2019 - 12 Month Pile Program

Throws off the thread tracking.

Yup. Shows a new post every time a post is edited, but often enough it'll just take you to the last page no matter what page your edited post was actually on. So if you're just making an edit, it'll mark it as a new post for all of us.

Probably better to keep an actual document to track things if you'll be updating that often.

Shadout wrote:

Probably not finishing anything else this month, so

Finished:
Assassins Creed: Odyssey
Rime
Dead Cells
Dragon Age Origins (againagainagain)

I'm curious, what do you count as 'finished' for Dead Cells?

First playthrough. Didnt really like the game, though it has become better with the recent patch (got rid of lvl scaling). So that is more than enough

Hello all and thanks for the various feedback.

I now feel better about dropping Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Darksiders out of the runners-up. Looks like Mad Max and Tales of the Borderlands may get a shot there.

The arguments for Prey actually gave me reason to reconsider. I only ever gave the game one session and a bit of the immersive sim quality of a BIoshock, Dishonored or Thief did come through towards the end. Though I wish they would have moved beyond email terminals and audio logs as story-telling devices a decade after Bioshock. Also, black goo monsters are laughable when compared to that infamous first Big Daddy encounter.

Lastly, the case made for Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny. The last CRPG I played was DA:Origins. I don't know when I'll ever have the time or state of mind for a reading-heavy game again, but will keep this in the back of my mind.

Interestingly enough, no case made for RDR2. But even then, it sure makes it hard to stick to the 10 preselected, as most comments were on games beyond that. Time to go ruminate and maybe give a few of the runners-up a spin of a couple hours to get a better picture.

End of the month! I might finish Fairune 2 if I get ambitious, but we'll see.

Finished:

  • Rime
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
  • Metroid: Samus Returns
  • Super Mario 3D Land
  • Luigi's Mansion
ClockworkHouse wrote:

This year, I've set three goals for myself: work on my "Goodbye, 3DS" pile; work on my "Adios, Wii U" pile; and play everything I buy in 2019, in 2019. Where do I stand with that?

I've finished two games from my Goodbye, 3DS pile so far this year, and I'm currently playing three more.

I'm currently playing one game from my Adios, Wii U pile. Progress!

I have purchased eleven games so far this year; anything crossed off has been finished, and anything with an arrow has some progress made:

  1. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
  2. Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker
  3. Pokémon Moon
  4. Ever Oasis
  5. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
  6. Monster Hunter Stories
  7. Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World
  8. Hey! Pikmin
  9. Super Mario 3D Land
  10. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
  11. Luigi's Mansion

What have I learned this month? Well, I currently have seven(!) games listed as "now playing" on Backloggery, and I've been trying to alternate between all of them as the mood has struck me. I've tried to avoid starting multiple games on the same system (except for the 3DS) to keep myself focused a bit.

That's been somewhat successful, but I may have made a mistake in picking all RPGs to be playing. I notice that I'm feeling a bit tired when I go to pick something to play, and that's usually how I feel when I want to start something new. This month, I'll try adding a shorter game or two to the rotation to see how it goes.

I'm also running into the usual conundrum of when and whether to drop a game. I have some time into both Stella Glow and The Witcher 3, and after some initial enthusiasm for both, my interest has waned considerably. I kinda want to see them through to the end, but I'm also increasingly feeling like my time would be better spent on something else.

(I lied. I finished Fairune 2.)

Well, I'm not going to finish anything else this month, so here comes my January report!

Spoiler:

End-of-2018 Post

Added:
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)Journey
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)Flower
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)Flow
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)Unraveled
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Celeste

Finished:
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)Song of the Deep
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)Journey
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (HD Remastered Cinematics)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)Algobot

Also Played:
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Dragon Age: Origins
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Persona 5
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Dragon Quest XI

A government shutdown, combined with a couple of snow days, made this a rich month for gaming!

