The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Edition

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Phaseknox
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The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Days Gone

Finished (playing): Shantae: Risky's Revenge

Playing: Days Gone

I've been playing Days Gone, and my early impressions are that it's a good open world zombie apocalypse game. It doesn't quite feel like a big budget AAA Sony release, it seems like something that would have been released by a third party publisher like Ubisoft or another company copying the Ubisoft open world design structure. The graphics are good, but it does look like a slightly older game when compared to other more recent third person open world games like Horizon Zero Dawn and Red Dead Redemption II.

The game itself seems somewhat like a mix of Far Cry 5, The Last of Us and State of Decay. It's a third person open world mission based zombie apocalypse action adventure game that takes place in the Oregon mountains/wilderness. You play as a biker named Deacon, and he's a likable main protagonist that is good but has to do bad things similar to Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption II. My only real complaint with him so far is that he seems to mumble and whisper a lot when he talks which makes it difficult to understand what he's saying sometimes. I don't think that the voice actor that they chose for him was the best choice because not only doesn't his voice seem especially fitting for the character, but also because of the aforementioned mumbling and whispering of the delivery of his lines of dialogue sometimes. The voice acting for all of the characters in general isn't the greatest, but it's not bad.

The core gameplay is solid combining melee combat, shooting and stealth. Everything is fairly streamlined making it easy to pick up and play, but it has depth as well with item gathering/crafting and skill unlocking. And your motorcycle is important since it's the only vehicle that you can use in the game. You have to keep it fueled, and repaired. You can find gas canisters around the world to put gas in it, and scrap to repair it with. You can also customize its look, and upgrade it. There's definitely an incentive to explore, and scavenge which I like.

The missions start off somewhat strong, but after a while a lot of them involve clearing out enemy camps and Freaker nests. The zombies in the game are called Freakers, and are similar to the creatures in the movie I Am Legend. They're fast and fierce, and sometimes you come across hordes of them which are scary because you don't have a chance against them. Similar to The Last of Us, human enemies are as much (if not more) of a threat in the game as the creatures.

Based on what I've played of it so far, I would say that $40 is the right price for it if you're interested in playing it now. Otherwise you might want to wait until you can get it for $20-$30.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night comes out this week:

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Last edited by Phaseknox on Wed Jun 19, 2019 12:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I played a lot of Days Gone today (technically yesterday :P), and I'm really enjoying it. It has picked up in terms of story, characters and missions. It's definitely a good looking and playing game, and there's plenty to do in it. It still feels more like a multiplatform game published by a third party company as opposed to a Sony PS4 exclusive since it somewhat lacks the overall big budget feel, finesse and polish that their games usually offer, but it's still a very quality game. I guess that the main problem is that there have been so many zombie apocalypse games over the years that it doesn't feel that fresh now despite bringing some new things to the table, and somewhat having its own identity. But the fun factor is definitely there, and that's what matters most.
Last edited by Phaseknox on Sun Jun 16, 2019 11:16 am, edited 4 times in total.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Edition

Post by argyle »

Games added: Donut County, For The King, Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special

Last week: Finished nothing, played Lapis x Labyrinth and Witcher 3

This week: Same

After seeing all the new Cyberpunk info I was encouraged to get back into Witcher 3 to finally finish my playthrough of it. No idea why I haven't finished it already, every time I play it I love it, and this time is no different. I didn't start over, just continued where I left off, so I imagine I'm around the half-way mark in the main story now. Of course, there's a metric ton of side quests in the game. I don't intend to put it down this time until I've at least finished the main storyline, if not the DLC packs as well.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

Still playing Dark Souls 3 and Harvest Moon The Tale of Two Towns. I'm really loving both.

