The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[Matchbook | 194]

It's been some time but I have an update. 

The Last of Us Part II

I resumed play and finished it.  I did this prior to the show coming out and was very much engrossed in it.  It was all I did for about 2 weeks.  My wife really enjoyed watching me play it similarly to the first one.  The story had me on edge and all the quality of life improvements were really great.  After finishing it, I couldn't believe all the setting options that were available to change.  Just the color palettes alone were incredible.  And there were so many challenging ways you could play new game+.  The only issue I had was the last part of the game felt very rushed.  The California part was pretty short and I really wish they had not cancelled the DLC.  But none the less I had a great time and enjoyed the emotional heartache it caused.  I really didn't think I would feel so much for Abby,  I really hated her during the first half of the game.  But as the second half played out I really found myself torn between her and Ellie.  Great story telling and another impressive game from Naughty Dog of course!  I look forward to season two of the HBO series

 

Breath of Fire

This is something I have wanted to play for a very long time because this is one of my Brother's favorite series ever, specifically BoF4.  So I figured with it being on Nintendo Online I would give it a shot.  While I enjoyed about half the game, I got to a point where I couldn't see myself grinding so much just to say I finished it.  It really drug on and I have other games I want to play and decided my time wasn't worth it.  I'm sure I will visit the franchise in the future but for now I have better things to spend my time with.  Hopefully  

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

Xenoblade.  That was long.

The combat was a bit less long-winded than XB2, and I liked how I wasn't constantly being thrown over edges.  But I thought the worlds were a lot less fun to explore, and the side quests were horrid.  Overall I'd call it half a step behind it's sequel.

Also, as of right now I'm thinking this is the rough idea of the tracking of every game I've done this year so far.  Non-backlog games in italics:

1. Elden Ring (10/10)
2. Hades (9.5/10)
3. Deathloop (9/10)
4. Baba Is You (9/10)
5. Gradius V (8.5/10)
6. Super Mario 3D World/Bowser's Fury (with the kids) (8.5/10)
7. God of War (8.5/10)
8. Twin Snakes (8.5/10)
9. Sin & Punishment (8/10)
10. Nier Automata (8/10)
11. Dusk (8/10)
12. Into the Breach (8/10)
13. Deus Ex (7.5/10)
14. Xenoblade (7.5/10)
15. Hellblade (7.5/10)
16. Ace Attorney 2 (7.5/10)
17. Uncharted 4 (7.5/10)
18. Eternal Darkness (7.5/10)
19. Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold (7/10)
20. Resident Evil 3 (7/10)
21. Onimusha (7/10)
22. Everblue 2 (6.5/10)
23. Fallen Order (6.5/10)
24. Pilotwings 64 (6.5/10)
25. Contra Shattered Soldier (6/10)
26. Strife (6/10)
27. Mischief Makers (6/10)
28. Buck Bumble (5.5/10)
29. Indigo Prophecy (5.5/10)
30. Yoshi's Story (4.5/10)
31. Winback (4/10)

TBD:

1. Shenmue (crap)
2. Paper Mario (decent)
3. Ghost of Tsushima (great)
4. Ori 2

Not started

1. Yakuza Kiwami
2. Control
3. Nioh
4. Dark Souls 2
5. REmake 2
6. Last of Us Part II
7. Danganronpa
8. Fata Morgana
9. Doom Eternal
10. KotOR 2
11. Trails in the Sky
12. LaPucelle
13. Ion Fury
14. Shadowgate
15. Prey

[FireHazard51 | 2,047]

Minecraft has been "beaten".  I can't remember exactly why I pick this game.  But I had two crushing deaths in the game that ended up causing me to take like twice as long to beat because I had to grind to get my equipment enchanted again.  I love the exploration aspect of the game but I'm ready for the next game for sure.  7/10

 

 

[greenthunder | 115]

Finally beat Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy the other night. As I said before, I like hanging out with Ryza and her friends and it's still true. I also always liked the summertime vibes of the Ryza games since it enhances the hanging out with friends atmosphere. Plotwise, nothing too deep but I didn't come in expecting much anyway.

My biggest gripe is outside of NG+ harder difficulties and the challenge battles, there isn't really a place to go all out with your maxed out items, but I suppose that's what I get for playing on normal difficulty. I think I'm about done with the game after I defeat the postgame boss and craft the last few items I want. Ryza 3 is definitely in my to get list for the future.