Dropped: 6IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) [Reasons why below]

Spoiler:

Mushroom 11 - This game features a cool concept, and I want to enjoy it more than I did. But I'm not too keen on weird control schemes, and after finishing the first level, I didn't feel any urge to play it again. Off the pile it goes!
Luna's Wandering Stars - Tried it; didn't enjoy it.
A Virus Named Tom - Didn't enjoy it
Swords of Xeen - While I love MM4-5, I've read that this fan-made bonus scenario is buggy, poorly edited, and features inconsistent challenge. I can't ever see myself choosing to play this instead of making another run through the actual World of Xeen
ROCKETSROCKETSROCKETS - Looks like a fun party game, but not my thing for unwinding at the end of a long day -- and not conducive to backlog purposes
7 Grand Steps - An interesting-looking choose-your-own-adventure, told in the style of a slot machine, and board game, following a family through the ancient world as they climb the social ladder. At least, that's what it's supposed to be. The reviews I've read are mixed, and describe the system and choices as obtuse. I have better uses for my time.

2019 Progress: 5 (5 finished + 6 dropped - 6 added)

Current backlog state:
129 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) / 50 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)

Last Month's Goals: I totally killed this.

Spoiler:

Dragon Age: Origins (PC) - Finish 1-2 of the four main quests, after Lothering
Dragon Quest VII (3DS) - Finish
Persona 5 (PS4) - Finish Palace 2
Song of the Deep (PC) - Finish

February Goals:

Spoiler:

Persona 5 - Finish the fourth palace
Dragon Age: Origins - Finish Brecilian Forest and Redcliffe
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Finish
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken - Finish
fl0w or Flower - Finish

GWJ GOTY Eligible [Purely for the purposes of keeping track, come December!]:

Spoiler:

Song of the Deep [I played about 30 minutes of this in 2018]
Journey
Algobot

LastSurprise wrote:

GWJ GOTY Eligible [Purely for the purposes of keeping track, come December!]:

I approve of this!

I won't be finishing anything else this month either so here is my report:

Added:
Kingdom Hearts 3 - the reason that I won't finish anything else this month

Finished:
Unravel

Played:
Rainbow Skies - nearing the 70% story mark so getting closer
Dragon Quest Builders - playing with my 5 year old
OnRush - did some online with my college age son and found this is a surprisingly fun racing game
Hollow Knight - This game is just not clicking with me; fighting with the controls if I am not slashing straight forward and sooooo much backtracking. I might not get back to it after KH3 but we'll see. I'm told that it gets less annoying after a certain point.

Plans for February:
Kingdom Hearts 3 on PS4, Rainbow Skies on Vita mostly
No planned purchases for the foreseeable future--maybe Life is Strange 2 when it is fully released

Well, it does seem like the month has come to a close as far as games finished is concerned. I may yet beat one or two games in the next couple of days - and if so, I will update my post with a new post and version thereof - but it's best to play conservatively here and call it a month as such.

The PS Humble Indie Bundle did a number on me, I must say.

Added:
Wasterland 2: Director's Cut (PS4)
The Talos Principle (PS4)
Layers of Fear (PS4)
Shadow Warrior 2 (PS4)
Killing Floor 2 (PS4)
Jazzpunk (PS4)
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (PS4)
Lego Starwars: The Force Awakens (PS4)

Beat:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (WiiU)
Dead Space 2 (PS3)

Platinum'd/Completed:

The Mooseman (PS4)
Chasm (PS4)

GAMES COMPLETED:

  • Final Fantasy VI
  • Devil May Cry 3
  • Resident Evil 2 (2019)

GAMES PLAYED:

  • World of Final Fantasy
  • Destiny 2
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Devil May Cry 4
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

SOME THOUGHTS ON CAPCOM:
Before I get into my naval-gazing, I thought I'd jump into some reflections on Capcom this generation. Technically it might belong in the Games Industry/Finance thread, but last I looked in there it kept turning into a crap show about the most minor of things, so I've grown to avoid it.

At the start of this platform generation Capcom had burned so much good will with their fanbase. They canceled projects in the Mega Man franchise, Resident Evil 6 was a complete trainwreck of indecisive ideas and desperate trend-chasing, their constant re-releases of fighting games was seeming greedy and out-dated in the modern gaming environment (not to mention mixed feelings regarding the quality of those releases), Devil May Cry was potentially ruined forever, and all their attempts to orient new or prior IP to Western efforts was met with displeasure (see Bionic Commando). Even promising new IP like Lost Planet and Dead Rising were squandered. The only properties that didn't seem to be suffering were Phoenix Wright and Monster Hunter, both with niche audiences on niche platforms.

