Tales from the Backlog

As someone who didn't grow up playing PC games in general, Half-Life 2 totally evaded me until I started seeing the Half-Life 3 desperation memes. So as I've attempted to get into PC gaming a bit more, or at least go back and play some of the classics, Half-Life 2 was always on the list. And the promise of doing a podcast with Jay Davis (Super Bracket Bros) was all the inspiration I needed to finally fire it up. But did it live up to its huge reputation? Or is this one best left in the nostalgia box? Hit play to find out. TIMESTAMPS: Personal Histories 10:19 Story Setup, Game/Level Design 20:02 Combat/Gameplay 48:45 Music/Sound Design 1:21:04 Final Thoughts 1:25:41 Spoiler Wall 1:34:37 Find Jay and Super Bracket Bros on their website, Instagram and Patreon! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by Rick Firestone from Pixel Project Radio to discuss Ryu Ga Gotoku's refresh of the Yakuza franchise. Yakuza: Like a Dragon brings a new protagonist and turn-based combat into the franchise, so tune in to find out how Rick and Dave feel about it. TIMESTAMPS: Intro, Personal Histories and Opening Thoughts 0:26 Story Setup 13:34 Combat 47:37 Side Content and Final Thoughts 1:19:28 Spoiler Wall 1:41:15 Find Pixel Project Radio on Twitter, Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by Nave from the Gaming Together Podcast to discuss Studio Pixel Punk's inventive action game, Unsighted. Unsighted merges a little bit of Zelda, a little bit of metroidvania, a little bit of Souls and a unique time mechanic- listen in to find out what we thought! *I experienced some recording issues that caused a sound quality drop in this episode- technology is a real pain sometimes! Thanks for understanding! TIMESTAMPS: Intro, Personal Histories and Opening Thoughts 0:52 Story Setup, Time Mechanic and Map/Metroidvania 11:45 Combat, Bosses, Crafting and Side Quests 49:12 Aesthetics and Final Thoughts 1:21:29 Spoiler Wall 1:33:03 Find Gaming Together Podcast on Twitter, Apple and Spotify! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by Alan Nichols to discuss The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. What was once little brother to the much more popular Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask has begun to resonate with many of us who grew up with the N64 during our childhoods. Add in some things that hit a bit closer to home since the pandemic started, and we have a game worth revisiting. But did the gameplay hold up? Listen to find out what we think. *I experienced some technical issues wirh my track recording that affected sound quality. Hope it doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the episode! -Dave TIMESTAMPS: Intro and Opening Thoughts 0:43 Personal Histories, Masks and Time Loop 9:30 Story and Setting, Music and "Zelda Stuff" 55:35 Spoiler Wall 1:56:41 [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by tabletop RPG developer Adam Bucceri to discuss Shadow of the Colossus. Originally released on the PS2 back in 2005, Shadow of the Colossus stands today as a truly unique experience in gaming, one that has yet to be replicated. Find out what we thought, plus a discussion on the merits of game remakes! TIMESTAMPS: Intro/Personal Histories 0:42 Story and Presentation 18:12 Gameplay 40:20 Soundtrack, Remakes, and Final Thoughts 1:09:43 Spoiler Wall 1:41:30 Follow Adam on Twitter and check out ENTER THE SURVIVAL HORROR on his itch.io page, and [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

(Full spoilers!) Dave is joined by returning guest Jake Anderson to tier-rank the bosses in Dark Souls 3. This is a game with some boss fights that are among the best in the whole series, and some that are straight up Not Fun. Find out where we're ranking bosses like Abyss Watchers, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Slave Knight Gael and Sister Friede. Make your own Dark Souls 3 bosses tier list here And share it with us in the Discord! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined once again by Adam Rivera to discuss the finale (for now) in the Dark Souls series. Dark Souls 3 combined the faster gameplay of Bloodborne with the usual Dark Souls gameplay, but was it a happy marriage? And what's going on with all the fan service? Find out how we feel in this episode! *Both Adam and I had some technical issues in this recording that affected the audio quality, but the conversation is worth it, I promise! Sorry! TIMESTAMPS: Story and gameplay changes pt 1 12:52 Gameplay changes pt 2 42:22 Bosses and final thoughts 1:08:36 Spoiler Wall 1:27:24 Follow Adam on Twitter! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by Jared Moss from Play Along Podcast to discuss Game Freak's 2022 hit, Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Representing a major shakeup to the established Pokemon formula, Legends makes changes to nearly every core mechanic that we've all come to know as "how Pokemon works". Was it really the game that fans have been asking for for decades? Listen in to find out what Dave and Jared thought. TIMESTAMPS: Personal histories 8:42 Story, gameplay, catching Pokemon 34:13 Battles 1:19:00 Final thoughts 1:40:58 Spoiler Wall 1:50:42 Find everything Play Along Podcast HERE! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by the author of the Book of Love, Aaron Angle, to discuss Hazelight Studio's 2021 Game of the Year winner, It Takes Two. This game has garnered a lot of attention, and Dave and Aaron agree that some parts of the game really deserve all of the accolades. The other parts, on the other hand? Listen in to find out. Timestamps: Personal histories, story and gameplay 7:45 Sound design, music and final thoughts 59:50 Spoiler wall: 1:18:35 [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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

Dave is joined by Ryan Delaney to talk about Housemarque's 2021 action roguelike hit, Returnal. Returnal brings bullet hell to 3D and adds an intriguing sci-fi story on the roguelike structure. Did this work for us on all fronts? Find out in the episode. *The Returnal: Ascension DLC was announced and release after this episode was recorded. I added a small section at the end about my story theories, but Ryan and I did not discuss it. It's fun though, you should try it! [Support Tales from the Backlog on Patreon!](patreon.com/realdavejackson) 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