As for my next games, Switch wise I'm still feeling Tokyo Mirage Sessions, so I'll probably start that. 3DS wise, Ace Combat: Horizon Legacy+ is still probably my next choice, then maybe Style Savvy: Fashion Forward.

[Brickman | 4,000]

18 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Xenoblade.  That was long.

The combat was a bit less long-winded than XB2, and I liked how I wasn't constantly being thrown over edges.  But I thought the worlds were a lot less fun to explore, and the side quests were horrid.  Overall I'd call it half a step behind it's sequel.

Also, as of right now I'm thinking this is the rough idea of the tracking of every game I've done this year so far.  Non-backlog games in italics:

1. Elden Ring (10/10)
2. Hades (9.5/10)
3. Deathloop (9/10)
4. Baba Is You (9/10)
5. Gradius V (8.5/10)
6. Super Mario 3D World/Bowser's Fury (with the kids) (8.5/10)
7. God of War (8.5/10)
8. Twin Snakes (8.5/10)
9. Sin & Punishment (8/10)
10. Nier Automata (8/10)
11. Dusk (8/10)
12. Into the Breach (8/10)
13. Deus Ex (7.5/10)
14. Xenoblade (7.5/10)
15. Hellblade (7.5/10)
16. Ace Attorney 2 (7.5/10)
17. Uncharted 4 (7.5/10)
18. Eternal Darkness (7.5/10)
19. Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold (7/10)
20. Resident Evil 3 (7/10)
21. Onimusha (7/10)
22. Everblue 2 (6.5/10)
23. Fallen Order (6.5/10)
24. Pilotwings 64 (6.5/10)
25. Contra Shattered Soldier (6/10)
26. Strife (6/10)
27. Mischief Makers (6/10)
28. Buck Bumble (5.5/10)
29. Indigo Prophecy (5.5/10)
30. Yoshi's Story (4.5/10)
31. Winback (4/10)

TBD:

1. Shenmue (crap)
2. Paper Mario (decent)
3. Ghost of Tsushima (great)
4. Ori 2

Not started

1. Yakuza Kiwami
2. Control
3. Nioh
4. Dark Souls 2
5. REmake 2
6. Last of Us Part II
7. Danganronpa
8. Fata Morgana
9. Doom Eternal
10. KotOR 2
11. Trails in the Sky
12. LaPucelle
13. Ion Fury
14. Shadowgate
15. Prey

I must have missed it but why is Deus Ex a 7.5? That’s easily a 9 for me.

I played it a couple years after release so maybe the graphics haven’t aged well but that game had a great story and was really immersive. Pretty ground breaking at the time.

Also been able to tackle the game different ways was great and I don’t think it had really been done before, or at least not to the detail Deus Ex did it.

Pretty surprised to see that score. Maybe you just had to be there.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

2 hours ago, Brickman said:

I must have missed it but why is Deus Ex a 7.5? That’s easily a 9 for me.

I played it a couple years after release so maybe the graphics haven’t aged well but that game had a great story and was really immersive. Pretty ground breaking at the time.

Also been able to tackle the game different ways was great and I don’t think it had really been done before, or at least not to the detail Deus Ex did it.

Pretty surprised to see that score. Maybe you just had to be there.

I feel that's still very respectable score, especially with the Superior Reed Scoring System™ which would place it between very good and great.

And keep in mind that was the inferior PS2 port, which is the one I'd always owned.

It does have problems.  It's absurdly easy, the choices are usually pretty binary (blast your way in or hack or unlock something), it's a bit too long, there's no reason to invest in heavy weaponry, etc.  But it's still held up for the most part.

Now I'm going to need to see your scores for your slate 

[Brickman | 4,000]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I feel that's still very respectable score, especially with the Superior Reed Scoring System™ which would place it between very good and great.

And keep in mind that was the inferior PS2 port, which is the one I'd always owned.

It does have problems.  It's absurdly easy, the choices are usually pretty binary (blast your way in or hack or unlock something), it's a bit too long, there's no reason to invest in heavy weaponry, etc.  But it's still held up for the most part.

