The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

1/3 of the way through the year:

@Reed Rothchild 23/45 (new personal best)
@ThePhleo 0/110
@twiztor 6/13
@MagusSmurf 2/36
@darkchylde28 1/13
@FireHazard51 3/31
@Sumez 16/50
@Brickman 9/33 (new personal best)
@Webhead123 2/14
@Renmauzo 1/18
@Gloves 3/9
@ScaryD 2/16
@Philosoraptor 11/50
@Lago 5/20 (new personal best)
@fox 6/39
@Murray 0/10
@ifightdragons 0/26
@PekoponTAS 3/21
@the_wizard_666 0/40
@Foochie776 3/25
@Vectrex28 0/11
@Floating Platforms 17/50
@spacepup 3/15 (new personal best)
@Splain 1/6
@Gaia Gensouki 9/305 (new personal best)
@Jicsan 0/1
@HANSOLOOOOOOOO 3/20
@greenthunder 0/20
@nesmaster14 6/10 (new personal best)
@Jaden 1/20
@ConfusedCollector 0/41
@Jeevan 14(?)/75 (new personal best)
@DoctorEncore 2/20
@BortLicensePlate 0/14
@Matchbook 0/8
@G-type 0/1
@Jynx 0/13

[Gloves | 11,807]

1/3rd of the way through the year, 3 of 9 completed. Nice!

I'm at the Fire Temple in Ocarina and I gotta say... getting pretty bored lol.

[Brickman | 4,000]

43 minutes ago, Gloves said:

1/3rd of the way through the year, 3 of 9 completed. Nice!

I'm at the Fire Temple in Ocarina and I gotta say... getting pretty bored lol.

Boooooo.

 

47 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

1/3 of the way through the year:

@Reed Rothchild 23/45 (new personal best)
@ThePhleo 0/110
@twiztor 6/13
@MagusSmurf 2/36
@darkchylde28 1/13
@FireHazard51 3/31
@Sumez 16/50
@Brickman 9/33 (new personal best)
@Webhead123 2/14
@Renmauzo 1/18
@Gloves 3/9
@ScaryD 2/16
@Philosoraptor 11/50
@Lago 5/20 (new personal best)
@fox 6/39
@Murray 0/10
@ifightdragons 0/26
@PekoponTAS 3/21
@the_wizard_666 0/40
@Foochie776 3/25
@Vectrex28 0/11
@Floating Platforms 17/50
@spacepup 3/15 (new personal best)
@Splain 1/6
@Gaia Gensouki 9/305 (new personal best)
@Jicsan 0/1
@HANSOLOOOOOOOO 3/20
@greenthunder 0/20
@nesmaster14 6/10 (new personal best)
@Jaden 1/20
@ConfusedCollector 0/41
@Jeevan 14(?)/75 (new personal best)
@DoctorEncore 2/20
@BortLicensePlate 0/14
@Matchbook 0/8
@G-type 0/1
@Jynx 0/13

I had no idea this was my PB. I actually think I might be able to get close to the 33 games, although the switch games will probably really slow me down unless I can find some short games. I am definitely happy with the format I went with this year vs listing out games to play.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

I still can't believe after a record year for new completions that I still haven't played more than a few minutes of my NES for the last three months.  Got super close to the end of Dungeon Magic but haven't got back to it.

[Renmauzo | 1,203]

I'm in the process of rehabing a herniated disc (it's been a few months now) and my wife has been off due to PTSD and is on her own recovery path...long gaming sessions have just fallen by the wayside. I've had a 'slow burn' play through of Octopath Traveller on the go for months now and have played a little here and there of some of the new stuff that's been coming in, but that's about it.

I was so amped for RE4 Remake, and I haven't even gotten through the opening village fight yet *sigh*, let alone all the RPGs I thought I'd get to. It's been a rough year so far, so I don't know about this year's list

It sucks when you love games but can't sit for very long...

Edited April 28, 2023 by Renmauzo

[Splain | 2,574]

15 hours ago, Gloves said:

1/3rd of the way through the year, 3 of 9 completed. Nice!

I'm at the Fire Temple in Ocarina and I gotta say... getting pretty bored lol.

Oh no. Nonono. You love it! See?

