About the show

A video games podcast where Dave Jackson and guests break down and discuss the games they play. Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music and other aspects, with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle.

Tales from the Backlog on social media

Episodes and Blog Entries

  • 182: Bionic Bay (with Harry Loizides - Six One Indie)

    Episode  |  September 10th, 2025  |  1 hr 28 mins
    game review, indie games, kepler interactive, platformer, puzzle games

    Dave is joined by Harry Loizides (Six One Indie) to discuss Bionic Bay, a puzzle-platformer developed by Mureena Oy and Psychoflow Studio and published by Kepler Interactive in 2025.

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    181: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (with Ty Schalter)

    Episode  |  September 3rd, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 38 mins
    game review, legend of zelda, nintendo, snes

    Dave is joined by Ty Schalter (FunFactor podcast) to discuss Nintendo's landmark 1992 action adventure, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

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    180: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (with Erik - Pages of Play)

    Episode  |  August 27th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 50 mins
    don't nod, game review, rpg

    Dave is joined by Erik (Pages of Play) to discuss Don't Nod's 2024 action RPG, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.

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    179: Blue Prince (with Jenny Windom)

    Episode  |  August 20th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 41 mins
    dogubomb, game review, indie games, puzzle games

    Dave is joined by Jenny Windom (Geeks & Grounds) to discuss Dogubomb's 2025 puzzlebox roguelike, Blue Prince.

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    178: Psychonauts (with Try - My Life in Gaming)

    Episode  |  August 13th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 40 mins
    doublefine productions, game review, platformers, psychonauts

    Dave is joined by Try (My Life in Gaming) to discuss DoubleFine Productions' 2005 platformer, Psychonauts.

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    177: Split Fiction (with Aaron Angle)

    Episode  |  August 6th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 56 mins
    game review, hazelight studios, multiplayer games

    Dave is joined by Aaron Angle (A Top 3 Podcast) to discuss Hazelight Studios' 2025 co-op action-adventure, Split Fiction.

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    176: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (with Chris Coplien - Retro Hangover)

    Episode  |  July 30th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 41 mins
    chunsoft, dragon quest, game review, jrpg, nintendo ds, snes, square enix

    Dave is joined by Chris Coplien (Retro Hangover) to discuss Chunsoft and Enix's 1992 RPG, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride.

  • 175: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (with Brian Edwards)

    Episode  |  July 23rd, 2025  |  Season 1  |  2 hrs 37 mins
    game review, rpg, yakuza

    Dave is joined by Brian Edwards (Character Issues, Cane and Rinse) to discuss Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's 2025 Like a Dragon side story, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

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    174: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (with Michael Higham)

    Episode  |  July 16th, 2025  |  Season 1  |  3 hrs 7 mins
    game review, jrpg, kepler interactive, sandfall interactive

    Dave is joined by Michael Higham to discuss Sandfall Interactive's 2025 debut RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • 170: Lunacid (with Dave Cox)

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

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

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    169: South of Midnight (with Kate Sánchez)

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

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

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    168: Persona 4 Golden (with Flora Merigold)

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

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

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

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

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