Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

The Pokémon franchise got a long-awaited shakeup with 2022's Legends: Arceus, changing the game structure, catching and battling mechanics and setting. But now that Legends has become its own subseries with 2025's Legends: Z-A, all eyes were on its own innovations and changes, such as the new real-time battle system and one-city setting. Check out the discussion for our thoughts on all of it!

Guest info: Kenneth Shepard (he/him)

• Check out Ken's work at Kotaku https://kotaku.com/author/kennethshepard
• Check out Normandy FM podcast https://soundcloud.com/normandyfm
• Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/shepardcdr.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:22 Introductions
• 4:15 Our Histories with Pokémon
• 7:10 Opening Thoughts about Pokémon Legends Z-A
• 16:56 Story Setup & Connections to X&Y
• 21:29 Our Starter Pokémon, Wild Zones & Lumiose City
• 43:04 New Battle System, Mega Battles and Battle Zones
• 1:02:47 Ken's Work at Kotaku and Normandy FM
• 1:05:52 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:08:26 Spoiler Section- Our Final Teams & Connections to Certain Pokémon
• 1:13:52 Dungeons and Story Chat
• 1:29:57 Endgame and Ending

Music used in the episode has a large ensemble of composers and no individualized credits at this time. All credits to Game Freak and The Pokémon Company. Tracks used: Lumiose City (Day), Battle Zone, Trainer Battle, Lumiose City (Night), Hotel Z, Battle! Vs Trainer (Z-A Royale)

Check out Dave on Pages of Play for "The Meeting of the Makers"- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mom-the-meeting-of-makers/id1755937349?i=1000749250884
Chekc out Dave on Underplayed for Hollow Knight: Silksong- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/underplayed/id1606954029

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Goodnight Universe had a lot to live up to as the spiritual successor to Before Your Eyes, utilizing the same innovative webcam-based gameplay mechanics to tell a story...about a psychic baby? Well, the premise sounded weird but these creators had earned my trust, and it turns out that this might be the perfect way to play as a baby in a video game. Goodnight Universe turned out to be interesting, if not great, and won me over in a few key ways. Check out the discussion for more!

Guest info: Jill Grodt (she/her)

• Read Jill's work at The Indie Informer https://the-indie-in-former.com/
• Find The Indie Council podcast here https://www.youtube.com/@theindieinformer

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:30 Introductions
• 8:01 Our Histories with Goodnight Universe
• 11:51 Opening Thoughts About Goodnight Universe
• 17:49 Story Setup, Characters and "The Cave"
• 31:28 Camera Tracking Tech & Gameplay
• 41:06 What Didn't Work?
• 52:28 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 55:36 The Indie Informer
• 59:27 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:01:00 Spoiler Section- Big Reveals
• 1:27:35 Spoiler Section- The Family

Music used in the episode is credited to Oliver Lewin. Tracks used: Homecoming, A New Channel, Normal Boy, Being Orson, Your Room

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

In the eyes of many football fans, 2004 was the greatest year for football games. It also happened to be the last year before EA secured the exclusive rights to the NFL license, leaving many fans wishing we could go back to the way things were back then, and we were left with two games that many consider to be some of the best sports games ever made- Madden 2005 (EA Tiburon) and ESPN NFL 2K5 (Visual Concepts). 20+ years later, which game stands on top? That's what we aim to decide in this episode!

Guest info: Chris Coplien (he/him) and Adam Gumbert (he/him)

• Check out Chris on all things Retro Hangover https://linktr.ee/retrohangover
• Check out Adam on The Tier List: A Video Game Podcast https://www.youtube.com/@AdamGumby
• Check out Adam on Respawn, Aim, Fire https://www.youtube.com/@respawnaimfire

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:16 Introductions
• 4:22 Personal Histories
• 12:51 Our Real-Life Football Fandom
• 24:15 Head-to-Head: Gameplay
• 48:40 Head-to-Head: Gameday Presentation
• 1:05:24 Head-to-Head: Game Modes
• 1:22:50 The Final Decision
• 1:33:28 Respawn Aim Fire, The Tier List: A Video Game Podcast, Retro Hangover
• 1:38:37 Patron Thank-Yous

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Want more Dark Souls 2 podcasts? Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Every beloved series has its black sheep- Mario has Sunshine, Zelda has the DS games, and Dark Souls has Dark Souls 2. But to me, the things that make Dark Souls 2 divisive are the things that make it interesting. Not every new decision is a home run, but they're all ripe for discussion. And hey, good thing we have this podcast! And it's episode 200!