It would seem like their fighting games are still struggling, with Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite being horrifically mishandled by corporate leadership and Street Fighter V being met negatively by the fighting game crowd for reasons I'm not 100% on. It seemed for a while that Capcom was just going to start pumping out remasters and ports to remind you of how good they used to be. But then Resident Evil 7 came along, and while it failed to sell as fast as they had hoped it has continued to be a critical darling, a must-have for VR, and remains discussed in pockets of the Internet everywhere. It has remained relevant beyond its initial release and continues to be purchased in sales. Last year saw the release of Monster Hunter World, succeeding in taking a niche property and giving it a strong fanbase in the West. I don't know how its sales are altogether, but with an expansion releasing this year its pretty safe to say the game is a success. They also released the return of the Blue Bomber in Mega Man 11, the game everyone wanted Mighty No. 9 to be. I also don't know how well this did financially, but I'm hoping it did decently enough to justify similar revisits to older properties.

Now in 2019 we're seeing Resident Evil 2 selling 3 million copies in its release weekend, and it seems to be a distillation of the franchise's history and where it's been going. It adopts the controls and perspective of 4, 5, and Revelations, but seems to pull away from the action-focus even further than the game it's remaking. Yes, there's plenty of ammunition and creatures to kill, but the zombies are even greater bullet-sponges than ever. It's possible that this is the future of Resident Evil given the game's success. Meanwhile, early response to the Devil May Cry 5 demo on Xbox One has been strong, but... how well will it sell? I'm not certain, as Devil May Cry is to Capcom what Metroid is to Nintendo. A strongly vocal and dedicated fanbase, but certainly a far smaller one than the rest of their properties.

Aside from learning that Capcom has decided to dominate the first three months of the year from this point forward, it makes me wonder about how the company is doing financially and how this will impact their future. From where I'm standing it feels like this is a company once being near the top of the mountain, plummeting down towards the bottom, but steadily climbing back up again. Perhaps not to the top, but high enough to have a clear view of the valley. In light of Activision and EA starting to suffer many woes and loss of IP due to many of their wells drying up faster than anticipated, it has me wondering if we'll see similar changes in them over the next decade or if they'll remain stubborn. Even if they do invest in new IP and find some new successes, will they then fall into old habits after sifting through the successes? Or will they slowly begin to turn towards the mobile market, which seems far more susceptible to their quantity-over-quality business models?

At the same time, I cannot help but wonder how much the gaming market has changed over the last... what, 14 years since Xbox 360 came out? Ten years ago, after I graduated College, I was part of a gaming community where most of the members were still in high school or just starting College. I pulled my hair out trying to talk games and design with them because they were, in my eyes, "part of the problem". Many of them sincerely liked Activision and thought it was great that they could expect a new Call of Duty every year. Ten years later those kids are all in their mid-to-late 20's, their lives are completely different, some of them may have even dropped out of gaming altogether, and now we have teenagers and College freshman that have grown up on YouTube, Twitch, Minecraft, Five Nights at Freddy's and Undertale. And... what does that mean for the gaming landscape?

I'm not sure, but it seems to mean not everything needs to be open-world. Not everything needs to be 80 hours long. It means it's okay to have more niche titles. I think, perhaps, the indie revolution actually had an impact on both older gamers like ourselves, but also the younger ones coming into the medium at a young age. When I was a kid, everyone played Mortal Kombat over Street Fighter because "lookit the blooooood!" When I was in high school, people wouldn't even touch a game if it didn't have multiplayer. That same age group would fall in love with GTA3 and Morrowind, wanting games to be massive sandboxes instead of linearly crafted experiences.

Sometimes it's easy to see a future in which games are all streaming and VR and think "this is not the future I want". But at the same time, if I learned anything it's that trends in this industry keep changing, but hopefully we've reached a point where it's large enough that you can have something for everyone. I'm starting to like where we're at.

.......too bad we're already talking about new consoles, because who knows what that's gonna do to shake things up.