[Foochie776 | 1,059]

If I’m lucky I’ll finish Aladdin this weekend

[Jicsan | 591]

Still grinding away at Dragon Quest 11. It’s so long.  My party is about to be in the 50s with their leveling up, and in the story…

Spoiler

I just defeated Erik’s sister Mia and got the yellow orb. 

 

[Floating Platforms | 733]

Just finished the main story of Yakuza Kiwami but I still have a long way to go for the platinum trophy, which is my goal. I've done a ton of the side quests, boosted all my non-Dragon skills, have half the Dragon skill tree done, 50% of the completion log and very close to S rank on Majima. I still have a ton of the slot car racing and virtually all of the gambling to do and most coliseum stuff.

I'm doing better than I thought I would so far in the year, but the more I look at the list, I think I'm going to fall short of my goals. There are several longer games I want to get through, but I set myself up for an average of 1 game completed each week. I think that simply reinforces that my backlog is just too big and I should avoid buying too many new games.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

Nearly done with God of War.  Did most of the side stuff (I'm not gonna hunt for ravens and shit), which just leaves the final Valkyrie and the endgame.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

God of War

[Sumez | 2,970]

Ion Fury - Beaten 9/4

This was an interesting game to check out so soon after Dusk. Both games are heralded as the return of classic FPS games, the so-called "boomer shooter", and although I much more frequently hear people being critical of Ion Fury, it is still a relative popular game all around.

More specifically, Ion Fury wants to be the new Duke Nukem 3D. As in, it's created in the exact same core engine (Build) as that game, with a lot of the same unique quirks and general tone. It must be an updated version though, because it seems to rely on a lot of things that I'm pretty sure that, although technically possible in Duke3D, would certainly have broken the game completely. I'm also impressed by a lot of the details in the stages of Ion Fury, things that must have been a massive bother to create in the original level editor that came bundled with the original Build games - so I'm assuming it's relied on some massively updated tooling as well.

Regardless, I think Ion Fury absolutely manages to hit a perfect sweetspot between sufficiently upgrading the experience to something that feels more advanced, while completely retaining pretty much the exact same feel that Duke3D did in its levels. There's a fantastic well-implemented tone to the semi-futuristic city that the game takes place in, and things happen all around you like explosions taking out walls or entire buildings, in the same way Duke3D would continuously try to wow the player. It's less technically impressive in 2023, but somehow it still manages to feel engaging every time it happens.

I'm overall genuinely super impressed by the level design. The sense of detail is next to very few other FPS games including much more modern AAA titles, and every area feels... if not "lived in", then at least creative on a level far exceeding simply serving as a video game obstacle course. You're rarely guided down a linear path, but instead given many different branches to explore, often converging in larger locations you have already been, helping opening shortcuts and creating a sense of placement in the game's larger world.

However, these strengths also only emphasizes the stark contrast against the game's weaker points, of which there are unfortunately many.
In terms of level design a lack of variation in locale quickly starts holding back the game. The game is extremely long, and keeps running for an additional 6 or 7 hours after you think you've already reached the finale, yet throughout the entire time you never really move past the setting of "cyberpunkish american city", with the biggest issue being a frustratingly frequent return to sewer-like areas. Every time you think "wow now I've finally made some real progress in the game" and then the next stage opens up yet another familiar looking sewage tunnel, you feel like you're taking one step forward and two steps back.

The bigger issues in the game comes from the core gameplay though - as in, engaging the enemies. There's a few different enemy types in the game including a couple which only get introduced rather late, but most of the time throughout the entirety of the game, you'll primarily be fighting the same four guys, two of which are a palette swap, and the other two seemingly just the same sprite. They all behave the same, but use one of four different weapons, which mostly influences how much damage you're taking, and not how you engage them.
At first I thought the game offered a great alternative to the issues I pointed out with Dusk's combat since enemies won't try to stupidly follow you, but instead lure you into their own rooms, where friends might be backing them up.
That's pretty much the only real positive, though. Enemies are a little too erratic, and it's hard to know exactly where they will be going. You're more often than not likely to overlook enemies, since they will be hiding in weird obscure places (some times intentionally, some times due to the erratic AI) or simply so far away that they make up little more than a couple of pixels on your screen. Yet they will fire at you extremely fast, and often with hitscan weapons that makes dodging them virtually impossible. Even the weapons that aren't hitscan will be so fast that the effect is the same, or have such a wide explosion radius that the only viable option is getting the hell away.

