Tales from the Backlog

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 to invite longtime friend and frequent podcast guest Chris Nelson back for! Chris was a guest on episode 20 about the original Blasphemous, so go check that one out if you'd like! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:25 Story Setup 11:20 Visuals/Music 22:13 Metroidvania Gameplay 38:43 Combat 49:29 Closing Thoughts 1:05:09 SPOILER WALL 1:10:32 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

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 game either. I'm joined in this episode by two many time guests on the show, Aaron Angle and Ryan Arrington, to break it all down. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 2:00 Story Setup 16:41 Visuals/Music 31:59 Combat 44:48 Other Gameplay/Final Thoughts/Housekeeping 1:08:11 SPOILER WALL 1:34:02 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

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 some games that might teach you a little bit about culture while you take in the sights. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Our Examples 1:13 Community Examples 1:13:32 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

This one is a spicy meatball. Few game series inspire the amount of praise, vitriol and everything in between as Final Fantasy does, and the latest entry, Final Fantasy XVI is no different. A series famous for continuous reinvention reinvents itself once again as a dark fantasy action game, and I knew I had to get a couple of great guests on the show to talk about it. This week I'm joined by Eric Gess (The Unlockables) and Rick Firestone (Pixel Project Radio) to discuss it all. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:50 Story Setup 20:31 Game of Thrones Comparisons 47:11 Visuals/Music 1:01:54 Gameplay 1:22:41 Recommendations/Closing Thoughts/Housekeeping 1:37:56 SPOILER WALL 1:49:03 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

To my knowledge, this is the only podcast ever recorded at over 1000 km/h. F-Zero X, by Nintendo EAD for the Nintendo 64 features hyperspeed racing, buttery smooth gameplay and an absolutely incredible shredding speed metal soundtrack. Joining me on this high-speed podcast is Dave Pietrangelo of Remember 64, Back in My Day, Creature Cast and Console Creatures. You can find everything Dave is doing by following this link! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:57 Story Setup/Character Backstories 19:27 Soundtrack/Visuals 39:43 Gameplay 53:52 Gameplay, continued/Closing Thoughts 1:15:32 NO SPOILER WALL 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR for those in the know) was, for many of us longtime fans, the Star Wars game that we had always dreamed of- a game that let you explore famous planets from the movies, become a jedi, befriend wookiees and play through an acclaimed story. But that was 20 years ago, and Star Wars games have come a long way. How well did KOTOR hold up along the years? Its story is still famous, but is it a one-trick pony if you've played before? Joining me for this special episode is friend of the show, voice actor, twitch streamer and much more, Mick Arcade! You can find Mick on Twitch, on various Playotic channels, Doorway to Nightmare, and many more places around the internet! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories with Star Wars & KOTOR/Opening Thoughts 1:42 Story Setup/Characters 16:48 Visuals/Music/Sound 43:36 Combat/Gameplay 56:54 Closing Thoughts/Housekeeping 1:10:31 SPOILER WALL 1:23:29 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

Tales from the Backlog is 2 years old! To celebrate, I am doing the yearly mailbag episode! I answer your questions about my favorite episodes of the show, how I choose the games for the show, podcasting and much more! 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

Signalis, by rose-engine is a game that seems to inspire everybody who plays it to jump at every chance to talk about it (or record nearly 3 hour podcasts about it, in our case). From its undeniable aesthetics calling back to the 32-bit era of Resident Evil and Silent Hill to its dreamlike story about android replikas in a cosmic horror/space sci-fi setting, Signalis leaves an impact. Luckily for me, Chris Coplien and Shane Selterre of Retro Hangover were kind enough to join me for a theorycrafting session for the ages. You should check out their podcast for some fantastic retro gaming episodes, including some of the games that inspired Signalis! TIMESTAMPS Intro/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:41 Story Setup 14:49 Visuals/Music 33:32 Gameplay/Combat/Puzzles 48:24 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations 1:17:39 SPOILER WALL 1:28:27 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

Put another tally in the "Dave is covering a game on the podcast that he swore he'd never play" list- life came at me fast, I suppose. Dead Space (2023), Motive Studio and EA's remake of the original Dead Space from 2008 is an incredible visual upgrade on already great gameplay, though it does wear out its welcome as it seems to run out of novel gameplay ideas well before the story has wrapped up. Joining me to discuss Dead Space is Chris aka Vertigo2Hell, a Twitch streamer who specializes in horror game streams. You should give him a follow on Twitch and check out his streams! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:45 Story Setup/Visuals/Music/Was it Scary? 13:00 Gameplay/Combat/Boss Fights 43:30 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations 1:11:52 SPOILER WALL 1:21:05 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog

Iron Lung, developed and published by David Szymanski in 2022, was a game I was sure I would never play. Frequently topping "Scariest Games Ever" lists around the internet, mixing thalassophobia, claustrophobia, rustophobia and more, I always figured I would just hear about it from afar. But as a convert to horror games, I liked the idea of giving this one a go. After all, a $6, 1 hour game is a good pitch if you're looking for that final push. It turns out that Iron Lung is really great! And I was lucky enough to be joined by two incredible guests, Gary Butterfield and Kaye Ross, the two founders and main hosts of the Duckfeed.tv podcast network that encompasses such shows as Watch Out for Fireballs!, Bonfireside Chat and many more. You can check out all of their shows at their website or on your favorite podcast app, and you can support them on Patreon! *Please note that since the time of recording, Kaye has changed her name and pronouns. Episode title and notes have been updated, but I can't change the recording itself. Please refer to her correctly if referencing the episode- thanks! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:44 Story Setup/How Iron Lung Creates Tension/Gameplay 18:01 SPOILER WALL 48:29 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](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! Support Tales from the Backlog