The Punished Backlog

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Subnautica Exploration Meets Wall-E

3 weeks ago | punishedbacklog.com | David Silbert

The sky was overcast on Friday morning of PAX East 2025 as I rode the elevator up to the top of Boston’s Omni Hotel. Located in the heart of the Seaport district, the Omni is a towering structure overlooking the city’s harbor and ships. But I wasn’t there for the view; my seafaring adventures were yet to come. Knocking on the door of a hotel suite, I walked into a pristine room disturbed only by a few novelties. A laptop on a table, complete with capture equipment.
The (Sort of) Official Nintendo Franchise Starter Guide

1 month ago | punishedbacklog.com | Sam Martinelli

If you’re like me, you’ve played dozens of Nintendo games from nearly all of their greatest franchises periodically throughout your entire life.
Why Do Some Games Take a While To "Get Good?"

2 months ago | punishedbacklog.com | Sam Martinelli

Welcome to Punished Notes, Volume 37! For my latest edition, I talk about the mystery behind Avowed’s dialogue options, explore what it means when you say a game takes time to “get good,” and share yet another lightning round with a comment on… a book?!!?!? As always, thanks for reading!Avowed and the Mystery of ChoiceI finally finished Obsidian’s latest effort Avowed recently, and it managed to stick the landing narratively better than I anticipated.
Wanderstop Review: A Wonderful, Fleeting Taste

2 months ago | punishedbacklog.com | David Silbert

Everyone has their drink of choice. For some, it’s an early-morning coffee with sugar and flavored cream. For others, it’s a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice with breakfast, or a carefully balanced cocktail to cap the night. No matter your preference, though, there’s nothing quite like sipping and savoring while alone in your thoughts. In Wanderstop, that drink of choice is tea.
Split Fiction Review: Just Give It the Nebula Now

2 months ago | punishedbacklog.com | David Silbert

If the game industry had a “most improved” award, it’d surely go to Hazelight Studios. Led by former film director and forever Oscars hater Josef Fares, Hazelight has built its reputation on co-op games that tug at the heart. It’s a studio known for several trademarks: asymmetric combat and puzzles; “always on” split-screen, even when online; the pro-consumer Friend Pass feature, which allows the second person to play for free.
Do You Play Mario Kart? Guess What: You Benefit From DEI Too

Feb 20, 2025 | punishedbacklog.com | David Silbert

A few weeks ago, we received a rather fiery comment on one of our articles. That alone wouldn’t be newsworthy; we’ve seen passionate comments over the years, from rebuttals of our Borderlands game rankings to outcry over leaving Grand Theft Auto off our best PlayStation 2 games list. Still, the critiques we get tend to be tame. Scathing as they can be, they mostly attack opinions, not actual people. That changed with our Tales of Kenzera: Zau review.
ReFantazio Is What I Wanted Final Fantasy XVI To Be

Jan 23, 2025 | punishedbacklog.com | David Silbert

In March 2023, as thousands braced the cold to descend upon Boston’s Seaport exhibition center, a few hundred more waited patiently in line, ready to witness fire. It was day three of PAX East, and the talk of the morning was an upcoming panel on Final Fantasy XVI. Producer Naoki Yoshida was on site to demo the latest version of the game, and the crowd was anxious to get a few new tidbits of information.
Escape Today's Reality With a Week of Final Fantasy Coverage

Jan 20, 2025 | punishedbacklog.com | David Silbert

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day (and absolutely nothing else)! If you’re reluctantly tuning in to Season 47 of the United States this morning… I’m sorry. Not how we drew it up, but don’t get discouraged; there’s still plenty of game to play. Speaking of games, it’s not all doom and gloom this week. We’re celebrating a fun milestone that should levy the heart, if only for a beat.
It's Okay To Just Be Excited About It

Jan 17, 2025 | punishedbacklog.com | Sam Martinelli

If you’re reading this, you probably already know the news: Nintendo confirmed the existence of the Switch 2—the most normally named console of theirs in my lifetime—and gave everyone just a little taste of what to expect. The new trailer briefly showcased the console’s bigger screen, new Joy-Cons, backwards compatibility, and even a glimpse at what appears to be a brand-new Mario Kart, the first in over a decade.
My New Year's Gaming Resolution: Be Nice to Myself

Jan 13, 2025 | punishedbacklog.com | Sam Martinelli

Welcome to Punished Notes, Volume 36! To get the year started off in the right direction, I’ll list some brief and simple New Year’s resolutions, share some games from 2024 that just missed the deadline for my tier list, and discuss my latest TV binge being on… CBS?!A Different Kind of New Year’s ResolutionIn past years, I’ve whipped up a set of New Year’s gaming resolutions as a way to motivate myself to be a better gamer, critic, and… person, I guess.