2019 - 12 Month Pile Program

PC

  • American Truck Simulator
  • Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
  • Else Heart.Break()
  • King's Bounty: Crossworlds
  • King's Bounty: The Legend
  • KOTOR II
  • Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition
  • Watch Dogs 2
  • Yakuza 0

For pile games, I cleared off Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. It’s one of the shorter modern Final Fantasy games, but it’s still nice to get it off the pile.

Other than that no other pile games saw much playtime. Next month I hope to make progress on Baldur’s Gate for the CRPG club, but summer family visits and some other games will be competing heavily for time. I won’t be surprised if the pile remains unchanged at the end of July!

GAMES COMPLETED:

  • return 0;

GAMES PLAYED:

  • Caligula Effect: Overdose
  • Judgment
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Destiny 2? I think?

SHORT AND SWEET:

Lookit that! Looks like June's all about not beating games. Solidarity!

THE OVERWROUGHT NAVAL-GAZING:

Spoiler:

I thought there wasn't much to reflect on this month, and then I wrote paragraphs of stuff, so I guess there was a lot to think about after all. It started well enough, with a wonderfully spent birthday weekend with some friends leading into a most excellent week of E3. Though the Western AAA industry had me feeling as if I wasted some days off, watching Nintendo Treehouse all day was legitimately one of the most delightful ways I spent a week. Unfortunately, it was sort of downhill from there. I contemplated replacing my laptop due to what seemed to be a failing network card. Fortunately, this actually kick-started the process of clearing a spot in the house for me to set my desktop up. The monkey's paw is that, while the new graphics card I had shoved into the thing pre-moving was strong enough to play games on my PC (oh yeah, I suppose I dabbled with Stranger's Wrath, Final Fantasy XIII, and Republic Commando, but have swiftly reverted to thinking of my PC as a work machine only), the fact that I installed Windows 10 means just about every program I used for my podcast or YouTube channel now operates like trash. Windows Movie Maker 6? It "functions", but not well. Audacity? It has never run worse than it does now. I wondered if I might need to upgrade RAM or the processor, but both are either equivalent or more powerful to what's in my laptop.

I don't know enough about programming or how the Windows OS works, but from what I can sleuth together, Microsoft hates old technology, and they're approaching Apple levels of hating old technology to the point of obsoletion.

As such, my new video should have been done this month, but I'm only now getting it actually cut together. My buddy Steve was laid off, and it turns out his work laptop we've been recording the podcast on is far more capable than his personal laptop. We had a really good episode discussing Nintendo's E3 presence, but it was unusable. There were whole chunks of conversation missing because the laptop had to pause and think every fifteen to thirty seconds. So the whole episode had to go in the trash, and I've been at a loss what to do about it ever since as we can't just capture lightning in a bottle twice. The second recording would clearly feel more like a chore since we'd already discussed everything before. This sort of thing has left me feeling pretty down most of the month, wondering if I should give up trying any creative endeavor.

Fortunately, it's not all bad. I now have a Blu-Ray drive and had a great weekend at the TooManyGames convention, so I'm trying to keep optimistic. I can now grab film footage thanks to my PC's Blu-Ray drive, which means I have more options for creating video content. I got myself a second monitor and should be more capable of streaming, which I'm hoping to begin experimenting with soon before creating a set weekly schedule. I have a new (by which I mean, old and used) DS Lite that I can now play my copy of Mother 3 on (not to mention finding a copy of Scurge: The Hive, which is apparently starting to go up in price the older it gets, so I got it before it costs $Ridiculous money). It turns out Judgment is good (of course), and I've been enjoying Bloodstained.

There's a lot of mental health maintenance to perform, but I think I can get back on my feet and feel better about stuff. I really do need to finish Caligula Effect, though. I'm clearly getting close to the end, and it's the perfect game for resting my back and such. I think what's making it tough is I've now developed a pattern of working on video for an hour before work, then trying to squeeze an hour or two in the evening. Now that I've got plenty of hard drive space, I may track down a copy of Windows 7 Pro, format the laptop, and install 7 just so I can use Movie Maker 6 and Audacity with the last OS to have few issues with either one. I know the obvious answer is to learn a "better" video editor, but I have two options based on what I've experimented with this whole time: spend time and energy completely changing my current methods so I can edit video in a somewhat manageable way, or keep doing what I'm doing and using all that time and energy actually getting stuff out.

I prefer the latter.

Anyway. No one cares about all that stuff. Just hoping that, in July, I can finish Caligula Effect and Bloodstained before Fire Emblem: Three Houses. That is the true beginning of the Switch Onslaught for the remaining year. I have until August before the next major PS4 title releases for me, which means I have a month-and-a-half or more to play Judgment before Control comes out.

The question becomes the next game I'll be capturing and where streaming will factor in. I'm thinking of primarily streaming SNES Classic titles, just for something easy and I will be able to comfortably talk over. I'll be capturing footage of Darksiders, however, there will be less of a rush since the video after FF9 is going to be for a film series I love, and I've already begun the "pre-production" to get that ready.

So, June was a bit of a loss due to mood, equipment changes, and... oh yeah, how long had I been working on the script at the month's start? Thinking it was easy at first only to discover I was in a bad way with it... yeah.

