The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

1 hour ago, Sumez said:

Did you do the "The Omen" boss before this?

No.  I didn't even know about the sewers.  I just did it tonight though.  I would have missed that whole area.

[Sumez | 2,995]

 

[Sumez | 2,995]

Kabuki: Quantum Fighter - Beaten 29/1

Genre-wise, Kabuki Quantum Fighter is my kind of game. The kind of pure action platformer that almost only ever got to exist during the NES years, and has only been poorly replicated since.
I played the game a bit as a kid when visiting a friend, but never got very far. At the time it didn't take much to amaze me I guess, and the whole concept just felt intriguing - the mysterious looking main character who would attack enemies by whipping his giant hairdo, and the smoothly animated swings from one handhold to the next. So this was one of the first games I bought when I started buying older games some ~25 years ago, but I've been too lazy to get around to it, for some reason.

Revisiting the game now, I guess the impression it leaves is less unique. It pretty much plays like a much less well-made variation on Ninja Gaiden or the original NES Batman, with level design that's a bit less inspired, and enemies which all somehow feel slightly "off". It's a little hard to explain, but the way enemies move and attack isn't really how you'd normally intuitively expect, and given the short delay on your attack, there is a very specific timing element to it that feels very unique to this game.
It's not bad, and it's really not a big problem as soon as you get used to it, but I can't help the feeling that is seems a bit unintentional. The offset timing is quite integral to the feel of Kabuki Quantum Fighter, however, and is definitely clearly intentional when it comes to the swinging mechanic, which is the more unique element that sets this game apart from its contemporaries.

Littered around every stage are little handholds that you can hang on to, and holding the button to jump from one to another, initiates a small swing which takes a while to gain momentum before leaping ahead, while a quick tap will instead result in a smaller hop, which is a difference often essential to avoiding stage hazards. Some of the more demanding stages in the game are vertical gauntlets where you keep climbing upwards while avoiding traps, and mastering the weird timing of the swinging animation is the key element for survival on these stages especially.

The more traditional right-scrolling action stages feature more enemies to kill, and very often split into an upper or lower path, rewarding players who can keep staying on floating platforms and handholds with slightly easier obstacles, though every so often a wall will prevent progress on the floor, and force you to retreat should you have fallen down.
You start out the game with a very generious health bar, and it's even possible to increase your HP to quite a bit higher than the initial value through pickups, so enemy drops are important for filling up both your health and ammunition for your subweapon attacks which are generally able to dispatch of enemies without having to worry about the strict timing.
Finishing a section refills a small amount of both as well, and when you face a stage boss you get the unique ability to actually trade the two for eachother, essentially making ammo and life eat out of the same common pool. If you're able to reach the boss with a high amount on both bars, you get a lot of leeway to either thank attacks or go nuts with your projectile weapons, which feels like a very satisfying reward.

Fortunately, but somewhat surprising, enemy drops aren't random in this game. The same enemy at the same place will always drop either a heart or ammo round the first time you kill it, and a couple throughout the game will even drop 1UPs (I only found two, not sure if there are more?), while the rest never drop anything. The clever player will do well to remember which enemies to hunt down, and which you might as well leave alive in order to get the best chance at reaching the boss in the best possible condition. The game is kinda bad at handling enemy spawns meaning quite a lot of them seem to be in a hurry to despawn themselves if you don't intentionally scroll along as they run off.

(I can't wait for the sequel)

Kabuki took me a few tries before I could blaze through it without deaths on the way, but once you get a good feeling for its unique mechanics and learn the stages, it's a very easy and also quite short game. The last stage is only a boss fight, basically taking you straight from the stage 5 boss to the final battle, which is a little disappointing. I've seen others claim that the game really feels like it's lacking that one ultimate stage which truly tests your skill before you get to win, and I'll agree with that completely. This would probably have been a much more memorable game with just one more final gauntlet.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Sumez

[ConfusedCollector | 36]

On 1/1/2023 at 10:05 AM, ConfusedCollector said:

Alright, I know I have not participated much beyond being a wall flower but I'll throw my hat in the ring.  I'm not even touching my retro stuff - just working through my modern game backlog.  This is mostly a way to keep me from shopping sales all year - I have plenty to play through without buying anything new.  Some of these are long and some are pretty short.  A completion for me will be considered story play-through complete - not 100%'ing the game.  I have 80 hours into Forbidden West right now because I'm enjoying it so much and it shows 50% complete, lol.  

