Best Katie Lesperance Podcasts (2024)

1
127: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (with Katie Lesperance - Left Behind Game Club) 2:28:15

14d ago2:28:15

2:28:15

Continuing along my journey of playing Konami and Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series, next up is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This is the one that is most often held up as the greatest in the series, and I can absolutely see why. It's not without flaws- it's still clunky to play and continues the trend of no Metal Gear Solid game having nor…

1
184: Life is Strange: True Colors [Chapter 2 – Lanterns] 1:02:47

29m ago1:02:47

1:02:47

We choose our adventure in Life is Strange: True Color, Chapter 2. This is part 2 of a 5-part weekly series! CW: Dementia Developer: Deck Nine | Publisher: Square Enix | Initial Release: September 10, 2021 Jacob, Katie and Flora play foosball, talk about depictions of mental health conditions in video games and talk about Jacob’s scheduling habits.…

1
129: Pizza Tower (with Aaron Klaassen - Super Pod Saga) 57:21

38m ago57:21

57:21

Since Nintendo has apparently decided that Wario Land is a series not worth pursuing, we find ourselves telling that familiar story where an indie developer says "ok, they're not making the game I want to play any more....guess it's up to me!". Enter developer Tour De Pizza and their love letter to Wario Land, Sonic the Hedgehog and all manner of 1…

1
183: Life is Strange: True Colors [Chapter 1 – Side A] 1:08:11

6d ago1:08:11

1:08:11

We start over in Life is Strange: True Color, Chapter 1. This is part 1 of a 5-part weekly series! Developer: Deck Nine | Publisher: Square Enix | Initial Release: September 10, 2021 Jacob, Katie, Flora and special guests Claire Helmberger and Luke Lewis travel to Haven Springs, bond with our sibling and talk a lot about the gay agenda. PLAYERS: Ja…

1
128: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (with Deadbeatpunk - WTFDYW!?) 2:23:40

6d ago2:23:40

2:23:40

I am FINALLY caught up with Ryu Ga Gotoku and Sega's Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise, and let me tell you, it feels great to play the games as they release now. This time, in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Ichiban, Kiryu and friends take on the streets of Honolulu. This episode talks about the new story, the unique logistical challenge that the non…

1
126: Cocoon (with Brenden Groom - Pass the Controller) 1:15:32

21d ago1:15:32

1:15:32

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 puzzl…

1
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (Preview) (with Charlie Young) 1:09:57

23d ago1:09:57

1:09:57

In this bonus episode, I'm joined by returning guest Charlie Young to discuss FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. The public feed includes roughly the first half of the episode, and all paid members at [patreon.com/realdavejackson](patreon.com/realdavejackson) will get the entire discussion. This is a full spoiler discussion…

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125: Gris (with Eric Gess - The Unlockables) 2:04:43

28d ago2:04:43

2:04:43

I was convinced to try out Gris after seeing a single screenshot, but in true gamer fashion, I bought it a few years before finally playing it. It took the backlog resolutions challenge in our Discord server to finally get me to play it, and unsurprisingly, I was hooked by what Nomada Studio had created immediately. The marriage of art, music, game…

1
124: Lisa: The Painful (with Rick Firestone - Pixel Project Radio) 2:42:50

1M ago2:42:50

2:42:50

For any lover of RPGs, and especially "weird RPGs", as former guest on the show Rebekah Valentine termed them, Lisa: The Painful, by Dingaling Productions, will probably jump out at you. From its art style, non-pretty boy protagonist to its serious themes and punishing gameplay, this is not a game for the faint of heart. However, if you are willing…

1
123: 1000xRESIST (with Michael Higham) 1:55:05

1M ago1:55:05

1:55:05

Sunset Visitor's 1000xRESIST came out of nowhere for me. Releasing on May 9th, 2024 meant it faced stiff indie competition on its day of release, and it wasn't until others were shouting from the rooftops that I found myself drawn to try it out (and a big thank you to Sunset Visitor and Fellow Traveler for the review code!). What I found was a stor…

