was that game in late 2021, when suddenly every single one of those "what are you playing lately?" sections in video game podcasts was just full of talk of screens filled with projectile weapons, taking out hundreds of enemies at a time, collecting lots of shinies...so I did what any of us do, I filed it away in the "That Sounds Cool, But I Have Too Many Games Already" box and put it on my Steam wishlist, where it would be doomed to languish for years and years despite costing $3 full price.

Enter my good friend Chris Rettig, who spent that princely sum of $3 to gift me a copy of the game, and it probably took about one or two minutes before I suddenly understood why everyone was in love. Vampire Survivors is pure video game- no story, rpg mechanics, crafting systems, enemy movesets or character arcs. Enemies walk slowly towards you, your weapons autofire, and all you have to do is move your character around. Kill things, pick up shinies, level up and pick a weapon, and repeat while the hours melt away. This turned into a game where I would start a stream in the Tales from the Backlog Discord server with the intent of playing one or two rounds, then 3 and a half hours later I finally pull myself away, and it quickly became a game I spent more than enough time on to talk about on the podcast.

Joining me for episode 38 of Tales from the Backlog is the aforementioned Chris Rettig, a good friend and slinger of the best locally roasted coffee beans in the Eastern Hemisphere. Chris is a first time guest on this show, but he was a guest on my other show, A Top 3 Podcast on our Top 3 Standup Comedians episode. He's a big video game fan, and if you live in the Seoul, Korea area (which I know some of you do!), you owe it to yourself to check out Groove Coffee Roasters.

You can listen to episode 38 of Tales from the Backlog (Vampire Survivors) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 37: Mega Man X

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

I grew up playing video games, starting in the mid-90s with a Game Gear, then a Gameboy Pocket in 1998, and a Nintendo 64 a year later. I have nostalgia for a lot of those games, and remember everything about those early Pokemon games, for example. Conspicuously missing from my gaming history, however, are the NES and SNES. I played them at some friends' houses, but never more than a few minutes at a time, and holy shit now that I'm thinking about it, had I even beaten a Super Nintendo game before playing Chrono Trigger and Mega Man X until this year?

Through the past several years of living in Video Game Land and talking games with people all the time, the Mega Man X games (especially the first one) were repeatedly brought up among the greats from the SNES, so I decided to give it a try. I had played a lot of the Mega Man Battle Network games for the GBA, Mega Man is cool, right? Aaaaaand I absolutely hated it. I got through the tutorial mission, but I couldn't get any further than that. And so that's how it was for about a year, when I began to torture myself with that thought of "Yeah you didn't have fun with that game, remember? Why don't you not have fun with it AGAIN?". So I did. And I managed to get through it this time! And even though I can say that I didn't have a whole lot of fun playing it, I'm glad I did, so that I can get a faint whiff of secondhand nostalgia from some of the members of the Tales from the Backlog community.

Joining me for episode 37 of Tales from the Backlog (Mega Man X) is Chris Nelson. Chris is a longtime friend and returning guest on the show, previously heard on episode 20 (Blasphemous). Chris actually did grow up playing Mega Man X, so it was fun to compare our personal histories with it, and I really like this episode. I hope you do too!

You can listen to episode 37 of Tales from the Backlog (Mega Man X) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Break from the Backlog: Elden Ring Bosses Tier List

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Elden Ring is a game with a lot of stuff- a lot of caves, a lot of catacombs, a lot of items, a lot of NPCs, a lot of deaths, and you guessed it, a lot of bosses. And while there are only a dozen or so bosses that are actually required to finish the story, there are well over a hundred bosses in the game, from end-of-catacomb repeats like Ulcerated Tree Spirts to absolute wall bosses like Soldier of Godrick. It's something I really enjoyed about the game, and one of the few ways that I think Dark Souls 2 was kept in mind when designing Elden Ring. That game has a lot of bosses, and some of them are laughably easy. And in a series as difficult as Souls, I appreciate an easy win every now and then. Elden Ring continues this- I rarely died to a boss at the end of a cave or out in the field, but the rewards are usually pretty good, and it just feels great to one-try a boss.

And so, as is tradition on Tales from the Backlog, there had to be an episode where we tier rank the bosses. Now, because there are a million bosses in the game, I used a tier list that only included enemies marked as "Great Enemy" and above- 33 bosses in total. There are a few notable omissions from the list, but I felt good about this one. Joining me for this episode is a return guest on the show- Jim Rodeman. Jim was previously on the Hollow Knight and Hades episodes of the show, and I wanted to get his perspective on the bosses because his only experience with FromSoftware in the past was Dark Souls, and that was only a few years ago.