NAVAL-GAZING, YAAAAAAY:

Spoiler:

This has been a weird month. I'm in love with games but I have no confidence in my ability to write. In fact, I even asked myself if I don't actually like it, which... sometimes I don't! What this means, though, is that I have no idea what February is going to look like other than it's a pretty clean slate.

I need to hammer out a script for Final Fantasy VI, and if I can do that then a lot of time in February may be spent cutting together a video. The problem is, thinking and talking about FFVI makes me excited, but the second I try and organize my thoughts all the doubts flood in. It's something I really need to get over. It's impacted my blog as well.

If I manage to be productive with my February, then I'll be playing either Halo: Combat Evolved or Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, whichever gets me more fired up to make a video on the subject. Otherwise... as I said, it's a big blank slate, and I don't think Devil May Cry 4 is going to take up a lot of that time. However, Resident Evil 2 has some free DLC releasing mid-month, so that could easily fill some time. Right now, World of Final Fantasy has priority on my Switch, and may in fact get gaming priority in general in order to guarantee it is finished by time Caligula Effect releases in March.

So at the moment the plan is World of Final Fantasy and DMC4. Bouncing between two games on two platforms is pretty easy for me. What I'll do aside from those games... again, up in the air. I have to drop a lot of cash on my car this week and have bills that need paying, so I'm not really looking to buy anything in February. A lot of positive buzz on Travis Strikes Again has me tempted, and I'm inclined to want to try WarGroove as a hold-over until Fire Emblem: Three Houses eventually releases, but it might be better to instead focus on what I already have.

Which, given how much I loved playing RE2, may be a revisit to REmake's HD remaster.

I began A Link to the Past in January, but don't know if I'll continue with it. Unlike FFVI where it's been long enough since I last played that I got sucked back in rather swiftly, I've played A Link to the Past from the beginning so many times my whole life that the opening mission to save Zelda just feels so boring (cue Clock saying that's just how the game is period or something). I might dabble in it, but otherwise I think I'm good holding off for now. As for Destiny 2, well, I may have to call the doctor to see if I got some tinnitus thing going on in my ear. Ever since the beginning of the month it has occasionally sounded as if I got fluid or something in there, and Saturday it was at its worst as it threw me off balance. I got some ear drops that helped, and there have been days my hearing returned to normal, but it seems whenever I put headphones on the problem resurfaces for the next two days. Sunday and Monday my hearing was pretty much normal again. Put headphones on to play Destiny 2 with my buddy Steve on Monday night, and now yesterday and today it's an issue again. Considering things with my car and my funds I'm not eager to schedule a trip to the doctor's, but the longer it goes like this the worse and more permanent the problem could become. Bleh.

I'll probably try to find time to dabble in Smash Bros. Ultimate again, but for now the Switch is my World of Final Fantasy machine and will be staying that way.

Which means, to sum up, the primary games I'm focusing on in February:

  • World of Final Fantasy
  • Devil May Cry 4

What comes secondary depending on timing and mood:

  • Resident Evil 2: Ghost Survivors DLC
  • Halo: Combat Evolved
  • Breath of the Wild
  • REmake HD Remaster
  • Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
  • Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

Because by end of February I'll probably be in a good enough spot to get Phoenix Wright. We'll see how things look once I come back in a month, though, because March is going to be three brand new games all at once.

Last year saw the release of Monster Hunter World, succeeding in taking a niche property and giving it a strong fanbase in the West. I don't know how its sales are altogether, but with an expansion releasing this year its pretty safe to say the game is a success.

Monster Hunter World is Capcom's best-selling game ever, beating out Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6.

That was always the weird contradiction of the Resident Evil series: fans vocally disliked RE6, and RE5 got a very mixed reception, but both titles sold very strongly. Capcom could have been completely justified in repeating that same formula for RE7, but they didn't.

I could have sworn I read somewhere that RE6 lost money, but that's no surprise when you have six-hundred people making your game. You need some really strong numbers for that to turn a profit, and I think that's why Capcom made adjustments. You're ultimately making less money despite putting more in, even if the sales are strong.

Then again, Capcom in 2013 also blamed out-sourcing to too many Western developers at once, the majority of which all lost money.

