The Backlog Check-in Vol. 304: 10/28/23: Blasphemous II/EA Sports WRC/RoboCop: Rogue City/The Talos Principle II Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played
The Cruel King and the Great Hero
The Good Life
Persona 5 Royal

Finished
The Cruel King and the Great Hero

Playing
Persona 5 Royal

Purchased
Loop8: Summer of Gods
Octopath Traveler II
Persona 5 Royal

Games releasing this week
Achilles: Legends Untold
AC-130 Gunship Operator
Alien Hominid HD
Alien Hominid Invasion
Among Us: The Fungle
Back to the Dawn
Blasphemous II
Dead Island 2 Haus
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing
Dropkick Navy: First Step
EA Sports WRC
Ebenezer and the Invisible World
Fashion Dreamer
The Foglands
For the King II
Fusion Paradox
GeoDepths
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale
Jumanji: Wild Adventures
Jusant
Little Goody Two Shoes
Microsoft Flight Simulator: Dune Expansion
My Time at Sandrock
911 Operator - Interactive Movie
Ninja or Die: Shadow of the Sun
Paranoid
Phantom Blade: Executioners
Phantom Galaxies
Phantom Rose II Sapphire
Pinball M
PlateUp!
Quantum Error
Radiant Silvergun
RoboCop: Rogue City
Roller Coaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe
The Smurfs 2: The Prisoner of the Green Stone
Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story
Stampede: Racing Royale
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
StrangerZ
The Talos Principle II
Thirsty Suitors
This Bed We Made
Warcraft Arclight Rumble
WarioWare: Move It!
You Will Die Here Tonight

[canedaddy]

Man, it is mind-boggling how many games are released each week these days...


Played recently: Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 34


I got in some good time with Amalur over the weekend. I think I'm 45 hours in or thereabouts? Still enjoying it immensely. The variety in weapons and attacks and how they can be used in combination is so much fun. Even daggers, usually the lame weapon in games like this, are a blast, since they're soooo fast and they have so many effects.

[Phaseknox]

Man, it is mind-boggling how many games are released each week these days...

IKR. When compliling the weekly game releases list each week, I shake my head at how many games that there are and how many are crap that I can’t imagine anyone being interested in.

I got in some good time with Amalur over the weekend. I think I'm 45 hours in or thereabouts? Still enjoying it immensely. The variety in weapons and attacks and how they can be used in combination is so much fun. Even daggers, usually the lame weapon in games like this, are a blast, since they're soooo fast and they have so many effects.

The combat is definitely the best aspect of the game IMO, it’s just too bad that everything else is kind of average by comparison. Some quest stories are good, but playing as an emotionless mute avatar makes them feel less involving. However, the biggest problem that I was having when I recently played the game again were the segmented path-like environments broken up by load screens. It made exploring the game world a lot less fun, and organic. It would have been a lot better if it offered a seamless open world.

[isthatallyougot]

I've still been playing AC : WW daily and crushing the turnip market. I've got three main rooms and am about to fully pay off the third. I don't know if there are more or not. I've also been growing orange, apple and cherry trees to get more easy bells from picking fruit. I also tried planting a coconut that washed ashore, but it didn't take despite my watering it. Sometimes that happens, but I was hoping to have that variety of vegetation present in my little village. I'll hope to try again when another rolls in from the sea sooner or later. I also finally shot down the alien craft that occasionally would fly over. I had to help the pilot find his missing pieces and he gave me a reward for helping him get airborne again. He was oblivious to my participation in his crash, lol.

I'm also slowly improving my rank in Elite Beat Agents. Such a fun rhythm/music game. So much room for mastery and growth. I'll probably keep returning to this for a long time or until my white-man rhythm derails me and reveals my ceiling.



I haven't got back to Broken Age in a few days. I've been marinating on a particular section that has me stuck and letting my subconscious do the work. I think it's about to make a breakthrough.

I've also been playing Arkanoid on the DS - a remake of that old arcade/console game. It's a fun casual experience - simple arcade fun, but nothing super exciting. Just a fun distraction that's easy to get into when you don't want too much "learning" nonsense.

[Phaseknox]

I also finally shot down the alien craft that occasionally would fly over. I had to help the pilot find his missing pieces and he gave me a reward for helping him get airborne again. He was oblivious to my participation in his crash, lol.

I've also been playing Arkanoid on the DS - a remake of that old arcade/console game.

Arkanoid was one of my favorite arcade and NES games back in the day. The NES game came with a paddle controller, it was basically impossible to play without it.

[crimson_tide]

I think Animal Crossing New Horizons is the one my family is obsessed with on Switch. Bummer izzy, I would have gotten your island code so they could visit .

Played:... nothing really until Saturday when I strangely found myself wrapped up in DQ Builders 2. I think I might stick with it at the moment.

Bought: Physical games !!!! Tales of Arise for $5 and Outriders Worldslayer for $7.50. I think that last one is just a code in a box though.

Beat: nothing.

This week: DQ Builders 2 for now I guess. It's mad chill. I think I need mad chill for a minute. Haven't been grabbed by anything else recently. Still might give something more substantial a go, we'll see.

Hope all's well fam!