Guest info: Ryan Batie (they/them)

• Check out the Pitch Drop Network https://pitchdrop.net/
• Get bonus Pitch Drop shows via their Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/pitchdrop

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:15 Introductions
• 7:18 Our Histories with Dark Souls
• 11:19 Opening Thoughts about Dark Souls 2
• 18:51 Story and Themes Setup- Memory, Hollowing, World Design
• 30:26 More Theme Setup
• 35:51 Vibes, Atmosphere and Music
• 43:37 Examining Gameplay Changes
• 1:22:18 DLCs, Multiplayer and Comedy
• 1:31:42 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:34:25 Lightning Strikes Thrice Podcast & Pitch Drop Network
• 1:39:33 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:41:18 Spoiler Section- Trouble Areas
• 1:52:00 Spoiler Section- Vendrick's Story and Connections to Dark Souls
• 2:11:59 Spoiler Section- Aldia and The First Sin
• 2:21:56 Lucatiel and the Giants

Music used in the episode is credited to Motoi Sakuraba, unless otherwise noted. Tracks used: Main Menu, Majula, Ruins Sentinel (Yuka Kitamura), Milfanito, Fire Keepers, Fume Knight, Remains

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Very few games have ever had the hype cycle that Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry, 2025) had, so the question remained once the game was finally released- did it live up to the hype? Clown masks and Nintendo Direct comment section explosions quickly gave way to Discourse surrounding Silksong's difficulty and sometimes anti-QoL approach. So was the juice worth the squeeze? Listen in to find out.

Guest info: Jenny Windom (she/her)

• Check out Geeks & Grounds podcast https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
• Check out Jenny's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/kimchica

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:13 Introductions
• 9:06 Our Histories with Hollow Knight and Silksong
• 12:45 Opening Thoughts about Silksong
• 18:26 Difficulty and Accessibility
• 23:19 Story Setup and Visuals
• 27:31 The Pilgrimage, Characters and Voice Acting
• 36:25 The Pilgrimage and Anti-QoL Design
• 48:29 Challenge Ramp-Up and Difficulty Curve
• 57:53 Silksong- A Good Teacher & Overcoming Challenge
• 1:05:47 Metroidvania Design, Visuals and Music
• 1:14:18 Boss Fights, Combat Challenges and Runbacks
• 1:33:42 Crests, Tools, Customization
• 1:40:40 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations
• 1:45:54 Geeks & Grounds and Jenny's Other Work
• 1:51:22 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:53:13 Spoiler Section- Favorite Boss Fights
• 2:18:22 Spoiler Section- The Citadel and Faith
• 2:27:46 Spoiler Section- Hornet's Growth, Sherma and Community
• 2:45:23 Spoiler Section- Motherhood and Endings

Music used in the episode is credited to Christopher Larkin. Tracks used: Silksong, Bone Bottom, Trobbio, Cogwork Dancers, Bilewater, Far Fields, Lost Lace, Fleatopia

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

In the midst of so many games and podcasts with heavy story themes, sometimes it's nice to just play a video game-ass video game. And so here we have Crazy Taxi (Sega, 2000), plowing through a bunch of mailboxes on its way to the podcast schedule. This is a seminal game, especially for Dreamcast owners and arcade-goers, that I had somehow never played before. So what was it like playing for the first time in 2025? Listen in to find out!

Guest info: Darren Hupke (he/him)

• Find all of Darren's work https://pixelsandpolygons.net/
• Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/darrenhupke.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:11 Introductions
• 4:05 Our Histories with Crazy Taxi
• 9:56 Opening Thoughts About Crazy Taxi
• 13:50 Game Setup
• 23:34 Crazy Box Mode and Advanced Maneuvers
• 31:26 Sense of Humor, Future Crazy Taxis and Soundtrack
• 43:39 Real Life Crazy Taxis and Product Placement
• 49:40 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 55:00 Darren's Books and Pixels & Polygons
• 1:00:31 Announcements and Patron Thank-Yous

Music used in the episode: All I Want (The Offspring), Ten in 2010 (Bad Religion), Change the World (The Offspring)

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server and make your own resolutions!- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2
Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

For the past few years, we've been making "backlog resolutions" each year- choosing a list of games from our libraries that we keep telling ourselves "I'm gonna play that someday" and....playing them! What a concept! Well, we're playing most of them. In what's becoming a yearly tradition, I'm joined by some friends to discuss our experience throughout the year.

