2018 - 12 Month Pile Program

Da faq.

... continues ...

February 2018 The Plan

Time budget 44hrs

Monster Hunter World 30hrs
What Remains of Edith Finch 1hr (in progress)
To the Moon 5hrs
Shadowrun: Dragonfall 8hrs

Bits and pieces: 3DS and Android puzzle pile, Iconoclasts.

I can see myself playing MHW exclusively this month, however I want to keep going with the adventure games goal and get back to Shadowrun, at least a little for the CRPG club.

...

Short month and I don't think I'll finish anything tomorrow.

Had a great month in terms of finishing things!

Rolled the credits on:
Song of the Deep
Warriors All-Stars
Submerged
Titanfall 2
Shadow of Colossus
Grid 2

Added:

Shadow of Colossus
Bound by Flame
Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology
(plus some bundles, but lets not count those...)

In active progress:
Valkyria Revolution
Radiant Historia
Atelier Firis
Hob

In slow progress
Dragon Age 2
Summon Night 6
Sky Force Anniversary
Bound by Flame

Long Version
I'm very happy with results of this month,
-Song of the Deep ended up being an extremely charming game that should make my top 10 this year.
-Warriors Allstars provided a good wind down game after work, while it didn't do anything revolutionary to the Dynasty Warriors formula, for someone who hasn't played one in a long while, I found it really enjoyable since I actually recognized most of the characters in it.
-Submerged ended up not meeting my expectations and turning out to be a 2 hour "Meh" game.
-Titanfall 2, maybe I'm bit cold hearted but I wasn't completely blown away by the campaign in it. Shooting and movement was well done, well worth the 10 dollars I spent on it.
-Shadow of Colossus, somehow I missed the first two releases of this on ps2 and ps3, but I'm glad I finally got to play it. I wouldn't be surprised to see it in my 10 ten for this year.
-Grid 2, I've been working on this one on and off for a while now, it still holds up to be a great racing game.

Only two impulses this month, pretty happy with myself, Shadow of Colossus was planned purchase and that got played right away. Bound by Flame I was curious about for some time now, seeing it for under 5 bucks on psn got me. I played it for a couple hours and haven't picked it up since, I'll give it another month before I decided if I'm going to drop it or keep working at it. Radiant Historia was a total full price impulse, but I did start it playing right away! My 3ds has been neglected for past year so it was nice to play on that again.

Plans for next month... only thing I'm super excited for and planning to get is Ni No Kuni 2 going all out on this one. Otherwise I plan to finish Hob, put more time into my handhelds, with Radiant History on 3ds and Atelier Firis on vita, depending on how things go I might also transfer my play-through of Summon Night 6 from few months ago onto the vita, I have a feeling it would be more enjoyable to play that game in hand held mode. I will also try to make a point to play more games outside my usual zone.

My time sinks (distractions) are still Rocket League (ps4/pc) and The Alchemist Code (mobile)

Beat/Completed:

Pyre (PS4)
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4)
Fallout 4: Far Harbor (PS4)

Bought/Added:

Aegis Defenders (PS4) [This was a game a Kickstarted]

Progressed in:

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age HD (PS4) [more than halfway through]
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir (PS Vita) [About halfway through that, as well]

So the count for February stands at 3 out, 1 in.

February 2018:

Added:
Assassin's Creed (360)
Assassin's Creed II (360)

Finished:
Assassin's Creed (360)
New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall (PC) (CRPG Club)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)

Progress Index: 0

Started:
Assassin's Creed II (360)
Celeste (PS4)
Puyo Puyo Tetris (Switch)

Also Played:
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4) (JRPG Club)
Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

Comments:

Spoiler:

Something compelled me to finally try the Assassin's Creed series this month. It's kind of odd that I never have since the historical settings interest me and that's part of what helped me get through the first game. I decided to jump into II right away because I wanted to feel the full impact of the improvements made and, wow, there sure are a lot of improvements. This delve into the series was coupled with me having a 360 again. I sold mine five years ago and bought a PS3. For some reason I was missing the system that I played the Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age I and II and other games on, so I managed to get a used one really cheap. Not that I couldn't play the AC games on PS3, but I picked them up for less than $5 each when looking for stuff to play on the 360.