Now I'm going to need to see your scores for your slate 

Ahhh the ps2 version, that makes more sense. I’m pretty sure they cut down parts of the game to fit on the PS2. I don’t know what they cut out but I played it on the PC. I don’t remember it been super easy so maybe they adjusted the difficulty as well, not sure on that one.

The game felt a lot different back in 2000. Well I played it around 2003. Those things were really amazing that you could choose to hack and sneak vs blast down people. Also the way you interacted with people made different outcomes occur.

It might seem binary now because those types of games have pretty much copied what Deus Ex did.

Also there weren’t too many cyberpunk games at the time. It felt really cool exploring such a different world vs the usual fantasy stuff of the time. Sure, there’s heaps of cyberpunk stuff now but back then you probably had like 10 games to choose from.

It’s probably a game you just had to be playing at the time to fully appreciate. So I guess I can see the 7.5. 

 

[Webhead123 | 687]

4 hours ago, Brickman said:

Also there weren’t too many cyberpunk games at the time. It felt really cool exploring such a different world vs the usual fantasy stuff of the time. Sure, there’s heaps of cyberpunk stuff now but back then you probably had like 10 games to choose from.

It’s probably a game you just had to be playing at the time to fully appreciate. So I guess I can see the 7.5.

Yes, the cyberpunk setting and the (for-the-time) more open-ended nature were part of what made Deus Ex so impressive and stand out like it did. Obviously, some 20 years on, a lot of that design has been overshadowed or made to seem quaint by comparison but that is the product of time and not any failing of the game itself. I played the PC original and not the console port but even that has been decades ago now. Even in its own day, I remember thinking that it wasn't perfect. The game was flush with inventive ideas but met various challenges in terms of creative control, budget, development schedule, etc. which left it with some wonky balancing in places and some concepts never being fully realized.

I really should boot it up again to see how my feelings about have held up. Honestly, I'd love to see it receive a full remake treatment similar to what Nightdive has just done for the equally foundational System Shock. That's a case where they've managed to fully rebuild a classic game to make it playable for a modern audience without compromising the original experience.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Webhead123

[Sumez | 2,970]

9 hours ago, Brickman said:

Ahhh the ps2 version, that makes more sense. I’m pretty sure they cut down parts of the game to fit on the PS2. I don’t know what they cut out but I played it on the PC. I don’t remember it been super easy so maybe they adjusted the difficulty as well, not sure on that one.

I haven't played the PS2 version of Deus Ex myself, but it launched to a pretty abysmal reputation right away. Reportedly it's a completely different game with none of the qualities of the original version.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

6 hours ago, Sumez said:

I haven't played the PS2 version of Deus Ex myself, but it launched to a pretty abysmal reputation right away. Reportedly it's a completely different game with none of the qualities of the original version.

I don't know about either of those things.  Metacritic has the PC version at 9.0 and 9.1, and the PS2 port at 8.1 and 8.8.

Hardcoregaming101 has a nice writeup on them, and lays out the differences (ie breaking up levels into smaller zones for loading and some hacking type changes), but nothing that sounds night-or-day drastically different.

But I haven't played the PC version so I can't fully comment on it.

Either way,the PS2 game was more than respectable.  I gave it a 7.5.  Not a 4 or 5, which people give out like candy to good games in the debate threads 

[Sumez | 2,970]

Breaking levels into smaller zones is pretty much night and day for a game of that type

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

6 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Breaking levels into smaller zones is pretty much night and day for a game of that type

Well, again I haven't seen the originals, but it's still one big level, you just have a short loading screen in 1 or 2 places.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

Now since we're nitpicking one of my thirty scores being maybe 1 point off of where a different version of the game would land, I expect to seem some other tallies before the year is up  

[Brickman | 4,000]

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Now since we're nitpicking one of my thirty scores being maybe 1 point off of where a different version of the game would land, I expect to seem some other tallies before the year is up  

I was just curious because I was surprised to see that game in the 7’s. But playing the PS2 version makes sense for the score.

You have the level break up and also you had to play that game with a controller, I couldn’t imagine playing that game with anything but a KB and mouse because it was made during an era where PC games were still designed around KB and mouse.