With RE specifically, though, I feel like Revelations is a hint into why they changed direction. Here's this smaller, lower budgeted game on the 3DS, and somehow the critical and fan reception is a lot more positive than RE6. It must have done quite well, especially after being ported, because rather than limit Revelations 2 to a handheld they went and made it a multiplatform game. Still smaller budget, but a bit more ambitious nonetheless. RE6 may have sold strong, but I guarantee you both RE7 and RE2 cost less for them to make, and with RE2 it's probably going to prove to be way more profitable in the long-run. With day one sales being as strong as they are and the buzz on social media being overwhelmingly positive, it's going to get people buying it once it's on sale in the summer and then for the autumn and winter holidays.

The only game I got off the backlog this month was Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood. The majority of gaming time this month was spent getting caught up on the MMO's current content.

I managed to put more time into Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, God of War, and Red Dead Redemption 2. Those games are so massive it feels like small drops in a bucket, though. Swapping between them feels onerous due to the long startup times on PS4 as well. My wife has been on a Civ 6 kick on my Steam account, so that's limited my PC gaming. It's easy to just play more FF14 since there's plenty to do and I'm enjoying it so much right now.

Current backlog:
PC

  • American Truck Simulator
  • Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
  • Else Heart.Break()
  • King's Bounty: Crossworlds
  • King's Bounty: The Legend
  • KOTOR II
  • Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
  • Observer
  • Pillars of Eternity
  • Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition
  • Quarantine Circular
  • Subsurface Circular
  • Tyranny
  • Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Retribution
  • Warhammer 40K: Space Marine
  • Watch Dogs 2
  • Yakuza 0

PS4

  • Assassin's Creed Odyssey
  • God of War
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • SOMA
  • Yakuza Kiwami

Quarter 1

PS4
God of War -on hold-
Persona 5 (jrpg club)
Rime (adventure club) -WIP-
Tacoma (adventure club)

3DS
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. -WIP-
Pocket Card Jockey.
Rhythm Paradise Megamix -Plucked from the pile + WIP-
Fire Emblem Awakening -Plucked from the pile + WIP-

PC
The Pillars of the Earth (adventure club)

January Report~~

Added:
What Remains of Edith Finch (Epic) (already beat this at a friend's but snagged it up in case I wanted to replay it. part of Epic's freebies this month)
The Jackbox Party Pack (Epic) (another freebie)
Kingdom Hearts 3 (PS4)

Beat:
Firewatch (Steam)

Made Progress In:
Banjo Tooie (X360)
Persona 5 (PS4)
Kingdom Hearts 3 (PS4)

Planned Games To Beat In 2019

Spoiler:

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (3DS)
Banjo Tooie (X360)
Persona 5 (PS4)
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (PS4)
The Witness (Steam)
God of War 2018 (PS4)
Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
The Witcher 3 - Blood and Wine DLC (PS4)
Resident Evil HD remaster (PS4)
Black Mesa (Steam)
Firewatch (Steam)
Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U)
Star Fox Zero (Wii U)
Star Fox Guard (Wii U)
Subnautica (Steam)

Well this month flew by fast!

Added:
None

Finished:
None

Played:(short version)
Witcher 3
Rogue Galaxy
Banished
Steep
Everybody's Golf
Rocket League
Far Cry Primal
On Rush
Legend of Heroes
Utawarerumono Mask of Deception
Battlefield 1
Dirt Rally
Dirt 4
RaceRoom Racing Experience
World of Warships

Played: The long version:

Spoiler:

Well this year I wanted to focus on having fun and not really worrying about quanity of games finished, or forcing my way through a game just to see the credits.

The racing games:

I gave On Rush a solid shot earlier in the month and hasn't returned since, so I'm giving that game a hard pass, glad I gave it through PS Plus
Dirt Rally I continue to come back to as its one of the best rally games around and we have an active Rally League that runs an event every two weeks until Dirt Rally 2 releases, so this will stay in my rotation.
Dirt 4 I still fire up from time to time just due to better Rally Career mode, hopefully DR2 will replace this also, I may try to make some time and see if I can actually finish this thing
RaceRoom has been an active game due to Racing Dorks community we have here, plan on putting tons of hours through out the year into this.