1
122: Mother 3 (with Rebekah Valentine) 2:41:16

2M ago2:41:16

2:41:16

Famously never localized for an English-speaking audience, HAL Laboratory and Brownie Brown's Mother 3 has almost become a meme at this point. So much so that I wondered if it could live up the inflated expectations that I unwittingly put on games that are unavailable or difficult to find, a kind of forbidden fruit syndrome. So I made sure to put M…

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121: The Last Guardian (with Chris - Franchise Festival) 2:11:48

2M ago2:11:48

2:11:48

Fumito Ueda's trilogy of Playstation games- Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian- are idiosyncratic, minimalist art pieces. The final game in the trilogy, before the unfortunate dissolution of Japan Studio, was The Last Guardian, showcasing the uneasy partnership between an unnamed boy and a large, fearsome beast named Trico. The Last …

1
120: Roadwarden (with Bryan Skursha - Pixelated Playgrounds) 2:14:31

2M ago2:14:31

2:14:31

From the first screenshot I saw of Roadwarden (Moral Anxiety Studio), I knew that I needed to check the game out. The art is simple, yet striking, and any screenshot will convey the quality of writing. Once I booted up the game, I found that the choose-your-adventure writing, the confident RPG mechanics and the music wrapped this into a rich total …

1
119: Cyberpunk 2077 + Phantom Liberty (with Adam Gumbert - Respawn Aim Fire) 3:20:46

2M ago3:20:46

3:20:46

Cyberpunk 2077 has had quite a journey. From the disastrous launch, the warranted criticism, and years more work by the developers at CD Projekt Red, the game is finally in proper working condition, fine tuned into a magnificent experience. Add in the Phantom Liberty expansion, and you have some of the most compelling storytelling in AAA gaming. Jo…

1
182: Dungeons of Aether 44:03

3M ago44:03

44:03

We explore dungeons and roll dice in Dungeons of Aether. Developer: Aether Studios & ampersandbear | Publisher: Aether Studios | Initial Release: February 28, 2023 Jacob and Katie talk about their favourite dice & card-based roguelikes, talk a lot about butter, bread and jam and they may also share some gripes. PLAYERS: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt…

1
118: God Hand (with Derek Van Dyke - Super Deluxe GamesCast) 1:48:14

3M ago1:48:14

1:48:14

Sometimes you hear about a game and you know you're going to love it. God Hand, released by Clover Studio and Capcom in 2006, is one of those games. Despite hearing about its difficulty (which was true, my hands still hurt), I loved playing this game and it deserves its resurging cult status. Now if only someone could convince Capcom that this is w…

1
117: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (with Jared - Play Along Podcast) 1:53:03

3M ago1:53:03

1:53:03

As the Legend of Zelda series has pivoted to free-flowing and creativity-focused open words, "The Zelda Formula" has fallen by the wayside, left in the memories of those who grew up with it. That's certainly the case for me, as I welcomed the change that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom brought to the series. However, the old ways still …

1
How Gaming Has Influenced Our Taste in Music (with Ryan Juengling - List Off! and Jon Haig) 1:33:59

3M ago1:33:59

1:33:59

Video games have the power to connect with players to tell stories, but have you ever considered the role that video games had in shaping your taste in music? From sports games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Madden and FIFA to rhythm games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Fuser, and even non-licensed soundtracks like Mega Man, The Last of Us and Final…

1
116: Transistor (with Alex - Low Five Gaming) 1:49:13

3M ago1:49:13

1:49:13

Transistor, by Supergiant Games, is an interesting game to go back to after playing Hades. You can see a lot of ideas that started here in Transistor and made their way all the way to Hades, with Transistor still being a really engaging and strategic game in its own right. I loved revisiting this game, and am glad it won the poll on Patreon to appe…

1
115: Xenogears (with Michael Berger - Bits of Time) 3:17:56

3M ago3:17:56

3:17:56

Xenogears, by Square, is one of the big RPGs of this era that I wanted to check off. As a fan of the Xenoblade Chronicles games and JRPGs in general, going back to the root of the series felt like an interesting trip back through history. A few things had initially put me off, like all of the talk about an unfinished second disc and heavy use of re…

