Flashback
Take a walk through gaming history as we pick a random date in gaming history and bring you the news from that time as if it was now , different era every week - covering all of gaming history
Episodes
24 episodes
A look at gaming in April 2006
April 2006 is one of those gaming months that feels like a hinge in history: the Xbox 360 is already flexing, the PS3 is approaching with big promises and bigger costs, and the PSP is quietly dropping games that still look like they shouldn’t b...
A look at gaming in October 2013
October 2013 looks like a normal page on a calendar until you actually read the list, then you realize it’s a blueprint for the next decade of gaming. I’m flying solo for this rewind, running through what we would have been playing back then, w...
A look at gaming in March 2008
March 2008 is one of those months that looks ordinary on paper, then turns into a full-on time capsule the moment you start pulling at the threads. We’re back in the thick of the PS3 vs Xbox 360 era, with publishers throwing money at visibility...
A look at gaming in October 1995
October 1995 is one of those months where you can feel gaming changing under your feet. We’re talking early 3D that still shows its seams, last-gasp 16-bit brilliance, and that very specific mid-90s moment where a new console is not just a purc...
A look at gaming in June 2010
June 2010 is one of those months where the gaming timeline feels unreal. We’re back in the seventh generation sweet spot with Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii all throwing punches, and we’re picking through the games that defined the moment plus the ones...
A look at gaming in January 1994
The funniest part about 1994 is how confidently it imagined the future. One minute you are lining up shots in a top-down Amiga pool game, and the next a magazine is telling you Nintendo is about to drop a 64-bit home VR revolution like it is in...
A look at gaming in May 2005
May 2005 feels like a crossroads you can almost hear. The PS2 and original Xbox are at full stride, the Nintendo DS is quietly changing what “portable” means, and the PSP is making headlines because Sony can’t manufacture it fast enough. We dig...
A look at gaming in March 2002
March 2002 feels close enough to remember and distant enough to surprise you. I’m flying solo for this Flashback, so the format gets leaner and a bit more personal, but I still pack it with the stuff we love: what we were playing, what was laun...
Top ten essential Mega drive/Genesis games for new retro players
Retro collecting isn’t just about chasing expensive grails, it’s about finding the games that still feel alive the second you hit power. We put together our ten best “start here” picks for Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis collectors, balancing ...
A look at gaming in September 1998
September 1998 is one of those months where the gaming world feels impossibly stacked, and we wanted to revisit it the way it actually happened: what we played, what we wanted, and what the magazines told us mattered. We start with the everyday...
A look at gaming in October 2001
A single month can change how we play. October 2001 did exactly that—Grand Theft Auto III landed like a thunderclap, turning a city into a playground and convincing even diehard Dreamcast fans to eye the PS2 differently. We break down that firs...
A look at gaming in May 2007
Rewind to May 2007, when a pocket-sized PSP could serve up 70s car chases, the Xbox 360 found its swagger, and living rooms turned into quiz shows and karaoke bars. We dive into the games we were playing and the moves that reshaped the industry...
A look at gaming in April 2014
Remember that odd, exciting moment when the PS4 was new, the graphics looked familiar, and you wondered if you’d traded in your best games too soon? We revisit April 2014—the hinge between generations—through the titles, trends, and behind‑the‑...
Top Ten Essential PS2 Games For New Retro Players
Start a PS2 collection the smart way. We each pick five must-play games that still feel great today, won’t drain your wallet, and show exactly why the PlayStation 2 defined a generation. No fluff, no nostalgia goggles—just ten titles that deliv...
A look at gaming in February 1996
A strange truth about 1996: for every game that made you fall in love with your console, there were three that made you question your life choices. We dig into that exact tension, from the PS1’s awkward start to the pure mood and menace of Alie...
A look at gaming in July 1993
Step into July 1993, when 16-bit consoles ruled the living room and game magazines shaped what we bought, argued over, and dreamed about. We revisit the games that defined the moment—Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back with its screen-fill...
A look at gaming in August 2000
Nostalgia hits different when you can hear the gravel under Colin McRae’s tires and feel the snap of a Tony Hawk manual chain together a perfect line. We’re time-traveling to August 2000, a month that stacked character, style, and ambition acro...
A look at gaming in September 2003
What if one month could showcase everything games do well—and everything the industry gets wrong? We jump back to September 2003, a stacked stretch where Project Gotham Racing 2 perfected the balance between sim feedback and arcade swagger, F1 ...
Gaming Memories: A Christmas Special
The glow of a CRT. The weight of a six-button pad. The moment you realize your parents somehow nailed the one thing you wanted most. This Christmas special is a joyride through gaming’s warmest memories—ours and yours—and the consoles, cartridg...
A look at gaming in April 1999
A gold rush of hype, a console arms race, and a toy aisle that felt like a movie premiere—April 1999 had it all. We dive into the month where Phantom Menace merch swallowed the shelves, Dreamcast teased an online future with VMUs, guns, and fis...
A look at gaming in November 2004
Remember staying up past midnight to grab San Andreas from a 24-hour supermarket aisle? We go back to November 2004, a month that felt like gaming’s golden hour, when bus-stop posters sold franchises and every genre had a real fight on its hand...
A look at gaming in November 1997
Step into November 1997, when PlayStation style met N64 power and Sega teased a comeback that sounded too bold to be real. We lock into that exact moment—magazine pages, shop shelves, and CRT glow—to unpack why this slice of time still sticks. ...
A look at gaming in March 2009
Time travel with us to March 2009, a month that captured the best kind of gaming whiplash: Halo tried real-time strategy, Killzone 2 doubled down on heavy, cinematic gunfights, and Xbox Live Arcade turned Wednesday drops into must-play events. ...
Flashback - The Pilot - June 1992
Boot up the CRT and jump back to 1992 with us as we relive a summer when California Games felt like a whole arcade in one cart, Super Smash TV turned co‑op into bedlam, and Streets of Rage made the living room sound like a neon city. We trade n...