I didn't add any new games to the list coming out - I'm sure there will be a few distractions, like PSVR2 and Starfield.

 

Horizon Forbidden West	PS5
Stray	PS5
Sackboy A big Adventure	PS5
Deathloop	PS5
A Hat in Time	PS4
Calisto Protocol	PS5
The Last of Us Part 1	PS5
Elden Ring	PS5
Call Of Duty Vanguard	Series X
Call of Duty Modern Warfare	Series X
Final Fantasy 7 Remake	PS5
Devil in Me	Series X
Returnal	PS5
Demons Souls	PS5
Spiderman Miles Morales	PS5
Ori and the will of the Wisps	Series X
Return of the Obra Dinn	PS4
God of War	PS4
Dark Souls Remastered	Xbox
Uncharted Lost Legacy	PS5
Resident Evil 2 Remake	PS4
Mass Effect Remasterd (games 1 & 2)	Series X
Disco Elysium	PS4
Sonic Colors	Xbox
Sonic Frontiers	PS5
Road 96	Xbox
Halo 3	Series X
Halo 4	Series X
Halo Infinite	Series X
Blasphamous	Xbox
It Takes Two	Series X
A Plague Tale Requiem	Series X
The Witcher 3 DLC's	Series X
Red Dead Redemption 2	Series X
Metro 2033 Redux	Xbox
Metro Exodus	Xbox
Resident Evil 7	PS4
Resident Evil 8	Series X
Hellblade Senuas Sacrifice	Series X
Alan Wake Remastered	Series X
Bloodstained Ritual of the Night	Series X

My update:

Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - Completed the main story at a little over 100 hours at the beginning of Jan - thanks to an Xmas vacation that let me put a little more time in than usual.  This game didn't grab me like the original from a story perspective but the gameplay was so good I found myself sinking 6-8 hr sessions into this thing.  So it's definitely a good one.  Will finish the collectibles when the DLC comes out.  For this list though - I consider it done.

Stray (PS5) - Short and fun, completed this in early Jan as well.

Devil in Me (Series X) - Another short one.  The wife and I play these together.  I think it got mixed reviews but we found this one much scarier then the other games in the series.  Mostly because there isn't a supernatural element, it's just a serial killer stalking you.  Good stuff.

I'm working my way through Callisto Protocol and Metro 2033 Redux.  I'm loving Callisto Protocol - totally worth a buy if you're on the fence - just get it on sale.  Metro is definitely dated at this point - I had to put it down.  But I definitely want to knock it off the list and play exodus afterwards.

 

 

 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

1 hour ago, ConfusedCollector said:

My update:

Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - Completed the main story at a little over 100 hours at the beginning of Jan - thanks to an Xmas vacation that let me put a little more time in than usual.  This game didn't grab me like the original from a story perspective but the gameplay was so good I found myself sinking 6-8 hr sessions into this thing.  So it's definitely a good one.  Will finish the collectibles when the DLC comes out.  For this list though - I consider it done.

Stray (PS5) - Short and fun, completed this in early Jan as well.

Devil in Me (Series X) - Another short one.  The wife and I play these together.  I think it got mixed reviews but we found this one much scarier then the other games in the series.  Mostly because there isn't a supernatural element, it's just a serial killer stalking you.  Good stuff.

I'm working my way through Callisto Protocol and Metro 2033 Redux.  I'm loving Callisto Protocol - totally worth a buy if you're on the fence - just get it on sale.  Metro is definitely dated at this point - I had to put it down.  But I definitely want to knock it off the list and play exodus afterwards.

 

 

 

I played the original Metro games a couple years ago and I felt the same. They are okay, but nothing about them is super interesting. Also, for all the talk of how you need to be really thoughtful with your supplies, I didn't find ammo conservation to play as big of a role as I thought it would on normal difficulty. I'm sure Ranger is a different story, but I had no desire to replay after finishing. I thought they were worth experiencing just to see the world, but only rated them as like 7/10 games.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

I played Metro near release and thought it was pretty janky even at the time.  But still fun.  7/10 kind of stuff.

Still sitting on both sequels too.

[Sumez | 2,995]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

even at the time. 

Jesus it's not that old 

[Brickman | 4,020]

2 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I played Metro near release and thought it was pretty janky even at the time.  But still fun.  7/10 kind of stuff.

