The Backlog Check-in Vol. 355: 10/19/24: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6/Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven/Ys X: Nordics

[Phaseknox]

Played: Second Life

Finished: Nothing

Playing: ?

Added: Nothing

Games releasing this week
Alan wake II - The Lake House
Amanda the Adventurer 2
Awaken: Astral Blade
Banjo-Tooie
Barbie Project Friendship
Batman: Arkham Shadow
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Card-en-Ciel
The Coma 2B: Catacomb
Dead Island 2: Ultimate Edition
Dunjungle
Factorio: Space Age
Fae Farm
Fantasy Friends: Dream Worlds
Fear the Spotlight
Flint: Treasure of Oblivion
Goat Simulator 3
Goblin Slayer Another Adventurer: Nightmare Feast
Infestation: Origins
The Jackbox Survey Scramble
Kong: Survivor Instinct
Lynked: Banner of the Spark
Miraculous: Paris Under Siege
No More Room in Hell 2
Potionomics
Prim
Psychopomp Gold
Puppet House
Railroad Corporation 2
Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond
Rivals 2
Rivals of Aether II
Rogue Flight
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town
SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky
Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut
The Smurfs: Dreams
Sonic X Shadow Generations
Soul Stalker
Stilt Fella
Taboo Trial
Tarisland
Technotopia
Telebbit
Tower of Madness
Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch
Voidwrought
While We Wait Here
Wildermyth
Windblown
Worshippers of Cthulhu
Ys X: Nordics
Zero Sievert

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Layton's Mystery Journey (3DS)

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 43 games

Probably 30% done with Layton and on track for completion before DQ3 remake releases. Beat the first Astro Bot speed run DLC, though my time wasn't great - one level a week for the next 4 weeks is incoming.

[argyle]

Games added: Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Alan Wake II (pc)

Last week: Finished nothing, played mainly just Vampire Survivors

This week: More VS & will be starting Alan Wake II

I almost always end up playing Yakuza/Like a Dragon games in multiple parts, and I think I've figured out why. The cutscenes. Man, they talk FOR-EV-ER in those games, and often they're rehashing the same stuff over & over. I mean, the stories are great, the characters are great, but holy crap it's like reading a book sometimes. And when I've gotten home and found a little time in the evening for some gaming, I'd generally like to actually play a game rather than read one. So I found myself looking sideways at Infinite Wealth this past week & then booting up Vampire Survivors, because I know that I'm at a point where I need to push forward with the story and I have a feeling that it's going to be a very long cutscene - or series of them - when I do. I'll definitely go back to it, but I'm going to take a break for now. I want to get something spooky in around Halloween, and I've also been wanting to play AW2 before I forget (again...) what happened in the first one that I just replayed last year. They finally hit my price on PC this weekend, $25.

Oh, and I picked a good time to pick Vampire Survivors back up because this trailer just dropped today:

[isthatallyougot]

Phase, have you abandoned traditional gaming altogether? ha

I jumped back into Halls of Torment and realized they'd added a bunch of stuff. I also was a bit off-speed in terms of remembering everything since it had been a while since I played last. But, it didn't take long to get back in the flow. It's a fun game, but also a bit of a mindless and repetitive sort of a visual feast. I've certainly enjoyed it, having played 20+ hours, but I'll have to fully explore the 1.0 before I'm ready to settle on how I ultimately feel about it.

I also started up a game I bought recently called Arise: A Simple Story. And for me it truly is a simple story since I don't seem to be able to play it. There's a bug (for some) with the ability to utilize a grappling hook - a necessary item to advance. It just won't deploy after the first instance in a level. The developer has no fix or answer for those affected. I've tried it on both a Windows and Linux installation with the same results, so I guess I'll shelve it until later on if it's fixed or if I've got sufficient enthusiasm to sort it out on my own. It's not like it was something I was salivating to play, but I was certainly interested and was enjoying the little I was able to experience. It's been a rare year for gaming issues for me. I've had more than normal lately it seems, or maybe I'm just noticing it where I didn't really give it too much thought before. This is the first time where I haven't been able to play a game I started. Even PC gaming wiki didn't have any help for me. Oh well.

I've also gone back to the golden years of the PS1 and played a late release in C-12 Final Resistance. I think I'm pretty close to finished. It's been decent, but far from a must play.

[Phaseknox]

Phase, have you abandoned traditional gaming altogether? ha

For now, yes. My eyes are damaged beyond just blurriness that can be corrected with glasses, so viewing things now is depressing for me. Second Life I view up close on my laptop so I don’t wear glasses when playing it, I see better up close. The lighting and colors are somewhat dim and faded looking due to my eyesight, but since the graphics are fairly dated and rudimentary it doesn’t bother me quite as much. And Second Life isn’t about gameplay, it’s a virtual world that you socialize in. So I drink beer, listen to music and escape into its world.