Here are our tier lists, and you can listen to the episode for our explanations:
Dave:

Jim:

And as always, we encourage you to make your own tier list using this link, and share it with us! And a great place to share it is in the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!

You can listen to this Break from the Backlog episode (Elden Ring Bosses Tier List) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Break from the Backlog: Elden Ring for the FromSoftware Newbie

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400

As a big fan of FromSoftware's games, I naturally want to talk about them with as many people as I can, and those attempts are often met with people saying "I could never get into those games" or "Those games seem cool but I don't like hard games", or simply "Sekiro is too fucking hard". And that's fine! People can enjoy the games they enjoy and not play the ones they don't! It's ok! I have plenty of people within the Dark Souls and FromSoftware community to talk about.

But then, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that Elden Ring would be "FromSoftware's most accessible game yet....and will lead to more people finishing the game than any of FromSoftware's previous games"- to which the fans started to wonder "What does he mean? Will there be an easy mode?". Then, Elden Ring released and started getting all-time level reviews (not weird). Almost immediately, people who ordinarily don't play FromSoftware games started expressing interest (also not weird). The weird part was that I started to hear a sentiment pop up again and again- "I don't usually like these games, but I'm really loving Elden Ring!". This Break from the Backlog episode was inspired by those people, and seeks to answer one simple question:

_Why is Elden Ring connecting with so many more people than FromSoftware's previous games? _

Joining me for this discussion is total FromSoftware newbie Aaron Angle and on-and-off-again fan Ryan Arrington. Aaron is my co-host on [A Top 3 Podcast](www.atop3podcast.fireside.fm) and a frequent guest on Tales from the Backlog, and Ryan is a frequent guest on both shows. Aaron was a guest on the Ghost of Tsushima, Hades and It Takes Two episodes of Tales from the Backlog, and Aaron and Ryan have been guests together on the Rocket League and Persona 5 episodes. They lend some great insight and comedy to this discussion, so if you're on the fence about whether Elden Ring is for you or not, give it a listen.

You can listen to this Break from the Backlog (FromSoftware and the Open World) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Break from the Backlog: FromSoftware and the Open World

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400

In 2005 or so, I was looking around in my local GameStop after work when one of the workers asked me if I was looking for anything in particular. I was just idly browsing, but I said something to the effect of "RPGs are cool, I guess", and the employee, may he live forever, immediately grabbed an Xbox game that I'd never heard of with this weird golden triangle cover art- The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. And for about two years, Alan (A Top 3 Podcast co-host) and I would either be at our own houses playing Morrowind, or at the other person's house watching them play Morrowind. It was the first open-world game I ever played, and I was totally mesmerized by how you could have this entire world to explore as you please.

In 2022, however, the industry standards for open worlds have changed, and not always for the better. I get burned out by open world games as often as I complete them, and I haven't 100% completed an open world game since about 2008. It's made me think about what I actually want in an open world game, which games do these things, and which games are still pretty good despite design decisions that I don't care for? These are the questions that I sought to answer in this topic episode of Tales from the Backlog. I also believe that Elden Ring has a fantastic open world, so I was ready to discuss their design choices that led to this.

Joining me for this Break from the Backlog episode are Andrew and Dylan from Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamers. They're returning guests on the show, previously heard on the Bloodborne Bosses Tier List episode, and they're great voices in the indie gaming podcast community. Their goal is to approach gaming and make content from the perspective of the average player, and they do a great job with game reviews, topic episodes and interviews with indie content creators. You can find them on your favorite podcast app, YouTube and at their website.

Tales from the Backlog 36: Elden Ring

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Have you ever been so excited for a game that you preloaded it and just watched the countdown on your console's home screen? Well, that's how excited I was for Elden Ring. People who know me or have listened to the show before know that FromSoftware is probably my favorite game developer of all time, and I've played all of their modern games from Dark Souls back in 2013 or so all the way through multiple replays of Bloodborne and Sekiro. So when Elden Ring finally got a release date, I went on full media blackout- muting words on Twitter, avoiding YouTube videos from the network test, no podcasts about it, nothing. I didn't even know you could jump until I booted up the game.

