The Backlog Check-in Vol. 409: 11/1/25: Post-Halloween Edition

[jfissel]

Tales of Old: Dominus (PC) - November 3
Europa Universalis V (PC) - November 4
Football Manager 26 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, iOS, Android) - November 4
Master Lemon: The Quest For Iceland (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) - November 4
Biped 2 (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC) - November 5
Cairn (PS5, PC) - November 5
Dinkum (Switch, PC) - November 5
Maplestory: Idle RPG (iOS, Android) - November 5
Plagun (PC) - November 5
The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike (Switch, PC) - November 5
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (Switch 2) - November 6
Syberia - Remastered (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - November 6
There Are No Orcs (PC) - November 6
Unbeatable (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - November 6
A Pizza Delivery (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - November 7


Finished: Ghost of Yotei (platinum)

Now Playing: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

Added to Backlog: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

Current Backlog: 41 games

Aaaaand the credits roll on Ghost of Yotei. The platinum wasn't too hard, just have to mainly take the time to explore...but it's also worth it as there are some neat areas of the map that I'm guessing a chunk of people don't get to see. Took 76 hours and 24 minutes, which is a lot to throw at a game in 1 month's time - 2.5 hours per day. There were too many times where I felt the combat just didn't respond to my seemingly-on-time inputs, so that was frustrating (especially in the duels). But I think the overall craftsmanship of the game (visuals, music, story, etc) make it worthy as a GOTY contender. Will wait for argyle's thoughts after he completes it.

Also had a $10 Best Buy certificate expiring so I pre-ordered Octopath Traveler 0.

[canedaddy]

Aaaaand the credits roll on Ghost of Yotei. The platinum wasn't too hard, just have to mainly take the time to explore...but it's also worth it as there are some neat areas of the map that I'm guessing a chunk of people don't get to see. Took 76 hours and 24 minutes, which is a lot to throw at a game in 1 month's time - 2.5 hours per day. There were too many times where I felt the combat just didn't respond to my seemingly-on-time inputs, so that was frustrating (especially in the duels). But I think the overall craftsmanship of the game (visuals, music, story, etc) make it worthy as a GOTY contender.

Glad to hear it! I will buy (and try to plat) eventually, but I think DQIII is up next after Borderlands, followed by Astrobot.



Played recently: Borderlands 4

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

I'm in the last area of B4 and still having a lot of fun despite the ridiculous technical problems. I found another glitched area that cannot be completed... inexcusable after all these weeks. But my loadout is amazing and it's a blast mowing down baddies and bosses, so I'm in till the end for sure.

[jfissel]

Glad to hear it! I will buy (and try to plat) eventually, but I think DQIII is up next after Borderlands, followed by Astrobot.



Played recently: Borderlands 4

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

I'm in the last area of B4 and still having a lot of fun despite the ridiculous technical problems. I found another glitched area that cannot be completed... inexcusable after all these weeks. But my loadout is amazing and it's a blast mowing down baddies and bosses, so I'm in till the end for sure.

Enjoy DQIII!

Also, the amount of issues you've encountered in B4 is crazy

[isthatallyougot]

I've got DQ VIII all ready to go on my emulator, but I'm just looking for a window to jump in. Sooner or later.

I loved Mutant Blobs Attack when I played it on Vita back in 2013. I'm not sure it would be as great on PC.

Nobody Saves the World is probably my least favorite Drinkbox game, but I still enjoyed it.

I just checked Backloggery and learned I apparently never played Guac 2. (Stupid old brain.) I'll have to remedy that sometime.

I never did get a Vita (or PSP), despite being tempted. For handheld gaming I was drowning in all the DS/gameboy stuff. They were surely some nice looking tech though. I know they had some good games, but I always felt like those Sony handhelds could have been supported better than they were overall. Still, there was plenty to warrant a purchase, I just never did. Imma move this over to the regular thread so this one can die its natural and peaceful death.




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Man, my OOTP league is crushing me right now. We've (The Michigan Lakesiders) got our best record in franchise history here in season 5 of the USBL. We've got the second best run differential in the entire 50 team league, the best bullpen overall, a fantastic defense and fully balanced and capable offense. Fantastic...right...right???

