The Backlog Check-in Vol. 288: 7/8/23: Exoprimal Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played: Ghost Recon: Wildlands, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Rage 2

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Added: The Legend of Dragoon

I got in the mood to play an open world action adventure game since they’re one of my favorite genres, and I decided to go with Rage 2 since I didn’t finish it when I played it before. I was having fun with it again for a while, but reached a point where I remembered why I stopped playing it before... repetition. The gunplay is pretty fun, but since it’s essentially an open world FPS shooting enemies is almost all that you do in it. There’s driving too, but it’s mainly just to reach places to shoot enemies. It had the potential to be something a little more in-depth like Fallout, but the story is paper thin and it lacks characterization and RPG elements.

I was still in the mood for a similar type game, and decided to play Ghost Recon: Wildlands again since it’s one of my favorite games. It’s been four years since I played it, and I’m enjoying it just as much now as I originally did. It still looks impressive, it’s one of the best looking open world games that I’ve played. And it’s huge and packed with fun content, I like to do almost everything that there is to do in it. It’s a mix of action, shooting and stealth, and the gameplay mechanics are solid. My only real complaint is that your character doesn’t have an evade move such as a dodge roll which would be really useful considering how fast paced and frantic the combat encounters are. Some up close and personal melee combat would have been nice as well, but it’s not as important considering that this is primarily a third person shooter. The game is just fun, and is one of my favorite action-y open world games along with games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Ghost of Tsushima, Far Cry 6 and Mass Effect Andromeda.

Games releasing this week
Arena Breakout
Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg
Common’hood
Dead Man’s Diary
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising
Exoprimal
Fabledom
Gravity Circuit
Invector: Rhythm Galaxy
Jagged Alliance 3
Manic Mechanics
Mordhau
Naraka: Bladepoint
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
Rain World: Downpour
Sea Horizon
StrikeForce Kitty
Surrounded
Testament: Order of High-Human
Touhou: New World
Trouble Comes Twice
The Valiant
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
Yet Another Zombie Survivors

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, ??

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 43 games

I think I'm about 20% through A Link Between Worlds, decent so far. Unsure what I'll play next on PS4/5.

[argyle]

Games added: Fantavision 202x, A Juggler's Tale

Last week: Finished Fantavision 202x, played Final Fantasy XVI, F.I.S.T.

This week: Same

Fantavision 202x was the perfect sequel/remake/whatever. A very unexpected gem. Still digging FF, tho I haven't played it since last Tues - just haven't been up for anything too involved in the evenings or this past weekend. F.I.S.T. is a fantastic Metroidvania game by a Chinese developer. You play as a rabbit with a giant mechanical fist weapon (that's your starter weapon anyway, there are 3 main weapons total that you can switch between on the fly). It has an almost steampunk feel to it. The game is gorgeous, using a 2.5D art style that's very detailed. It's a ton of fun with some great combat & very well-paced exploration of a pretty big map/world. Only two real complaints, the first being the English voice acting is really bad. I switched over to the Chinese early on and have enjoyed that a lot better - since the setting is a futuristic Chinese world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, it fits better anyway. Second is that at about the 2/3's mark you gain a parry ability, and they fully expect you to use it. I am not a fan of parry in most games, simply because I don't have the reflexes for it. You either succeed, or you take the hit - with a dodge or block mechanic, they'll usually implement a "perfect" dodge/block system that will give you some kind of bonus, but you can always just not worry about that and avoid the hit. Once they give you this ability, they start throwing enemies & especially bosses at you with undodgeable attacks where you have to parry to avoid the hit. It forced me to drop the difficulty, but I'm still really enjoying the game on easy. Should wrap it up this week before we leave on our trip Friday.

I haven't chosen a PS2 game yet, I've decided to wait until after our trip to see if I end up picking up something I want to play at the convention.

[isthatallyougot]

Playing Vexx and nothing else.

I also want to go back to Chronicon and explore that further. I had put around 40 hours into that before life sidetracked me. I "finished" the main campaign, but there's so much more, both in terms of post-game and different classes to explore. I'll probably jump back into that alongside Vexx or get back into it afterwards. It was ridiculously fun as a power fantasy, with so much depth and ways to create your "destroyer".

I also played some more Pinball Arcade as I always tend to do from time to time.

[canedaddy]

Played recently: Octopath Traveler II

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 31


Soooo... Octopath. As I was wrapping up the side stories and whatnot, I was thinking this is GOTY material. Then I did the endgame and fought the last boss. That SOB is the worst. I died an hour into the fight last night. "OK, now you can't heal anyone in your party!" "Ha, now you can't revive anybody... and here are three or four big attacks in a row!"

I really wish I had known this before beginning the end game. Let this be a lesson to you fellows! You're going to want all of your characters in the 70-80 level range. Or maybe you'll play it smarter than I have and get by with 50s and 60s.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get my weaker folks leveled up before I go in again, get some extra job skills and whatnot.

[argyle]

Credits rolled on F.I.S.T. last night. Excellent game overall, only a few minor complaints. The English voice acting is weak, like I mentioned, but that's fixed by switching to the native Chinese. The difficulty spike issue I had was resolved by dropping the difficulty down. The only other issue I had is that there is a secret area of the game locked behind a combo training "quest". The combos are VERY complex and require perfect timing - looked up a video on YouTube & read the comments to see if it was just my old self having trouble with it, but it seems like pretty much everyone has issues with it. Wouldn't be as big of a deal if it was just a trophy or a skin or something that you got for it, but it kinda sucks that there's a whole secret area along with a bunch of moves apparently that you can only get by finishing it. Oh well.

