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[anthony2690]

All them poor souls not playing Elden ring, all you guys voted yes, you're lying to yourselves

Spoiler

if not elden ring, it will be some other game

 

[DelireMan7]

All them poor souls not playing Elden ring, all you guys voted yes, you're lying to yourselves

Spoiler

if not elden ring, it will be some other game

I said yes and will still play Elden ring.

You're allowed to play new games. Just the goal is to encourage people to finish their backlog and refrain from buying a lot of games without playing them.

It's also a nice place filled with positivity where people share their thoughts on games.

My favorite thread of Neogaf !

 

[anthony2690]

I said yes and will still play Elden ring.

You're allowed to play new games. Just the goal is to encourage people to finish their backlog and refrain from buying a lot of games without playing them.

It's also a nice place filled with positivity where people share their thoughts on games.

My favorite thread of Neogaf !

My post was playful, hopefully it came across that way, I've been trying to work through my backlog too, I finished up 9 parchments what I really enjoyed

Debating whether to try squeeze in Kingdom hearts 2.5 remix, but I don't think it would be possible to finish and put time for the extra content before dying light 2, so I might start in in the summer dry spell

I wouldn't want to ruin the experience by rushing it

 

[DelireMan7]

My post was playful, hopefully it came across that way, I've been trying to work through my backlog too, I finished up 9 parchments what I really enjoyed

Debating whether to try squeeze in Kingdom hearts 2.5 remix, but I don't think it would be possible to finish and put time for the extra content before dying light 2, so I might start in in the summer dry spell

I wouldn't want to ruin the experience by rushing it

Haha sorry

I feel you. I am almost done with Sekiro's platinum and wonder what could I squeeze in before Elden Ring. I might do a little gaming break before the release. I also don't like rushing games.

 

[mekes]

I finished Tales of Arise today. It’s my 2nd Tales game, the other being Berseria and I’ve enjoyed both. These games do some things extremely well but its easy to see where money is held back. I like the game enough to wish it had that Final Fantasy type budget. The game has zero awareness which is amazing. At one point it went from a dramatic scene where 100+ civilians of a town get liquified to my character laughing about how much cheese fondue he can eat 30 seconds later. Great game tho and well worth checking out. Great story, world and combat.

I‘m not sure what I will play next but it will definitely be an honest choice from my backlog. I do need a change of pace so definitely no back to back JRPGs!

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Finished Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Great game brehs, much improved over Ratchet & Clank 2016. The weapons are better, the Clank puzzles are awesome, and two new characters are good - Rivet and Glitch. Just plain fun.

I have beaten 14 games (if you include the 3 I dropped) on my backlog this month, that must be a new record for me. I doubt I will finish Jak and Daxter before Feb. Will start Days Gone next, seems to be one of those love it or hate it games.

14 games. Impressive!

 

[Y0ssarian]

I finished Tales of Arise today. It’s my 2nd Tales game, the other being Berseria and I’ve enjoyed both. These games do some things extremely well but its easy to see where money is held back. I like the game enough to wish it had that Final Fantasy type budget. The game has zero awareness which is amazing. At one point it went from a dramatic scene where 100+ civilians of a town get liquified to my character laughing about how much cheese fondue he can eat 30 seconds later. Great game tho and well worth checking out. Great story, world and combat.

I‘m not sure what I will play next but it will definitely be an honest choice from my backlog. I do need a change of pace so definitely no back to back JRPGs!

Good shit. I used to be a big Tales fan - played all of them from Symphonia onwards, except the DS games. I just bought Arise, but will probably take a while for me to get around to it tho. Berseria was really good though, I liked Rokurou, Eizen and Magilou.

 

[Y0ssarian]

14 games. Impressive!

Thanks. I just beat Jak and Daxter 1 from the PS3 collection. Great game, holds up very well. Didn't expect to knock it out today. Game was a cake walk up until the area just before the final boss.

I missed all those platformers from the PS2, I have a fun (and long) journey ahead

 

[Phase]

+3 completed.

11. Blaster Master Zero (PC) | Jan 23rd - 7hrs
The dialogue reads like some fanfic, but the gameplay mechanics are cool and the areas have nice variety. Good music tops it off.

12. Battlefield Hardline (PC) | Jan 25th - 7hrs
Honestly, not that bad. The story is underwhelming but good cast, great voice acting, with Battlefield familiarity.

13. Clive Barker's Undying (PC) | 29th Jan - 11hrs
Great setting and atmosphere, average gameplay.

Spoiler: Backlog progress

Arx Fatalis
Battlefield Hardline -> finished
Battlefront 2 (2005) -> finished
Beyond Good and Evil -> dropped
Bioshock Remastered -> dropped
Blade Runner
Blasphemous
Blaster Master Zero -> finished
Castlevania's (circle, harmony, aria)
Clive Barker's Undying -> finished
Crime Cities -> dropped
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Disco Elysium
Earthbound
Enclave -> currently playing
Gothic 2
Grandia hd remaster
Halo Wars -> dropped
Hard Reset -> dropped
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders -> dropped
Hexen 1+2
Hollow Knight
Insomnia The Ark -> dropped
Kenshi
Kotor 1+2
Luigi's Mansion 3
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Ninja Gaiden 1+2
No More Heroes
Outcast -> currently playing
Outwars -> dropped
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Policenauts
RE hd remaster
Rise of the Tomb Raider -> finished
Shadow of the Tomb Raider -> finished
Shenmue 2
SiN Gold
Skyward Sword
Stasis
Strife: Veteran's Edition
System Shock 2
The Saboteur
Tomb Raider 2013 -> finished
Unmetal -> finished
Unreal Tournament 3: Black Edition -> finished
Vampire The Masquerade Redemption
Yakuza Kiwami
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Zelda (nes)
Zelda: Minish Cap

