Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “Remedy”

236: Alan Wake (with Nick Coffman)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0400

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I somehow missed Alan Wake along the way. I remember playing the AWE DLC in Control, watching Alan's face superimposed on the screen, thinking "who the hell is this guyOHH Yeah okay they did those games too". I knew I'd need to play Alan Wake at some point, and here we are. This game is not good, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to talk about. Hope you enjoy the discussion! As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Nick Coffman (he/him)

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Podcast Start
0:18 Introductions
4:30 Our Histories with Alan Wake and Remedy
7:58 Top-Level Thoughts About Alan Wake
12:57 Story Setup and Alan the Writer
21:01 Stephen King and Art Come to Life
29:24 Twin Peaks and Presentation
38:58 Gameplay and Combat
58:49 Metanarrative Fiction and the Creative Process
1:03:16 Sound and Music
1:08:28 Miscellaneous Thoughts
1:12:46 Who Should Play Alan Wake?
1:21:34 Nick's Writing and Podcasts
1:27:50 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
1:30:05 Spoilers- What Happens
1:43:46 Spoilers- Art, Artists and Creativity
2:01:17 Spoilers- The Signal & The Writer
2:09:51 Spoilers- More Noteworthy Stuff

Music used in the episode is credited to Petri Alanko unless otherwise noted. Tracks used: Main Menu, Welcome to Bright Falls, Generic Battle 15, Children of the Elder Gods (Poets of the Fall), Manuscript, War (Poets of the Fall), Tom the Diver

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

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

Dave Jackson — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

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Two podcasters entered the room on a collision course, one with a backlog the size of a mobster's rap sheet, the other with one foot in the past. There was only one way out of this mess- one podcast to end them all. The subject was an old friend, if you consider a man out of options a friend. A man with a thirst for revenge that nothing could quench- Max Payne.

Guest info: Nomad (The Retro Wildlands)

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:32 Intros
5:24 Our Histories with Remedy and Max Payne
10:36 Opening Thoughts About Max Payne
16:00 Story Setup/Revenge Themes
23:00 Neo-Noir Storytelling and Presentation
32:25 Remake Talk
34:25 Music
38:22 Combat
52:02 Other Gameplay
1:00:23 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations
1:08:13 The Retro Wildlands Plugs
1:15:11 SPOILER WALL/Patron Thank-Yous
1:16:35 Spoiler Section- Plot Twists and Mysteries
1:25:18 Spoiler Section- Revenge and Vigilantism

Music used in the episode is credited to Kärtsy Hatakka and Kimmo Kajasto. Tracks used: Max Payne Theme, Graphic Novel, Whack Him, Mr. Big, Max Payne Theme (Short Version)

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

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144: Control (with Nick & Will - Friday Night Gamecast)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Remedy Entertainment have built a sort of extended universe by this point, but 2019's Control is both the piece that introduced a lot of people to their world and the key that unlocked the possibility for an extended universe in the first place. Control's Men in Black-meets-SCP Foundation setting is ripe for creative sci-fi storytelling and Remedy took full advantage of that. Despite some hiccups in the story and gameplay that may wear out its welcome, Control is an undeniably cool game.

Guest info: Nick & Will from Friday Night Gamecast.

TIMESTAMPS

Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:22
Story Setup 16:21
Presentation 52:02
Gameplay 1:02:50
SPOILER WALL 1:39:50

Music used in the episode:

Take Control (Old Gods of Asgard)
Counterfeit (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen)
Sankarin Tango (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen)
Voces Ignotas (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen)
Poram Ad Inferno (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen)
Nihil Es Simplex (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen)

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

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