But all of that aside, the game is incredible. When you think Chinese-developed game - or at least when *I* do - you expect it to be kinda rough. This game was anything but. There was a TON of love poured into this thing. Incredibly detailed backgrounds, "hidden" animations that add character, and just a general level of polish you would expect from much higher budget games. As for gameplay, the map is huge and varied and flows very well. There are multiple shortcuts and quick travel methods you'll unlock as you progress, and there's always a marker showing where your next story goal is so you're never lost. There are lots of hidden secrets that I really enjoyed seeking out & unlocking - it was just a joy to explore. Combat is great as well. You unlock moves as you progress on a skill tree, and you also unlock different weapons that not only serve combat functions but also traversal - it's ingenious really, and it all comes together to give you a constant sense of progression. You're given new weapons/abilities at a pace that allows you to get used to what you have before you're given something else, so you never feel overwhelmed.

In spite of my quibbles, which are honestly just nit-picks, this is a top tier game that I would say is a must-play for anyone who enjoys a good Metroidvania. Very glad I played through it, and I can see myself going through it again down the road.

[jfissel]

Played recently: Octopath Traveler II

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 31


Soooo... Octopath. As I was wrapping up the side stories and whatnot, I was thinking this is GOTY material. Then I did the endgame and fought the last boss. That SOB is the worst. I died an hour into the fight last night. "OK, now you can't heal anyone in your party!" "Ha, now you can't revive anybody... and here are three or four big attacks in a row!"

I really wish I had known this before beginning the end game. Let this be a lesson to you fellows! You're going to want all of your characters in the 70-80 level range. Or maybe you'll play it smarter than I have and get by with 50s and 60s.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get my weaker folks leveled up before I go in again, get some extra job skills and whatnot.

Did you feel your levels were fine for parts right before that? Any items that can help or is everything that can do heals/revives forbidden?

[Phaseknox]

I quit playing Ghost Recon: Wildlands because it was starting to feel too same-y, despite playing it four years ago I was still remembering it like I played it more recently. While it’s definitely a great game, it’s a really big game with a large open world packed with content and I played it thoroughly the first time so it was a bit daunting doing it all over again.

I started playing Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, and I was liking it at first. There’s retro charm to the graphics which are a combination of digitized backgrounds with 2D pixel sprite characters moving over them, and the turn-based combat with each face button used for a different character in battle is snappy. However, the level traversal/platforming is kind of loose and sloppy making it somewhat difficult to navigate the dungeons. Also, the mechanics, systems and menus are rather confusing so I stopped playing it. I would have enjoyed it more if I understood it all better, but it wasn’t as streamlined as I would have liked.

I started playing a 2D/3D hybrid platform puzzle game called Shady Part of Me, and it’s something that I think that everyone here would enjoy. It has a great art style, charm and is creative and different. The platforming is fun, and the puzzles are clever.

Credits rolled on F.I.S.T. last night. Excellent game overall

I skimmed some video reviews for it, and it looks good. I’ll buy it when it’s on sale.

[isthatallyougot]

Credits rolled on F.I.S.T. last night. Excellent game overall, only a few minor complaints. The English voice acting is weak, like I mentioned, but that's fixed by switching to the native Chinese. The difficulty spike issue I had was resolved by dropping the difficulty down. The only other issue I had is that there is a secret area of the game locked behind a combo training "quest". The combos are VERY complex and require perfect timing - looked up a video on YouTube & read the comments to see if it was just my old self having trouble with it, but it seems like pretty much everyone has issues with it. Wouldn't be as big of a deal if it was just a trophy or a skin or something that you got for it, but it kinda sucks that there's a whole secret area along with a bunch of moves apparently that you can only get by finishing it. Oh well.

But all of that aside, the game is incredible. When you think Chinese-developed game - or at least when *I* do - you expect it to be kinda rough. This game was anything but. There was a TON of love poured into this thing. Incredibly detailed backgrounds, "hidden" animations that add character, and just a general level of polish you would expect from much higher budget games. As for gameplay, the map is huge and varied and flows very well. There are multiple shortcuts and quick travel methods you'll unlock as you progress, and there's always a marker showing where your next story goal is so you're never lost. There are lots of hidden secrets that I really enjoyed seeking out & unlocking - it was just a joy to explore. Combat is great as well. You unlock moves as you progress on a skill tree, and you also unlock different weapons that not only serve combat functions but also traversal - it's ingenious really, and it all comes together to give you a constant sense of progression. You're given new weapons/abilities at a pace that allows you to get used to what you have before you're given something else, so you never feel overwhelmed.

In spite of my quibbles, which are honestly just nit-picks, this is a top tier game that I would say is a must-play for anyone who enjoys a good Metroidvania. Very glad I played through it, and I can see myself going through it again down the road.

I added it on EPIC when it was free. I've still never installed the client (and probably never will), but you're tempting me. Maybe I'll join the dark side.

[Phaseknox]

I have a love/hate relationship with a lot of indie games, they are often charming and creative but also often obtuse when it comes to their storytelling. I like piecing together a story if all of the pieces come together at the end, and you figure out what it was all about. I don’t like when at the end the story still makes absolutely no sense because nothing is explained, and you’re meant to interpret it all on your own.

I finished Shady Part of Me, and while it was a great platform puzzle game in terms of art/level/puzzle design it was lacking when it came to actual storytelling and the ending was brief and disappointing. Throughout the entire game it seemed like everything that was happening would make sense at the end, but it basically just ends without explaining squat. Izzy will love the story and ending of the game, and I hope that he plays it so that he can tell me WTF it was all about because I don’t have a clue.

I started playing a 2D side scrolling action platformer called Itorah. The graphics are gorgeous with a lot of color and detail, and the gameplay is tight and responsive. So far it has been somewhat typical for the genre in terms of navigating levels, melee fighting enemies, platforming and fighting big bosses, but while it’s not really different or original it’s still a lot of fun.