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 Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi- https://ko-fi.com/realdavejackson 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 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 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 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 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 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