Edit: oh wait, I now remember why I dumped DQ Builders 2 and will probably just let it go now. They sent me on a ridiculous quest for 5 seeds and I had to plant 250 crops. I did exactly what they asked and then... nothing. They keep saying the harvest festival is going to happen and it never does. Apparently, it just happens when you don't sequence break the game. Here's the thing: there's zero indication I sequence broke anything until I looked it up. I don't even know what part to fix. Bummer because I was really enjoying the chill vibe. This happened last time I stopped too. The game does a poor job of letting you know what to do next and doesn't do anything to let you know not to do certain things or it may soft lock the game. Oh well, maybe it's time for something more substantial anyway...

[argyle]

Edit: oh wait, I now remember why I dumped DQ Builders 2 and will probably just let it go now. They sent me on a ridiculous quest for 5 seeds and I had to plant 250 crops. I did exactly what they asked and then... nothing. They keep saying the harvest festival is going to happen and it never does. Apparently, it just happens when you don't sequence break the game. Here's the thing: there's zero indication I sequence broke anything until I looked it up. I don't even know what part to fix. Bummer because I was really enjoying the chill vibe. This happened last time I stopped too. The game does a poor job of letting you know what to do next and doesn't do anything to let you know not to do certain things or it may soft lock the game. Oh well, maybe it's time for something more substantial anyway...

I stopped playing for a very similar reason - they wanted me to build something, I forget what - I did, took a bit, but then it never registered. Finally figured that I must have gone slightly out of the area where they wanted me to build it and I didn't want to tear it all up & build it again so...I quit. I agree, sucks that it's so rigid in that stuff because it's a great game otherwise.

Games added: Pac-Man Museum & Gigantosaurus: The Game - both for the Switch, about $13 for the pair.

Last week: Finished nothing, played Super Mario Bros. Wonder & Alan Wake Remastered.

This week: Same - likely to finish up at least one of those, possibly both.

Wanted to play back through Alan Wake before I play the sequel since I've forgotten everything that happened in that game. Not that I'm gonna grab the sequel immediately, but when there's a decent sale I'll pick it up. I've been enjoying it the second time through - dropped it down to easy because I just wanted the story refresh, but that seems about right anyway. My main complaint is that I really dislike collectibles in linear story-based games, especially collectibles that add to the story. Makes me feel like I'm missing something if I don't explore every nook & cranny of the levels, but that gets old.

Mario Wonder is a blast, I'm really enjoying it. Taking my time with it, playing 2-3 levels a night usually. Extremely creative - the game is constantly throwing new things at you. I especially liked the rhythm level where you have to jump on the beat.

Oh yeah, Arkanoid is one of my old-school favorites too. I've been wanting to pick up the newest one and give it a go.

Didn't realize Talos Principle 2 came out this week. I'll wait for a physical release of that one, but I'm really looking forward to playing it since the first one was so good.

[canedaddy]

However, the biggest problem that I was having when I recently played the game again were the segmented path-like environments broken up by load screens. It made exploring the game world a lot less fun, and organic. It would have been a lot better if it offered a seamless open world.

Well you're 100% right about that. It's a drag. It makes me wonder if those would be near-instantaneous on a PS5... well, they should be pretty fast on a PS4 since it's a PS3 game. I don't know how that all works.

Edit: oh wait, I now remember why I dumped DQ Builders 2 and will probably just let it go now. They sent me on a ridiculous quest for 5 seeds and I had to plant 250 crops. I did exactly what they asked and then... nothing. They keep saying the harvest festival is going to happen and it never does. Apparently, it just happens when you don't sequence break the game. Here's the thing: there's zero indication I sequence broke anything until I looked it up. I don't even know what part to fix. Bummer because I was really enjoying the chill vibe. This happened last time I stopped too. The game does a poor job of letting you know what to do next and doesn't do anything to let you know not to do certain things or it may soft lock the game. Oh well, maybe it's time for something more substantial anyway...

I stopped playing for a very similar reason - they wanted me to build something, I forget what - I did, took a bit, but then it never registered. Finally figured that I must have gone slightly out of the area where they wanted me to build it and I didn't want to tear it all up & build it again so...I quit. I agree, sucks that it's so rigid in that stuff because it's a great game otherwise.

I stopped DQ Builders 2 to play Ghosts of Tsushima and haven't gone back to it yet. What you all described is one reason I might not. When I last played, I was in the middle of building a very big area, and it was clear that I hadn't set it up very well, given the kinds of attacks that came afterward. But I didn't want to tear the whole thing down and start over. Very fun game, but that aspect is a bummer.

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Code Name: STEAM, Spider-man 2

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 42 games

Not much gaming last week or so far this week...but I'll get back into it as I need to get through some of these games before more hit.

[crimson_tide]

So I stuck with DQ Builders 2. I didn't really want to throw away more time in something I wasn't going to stick with and I really did like the chill vibe. Argyle and the old man reminded me I could just tear things down. Turns out I didn't fulfill a request at all when I thought I had. So I did that and then everything went back on track and I made it to the Furrowfield harvest festival. It's flipping delightful! The villagers are wearing jack o lantern masks and then ish got real outta nowhere. I really am glad I stuck with it .