Sometimes that kind of hype can lead to a vicious disappointment, however...anybody else remember that Dark Tower movie? Gross! But anyway, Elden Ring is placed squarely in the "lives up to the hype and then some" category. In my opinion, this is the clear winner of Game of the Year 2022, even though the year is only halfway through. And joining me to break the game down in detail is Ryan Juengling from List Off!. Ryan is a friend and returning guest on the show, first heard on the Death's Door episode. List Off! is a gaming podcast that does top 10 lists about all sorts of gaming-related topics, as well as monthly news roundups, deep dives on specific games, and other fun topics. They're a highly recommended show, and you can find them HERE or on your favorite podcast app.

You can listen to episode 36 (Elden Ring) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 35: Half-Life 2

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Longtime listeners and friends who know my gaming history know that I was a console kid growing up. I had a PC with a few games, but it was mostly edutainment games, TIE Fighter and Rollercoaster Tycoon. By the time 2004 rolled around, I was firmly into the Gamecube and Xbox, with PC gaming far in the rear-view mirror. When Half-Life 2 released, I never heard about it. I continued on without hearing about it until I started seeing the Half-Life 3 memes, when I started to gather that Half-Life 2 was maybe pretty good, or something. Why else would its sequel become a meme? But I'm not a PC gamer, or wasn't at the time, so I just figured I'd let that lie.

Fast forward a while, when I finally remember that PC games exist, and there are a lot of good games out there that maybe my budget laptop can run! As a rule of thumb, indie games and anything released before 2010 is generally, maybe possible on my laptop. Portal 2 can run on my laptop, and hey didn't Valve put out another critically acclaimed first-person game? Luckily Half-Life 2 also ran just fine, with some hitches and slowdown here and there, but that's to be expected. And there was always that nagging doubt that happens whenever I boot up a critically acclaimed game from decades past- does it hold up? Not to spoil what we talk about in the episode too much, but.....yeah! It's great!

I'm joined in episode 35 of Tales from the Backlog by Jay Davis from the Super Bracket Bros podcast to deep dive into Half-Life 2. Super Bracket Bros is a "who would win in a fight" tournament style podcast where fictional characters from all kinds of media are pitted against each other in single combat. The current season is focusing on firearms experts, and I was even on the first episode where Archer faced off against Black Widow. Find Jay and Super Bracket Bros wherever podcasts are found, as well as on their website, Instagram and Patreon!

You can listen to episode 35 (Half-Life 2) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 34: Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

As I've said in previous entries on this blog, I took a break from gaming between 2015 and 2017 or so, which is the time period where Yakuza Zero was released and thus kicked off The Great Yakuza Games Boom of the Late 2010's (working title). So when I picked up a used PS4 in 2018 and started looking at the "So You Just Bought a Used PS4 After a Few Years of No Gaming" articles, people kept talking about this game series that I'd never heard of. It was described by some as "GTA in Japan" and described by others as "Extremely Not GTA in Japan", with fun minigames and an affecting crime melodrama story. Fast forward to 2022, after having played all 7 of the Yakuza games starring the GOAT protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, I was ready for more.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a reset for the franchise. After hundreds of hours of the stoic and reserved Kiryu, a new main protagonist by the name of Kasuga Ichiban steps on the scene. In contrast with Kiryu, Ichiban is fun, outgoing and extremely gullible. After taking the fall for a crime committed by a fellow Yakuza family member (where have we heard that before?), Ichiban emerges from prison 20 years later, only to find that he isn't exactly welcomed back with open arms, becomes homeless, and meets a whole crew of new friends who will comprise the traditional JPRG party in the game. The switch from the classic beat 'em up combat to turn-based JRPG combat is the other major diversion in the game, and it's mostly successful while also suffering from some of the same pitfalls that the genre is known for. The game also excels, not surpringly, in all of the goofy and heartfelt ways that every Yakuza game before it did.

Joining me in episode 34 of Tales from the Backlog is a returning guest, Rick Firestone. Rick was a guest on Tales from the Backlog before (episode 13- Disco Elysium), and he is one of the hosts of Pixel Project Radio, which is one of the best video game club style podcasts out there. Each week, Rick, his co-host Ben, and sometimes a guest or two talk in-depth about a game. It's an excellent show that I highly recommend everybody check out. Find Pixel Project Radio on Twitter, Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts!

You can listen to episode 34 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 33: Unsighted

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

If you play a lot of video games, sometimes you start feeling like maybe you've seen most of the ideas people have, and while games are still really fun, you start to yearn for something with a unique idea. And while some people bemoan the lack of creativity and freshness in the AAA space (they're kind of right but not totally), it's no secret that novelty is flourishing in the indie space.

