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 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

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 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 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