Still sitting on both sequels too.

Yeah Metro is definitely rough around the edges and it was a complaint at the time about it. 7/10 seems fair.

26 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Jesus it's not that old 

It’s almost 13 years old, that’s pretty old. As we get older we sort of lose track of these things haha.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

13 years would be like playing GameCube and thinking back fondly to the NES when you were a little kid 

[Lago | 223]

I played through A Memoir Blue yesterday.  I almost put this on my backlog as I had actually wrote it down to check out if it ever got a physical release.  I've decided against counting it.  This "game" is an artsy visual novel that works when you don't have a lot of brain power.  

I'm really happy that I have GamePass at the moment as it is letting me try out some of these short indie titles without being cost prohibitive.  I find these types of games fun, but I believe I would be disappointed at a $10+ price point.

[ConfusedCollector | 36]

Knocked calisto Protocol off the list just now. I think reviewers were too hard on it, I enjoyed it. It was like walking simulator meets survival horror with a mixture of gunplay and stealth action. 

I'm glad it's not just me on metro. I really like the world so I'm going to power through.

[ConfusedCollector | 36]

10 minutes ago, Lago said:

I played through A Memoir Blue yesterday.  I almost put this on my backlog as I had actually wrote it down to check out if it ever got a physical release.  I've decided against counting it.  This "game" is an artsy visual novel that works when you don't have a lot of brain power.  

I'm really happy that I have GamePass at the moment as it is letting me try out some of these short indie titles without being cost prohibitive.  I find these types of games fun, but I believe I would be disappointed at a $10+ price point.

Game pass is perfect for those types of games.  

[FireHazard51 | 2,053]

Completed all of Horizon Zero Dawn's - The Forzen Wilds DLC.  I really enjoyed the DLC and hope that the some of the characters show up in the next game.  Also I thought it was slick how at the end of regular game they took a character from the DLC and snuck them into the final bit of the game.  Made it flow really well and made the DLC seem like it wasn't an after thought.

Also completed New Game+ for Horizon Zero Dawn.  Glad I did it because I completely forgot large chunks of the story.  Last time I played the game was in 2017 so I needed the brush up before going into the next game in the series.  But before I do that I think I'll play Half Life first.  

[Lago | 223]

13 hours ago, ConfusedCollector said:

Knocked calisto Protocol off the list just now. I think reviewers were too hard on it, I enjoyed it. It was like walking simulator meets survival horror with a mixture of gunplay and stealth action. 

 

Thanks for mentioning this game.  It had completely flew under my radar.  It sounds interesting to me.  Do you happen to know if there is any difference in purchasing the physical copy for XBOX One or Series X if it is played on a Series X?  I Googled but the best I could come up with was performance on different consoles.  I'm imagining it is the same game but I could be wrong.

8 hours ago, FireHazard51 said:

Completed all of Horizon Zero Dawn's - The Forzen Wilds DLC.  I really enjoyed the DLC and hope that the some of the characters show up in the next game.  Also I thought it was slick how at the end of regular game they took a character from the DLC and snuck them into the final bit of the game.  Made it flow really well and made the DLC seem like it wasn't an after thought.

Also completed New Game+ for Horizon Zero Dawn.  Glad I did it because I completely forgot large chunks of the story.  Last time I played the game was in 2017 so I needed the brush up before going into the next game in the series.  But before I do that I think I'll play Half Life first.  

It sounds like you had a blast with this game!  I've tried a couple times but just couldn't seem to get into the groove of things.  I might pick it up and try again.  I'm wondering if it might have been because my preferred weapon was the sphere and I kept getting gored\trampled to death.

[Sumez | 2,995]

22 hours ago, Brickman said:

It’s almost 13 years old, that’s pretty old. As we get older we sort of lose track of these things haha.

It's still new enough that the standards for these sorts of games remains pretty much unchanged  

[FireHazard51 | 2,053]

4 hours ago, Lago said:

It sounds like you had a blast with this game!  I've tried a couple times but just couldn't seem to get into the groove of things.  I might pick it up and try again.  I'm wondering if it might have been because my preferred weapon was the sphere and I kept getting gored\trampled to death.

