Happy February, folks, and welcome back to The Punished Podcast! We’re certainly barreling through this year, for better or worse. If you need a distraction from the madness on TV, look no further than the world of video games.
For The Punished Podcast Episode 14, we’ve got a fun ~90 minutes teed up for you. In this episode, we crown our Fantasy Gaming 2024 winner (yay!) and host our 2025 draft, complete with an expanded league (double yay!!). This year’s rules follow a new dynasty format, which I do my best to outline in the episode.
I’ll keep the intro at that! Dive in and watch us compete for fame, glory, and—most importantly—precious bragging rights.
– David Silbert, Editor
The Punished Podcast Episode 14
Which one of our 2024 contestants—Team Amanda, Team David, and Team Sam—ended up victorious? Who will be battling it out for the crown in 2025? Find out in this action-packed, expletive-laden episode. Enjoy!
Note: We recorded this episode on January 9, days before Xbox’s Developer Direct and loooong before PlayStation’s latest State of Play. Games have since been announced; release dates have since been set. We’ve even seen a few Metacritic scores pop up. Bear all that in mind while listening!
MP3 Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Timestamps:
- 0:00 – Intro
- 2:46 – Welcome, Editorial Team!
- 3:23 – Thoughts on 2024 in Gaming?
- 5:38 – Recapping Fantasy Gaming 2024
- 11:57 – Our 2024 Winner Is…!
- 15:03 – Reflecting on the Results
- 19:39 – David Fails at Math
- 21:45 – Revealing Our Winner’s Fantasy Prize!
- 24:29 – Introducing Our Newest Fantasy Competitors!
- 26:05 – Explaining the New Dynasty Format
- 28:41 – Revealing the Draft Order
- 29:15 – Any Strategies for Dynasty?
- 30:24 – Setting Some Ground Rules
- 31:29 – 2025 Fantasy Draft Time!
- 1:35:58 – Post-Draft Recap!
- 1:39:19 – Parting Thoughts and Outro
Song Credits:
- “Main Theme (feat. Cassie Wei)” from Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist (composer: Mili)
- “The Silver Sisters” from Hades II (composer: Darren Korb)
- “Straight Chaser” from Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (composer: Satoshi Okubo)
- “Gustave” from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (composer: Lorien Testard)
2024 Fantasy League, Final Standings!
Who ended 2024 atop the Fantasy mountain? Check out our final standings:
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
In Third Place…
In Second Place…
…And in First!
Turns out, Phil’s mock reviews did let me down. Thankfully, Hellblade II didn’t stop my team from taking the crown in 2024!
2025 Fantasy Gaming Draft Recap
Want the quick details on how our 2025 draft went down? Here’s the recap:
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
- Gary – Monster Hunter Wilds
- Allison – Slay The Spire 2
- Zack – Grand Theft Auto VI
- Sam – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
- Amanda – Elden Ring Nightreign
- David – Ghost of Yōtei
- David – Hades II
- Amanda – South of Midnight
- Sam – Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
- Zack – Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
- Allison – Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
- Gary – Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
- Gary – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Allison – Discounty
- Zack – Avowed
- Sam – Doom: The Dark Ages
- Amanda – Split Fiction
- David – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- David – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Amanda – The Witcher IV
- Sam – Mina the Hollower
- Zack – Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
- Allison – Blade Chimera
- Gary – Replaced
- Gary – Fable
- Allison – Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- Zack – Pokémon Legends: Z-A
- Sam – Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
- Amanda – Blue Prince
- David – Deltarune: Chapter 3 & 4
- David – Lost Soul Aside
- Amanda – Mafia: The Old Country
- Sam – Mixtape
- Zack – 2 Point Museum
- Allison – 33 Immortals
- Gary – Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Gary – Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra
- Allison – Mouse: P.I. for Hire
- Zack – Backyard Baseball
- Sam – Wolverine
- Amanda – Hyper Light Breaker
- David – The Outer Worlds 2
Final Team Lineups, Post-Draft
Curious what each team looks like, post-draft? Check out our new 2025 Fantasy visuals!
(Note: The two games in green represent each person’s official taxi picks.)
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
Current Team Standings
As mentioned before, several weeks have passed since we initially recorded. Here’s how our league leaderboard looks as of February 13, 2025:
Click to reveal (spoilers!)
What Are Your Most Anticipated Games of 2025?
Let us know in the comments!
A video game outlet that blends quality words with inclusive voices. For business inquiries and review requests, reach us at press [at] punishedbacklog [dot] com.
Zack has been hooked on games ever since his older brother taught him where to find the secret warp whistles in Mario Bros. 3. He has never felt more joy than when Yoshi congratulated him on getting 120 stars in Mario 64 or more sadness than when he played Kingdom Hearts 3 after waiting 14 years for it. Zack mails a letter to Nintendo every day asking them to bring back Chibi Robo and will gladly tell you all about why it’s one of the greatest games of all time. He was hoping that writing for the site would help him get through his backlog, but it actually just made it worse now that he’s hearing about so many more great hidden gems. Oops…
Sam has been playing video games since his earliest years and has been writing about them since 2016. He’s a big fan of Nintendo games and complaining about The Last of Us Part II. You either agree wholeheartedly with his opinions or despise them. There is no in between. A lifelong New Yorker, Sam views gaming as far more than a silly little pastime, and hopes though critical analysis and in-depth reviews to better understand the medium's artistic merit. Twitter: @sam_martinelli.
Allison has been playing all sorts of games since the late ‘90s. She particularly enjoys life sims, casual games, tactical RPGs, and anything Mario. Her dream jobs are to be a Stardew Valley speed runner and a Mary Tyler Moore historian. As a recent MBA graduate, Allison hopes to use her extra time tackling her backlog and the never-ending list of 2023 releases.
David is the founder of The Punished Backlog. He has a problem finishing games he starts. Just beat: Nine Sols, UFO 50. Working on: Metaphor: ReFantazio. Can't wait for: Hollow Knight: Silksong. Follow David on Twitter at @David_Silbert to keep up to date with all things The Punished Backlog.
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, punch bad guys, make friends, and have a good cry. She started writing for the site in 2020, and became an editor in 2022. She enjoys writing about mystery games, indies, and strong femme protagonists. Her work has also been published in Unwinnable Monthly (click here to read her cover feature on Nancy Drew games), Salt Hill Journal, Poets.org, Litro Magazine, Public Books, and more. She was the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University's Culinarian Magazine, and served for two years as the Managing Editor of Aster(ix) Literary Journal. She recently graduated with a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her writing, art, graphic design, and marketing work can be viewed at www.amandatien.com. She does not post a lot on social, but you can find her on X and on Instagram.
Gary is a jack-of-all-trades video game enthusiast based in Boston, MA. A semi-professional fighting game player, even less professional Apex Legends player, and even less professional adult, he spends most of his time poking at strange indie gems and reading about the need for more diverse voices in gaming criticism. He invites anyone to recommend anything he's missed in the gaming world via Twitter or BlueSky, where he can found under the username @grtnpwrfl. When he isn't spending his time playing games, Gary is an avid New England Patriots fan and frequent hiker.