The time wasters:

I also got back into Rocket League on PS4, this has probably taken up alot more of my time than I wanted too, I need to figure out how I can moderate this game, as its really easy to jump in a match and loose track of time 4 matches later.
Played a bunch of World of Warships earlier in the month due to the seasonal events, still have fun with this, probably will make a return next month for a bit as well.
Everybody's Golf has been my go relax game, there isn't much left to unlock in this for me, but after purchasing all the DLC cources during the winter sale it game this game a breath of fresh air.
I have lost couple Sundays to a little game called Banished, I really enjoyed watching my little group grow to over 50 strong, but now we are in a decline due to aging population, will be interesting to see if I can correct the slow spiral to extinction.
The stand out from PS Plus from January, I've been playing Steep here and there, I really wish there was more structure in this game than being the most open world open worldly game ever. Man I would I kill for SSX Tricky remaster.

In effort to use my portable platforms more, I played a bit of of Utawarerumono earlier in the month but only to put it on hold for Legend of Heroes, I am in the later half of the game so I decided to focus my efforts on this game instead.

Now to talk about the biggest elephant of them all, Witcher 3, I have been playing some sort of Witcher game since October of last year. I'm starting to feel a bit burnt out on the Witchering, I still really enjoy my time playing the game when I do start it up, I just have trouble actually starting it up. So I am thinking I may put it on a temporary hold for a month to kinda wind down from it.

Most of the month I've been craving a console JRPG, but couldn't really find anything in my collection to scratch the itch, decided to give Rogue Galaxy a shot this past week during my vacation. So far I'm 7 or so hours in and despite being a ps2 game, the visuals hold up, controls are fairly decent and I'm really enjoying the characters. I usually have pretty good luck with Level 5 games, so we will see.

And the last game on my list, Far Cry Primal. In the past I've had pretty bad luck with Far Cry games, despite owning the past few titles I never really was able to get into them, so far I'm having pretty good fun with this one.

Closing thoughts, I really would like to find a way to balance my time wasting games and making progress in the games I enjoy. While I had a lot of fun playing games this past month at the same time it kind of feels like I've wasted it.

Goals for February:

Finish:

  • Ashen
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
  • Hey! Pikmin

Make progress:

  • Persona 5
  • Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

Just curious if there are monthly pile threads anymore? It's been a while since I've taken advantage of this awesome support group, but I'm back, and ready to chip away at my pile!

I'm exhausted. I've gotten all I could out of this month, so here's my January report.

Added:

  • Vampyr (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)
  • To Be or Not To Be (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Much needed gift during the GOTY process. THANK YOU!
  • Jon Shafer's At the Gates (PC) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)

Finished:

  • Seers Isle (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - After Along the Edge, I was bound to enjoy this. And I sure did.
  • To Be or Not To Be (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Like I said, much needed levity.
  • RiME (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - January adventure game club game. Good stuff.

Dropped:
None.

Played:

  • Guild Wars 2 (PC) IMAGE(https://backloggery.com/images/mastered.gif) - More progress in LS3. Gonna get Twilight too.
  • Pyre (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - I'm not finished. I'm savoring it. It's amazing.

Remaining games: 56 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (55 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 3 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 0 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 3 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 0
Est. remaining hours: 702 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (694 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 15 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 0 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 4 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 42 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = -23

Backloggery is at 3. The year is off to a good start. I didn't get as much done in January as I would've liked, but the GOTY took quite a lot out of me, and I had to deal with some Serious Crap®, not to mention a death in the family, and perhaps an impending one at work too. Games to look forward to though: CHUCHEL and Prey for the GWJ Charity stream. More Pyre <3 . Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth for the GWJ adventure club and I still haven't booted up Dragon Age: Origins for the cRPG club. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, AC: Origins are still on the short list as well.

TheThomp wrote:

Just curious if there are monthly pile threads anymore? It's been a while since I've taken advantage of this awesome support group, but I'm back, and ready to chip away at my pile! :)

The January thread is here. I don't believe the February thread is up yet.

I spent time in January working out a plan for 2019 gaming. It comes down to catching up on the PS4 and Switch backlog. There’s much more of the former thanks to digital sales.

I played a few short games to feel like I was making some progress out of the gate.

