Tales from the Backlog

System Shock 2 **(Looking Glass Studios/Irrational Games**, 1999) contains one of the most iconic images in gaming (the scifi horror Medusa-esque SHODAN) and one of the most iconic spiritual sequels in gaming (the Bioshock series), but I still feel like experience with System Shock 2 itself is relegated to those who were there playing on PC in 1999. What was it about this game that made it so foundational for the Bioshock series and so many other modern games? Well, it's a good thing I have this podcast to dig into it! Guest Info: Doug Lief, host of Nostalgium Arcanum podcast TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:19 Story Setup/Story Thoughts 13:43 Presentation 30:10 Gameplay 41:00 SPOILER WALL 1:11:09 Music used in the episode is credited to Eric Brosius. Tracks used: Medical, Engineering, Hydroponics #1, Science, Hydroponics #2, Operations #2, End Cutscene, Credits 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

It all started with an elevator pitch, courtesy of someone on the Axe of the Blood God podcast- "A sokoban puzzle game with a JRPG story". Sign me up! Void Stranger (System Erasure, 2023) does boast those things, but to my surprise, Void Stranger is so full of secrets as well. But if you want to get at those secrets, Void Stranger will challenge you in more ways than one. Join us as we dive into this one-of-a-kind experience. Guest Info: Steve from Indie Quest and Polykill Podcast. Check out his podcasts and Twitch channel! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:14 Puzzles/Challenges 12:21 Story Setup 33:09 Presentation 38:36 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 50:45 SPOILER WALL 59:06 Music used in the episode is credited to Eero Lahtinen. You can purchase the album on Bandcamp. Tracks used: Concern, Void Symphony, Gray is just Gray, Right?, Affection Air, Buzzing Boogie, Lax Lullabye, HARD SPACE, Roll Credits! 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

Remedy Entertainment have built a sort of extended universe by this point, but 2019's Control is both the piece that introduced a lot of people to their world and the key that unlocked the possibility for an extended universe in the first place. Control's Men in Black-meets-SCP Foundation setting is ripe for creative sci-fi storytelling and Remedy took full advantage of that. Despite some hiccups in the story and gameplay that may wear out its welcome, Control is an undeniably cool game. Guest info: Nick & Will from Friday Night Gamecast. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:22 Story Setup 16:21 Presentation 52:02 Gameplay 1:02:50 SPOILER WALL 1:39:50 Music used in the episode: Take Control (Old Gods of Asgard) Counterfeit (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen) Sankarin Tango (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen) Voces Ignotas (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen) Poram Ad Inferno (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen) Nihil Es Simplex (Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen) 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

What was FromSoftware up to before Demon's Souls? Most people know about the King's Field series, and the Armored Core sickos have been around too, but they were even more prolific in the RPG and dungeon crawler space than just King's Field. Shadow Tower: Abyss (2003), the sequel to the Playstation game Shadow Tower, was never officially localized in English, but thanks to FromSoftware's explosion in popularity, the cottage industry of Souls creators, and most importantly a fan translated ROM, we can now go back and see some of the DNA that eventually made it into Demon's Souls and beyond. Guest info: Adelaide Lohkamp- find her on YouTube. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:26 Story Setup/Presentation/Gameplay 17:42 SPOILER WALL 1:32:13 Music and sound used in the episode is credited to Yukinori Takada, Tsukasa Saitoh, Kota Hoshino, Yūki Ichiki, Yūji Kanda. Tracks used: Main Menu Theme Opening Cutscene End Credits YouTube walkthrough and lore explainer by ElucidatedByFire. 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

Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall, 2017) challenges us in a lot of ways. The gameplay mechanics are a means to get you from one side of town to another and nothing more. The protagonist can be unlikable. The story is much more local than your standard "save the world" fare. And it's all the better for the direction it takes. Instead of a sweeping epic, we get a very emotional, personal, close-to-home look at a small slice of American life. And as a result, we get a very rich and interesting story, which is the main focus of this podcast. Guest info: Rick Firestone of Pixel Project Radio podcast. Correction- In the episode I state that Charles Huettner and Sven Ruthner have music credits- they have animation credits, and I mixed up my notes. Oops! TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:17 Story Setup 10:39 Presentation/Music 32:34 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations/Housekeeping 45:35 SPOILER WALL 54:31 You can purchase the soundtrack here. Tracks used: Title (Alec Holowka) Back to the Holler (Alec Holowka) Die Anywhere Else (Alec Holowka, Scott Benson) Possum Springs (Alec Holowka) Home Again (Alec Holowka) Angus Story (Alec Holowka) Mae's House (Alec Holowka) End Credits (Alec Holowka) 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