1
Baldur's Gate 3 SPOILER SECTION (with Jim Rodeman & Chris Rettig) 2:04:58

4M ago2:04:58

2:04:58

Our Baldur's Gate 3 recording ran so long, I had to split it up into two episodes. This is the full-spoiler discussion, where we talk about the decisions we made, how we solved our quests, how things turned out in our games, and much more. In particular, Jim's evil and Dark Urge playthroughs brought about some wild results that you'll love to hear …

1
114: Baldur's Gate 3 NON-SPOILER SECTION (with Jim Rodeman & Chris Rettig) 2:06:40

4M ago2:06:40

2:06:40

Sometimes I try to write clever little descriptions about the games on the show, but this week's game doesn't feel like it needs it.** Baldur's Gate 3*, by **Larian Studios, excels in just about everything it sets out to do. It has impressive writing, almost unparalleled choice-based storytelling, memorable characters, a deep and engaging combat sy…

1
CRPG History & The Breakout Success of Baldur's Gate 3 (with Felipe Pepe - The CPRG Book) 2:05:52

4M ago2:05:52

2:05:52

During the first few months after Baldur's Gate 3 released, I heard a similar refrain coming from my friends and people on social media- people would say something like "I normally don't play RPGs like this, but I love Baldur's Gate 3! Flash forward 6 months and now Baldur's Gate 3 has swept the major award shows and broken into the top 10 most-pla…

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113: The Case of the Golden Idol (with NinaStruggles) 1:57:00

4M ago1:57:00

1:57:00

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…

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181: PAX East 2024 Mega Show 2:03:12

4M ago2:03:12

2:03:12

The roomie crew of Jacob, Katie, Flora and special guest Dave Jackson are here to talk about the video games they played and the memories they forged at PAX East 2024! Four friends for over two hours talk through 21 games with 6 interviews from the show floor! PLAYERS: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt) Katie Lesperance (@lesperak) Flora Merigold (@Ludo…

1
112: Sunset Overdrive (with Goohi) 1:22:11

5M ago1:22:11

1:22:11

Sunset Overdrive feels like a game that's been lost to time, doomed to a life of only being mentioned when a new game comes out that reminds people of it, despite being made by one of the industry's heavyweights (Insomniac Games) in the not so distant past. It's got a goofy tone, a bangin punk rock soundtrack, and an exquisite movement system that …

1
111: Balatro (with Matt aka Stormageddon & Aaron Klaassen) 1:20:34

5M ago1:20:34

1:20:34

SURPRISE! Balatro comes for us all. Developed by solo developer LocalThunk and published by Playstack, the poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder has singlehandedly caused productivity to drop by 7% worldwide since its 2024 release. Thank you to Playstack and LocalThunk for providing me with a review code so that I could become a statistic! Joining me …

1
180: Between 2 Screens – A Nintendo DS Retrospective [Live from PAX East 2024] 1:03:41

5M ago1:03:41

1:03:41

How could Nintendo improve an already great handheld experience after the release and success of the Game Boy Advance? By adding a touch screen to it! Over an hour, our 5 Nintendo DS experts will help you reminisce about the history of the console. Then with the help of the PAX East audience, we will build the essential list of 15 must-have Nintend…

1
PAX East 2024: Reflections & Games Played 43:17

5M ago43:17

43:17

This is the PAX East 2024 retrospective and run-through of all of the games I played! Woooo! Games featured: Animal Well: The Art of Flight Duck Paradox Enter the Chronosphere Fallen Aces Fretless Lucid So to Speak Sorry, We're Closed Tape to Tape Throne of Bone YouTube VoD of the Nintendo DS panel I participated in! Support Tales from the Backlog …

1
179: Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) 1:40:49

5M ago1:40:49

1:40:49

We swing around the city in Marvel’s Spider-Man. Developer: Insomniac Games | Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Initial Release: September 7, 2018 Jacob, Flora and special guest Setobox begrudgingly sneak around as MJ, look up to a couple of bad fake dads and scroll Spider-Man’s social media feeds. PLAYERS: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt) F…

