Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “Playstation”

204: Ghost of Yōtei (with Jacob Price - The Pre-Order Bonus)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

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Ghost of Tsushima (2020) was one of my favorite games of that year, and happens to be episode 2(!!) of this podcast, an early game that screamed to me "you should talk about this into a microphone for 2+ hours). That being the case, Sucker Punch's follow-up, Ghost of Yotei, was an instant day-one buy. And while the things I expected to impress were great, there were certain aspects of the game that felt worse to me than Tsushima's version. Did I change over the past five years? Did the game adjust to industry trends? A secret third answer? All of this is part of the discussion, so I hope you enjoy it!

Guest info: Jacob Price (he/him)

Check out The Pre-Order Bonus podcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/747596
Check out Jake's reviews at So Many Games https://somanygames.co.uk/
Follow on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/chipdip18
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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:23 Introductions
5:18 Our Histories With This Series/Game
9:24 Opening Thoughts About Ghost of Yotei
18:50 Story Setup, Atsu and Revenge Stories
26:59 Presentation and Comparisons to Westerns
35:24 A Well-Made Known Commodity and Further Worldbuilding
49:51 Open World Design and Reward Structure
1:10:23 Stealth and Clearing Camps
1:16:33 Duels and Boss Fights
1:31:45 Closing Thoughts
1:37:34 The Pre-Order Bonus and So Many Games
1:42:12 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
1:44:02 Spoiler Section- The Onryo and Ghost Connections
1:57:56 The Snake, The Oni and The Kitsune
2:14:46 The Spider, The Dragon and Saito

Music used in the episode is credited to Toma Otowa: Ghost of Yotei, The Yotei Six, The Wrath of the Ghost, The Wilds of Ezo, Battle No.3, Battle No.1, Atsu's Theme

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

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197: Astro Bot (with Josh Covel - Still Loading Podcast)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

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With the world being the way it is, it's a rare treat to play a game that's just pure joy from start to finish, and that is exactly what Astro Bot (Team Asobi, Sony, 2024) brings. From the opening cutscene to the final boss, Astro Bot is both one of the greatest platformers ever made and a joyous celebration of 30 years of Playstation history. I treasure a game like this as a player, and almost even moreso as a critic. I hope you enjoy the discussion!

Guest info: Josh Covel (he/him)

Check out Still Loading Podcast https://www.stillloadingpodcast.com/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:33 Introductions
6:11 Our Histories with Astro Bot
9:42 Opening Thoughts
13:06 Game Setup and Playstation History
23:08 Criticisms of The Playstation Tie-Ins
39:34 Gameplay & Powerups
49:20 Complexity and Difficulty
1:00:19 Collectibles and Secrets
1:08:15 Music and Sound Design
1:23:55 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
1:29:13 Still Loading Podcast
1:34:58 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
1:37:34 Spoiler Section- Playstation Themed Levels
2:01:43 Final Level and Miscellaneous Favorite Things

Music used in the episode is credited to Kenneth C M Young. Tracks used: I Am Astro Bot (ASTRO BOT Remix), Disco Tree, Big Wave, You Know What You've Got To Do, Drake's BOTtune, Bot of War

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

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41: The Last of Us (with Ben Robinson - Play Along Podcast)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Some games are released, garner acclaim and fans, and fade into our Nostalgia centers. Some games, however, keep growing until they are something much bigger. The Last of Us is a trend-setter, influencing the direction of Sony's first-party titles of the past decade, while also being remastered AND remade before spinning out into a multimedia franchise. But does it deserve the hype and continuing obsession? Is it truly one of the greatest video games ever made?

Dave is joined by Ben Robinson of Play Along Podcast to discuss the original PS3 release and the PS4 remaster.

TIMESTAMPS
Intro/Personal Histories 1:03
Story Setup/Stealth/Survival Gameplay 15:29
Combat 47:43
To Remake?/Final Thoughts 1:06:18
SPOILER WALL 1:26:31

Check out Play Along Podcast!

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

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2: Ghost of Tsushima (with Aaron Angle and Ryan Delaney)

Dave Jackson — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 03:00:00 -0400

Dave is joined by Aaron Angle and Ryan Delaney to discuss Sucker Punch Productions' 2020 hit, Ghost of Tsushima. This is a stunningly beautiful open world game that does not quite transcend genre tropes, but does a great job to hide them and build immersion. Throw in a few fun new mechanics and some great story moments, and you've got a recipe for a damn good game.

TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Ghost of Tsushima 15:05, Spoiler Section 1:27:20

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

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