Final Fantasy VII Remake started this epic remake project off with a bang, and it left us with a few questions, namely "what will they do with Aerith?" and "how will they handle the more open world nature of the game post-Midgar?". Both of those answers came in somewhat messy and/or convoluted forms, which I won't spoil here in the podcast description, but it's a good thing we have nearly 3 hours of podcast here to discuss it all! Guest info: Aaron Angle of [A Top 3 Podcast](atop3podcast.fireside.fm) & Ryan Arrington. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:24 Story Setup 13:39 Story, continued 32:51 Presentation 49:24 Combat/Open World 1:03:07 Minigames 1:25:03 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations 1:32:02 SPOILER WALL/Patreon Thank-Yous 1:38:31 Music used in the episode: Main Theme of FFVII - Battle Edit (Nobuo Uematsu) Nibelheim Train Graveyard Theme (Nobuo Uematsu) Eager SOLDIER (Nobuo Uematsu, Shotaro Shima) The Gold Saucer - Night Out with Tifa (Nobuo Uematsu) Midgardsormr (Nobuo Uematsu, Yoshitaka Suzuki) Queen's Blood (Mitsuto Suzuki, Junnosuke Usui) Fiddle de Chocobo (Nobuo Uematsu) Cosmo Canyon - Sanctum of Planetology (Nobuo Uematsu) Aerith's Theme - The White Materia (Nobuo Uematsu) J-E-N-O-V-A - Tenacity (Nobuo Uematsu) Aerith's Theme - Return to the Planet (Nobuo Uematsu) You can purchase the soundtrack via Square Enix. Check out Dave talking about Final Fantasy and modern RPGs on Fine Time and Crossplay Conversations podcasts this week! 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

In this discussion, Marcus Stewart, a Contributor to The Indie Informer and former Game Informer staffer, joins Matt aka Stormageddon to tackle the gaming backlog dilemma. They explore the pressure of FOMO with new releases, reflecting on personal strategies to manage gaming goals. As they navigate the emotional toll of unfinished games and the importance of enjoying experiences at one's own pace, they encourage listeners to prioritize personal enjoyment over external obligations. Insightful anecdotes highlight the joy and stress of gaming culture.

Here are the games I played at GDEX 2024 gaming convention in Columbus, Ohio! Games mentioned in the episode: Skate Fish Tales of Thisrea Zakumba: Astraia Dark Sky Derelict Mole Maiden Quiet On Set RA RA BOOM Intro/Outro music composed by Bert Cole- check them out at bitbybitsound.com 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

Have you ever thought to yourself, "how scary could this pixel art horror game be? It's just pixels!". If so, you and I are the same. And granted, Decarnation (Atelier QDB, 2023) isn't an in-your-face type of horror. It's more of a psychological, empathetic horror and dread for what your character is going through. And it's very, very effective! This is a really unique horror game with fantastic pixel art, sound design and music- highly recommended! Guest info: Jala Prendes of Jala-chan's Place and The Level podcasts & Dave Cox of Monster Dear Monster podcast. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:23 Story Setup/Theme Introductions 13:35 Presentation 31:32 Gameplay 42:05 SPOILER WALL/Patron Thank-Yous 1:08:06 Music used in the episode is credited to fleur et bleue, Akira Yamaoka, ALT 236 & AL 9000. You can support the artists by buying the soundtrack, part 1 and part 2.Tracks used: fleur et bleue - Tout Depend de Toi, Decarnation, Grolia, Orfevre De La Nuit, The Cell, Cracks in the Mask, Lizzy et Marco 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

Stop me if you've heard this story before. A game that I once thought would be too scary for me to play, so I spoiled the entire story for myself only to realize that it sounded too good to not experience for myself. Add Devotion (Red Candle Games, 2019) to that list. Despite the controversy surrounding the game and subsequent delisting from all major storefronts, this one is worth seeking you. You can purchase and download it directly from the Red Candle Games website. Guest Info: Jill Grodt, editor-in-chief of The Indie Informer and podcaster on The Indie Council podcast. Find more from Jill on YouTube and Twitch. TIMESTAMPS Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:26 Story Setup/Gameplay 14:32 Horror/Presentation 37:02 SPOILER WALL 53:15 Content warnings for Devotion Music used in the episode is credited to Vincent Yang. You can support them by purchasing the album directly from the Red Candle Games website. Tracks used: Devotion, Lady of the Pier (Gong Li Fang), Come on! Have a Bite, A Way of No Return, Lady of the Pier (Du Mei Shin) 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