Guest info:

• CtrlAltNoob (she/her)- find her work at https://ctrlaltnoob.com/ and follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/ctrlaltnoob.bsky.social
• Taylor/Athunderheart (she/they)- Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/athunderheart/ and BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/athunderheart.bsky.social
• Soccr (any/all)- Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/soccr.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:11 Introductions
• 4:45 Stats from 2025's Resolutions
• 7:11 General Thoughts and Experiences
• 21:31 Resolutions Success Stories
• 53:33 Patron Thank-Yous
• 55:37 Why Didn't We Play Them All?
• 1:25:57 Lessons & Strategies for 2026
• 1:40:59 Sneak Peek at Our 2026 Lists
• 1:59:40 Closing Thoughts
• 2:10:37 Guest Plugs

Music used in the episode:

• Bless My Stars (Akitaka Tohyama - Beautiful Katamari OST)
• a forty-six story motel (RJ Lake - El Paso, Elsewhere OST)
• Mortol (Gameplay) (Eirik Suhrke - UFO 50 OST)
• Bionic Bay (Francisco Javier Pérez - Bionic Bay OST)

Check out Dave talking about NieR: Automata on Pixel Project Radio https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio
Check out the King of Games 1999 FINALE on Retro Hangover https://linktr.ee/retrohangover

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

All paid patrons can listen to a bonus episode about our favorite non-2025 games that we played this year! https://www.patreon.com/posts/our-favorite-non-146887020

It's that time! End of the year time! Games of the year time! This year I polled Discord and Patreon members on their favorites of the year, tallied them up, and here are the results! Then, I close out the show with my own top 10 and some other thoughts as we bring the 2025th year to a close. Please enjoy!

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card and Introduction
• 4:50 Community Honorable Mentions
• 10:10 Community Top 10
• 28:31 Dave's Honorable Mentions
• 30:02 Dave's #10
• 32:14 Dave's #9
• 35:06 Dave's #8
• 38:21 Dave's #7
• 41:43 Dave's #6
• 46:05 Dave's #5
• 49:12 Dave's #4
• 54:18 Dave's #3
• 57:58 Dave's #2
• 1:04:27 Dave's #1
• 1:14:34 Closing Thoughts
• 1:21:50 Patron Thank-Yous

Music used in the episode:

• Your Host for Tonight (Chipzel- Dicey Dungeons OST)
• Beginner's Luck (Chipzel- Dicey Dungeons OST)
• Polarity (Francisco Javier Pérez- Bionic Bay OST)
• Monoco (Lorien Testard- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST)
• Gestral Beach- Is It a Gestral or a Volleyball (Lorien Testard- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST)
• Lumiose City (Day) (Shota Kageyama, Carlos Eiene- Pokemon Legends Z-A OST)
• Story of All Manor (Trigg & Gusset- Blue Prince OST)
• Manor- Our Painted Home (Lorien Testard- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST)
• Lumiose City (Night) (Shota Kageyama, Carlos Eiene- Pokemon Legends Z-A OST)
• The Storm (Olivier Deriviere- South of Midnight OST)
• Mysterious Swamps (Olivier Deriviere- South of Midnight OST)
• Enter Sektori (Tommy Baynen- Sektori OST)
• The Beauty of Nature (Miwako Chinone- Monster Hunter Wilds OST)
• Many Nights a Whisper (fingerspit- Many Nights a Whisper OST)
• Ten Years Ago You Were Chosen (fingerspit- Many Nights a Whisper OST)
• Signalchaser (Amos Roddy- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector OST)
• Suncatchers (Amos Roddy- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector OST)
• Introduction (C418- Wanderstop OST)
• Simon's Theme (Trigg & Gusset- Blue Prince OST)
• Bilewater (Christopher Larkin- Hollow Knight: Silksong OST)
• Bellhart (Christopher Larkin- Hollow Knight: Silksong OST)
• Une vie à t'aimer (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier, Victor Borba- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST)
• Gestral Beach- I'd Rather Play Petanque (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier, Victor Borba- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST)
• Battle Theme No. 1 (Toma Otowa- Ghost of Yotei OST)
• Raise the Sails (Saori Yoshida- Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii OST)

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson

With the world being the way it is, it's a rare treat to play a game that's just pure joy from start to finish, and that is exactly what Astro Bot (Team Asobi, Sony, 2024) brings. From the opening cutscene to the final boss, Astro Bot is both one of the greatest platformers ever made and a joyous celebration of 30 years of Playstation history. I treasure a game like this as a player, and almost even moreso as a critic. I hope you enjoy the discussion!

