Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “Puzzle Games”

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

Dave Jackson — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0400

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Sometimes a game you'd never heard of will break out with a 90+ on the review aggregator websites and immediately turn heads, and that's exactly what happened to me with Bionic Bay (Mureena Oy, Psychoflow Studio, 2025). One screenshot was all it took to make me want to check it out, and then a patron vote sealed the deal. Bionic Bay- cool game!

Guest info: Harry Loizides (he/him)

Check out everything Six One Indie does https://www.sixoneindie.com/
Get ready for the upcoming Six One Indie Showcase https://www.sixoneindie.com/showcase
Check out Harry's writing for Geek Therapeutics https://geektherapeutics.com/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:32 Intros
4:36 Our Histories With Bionic Bay
7:33 Opening Thoughts About Bionic Bay
10:13 Story/Game Setup
15:57 Visual Presentation
22:20 Music
27:32 Platforming Abilities and Structure
40:33 Floaty Jumps, Ragdoll Physics and Comedy
49:17 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
53:45 Six One Indie and Geek Therapeutics
1:02:18 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-Yous
1:04:03 Spoiler Section- Favorite Levels, Gimmicks, and Theorycrafting

Music used in the episode is credited to Francisco Javier Pérez. Tracks used: Polarity, The Grand Egg, Swap, Polarity (Reprise), Bionic Bay

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

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179: Blue Prince (with Jenny Windom)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

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You know a game is good when it kicks off a new round of discourse about genre names, right? Regardless, Blue Prince (Dogubomb, 2025) is the latest hit in a type of knowledge-is-power game that is really appealing to certain types of gamers. The only difference is that we seem to fully know the full depths of previous games like Animal Well, Outer Wilds, Fez, Tunic, etc....but nobody knows how deep Blue Prince goes. It's also rich with interesting design choices and contradictions, more story than meets the eye, a lowkey amazingly good soundtrack and more. Tune in for the discussion!

Guest info: Jenny Windom

Check out the Geeks & Grounds game club podcast https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
Check out Wholesome Games https://wholesomegames.com/
Check out Wanderstop https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299460/Wanderstop/
Check out Jenny on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/kimchica
Check out Jenny on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/kimchica

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:28 Intros
5:23 Personal Histories with Blue Prince
8:50 Opening Thoughts About Blue Prince
15:40 Story Setup and Top Level Thoughts
17:59 Note-taking and Organization
25:44 Drafting Mechanic, Goal Setting and Randomness
42:55 Getting Better at Blue Prince
47:52 "This Game Doesn't Respect My Time"
53:28 You Said This Was a Puzzle Game
1:03:59 Art and Music
1:15:04 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations
1:18:49 Geeks & Grounds, Wholesome Games
1:25:50 SPOILER WALL/Patron Thank-You's
1:28:00 Spoiler Section- Discoveries and the Quest for Room 46!
2:16:00 Spoiler Section- How Deep Does This Go? and The Story, As We Know It

Music used in the episode is credited to Trigg & Gusset Tracks used: Stories of All Manor, Vanitas, Bequest, Westwardly Winds, Visions of Emerald, Departure, The Baron of Mount Holly. Purchase the soundtrack here: https://triggandgusset.bandcamp.com/album/blue-prince-the-original-soundtrack

Check out Dave's guest appearance on Flashback 64: https://flashback64.com/

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

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

Dave Jackson — Wed, 28 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

What if Resident Evil 1 was just puzzles? What if it was also about eccentric artists and how they view their art and the creative process vs how their work is perceived? Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo, 2024) is that game! Tune in to find out how we felt about it!

Guest Info: Jesse Guarascia

Find Jesse's work on Noclip's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@NoclipDocs
Support Noclip on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cw/noclip
Check out Blowback https://blowback.show/
Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/jesseguarascia.com

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:35 Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts
15:10 Story Setup/Story Themes
34:40 Puzzles
51:23 Presentation
1:09:11 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Guest Plugs
1:18:49 SPOILER WALL/Patron Thank-Yous
1:21:12 Spoiler Section

Music used in the episode is credited to Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén and Jonathan Eng. You can purchase the soundtrack here. Tracks used:

Titles (Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén)
Art (Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén)
Mind Game (Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén)
Quiz Club (Daniel Olsén)
The Black Arts Coffee Club (Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén, Jonathan Eng)
Interrogation (Daniel Olsén, Jonathan Eng)
The Last Dream (Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén)
How It Ends (Linea Olsson, Daniel Olsén)

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Social Media:
BlueSky
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
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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126: Cocoon (with Brenden Groom - Pass the Controller)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Every now and then, I want to take a break from story-focused games and just play a puzzle-ass puzzle game. Geometric Interactive's Cocoon was just what the doctor ordered, from that perspective. But Cocoon's world hinted at a deeper story, one that seems inaccessible yet present, and that left me with a feeling of want, despite how great the puzzle experience was. Listen to the episode for more! And also a big shoutout to patron Matt aka Stormageddon for submitting this game into the poll it ended up winning! Thanks Matt!

Joining me for the discussion about Cocoon is Brenden Groom from Pass the Controller. Pass the Controller is a great spot for chat about what's going on in the world of video games and other nerd culture, as well as interesting cocktail mixes to pair with your favorite games. You can check them out at their website!

TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:53
Story Setup/Puzzle Gameplay 11:16
Visuals/Music 37:14
Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 48:14
SPOILER WALL 58:42

Music used in the episode is credited to Jakob Schmid. You can purchase the soundtrack on Steam to support the artist! Tracks used in the episode: Signal, Cosmic Mystery, A Dance in Phases, Leviathan, Journey II, Spheres

Check out friend of the show Flora Merigold's written review of Cocoon on Epilogue Gaming!
Listen to Dave's appearance on Retro Hangover's [King of Games 1996](linktr.ee/retrohangover)!

Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon! or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi!
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server!
Social Media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
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)!

Support Tales from the Backlog

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

Dave Jackson — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

From the first time I saw a screenshot of The Case of the Golden Idol, by Color Gray Games, I was struck by these caricaturish portraits and knew I'd have to follow up on it someday. Then the comparisons to a favorite of mine, Return of the Obra Dinn, started rolling in and I knew I would have to play it sooner rather than later. And a big shoutout to community member Soccr for buying this for me in our Discord server Secret Santa! Yay!

Joining me to discuss The Case of the Golden Idol is NinaStruggles, a streamer and YouTuber who plays all manner of games but has a particular love of puzzle and detective games! You can check her out by following this link!

TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:51
Story Setup 9:51
Music/Visuals 18:15
Gameplay/Puzzles 28:25
Final Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 51:26
SPOILER WALL 57:50

Check out Dave's guest appearances on Left Behind Game Club and The Gaming Duo!

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

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69: Catherine: Full Body (with Rick Firestone - Pixel Project Radio & Ryan Juengling - List Off!)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Catherine: Full Body, the 2019 re-release of the original Catherine from 2011, is one of the more unique games I've ever played. A mashup of life sim and watching an anime, all built around an interesting puzzle game. Themes of adultery, responsibility, relationships, indecision and social commentary on modern-day Japan are all parts of a story that really surprised me. I didn't know what to expect from this game before I played it, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm joined in this episode by Rick Firestone from Pixel Project Radio and Ryan Juengling from List Off!, two good friends of mine from two of my favorite gaming podcasts. Check out Rick on Pixel Project Radio and Ryan on List Off!, and all three of us making appearances on each show!

TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:06
Story Setup 15:38
Visuals/Music/Voice Acting 35:30
Gameplay/Final Thoughts 42:37
SPOILER WALL 1:10:03

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

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