Spoiler: Updated backlog

Arx Fatalis
Blade Runner
Blasphemous
Castlevania's (circle, harmony, aria)
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Disco Elysium
Earthbound
Enclave
Gothic 2
Grandia hd remaster
Hexen 1+2
Hollow Knight
Kenshi
Kotor 1+2
Luigi's Mansion 3
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Ninja Gaiden 1+2
No More Heroes
Outcast
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Policenauts
RE hd remaster
Shenmue 2
SiN Gold
Skyward Sword
Stasis
Strife: Veteran's Edition
System Shock 2
The Saboteur
Vampire The Masquerade Redemption
Yakuza Kiwami
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Zelda (nes)
Zelda: Minish Cap

I'm currently in the middle of Outcast (1999) and Enclave (2002). Both great so far. Here's a pic at the start of one of the levels in Enclave. Runs perfectly in ultrawide.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Anyone here played The Last of Us Part II? I started it today and I just saw where Abby kills a certain guy. I'm dropping it, because these are such a nasty bunch of characters and they expect me to sympathize with one of them? I literally finished Jak and Daxter yesterday also from Naughty Dog, and that same company thought Last of Us 2 was a good idea

 

[LegionX]

With January coming to a close I figured I'd better update here... I think it was one of my most productive months ever as far as game completion.. but wow.. a few of you absolutely crushed me still!

1. Gorogoa (PC)

A bit of an unusual one this... It's a very chill puzzle game that is basically made from having up to 4 2D images/scenes on the screen at once, and you can generally zoom in or move around in the scenes, or drag things out of them, and you need to match things to the other scenes to progress... it's a little tough for me to explain but it's an interesting style I've never seen before, certainly has that thing of equally frustrating you if you get stuck but then making you feel like a genius when you work it out.... It's a short and cheap game, would recommend

2. Florence (PC)

This is probably the shortest game I've completed... 38 minutes! I think it was originally developed as a mobile game, but it works fine on PC... it's just a very short story about a couple meeting and how life progresses, and the activities you do are super basic but related to the plot.. example.... on their first date as they are talking to each other you have to do a puzzle to create the word bubbles for them as their conversation, and as the conversation goes on the puzzles get easier and easier, demonstrating their progress in the relationship. So yea... barely a game.. more an interactive story.... super short... but on sale I think it cost me a couple dollars, worth it for that!

3. Donut County (PC)

All I knew about this was the premise of you being a hole in the ground and having to swallow things and grow as you do, basically a variant of Katamari Damacy... What I didn't expect was there to be a really quirky plot and group of characters,,, perhaps I should have considering the similarity to Katamari! Anyways.. it's pretty short and doesn't outstay its welcome, probably not complex enough to be a full length title.. but for what it is, was good fun

4. Gone Home (PC)

Probably not much to say about this one.. it was one of the earlier "walking simulators" and that's literally what it is... walk around a house working out what happened by reading notes and etc, and progressing by finding keys to open locked rooms to further the plot... You either like these narrative/plot based games or you hate them and think they aren't "real" games....

5. Godfall (PS5)

This one was a bit of a slog, it's not as if anything about it bad as such, but it just all feels kinda generic... add to that I never really have been in to the looter style game like Destiny etc of constantly upgrading weapons and armor builds.. Also the thing that frustrated me the most was the fact it's an online only game... but I was never online... Yet..... if my internet (or their servers I guess) would glitch out for even a couple seconds, it would bring up an error message about losing network... and dump me to the title screen... no holding and waiting for things to come good so you could continue the mission.... There was one late mission that was probably close to an hour long... I think I played it 6 times before completing it... purely from it randomly just dropping me to the menu screen.. so you had to start from the beginning, listen to the same voice over each time... frustrating!!!

6. Killzone Liberation (PSP)

I've had this one ongoing for probably 3 years now so very glad to be past it! Unlike all the other Killzones it's a isometric style view, and maybe a little more tactical... it's also.. for me at least... really quite difficult! I'd often do just one stage at a time and then turn it off and take months to return to it... eventually this time I actually drop it to Easy just to clear it.... yet... I still got stuck at a couple boss battles for literally hours.... clearly this game just isn't my skill base..... Weirdly... this game originally came out with 4 Chapters on the UMD (or digital release) and then they later on released Chapter 5 as DLC.. which was the actual end of the game.... Considering the state of the PSP network etc, I jumped through a bunch of hoops and tasks to try to get Chapter 5 working on the PSP, and I did succeed in playing Mission 1... but loading Mission 2 would literally cause my PSP to completely shut off dead... so I watched the last 3 missions of Chapter 5 on YouTube and will consider this done

 

[LegionX]

Anyone here played The Last of Us Part II? I started it today and I just saw where Abby kills a certain guy. I'm dropping it, because these are such a nasty bunch of characters and they expect me to sympathize with one of them? I literally finished Jak and Daxter yesterday also from Naughty Dog, and that same company thought Last of Us 2 was a good idea

