Tales from the Backlog

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Join Dave and special guest Flora Merigold (Epilogue Gaming, Left Behind Game Club) as they discuss Many Nights a Whisper (Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour, 2025). Many Nights a Whisper puts you in a high-pressure situation and asks you to make tough choices that will have an impact on whether you make the climactic shot or not. We discuss the marriage of narrative and mechanics, our approaches to granting or denying wishes, the shot, and much more. As always, there are no spoilers for a while.

Guest info: Flora Merigold (she/her)

Check out Epilogue Gaming https://epiloguegaming.com/author/flora-merigold/

Check out Left Behind Game Club https://leftbehindgame.club/

Follow Flora on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/floramerigold.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title

0:16 Introductions

3:53 Personal Histories with Many Nights a Whisper

5:44 Top-Level Thoughts

13:09 Story Setup and Wishes

20:29 Wishes, Tension and Thematic Explorations

38:53 Practice Makes Perfect

44:45 Music and Visuals

46:35 Who Should Play?

49:15 Flora's Creative and Artistic Work

53:41 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous

55:56 Spoilers- Pink Cats and Healthy Tobacco

1:06:39 Spoilers- Removing Animal Souls and Making Gender Irrelevant

1:20:46 Spoilers- No More Work and Wanting a Nemesis

1:41:33 Spoilers- Mounting Pressure, No More Sleep, No More Religion

1:56:04 Spoilers- The Last Wish

2:09:53 Spoilers- The Shot and Final Musings

Music used in the episode is credited to fingerspit. Tracks used: Many Nights a Whisper, Ten Years Ago You Were Chosen, Doing My Best Is All I Can Give Them, New Strength, My Heart's Faint Call, The Ceremony, Into the Moonless Night

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

Join Dave and special guest Jesse Guarascia (noclip, noclip_2 and more) as they strengthen their block-pushing muscles for a deep dive into Isles of Sea and Sky (Cicada Games, 2024). They discuss its rich world full of secrets, why Sokoban-style puzzles feel like a great foundation for weird narratives or layers of secrets, whether the open-ended design works well, and much more. As always, no spoilers for a while.

Guest info: Jesse Guarascia (he/him)

Check out noclip https://www.youtube.com/@NoclipDocs

And check out noclip2 https://www.youtube.com/@Noclip2

And Blowback! https://blowback.show/

Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/jesseguarascia.com

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title

0:22 Introductions

6:16 Our Histories with Isles of Sea and Sky

11:26 Top-Level Thoughts

18:38 Game Setup and Open Structure

29:19 Puzzle Design

40:40 Sokoban as a Base Layer for Building Secrets

53:15 Visual Design

1:00:00 Music and Sound

1:03:32 Who Should Play?

1:08:28 Jesse's Work at NoClip and More

1:16:53 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:19:17 Spoiler Section

Music used in the episode is credited to Craig Collver. Tracks used: Isles of Sea and Sky, Ancient Island, Stoney Cliffs, Tidal Reef, From Sea to Sky

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

Join Dave and special guest Leah Haydu (Cane and Rinse, Character Issues) as they discuss Kingdom Hearts (Square Enix, 2001). Leah is a longtime fan and Dave just played for the first time, and that led to a great conversation about the infamous story, the Disney and Final Fantasy tie-ins, the action-RPG combat, and the simplicity at the "heart" of it all. Listen in for more, and as always, no spoilers for a while.

Guest info: Leah Haydu (she/her)

Check out Character Issues https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-character-issues-podcast/id1530881747

Check out Cane and Rinse https://caneandrinse.com/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:29 Introductions

4:02 Our Histories with Kingdom Hearts

9:50 Top-Level Thoughts

19:24 Story Setup and Disney Stuff

33:10 Final Fantasy Stuff

35:16 Understanding Kingdom Hearts

43:25 The "Heart" of the Story

51:11 More Music Talk

58:16 Gummi Ship

1:02:32 Combat

1:23:45 Some Gameplay Criticisms

1:30:26 Who Should Play?

1:34:00 Character Issues & Cane and Rinse Podcasts

1:40:24 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous

1:42:08 Spoilers- Disney Worlds

1:54:58 Spoilers- Let's Talk Plot

2:04:13 Spoilers- Sora, Riku and Ansem

2:16:55 Spoilers- Final Bosses and Ending

Music used in the episode is credited to Yoko Shimomura: Dearly Beloved, Destiny Islands, Hollow Bastion, Welcome to Wonderland, Traverse Town, The End of the World, Dearly Beloved -Reprise-

Check out Unlockables Podcast for an extensive dive into the story of Kingdom Hearts: https://unlockables.fireside.fm/tags/guiding%20keys

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

Join Dave and special guest Rachel Watts (Thinky Games, Indieventure podcast) as they discuss Cairn (The Game Bakers, 2026). Cairn is a meticulous, thoughtful climbing game that takes you into the mind of an elite athlete as she attempts a climb that has never been done before. While it has some (unintentionally) frustrating moments, Cairn is an extremely strong and affecting game- listen in to find out more, and as always, no spoilers for a while!

Guest info: Rachel Watts (she/her)

Check out Thinky Games https://thinkygames.com

Check out Indieventure https://indieventurepodcast.co.uk

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:23 Introductions

5:09 Our Histories with The Game Bakers & Cairn

8:58 Top Level Thoughts

17:32 Story Setup and Characterizing Aava

31:40 Climbing Mechanics

37:36 High Difficulty Meets a Few Shaky Systems

54:53 Visual Design, Sound Design and Music

1:03:12 Survival on Mt. Kami

1:17:58 Who Should Play Cairn?

1:24:32 Thinky Games and Indieventure Podcast

1:28:54 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous

1:30:30 Spoilers- Fun Moments & Tough Challenges

1:54:19 Spoilers- Let's Talk About Aava

2:22:42 Spoilers- Ending Discussion

Music used in the episode is credited to Martin Stig Andersen, Gilda and The Toxic Avenger. Tracks used: The Mountain is Calling, Rise, Fatigue Is In Your Head, Only the Mountain, In My Gut, Stars, Part of a Whole

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

Join Dave and returning guest Scott Danielson as they dive into the third and final entry in the Hitman: World of Assassination Trilogy (IO Interactive), as well as its roguelike mode, Freelancer. This whole package is an absolute treat, and this also brings the Tales from the Backlog Hitman Episode Trilogy to a close. Listen in for allllll (most) of our thoughts!

Guest info: Scott Danielson (he/him)

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:25 Introductions

8:25 Our Histories with Hitman

12:39 Top-Level Thoughts

17:13 Story Setup

24:43 Levels and Locations

34:16 What's New and Mission Stories

43:26 The Sandbox and Freelancer Mode

1:02:32 Other Bonus Missions

1:09:07 Who Should Play Hitman?

1:17:03 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:18:57 Spoilers- Dubai

1:37:53 Spoilers- Dartmoor

1:50:43 Spoilers- Berlin

2:10:03 Spoilers- Chongqing

2:27:31 Spoilers- Mendoza

2:41:54 Spoilers- Carpathian Mountains

2:53:56 Spoilers- Ending and Ambrose Island

Music used in the episode is credited to Niels Bye Nielson. Tracks used: Death Awaits, Best-Laid Plans, Sceptres of Dubai, End of an Era, Planning, Death in the Family, Chongqing Requiem, Mission Accomplished

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