Enter Unsighted, an isometric metroidzeldasoulsvania with a killer twist- as the characters in the game are androids, and their life source is running out, every character in the game is running out of time. And I mean every character, from the random NPCs around town, to the shopkeepers and traveling merchants...and your main character, too. The looming specter of time is really felt in Unsighted, and the ways that pressure interacts with metroidvania-inspired gameplay create all sorts of memorable moments and tough decisions. It's not a complete success in all situations, but it works enough of the time to make this game stand out in the crowded indie metroidvania market.

Joining me to discuss Unsighted in episode 33 of Tales from the Backlog is the artist simply known as Nave from Gaming Together: A Cooperative Podcast. On Gaming Together, Nave and hid co-host Phillip discuss their co-op gaming experiences in a very entertaining and insightful way.

You can listen to episode 33 (Unsighted) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Tales from the Backlog 32: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

For a long time, I would loudly proclaim that the greatest game ever made, and thus my favorite game of all time, was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. But through the years, as I replayed it again and again, it started to feel a bit less wondrous, and a bit more tedious, and I started to think "Hey, I haven't played Majora's Mask since it released, I should probably replay that. I remembered it being darker, weirder, depressing, a bit more existential...you know, things I've come to seek out in video games as I've gotten older. But I was worried about how much I would actually enjoy playing it, since my most recent replays of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess have left me with the idea that maybe I just don't like the older 3D Zelda games anymore in a world where Breath of the Wild exists.

I'm happy to report that I actually really enjoyed playing the game, found almost no tedium or frustration, and was able to soak in that atmosphere, which is even darker and a bit closer to home now as we live through a deadly pandemic where people choose to react to the world around them in such different ways, just like the NPCs in Majora's Mask.

Joining me for episode 32 of Tales from the Backlog is Alan Nichols, my [A Top 3 Podcast](www.atop3podcast.fireside.fm) co-host and longtime friend, who I most certainly played Majora's Mask with all the way back in the year 2000. We had a good time discussing both comparing a modern replay against our memories from 20 years ago and approaching it as a game in the year 2022. In the episode, we discuss our personal histories, our worries about the time mechanics, mask collecting, the classic zelda dungeon puzzle solving, and of course, that sweet sweet darkness. We hope you give the episode a try!

You can listen to episode 32 (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Shadow of the Colossus

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400

I have to assume that most gamers need to choose which platform they're going to buy, ask for as a gift, etc, and by doing so, there are going to be console-exclusive games that are just flat-out not available to you. For me, I was a Nintendo kid growing up, and through my teenage years I supplemented that with the first few Xbox consoles. Many of my friends had Playstations and would always tell me about the coolest games they were playing there, from Final Fantasy to The Last of Us to God of War, and while I was always happy with the Xbox and the games on offer, there was always one game that my friends breathlessly told me about that made me feel a little jealous.

"You can climb on the bosses? How big did you say they are? They're the size of skyscrapers? This is a PS2 game??"

Fast forward to 2019 or so, when the Bluepoint Games remake was given away to Playstation Plus subscribers, and as the owner of a ~~brand new~~ used PS4, I finally had my chance to try out that game I'd been hearing about for all those years. It was an experience that still stands up in my mind years later as one game that is, no hyperbole, truly unique. I'm happy to be joined by Adam Bucceri in episode 31 of Tales from the Backlog to discuss the game, the games it influenced, and the nature of video game remakes.

Adam is an extremely passionate and informative guest, and it was a pleasure having him on the show. It would mean a lot if you took the time to check out his indie survival horror tabletop RPG, ENTER THE SURVIVAL HORROR on his itch.io page. You can also follow Adam on Twitter.

You can listen to episode 31 (Shadow of the Colossus) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Dark Souls 3 Bosses Tier List

Wed, 25 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

While I've said many times on the show that the bosses in a Dark Souls game are not my favorite parts of the games, and that oftentimes they feel more like obstacles keeping me from getting to explore the next level, they are just endlessly fun to talk about. I enjoy sharing and hearing experiences about how we beat troublesome bosses like The Nameless King and Sister Friede. I love hearing which bosses took hours to beat, and which ones we unexpectedly beat on the first try- it's an endlessly interesting subject of conversation to me, and that's why I dedicate an episode of the podcast to giving the FromSoftware bosses the time and discussion that they deserve.

In this Break from the Backlog episode of Tales from the Backlog, Dave is joined once again by podcast guest extraordinaire Jake Anderson, previously heard in the episodes about Firewatch, Gone Home and Bloodborne, to tier rank the bosses in Dark Souls 3!