I played through it... I felt the mechanics were a huge jump from the first game.. but I myself really struggled with the story... I'm not one of the people that had an issue with Abby being the size she is etc, but I really couldn't sympathize either, and found it a little annoying having to play so much of the game with people I didn't care for

But the mechanics/graphics/everything else basically were top notch

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Anyone here played The Last of Us Part II? I started it today and I just saw where Abby kills a certain guy. I'm dropping it, because these are such a nasty bunch of characters and they expect me to sympathize with one of them? I literally finished Jak and Daxter yesterday also from Naughty Dog, and that same company thought Last of Us 2 was a good idea

Haven't played it (don't own PS4 or PS5), but I'm well aware of the Abby controversies. I even spoiled myself on the full story of the game because I didn't anticipate playing it anytime soon. (Again, mostly because I don't have a console to play it on.)

Do note that the first game was one of my absolute favorite games from the PS3 gen.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Thanks. I just beat Jak and Daxter 1 from the PS3 collection. Great game, holds up very well. Didn't expect to knock it out today. Game was a cake walk up until the area just before the final boss.

I missed all those platformers from the PS2, I have a fun (and long) journey ahead

I did the Jak and Daxter thing very wrongly. I played the first game on the PS3 collection and was bored to tears because I got stuck somewhere. But I should give it another try in the future.

(I have since sold off that Jak and Daxter collection, as I sold off my entire PS3 physical catalogue several years ago)

 

[Phase]

Man, I'm really enjoying Enclave. You have both a light and dark campaign. Each level is unique and hand-crafted, with some real destruction in level architecture that can land on you or enemies and kill. Projectile weapons are fun to use for once in an old rpg. Also, progression is pretty interesting in this. Basically, each level has coins to be found or looted from enemies, weapons to find, etc. Once you beat a level you retain the coins and everything else, which is then added to a pool you can use to equip your character for the next level (with better weapons, armor, etc.). And during the playthrough you will unlock new characters to play with which can draw from the total pool you've accumulated.

I'm well into the dark campaign now. A few more screenshots.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Man, I'm really enjoying Enclave. You have both a light and dark campaign. Each level is unique and hand-crafted, with some real destruction in level architecture that can land on you or enemies and kill. Projectile weapons are fun to use for once in an old rpg. Also, progression is pretty interesting in this. Basically, each level has coins to be found or looted from enemies, weapons to find, etc. Once you beat a level you retain the coins and everything else, which is then added to a pool you can use to equip your character for the next level (with better weapons, armor, etc.). And during the playthrough you will unlock new characters to play with which can draw from the total pool you've accumulated.

I'm well into the dark campaign now. A few more screenshots.

You're doing a great job of selling this game. Hell, now even I am interested, might add it to my Steam wishlist. (Wishlist instead of outright buying, because again this year I'm going for the backlog platinum trophy).

Is this an action or turn based RPG?

Cheers!

 

[Y0ssarian]

I did the Jak and Daxter thing very wrongly. I played the first game on the PS3 collection and was bored to tears because I got stuck somewhere. But I should give it another try in the future.

(I have since sold off that Jak and Daxter collection, as I sold off my entire PS3 physical catalogue several years ago)

I am sorry to hear that. I best it in two sittings, I did like one third of the game in one sitting and came back a few days later and finished the rest. my main take away was that it held up incredibly well, especially for a platformer from 2001. I read Jak II is hard. Not Sekiro hard, but difficult. I got more games hehe not sure if i should make a new list or just add them to my old one

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I am sorry to hear that. I best it in two sittings, I did like one third of the game in one sitting and came back a few days later and finished the rest. my main take away was that it held up incredibly well, especially for a platformer from 2001. I read Jak II is hard. Not Sekiro hard, but difficult. I got more games hehe not sure if i should make a new list or just add them to my old one

Add them to your old one

Yeah, to be honest I think I just wasn't "in the mood" for Jak and Daxter at that time. It wasn't a difficulty thing, it was literally a "meh, I don't know where to go but this is boring" and after that single time I never came back to the game.

I do want to give it a better try someday.

 

[Y0ssarian]

I played through it... I felt the mechanics were a huge jump from the first game.. but I myself really struggled with the story... I'm not one of the people that had an issue with Abby being the size she is etc, but I really couldn't sympathize either, and found it a little annoying having to play so much of the game with people I didn't care for

But the mechanics/graphics/everything else basically were top notch

Yes it plays better than TLOU1 for sure. I might just shelve it for a while and come back in 12 months

 

[Y0ssarian]

Add them to your old one

Yeah, to be honest I think I just wasn't "in the mood" for Jak and Daxter at that time. It wasn't a difficulty thing, it was literally a "meh, I don't know where to go but this is boring" and after that single time I never came back to the game.

I do want to give it a better try someday.

Okay I had it on PS2 originally during that gen and I stopped playing as well, around 2/3 of the way through. The spider cave is ass

 

[Phase]

You're doing a great job of selling this game. Hell, now even I am interested, might add it to my Steam wishlist. (Wishlist instead of outright buying, because again this year I'm going for the backlog platinum trophy).

Is this an action or turn based RPG?

Cheers!

Action RPG. Combat is very basic. If you watch a bit on YT you'll see. Different melee weapons, different staves (e.g. poison, dark, fire), bows, crossbows, etc. I think one class has bombs you can throw but I haven't used him yet.