I "beat" NSMB2. I was actually working to get enough star coins to unlock the last world, Star and lost my bunch of progress due to my 3DS battery running out, so I decided to call it. It was... fine. The NSMB games are just... fine.

Had a lot of fun with FFXII, Xenoblade 2 and Shadowrun this month.

I re-subbed to FFXIV and took my WHM up to 58 where I stalled out again. I was playing on the PS4 on a flat screen maybe 8-9 feet away. Even after fiddling with the UI I still feel like I am straining my eyes and get uncomfortable after a while. I think this is a game I need to play closer up on a monitor. It's not strictly an MMO thing, I don't find the same is true of ESO... I don't really feel like doing that at the moment, plus I hit a spot where the main story quests aren't enough to keep me leveling, so I think FFXIV is shelved again for now... I'll probably never be current in that game....

Anyway, right at the end of the month I started Celeste and Puyo Puyo Tetris, the latter for something different. I'm playing the "Adventure Mode" of Puyo Puyo Tetris. The story is super silly, but I am impressed with the amount of content in the game. Celeste is looking awesome so far.

I might finish Oxenfree tonight, the first actual pile game I've tackled this year. I also started Kentucky Route Zero, but that's one I'm not going to rush through.

This month saw a lot of Shadowrun and Civilization VI played, and next month will feature Burnout Paradise in the latter part of the month. But I should be able to fit in one or two other pile games before then, I'm hoping.

Other than Red Dead Redemption 2 in October, I'm not sure what other new releases are on the horizon that could impede pile progress.

GAMES COMPLETED:

  • Secret of Mana (PS4)

OTHER GAMES PLAYED:

  • Fire Emblem Warriors
  • Secret of Mana (SNES Classic)
  • Fire Emblem: Heroes
  • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
  • Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
  • I Am Setsuna

NAVAL GAZING:
So, uh... lots of dabbling this month, and not a lot actually completed. A lot of time was taken up figuring out where to go with my video, which sadly I won't be beginning editing of due to some issues and quite frankly I've been distracted with completing Secret of Mana and oh by the way did you guys know I really like anime? I seem to have forgotten I really like anime somehow.

Regardless, Fire Emblem Warriors allowed me to enjoy additional time with a game I was really digging while also recording footage. No regrets there. It did, however, help solidify more desire to play Fire Emblem games, so Heroes and Sacred Stones were played. The former had its hooks for about a week, but afterward... eh. It's too shallow and I don't feel like putting in the hours necessary to get to the "challenging" content. The desire to unlock 5-Star characters is also just not there. The only reason I can think of to keep playing the story is to simply get coins on MyNintendo, which... meh.

Sacred Stones I'll probably keep playing but it isn't high priority. It's nice for a Fire Emblem to play now, but the old mechanics have it rough around the edges that I'm just waiting for that difficulty spike. I'm about halfway through and finally accepted the permadeath of some characters.

I Am Setsuna is the priority game right now, I suppose. I did get Bayonetta 1+2 but have been waiting until I can free some space on my local drive to record footage, which means after I've edited my current video. This means I want to choose something on my PS4, but settling into the living room with I Am Setsuna on Switch while family watches TV... I'm in the mood for that kind of cozy right now, and I Am Setsuna is nothing if not cozy.

Secret of Mana on SNES Classic can be dropped since the remake was close enough. Mario + Rabbids I just wasn't quite feeling. Didn't even beat the first world. Mario + Luigi I was really enjoying but just haven't gotten back to, so if I lose interest in Sacred Stones maybe I'll jump back to that.

In terms of March, I was originally thinking of Valkyria Chronicles 4 and trying to burn through the original Valkyria Chronicles, but I might burn myself out on RPG's at this rate. Ni No Kuni 2 looks enticing, but I'm not 100% certain I want to play it. Devil May Cry Collection has my interest because I would love to replay the first one and never did get around to the second or third. There's nothing I'm really hungry for, though. In which case, depending on my response to I Am Setsuna, I may just go ahead and snag Lost Sphear instead. We'll see what happens.