Bow is meant to be your primary weapon.  The spear should be viewed like a sidearm.  Only low health enemies should be taking on with the spear alone.  Some enemies I don't think you can really kill with the spear as you have to keep your distance as they do 360 attack that covers immediately around them.  Spear is great for finishing enemies off, performing a surprise attack, or to attack with when the robots are down.  Once the spear is leveled up it's fun as hell to steal kill with it.  I think you'd really like the human enemy parts as the spear can totally be used on them.  Just may need to do it stealthily or you'll be over run.

I will say the story line is great and really keeps getting better the closer you get to the end.  If you are into dystopia stories you need to play the game or watch all the story clips on YouTube.  If you don't like the combat then skip the hunting trails.  They are the most difficult part of the game and forces you to use specific weapons/strategies.  If anything leave them off till you are well above the recommended level.  Otherwise you are likely to have several failed attempts to get the full rank that is required to complete that side quest/story.   It does add a decent story to the game and flushed out the world.  But avoid till later on if you find the combat frustrating.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:46 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

Lots of carryover from 2022

1. Elden Ring - 80%(?) done

Also, halfway through Winback.  And my kids are maybe halfway through 3D World and Bowser's Fury, which we are playing in tandem.

Winback is pretty tough to play in 2023, not gonna lie.  But I'll soldier through it.

And 3D World is fun, certainly a good family game.  But it's insane to me that (some) people were calling this better than Odyssey.  It's so... nonessential.

[Gloves | 11,843]

Finished Divinity, now I'm playing... *looks at backlog... *

Dead Space. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

37 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Finished Divinity, now I'm playing... *looks at backlog... *

Dead Space. 

I think you intentionally select the games you know you won't play 

[Gloves | 11,843]

5 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I think you intentionally select the games you know you won't play 

I think I might. 

[Lago | 223]

Knocked out Mega Man 6 over the weekend!  I had beat 1-5 last year.  Honestly, taking a break from the series really helped a lot.  I was getting burned out.

Having taken a break made this game a lot more enjoyable.  I’m also glad I played it on the PS4.  I’m not ashamed to admit I spammed the crap out of the save button.  I didn’t feel like this game was unfair.  I just didn’t want to take the time to “get gud”.  Although as the game went on it became less of a necessity and more of a precaution.  I also managed to get 3/4 BEAT letters on the first try without looking at a guide.  I had to run through the Knight stage twice.  And I needed the guide there because I was just flat overlooking it.

All and all this was a really fun experience.

[Sumez | 2,995]

Savestates or not, I think it's impressive you managed to beat the game playing upside down.

12 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

And 3D World is fun, certainly a good family game.  But it's insane to me that (some) people were calling this better than Odyssey.  It's so... nonessential.

3D World feels like a mix between the 2D and 3D games to me. Kinda hard to explain, but it's like 3D mario with the mentality from the NSMB series, though the more simplistic 8-way movement and increased focus on jumping on enemies definitely plays a role too.

IMO it's an absolutely beautiful game, and pure distilled Mario gameplay. I could definitely see the arguments that it would be better than Odyssey. Don't get me wrong, Mario Odyssey is fantastic, but it's more like a chill vacation where you go and visit places to hang out and see the cool things Nintendo made for you, compared to 3D World's pure gameplay focused design, which is probably more my ballpark. Odyssey is Mario Sunshine done right, and that's absolutely worth something, but it's also stretched really really thin, with a whole ton of moons which are just "go to the place and dig it up", etc.

Ultimately the two games probably rank sorta even for me. Neither got a thing on Galaxy.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Sumez

[Lago | 223]

3 hours ago, Sumez said:

Savestates or not, I think it's impressive you managed to beat the game playing upside down.

I’m pretty sure it’s a Tik Tok challenge.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

Spoiler

 

As you can see, my "no summons" streak ended.  Finally used an ash.  After like 90 minutes last night it was pretty clear I wasn't getting close to beating her on my own, and a dramatic respec wasn't very palatable.  I spent 90 hours as a katana bleed samurai with no real FP, I didn't want to have to relearn how to walk. 

Plus I finally got to see the Mimic Tear for myself.

Was she as hard as Isshin the Sword Saint.  Certainly not if you use a summon.  Without one?  I dunno, I wasn't willing to find out.

I also learned you can upgrade ashes.   That explained the thousand ghostworts I'd collected. 

I also did 1-2 attempts on the final boss last night, and nearly won despite going in blind.  Which means, tonight I beat the game.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

...also, this happened 2 attempts prior.  What happens when you forget that scarlet rot is a thing.  I almost threw the controller

Spoiler