 

[DelireMan7]

My challenge :
No 2022 games (or as low as possible). I can buy older games. If I buy a game, I play it immediately avoid growing my backlog.

Physical Backlog* :

• The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky (PSP)
• Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
• Baldur's Gate : Siege of Dragonspear (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal (PS4)
• Zelda Ocarina of time (N64)
• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Project X Zone (3DS)
• Brigandine : The legend of Runersia (Switch)
• The Mark of Kri (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 : Record Breaker (3DS)
• Demon's Souls (PS5) Done !

*doesn't include PSplus free games

Games completed :

1. Demon's Souls (PS5) (Started the 13th of December , finished the 3rd of January, 25h20)
2. [Replay] Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice (PS5) (Started the 6th of January, finished the 1st of February, NG/NG+/NG++ done in 91h40)

Wow ! Really glad I went back to it ! My first run at release really let me a negative impression of the game but now I am really enjoying the combat system, world and lore.
I enjoyed it so much that I went for the Platinum (hopefully I already had an ending done otherwise I wouldn't have for a fourth run in a row)!

My main complaint was that the combat system rely too much on the deflect (press L1 when an attack is about to hit you) and most of encounter can be done by alternating L1 and R1 sequences. Most of the prosthetics were situational and except for really few, combat arts are not really useful. The fact that prosthetic and some of the combat arts use emblems and so limit the experimentation because you can ran out of them. But this is mostly an issue on the first run (for me at least).

Well, now I would say these complaints are still valid but now that I know the combat system I had pleasure experimenting with it. I had a lot of fun of making "stylish" combat using prosthetics and combat arts. I actually record most of my fights and share them with friends (we were 4 playing it at the same time actually so everyone shared their fights). But I can't wipe out from my mind the fact that I could just L1/R1 most of the fights.

I did my NG+ and NG+2 with No charm and the demon bell activated (which basically make enemies stronger and you weaker). While I am not a fan of this kind of difficulty stuff usually I have to say I found the bosses even more enjoyable like this. It pushed me to master the combat system and really learn by heart the bosses' moveset. On the downside, it made the basic enemies and mini boss more tedious for me.

Outside of combat, the game is also shining. The world is really beautiful with stunning art design. The fountainhead palace, Senpou temple, Sunken Valley... So many great designs. Some of the views are really stunning.

I also liked the NPC's sidequests ("Souls" like quest), especially the fact that some involved some choice and so you can't see everything in one run.

I really digged the lore this time and it's great ! There is some really dark and grim stuff. One of my "favorite" is the Senpou Temple (which involved mass kidnapping of children and experiment on them). It makes some of the sidequests much more impactful for me (In the case of Senpou Temple, the Kotaro's quest really hit me hard as the one of Black hat).

And the main story is also really good and I really appreciate the different endings (especially "Purification" and "Return"). It much more understandable than any Soulsborne for those wondering. I love the ultra cryptic aspect of the Soulsborne, but it's also nice to have something clearer with Sekiro (but still there is a lot of stuff not directly told so still a lot of lore exploration to do)

So in the end, I still think the combat as a "problem" by relying too much on the Deflect system but if you want to experiment with the prosthetics and combat arts there is a lot of fun to have.
This game went for "meh" to "insanely great" for me (I can't give it a "masterpiece" due to the "flaws" in the combat I mentioned, which can make it not so interesting for a newcomer, which was the case for me)

What to play next :
Well...I think it will be Elden Ring !
I could squeeze a short game before it like The Mark of Kri or maybe Zelda : Ocarina of Time but I really went berserk on Sekiro so I want to make a small break of gaming before Elden Ring (and I don't want to take the risk to rush Zelda just to finish it before Elden Ring, it's a game I want to take my time with). I can't wait for Elden Ring now !

 

[Y0ssarian]

My challenge :
No 2022 games (or as low as possible). I can buy older games. If I buy a game, I play it immediately avoid growing my backlog.

Physical Backlog* :

• The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky (PSP)
• Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
• Baldur's Gate : Siege of Dragonspear (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal (PS4)
• Zelda Ocarina of time (N64)
• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Project X Zone (3DS)
• Brigandine : The legend of Runersia (Switch)
• The Mark of Kri (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 : Record Breaker (3DS)
• Demon's Souls (PS5) Done !

*doesn't include PSplus free games

Games completed :

1. Demon's Souls (PS5) (Started the 13th of December , finished the 3rd of January, 25h20)
2. [Replay] Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice (PS5) (Started the 6th of January, finished the 1st of February, NG/NG+/NG++ done in 91h40)

Wow ! Really glad I went back to it ! My first run at release really let me a negative impression of the game but now I am really enjoying the combat system, world and lore.
I enjoyed it so much that I went for the Platinum (hopefully I already had an ending done otherwise I wouldn't have for a fourth run in a row)!

My main complaint was that the combat system rely too much on the deflect (press L1 when an attack is about to hit you) and most of encounter can be done by alternating L1 and R1 sequences. Most of the prosthetics were situational and except for really few, combat arts are not really useful. The fact that prosthetic and some of the combat arts use emblems and so limit the experimentation because you can ran out of them. But this is mostly an issue on the first run (for me at least).

