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Looking Back on an Impressive Year for Games 2018 has come and gone, and boy, what a year it was, for better but also most certainly for worse. Like the years before it, what you made of 2018 depends largely…
Happy Complete Solar Orbit! I don’t know about you, but for me this particular trip around the sun felt uniquely… eventful. Read: 2018 can actually choke on my dick. Man, oh man, was this the roughest one in my books, folks.…
You Asked For This Go big or go home. Here’s the play: two lists in one. First, let’s rank every game I bought with a 2018 release. Then, let’s rank the games I actually played in 2018 (let’s say 20+…
Starting off the New Year Right New year, new me! Well, probably not, but I do acknowledge the importance of forming New Year’s resolutions each year, even if I rarely ever make good on such promises. Whether it’s spending more…
Five Games that Blew Me Away in 2018 This year was a little all over the place for me. The latter half gave me a lot of time to focus on gaming, but, with the start of college getting in…
The Allure of AAA Pulls Me Back In 2018 was an atypical year for me in media consumption. I took a bit of a sabbatical from playing games for the first half of 2018 and carved out time to read.…
Highlighting the Best of an Impressive Year for Games Many have said that 2017 was a particularly special year for gaming, but I actually feel like 2018 was better. Not necessarily in the sense that this year’s best efforts surpass…
Five Favorites as 2018 Comes to a Close I think that 2018 was a pretty alright year for video games. I’ve never really subscribed to triple-A game industry hype trains. Mostly because I’ve never really had a system capable of…
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The Punished Podcast
View AllThe Punished Podcast: Episode 22 – Nostalgia (For Games That Aren’t Very Good?!)
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?
Video game adaptations are everywhere — shows, movies, books, board games, music, and more. But what makes them work? Let’s discuss.
The Punished Podcast: Episode 20 – Summer Gaming News & Fantasy Waiver Wire
In The Punished Podcast Episode 20, we talk about all the hottest gaming news that broke this summer. Plus, our Fantasy Gaming league!
In this podcast episode, we discuss the history of video game difficulty, what makes a game “fun,” Clair Obscur, Souls-likes, and more.
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!
Punished Notes
View AllIn 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!
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?!
Punished Chat
View AllHollow 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.
Let’s see how The Punished Backlog’s excellent writers feel about that explosive Nintendo Switch 2 reveal!
Punished Favorites
View AllIn 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.
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.






































