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110: Titanfall 2 (with Adam & Cory - Half Tone Takes) 2:33:46

5M ago2:33:46

2:33:46

Titanfall 2, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA, is one of those unfortunate games that seems to be universally beloved, but apparently didn't sell well enough for them to continue the series. Instead, Respawn is stuck in the Apex Legends and Star Wars mines for the foreseeable future, and we're left to replay this wonderful cam…

1
109: Resident Evil 2 Remake (with Gerry - Super Ghost Radio & Nick - Friday Night Gamecast) 2:55:09

5M ago2:55:09

2:55:09

- 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](atop3pod…

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108: Final Fantasy X-2 (with Adam - The Good, The Bad & The Backlog) 2:42:12

6M ago2:42:12

2:42:12

How do you follow up a story that ends the way that Final Fantasy X did? Well, Square decided that Final Fantasy X-2 needed to shake things up. Most sequels escalate, but that wasn't really an option here, and so the girlpower J-Pop Final Fantasy game was born. This game gets a lot of hate out there, but not for the reasons that I think deserve it.…

1
178: Final Fantasy VII Remake [Part 2] 1:26:20

6M ago1:26:20

1:26:20

We talk about the story in the second part of our Final Fantasy VII Remake series. Developer: Square Enix Business Division 1 | Publisher: Square Enix | Initial Release: April 10, 2020 Jacob, Katie, Flora and special guest Kyle Stephenson question the Whispers, compare dresses and get scared of Sephiroth. PLAYERS: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt) Kati…

1
Evaluating Retro Games Roundtable 2:38:00

6M ago2:38:00

2:38:00

In this discussion, Dave is joined by Chris Coplien (Retro Hangover podcast), Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio podcast) and Andre (Fine Time podcast) to discuss the challenges and our personal approaches to evaluating retro games. In this episode, we discuss our perspectives and some specific games like Rocket Knight Adventures, Super Mario Bros…

1
177: Final Fantasy VII Remake [Part 1] 1:11:26

6M ago1:11:26

1:11:26

We defend Midgar in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Developer: Square Enix Business Division 1 | Publisher: Square Enix | Initial Release: April 10, 2020 Jacob, Katie, Flora and special guest Kyle Stephenson have women throw themselves at us, talk about corporate structures and yell a lot about emo teens doing terrorism. PLAYERS: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcC…

1
107: Final Fantasy VII Remake (with Aaron Angle & Ryan Arrington) 2:20:53

6M ago2:20:53

2:20:53

How do you remake one of the most beloved games of all time? How do you fend off the masses who want to hold you to every decision made over 20 years ago? Well, in our opinion, Square Enix figured out the way with Final Fantasy VII Remake. This is a shining example of how a remake can update the graphics, completely revamp the gameplay, add voice a…

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106: This War of Mine (with Alex - First Five) 2:36:46

6M ago2:36:46

2:36:46

This War of Mine, by 11 Bit Studios is often labeled not only as a good game, but also as an important game, especially as countries are invaded and lives are turned upside down in the same ways, over and over again. Because of how forever relevant this game is, and with a little pushing from friend of the show Randall on our "Games in Real-World S…

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105: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (with Gaming Memories) 2:43:53

6M ago2:43:53

2:43:53

Boy am I glad that I disregarded all of the "Metal Gear Solid 2 is the worst one, just skip it" chatter out there. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, by Hideo Kojima and Konami, is a step up in almost every way from the first Metal Gear Solid game, and does a ton of interesting things in the process. Its biggest issue is that it takes a long time…

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104: South Park: The Stick of Truth (with Adam Rivera) 1:53:02

7M ago1:53:02

1:53:02

If you grew up alongside South Park like I did, and you loved video games, then you were probably let down by the licensed South Park games in the early years. All of that changed with 2013's South Park: The Stick of Truth by Obsidian Entertainment and South Park Studios. It looked like an episode of the show, it sounded like an episode of the show…