Well, now I would say these complaints are still valid but now that I know the combat system I had pleasure experimenting with it. I had a lot of fun of making "stylish" combat using prosthetics and combat arts. I actually record most of my fights and share them with friends (we were 4 playing it at the same time actually so everyone shared their fights). But I can't wipe out from my mind the fact that I could just L1/R1 most of the fights.

I did my NG+ and NG+2 with No charm and the demon bell activated (which basically make enemies stronger and you weaker). While I am not a fan of this kind of difficulty stuff usually I have to say I found the bosses even more enjoyable like this. It pushed me to master the combat system and really learn by heart the bosses' moveset. On the downside, it made the basic enemies and mini boss more tedious for me.

Outside of combat, the game is also shining. The world is really beautiful with stunning art design. The fountainhead palace, Senpou temple, Sunken Valley... So many great designs. Some of the views are really stunning.

I also liked the NPC's sidequests ("Souls" like quest), especially the fact that some involved some choice and so you can't see everything in one run.

I really digged the lore this time and it's great ! There is some really dark and grim stuff. One of my "favorite" is the Senpou Temple (which involved mass kidnapping of children and experiment on them). It makes some of the sidequests much more impactful for me (In the case of Senpou Temple, the Kotaro's quest really hit me hard as the one of Black hat).

And the main story is also really good and I really appreciate the different endings (especially "Purification" and "Return"). It much more understandable than any Soulsborne for those wondering. I love the ultra cryptic aspect of the Soulsborne, but it's also nice to have something clearer with Sekiro (but still there is a lot of stuff not directly told so still a lot of lore exploration to do)

So in the end, I still think the combat as a "problem" by relying too much on the Deflect system but if you want to experiment with the prosthetics and combat arts there is a lot of fun to have.
This game went for "meh" to "insanely great" for me (I can't give it a "masterpiece" due to the "flaws" in the combat I mentioned, which can make it not so interesting for a newcomer, which was the case for me)

What to play next :
Well...I think it will be Elden Ring !
I could squeeze a short game before it like The Mark of Kri or maybe Zelda : Ocarina of Time but I really went berserk on Sekiro so I want to make a small break of gaming before Elden Ring (and I don't want to take the risk to rush Zelda just to finish it before Elden Ring, it's a game I want to take my time with). I can't wait for Elden Ring now !

I dragged Sekiro out of the pits of hell aka my collection to try again, partially because of your write ups on it. Nioh & Nioh 2 as well. I got filtered hard by those three games.

I hope you like Final Fantasy XIII. That and FFXII Zodiac Age are unironically my favourite FF games. I loved the battle system in XIII, and the music is highest tier. The annoying boy and Snow become good characters after a while, so if you dont like them at first, give them some time.

 

[DelireMan7]

I dragged Sekiro out of the pits of hell aka my collection to try again, partially because of your write ups on it. Nioh & Nioh 2 as well. I got filtered hard by those three games.

I hope you like Final Fantasy XIII. That and FFXII Zodiac Age are unironically my favourite FF games. I loved the battle system in XIII, and the music is highest tier. The annoying boy and Snow become good characters after a while, so if you dont like them at first, give them some time.

Haha hope you like it this time. The game is really punishing if you don't play the way the game wants you to play, at first I would say. Once you get to know a bit the system you can experiment (at the cost of many death). I enjoyed a lot trying prosthetics and combat art but still nothing felt more efficient than Deflecting everything sadly.
I fondly recommend paying attention to story and lore. It's really good.


Final Fantasy XIII really got me curious. Each time I see some footage, it got me really eager to play it. I didn't do it before because if I like the first game I would like to play the Trilogy so I wanted to reduce my backlog first. I might do it this year (before, let's hope, a Final Fantasy XVI release next year).
I played Final Fantasy XII : The Zodiac Age 2 years ago. I enjoyed a lot the combat system and art design. I had much more trouble to get interested in the story and half of the main cast. Still a good Final Fantasy for me.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Haha hope you like it this time. The game is really punishing if you don't play the way the game wants you to play, at first I would say. Once you get to know a bit the system you can experiment (at the cost of many death). I enjoyed a lot trying prosthetics and combat art but still nothing felt more efficient than Deflecting everything sadly.
I fondly recommend paying attention to story and lore. It's really good.


Final Fantasy XIII really got me curious. Each time I see some footage, it got me really eager to play it. I didn't do it before because if I like the first game I would like to play the Trilogy so I wanted to reduce my backlog first. I might do it this year (before, let's hope, a Final Fantasy XVI release next year).
I played Final Fantasy XII : The Zodiac Age 2 years ago. I enjoyed a lot the combat system and art design. I had much more trouble to get interested in the story and half of the main cast. Still a good Final Fantasy for me.

I intend on sticking with sekiro til I beat it this time. Even if I die 1000 times in the harada estate.

FF13 is probably the game I've seen take the most flack and actually be good. XIII-2 is great, and Lightning Returns is interesting as well. It's sort of like Majora's Mask. I got to a point where i was skipping all the cutscenes in Zodiac Age, but i loved the game regardless

 

[DelireMan7]

I intend on sticking with sekiro til I beat it this time. Even if I die 1000 times in the harada estate.

FF13 is probably the game I've seen take the most flack and actually be good. XIII-2 is great, and Lightning Returns is interesting as well. It's sort of like Majora's Mask. I got to a point where i was skipping all the cutscenes in Zodiac Age, but i loved the game regardless

Hirata Estate can be a trap. It's accessible very early but it's actually a quite challenging area. Don't be afraid to come back later to it.

