What could Nintendo possibly do to follow up the game that "saved gaming" for me? Well, they simply iterated on and evolved everything about Breath of the Wild to make one of the most creativity and freedom-focused games ever. It's simple, really- why don't more people think of this? Sarcasm aside, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute wonder, and we're lucky to have it. Hope you enjoy the discussion!

Guest info: Michael Berger (he/him)

• Check out Bits of Time on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@bitsoftimemedia
• Check out the Bits of Time podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-of-time/id1616941089
• Check out everything else Michael is doing https://campsite.bio/matterofmichael

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:21 Introductions
• 5:35 Our Histories with Zelda and Tears of the Kingdom
• 8:49 Opening Thoughts About Tears of the Kingdom
• 16:39 Story Setup
• 20:26 Storytelling and Nonlinear Design
• 25:34 Emergent Story and the Adventure
• 29:52 Link's New Toys
• 48:58 Emergent Gameplay and the Magic of Scrounging
• 57:18 Dungeons and Boss Fights
• 1:03:15 Enemy and Boss Variety
• 1:08:07 The Depths and Exploration
• 1:16:33 Art Design and Music
• 1:23:20 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:31:31 Bits of Time
• 1:36:11 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:38:25 Spoiler Section- Favorite Temples and Backstory
• 2:03:11 Final Boss and Ending

Music used in the episode is credited to Hajime Wakai, Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi and Tsukasa Usui. Tracks used: Title, Hyrule Castle - Upheaval, Shrine Battle, Seized Construct Battle, Skydive, Lookout Landing, Ganondorf's Theme, Final Dive

Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
Check out Dave on Pixels & Polygons https://rss.com/podcasts/pixelspolygons/

Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support Tales from the Backlog

Ever have one of those games that sits in your library, untouched for years, until something finally gives you the push to play it...and you end up kicking yourself for waiting so long? That's Heaven's Vault, and without our community Backlog Resolutions challenge, I would have missed out on one of the coolest games I think I've ever played. Listen in to find out why!

Guest info: Rebekah Valentine (she/her)

• Read Reb's work on IGN https://www.ign.com/person/duckvalentine
• Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/duckvalentine.bsky.social
• Check out Nintendo Voice Chat https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nintendo-voice-chat/id276268457

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:22 Intros
• 5:05 Our Histories with Heaven's Vault and Language Learning
• 9:43 Opening Thoughts
• 14:30 Story Setup and Reactive Storytelling
• 29:37 Aliyah and Six
• 35:52 Language Learning
• 50:22 Visuals and Music
• 55:40 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 58:13 Reb's Work at IGN
• 1:01:34 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:03:35 Spoiler Section- What Happened in Our Playthroughs?
• 1:35:53 Spoiler Section- Language Discoveries
• 1:44:40 Spoiler Section- The Wildest Turn of Events
• 2:03:54 Spoiler Section- Ending Discussion

Music used in the episode is credited to Laurence Chapman. Tracks used: An Ancient Language, The Desperate Ways, Before the Fall, The Nebula, Fantasia on One Good Moon, Heaven's Vault, An Ancient Language (Cello & Piano)

Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support Tales from the Backlog

There are more than enough sports games to go around out there, but the culture of sports does not begin and end on the field of play. There is an entire culture surrounding sports, and I've never played a game that tackles that culture quite like Despelote (Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena, 2025) does. It also takes you back to a slice of childhood in a way that no other game can really claim- it's really something else. Tune in for the discussion!

Guest info: Moises Taveras (he/him)

• Check out the Despelote review that Moises wrote https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/despelote-review-miraculous-slice-of-life-soccer-game-pulls-a-hat-trick/
• Check out other writing by Moises on Endless Mode https://www.endlessmode.com/author/moises-taveras
• Follow Moises on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/platanoranger.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:16 Intros
• 4:11 Personal Histories with Despelote and Sports
• 15:21 Opening Thoughts About Despelote
• 20:01 Story Setup and Community Around Sports
• 38:14 Childhood and Visual Presentation
• 46:52 Taking You to a Time and Place and Sound Design
• 53:26 Gameplay
• 1:07:11 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:12:32 Moises' Writing and Where You Can Find It
• 1:15:06 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:16:27 Spoiler Section

Music and game ambiance used in the episode is credited to Sebastián Valbuena

Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support Tales from the Backlog