Latest Articles
Latest Articles
Dontnod’s Latest Coming June 5th Dontnod Entertainment and publisher Focus Home Interactive have released 55 minutes of developer-led footage for their upcoming action-RPG Vampyr. The footage, taking place roughly six hours into the main story, gives an overview into the…
Searching for Our Sole Survivor Well, this is it. 12 episodes completed, 14 castaways voted out, and we have reached finale night on this season of Survivor. Ghost Island will come to a close as three more people will be eliminated,…
Chest Pumps and Heartbreaks Mark This April in Fantasy We’re back with another fantasy update, and this one’s a doozy. As opposed to March, which brought us a quantity of releases at the cost of quality, April has all but…
New Year’s Eve and Drake Highlight This Episode of Atlanta Following the near-impossible-to-top high that was “Teddy Perkins,” the next chapter of Atlanta floats gently back to Earth. “Champagne Papi” is an episode that, while entertaining and full of its…
The One Zelda Game Nobody Talks About The Legend of Zelda is one of the most famous and highly regarded franchises in the history of video games, but that doesn’t mean every entry in the series gets its proper due. Sure,…
Double Tribal, Double Trouble Come on in guys! This is the big one, the game-changing twist, the classic Survivor double elimination episode. How does it all shake out? We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, let’s regroup after tribal,…
Darius Gets a Brutal Awakening in This Chilling Chapter of Atlanta Atlanta has brought us many things in its first and second seasons. Comedy. Drama. Heartbreak. And yet, despite the wide range of emotions and topics that the show has…
Was This Ever Really the Best Gaming Could Do? Before I begin my parade-raining, dream-crushing, actually-what-you-like-is-bad analysis of one of the most popular video games of my lifetime, let me make something clear: I like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.…
The Punished Podcast
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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
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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
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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
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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.