I have this feeling for FF13. It so much trash talked that I want to give it a try because I think it can't be that bad.

I feel you for Zodiac Age. I actually dropped it in the middle because the story couldn't get me. I came back to it few weeks later and beat it because the combat and world are great. But the story is so boring for me. Balthier, Fran and Basch are awesome characters but the others... Painful for me xD

 

[Y0ssarian]

Hirata Estate can be a trap. It's accessible very early but it's actually a quite challenging area. Don't be afraid to come back later to it.

I have this feeling for FF13. It so much trash talked that I want to give it a try because I think it can't be that bad.

My options are either a boss past chained ogre (i actually beat chained ogre without the flame prosthetic) or a sub boss in Hirata Estate. I'm gonna get my ass kicked either way.

Yeah, I'd wager you play the trilogy after XIII-1

 

[Y0ssarian]

Some updates...

Scarlet Nexus: I tried getting into this game 3 times and I can't do it. The combat is decent but I think the game is mediocre overall. I banished it from my list.

God Eater 2 Rage Burst: I like this a lot and will probably play it on and off over the next few months. I like games made by Shift I guess, Code Vein was good too.

Haven't returned to The Last of Us Part II yet. No rush.

I watched recap videos of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4 & Yakuza 5. I beat Yakuza 0-Kiwami 2 in 2021. I tried playing Yakuza 6 and as soon as I did I was hit with burnout. I'm gonna put Yakuza/Judgment off for a year.

I figured I should make a start on some of the PS3 games in my backlog so I started God of War II from the God of War Collection. It holds up very well and I'm enjoying it more than a lot of modern games.

 

[mekes]

Good shit. I used to be a big Tales fan - played all of them from Symphonia onwards, except the DS games. I just bought Arise, but will probably take a while for me to get around to it tho. Berseria was really good though, I liked Rokurou, Eizen and Magilou.

You’ve got a good memory! Despite only playing Berseria a year ago I couldn’t remember any of the characters names! You’ve just jogged my memory with some of those you have mentioned, but I can’t even put any visuals to the names you mentioned. I need to go to Google now and refresh my memory!

I hope you enjoy Arise, I had a lot of fun with it! If I enjoy a couple more games this year as much as I did Arise, I’ll be very happy

I‘ve now started up with Judgment. I felt like I needed a change of pace. Last play session I tracked a criminal called the “Panty Professor” who uses a drone to steal ladies underwear. Half way through the fight he sniffs his favourite panties and enters rage mode.



Hope you all are enjoying your games!

 

[Bakkus]

I started and finished this old Game Boy game Kid Dracula last friday. Never felt the urge to write about it here because usually people don't care about these types of games in this thread, but I have insomnia right now, so...

2D platformer. A bit Mega Man like, a bit Castlevania like. 8 levels long which will take you a few hours first time around and probably less than an hour if you should replay it. This is old, so it has the outdated lives system and game overs which sends you not back to the beginning of the game, but the beginning of the level you're in, and all life upgrades you have gotten are gone. Thankfully it's easy to rack up a lot of extra lives if you know how to do it. I was close to shelving it in level 2 due to it being utter shit, but I prevailed. Thankfully the rest of the game is a lot better, but it never gets truly great in my opinion even though this is often considered to be among the best GB games. It has some great ideas and weapons, and it is good at making fun of itself and it's inspirations, but it always feels a bit too slow and sluggish for my liking. But again, it's the Game Boy, so this was expected.

Here is a review from someone who likes the game a lot more than me:

 

[Aurelius]

My backlog just go a whole lot smaller. It looks like I'll be out of the country for the next 5 months. A good friend of mine is desperate for a PS5. So I will sell him mine for the retail price.

 

[jufonuk]

I traded in a load of my 3DS games to get. Diablo 3 Metroid dread and now Cruis'n Blast.

The games are second hand so technically not new. But I will break this deal if batman collection comes to the switch.

 

[Phase]

I traded in a load of my 3DS games to get. Diablo 3 Metroid dread and now Cruis'n Blast.

The games are second hand so technically not new. But I will break this deal if batman collection comes to the switch.

I bought Batman Arkham Asylum a couple of weeks ago. Never played one of those batman games but it seemed this was the one to get. Am I correct in that assumption?

I also played D3 last year and loved it. Have fun!

 

[jufonuk]

I bought Batman Arkham Asylum a couple of weeks ago. Never played one of those batman games but it seemed this was the one to get. Am I correct in that assumption?

I also played D3 last year and loved it. Have fun!

I have only ever played the first one In the trilogy. Back ok the 360. i believe the three games are held in high regard yes.

 

[jufonuk]

My backlog just go a whole lot smaller. It looks like I'll be out of the country for the next 5 months. A good friend of mind is desperate for a PS5. So I will sell him mine for the retail price.

Get a switch

 

[Y0ssarian]

You’ve got a good memory! Despite only playing Berseria a year ago I couldn’t remember any of the characters names! You’ve just jogged my memory with some of those you have mentioned, but I can’t even put any visuals to the names you mentioned. I need to go to Google now and refresh my memory!