At least we got a good discussion going  

[Floating Platforms | 733]

Finished Rise of the Dragon last night

I got an ending, but not the best ending.  Honestly I assumed I was going to have to go back to an earlier save and re-do things because there were several elements of the game I never saw. I never meet the mayor, didn't do anything in the police room/armory and didn't do anything in the reservoir even. And in the last area I made a pretty major mistake that caused me to not get a better ending, but I kept playing just to see what awaited me when I came back. Well, lo and behold I was still able to get a legitimate story resolution anyway. Maybe I'll go back and try for a better ending someday?

I enjoy my point and click adventures and this one is quite fun. There's trial and error and places where you can get stuck, but that's alright since the overall experience is kind of short once you start to figure out the steps and what not to do. The interface on Sega CD is a bit clunky and sometimes it's not overtly obvious as to what you can interact with. Sometimes you have to click on things a few too many times in the guise of realism. Sometimes the part you need to click on is extremely picky, like in the phone tapping part.  Later in the game, there are side scrolling action segments but while they are a change of pace, they aren't very exciting or difficult.

I loved the voice acting and loved some of the various dialogue options and characters. It's great that there were different ways to approach scenarios and while the visuals are a bit muddy and green tinted on SCD, the comic book cutscenes were still cool. I wish there was a bit more descriptive text/dialogue for some of the areas, especially for those screens that really meant nothing to the gameplay. I also wish that a couple of the locations were used more than once. Those are minor gripes in a solid but short adventure.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

On 6/12/2023 at 9:41 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

Now since we're nitpicking one of my thirty scores being maybe 1 point off of where a different version of the game would land, I expect to seem some other tallies before the year is up  

 

On 6/12/2023 at 4:16 PM, Brickman said:

I was just curious because I was surprised to see that game in the 7’s. But playing the PS2 version makes sense for the score.

You have the level break up and also you had to play that game with a controller, I couldn’t imagine playing that game with anything but a KB and mouse because it was made during an era where PC games were still designed around KB and mouse.

At least we got a good discussion going  

I know Reed has plenty of experience doing this, but rating games in the context of their release is INCREDIBLY hard. It is just not possible to fully immerse yourself into the appropriate tech limitations, gaming conventions, social norms, journalistic standards, and every other little detail of life that makes contemporary criticism meaningful. I think it's only natural for scores to drift down over time, no matter how hard we try to add relevance into the conversation. I score similarly to Reed and am more than happy to give a game that I think is not fun to play now a 6 (looking at you SM64).

And relevant to this conversation, I've been putting a lot of time into FFX. I just finished up the Zanarkand ruins and presumably only have the final battle(s) remaining.

This is one of those absolutely beloved games like The Last of Us and SM64 that just doesn't do it for me. There are, of course, many improvements over the older games, but overall it feels so remarkably inferior to FF4-9 that I don't know how it could be anyone's favorite unless nostalgia/childhood plays an enormous factor. That's not to say it's all bad; the graphics are really impressive, the combat system is fluid and a lot of fun, boss battles are meaningful and require intense strategy and resource management, and the music is beautiful.

Its biggest sin is the painfully linear nature of the main story which prevents interesting detours, turning it into one long dungeon crawl that feels neverending. In fact, everything about the game feels like a grind. The encounter rate is irritatingly high and many late game enemies have a ridiculous amount of HP. I understand that this encourages swapping characters and strategic gameplay, but fighting a Behemoth with 30,000 HP that can insta-kill your characters every five steps gets old fast. I'm also not a fan of the sphere grid upgrade system; even though it advertises flexibility, the characters mostly move along a set path with few side branches available. This makes leveling a tedious chore rather an interesting way to shape your growth and slows progress through dungeons even more. Furthermore, in order to add any really interesting traits to weapons/armor/aeons, you must grind to collect rare resources. Lastly, if you step back and look at if from a higher level, the story is extraordinarily simple and filled with cringeworthy dialogue, one dimensional characters, and very little actual happenings.

I'm not done with the game yet, so perhaps the finale will be unbelievably amazing and I will be singing a different tune in my final impressions, but right now this one is near the bottom of my FF rankings. Everything about it screams growing pains with tons of filler to pad the length. I have not done a deep dive on the development, but I bet they had to scale it way back due to the transition to new hardware. This would also explain the fact that it needed a sequel to flesh out the world, story, and characters.