Got through a decent chunk of games in February. 3 of those games were on the pile list, and 1 wasn't only because I forgot to add it.

Completed:
Subnautica
Tacoma
Civilization VI: Rise & Fall (as far as it can be completed anyway)
Night in the Woods
Hellblade: Senua's sacrifice
Divinity Original Sin 2 - again!

Added:
Nioh (PC) - time to replay another one of my favorite games of last year.

Okay, here we go: February report. I'm not finishing anything tonight.

Added:
None!

Finished:

  • Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Took me long enough, but I got through it! And had fun.
  • These nights in Cairo (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - A decent VN.
  • Candle (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Unforgiving, but gorgeous adventure/platformer.

Dropped:

  • Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - I tried. I did.

Played:

  • The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion GOTY Edition (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - I wrapped up the Shivering Isles and brought the Amulet to Jauffre, soooo... progress?

Remaining games: 46 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (45 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 15 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 5 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 4 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 16
Est. remaining hours: 513 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (508 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 127 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 100 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 50 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 30 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 247

So the estimated hours has gone up a bit, because I slipped the Mass Effect trilogy in there. I'm going to play them this year, so I might as well track them. I also added the Blood and Wine DLC for The Witcher 3 which I bounced off of two years ago, but have been convinced I should try again.
Backloggery's Memory Card is at 25. Let's try and keep it steady!
For the coming months, I've kinda planned things out around streaming. I'll keep "older" games like Oblivion and the Mass Effect to play every other day, so I'm not streaming the same thing every day. I plan to play some new stuff like The Banner Saga 2, Thimbleweed Park, Pyre, Banner Saga 2. And I'm saving visual novels like Dream Daddy, SoulSet and The Confines of the Crown for when I'm eating at my desk or don't feel like streaming (or just want to crash on the couch, yay Steam Link!).

February update:

Added:
Nothing!

Finished:
Gravity Rush 2
Gravity Rush 2: Raven's Story

Played:
Sky Force Anniversary (Vita)

Gravity Rush 2 took up most of my time along with trophy hunting to get the platinum in Uncharted Lost Legacy. With Ni No Kuni coming out in three weeks or so, I am going to play some smaller games in early March. No other purchases for the foreseeable future so I should be able to knock out some more games from the pile.

Febtober report:

Pile In:
Radiant History: Perfect Chronology (3DS)
Crossing Souls (PC) (Kickstarter Reward)

Pile Out:
None

I made good progress on Persona 5 this month where I'm currently just short of 70 hours on the save, so probably another 30-40 to go. I'm not totally sure I'll finish in March since I'm sharing the TV again and Kirby Star Allies (one of my "day ones" this year) drops mid-month. So that's looking more like an April finish these days.

On the bright side, having to share the TV again means I'm free to jump back onto the PC/Switch/3DS and I've been steadily working through Night in the Woods which is slowly growing on me after a very meandering and uncertain first couple of hours. If anything I'm hoping I can clear a smaller game or two in March.

February Report~~

Added:
Snake Pass (Steam)
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
Snipper Clips Plus: Cut It Out, Together! (Switch)

Beat:
(nothing)

Made Progress In:
Stardew Valley (Steam)
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance (PS4)
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

I did it. I gave into temptation and bought a Switch. On the plus side, I'm really enjoying the system so far. It's been nice to take it with me to work and get some game time in during breaks. Super Mario Odyssey has been a joy and I'm glad that Nintendo returned to the big sandbox Mario a la Super Mario 64 and Sunshine. Initally, I was going to buy Stardew Valley for Switch too but I think I'll wait and see if I still have the itch after finishing my PC playthrough before buying it. I might buy Ni No Kuni 2 in March but holy cow.. I do not need new games right now

Bubblefuzz wrote:

February 2018 The Plan

Time budget 44hrs

Monster Hunter World 30hrs
What Remains of Edith Finch 1hr (in progress)
To the Moon 5hrs
Shadowrun: Dragonfall 8hrs

Bits and pieces: 3DS and Android puzzle pile, Iconoclasts.