I think I'm done with Trackmania Turbo. It's pretty good, but not good enough to really commit to all it has to offer.
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Edition

Post by jfissel »

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: InFAMOUS: First Light

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 28 games

Didn't get much time to play anything last week, so I'll have another week or so before Judgment comes out to finish First Light.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Edition

Post by canedaddy »

Played last week: Red Dead Redemption II

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 37 (15 PS4, 9 Vita, 7 3DS/2DS, 5 PS2)


I had a great time in Oregon. A lot of the scenery was straight out of RDR2. I saw some elk and reached for my Carcano Rifle. :)

On the plane I played DQIII on my phone. I hate doing that but I needed something to occupy my mind. I'll probably stick with it and finish it there.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

argyle wrote: Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:55 amAfter seeing all the new Cyberpunk info I was encouraged to get back into Witcher 3 to finally finish my playthrough of it. No idea why I haven't finished it already, every time I play it I love it, and this time is no different.
A new game probably came out and pulled you away from it, but if it's as good as I've heard that it is then I'm surprised that something else came along that made you stop playing it. I'm waiting to play it when I'm in the mood to invest 100+ hours into it.

As for Cyberpunk 2077, I don't know why in the previous footage (which was a lot better than the new footage IMO) they used the badass/hot looking punk chick in the game but in the new footage they used the generic looking skinny guy (who looks like a side character and not a main protagonist) and put him on the front of the box. Apparently the box art is reversible with the punk chick on the other side (thank goodness), but she should be the character on the default cover since she's a lot cooler looking. But I guess that would turn off the dudebros who aren't familiar with the game who see it on store shelves if they think that the main protagonist is female instead of male. That's marketing for you. But in all seriousness, the game looks incredible and is my most anticipated game right now.
canedaddy wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 9:21 pmI had a great time in Oregon. A lot of the scenery was straight out of RDR2.
That's where Days Gone takes place as well. You will like Days Gone, because it's like a modern zombie apocalypse version of Red Dead Redemption II. :P
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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

Man, The Tale of Two Towns is so good. So much fun now that I'm past the first season. Things have opened up quite a bit. Even though the premise of this entry is two towns divided by their preference of either crop-growing or animal husbandry, you can still do both on your farm - whichever town you choose. So I bought a couple chickens - named them Pan (because the egg from it helped me to get a frying pan, lol), and Cluck. Of course I'll eventually have a chicken named "Nugget" and probably a cow named "Burger". I've also expanded my farm, but it's really too big for me to manage in terms of filling the fields with crops, so it's a lot of empty space still at the moment. I can tell this will eat away a hundred plus hours for me - easily.

Also, I'm still loving Dark Souls III, but I've been banging my head on the wall against a particularly tough boss. It's multi-stage and it's not really designed to be a solo affair, but I'm too stubborn to give in. I could have finished the main quest long ago, but I still have various things I want to do on my first run through the game. Pure class - just like all the others.

I also started up Mad Max. I loved Just Cause 2, and I figured I'd give Avalanche another chance to impress. I've not played much but it seems pretty interesting. I'm not the hugest fan of the universe, but it seems like it has potential to be a good time.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

isthatallyougot wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 5:34 pmI'm still loving Dark Souls III, but I've been banging my head on the wall against a particularly tough boss. It's multi-stage and it's not really designed to be a solo affair, but I'm too stubborn to give in.
If you're having trouble, then I don't have any chance.
isthatallyougot wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 5:34 pmI also started up Mad Max. I loved Just Cause 2, and I figured I'd give Avalanche another chance to impress. I've not played much but it seems pretty interesting. I'm not the hugest fan of the universe, but it seems like it has potential to be a good time.
I played a little Mad Max as well, but it failed to pull me in. There's too much of a focus on customizing/upgrading your car, and driving. There's not much variety to the desert environment, either. I like the Mad Max movies, but the game didn't grab me. However, I might give it another chance in the future if it's something that I get in the mood to play.
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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 76: 6/15/19: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

Phaseknox wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:08 pm If you're having trouble, then I don't have any chance.
Well, it's DLC, so it's not necessary, although Souls always has amazing DLC, so it would be a shame to skip it.
Phaseknox wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 5:08 pm I played a little Mad Max as well, but it failed to pull me in. There's too much of a focus on customizing/upgrading your car, and driving. There's not much variety to the desert environment, either. I like the Mad Max movies, but the game didn't grab me. However, I might give it another chance in the future if it's something that I get in the mood to play.
I haven't played enough to form any sort of strong opinion, but I've enjoyed the little I've put into it.
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