The Backlog Check-in Vol. 331: 5/4/24: Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played: Borderlands, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Finished: Nothing

Playing: ?

Added: Fearmonium, Jinshin, Knights of Grayfang, Spidersaurs, Yomawari: Midnight Shadows

Games releasing this week
Abyss
Animal Well
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extraction
Brocula
Broadsword Warlord Edition
CorpoNation: The Sorting Process
Crow Country
Cryptmaster
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World
Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change
Farm Together 2
Gatekeeper
Gift
Heading Out
Imagine Earth
Indika
King Arthur: Legion IX
Little Kitty Big City
1000xResist
Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs
Plushie from the Sky
Parkour legends
Rainbow Cotton
Rogue Voltage
Ships At Sea
Stellaris: The Machine Age
Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns
V Rising

[canedaddy]

Played recently: The Messenger, Hollow Knight, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, Axiom Verge 2

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 35


I had to bail on The Messenger because of the thumb-destroying double jump mechanic. What a shame... that game seems truly great.

Seeking another Metroidvania to play, I checked out a few others before landing on Axiom Verge 2. That is just what the doctor ordered. Not sure why it took me so long to get to it... the first one was great too.

[isthatallyougot]

I've put about 20 hours into Morrowind and I feel like I've done ****nothing****, lol. I know it's "small" relative to many games in terms of pure area, but the movement speed *expands* things, lol. You really do feel like you're almost crawling at the beginning. The running speed feels more like normal walking speed in many games. I've heard some say that the lack of consistent vegetation / points of reference (you're on barren land much of the time) reduces the sense of pace, and I'm sure that's true. I'm not complaining, to be clear. I have no issue with a methodical pace, and there are methods of fast travel available right at the outset along with others that I've discovered as I've played. But so much of the fun of TES games is wandering and discovering, so I don't like over-using fast travel since it makes me miss out on so much. Also, I know that there are ways - even beyond simple leveling - of increasing the pep in your step, ha. But I haven't had the resources or made the right discoveries to really take advantage of those things just yet.

But the game is also *very* dense, so that density really serves to slow your pace as well. Between reading books, copious NPC dialogue, getting your bearings and simply deciding *what* you want to do and *where* you might want to go...along with the measured traversal, well yeah, it's an TES game, lol. It's a bit overwhelming, but in a satisfying way. This is certainly one of those games where your reward in commensurate to investment imho. If you are a "race to the finish" type here, you'll likely find things tedious. But if you are able to "surrender" to the game's rhythms and pace and can gradually explore, discover and learn, it's quite the immersive thing. I wouldn't even begin to compare it to TES IV or V yet (the only ones I've previously played) since I'm still so green in this world, but the template is surely recognizable, differences notwithstanding.

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Windbound, Stellar Blade

Added to Backlog: Stellar Blade

Current Backlog: 44 games

Watched enough videos to make a decision on Stellar Blade. Not too far into it.

[crimson_tide]

Hey all! As always, busy busy week but summer is coming

Played: Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth: at the end of chapter 12 (off to go see people and do a thing j, you know what I'm on about). Been fooling around and leveling jobs, going to the dungeon and trying to get all the traits leveled up. Also, beat Mega Man 3, 4, 5, 6. Somehow, I think 6 is my favorite now? I have thoughts on the series but I think I am Mega Man classic'd out right now. Might try Battle Network 2 before the summer though because that was a bat**** insane plot twist literally on the penultimate screen of MMBN1. Also, a bit of Kingdoms of Amular.

Bought: Disgaea 5, Langrissier 1&2, and Kingdoms of Amular Re-Reckoning (the old man made it sound like fun and the Steam Deck version is perfect for pick up and play, it looks and runs great).

This week: Infinite Wealth hopefully. Still undecided on Steam Deck...

Hope all is well, fam!

[jfissel]

Played: Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth: at the end of chapter 12 (off to go see people and do a thing j, you know what I'm on about). Been fooling around and leveling jobs, going to the dungeon and trying to get all the traits leveled up.

Oh yeah, I remember. What are your favorite jobs so far?

[crimson_tide]

Kuonichi is ridiculously overpowered. Samurai is cool too. Likewise geodancer has been great along with pyrodancer. Auqanaut has been stupid and thus fun. Action star is an absolute blast. I also have Adachi in the linebacker job with the traditional swimsuit gear and I might have found my new body goal (of course it's ridiculously unobtainable but imma still try ). It also has one of my favorite essence moves and it's the essence of showboating I think? The one with the cheerleaders, so dumb.

Hands down though my favorite is dragon of dojima, and it's not even close. So much attack priority, the ability to switch stances and the last essence is literally just dragon of the darkness flame from the anime Yu Yu Hakusho.



All that AND you have the option to go old school beat em up Yakuza style PLUS get skills to fill gaps from other jobs? Bruh, they really outdid themselves! Kasuga NEEDS this setup next game.

[isthatallyougot]

Still really enjoying my time with Morrowind. I'm feeling a *little* less overwhelmed, ha, but I feel like I've only scratched the surface of all there is to do and see. I'm certainly more powerful than at the beginning, but far from comfortable to go wherever I want, and I really haven't explored that much of the map. I'm a little over 30 hours into things, but this will probably be one that lasts me a *long* time. I'll probably sprinkle in some smaller titles just to keep that sense of variety. It's not that I have a sense of fatigue at all, but it's nice to mix things up for that ongoing sense of "renewal".

I will say that I can't imagine most that are acclimatized to modern gaming or who don't sometimes love/play older stuff and/or love TES having an easy time with this. It's very much the same flavor of IV & V in so many ways, but it also has an awkward and clunky feel that is even more pronounced than in those already-clumsy (from a mechanical perspective) entries.

[Phaseknox]

Hope all is well, fam!

Not really, I fell out of my wheelchair and fractured my right hip. I had surgery last night, and I’m in the hospital recovering.

[jfissel]

Hope all is well, fam!

Not really, I fell out of my wheelchair and fractured my right hip. I had surgery last night, and I’m in the hospital recovering.

Oh geez, hope you can heal up quickly! We're just blabbering on about games and you have an actual thing going on.