I hope you enjoy Arise, I had a lot of fun with it! If I enjoy a couple more games this year as much as I did Arise, I’ll be very happy

I‘ve now started up with Judgment. I felt like I needed a change of pace. Last play session I tracked a criminal called the “Panty Professor” who uses a drone to steal ladies underwear. Half way through the fight he sniffs his favourite panties and enters rage mode.



Hope you all are enjoying your games!

Well I used to be a big fan of the series. It's still good but I've played most of the one's I've wanted to, and I got Arise kinda late. I'm enjoying it, I've killed two lords and got to the grass land area. It's good, it feels like a Tales game but with better graphics/art work. Judgment came in the post for me today actually, it sounds good

 

[Bakkus]

Finished Plok on SNES. 2D platformer with lots of melee combat to boot. An OK game. It has lots of ideas in it's levels with varying degrees of success. Some of them are fun, some are awful, most are somewhere in between; Same goes for the level design. Like most of the games of it's era, it sadly also has this thing of you having to replay levels you've already completed if you get a game over which gets really frustrating at the end of the game, because this game is not easy. The saving grace which motivated me to complete it was the great colorful spritework, and the godlike soundtrack by Tim Follin. Man, I wish he got to compose for some actual great games. He would have been up there recognized as one of the GOATs if so. What a shame.

 

[Phase]

Mid-Feb update

+3 completed

Spoiler: backlog progress

Arx Fatalis -> dropped
Blade Runner -> dropped
Blasphemous
Castlevania's (circle, harmony, aria)
Deus Ex Human Revolution -> finished
Disco Elysium
Earthbound
Enclave -> finished
Gothic 2 -> couldn't fix
Grandia hd remaster
Hexen 1+2 -> dropped
Hollow Knight
Kenshi
Kotor 1+2
Luigi's Mansion 3 -> dropped
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Ninja Gaiden 1+2 -> dropped
No More Heroes -> dropped
Outcast -> subbing remake
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Policenauts
RE hd remaster
Shenmue 2
SiN Gold -> dropped
Skyward Sword
Stasis -> dropped
Strife: Veteran's Edition -> finished
System Shock 2 -> dropped
The Saboteur -> dropped
Vampire The Masquerade Redemption -> dropped
Yakuza Kiwami
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Zelda (nes)
Zelda: Minish Cap

Spoiler: Updated backlog

Batman Arkham Asylum
Blasphemous
Castlevania's (circle, harmony, aria)
Disco Elysium
Earthbound
Grandia hd remaster
Hollow Knight
Kenshi
Kotor 1+2
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Outcast Second Contact
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Policenauts
RE hd remaster
Shenmue 2
Skyward Sword
Yakuza Kiwami
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Zelda (nes)
Zelda: Minish Cap

Really loved Enclave. I have a great fondness for the time around when this game came out. There were literally too many good games at the time to play them all, but I'm doing my best to rectify that. The Strife remake was fun but ultimately not enough was changed for me to get real excited. I hadn't played Deus Ex Human revolution since release and I remembered none of it, which made my second playthrough that much better. I did a "hacking soldier" type build. All points in hacks and guns, which was very entertaining.

After my big January, I've slowed down. I dropped quite a few games this month around 1-3hrs in, as I just wasn't enjoying them for one reason or another. I couldn't get Gothic 2 to run, even using Spire and the other recommended fixes so I just gave up on that one. I was a few hrs into Outcast 1.1 but the remake was on sale and the player reviews look great so I'll be subbing the remake for the original. Also, still in the middle of KOTOR and just started Batman Arkham Asylum for the first time.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Played through RE7. Really enjoyed it. It's got some great moments and jump scares. Everything is so in your face. I can't imagine playing it in VR. Combat was satisfying too. Reminds me of RE4 if it were in first person. Especially headshots on those slime monsters. Story falls apart a bit at the end, but that's the case for nearly all RE games imo. This feels like a return to form and definitely up there as one of the best in the series. I'm wondering if I should try out the DLC. If anyone has any opinions on that, please share.

Wife bought me RE Village and I plan to jump into that as soon as I finish Infernax on Gamepass.

 

[jufonuk]

Wife got me a game and watch Zelda edition, it had 300 coins voucher so I got hot shot racing.

 

[Bakkus]

Played, but didn't finish the cult classic Cave Story due to the last part of the true ending being an absolute pain. Why? Because you can't save before the final boss. There are no save spots. So if you die (and you will many, many times), then you have to backtrack throughout a long poorly designed level which is also really hard and will kill you several times, all to have another shot at the boss, so I gave up before I went completely insane.

As for the rest of the game, it's pretty decent. Often considered to be the first real indie game and it certainly was very inspirational. It's a very lite Metroidvania game with some good music and some pretty good bosses. Not among my favorites, but worth playing.