I can see myself playing MHW exclusively this month, however I want to keep going with the adventure games goal and get back to Shadowrun, at least a little for the CRPG club.

February Report What actually happened...

February Completed
... nowt ...

February Played
Monster Hunter: World PS4 - 32hrs
Ever Oasis 3DS - 4hrs
Prison Architect PS4 - 6hrs

Total February game time 42hrs

February Purchases
Ever Oasis 3DS
BoxBoy 3DS
Pullblox 3DS
Pocket Card Jockey 3DS
Prison Architect PS4

March 2018 The Plan

Time budget 45hrs

Monster Hunter World 20hrs
What Remains of Edith Finch 1hr (in progress)
Shadowrun: Dragonfall 15hrs
Ever Oasis 4hrs
Prison Architect 5hrs

Bits and pieces: 3DS and Android puzzle pile. Dragon Quest Builders and/or a second adventure game maybe.

I'll still be playing a big chunk of MHW, but initial shiny burst will slow some and get the time to play more of Shadowrun Dragonfall. Tempted by Ni no Kuni 2.

Last month I forgot was going to make a Game of the Month pick, so catching up.

Game of the Month - January
Battle Chef Brigade

Game of the Month - February
Monster Hunter World

Thank you, 12 month thread!

If it weren't for you, thread, I'd probably keep plugging away at Monster Hunter: World for another month or so to finish the story. But you, and the schedule you inspired me to create, made me realize that I've given this game a month... and that I am subconsciously avoiding playing it, doing other things instead. Maybe it's a great game; but it's not a great game for me.

So, thread, I'm going to give Lost Sphear a try, and see what's in the "Royal Edition" of Final Fantasy XV for a month; then get back to the ol' backlog.

Or I'm going to be distracted by re-playing the Dead Space series since it was on sale on PSN. Please forgive me, thread.

I'm feeling a bit of analysis paralysis in regards to what I'm gonna do in terms of gaming this month. I'm pretty sure I won't be getting Valkyria Chronicles 4 yet since I haven't played Valkyria Chronicles still, and while I'm interested in Ni No Kuni 2, I'm not sure I'm interested enough to pay $60 (well, $48 thanks to Best Buy. WHOO!). As can be seen from the past few months, I've got plenty of games I started, but am uncertain about progressing. I should be finishing I Am Setsuna up within the next week with ease, and honestly it feels like a perfect "for now" game. But if the $48-60 of Ni No Kuni II is too much, then the $50 for Lost Sphear is up there as well. Probably gonna have to hold out on that as well.

So theoretically I've got plenty of time, right? Well...

Just found out Flinthook will be arriving on Nintendo eShop next Friday, right in time for I Am Setsuna to be done. This is a no brainer for me. I'll definitely be getting it. But then that following Tuesday comes the Devil May Cry HD Collection, which is where I'm a little on the fence. I actually do want to go back through and play that first DMC game, and at $24 (whoo Best Buy Gamers Club!) it's not a bad asking price. But Flinthook + DMC = $39 plus tax, which elevates it to about the price of Ni No Kuni II...

Well, if I'm not getting Ni No Kuni II, perhaps DMC goes to the next paycheck. If that's the case, then I have a couple of weeks free.

Which is where we get to the trepidation of what to play.

Do I go back and finally play the rest of Gravity Rush 2? Do I start Bloodborne, which has been sitting on my shelf for about a year, and be part of the PS+ conversation? Do I finally go back to FFXII, whose story I've been wanting to get back into but whose gameplay I'm just not really feeling?

Or what of Mario + Rabbids (like but don't love) or Mario & Luigi (liked a lot and... why did I stop playing?) Oh yeah, wasn't I playing Sacred Stones?

I wish there was something I was passionate to play right now, but there isn't anything really. I think part of it is that I burnt myself out playing Secret of Mana all day last Wednesday and Thursday while sick. Overloaded my system a bit, perhaps. The other is... I dunno. I guess I'm used to always having something new that it's less enticing to return to something old.

