The Backlog Check-In Vol. 446: 7/18/26: Splatoon Raiders Edition

[jfissel]

Advent: Dawn (PC) – July 20
Dewdrop Dynasty (PC) – July 21
Dive or Die: Children of Rain (PC) – July 21
Fading Echo (PC) – July 21
Scarlet Deer Inn (PC) – July 21
Annihilated (PC) – July 22
Hand of Fate: Hordes (Early Access) (PC) – July 22
Lifted (PC) – July 22
Tears of Metal (Early Access) (PC) – July 22
Avatar Legends (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) – July 23
Dinoblade (PC) – July 23
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (Switch 2) – July 23
Gurei (PS5, Switch, PC) – July 23
Hard Edge – War Zone (PC) – July 23
High Times – Dating/Cooking Sim (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) – July 23
Secret Seeker (PC) – July 23
Splatoon Raiders (Switch 2) – July 23
Tormentum 2 (PC) – July 23
An Eggstremely Hard Game (PC) – July 24


Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, PowerWash Simulator 2: Star Wars DLC

Added to Backlog: PowerWash Simulator 2: Star Wars DLC

Current Backlog: 36 games

Forgot the Star Wars DLC was coming out for PWS2, so I bought that and have cleaned 3 out of 6 levels so far. It's awesome, as expected. Going to finish that before starting Expedition 33.

[argyle]

Games added: The Messenger (switch)

Last week: Finished nothing, played Balatro and Beacon Pines

This week: Same

Beacon Pines is good stuff so far. My wife had been telling me I needed to play it for a while now, and it seemed like the kind of low-key game I'm in the mood for right now. It is. I guess if you had to stick it in a genre it would be a point & click adventure...kinda? Without all the annoying bits. It's very story heavy, but the story & characters are great so that's not a complaint. You collect...well, I guess words...and at certain times you can choose from a list of appropriate responses to branch the story off. Then at any time, you can go back to that point and choose something different to see where that branch goes. And often you have to go down the "wrong" branch to get the words you need to then go down the right one. It's hard to describe really, but it's a lot of fun.

And Balatro has got me hooked again. Amazing game that, and great for in-between gaming.

[canedaddy]

Played recently: GTA Vice City

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Well, I got 100% (and the Frankie outfit ) in Vice City. It took a while to adjust to the ancient controls, but thankfully they eventually became second nature, and I had an absolute blast playing through this beloved game and reliving all my fond memories of that time and place. Thanks for the inspiration, izzy!

The biggest struggles for me were completing level 12 in the firefighter missions and getting 45 points in the shooting range. Vigilante was an absolute breeze. On my previous playthrough, I used the Hunter (military helicopter), which wasn't too hard. This time, I used the Rhino (tank)... boom and boom and done.

Now I just need the ridiculous "Take the Cannoli" trophy for the platinum. I've already used the Cone Crazy method to amass an insane amount of money. Now apparently I just need to glitch my way through the fence to the boat docks, steal a police boat and shoot at Cortez's yacht for a few hours (i.e. rubberband on the controller). I've come this far, can't stop now, haha. I'll let you know how it goes.

[isthatallyougot]

Well, I got 100% (and the Frankie outfit ) in Vice City. It took a while to adjust to the ancient controls, but thankfully they eventually became second nature, and I had an absolute blast playing through this beloved game and reliving all my fond memories of that time and place. Thanks for the inspiration, izzy!

My pleasure. It was honestly kind of a throw back type of fun in the sense that we were playing the same thing at the same time - although maybe that never happened before, ha, I don't know. But the board was more in synch with the mainstream flow of the medium in the past - well, I mean, I was, ha. Anyway, yeah, I had a great time too after some initial awkwardness.

J, I know Pressure Washer must be very good. I've heard you mention it many times. I'm sure it's one of those things that is more fun in action than in concept. (Edit: Power Wash, duh! )

Argyle, I played and reviewed Beacon Pines not so long ago here - was it last year, right? I enjoyed it but that narrator really got under my skin in some moments. And the whole furry vibe was uncomfortable in terms of the art style. I don't know why, but it was just kind of unsettling in some weird way. But, I liked it overall.

[canedaddy]

VICE CITY PLATINUM ACQUIRED!



https://psnprofiles.com/trophies/4115-g ... /canedaddy

I thought the dream had died when I couldn't get through the gate at the marina and Google's AI told me you couldn't do it in the PS2 port on PS4. But I kept trying and was shocked when it finally worked and I found myself on the dock. It took a while to find a police boat, and it was nerve-racking getting on there (if I had fallen into the water, oof). But it went perfectly. Then it was just a matter of pointing the police boat at Cortez's yacht and locking the shoot button into position. Took about 4.5 hours until my criminal ranking reached 1,000,000 and that "Take the Cannoli" trophy popped, followed by "Kingpin" (the plat). And thus ends my thoroughly enjoyable return to Vice City.

J, I know Pressure Washer must be very good. I've heard you mention it many times. I'm sure it's one of those things that is more fun in action than in concept. (Edit: Power Wash, duh! )

I play that every spring when I get out my Sun Joe and spend hours blasting the mold off the vinyl siding while trying not to have a catastrophic ladder accident. Not my favorite game.