Best Eric Gess Podcasts (2024)

1
125: Gris (with Eric Gess - The Unlockables) 2:04:43

34m 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
Can we already call GOTY 2024?! 2:22:37

37m ago2:22:37

2:22:37

Hey folks! It's the mid-year check-in time for the Friday Night Gamecast. Last year on the fortuitous day of August 3, 2023, Baldur's Gate 3 released and people were immediately clamoring on social media that it was the game of the year, and it wasn't even close! I wanted to get together with William and see - is there a game out there that already…

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

1h 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

2d 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…

1
FNGC Reviews: Tales of Kenzera: Zau (ft. CGDannyB) 1:26:26

1d ago1:26:26

1:26:26

It's time to talk about the incredible indie Metroidvania of 2024, Tales of Kenzera: Zau! Does this title have too many colons in it? Who tf knows?! This time around we're joined by ANOTHER brand new cast member to the show, CGDannyB to discuss what makes this title unique and important to the gaming landscape. Make sure you tune in this week so, y…

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

3d 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

15d 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
FNGC Reviews: Dragon's Dogma 2 (ft. Matt Storm aka Stormageddon) 2:51:15

18d ago2:51:15

2:51:15

We're jumping back into the review season for the pod, we have a few lined up to be coming at you full force here pretty soon. We're joined this week by Matt Storm aka Stormageddon to discuss and do a full-blown analysis of Dragon's Dogma 2! This action RPG is pretty cool and quite polarizing for any who play it. We had great discussions surroundin…

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

17d 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…

1
121: The Last Guardian (with Chris - Franchise Festival) 2:11:48

24d 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
Summer Showcase Smackdown (ft. Nave of Gaming Together) 2:12:12

30d ago2:12:12

2:12:12

What's up everybody!!! We are cooking this weekend. While you might think we're grilling in the backyard, nah Will and I are behind the mics and the keyboards making absolute magic happen. This week we're joined by Nave to do a roundup on the big 3 summer showcases (PS State of Play, SGF & the incomparable Xbox Summer Showcase)! This week is a litt…

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

1M 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

1M 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
Worst Day 1 Purchases - Fedora Kid vs. Fashion Survivor 1:25:16

2M ago1:25:16

1:25:16

This week we are taking a quick break from reviewing games to not only duke it out amongst ourselves but also enrage our entire fanbase! This episode, we take the opportunity to catch up and dive into the worst games both of us bought day one. We want to hear from you all, were we right on the money with the worst games we got at launch or should w…

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

2M 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
FNGC Reviews: Helldivers 2 (ft. Eric Gess of The Unlockables) 1:36:32

2M ago1:36:32

1:36:32

After an extended break for us, the weekend is finally returned which means you get to enjoy our incredible review of Helldivers II! Helldivers II is the game that ignited social media for the beginning of 2024 and has maintained its prevalence in the gaming space this year. We're joined by our friend and patron, Eric Gess, returning to the show to…

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

2M 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

2M 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

2M 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
Will we Love or Hate GTA6? All Aboard the Hype Train! 1:03:35

2M ago1:03:35

1:03:35

This week Will and I are discussing what OUR hopes and dreams would be for Grand Theft Auto 6. In our Game Update discussion this week we're continuing our conversation on Dragon's Dogma 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and we start talking about everyone's new brainrot obsession: Stellar Blade! Make sure not to miss this one, lot's of different takes …

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

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

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

3M 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
Ep. 51 - Dead Space Remake Review (Will's Version) Final Chapter Prologue ReMIX (ver.1.22474487139) 1:42:49

3M ago1:42:49

1:42:49

I got Will back on to Remake the FNGC Review of the Dead Space Remake (Neil Druckmann is punching the air somewhere this very moment)! We have a ton of fun on this episode and take this opportunity to get deeply into the mechanical weeds of this game to break down what makes it so special and effective as a survival horror game. Plus we get the cha…

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

3M 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…

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

3M 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…

1
Ep. 50 - PAX East 24 Roundup & Dragon's Dogma 2 Impressions! 1:36:22

3M ago1:36:22

1:36:22

It's the return of the FNGC squad and the boys are back and better than ever! For the debut of Season 3 we're jumping in hot to give our breaking Dragon's Dogma 2 impressions and a full blown review of our experience at Pax East 2024. Helldivers II and Persona 3 hot takes included jump in and don't miss out! Time Stamps: (0:00) - Intro (04:27) - Wh…

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

4M 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

4M 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
PAX East 2024: Reflections & Games Played 43:17

4M 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
110: Titanfall 2 (with Adam & Cory - Half Tone Takes) 2:33:46

4M 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

4M 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…

1
108: Final Fantasy X-2 (with Adam - The Good, The Bad & The Backlog) 2:42:12

5M 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
Evaluating Retro Games Roundtable 2:38:00

5M 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
107: Final Fantasy VII Remake (with Aaron Angle & Ryan Arrington) 2:20:53

5M 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…

1
106: This War of Mine (with Alex - First Five) 2:36:46

5M 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…

1
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…

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

6M 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…

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

6M 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
102: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (with Matt aka Stormageddon & Flora Merigold) 3:04:40

6M 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 …

1
Did Ya Hate It? Half-Life 2 Review 1:07:22

7M ago1:07:22

1:07:22

What's up everybody! Long time no podcast :) This episode is going to be very similar to the last one that we put out where Will covered Mario Odyssey! Its straight to the point in covering all things around Half-Life 2. The elements that I (Nick) enjoyed, my critiques and whether it held up for me in 2023. We're also going to provide a beat-by-bea…

1
100: Killer7 (with Andre - Fine Time) 2:20:28

7M 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

7M 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…

1
99: Final Fantasy X (with Ryan Batie & Chris Taylor - Lightning Strikes Thrice) 2:40:55

7M 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…

1
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
Ep. 49 - Game of the Year 2023 1:31:58

8M ago1:31:58

1:31:58

Happy early Friday everybody! The Season 2 finale of FNGC is here for your listening pleasure. This was an incredibly fun episode to just have Will and myself in the booth and it's just kick back for a relaxing conversation about the best games of 2023. There's a extra section included here where I interview Will about the show and his thoughts on …

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

8M 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…

1
FNGC Reviews: Spider-Man 2 (ft. itsGoohi) 2:27:02

8M ago2:27:02

2:27:02

The FINAL FNGC Review for the 2023 season is here folks and let me tell you, what an episode this is. This week we're joined by the incredible, itsGoohi, to discuss at length the merits and weaknesses of Spider-Man 2. Is it a game that left us happy with the franchise and excited for the 3rd entry? Is it something that managed to touch our hearts e…

1
"Uncommon" Real-World Settings in Video Games (with Ozzy Garcia & Randall Quiggle) 1:42:55

8M ago1:42:55

1:42:55

From Assassin's Creed to Spider-Man, Yakuza, Persona and Grand Theft Auto, video games can take us on a sort of virtual tourism journey. But hiding in the background, there are tons of other** games set in real-world locations outside of The United States, Western Europe and Japan*. **Randall Quiggle* and Ozzy Garcia join me to shine a light on som…

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