 

[Aurelius]

Finished Metroid Dread. Truly an epic game. It was a long time since I played such an intensive 2D game were you cannot just grind to defeat strong bosses, but really have to learn their patterns. Still proud of myself for finishing it in my old age with slow reflexes.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Mid-Feb update

+3 completed

Spoiler: backlog progress

Arx Fatalis -> dropped
Blade Runner -> dropped
Blasphemous
Castlevania's (circle, harmony, aria)
Deus Ex Human Revolution -> finished
Disco Elysium
Earthbound
Enclave -> finished
Gothic 2 -> couldn't fix
Grandia hd remaster
Hexen 1+2 -> dropped
Hollow Knight
Kenshi
Kotor 1+2
Luigi's Mansion 3 -> dropped
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Ninja Gaiden 1+2 -> dropped
No More Heroes -> dropped
Outcast -> subbing remake
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Policenauts
RE hd remaster
Shenmue 2
SiN Gold -> dropped
Skyward Sword
Stasis -> dropped
Strife: Veteran's Edition -> finished
System Shock 2 -> dropped
The Saboteur -> dropped
Vampire The Masquerade Redemption -> dropped
Yakuza Kiwami
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Zelda (nes)
Zelda: Minish Cap

Spoiler: Updated backlog

Batman Arkham Asylum
Blasphemous
Castlevania's (circle, harmony, aria)
Disco Elysium
Earthbound
Grandia hd remaster
Hollow Knight
Kenshi
Kotor 1+2
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Outcast Second Contact
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Policenauts
RE hd remaster
Shenmue 2
Skyward Sword
Yakuza Kiwami
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Zelda (nes)
Zelda: Minish Cap

Really loved Enclave. I have a great fondness for the time around when this game came out. There were literally too many good games at the time to play them all, but I'm doing my best to rectify that. The Strife remake was fun but ultimately not enough was changed for me to get real excited. I hadn't played Deus Ex Human revolution since release and I remembered none of it, which made my second playthrough that much better. I did a "hacking soldier" type build. All points in hacks and guns, which was very entertaining.

After my big January, I've slowed down. I dropped quite a few games this month around 1-3hrs in, as I just wasn't enjoying them for one reason or another. I couldn't get Gothic 2 to run, even using Spire and the other recommended fixes so I just gave up on that one. I was a few hrs into Outcast 1.1 but the remake was on sale and the player reviews look great so I'll be subbing the remake for the original. Also, still in the middle of KOTOR and just started Batman Arkham Asylum for the first time.

Were the Ninja Gaiden games you dropped the NES original games or the Xbox/Xbox 360 ones?

I'm currently going through God of War II (PS3) and Tales of Arise. I am really enjoying playing PS3 again. When I beat God of War I'll move onto Jak II

 

[Phase]

Were the Ninja Gaiden games you dropped the NES original games or the Xbox/Xbox 360 ones?

I'm currently going through God of War II (PS3) and Tales of Arise. I am really enjoying playing PS3 again. When I beat God of War I'll move onto Jak II

They were the original NES ones. Now that you mention it, I've never played the others.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I started and finished this old Game Boy game Kid Dracula last friday. Never felt the urge to write about it here because usually people don't care about these types of games in this thread, but I have insomnia right now, so...

The italicized is patently false. I most certainly care about those types of games; hell, Kid Dracula is in my backlog! (As part of the Castlevania Collection I have on PC.)

Good writeup!

(PS: Now that I'm finally back from vacation I'm gonna start making a huge dent in my backlog...)

(PPS: Not sure why, even though I've contributed to, and explicitly watching this thread, I still get no notifications...)

 

[InfiniteCombo]

They were the original NES ones. Now that you mention it, I've never played the others.

Yeah the NES Ninja Gaiden games are certified bullshit. I remember as a kid being very frustrated with Ninja Gaiden 1. I never beat it.

Someday I'll take another crack at it as an adult.

EDIT: LMAO

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Red Dead 2 playthrough still going, will probably be going through next week. I'm having a lot of fun with the game, even with some of its mechanical shortcomings.

One thing -- when I played the original Red Dead (1) when it came out, I thought, "man, how are they going to be able to top John Marston as a protagonist!?"

The guy in this picture: "Hold my bourbon"

Arthur Morgan is legitimately one of the greatest protagonists in the video game world.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Today I finished God of War II through the God of War Collection for PS3. I thought the game held up well for a game that was originally on the PS2. The remaster job was well done. The puzzles in this game are great and break up the combat sections. It felt like a grand adventure.

I recently got a Switch with Shin Megami Tensei V, Pokemon Legends Arceus and Bayonetta 2, and ive added some games from my xbox backwards compatible that I want to play. Don't know if there's much point adding em to my list, seems I need to slow down on buying stuff. I just got Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring is out in a weeks time.

I've slowed down a lot but I've gotten through 22 games so far this year whether finished or dropped because I did not like. I'm at the 5th Lord on Tales of Arise and I've started Sonic Unleashed. I'll start Shin Megami Tensei V when I beat Arise

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Today I finished God of War II through the God of War Collection for PS3. I thought the game held up well for a game that was originally on the PS2. The remaster job was well done. The puzzles in this game are great and break up the combat sections. It felt like a grand adventure.

I recently got a Switch with Shin Megami Tensei V, Pokemon Legends Arceus and Bayonetta 2, and ive added some games from my xbox backwards compatible that I want to play. Don't know if there's much point adding em to my list, seems I need to slow down on buying stuff. I just got Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring is out in a weeks time.

I've slowed down a lot but I've gotten through 22 games so far this year whether finished or dropped because I did not like. I'm at the 5th Lord on Tales of Arise and I've started Sonic Unleashed. I'll start Shin Megami Tensei V when I beat Arise

At this point my memory of God of War II is a bit foggy, but even so, to this day it's STILL my favorite God of War.

22 games so far is quite an amazing accomplishment.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Finished Infernax (worth a playthrough if you have Gamepass) and now playing RE Village. 7 is great, but I'm already enjoying this more. It's campy and weird in the best way. We'll see if it holds up though.