The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[G-type | 2,483]

Super Metroid in 2023

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

Deathloop

Spoiler

A cross between Edge of Tomorrow and Dishonored.  Which is fine by me because I love both of those things.

The tutorial and introduction was super confusing, and didn't have me optimistic for the rest of the game, but it was smooth sailing once things opened up.  And I loved that there were so many little secrets and new things you could discover across your loops.

I wish the stealth play seemed a little more forgiving (there are some really cool things you can theoretically pull off, but it's going to require a ton of gear that you have to earn, and a lot of trial-and-error), and there isn't exactly a ton of enemy variety, but I still had a great time with it.

And Colt is a great MC.

[Gloves | 11,800]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Deathloop

  Reveal hidden contents

A cross between Edge of Tomorrow and Dishonored.  Which is fine by me because I love both of those things.

The tutorial and introduction was super confusing, and didn't have me optimistic for the rest of the game, but it was smooth sailing once things opened up.  And I loved that there were so many little secrets and new things you could discover across your loops.

I wish the stealth play seemed a little more forgiving (there are some really cool things you can theoretically pull off, but it's going to require a ton of gear that you have to earn, and a lot of trial-and-error), and there isn't exactly a ton of enemy variety, but I still had a great time with it.

And Colt is a great MC.

Juuuuu-liiiiii-aaaahhh-naaaaa

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

13 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Deathloop

  Reveal hidden contents

A cross between Edge of Tomorrow and Dishonored.  Which is fine by me because I love both of those things.

The tutorial and introduction was super confusing, and didn't have me optimistic for the rest of the game, but it was smooth sailing once things opened up.  And I loved that there were so many little secrets and new things you could discover across your loops.

I wish the stealth play seemed a little more forgiving (there are some really cool things you can theoretically pull off, but it's going to require a ton of gear that you have to earn, and a lot of trial-and-error), and there isn't exactly a ton of enemy variety, but I still had a great time with it.

And Colt is a great MC.

I really want to play this one. Hopefully I'll get to it this year.

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

22 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

I really want to play this one. Hopefully I'll get to it this year.

 

It probably took me 20-25 hours, but I also did some of the tricky side puzzles.

Just be prepared for an extremely disorienting (by design) first couple hours.

[Matchbook | 194]

Another year another disappointment.  Last year I was way too ambitious and fell flat on my face.  Many of you did really well!  I am super impressed and proud of your dedication to slaying your backlog boss.  This year I will cut my list down to a count I think I can handle.  Especially not having so many RPG's. I also started Elden Ring last year finally, but won't be adding it to the list as I dont know how much attention I will be able to focus on it.  It is really good so far though!  Now on to the list.

NES

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

SNES

Breath of Fire - Given up, too grindy

Spawn

NGC

Metroid Prime

Switch

Mega Man 11

DS

Chrono Trigger

PS2

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

PS4

The Last of Us Part 2 - done 3/13

Edited June 10, 2023 by Matchbook

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

@Matchbook I think the biggest thing is being real with ourselves.

Like, I know I want to tackle Metal Gear (NES) some day.  I have to play through it for reference, if nothing else.  It feels like a void in my gaming experience.

But I also know I'd rather play through the 45 games I have listed in this thread.  I'm much more likely to get addicted and stick with a Dark Souls 2 or a Nioh.

[Lago | 221]

Well, the first beaten game of the year for me wasn't on my backlog.  Eiyuden Chronicles Rising.  I sunk a solid 25 hours into that game.

[Sumez | 2,968]

Man I thought I had a super solid list this year, but I've already had to write off a game.

As much as Tanuki Justice was a run 'n gun that 100% understood that genre, Demon Throttle is a shoot'em up that has no god damn clue what a shoot 'em up is supposed to be. It looks admirable, and wants to do a lot of things that probably sound good on paper (except copying King's Knight, no one ever thought that was a good idea) - but there is also a good reason no other great shooters ever do that. It's basically just a checklist of "don'ts" and other red flags. Garbage, not fun, don't play.

2 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Like, I know I want to tackle Metal Gear (NES) some day.  I have to play through it for reference, if nothing else.  It feels like a void in my gaming experience.

Just in case you ever do get around to playing that game, be sure to stay away from the NES port. It's so mangled it's ridiculous.  In all respect, the guy was given a single week to port it, and with that in mind he did a reasonable job, it's still, however, broken.

[ifightdragons | 234]

2 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@Matchbook I think the biggest thing is being real with ourselves.

Like, I know I want to tackle Metal Gear (NES) some day.  I have to play through it for reference, if nothing else.  It feels like a void in my gaming experience.

But I also know I'd rather play through the 45 games I have listed in this thread.  I'm much more likely to get addicted and stick with a Dark Souls 2 or a Nioh.

I've had the same problem with the Metal Gear games.

I've always wanted to play through the 5 mainline games... but everytime I get sick of sitting through the nonsensical story and insanely long cutscenes.

No joke, the split between cutscenes and actual gameplay is like 70/30. And it sometimes feels even worse. Especially if you're not into the writing and outlandish characters, which is like an anime storyline mixed with Hollywood blockbuster.

The thing about the storyline is a personal feeling. I totally respect those who enjoy that side of Kojima's games. It's just something that makes it nigh on impossible for me to actually get through the Metal Gear series.

And like you, it feels like a gap in my "gaming CV".

 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

4 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@Matchbook I think the biggest thing is being real with ourselves.

Like, I know I want to tackle Metal Gear (NES) some day.  I have to play through it for reference, if nothing else.  It feels like a void in my gaming experience.

