The Backlog Check-in Vol. 384: 5/10/25: Mother's Day Edition

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Octopath Traveler II

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 40 games

50 something hours into Octopath Traveler II - did some side dungeons and a few more chapters. Working on leveling up the 2nd group from mid-high 20s to mid-high 30s so I can do some of the chapter 3 stories.

[argyle]

Games added: Atari 50: Expanded Edition

Last week: Finished Rogue Legacy 2, played Blue Prince & Revenge of the Savage Planet

This week: Mainly RotSP

Atari 50 is a great historical look at the company Atari, but a poor collection of Atari system games - and it really couldn't be helped. On the plus side, there is a TON of info on the history of the company. The main menu is laid out in a timeline, and it gives you everything from written summaries of what was going on at the time to scanned-in print ads (very high quality), videos of classic TV ads, manuals and comics that accompanied the games - it's really overwhelming, and it's a ton of fun to scroll through it all. I still have a lot to dig through as I only really scratched the surface, so I'm looking forward to diving in a little more. It covers the complete history of the company from its beginnings all the way through the Jaguar and into more modern times with its releases of classic game remakes. Very comprehensive.

The bad side, then, is the actual selection of games made available. Make no mistake, there are a LOT of games here, and many of the classics even include updated remakes as well. The problem is, if I were to ask everyone here to name their top 10, say, Atari 2600 games, I'm going to bet that there would be very few first-party games on the list. There would probably be tons of mentions of games like Pitfall!, River Raid, Jungle Hunt, Frogger, maybe Mrs. Pac-Man. And since all of these are third-party titles, none of them are included. I get why, it would be virtually impossible to get all of these companies to play nice & allow a truly comprehensive collection of these classic games to exist (legally, at any rate...) - but it really does stand out. I paid around $18 for the collection, and I feel like it's worth that for the historical aspect. If you have no interest in that, however, you'll be disappointed if you're approaching this as a game collection.

I think I'm trailing off of Blue Prince now - the remaining riddles are very, very dense and I don't really have the patience to keep doing runs (I believe I've done around 80 runs so far, and a run averages an hour, so...). Great game, still very highly recommended.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is excellent, even better than the first (and I loved the first one). Getting a sequel to that game was a pleasant surprise, and every time I hear someone say that AA games are dead it's one of the first ones I think of.

[canedaddy]

Played recently: Death Stranding: Director's Cut

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 42


I didn't get in much gaming the past week or so. My wife and I were in charge of the grandkids while my daughter and son-in-law went on a trip (he won it via his job). It was a wonderful time being with the little ones, but truly exhausting. We took them all over the place (parks, festivals, etc.) so they could burn off their kid energy, but it burnt us out more than it did them. Their supply is endless. Ah, youth.

I did try Death Stranding again, since it does have some appeal and I know a lot of people love it. I got further than I did on PS4, but I bailed after the death rain destroyed most of my cargo on a trek (I failed to bring luggage repair spray ) , and then the rest got wrecked when the creepy smoke dudes attacked and I got dragged into a black murder puddle. Not fun.

I can't remember... did any of you all play it? Thoughts?

I'm going to sit down and play something this afternoon, but I'm not sure what. Maybe the original Savage Planet, since it gets the argyle seal of approval.

NOTE: I have no clue what game that image below is from.

[jfissel]

I can't remember... did any of you all play it? Thoughts?

I know very little of Death Stranding or the upcoming sequel. Just doesn't seem like my type of game, so I haven't explored playing it.

[argyle]

I did try Death Stranding again, since it does have some appeal and I know a lot of people love it. I got further than I did on PS4, but I bailed after the death rain destroyed most of my cargo on a trek (I failed to bring luggage repair spray ) , and then the rest got wrecked when the creepy smoke dudes attacked and I got dragged into a black murder puddle. Not fun.

I can't remember... did any of you all play it? Thoughts?

I got a long way in it and really did enjoy what I played, but I never finished it. I've been saying for several months now that I'd like to finish it, but the problem is I played it on the PS5 (which I no longer have) so I'd have to start over from the beginning - and I don't know that I have that in me. It's a very methodical game, and absolutely not for everyone. And even if it is something you might click with, you have to be in the right mood/frame of mind for it. You get more transportation options as the game progresses, and there is MORE action than in the beginning but it's never anywhere close to being an action game. From what I'm hearing, the sequel is shaping up to be a lot more like a Metal Gear game.

I may end up picking it up on the PC eventually & seeing if I can replay the first half or so of the game that I played. I keep going back & forth on it.

[canedaddy]

Revenge of the Savage Planet is excellent, even better than the first (and I loved the first one). Getting a sequel to that game was a pleasant surprise, and every time I hear someone say that AA games are dead it's one of the first ones I think of.

Well that got me to fire up the first one (free on PS+ Extra), and I'm having a great time with it so far. I'd guess I'm about a third of the way through? Just beat the Floopsnoot Matriarch.

[argyle]

Revenge of the Savage Planet is excellent, even better than the first (and I loved the first one). Getting a sequel to that game was a pleasant surprise, and every time I hear someone say that AA games are dead it's one of the first ones I think of.

Well that got me to fire up the first one (free on PS+ Extra), and I'm having a great time with it so far. I'd guess I'm about a third of the way through? Just beat the Floopsnoot Matriarch.

It's rare that games can actually pull off being funny and still be fun, but these do it. Glad you're enjoying it!

[isthatallyougot]

Yeah, I've not played Death Stranding either, despite it being in my library. I think I remember argyle saying he thought I'd really enjoy it though. I hope to get to it one day.

I've been playing an interesting little Souls-like called Inferno Climber. I've read some refer to it as "Chibi Souls" and that's a good shorthand for it. But despite having some cute, rounded characters, it's every bit a Souls-like in terms of challenge. I've played more than 10 hours and have made precious little progress. But I'm already really invested and it truly does scratch that same Souls itch, even if the controls take a little getting used to. The worst offender is the occasional problematic camera, but overall, I can see me investing a lot of time in this one. You have to collect 5 purgatory/hell stones, and I haven't even sniffed the first one, lol.