As such, the tested and tried method for engaging combat in the game is move into an area, get shot by an enemy you didn't see, reload your quicksave and try to shoot them in the split-second before they shoot you - or reload until it works. Occasionally you can misdirect their aim, but it requires some luck and will often cause you to get hit by someone else instead. Where save scumming was simply the way too dominant strategy in Dusk, Ion Fury practically expects you to do it, to play the game realistically. On the harder difficulty which I played, some enemies have the ability to take you from maxed armor+HP to death in a single barrage of projectiles, but I don't expect playing on lower difficulties helps this issue much.

Another issue that feels unintended is how useless most of the weapons you find are. Even with extra firepower or fully automatic shot rates, they serve little purpose if they cannot kill an enemy before it gets to fire a single shot. Thus the more powerful(?) guns like the bowgun does nothing the regular shotgun won't do better, and when it comes to killing foes fast, the alternate fire method of your regular starting pistol is mostly unmatched by anything that isn't explosive. Holding the button gives you a short period to lock onto enemies (the only weapon that does so), ensuring you hit them, and rapidly firing the exact amount of bullet that it takes to kill them. This is enough to kill nearly every enemy in the game with only a couple of more resilient ones requiring two of such salvos. Combined with an abundance of ammo, that makes the pistol easily the best weapon in the game.
Another weapon that seems to be built up as the magical "win button" BFG style weapon - very rarely found, and often only in secret areas - is an explosive disc that will cause multiple explosions where it lands, but I've never managed to make it do much damage to any of the beefier boss/miniboss enemies that you'd expect to save them for. Instead, the much more common grenades and homing bombs are your best choice for wrecking those enemies.

Considering how much of your time you'll be spending engaging enemies, it's a little baffling how little effort was put into making this aspect fun, especially given the incomprehensible amount of work they must have put into the stages themselves. Ion Fury is s a game that's so close to nailing the exact bulls-eye of what it needs to be, but instead stumbles and misses the board entirely. What a shame.
 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

You're making me want to do Ion Fury on an easier difficulty, just to tone down the save scumming.

[Sumez | 2,970]

I can't tell if playing on a higher difficulty was good or not.

The game might have been a worse experience if I could have just steamrolled through it, but on the other hand when the stuff in the game that actually is quality is completely unrelated to that, it might not be a bad idea to activate the steamroller.

[Sumez | 2,970]

I returned to the arcade version of Kickle Cubicle (Meikyu Jima) last weekend, and completed it on a credit with only a little practice. I also had to look up how to solve two of the late-game puzzles with a really abstract solution.

Overall I like the arcade game a lot better than the NES one, but I think it could actually stand to be a tiny bit longer. The bosses are much more fun on arcade, even though the first three are quite simple. The final boss however, is quite ingenious - it perfectly builds on the best aspect of the game's action element, and makes for a pretty exciting finale to the game.

And although the game would not be the same without the puzzles, I generally do think the action-oriented stages are by far the most fun, at least for repeat playthroughs, where nailing execution and paying attention to enemy movements remains more exciting than memorizing solutions.
The 40 stages in the arcade version barely tap into the full potential of what can be done in the game. So maybe I'll return to the NES game some day and actually try to go for the 1CC after all. I'm not sure I have patience for the bosses and the tedious map screen, however.

[Sumez | 2,970]

Blue Fire - Beaten 13/4 + Void of Sorrows DLC - Beaten 15/4

Have you heard about Blue Fire? I guess most likely not. It's a (very) indie 3D platformer, and its most prevalent quality is how strongly you'd wish it did a lot more with what it already has. As a person who really enjoys simple, focused games, that's a rare disposition for me, but this is a game which sets up so much potential, and does so many things so well, that you'd wish it had gone all the way.

Right off the bat, my initial impression was that it's going for basically "Dark Souls but as a 3D platformer", which is honestly a very interesting premise that I'd love to see. I understand it's easy to get fed up with every single indie game nowadays somehow trying to be Dark Souls - but as far as I'm aware, that approach is yet uncharted territory, that could work incredibly well if done right.
You don't get to play long though, before the game sheds most of that guise, introducing more NPCs and temples, giving you an experience more akin to "Zelda but as a 3D platformer" instead. A less unique, but still cool premise. Early on you'll find your way into two dedicated temples/dungeons each with a bunch of minor puzzles and keys to find, culminating in a boss fight with its tested and tried "BOSS NAME: World-Building Subtitle" introduction.

