The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edition

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Phaseknox
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The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Asterigos: Curse of the Stars

Finished: Asterigos: Curse of the Stars

Playing: ?

Added: Nothing

I finished Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, it was a consistently good game throughout. It took me 45 hours to do just about everything in it, it offered eight different large and varied districts/zones that were all interconnected. The story and characters were decent, but the writing and voice acting were hit and miss. Most of the conversations were long-winded and could have used an editor, and there was an overabundance of documents, letters, lore, scrolls and text to read. They’re all optional to read, but they help flesh out the story and characters more.

It’s more of an action adventure game than an RPG, there’s not too much NPC interaction outside of the main hub area and there’s not a lot of side quests. The areas themselves are somewhat linear, but offer some branching paths to explore. The combat is fairly fun for the most part, but primarily what you do in the game. There’s no stealth which would have added a little more variety to things, because I always kind of like the option to stealth kill enemies in certain situations. And there’s also no platforming challenges, or puzzles. The absence of these things seemed like a missed opportunity IMO. I still really enjoyed the game, but there are things that could have made it even better.

Games releasing this week
Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
Arkanoid: Eternal Battle
Army of Ruin
Bayonetta 3
Brewmaster
Buddy Simulator 1984
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Case Files: The Death of Paulette Williams
Charon’s Staircase
Commander Keen in Keen Dreams: Definitive Edition
Edengate: The Edge of Light
Escape String
Factorio
Father’s Day
Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County
Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest For Stale Gum
Golden Light of Rose
Gunfire Reborn
Horse Club Adventures 2: Hazelwood Stories
Last Beat Enhanced
Last Days of Lazarus
Live by the Sword: Tactics
Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Burst Forth! Choro-gon Breath
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
My Last Night Here
Paper Cut Mansion
Party Maker
The Pinball Wizard
Pompom: The Great Space Rescue
Relayer Advanced
Robotry!
Saturnalia
Signalis
Silenced: The House
Simulacra 3
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Star Ocean: The Devine Force
Temple of Horror
Turbo Sloths
Victoria 3
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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by isthatallyougot »

I finished up Savage Halloween. It was a pretty fun NES-inspired platformer/shooter. It took about 6 hours and I had a good time with it.

I started up Knock-Knock, another spooky/scary game for the season that seems to deal with paranoia / mental illness. I've only barely sampled it, but it seems like it will be fun to experience when the sun goes down. It's got really good atmosphere in the little I've played.
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Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by jfissel »

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Stray, Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 43 games

Just a couple more weeks until God of War: Ragnarok. ;)
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by canedaddy »

Played recently: Yakuza 6

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 28 (27 PS4, 1 Vita)


I'm in the epilogue of Yakuza 6 and monkeying around with some of the new stuff that cropped up (spearfishing and barflying). Not much chance I'll go for platinum in this one... seems like a headache (I don't enjoy some of the side stuff). What was the worst part for you, j?
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jfissel
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by jfissel »

canedaddy wrote: Mon Oct 24, 2022 10:38 am I'm in the epilogue of Yakuza 6 and monkeying around with some of the new stuff that cropped up (spearfishing and barflying). Not much chance I'll go for platinum in this one... seems like a headache (I don't enjoy some of the side stuff). What was the worst part for you, j?
I'm guessing either the clan grinding to 100 victories or the skill grinding to get to 300 in each stat. You also have to beat Amon, which is never easy even if you read a strategy straight from the internet lol.
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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by crimson_tide »

Somehow, me, crim, the man who will be Roman Reigns for Halloween and convinced my entire family to be WWE superstars as a theme...did not complete the wrestling storyline in 6 or Kiwami 2. It really makes no gosh darn sense...

Played: Ys 9 (finally at chapter 9, should finish at some point this week :D )

Bought: Nothing yet. But there's a bunch of games in my cart from all the PSN sales DMC 5, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4, Lapis X Labyrinth, that Vanquish/Bayonetta combo, Ghostbusters and others I am blanking on.

Beat: Nothing

I fully intended to play a bunch of different games at a time, but Ys 9 being Hot Topic Kingdom Hearts and that ridiculous soundtrack plus PS2 sensibilities with modern quality of life conveniences makes a REALLY strong case to be my sole focus by ticking all my boxes. I really lost the plot forever ago but it's just keeping me hooked.

Question: I haven't bought my one full priced game this year yet. How can I stop myself from buying Sonic Frontiers day one? It looks really good and would honestly be the first time I paid full price for a Sonic game ever. But it's Sonic. I have been hurt so many times before...but I really want it :? !!!
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by Phaseknox »

I started playing DreadOut 2, it’s a direct sequel to DreadOut which I haven’t played because it’s not on PS4. And since it’s a direct sequel, I’m kind of lost when it comes to its story and characters. But I’m still finding it somewhat enjoyable.

It looks like a PS3 game, and plays like a PS2 game which is part of its appeal since I was a fan of PS2 Asian horror games. The game is a third person modern day horror game that’s a mix of Fatal Frame, Silent Hill and Shenmue. It’s basically an adventure game with you walking around and talking to characters in the real world, and entering a dark and twisted nightmare version of it with ghosts and monsters.

