Latest Articles
Latest Articles
Welcome to Punished Notes, a series of (hopefully) weekly articles outlining many of my random thoughts on games I’ve been playing, reading about, or even watching on YouTube or Twitch. This week, I’ll be discussing the brilliance of Fallout 3’s first…
Welcome to Punished Notes, a new series of (hopefully) weekly articles outlining many of my random thoughts on games I’ve been playing, reading about, or even watching on YouTube or Twitch. This week, I’ll be exploring Splatoon 2’s latest expansion,…
Play it PC and Consoles Alike After over a year of being in Steam Early Access, the long awaited roguelike Dead Cells will finally see its full-fledged debut. The game releases on August 7 for PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox…
No Looking Back, Now After six months of fantasy action, we’ve officially reached the halfway point of our competitive season. Just when things started to seem like they were dying down, E3 rolled through and threw us all for a…
Looking Back on the Past Six Months in Gaming How’s everyone’s 2018 going so far? Terribly, I would guess, but at least we had plenty of video games to get us through it all! Another year brings another pile of…
Out by the End of the Year French developer Magic Design Studios has just released a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming action-adventure platformer, Unruly Heroes. The trailer shows off several new environments for the game, as well as new enemies…
Survival of the Square-ist Fans of Minecraft aesthetics and dungeon crawling roguelikes, take note: there’s a new kid on the block. Survive! Mr. Cube, developed by Korean publisher IntraGames, has just released on Nintendo Switch following its April launch on PlayStation…
The Elder Scrolls VI – Going Beyond Skyrim Now that we have official confirmation that The Elder Scrolls VI isn’t going to become the new Half-Life 3 thanks to the brief teaser shown at Bethesda’s E3 2018 conference, all Elder Scroll…
The Punished Podcast
View All
In this episode of The Punished Podcast, we discuss the past, present, and future of games media and journalism.
In this episode of The Punished Podcast, we reflect (and debate) the games that should be prioritized in our backlog in 2026.
In this episode of The Punished Podcast, we discuss the role of review scores in the gaming industry, especially for us as critics.
In this episode of The Punished Podcast, we discuss and listen to the best video game soundtracks, composers, and sound design.
Presenting the most anticipated video games of 2026, but in a stylish package: our annual Fantasy Gaming league. New year, new season.
What are the games that still hold a special place in our heart, even if we think they’re bad games? Why do they have a hold on us?
Punished Notes
View All
In a Punished Notes dedicated entirely to Resident Evil Requiem, Sam wonders if the post-zombification of the game’s world bears a resemblance to our own post-pandemic one.
In his latest Punished Notes, Sam gets into some New Year’s Gaming Resolutions, as well as a few predictions (and hopes) for some big gaming anniversaries coming up. Also: Wuthering Heights?
In the latest Punished Notes, Sam covers Doritos and Mountain Dew games, Kirby Air Riders, and… the blues?
In this edition of Punished Notes, Sam discusses how the incredible fall game release lineup is kind of killing him, among other thoughts
In the latest edition of Punished Notes, Sam talks about Lumines, visual novel and Roger, and other random thoughts from random games.
In this Punished Notes, Sam dives into how the latest Bethesda shooter harkens back to a simpler time in AAA gaming, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and more!
Punished Chat
View All
As part of our Game of the Year coverage, here are some DIFFERENT awards for the year’s best games!
Hollow Knight: Silksong is one of this year’s biggest new releases. What do the writers at The Punished Backlog think of it so far?
From the classics to new releases, we discuss the “Big Three,” the best anime ever, and what makes these series stand the test of time.
Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the biggest game releases of 2025. Does it work? Does it deserve its score of 91? We share our thoughts.
On the fence about Nintendo’s latest console? Six of our writers sat down to share our initial Nintendo Switch 2 impressions.
After a drama-packed premiere, our writers got together to share our The Last of Us Season 2 impressions so far.
Punished Favorites
View All
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Game Boy Advance, here are The Punished Backlog’s favorite GBA games of all time!
The Punished Backlog writers have already covered their favorite Pokémon games. But what about our actual favorite pocket monsters?
In our list of the best Pokémon Games, find out how the generations stack up in honor of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary.
In our list of the best GameCube Games, see how classics like Metroid Prime, Melee, and Double Dash stack up.
While we here at The Punished Backlog could not be more excited about a new Nintendo console, we also figured it now is the right time to pay tribute to the first Switch and all its best games!
Indie games are labors of love, and this year, it looks like there will be a lot to love! These are our most anticipated indie games of 2025.