... The game then immediately proceeds to shed this structure as well, foregoing any further temples and the seemingly established "save six dormant deities from the evil infesting their temples" narrative, taking you instead directly to the related boss fights before facing you against the final boss who doesn't even get a dedicated stage of their own either. To say that it feels like something is missing from the game is a massive understatement.

But what is there is great. The world design is brilliant, and although there is rarely more than one place you actually need to go, you always feel like you have left a lot of unexplored branches that help create extra shortcuts throughout the world, alongside plenty of optional secrets and upgrades to find. Most of these secrets are chests with gems that can be sold for money - completely useless given the game very quickly gives you more money than you are able to spend in the shops regardless - but discovering them is satisfying all the same. However, occasionally you'll also find well hidden "spirits" which function like equippable skills that are able to expand your powers, including those used for traversal.

As per platformer standards, you'll be able to find basic skills that enable you to reach new places - double jump, air dash and wall run/jump being the primary ones. But the optional spirits you can find can actually strengthen these to the point where you are suddenly able to reach places that it really felt like you weren't supposed to... until you find a secret hidden there, revealing that the developers did in fact expect this!

Some of the boss fights are mildly enjoyable, but combat against most other enemies is definitely the game's weakest point. You usually engage only one at a time, and doing so often feels either tedious or pointless. I played on Hard Mode, and the combat was still ridiculously easy.
What the game does do really well however are the "voids". Little platform-heavy challenge stages similar to the hidden FLUDD-less courses of Mario Sunshine, or the Time Rifts in A Hat in Time. These range in challenge from feeling like beginner tutorials to giving me more trouble than any of Dark Souls's bosses did on my level 1 run. But that's where those previously mentioned upgrades come in play and can help alleviate the challenge if you are having trouble. Something I only found out later

The game's (free) DLC is almost entirely based around those Void challenges, adding 16 new ones, each with their own unique ideas. In terms of gameplay design, that makes the DLC the absolutely strongest part of the game, but I really do wish they'd have expanded on the overall exploration and world design.
Hopefully that's a reason to look forward to a potential sequel, or whatever game the creators end up making next.

[Floating Platforms | 733]

The Amazing Spider-Man Vs the Kingpin is done

Played on normal mode. The only parts that really gave me any trouble was the first boss (for me) Electro, and then at the end with multiple enemies. I did get some chat assistance for the latter.  It's a pretty simple game, but quite fun. I'm a sucker for cheap animation in video games (and FMV). I love the campier side of art and this hit that spot.  The era-appropriate opening rock anthem was the perfect mood setter for the cutscenes that offered really cheesy writing, decent performances, and odd character animation choices. I will never understand why the eye holes go down way past Peter's cheekbones, but whatever.  It's cool that the game offers different difficulties and optional comic cover collectibles for those that feel like mastering the game or going for the nightmare contest upon its release. A wide variety of villains, all with their own cutscenes, was great to see. I wish there was a bit more variety in how you fought each one. I also wish there were more web abilities. The swinging and movement of Spidey wasn't all that fluid and honestly the web swinging was on par with the Atari 2600 game.  I'm glad I was finally able to enjoy the full story of this one after originally playing it with a friend nearly a decade ago and stopping half-way through.

I think I'll stay on the Sega CD next week and either tackle my other holdover game Rise of the Dragon, or maybe Mansion of Hidden Souls.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Still working on Baba is You. My opinion hasn't changed much as I approach the end, although the game got drastically easier for me in worlds 9 and 10. I think I solved every puzzle in them in under thirty minutes, a few of them I even cracked on the first try. I've got a couple stragglers in worlds 7 and 8 which have been haunting me for a while and I only briefly touched the bonus world (not sure if there is more after that).

As I said before, it's a very cool game with unique ideas, but deciphering the rules sometimes feels like more work than fun. The good puzzles are some of the best I've ever played in a game, but the "bad" ones can be painful.

