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
42 episodes
Top ten essential Playstation 3 games for new retro players
Ten PS3 games, one simple goal: help you start a “new retro” PlayStation 3 collection with confidence, not confusion. We each bring five picks to the table, aiming for a true starter kit that mixes iconic heavy hitters with the kind of PS3 gems...
A look at gaming in March 1995
March 1995 is one of those months where gaming feels like it’s changing shape in real time. We’re proud to hit episode 40 by cracking open a fresh Flashback time capsule, swapping stories from the tail end of the 16-bit era while the industry s...
A look at gaming in July 1998
July 1998 was the kind of month where a game could look “photo-realistic” for five minutes and still play like a brick, where every company with a license thought they could beat Nintendo, and where Sega was quietly lining up its last great swi...
A look at gaming in March 2006
March 2006 isn’t just a date, it’s a mood: PS2 is still delivering late-era stunners, Xbox 360 has landed and everyone is chasing that first true “wow” game, and PSP is quietly becoming the most ambitious handheld Sony ever made. We’re RGT and ...
A look at gaming in September 2002
September 2002 doesn’t flood the calendar with releases, but the hits it does have are the kind that stick to you for decades. We’re building a retro gaming time capsule around a tight set of essentials across PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCub...
A look at gaming in March 2015
March 2015 is close enough to remember clearly and far enough away to feel weirdly historic. We crack open that month like a time capsule and start with The Order 1886, the PS4 exclusive that took a beating for its length and linear design, yet...
Top ten essential PSP games for new retro players
The PSP wasn’t just a handheld. It was a pocket-sized “everything” device before we even had the language for that, and the library still proves it. We put together a beginner-friendly, collector-minded list of ten PSP games that feel like true...
A look at gaming January 1993
January 1993 feels close enough to touch, and we’re treating it like a playable time capsule. We kick off with a genuine love letter to MicroProse’s F-19 Stealth Fighter (F-117A in some regions), where the manual is half the game and mission pl...
A look at gaming in September 2009
A single month can tell you a lot about an era, and September 2009 is one of those sweet spots where gaming feels both ambitious and weird in the best way. We’re chasing that feeling on Flashback, starting with the handheld magic trick that sti...
A look at gaming in February 1999
February 1999 is one of those months that looks quiet on paper and then suddenly floods you with memories. We jump back into the late PS1 era, the early Dreamcast glow, and an N64 scene that’s still trying to keep up with the “serious” racing c...
A look at gaming in March 2011 Feat. Digital Monkery
A video game getting honored at the Tribeca Film Festival sounds normal now, but in 2011 it felt like a line in the sand. We rewind to March 2011 and use it as a lens for how gaming culture was changing fast, from the Nintendo DS and PS3 era ha...
Special: Sony Goes Digital So We Pick The Physical Games Worth Buying Now Part 2
Digital libraries feel permanent until they aren’t, and that’s why we’re going back to basics: physical PlayStation games that are still affordable, still easy to find, and still absolutely worth owning. We’re finishing our Flashback special wi...
Special: Sony Goes Digital So We Pick The Physical Games Worth Buying Now
Sony’s “digital in 2028” headline sounds convenient until you ask one question: what happens to the games that never get re-released, get delisted, or only survive behind a subscription login? We go full Flashback mode and treat it like a prese...
A look at gaming in January 2003
Metroid almost became a live-action movie, GTA Vice City nearly competed for a serious design award, and the PS2 was about to get a flood of brand-new $9.99 games. January 2003 was not quiet, it was just weird in the best way, and that makes it...
A look at gaming in August 2012
Five percent digital downloads used to be a victory lap, and that one stat tells you almost everything about how much gaming has changed since 2012. We’re rewinding to August 2012 and building a full time capsule around what we’d be playing on ...
A look at gaming in March 1997
Play a little thought experiment with us: what if Sony never shipped the PlayStation, and the Sega Saturn went head-to-head with the Nintendo 64 on its own? That single question opens a surprisingly sharp look at March 1997, when sales charts, ...
Top ten essential Playstation one games for new retro players
Your PS1 collection can either become a shelf of “important” games you never finish or a stack of classics you actually want to play. We’re building the second kind. We each bring five essential PlayStation 1 games for new retro players, aiming...
A look at gaming in February 2000
Trading an entire N64 collection for a Dreamcast sounds reckless, until you remember what that jump felt like in early 2000. We rewind to February 2000 and chase that exact feeling: firing up Sonic Adventure for the first time, getting pulled i...
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...