The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Switch Edition

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Phaseknox
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The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Switch Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Ghost Recon: Wildlands

I'm finally nearing the end of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and I admit that I'm ready to wrap it up and move onto something else at this point. I've been playing it almost every day for close to a month now, so I'm ready to start something else. But I've had an absolute blast with it, and it took up until just recently for me to start feeling fatigue with it.

It's a pure gameplay driven experience with a paper thin story and no real characterization to speak of, but despite lacking in areas that are usually important to me in games I still haven't wanted to put it down due to how fun it is to play. While the gameplay loop of what you actually do in it is somewhat repetitive, it's the complete unscripted nature of the game that makes it so entertaining to play. You tackle every situation how you choose, and you never really know what's going to happen or how things are going to go because nothing is scripted. And this often results in exciting and/or humorous things happening that are exclusive to your experience since they're the outcome of how you decided to do things. This isn't really anything new for open world/sandbox games and is a big part of why I like them so much, but this game's design structure allows for it more than a lot of other open world/sandbox games that I've played.

With that said, I would have liked a more cinematic story, some characterization and some directed missions with scripted events and set pieces. While I feel that gameplay is the most important aspect of a game, story and characters are also important aspects to me to make for a complete overall experience. The reason why I like Days Gone and Mass Effect: Andromeda (my current top two games of the year) so much is because they offer great non-scripted open world gameplay along with compelling cinematic storytelling and characterization. Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a similar game to them in a lot of ways, but is lacking when it comes to story and character development preventing it from being as good as an overall experience as they are IMO.

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt for Switch comes out this week.
Last edited by Phaseknox on Sat Oct 19, 2019 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: Overwatch Switch Edition

Post by jfissel »

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 31 games

Played a bunch of Odyssey during my week off, but there's still a gazillion things to do and many hours left (even though I'm level 41).
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: Overwatch Switch Edition

Post by argyle »

AC Odyssey is a massive game! :)

Games added: Dragon Marked For Death, Trine 4

Last week: Finished nothing, played Code Vein, RemiLore, Uncharted: Lost Legacy

This week: Will finish up Uncharted, and then more CV & started back playing Borderlands 3.


RemiLore is just a broken game. It's a game that gives a good first impression, but when you put a little time into it you see how it all falls apart. It's a Diablo-esque beat-em-up Rogue-like, but I won't go too much into what's wrong with it because I doubt anyone here is interested in it anyway. :P If you are by chance, just take my word & avoid it.

Uncharted: LL is....OK. It's Uncharted, but I think it's proving to me that I'm just tired of the Uncharted formula. First the good - the game is drop-dead gorgeous and the puzzles are fun (tho there aren't enough of them). But other than that - it's the same climb-by-numbers super-linear "exploration", and even tho it looks fantastic the locations are pretty generic. The characters aren't really that interesting to me, especially Nadine, and the story is practically non-existent. I think this game proves how vital Drake is to the series, honestly. The gunplay, especially after just putting so much time into a GOOD third-person shooter (Gears 5) feels very weak by comparison. And the stealth is just half-baked - you don't have any moves that have become standards for the genre like a way to distract enemies, a way to tell your partner to take someone out, etc. So since the gameplay isn't a draw, and the story isn't a draw...that really only leaves the graphics. If it wasn't so short, I probably wouldn't even bother finishing it, but I'm at the start of chapter 7 (out of 11, and supposedly the 11th one is an epilogue) so I'll wrap it up this week.
"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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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: Overwatch Switch Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I finished Ghost Recon: Wildlands today which was exactly one month after starting it. I played it almost every day since starting it, it was definitely a big game. There was still stuff to do after I finished the story, but I had my fill. The game was great throughout, but the last mission felt rushed and you just reach an area and get the ending cut-scene without a final boss fight or anything. It was anticlimactic, and the ending itself was somewhat brief and not very good. But the story was just passable enough to give a reason for the gameplay which was the main star of the game. While I had a lot of fun with it, the somewhat weak story and lack of characterization made it feel a little unfulfilling in the end. While I feel that gameplay is the most important aspect of a game, it's not the only important aspect.
argyle wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:59 amUncharted: LL is....OK. It's Uncharted, but I think it's proving to me that I'm just tired of the Uncharted formula. First the good - the game is drop-dead gorgeous and the puzzles are fun (tho there aren't enough of them). But other than that - it's the same climb-by-numbers super-linear "exploration", and even tho it looks fantastic the locations are pretty generic. The characters aren't really that interesting to me, especially Nadine, and the story is practically non-existent. I think this game proves how vital Drake is to the series, honestly. The gunplay, especially after just putting so much time into a GOOD third-person shooter (Gears 5) feels very weak by comparison. And the stealth is just half-baked - you don't have any moves that have become standards for the genre like a way to distract enemies, a way to tell your partner to take someone out, etc. So since the gameplay isn't a draw, and the story isn't a draw...that really only leaves the graphics. If it wasn't so short, I probably wouldn't even bother finishing it, but I'm at the start of chapter 7 (out of 11, and supposedly the 11th one is an epilogue) so I'll wrap it up this week.
I'm sorry that you're not really enjoying it, but I thought that it was really good. I found it to be a well paced directed/linear action adventure platformer with a solid story, main characters and villain. I liked playing as Chloe because she's agile and quick with badass martial arts moves. After playing as Drake in four prior Uncharted games, I didn't miss him in this one. Playing as Chloe made the experience feel a little fresh, and different. I thought that the gameplay was good, I liked the mix of melee/shooting combat, platforming and puzzles. I had a really good time with it from start to finish, and I thought that the ending was satisfying too. As they say, different strokes for different folks.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: Overwatch Switch Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I started playing My Time at Portia, and the best way to describe it is a charming, colorful, cute, pleasant and relaxing building/crafting RPG. It was developed in China, and seems to have had a moderate budget as it's bigger budget than an indie game but still has a somewhat lower budget feel compared to most games that release physically to retail.

It's similar to games like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, but instead of farming it's about building and crafting. It's a somewhat small scale open world game with a town and surrounding open areas that you can explore, and gather resources to build and craft. It also has "dungeons", and you engage in melee combat against enemies in some areas.

It's a game that was made for all ages to enjoy, and its open-ended and somewhat simplistic nature make it something that's chill to play. I haven't been feeling too good lately, so it's hitting the spot right now since it's not overly challenging, complicated, or demanding.
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: Overwatch Switch Edition

Post by jfissel »

I also thought Lost Legacy was great, probably my 3rd favorite Uncharted behind 2 and 4.

Never heard of My Time at Portia, Phase, but that sounds like it would be good for fans of those types of games. I have Stardew Valley in my backlog, need to get to that one next year.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 93: 10/12/19: Overwatch Switch Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

jfissel wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2019 4:25 pmI also thought Lost Legacy was great, probably my 3rd favorite Uncharted behind 2 and 4.
It's my third favorite Uncharted game as well:

1. Uncharted 4
2. Uncharted 2
3. The Lost Legacy
4. Uncharted 3
5. Uncharted
jfissel wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2019 4:25 pmNever heard of My Time at Portia, Phase, but that sounds like it would be good for fans of those types of games.
Yeah, I think that cane would like it since he liked Stardew Valley and it has fishing/fishing contests. I think that izzy would also like it since he likes Harvest Moon.
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