Still, I highly recommend it to everyone who likes puzzle games. It's worth experiencing the good stuff and the world-gating is pretty light, so you can skip puzzles that frustrate you if you don't care about completion percentage.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

53 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

Still working on Baba is You. My opinion hasn't changed much as I approach the end, although the game got drastically easier for me in worlds 9 and 10. I think I solved every puzzle in them in under thirty minutes, a few of them I even cracked on the first try. I've got a couple stragglers in worlds 7 and 8 which have been haunting me for a while and I only briefly touched the bonus world (not sure if there is more after that).

As I said before, it's a very cool game with unique ideas, but deciphering the rules sometimes feels like more work than fun. The good puzzles are some of the best I've ever played in a game, but the "bad" ones can be painful.

Still, I highly recommend it to everyone who likes puzzle games. It's worth experiencing the good stuff and the world-gating is pretty light, so you can skip puzzles that frustrate you if you don't care about completion percentage.

I'm at 140ish clears and probably over 50 hours in.

I needed "nudges" on a few:

• there was one level where I needed to 
  Spoiler

  Stack words on one another

  which I'm confident I wouldn't have figured out

• a level that utilized "fall" in a manner that was very devious and tricks the player

• There was one level where you need to do a very long and very specific set of text moves that was beyond my capabilities.  Conceptually I knew what needed to be.done, but executing was a problem.  In hindsight I think this level was optional.

It also took me forever to figure out how to unlock a late-game world, and when I did it was by accident.

Anyway, my progress is very slow now (I figured out 2 levels last night while watching Better Call Saul) so I don't know when I'll beat it, and I don't know when I would get around to the remaining optional levels.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

bonus world (not sure if there is more after that)

[Sumez | 2,970]

"bonus world"

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

44 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'm at 140ish clears and probably over 50 hours in.

I needed "nudges" on a few:

• there was one level where I needed to 
    Reveal hidden contents

  Stack words on one another

  which I'm confident I wouldn't have figured out

• a level that utilized "fall" in a manner that was very devious and tricks the player

• There was one level where you need to do a very long and very specific set of text moves that was beyond my capabilities.  Conceptually I knew what needed to be.done, but executing was a problem.  In hindsight I think this level was optional.

It also took me forever to figure out how to unlock a late-game world, and when I did it was by accident.

Anyway, my progress is very slow now (I figured out 2 levels last night while watching Better Call Saul) so I don't know when I'll beat it, and I don't know when I would get around to the remaining optional levels.

I feel you, man. Some of the levels are pretty dang convoluted, although I've found that most of the time when I struggle, it's because I'm actually overcomplicating things. I'm at 60 hours and 161 clears total and probably half of those hours were spent on about ten levels. Similar to you, I kind of bounce around different ideas while watching TV since it's not particularly fun to give the game your complete attention just to bang your head against the wall.

The only standard levels I have left are 05 - Maritime Adventures in Flower Gardens (World 7) and Extra 1 - Coronation in Volcanic Cavern (World 8). I'm saving the one bonus world I have unlocked until I finish the standard levels.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

I feel you, man. Some of the levels are pretty dang convoluted, although I've found that most of the time when I struggle, it's because I'm actually overcomplicating things. I'm at 60 hours and 161 clears total and probably half of those hours were spent on about ten levels. Similar to you, I kind of bounce around different ideas while watching TV since it's not particularly fun to give the game your complete attention just to bang your head against the wall.

The only standard levels I have left are 05 - Maritime Adventures in Flower Gardens (World 7) and Extra 1 - Coronation in Volcanic Cavern (World 8). I'm saving the one bonus world I have unlocked until I finish the standard levels.

Shit, youre making me feel bad about all the levels I didn't solve and left behind.  Maybe I spend tonight revisiting them...

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

17 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Shit, youre making me feel bad about all the levels I didn't solve and left behind.  Maybe I spend tonight revisiting them...

Well, I've been addicted to the game and we've had nonstop visitors for the past month blocking me from my Xbox/PS5, so it's all I've been playing. Plus I get annoyed when I can't solve a puzzle so I just play more. It's probably not healthy.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Gave my brain a rest for a couple days and came back and almost immediately solved the two standard puzzles I was missing. Maritime Adventures solution I came up with was bonkers, while Coronation was actually really simple. On to the bonus world!

Spoiler

Finished all the main levels. Potential spoilers have been edited out.