The Backlog Check-in Vol. 166: 3/6/21: Mail Mole Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played: Crossing Souls

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Crossing Souls

Added: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Black the Fall, Dead or School, Foregone, Grand Theft Auto V, Monkey King: Hero is Back, Outbreak: Epidemic, Outbreak: The New Nightmare, Secret of Mana, Star Ocean: First Departure R

Games releasing this week
Astellia Royal
Cave Bad
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse
Dead Age II
Doodle Devil: Evolution
Doug Hates His Job
Dreaming Sarah
Glitchangels
Heaven Dust
Journey of the Broken Circle
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
Mail Mole
Monster Energy Supercross 4
Orbital Racer
Pacer
Portal of Evil: Stolen Runes
Pascal’s Wager
Risk System
Scrapnaut
Self: Where’s My Father
Star Renegades
Stronghold: Warlords
3 Out of 10: Season One
Under the Jolly Roger
Warrior Boy

[crimson_tide]

...Mail Mole? Whatevs

Played: FF7R...I ummm...So I just beat FF7R and I can't remember. That game is a lot of a lot...


Beat: FF7R

Bought: It was free but DBZ Xenoverse 2 Lite...Monster Boy the new one, not the one based on the Genesis game...God of War? I think I bought God of War...oh yeah, The Division 2 Ultimate Warlords of New York...I think that's it.

This week: Look, I just beat FF7R finally so...I have to think about it.

FF7R is...what the hell man, nobody warned me! I don't really like playing it outside of combat and I only like combat on easy. I hate materia. It's just not a great system especially the way they did it in the action oriented battle system. I don't like how magic works, it needs to be more like something like Kingdom Hearts or you need to be able to spam spell. I want to throw Aerith into a high speed industrial fan. She's just the absolute worst. I hate literally everything about her. But as much as I was not into the story in a huge way...they got me. There's the twisty stuff and then they threw down the gauntlet. And I failed.

Because no matter how much I go on about what I don't like about this game, I will now buy part 2 day 1. Oh my God, I can't believe they did what they did. It's not fair. They cheated. HARD. I can't believe they did this to me. I'm such a sucker. When this shows up on my game of the year list next year, it will be for exactly ONE thing I am not going to be able to stop thinking about. I hate Square. They can suck it so hard...they play so gosh dang dirty...

[Phaseknox]

...Mail Mole? Whatevs

[jfissel]

Finished: Bugsnax (platinum #75)

Now Playing: Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Added to Backlog: Spyro: Reignited

Current Backlog: 40 games

I completed Bugsnax, which took a dark turn there at the end for what mostly seems like a light-hearted game. It was fun, looking forward to a sequel if that ever happens. And then I had a Best Buy rewards certificate about to expire, so I bought the Spyro trilogy...never played those games before, but good platformers are always my jam.

[canedaddy]

This week: Look, I just beat FF7R finally so...I have to think about it.

FF7R is...what the hell man, nobody warned me! I don't really like playing it outside of combat and I only like combat on easy. I hate materia. It's just not a great system especially the way they did it in the action oriented battle system. I don't like how magic works, it needs to be more like something like Kingdom Hearts or you need to be able to spam spell. I want to throw Aerith into a high speed industrial fan. She's just the absolute worst. I hate literally everything about her. But as much as I was not into the story in a huge way...they got me. There's the twisty stuff and then they threw down the gauntlet. And I failed.

Because no matter how much I go on about what I don't like about this game, I will now buy part 2 day 1. Oh my God, I can't believe they did what they did. It's not fair. They cheated. HARD. I can't believe they did this to me. I'm such a sucker. When this shows up on my game of the year list next year, it will be for exactly ONE thing I am not going to be able to stop thinking about. I hate Square. They can suck it so hard...they play so gosh dang dirty...

All right, without giving away whatever THAT is (I'm sure we're talking about something with Tifa), would you recommend it for someone who thinks the OG FF7 is the worst FF?


Played recently: Ratchet and Clank, Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Finished: Ratchet and Clank

Added to backlog: Golf Story

Current backlog: 10 (7 PS4, 1 Vita, 2 Switch)

As I said last week, Ratchet was a blast. I couldn't stop playing and cranked through it in a week (rare for me these days, as you know).

Now I'm playing the finale of the latest Tomb Raider trilogy and liking it a whole lot. The setting is much more appealing than the previous game... Peruvian/Incan vs. Siberia... and so far it seems like there's more exploration/puzzles, which I prefer to shooting/stealth.

[argyle]

Games added: Wonderful 101 Remastered, Neptunia Virtual Stars, The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia, Those Who Remain, Sayonara Wild Hearts

Last week: Finished nothing, played P5 Royal & Bejeweled 3

This week: Finish P5R

I thought for sure that I would finish P5R this past weekend, but it's definitely happening this week.

tumblr_or5p3sz0Wk1r2anbro3_400.gif (285.78 KiB) Viewed 8129 times

[crimson_tide]

All right, without giving away whatever THAT is (I'm sure we're talking about something with Tifa), would you recommend it for someone who thinks the OG FF7 is the worst FF?


Played recently: Ratchet and Clank, Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Finished: Ratchet and Clank

Added to backlog: Golf Story

Current backlog: 10 (7 PS4, 1 Vita, 2 Switch)

As I said last week, Ratchet was a blast. I couldn't stop playing and cranked through it in a week (rare for me these days, as you know).