But I also know I'd rather play through the 45 games I have listed in this thread.  I'm much more likely to get addicted and stick with a Dark Souls 2 or a Nioh.

 

2 hours ago, ifightdragons said:

I've had the same problem with the Metal Gear games.

I've always wanted to play through the 5 mainline games... but everytime I get sick of sitting through the nonsensical story and insanely long cutscenes.

No joke, the split between cutscenes and actual gameplay is like 70/30. And it sometimes feels even worse. Especially if you're not into the writing and outlandish characters, which is like an anime storyline mixed with Hollywood blockbuster.

The thing about the storyline is a personal feeling. I totally respect those who enjoy that side of Kojima's games. It's just something that makes it nigh on impossible for me to actually get through the Metal Gear series.

And like you, it feels like a gap in my "gaming CV".

 

Personally, I find Metal Gear (NES) and Metal Gear Solid (PS) to both have great gameplay in addition to the wacky story stuff, so they're worth playing either way. I never played Snake Eater or any of the MGS sequels although I'd love to.

One important note: If you're like me and try to beat games without any hints or online help, there is a hard stopping point in each game that requires outside info. For Metal Gear on the NES you need to have the physical map that was included with the game (the info is not available in the game). There is a similar point in MGS which I won't spoil, but it's a hard stop where the needed info cannot be found in the actual software.

Highly recommended!

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

4 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

It probably took me 20-25 hours, but I also did some of the tricky side puzzles.

Just be prepared for an extremely disorienting (by design) first couple hours.

That sounds great. I love games where you're just dropped in the world and have to figure out the rules. Tunic, The Witness, The Outer Wilds, and Myst all come to mind as examples from some games I've played in the last few years.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

Yeah, I love MGS 1-3, and 4 was pretty good, and the GBC game was good.  I'm just wary of actually enjoying the original.

[spacepup | 2,405]

I enjoyed Metal Gear and Snake’s Revenge in particular.  However, despite appreciating the roots, MGS is just in a whole other league (at least for me). 

[Sumez | 2,968]

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Yeah, I love MGS 1-3, and 4 was pretty good, and the GBC game was good.  I'm just wary of actually enjoying the original.

You kinda have to play Metal Gear 1 and 2 back to back. The first game is very quickly finished, and the second game is just a massive ramp up in quality in every possible way, even though it's based on the same core gameplay. It's a really good game, and IMO easily better than the GBC one.

In fact, if you've already played MGS, I think you'd be surprised just how many things in that game originated in Metal Gear 2, and was simply brought up over to be replicated in 3D.

Snake's Revenge I could take or leave. Not really an "official" entry in the series.  

Edited January 23, 2023 by Sumez

[Foochie776 | 1,056]

I’m getting well into Kingdom Hearts 2 and man, this is much better all around than the first.

 

Still trying to lay out Marble Madness too but this learning curve 

[Lago | 221]

Random update.  Still no games from the backlog down.

The kids and I are playing around a stage a day on Shredder’s Revenge.  We just took down Chrome Dome in an epic battle that had all 3 of us one hit away from dying.  High fives all around.  My youngest daughter is really showing improvement.

Also been packing the DS around when I know I’ll have to be in the car.  That’s just found time.  Been working on Phoenix Wright instead of wasting time on social media.

When it gets towards the end of the day I tend to gravitate towards games that don’t require a lot of brain power. I have noticed.  So I will need to anticipate that.

[Sumez | 2,968]

13 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

I’m getting well into Kingdom Hearts 2 and man, this is much better all around than the first.

KH2 is great! Now do yourself a favor and quit while you are still on a high note

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

11 minutes ago, Sumez said:

KH2 is great! Now do yourself a favor and quit while you are still on a high note

 

[Floating Platforms | 721]

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is all done, which also means that I've now completed all games from both series

This was a solid mash-up of the two styles. I was interested to see how they would combine everything, and it's hard to ask for a better format. In terms of execution, the Layton stuff is easier to get right - explore a little bit and throw in puzzles. The Phoenix parts could have used some more exploration of the crime scenes or a bit more complexity to the trials. They all seemed far too straight-forward and easy going. Honestly, the puzzles were all very easy as well. I guess that's the price to pay when you're trying to appease fans of both but not alienate anyone who may not like one style of game.  The story itself kept me interested and intrigued but it did suffer from the same fate that Layton games do in that they explain broad strokes of why things happen, but some of the specifics either aren't explained or there's a really cheap, lazy reason tacked on.

None of that really hampers my enjoyment of the series and like I said, I think the overall package was solid and a lot of fun.  I'm sad to see my time with both characters come to a close (I guess there is some hope Capcom will do more Ace Attorney things), but I'm glad this was my last adventure with them.

[Sumez | 2,968]

20 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

The worst part is that everything Dunkey says in that video is actually a correctly retold summary of the plot, yet it sounds like his usual jokes.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

I have 2 games I'm wrapping up, one that's rather short, and one I've been working on since August.  So that's cool.  And then I'm excited to start something new since I gave myself such a large and flexible list.

Do I start Twin Snakes?  Danganronpa?  Control?  Who knows!

[spacepup | 2,405]

Twin Snakes or Control! hmmmm.... tough calls, both are great!

Maybe Danganronpa is fine too, I just never really got into that series.

Having just finished Control including all the DLC, I'd definitely recommend it!

[Gloves | 11,800]

Instead of stuff on my backlog, this has been my week:

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

@Floating Platforms I love that game.  Partially because I think I enjoyed having the gameplay broken up like it was.  Going through 4 straight Ace Attorney cases like usual can be a little taxing for me.  But when the investigations/cross examinations are split up around puzzles?  A perfect pace for me.