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…

We're joined by Cam Hawkins to talk about that absolute banger of a Nintendo Direct. You've got to give it to 'em, Nintendo knows how to put on a show. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, protected space for all kinds of folks to talk nerdy -…

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…

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 …

We're joined by journalist and friend of the show Sarah LeBoeuf to talk about Summer Game Fest as both an event for journalists and a presentation, as well as the game showcase that may have saved Xbox. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, pro…

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 …

In the space right before a bunch of big reveal shows (including the now-concluded Summer Game Fest and Xbox Games Showcase) the crew talks about some of their fondest memories of E3s past and eventually gets sidetracked talking about the upcoming charity event. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/offici…

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…

We're joined by frequent friend of the show Josh Fagundes aka Anoriand to talk about the State of Play presentation from Playstation only hours before, kicking off the summer reveal season. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, protected space …

We're joined by HuggableHipster to talk about the upcoming storm of gaming presentations and reveals, and stake claim on our predictions and our wildest hopes. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, protected space for all kinds of folks to talk…

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 …

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…

We're joined by Sam Tolbert to discuss the week's disastrous run of news from Xbox, centered around the closing of studios like Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. We put the news in the context of Microsoft's decade-long struggle to manage development teams and publish software. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time -…

We're joined this week by Kotaku's Alyssa Mercante to recap the timeline of the recent escalation of harassment against marginalized people who work in the gaming industry, dismantle the bad faith arguments and justifications by those harassing, and generally grapple with the state of Being Online These Days. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday …

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…

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…

We discuss some creative ways games like Fortnite have tried to resolve toxicity and player discomfort in online multiplayer games, and the need for the work to continue. Also, we think up the best and worst combinations of branding exercises that our tortured minds can spit out. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time …

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…

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 …

We're joined by Mat Piscatella to revisit the goofs and gags of the olden days and talk about the changing trends of the industry that everyone needs to get comfortable with. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, protected space for all kinds o…

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…

Derek and Jeff have seen the light and they're here to explain why Dragon's Dogma 2 may (or may not, I guess) be the game for you. This game was reviewed on PC with a code provided by the publisher. Thanks to Capcom for providing us the opportunity to cover this game. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/…

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…

Finn's on his own today to talk about Pepper Grinder, a lovely, kinetic, frenetic little action platformer that drills (get it) into your skull and refuses to leave. This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code provided by the publisher. Thanks to Devolver Digital for providing us the opportunity to cover this game. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALL…

We're joined by voice actor Austin Lee Matthews in an episode that quickly goes off the rails from a traditional interview show into an hour and a half show of good natured goofing and gagging. It's no news this week, only vibes. As dudes are wont to say, "we needed this". Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitc…

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 …

We're joined this week by award-winning journalist and former cast member Reb Valentine to talk about some big recent RPGs, highlight our favorite indie titles we saw at GDC and PAX East, and last but not least some gosh-danged MEDIA UNIONS. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the commu…

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 …

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 …

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…

We talk about the sudden drastic increase in harassment and threats against women, people of color, and queer folks who work in the gaming space (including one of the cast and at least one personal friend). Plus, freelance journalist Ryan Easby talks about how many people misunderstand the hustle it takes to work in media. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY …

Brit is joined by Derek and Justin to talk about the game everyone is playing, the hit game of the summer, the only thing your teens are talking about: Balatro. This game was reviewed on PC with a code provided by the publisher. Thanks to Playstack for providing us the opportunity to cover this game. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at…

- 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…

Finn is here to talk about the breakout new RPG The Thaumaturge, developed in Poland and set in a dark urban-horror-fantasy take on Warsaw. How does this game compare to its CRPG inspirations and its modern contemporaries? This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code provided by the publisher. Thanks to 11 Bit Studios for providing us the …

We quickly and immediately shut down giving any oxygen to the harassment campaign against narrative and DEI consultation in gaming, move on to talk about the tricky grey area around emulation in the wake of Yuzu and Citra shutting down, then get caught off guard live by the death of acclaimed artist and creator Akira Toriyama. Catch SDGC Live ACTUA…

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.…

We're joined by regular friend of the show Josh aka Anoriand to discuss the uncertain state of games releases and the health of industry after this quickly-coming March. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, protected space for all kinds of fol…

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…

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…

John and Derek sift through this remastered collection of the original PS1 Tomb Raider trilogy and discuss what value these games hold to the current zeitgeist. It's a worthy endeavor to keep these iconic pieces of gaming history accessible and available, but for who? This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code provided by the publisher. …

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…

John, Derek, and Justin discuss the timeline of rumors and reports that eventually led to one of the most toxic fanbases in gaming losing every ounce of sanity they had left. No, Xbox is not dead. Everybody take a breath. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a c…

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…

Better late than never, it's our 2023 Game of the Year show! Every member of the cast ends up appearing to talk about their favorite games of 2023, as well as runners up and honorable mentions. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the community Discord for a cool, inclusive, protected sp…

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…

We're joined by former cast member and award-winning journalist Reb Valentine to talk about the biggest stories of the games industry in 2023. Unfortunately the mass layoffs, which have only intensified this January, have proven to be THE defining story of the last year. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.…

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…

Capcom is back with another Ace Attorney collection, featuring new remastered versions of the fourth, fifth, and sixth entries in the main series. John and Derek break down the strengths and weaknesses of the collection, as well as who exactly it's for (spoiler warning, probably NOT for people who skipped the original Phoenix Wright trilogy). This …

Xbox's Developer Direct feels like a breath of fresh air for the way it celebrates the people who actually make our games. Also, we talk about what Microsoft's strategy should be for releasing the games they publish on Nintendo and Sony platforms. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officialsdgc Join the…

We try to talk about the fun stuff for as long as possible before diving into a grab bag of AI related news topics that have come to the forefront in the last week, including two separate stories where an AI tech company might have earned the wrath of Nintendo. Catch SDGC Live ACTUALLY live Thursday nights at 9pm Eastern US time - twitch.tv/officia…