Here is my (Dave's) tier list:

And here is Jake's tier list:

You can, and should, fill out the tier list for yourself HERE and share it with us in the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!

You can listen to this Break from the Backlog episode (Dark Souls 3 Bosses Tier Ranking) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Dark Souls 3

Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

After I first played Dark Souls back in 2012, I patiently waited for the next game in the series, sure that it would be as great as the first. Unfortunately, vanilla Dark Souls 2 and I just didn't get along, and I soon moved to Korea and stopped playing video games for a few years. By the time I got back into the gaming world, Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 had released without my knowledge, so one of the first purchases I made with my shiny ~~new~~ slightly used PS4 was Dark Souls 3 with all of the DLC, and just like that, I was back into the series. This was the game that reignited my love for FromSoftware and led to the focus on their games that fans of Tales from the Backlog have noticed.

Dark Souls 3 is at the same time a very fun game to play, the beginning of some troubling design philosophies by FromSoftware, a half-step toward some of the mechanics that make Elden Ring work as well as it does, and a strong example of how fan service and callbacks can backfire for your longtime fans. The gameplay is faster than the previous games in the series, the bosses are more complex, and for those looking for the biggest challenge that the series has to offer, you'll find it here.

Joining me in episode 30 of Tales from the Backlog to break this divisive game down is Adam Rivera, who is returning for the second time on the show, previously heard in Episode 7 (Dragon's Dogma). Adam is a Soulsborne expert with many many hours in every game in the series, and adds a great deal of knowledge of both gameplay mechanics and lore for this game and the series in general. In the episode, Adam and I share our thoughts on story, changes to the established Dark Souls formula, and fan service, as well as sharing memorable moments and thoughts on some of the boss fights in the spoiler section.

You can listen to episode 30 (Dark Souls 3) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Ever since I played my first open-world game (Morrowind), whenever somebody has asked me what my dream game is, my answer has always been the same- open-world Pokémon. It seems like such an obvious smash hit- explore the world, interacting with actual wild Pokémon, you know, realizing the dream that we've all had since Pokémon fever first hit all those years ago. Well, I'm happy to report that Pokémon Legends: Arceus really is everything I had hoped for. There is still lots of room to grow, but this game really revived the magic that many of us longtime Pokémon fans have been trying to recapture since those days on the playground in the late '90s.

In episode 29 of Tales from the Backlog, I'm joined by Jared Moss of Play Along Podcast to share our thoughts on the open world structure, comparisons to Monster Hunter, catching mechanics, and a few tweaks to the battle system. Play Along Podcast is a book club style video games podcast, where co-hosts Jared, Ben and Ky pick a game, break it into sections, and report each week for their progress and thoughts on that week's section. They've covered many popular and interesting games in the past, such as Disco Elysium, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker, Super Mario RPG, Metal Gear Solid, and many others. I am a fan of their show and would recommend anyone who likes video games to check them out with this link, or search your favorite podcast app!

You can listen to episode 29 of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!

It Takes Two

Thu, 05 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400

It's time for some co-llabo-ration! This week on Tales from the Backlog, Dave is joined by fellow A Top 3 Podcast co-host Aaron Angle to discuss It Takes Two, the 2021 Game of the Year award winning co-op platformer from Hazelight Studios.

Aaron is a returning guest of many previous episodes of the show, including the episodes about Persona 5, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades and Rocket League. Aaron is also one of the co-hosts of Dave's other podcast, A Top 3 Podcast. Aaron and Dave have been friends since high school, and have spent many years playing and talking about video games together.

It Takes Two is a mandatory co-op game, and Dave and Aaron played this game together, thanks to the wonderful Friend Pass system, where only one person of the pair needs to purchase the game. And what a game it is! It Takes Two tells the story of Cody and May, a married couple who are nearing a divorce. One day, their daughter Rose overhears them talking about splitting up, she goes out to the shed, yada yada yada, and Cody and May are transformed into dolls. You and your co-op partner assume the roles of Cody and May as you work through fantastical 3D platforming levels, solving puzzles and fighting bosses in order to get back into their real bodies and possibly repair their broken relationship.

Listen in to episode 28 of Tales from the Backlog to find out how Dave and Aaron felt about the game, including the various gameplay mechanics that are swapped in and out through the game, the story, and the infamous Dr. Hakim.

You can listen to the full episode below, search "Tales from the Backlog It Takes Two" in your favorite podcast app, or follow these links to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.