Haven't made much progress on Deathloop as I'm just not excited to play it. It's definitely well-crafted, but not really what it was advertised to be. I'll finish it at some point.

Anyways, that's my weekly old man yells at cloud update. See ya'll next time.

Edited June 15, 2023 by DoctorEncore

[spacepup | 2,405]

I've been beating many older games this year, just not many that I happened to include on my backlog post.  But they sort of count in the spirit of the original thread idea.  I've gone back and beaten the Alan Wake games, 2 out of the 3 more recent Tomb Raider games (about 75% done with the third, Shadow of the Tomb Raider), several random indie games here and there, etc.

I did invest a chunk of gaming time into Horizon Forbidden West and the DLC, which I beat (but those aren't really backlog games as they are new), and I'm currently in the middle of Tears of the Kingdom as well as Diablo IV, both of which I'm enjoying.  

I'll still find some time for the backlog games.  I updated my video card recently, and Psychonauts 2 plays a TON better for me, so I can finally pick up where I left off there, and I played some just the other night.

Good luck to everyone, and just keep having fun, that's what matters most!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

On a similar note, I'm playing La Pucelle for the first time in nearly 20 years.  Back in the day it was probably an 8/10 for me, at worst.

But decades later, after playing through 4 Disgaea games (La Pucelle is the Disgaea predecessor), it's a bit rough.  They've added to the formula over and over again with each game, so this one feels painfully limited.  Probably tracking at a 6/10 now.

[Gloves | 11,806]

I suck at this and that's all I have to say.

[spacepup | 2,405]

6 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I suck at this and that's all I have to say.

I've only beaten a couple from my original list as well.  Better than I did last year, hah!

Looking at your list, I have a recommendation:

• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

It may feel a bit dated at this point, but if you can get past that part, and appreciate it for what it is, especially at the time it came out, I think you'll enjoy it.  I LOVED Legacy of Kain and thought it was a really really interesting experience.  I enjoyed Soul Reaver games as well, but Legacy of Kain is where it is at.  I want more Kain games.  Definitely recommend!

[Webhead123 | 687]

I've taken enough time away from Gremlins 2 that I think I'm ready for another attempt. I'm also nearly done with my first pass (of what will undoubtedly be many) through the System Shock remake and once that's in the bag, I'm going to finish the final chapter of Dusk.

Also, I was originally going to play through the first Psychonauts again as a refresher before I started Psychonauts 2 but I think I've decided against that. Not because I don't want to revisit the original (I do) but because I don't want to get into the trap that I sometimes put myself in where I insist on starting a series from the beginning only to burn out on the early titles before I ever get to the later ones that I haven't played. So, when Dusk is over, I'll just jump straight in.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Webhead123

[spacepup | 2,405]

@Webhead123 I'm several hours into Psychonauts 2 and honestly, I'm loving it.  It still has a lot of charm and humor from the first game, and the world itself is really interesting to explore.  I'm having a blast with it!  I LOVED Psychonauts so much, and Psychonauts 2 has delivered for me so far.

[Gloves | 11,806]

1 hour ago, spacepup said:

I've only beaten a couple from my original list as well.  Better than I did last year, hah!

Looking at your list, I have a recommendation:

• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

It may feel a bit dated at this point, but if you can get past that part, and appreciate it for what it is, especially at the time it came out, I think you'll enjoy it.  I LOVED Legacy of Kain and thought it was a really really interesting experience.  I enjoyed Soul Reaver games as well, but Legacy of Kain is where it is at.  I want more Kain games.  Definitely recommend!

Oh I love Blood Omen. I've beaten it before, years ago. 

[spacepup | 2,405]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

Oh I love Blood Omen. I've beaten it before, years ago. 

Then why is it on your backlog list?  I mean, it's fine if you wanted to play again, but I thought the list included games we haven't beaten before hah.

[Gloves | 11,806]

10 minutes ago, spacepup said:

Then why is it on your backlog list?  I mean, it's fine if you wanted to play again, but I thought the list included games we haven't beaten before hah.

I consider games not "beaten" until I beat the copy of the game I currently own. So if I play a game, sell it, then buy another copy, I have to beat it again to consider it off the backlog.

Else why bother buying the game anew?