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103: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (PS2) (with Chris Dominguez- A Novel Console) 1:20:49

7M ago1:20:49

1:20:49

From a better era of licensed games comes The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (PS2, GameCube, Xbox version). No live service nonsense, no microtransactions, just good arcadey fun reliving the best action scenes from the movie, along with tons of little goodies for fans of the movies. This was a blast, and I hope you enjoy reliving this game w…

1
176: Until Dawn 1:02:59

7M ago1:02:59

1:02:59

We run around in a towel for a while in Until Dawn. Developer: Supermassive Games | Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment | Initial Release: August 25, 2015 Jacob and special guest Jessica Fantauzzo talk about teen bullying, take a hike in the snowy woods and lament the theft of land. PLAYERS: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt) SPECIAL GUEST: Jessica F…

1
102: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (with Matt aka Stormageddon & Flora Merigold) 3:04:40

7M ago3:04:40

3:04:40

The day a new Yakuza / Like a Dragon game drops is like a holiday for me. Imagine my surprise and delight when I realized that we don't have to wait years for new games in the series anymore, as we got the Like a Dragon Ishin! remaster earlier in 2023, and then the connecting game, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name to set up the upc…

1
101: Rain World (with soccr) 2:01:44

7M ago2:01:44

2:01:44

Rain World, developed by Videocult, is the true definition of a cult hit. If you look on review aggregator websites, you'll see extremely mixed reviews. However, if you ask in Discord servers, subreddits, etc you'll find so many people with feverish praise. It was only a matter of time before I had to try it out for myself, and this was the winner …

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100: Killer7 (with Andre - Fine Time) 2:20:28

8M ago2:20:28

2:20:28

GAME NUMBER 100 ON THE PODCAST! And what a unique game to talk about for #100! Killer7, by Suda51's Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom, is a game unlike any other. An unholy mashup of rail shooter, adventure game, crime fantasy and political drama, you'll never play another game quite like this. Joining me for this episode is Andre from Fine Time p…

1
2023 In Review 1:04:51

8M ago1:04:51

1:04:51

2023 has been absolutely packed with great games, and now is the time to reflect on the new games I played over the past year. Despite missing a lot of popular releases like Alan Wake 2, Super Mario Wonder, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Armored Core VI, Lies of P and many more, I still played so many good games that it was tough to make a top 10! But a…

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99: Final Fantasy X (with Ryan Batie & Chris Taylor - Lightning Strikes Thrice) 2:40:55

8M ago2:40:55

2:40:55

This is an important one for me. Final Fantasy X has been one of my favorite games ever since I played it for the first time almost 20 years ago. Square really made a complete game here- story setup, characters, combat, music...total package. Joining me to discuss it are Ryan Batie and Chris Taylor from JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thr…

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98: Blasphemous 2 (with Chris Nelson) 1:47:42

8M ago1:47:42

1:47:42

Blasphemous 2, by The Game Kitchen, is a straight putt as far as sequels go, but that turned out to be a great thing. The Game Kitchen seemingly took lots of feedback into account, smoothed out some rough edges and greatly improved the metroidvania design of Blasphemous 2. The result is one of my favorite games of the year, and one that I was happy…

1
175: Final Fantasy XVI [Part 2] 1:21:08

9M ago1:21:08

1:21:08

We fight god in the second part of our Final Fantasy XVI podcast series. Developer: Square Enix Creative Business Unit III | Publisher: Square Enix | Initial Release: June 22, 2023 Jacob, Katie, Flora and special guest Dave Jackson say nice things about the game, read about so much lore and tell a great story about a chivalrous man. You may want to…

1
97: Sea of Stars (with Aaron Angle & Ryan Arrington) 2:18:35

9M ago2:18:35

2:18:35

After playing The Messenger, I could not wait for what Sabotage Studio would make next, so I looked them up, found the Sea of Stars kickstarter page and backed it while the credits for The Messenger were still rolling. To say I was excited would be an understatement. In reality....Sea of Stars is a disappointment. Not a bad game, but not a great ga…

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