Finished:
Dear Esther (PS4)
Gone Home (PS4)

Playing:
Ace Attorney - Justice for All (3DS)
Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders (PS4)
Octopath Traveler (Switch)
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, replay)

Backlog: 37 Games

Assuming I don't beat at least one more game tonight - highly unlikely -, then in February I'll be looking to...

Finish the following:

Soma - I've made it about halfway or more. Love the atmosphere and overall design of the environments, though there's some mechanics I'm not too happy about (the moving levels, turning knobs mechanisms... they aren't very well calibrated and it makes certain operations under pressure and time constraints quite frustrating) but it's a really tense and intriguing game.

Timespinner - this little metroidvania that I happened to pitch into on kickstarter is fun, though I seem to forget some of its time manipulation mechanics when dealing with environmental puzzles, thus leading me into many "Eureka!" moments that, rather than making me feel clever, they remind me that I'm being dumb and forgetful hehehe.

Dead Island - I've been enjoying it, even though I haven't been able to spend enough time on it. I seem to recall a lot of flack being thrown at it back when it released... have yet to see exactly why and hope I don't find any reason to agree on that front.

I hope to play more of:

Persona 5 - playing it for the JRPG club. Loving it.

Patapon 3 - recently remembered it from my ps+ collection. Simply adorable and fun.

Monster Hunter World - I haven't been able to dive into the appreciation/anniversary content. Must correct this situation.

Iconoclasts - yet another ps+ addition that I've played here and there since it was dropped on plus, but haven't really gotten very far, I think.

Hollow Knight - Been playing it in bits since I bought it last year on the PS4... would like to keep hitting it.

Would like to start:

The Cave - I recall playing this soon after it came out, but honestly can't remember if I ever beat it. I had played it on a pc I no longer own, but still have the ps+ iteration, so I'll be hitting that and looking to omplete it fully down the line.

Deponia - Been meaning to get to it. Having set a goal for myself of getting a few platinum trophies through the year, this one seems like a good, relatively hassle-free addition to the platinum list.

It's been really hard to not go get Resident Evil 2. And weirdly, I've been tempted by New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe despite owning the original release on the Wii U. It's still hooked up! I could play that game tonight without spending any extra money!

Whelp, I completed DMC4 earlier than expected, likely due to playing on an easier difficulty than I ought to have picked. This has me at a bit of an awkward spot. I kind of want to just replay RE2, but I really don't want to burn myself out on the game. I could just jump into REmake, but considering I have the whole month, I'm looking at Yakuza 0. I bought it and Kiwami and have been wanting to jump into the series for a while, and now just seems like the perfect opportunity.

So trying to figure out what I tackle next on my PS4. We'll see what I'm in the mood for on Monday night, and just stick to World of Final Fantasy the rest of the weekend. I might actually lose some of that desperate desire to return to key hunting in mansions and police stations.

Bubblefuzz wrote:

Quarter 1

PS4
God of War -on hold-
Persona 5 (jrpg club)
Rime (adventure club) -WIP-
Tacoma (adventure club)

3DS
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. -WIP-
Pocket Card Jockey.
Rhythm Paradise Megamix -Plucked from the pile + WIP-
Fire Emblem Awakening -Plucked from the pile + WIP-

PC
The Pillars of the Earth (adventure club)

I forgot my Game of the Month thing. Invaluable in remembering what I'd played and enjoyed for the GotY.

Game of the Month
January - Tacoma

I make the same cognitive mistakes every year when thinking about the year ahead.

I never think there will be games I'll want to play that I didn't know about or didn't think I'd be interested in.

I always think I'll like everything I play well enough to want to finish it.

I never think my tastes and interests, in both games and platforms, will shift and evolve over the course of the year.

Each of these things catches me flat-footed every year, and I don't know how to deal with them. How long have we been doing these threads? I really ought to know by now how to handle these things.

I know what you mean, but I guess that’s an unknown in an already complex equation. It’s hard to account for data when you can’t quantify or qualify it. We have a whole field for that in statistics. Usually, you will either overcompensate or undercompensate, but even in the best case scenario, you can only approach the truth, without ever quite reaching it.

Which is to say you have to sing it.

I tried to write useful wisdom but I suck at that. So instead I'll just ask if anything brought this on all of a sudden?