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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
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In this podcast episode, we discuss the history of open-world video games: the good, the bad, and everything in between. (Also, GTA VI!)
In this Fantasy Gaming-centric episode, we recap the first half of 2026 before delving into our first waiver wire of the year.
In this episode of The Punished Podcast, we discuss the rise and fall of E3, game trailers, authenticity, and the big bucks.
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.
Punished Notes
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In the latest Punished Notes, Sam talks about Splatoon Raiders, Kingdom Hearts, Denshattack!, and…baking?
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.
Punished Chat
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Super Mario Sunshine is probably the beloved plumber’s most polarizing adventure. Punished Backlog editors Sam and David discuss why that is.
After all playing Disco Elysium, several writers weigh in on the good, the bad, and the very ugly of the cult classic.
Mina the Hollower released last month to rave reviews. How do the writers at The Punished Backlog feel about it?
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.
Punished Favorites
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In our list of the Best Video Game Dogs, we highlight the old and the new, the lithe and the chonky, the magical and the normal. They are all good dogs!
Anime is often known for its flashy visuals, but just as important is the music. Here are 11 of our top anime character theme songs ever.
From big AAAs to indie gems, this year’s shaping up to be a delight. Here are the 19 best video games of 2026 we’ve played to date.
From the bird and the bear to the earliest console shooters, here are The Punished Backlog’s top 16 Nintendo 64 games of all time!
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?