Now I'm playing the finale of the latest Tomb Raider trilogy and liking it a whole lot. The setting is much more appealing than the previous game... Peruvian/Incan vs. Siberia... and so far it seems like there's more exploration/puzzles, which I prefer to shooting/stealth.

So several things old man:

1) The FF7R thing I am talking about relates specifically to me and the oddly particular fandom I am part of with literally ONE other person I have ever known, in real life or online. They decided to go all in on possibly the dumbest, most out of left field thread they could have chosen to pull for no logically coherent reason. I don't get Square. Barring that oddly specific thing, YES. You should play it. On easy. I am very much like you and FF7 the original ranks pretty low in my FF ranking. Like near the bottom. It is my least favorite but not the worst one I played. FF7R is honestly NOT that game, they fix a ton of the story and character issues (except Aerith) I had with it and it becomes something else entirely by the end. I honestly love what they did in terms of leaving this in a good place to move forward with a multi part epic. The game is weirdly difficult at times and oddly paced but on Easy, you can get to what the good parts are much, much quicker: the part where it's basically Yakuza but in Midgar. The game is good, it just has parts that don't work specifically for me. Parts named Aerith. But I think you would dig it. Plus, you can get through it casually playing in about 30 hours (it took me longer because I suck ). Also, it's free with Plus, I assume you still have Plus, so it can't hurt to try and all...

2) I played R&C a couple summers back over a weekend traveling to a conference with my wife. She was speaking over the weekend so I sat in a Denver hotel room. We also saw the new Lion King that weekend. I also found out how terrible pizza is in Denver. It was not a good trip...except for R&C. My only real gripe was I did not like fighting the final boss. Loved the idea, hated the execution. The new one will be hands down the game I play first when I get a PS5 down the line.

3) I played the first Tomb Raider reboot. It was fine. I tried playing Rise. They messed up the bear fight. I don't play games where you mess up fighting a bear. It's absolutely not OK. I really tried but couldn't get into the game after that. I don't know if I want to try Shadow...

OOH OOH, Argyle's almost done with P5R!!! I can't wait, I have so many thoughts especially about the final boss...

Finally, I did it. I stayed up until 12:30 last night and I just got the platinum trophy but I beat 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim. It was BALLER! That's a masterpiece right there, hands down one of the best representations of how to tell a video game story without doing typically video game things. It's just a brilliant experience. I don't want to spoil anything but y'all NEED to get on this. You might not like the capital P plot but I can guarantee for damn sure you will appreciate the craft. This beast would not work in another medium. It just wouldn't...oh my God, somebody is going to try to make this an anime someday. Or worse...a Netflix show...it just wouldn't work. When someone else tries this thing, I think they will savvy what I'm saying. It really is video game storytelling at its finest...definitely worth the 30+ hours I sunk into it!

[argyle]

I stopped playing P5R last night on Feb. 3, right when they pull you into the dungeon for the final showdown. It ends tonight!

...and then I start P5 Strikers.

[canedaddy]

1) The FF7R thing I am talking about relates specifically to me and the oddly particular fandom I am part of with literally ONE other person I have ever known, in real life or online. They decided to go all in on possibly the dumbest, most out of left field thread they could have chosen to pull for no logically coherent reason. I don't get Square. Barring that oddly specific thing, YES. You should play it. On easy. I am very much like you and FF7 the original ranks pretty low in my FF ranking. Like near the bottom. It is my least favorite but not the worst one I played. FF7R is honestly NOT that game, they fix a ton of the story and character issues (except Aerith) I had with it and it becomes something else entirely by the end. I honestly love what they did in terms of leaving this in a good place to move forward with a multi part epic. The game is weirdly difficult at times and oddly paced but on Easy, you can get to what the good parts are much, much quicker: the part where it's basically Yakuza but in Midgar. The game is good, it just has parts that don't work specifically for me. Parts named Aerith. But I think you would dig it. Plus, you can get through it casually playing in about 30 hours (it took me longer because I suck ). Also, it's free with Plus, I assume you still have Plus, so it can't hurt to try and all...

Excellent. Very much appreciate the word, and easy it is.

2) I played R&C a couple summers back over a weekend traveling to a conference with my wife. She was speaking over the weekend so I sat in a Denver hotel room. We also saw the new Lion King that weekend. I also found out how terrible pizza is in Denver. It was not a good trip...except for R&C. My only real gripe was I did not like fighting the final boss. Loved the idea, hated the execution. The new one will be hands down the game I play first when I get a PS5 down the line.

I don't disagree, the last boss fight wasn't fun.

3) I played the first Tomb Raider reboot. It was fine. I tried playing Rise. They messed up the bear fight. I don't play games where you mess up fighting a bear. It's absolutely not OK. I really tried but couldn't get into the game after that. I don't know if I want to try Shadow...

Ha, you are right again. The animal fights in Shadow are about the same. It sure ain't no Kazuma vs. Tiger. They also introduced something in the last segment I played reminiscent of the part of Uncharted 1 I didn't care for... take a guess.

[Phaseknox]

I finished Crossing Souls. It was a decent little top down view 2D pixel art comical adventure with combat, platforming and puzzles. The majority of the game offers a fun comedic lightheartedness with good pacing and a reasonable challenge, but things get a little too dark and serious near the end and the platforming and trap challenges become frustratingly difficult along with the last few bosses. The story, characters and ending were just ok, the environments/levels, gameplay and humorous 80s references throughout were the best aspects of the game.