I’m hoping that with time I can accept the way that my vision is now as it becomes my new normal, but it’s still really bothering me. It combined with all of my other mental and physical health problems has made me start drinking on a daily basis just to cope and get through the days.

[canedaddy]

For now, yes. My eyes are damaged beyond just blurriness that can be corrected with glasses, so viewing things now is depressing for me. Second Life I view up close on my laptop so I don’t wear glasses when playing it, I see better up close. The lighting and colors are somewhat dim and faded looking due to my eyesight, but since the graphics are fairly dated and rudimentary it doesn’t bother me quite as much. And Second Life isn’t about gameplay, it’s a virtual world that you socialize in. So I drink beer, listen to music and escape into its world.

I’m hoping that with time I can accept the way that my vision is now as it becomes my new normal, but it’s still really bothering me. It combined with all of my other mental and physical health problems has made me start drinking on a daily basis just to cope and get through the days.

So sorry to hear that. You're a grown man so you don't need me to tell you how to live, but I would urge caution with the drinking (it's caused a lot of damage in my family). I'd also suggest you get out and engage with other humans in some way, whether it be a church or a social group or whatever. I will pray for your healing and salvation.


Played recently: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Finished: PoP

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 45

I finished The Lost Crown over the weekend. I really enjoyed it, aside from some truly ridiculous platforming sections and a boss fight or two that annoyed me. At some point I got the Sands of Time skin and used that to make the prince look right.

I eyed the platinum, but one thing you need to do is all the side quests. I've done all except one -- which is made up of four sets of tough platforming challenges. No thanks. It's fun moving through the world when you have all the powers, but not so fun I want to spend hours trying to complete those.

No idea what I will play next.

[isthatallyougot]

Phase, have you abandoned traditional gaming altogether? ha

For now, yes. My eyes are damaged beyond just blurriness that can be corrected with glasses, so viewing things now is depressing for me. Second Life I view up close on my laptop so I don’t wear glasses when playing it, I see better up close. The lighting and colors are somewhat dim and faded looking due to my eyesight, but since the graphics are fairly dated and rudimentary it doesn’t bother me quite as much. And Second Life isn’t about gameplay, it’s a virtual world that you socialize in. So I drink beer, listen to music and escape into its world.

I’m hoping that with time I can accept the way that my vision is now as it becomes my new normal, but it’s still really bothering me. It combined with all of my other mental and physical health problems has made me start drinking on a daily basis just to cope and get through the days.

I hear ya phase. Mother nature can be one unsentimental bitch, no doubt. I know we all have our own personalities and ways which things affect us, but I will say that (in my own life) when things get nasty (and oh boy have they at times), I struggle, of course, like anyone. However, I ultimately move into a space of humor and a - sheesh this sounds arrogant and the opposite of my feeling, but - lessening of ego / self-importance. All is just unfolding as it is, and it's only our judgment of circumstance that really causes the "suffering" - that resistance to what *is*. It's that constant inner desire to escape that hurts. Either the pulling towards of what isn't present or the pushing away of what is immediate experience. I don't know if you can taste the flavor of what I'm talking about, but it's not always easy to articulate properly - words don't impart the vibe.

And echoing cane, yeah, you do you, but alcohol only compounds issues from my perspective. My father drank to excess (at times) when I was very young, and I've carried some of those scars throughout life (emotional - not physical, thankfully, well I guess, ha). We all medicate/cope in our own ways - no judgment, but some approaches only exacerbate suffering. In the end, there's nothing to do but face what is in front of you, so you either accept things or reject. Personally, I find it healthy and even *cleansing* and cathartic to *embrace* what is happening, whatever it may be.

I know we've all been in our own little community here for many years, and hopefully it goes without saying that I wish each of you nothing but the best, as impossible a wish as that may be.

[argyle]

Sorry you're having such a rough go of it Phase. Let me echo a lot of what's already been said (and which you probably already know) but alcohol isn't the answer. Like izzy said, I feel like we're pretty tight-knit here but with us only being able to interact online we're limited in how we can help one another beyond moral support and prayer. Believe me, if I were local I'd come over and hang out with you to help get you out of your slump. So try to find a local group that can give you that support, and stay strong.

In lighter news, I ended up refunding Alan Wake II because it runs like crap on PC. And from what I've read online, not just my PC but most. I saw people saying that even with them getting frame rates over 100fps, it was still so stuttery that it was almost unplayable. Sucks, but at least I got my money back and can continue to just wait for a good sale on the Xbox. Oh well.