It’s a little basic when it comes to gameplay mechanics almost making it seem like an interactive story at times, and it’s also rather linear as well. However, that’s part of why I’m enjoying it because I’m not really in the mood for anything too complex or complicated right now when it comes to gameplay, mechanics and systems. It’s an atmospheric, creepy and somewhat scary horror game that’s fitting for this time of the year.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by canedaddy »

jfissel wrote: Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:41 pm I'm guessing either the clan grinding to 100 victories or the skill grinding to get to 300 in each stat. You also have to beat Amon, which is never easy even if you read a strategy straight from the internet lol.
Ha, all right, that is a task for a Machine, not an old man. I'll round up some cats, party at the New Gaudi, spear some octopi and call it a day.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by argyle »

Games added:[b/] I think I got another one of those dirt cheap PC game bundles, and oh yeah, I grabbed that Ghostbusters remaster that crim mentioned from the PSN sale. Hard to argue w/ $6 on that one.

Last week: Finished nothing, played Dreamlight Valley, Unraveled 2, and a little Plague Tale: Requium

This week: Been playing more DV & Unraveled 2, and started Iconoclasts but haven't gotten very far yet. Seems like a great game tho.

So Plague Tale 2 isn't grabbing me out of the gate the same way that the first one did. Remember how I said that the first game didn't have any of that annoying stealth where you have to watch guards pathing & try to sneak your way through hoping you don't trigger their field of vision? Yeah, the second one has a lot of that right out of the gate. So much in fact that I very quickly dropped the difficulty because it was becoming very frustrating getting spotted so much. I watched the wrap-up section of a review from one of the reviewers I like on youtube and he said that while he really liked the game it was a very different game from the first - so that confirms it's not just my imagination. I may set it aside for now, try it again later. Bright side, didn't cost me anything thanks to gamepass. ;)

Fired up Unraveled 2 as my game to get guaranteed achievements in to earn my Bing points. :) Of course, it's pretty fun as well - I had enjoyed the first one but just never got around to the sequel. They really expand the puzzles by throwing in a second character that you control. I'm generally playing a level a night, so I'll be playing this one for probably another week or two.

Was watching a video talking about how indie developers keep alive game genres that the big devs have abandoned - a pretty interesting watch, I'll link it below for anyone that's interested. At one point he's specifically using Metroidvanias as an example & showing some clip from some different indie games in that genre. One in particular caught my eye, but I didn't know what it was, so I grabbed a screenshot & did a Google image search to discover it was Iconoclasts - a game I've owned (physically no less) and had in my backlog for a while now. Fired it up and was immediately VERY impressed. Looks fantastic and so far plays just as good. I have been especially impressed by the way the game teaches you what you need to know not by using tons of dialog boxes or extended tutorial sections, but by placing simple signs around that show you an image of what it wants you to know (which you can choose to look at or ignore) and then a simple area where that action is required to progress. So more along the lines of how older games taught you to play without treating you like a moron.

I looked up the dev to see what else they had done, and discovered in this case the "they" is a "he" - one Swedish guy made the game all by himself over the course of about 10 years. Very impressive, and crazy (apparently he has gone on record as saying he does NOT advise anyone else try that :P ).

Tempted by RE Village Gold this week, but will try to resist.





crimson_tide wrote: Mon Oct 24, 2022 4:53 pmQuestion: I haven't bought my one full priced game this year yet. How can I stop myself from buying Sonic Frontiers day one? It looks really good and would honestly be the first time I paid full price for a Sonic game ever. But it's Sonic. I have been hurt so many times before...but I really want it :? !!!


Get it, it's a win/win for us. :P Either you love it & tell us how great it is, encouraging us to pickup a fun game -OR- you hate it & we get an epic Crim anti-Sonic rant out of it.

And because this is required by law:


Sonic-Cycle_Sonic-Forces.jpg
"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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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 251: 10/22/22: Bayonetta 3/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/Star Ocean: The Devine Force Edi

Post by canedaddy »

argyle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:58 am Was watching a video talking about how indie developers keep alive game genres that the big devs have abandoned - a pretty interesting watch, I'll link it below for anyone that's interested. At one point he's specifically using Metroidvanias as an example & showing some clip from some different indie games in that genre. One in particular caught my eye, but I didn't know what it was, so I grabbed a screenshot & did a Google image search to discover it was Iconoclasts - a game I've owned (physically no less) and had in my backlog for a while now. Fired it up and was immediately VERY impressed. Looks fantastic and so far plays just as good. I have been especially impressed by the way the game teaches you what you need to know not by using tons of dialog boxes or extended tutorial sections, but by placing simple signs around that show you an image of what it wants you to know (which you can choose to look at or ignore) and then a simple area where that action is required to progress. So more along the lines of how older games taught you to play without treating you like a moron.

I looked up the dev to see what else they had done, and discovered in this case the "they" is a "he" - one Swedish guy made the game all by himself over the course of about 10 years. Very impressive, and crazy (apparently he has gone on record as saying he does NOT advise anyone else try that :P ).
That often results in something special... Retro City Rampage/Shakedown Hawaii, Stardew Valley, Axiom Verge. I'll check it out.

argyle wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:58 am Get it, it's a win/win for us. :P Either you love it & tell us how great it is, encouraging us to pickup a fun game -OR- you hate it & we get an epic Crim anti-Sonic rant out of it.
Ha, yessss, do it!!!
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