Guest info: Josh Covel (he/him)

• Check out Still Loading Podcast https://www.stillloadingpodcast.com/

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:33 Introductions
• 6:11 Our Histories with Astro Bot
• 9:42 Opening Thoughts
• 13:06 Game Setup and Playstation History
• 23:08 Criticisms of The Playstation Tie-Ins
• 39:34 Gameplay & Powerups
• 49:20 Complexity and Difficulty
• 1:00:19 Collectibles and Secrets
• 1:08:15 Music and Sound Design
• 1:23:55 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:29:13 Still Loading Podcast
• 1:34:58 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:37:34 Spoiler Section- Playstation Themed Levels
• 2:01:43 Final Level and Miscellaneous Favorite Things

Music used in the episode is credited to Kenneth C M Young. Tracks used: I Am Astro Bot (ASTRO BOT Remix), Disco Tree, Big Wave, You Know What You've Got To Do, Drake's BOTtune, Bot of War

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson

There is a certain type of atmospheric (usually) indie game that gets praised for its tone, vibes and emotional impact, but sometimes criticized for underbaked or limited gameplay mechanics. Walking sims used to get the brunt of this, but the same could also be said for games like Sword of the Sea director Matt Nava's most famous works, Journey and Abzu. Sword of the Sea may not be an intentional response to those criticisms, but it does add more "involved" gameplay into the fold, incorporating sand surfing and tricks into your verb set. It then begs the discussion- on paper, adding more involved gameplay is good, right? But is that always the case?

Guest info: AndresPlays (he/him)

• Twitch, Writing and More https://linktr.ee/andresplays93
• Follow on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/andresplays.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:19 Introductions
• 4:50 Our Histories With Matt Nava's Games and Sword of the Sea
• 7:43 Opening Thoughts About Sword of the Sea
• 14:35 Game Setup and Visual Presentation
• 20:00 Speed and Sand Surfing
• 36:16 Music and Visual Presentation
• 39:54 Lack of Punch and Impact
• 56:01 Top-Level Story Thoughts
• 1:01:05 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:06:24 AndresPlays- Writing, Streaming and Little Victories
• 1:11:37 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:14:28 Spoiler Section- Story Interpretations
• 1:28:05 Hype Moments and Ending

Music used in the episode is credited to Austin Wintory. Tracks used: From a drop, a flame, One drop remained, Unpredictable and joyous, Swimming in the sky, Sacred River, A city where none live

Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds analyzing Final Fantasy X https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
Check out Dave on Pixel Project Radio analyzing NieR: Automata https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio
Check out Dave on the King of Games 1999 https://linktr.ee/retrohangover

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

Support Tales from the Backlog

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Join the Tales from the Backlog Discord server- https://discord.gg/kAqSBb6jH2
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson

One of the best things about the thriving indie game scene is that dead genres come back to life, and nothing exemplifies that more than the return of the blobber/first-person dungeon crawler with Almost Human's Legend of Grimrock series. Combining the thrill of exploration in those old school games with modern sensibilities, Legend of Grimrock 2 is one of the best RPGs I've ever played, and I couldn't wait to discuss it on the show.

Guest info: Shane Selterre (he/him)

• Check out everything Retro Hangover! https://linktr.ee/retrohangover

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:24 Introductions
• 5:02 Our Histories with Legend of Grimrock 2
• 13:03 Opening Thoughts about Legend of Grimrock 2
• 17:04 Story Setup
• 21:18 Dungeon Crawling...Outside?
• 25:58 Party Creation and the Combat Dance
• 37:00 Situational Awareness
• 45:18 Exploration and Inventory
• 52:31 Puzzles and Traps
• 1:03:18 Character Building
• 1:27:19 Music and Sound Design
• 1:33:13 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:37:49 Retro Hangover Podcast
• 1:42:54 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:45:37 Spoiler Section- Favorite Stuff
• 2:02:29 Spoiler Section- Final Bosses and Endings

Music used in the episode is credited to Scoring Helsinki: Main Theme, Prologue (The Isle), Battle Is On Pt. 1, Master and the Apprentice, Credits Theme

Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
Check out Dave on Pixel Project Radio https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio
Check out the King of Games 1999 https://retrohangover.captivate.fm/episode/king-of-games-99-round-4-match-1-silent-hill-vs-tony-hawks-pro-skater

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

Support Tales from the Backlog