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Survival is the Name of the Game Survive! Mr. Cube only asks of players one thing: survive. The game requires little more than that. Once the opening scrawl closes out and players are stuffed into cuboid characters, the action immediately…
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…
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In this podcast episode, we discuss why we replay video games, what changes between playthroughs, old games versus new ones, and much more.
In the latest episode, we go through the best (and worst) video games of 2025 so far, and provide a Fantasy Gaming league update!
In The Punished Podcast Episode 16, we discuss the best old school games, what retro even means, preservation, and much more.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we discussed romance in games. Learn our favorite romance mechanics, characters, subplots, and more.
In The Punished Podcast Episode 14, we crown our Fantasy Gaming 2024 winner and host our 2025 draft—with a new dynasty format!
For The Punished Podcast Episode 13, we recorded a Final Fantasy VII Rebirth spoilercast. Come for the ending analysis; stay for the music.
Punished Notes
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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!
In this new Punished Notes, Sam talks about the mystery behind Avowed’s dialogue options, what it means when you say a game takes time to “get good,” and more!
For this edition of Punished Notes, Sam lists some brief and simple New Year’s resolutions, shares some games from 2024 that just missed the deadline for his tier list, and discusses his latest TV binge being on… CBS?!
So far, there hasn’t been a game that has pulled me out of post-election despair, and maybe that’s not a bad thing.
In this edition of Punished Notes, Sam gets into his thoughts on the reveal of Gears of War: E-Day, his favorite part of Hellblade II, and other thoughts.
In this Punished Notes, Sam dives into Balatro, a replay of Fallout: New Vegas, and more.
Punished Chat
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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.
Let’s see how The Punished Backlog’s excellent writers feel about that explosive Nintendo Switch 2 reveal!
Avowed has taken the gaming world by storm in recent weeks. What do the writers at The Punished Backlog think of Obsidian’s latest so far?
We’re launching a new brand and logo for The Punished Backlog! Let’s take a look back through the years and reflect on our past logos.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has been out for about a month. How do the writers at The Punished Backlog feel about it so far?
Punished Favorites
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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.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Nintendo DS, check out the very best Nintendo DS games ever created.
From straight-up horror games to RPGs and cute indies, here are some of the best horror game moments of 2024 so far!
Waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong? Make the wait easier by reading and playing our picks for the best Metroidvania games ever made.
As the 25th anniversary of the PS2 approaches, help us celebrate by checking out our list of the 23 best PlayStation 2 games ever.