Not so fast. My ace...MY ACE went down with a 10 or 11 month injury to repair elbow ligaments. And he's got an "Iron Man" injury proneness - even better than durable. These guys rarely get injured, if ever. But sports are sports and that which is unlikely can and does occur. He's the all-time strikeouts leader in USBL history and just a guy you can really COUNT ON! It's not that we don't have good starting pitching otherwise - it's pretty good, but you RELY on your ace, especially in the post-season where he'll get at least 2 and maybe 3 appearances in a full 7 game series. Remove that element, and the increased burden on the rest of your team just dominoes in a very bad way. Of course, as manager and GM, I'll put on a happy face for my squad and make them believe, and I will fight with all the resourcefulness I can muster to push all the right buttons and massage our way to victory inasmuch as possible. But, in the dark when I'm alone in our hotel lying awake late at night (bear with me and my fantasies ), I know realities are realities.

And to rub salt in the wound, I had two long-term injuries to two other big-league ready pitchers that were killing it in AAA that already had a cup of coffee in the big leagues. I was just letting their development marinate since I could afford to do so. But they also both recently went down with 7 month and 11 month injuries respectively, and I'm left much thinner than I could have imagined only a couple weeks ago. So I'll be missing all those guys for the playoffs and 2 of the 3 will miss essentially ALL of next season. Man, what a crushing development. But like real sports, things happen in ways - both good and bad - that you might not expect. And that drama is intoxicating - both in the highs and the lows.

Oh, also, we were in contention for the number 2 seed, being tied with another team for that spot late in the final month, the same team we surprisingly (to me) beat in the playoffs last season. But we got swept by them which is going to force us into the 3 seed with no first round bye which would have been really nice to have. And being the 3 seed, we'll get the wild-card team in round 1, and that team has a much better record than both the #4 and #5 division winners. So the looming post-season feels a bit like a bittersweet anti-climax right now.

But, I'll lean heavily on my league-best bullpen and try to balance patience with a quick hook when my starters start showing that they might not have it and hope my offense continues to rake. What a fun (and agonizing) narrative everything is as seasons and story lines start to accumulate.

[canedaddy]

But like real sports, things happen in ways - both good and bad - that you might not expect. And that drama is intoxicating - both in the highs and the lows.

And that is why I still watch real sports. Although I try not to let the lows drag me down the way they did when I was younger.

[isthatallyougot]

But like real sports, things happen in ways - both good and bad - that you might not expect. And that drama is intoxicating - both in the highs and the lows.

And that is why I still watch real sports. Although I try not to let the lows drag me down the way they did when I was younger.

Yeah, I used to get WAY too absorbed when I was younger, both playing and watching. But, it's just part of the fun and passion. It's much harder for me to be invested like that at this point - in large part due to all the shenanigans and corruption from money/gambling. Granted, it's always been in the background of things. When there's large sums of money on the table, it inevitably attracts the snakes. That's life.

On the bright side, I think you're about to see the bottom fall out of the Steeler's season. They were always a paper tiger, but it ought to be fun for you to see, I'm sure, lol. On a side note, I've always felt like Tomlin was overrated. To be clear, I think he's a "good" coach, but he's always been more highly esteemed due to his demeanor and vibe than his actual acumen imho. He FEELS like a football guy and that masks his deficiencies.

I also think your Ravens are a flawed team this year, but I think they should have no issue taking the division. And there's time to address their problems.

Funnily enough, I'm more invested in my virtual sports fantasies than real life. My OOTP dreams did indeed fall short in the final 8 this year (1965 ). But I've won two division crowns in a row and made the final 8 (of 50) back to back years. Hopefully I can make some positive adjustments and avoid devastating injury bugs in 1966, and who knows? The unfolding drama will be gripping (for me) as always.

[canedaddy]

On the bright side, I think you're about to see the bottom fall out of the Steeler's season. They were always a paper tiger, but it ought to be fun for you to see, I'm sure, lol. On a side note, I've always felt like Tomlin was overrated. To be clear, I think he's a "good" coach, but he's always been more highly esteemed due to his demeanor and vibe than his actual acumen imho. He FEELS like a football guy and that masks his deficiencies.

I also think your Ravens are a flawed team this year, but I think they should have no issue taking the division. And there's time to address their problems.

I hope you're right!