Any suggestions? Should I roll a D# and see what pops up? Just rotate through games until something scratches an itch I didn't know I had?

Roll a dice where all the sides is Blodborne.

I believe Valkyria Chronicles 4 only comes out in Japan this month? And the rest of the world later this year?

Ah, you may be correct! According to Wikipedia it only says worldwide 2018, no specific date.

That means I have more time to play the original Valkyria Chronicles (and maybe the sequel since I'm thinking of putting Garion's PSP to more use (HOLY CRAP I FORGOT ABOUT THE STUFF ON THERE I WANNA PLAY RAAAAUGH))

Maybe I need to institute a "one new game at a time" rule. I think one of my issues is that I keep thinking I need to buy a game day one and in many instances I really don't need to (see: DMC HD).

steinkrug wrote:

I believe Valkyria Chronicles 4 only comes out in Japan this month? And the rest of the world later this year?

Whew, I was worried that I had to choose between Ni No Kuni 2 and Valkyria Chronicles 4 for my March purchase. Problem solved!

I suggest use a guide on original Valkyria Chronicles, unless you really enjoy the trial and error of the gameplay. The grading system is so messed up on that game, kamazi all the way.

I saw folks discussing the grading system previously. Does the grading system have any impact on gameplay or is it just superfluous? If it's superfluous then I really don't care. Like, I'll be let down, but I've gotten enough bronzes and duds in Bayonetta that I'm pretty okay with playing wrong.

You get less exp from missions, so you may have to grind a little, I would alteast look up A rank strategy for skirmishes to speed up leveling.
In my opinion its worth playing for story alone.

I started Quadrilateral Cowboy this weekend, but I’m unsure if I want to see it through to the end. All I really knew about it was that it was a game about hacking and that you entered commands on a computer to manipulate the environment.

What I didn’t realize was the reason for manipulating the environment is so you can frantically run around in first person while doors or alarms or whatever are momentarily disabled. It was a little more stressful than I expected, and the controls for moving in and out of your deck felt really clunky. I did the first set of jobs and haven’t been able to bring myself to play more. So this might be one backlog game I abandon rather than complete?

I’m hesitant to create new threads and this seems like maybe a place to ask:

Do you ever decide to just “move on” from a system and clear it from the backlog? Even though there’s still games you haven’t played from it? At some point just realize, “I’m never going to get to those” since you’ve only got so much time and there’s so much to play?

Edit: Speaking to the console gamers, obv.

I did that with my PS3 and Vita. After a certain point I realized I was never "in the mood" for a few games I had for the system, so there was no point in keeping it around. It was painful at the time to do, but freeing as well. Limiting options is always a good thing in this case, in my opinion.

I kinda did that with ps3, I'm not planning to sell all my games as I enjoy looking at my small collection but I don't count them towards my backlog.

I did that with my 360. I had more unplayed games on the PS3, so I finished what I was playing on the 360 and then sold all of it on craigslist.

It's sort of an organic thing for me. I think I still have Xbox 360 games I never completed/started, but I just don't care at this point since it's not a major system for me. Technically I'm that way with the WiiU, as I completely forgot I was partway through Color Splash and enjoying it.

Stupid haunted house resetting my progress and turning me off of playing it for a while.

steinkrug wrote:

I’m hesitant to create new threads and this seems like maybe a place to ask:

Do you ever decide to just “move on” from a system and clear it from the backlog? Even though there’s still games you haven’t played from it? At some point just realize, “I’m never going to get to those” since you’ve only got so much time and there’s so much to play?

Edit: Speaking to the console gamers, obv. ;)

About once a year I "move on" from a bunch of games even if I still have the system: I do my review and say "I had it on my list for the year, I *still* didn't play it, clearly I am not going to, stop tracking it."

So yeah, I'll definitely do that for a whole system at some point. Bonus: you can pass it on to someone who might actually use it. Pretty close to doing it for the WiiU and Xbox One both, as I feel less and less inclined to fire up either console for the small number of games I might want to play on them.