I know this all largely read like me just talking about my YouTube and podcast stuff, but really, it all impacted my mood this month, and I think Clock asked me about how the pressure really gets to me at one point. I think it's good for me, though. Over the past year-and-a-half it has helped me better understand my desire to be liked and accepted by some nebulous concept of a greater online community, and the healthier desire to just... discuss what I enjoy. I think that's what made the script for FF9 tough, because I was very worried about all the people I've spoken with that love FF9. I became worried about what they think. But in time, I just found a voice and a script that communicated my thoughts, and now that I'm cutting the video... I'm excited and anxious to see how people respond.

I think I'm finally in a good spot to begin streaming as well. I always tried to before, but I was so focused on how I would retain people's attention and differentiate myself from the crowd. The truth is, there's no way I can no that, and if I tried to engineer it, I'd hate it. I just... I want to stream. I feel like reaching out and say "Hey, I'm communicating, let me know what you think". There's a bit of guilt since I don't really watch anyone else's streams, but unless I somehow manage to get a following of any size (doubtful) then there's nothing to really feel guilty about.

Anyway, if you actually read through all this, I'm sorry to put you through a therapy session. I think, really, I'm just reflecting on a 1st World Rough June (did I mention I found out this week I need a CPAP? Trying to be optimistic and imagine how much better I'll feel since I didn't even realize I had apnea), but looking to July with an optimistic perspective. It's all focused on my projects, certainly, but... I dunno. I like working on things. That's about all I can say about it.

Eleima wrote:

Oh no. Oh no..... I don't think I've finished a single game this month.....

***insert panic gif***

Yikes Eleima, I hope you didn't catch what I have!

June report~

Added:
(nothing)

Beat:
Banjo Tooie

Made Progress In:
The Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine DLC (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)

June 2019

Beat:
Katana Zero

Played:
Final Fantasy V (GBA, 4 Job Fiesta)
Final Fantasy XIV
Nier Automata
Warframe

Added:
Tetris Effect (PS4)

Finished:
Tetris Effect (PS4)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Vita)

Played:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Vita)
Tetris Effect (PS4)
Tomb Raider 1996 (PC)

Not a bad month. I got ToCS out of the way for July so I can finally get to NieR: Automata, which I have been pretty much looking forward to since I bought it on discount around Black Friday.

For whatever reason, I'm in the mood for some Grand Theft Auto III, so I bought it on Steam yesterday on sale, and should spend some time in July with it. I don't expect to ever finish it though. I will probably have had my fill by the time I get to the second part of the city. I've already beaten it, so I'm perfectly OK with that.

I also started a replay of the original Tomb Raider. I know I will quit this one after Egypt. I've already plated this game I don't know how many times. I love it despite its clunkiness.

bekkilyn wrote:
Eleima wrote:

Oh no. Oh no..... I don't think I've finished a single game this month.....

***insert panic gif***

Yikes Eleima, I hope you didn't catch what I have!

I have a severe case of Guilditis and have now played over one Sands of it...

June Report! For one brief, shining moment, my backlog was under 100. Then I bought several new games.

Prior posts:

Added: 5
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Moonlighter (PS4)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (PS4)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PC)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)

Finished: 2
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (PS4)

I feel like I can hardly count this, as the "post-game" content practically qualifies as its own separate story arc. Still, I did see the credits roll!

Also Played:
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Metroid: Samus Returns
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Heroes of Might & Magic V
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Ellipsis
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Moonlighter
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

Dropped: 8 - A bunch of Nintendo games that I had never beaten, and decided that, realistically, I wasn't going to play again (or at all).

Spoiler:

8 Eyes
Blaster Master
StarTropics
Wrath of the Black Manta
Willow
Faxanadu
Legacy of the Wizard
The Guardian Legend

2019 Progress: 32 (13 finished + 34 dropped - 15 added)

Current backlog state:
101IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) / 31IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)

Last Month's Goals: Not quite done as I post this, but I should finish the last part today:

Spoiler:

Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4): Finish the game, get the platinum trophy.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PS4): Finish Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 [I should wrap Chapter 6 today]
Eliminate at least another 7 games from my backlog (by reselling old NES games)

Future Goals Rather than set goals for July, I think I'm going to set goals for the next three months, as that's the time frame for the JRPG and CRPG Clubs.:

Spoiler:

Finish Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel
Finish Metroid: Samus Returns
Finish Moonlighter
Finish Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
Finish Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (stretch goal)
Finish Baldur's Gate (stretch goal)
Finish or remove 3 other games from the backlog.

I'm near the end of #1 and #2. So really, Tactics Ogre and Baldur's Gate are the big lifts. And, if I do all this, the backlog would be down another 9 in three months.

GWJ GOTY Eligible [Record-keeping for December]:

Spoiler:

Algobot (PC)
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (multi)
flOw (multi)
Invisible, Inc.
Journey (multi)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (multi)
Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
Metroid: Samus Returns
Moonlighter
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (multi)
The Swapper (multi)
Song of the Deep (multi)
Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Tales of Vesperia (multi)
VVVVVV (multi)

LastSurprise wrote:

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (PS4)

ooh how is it?

Am sorely tempted by Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection in PSN at 55% off at the mo.

June Report

pretty simple...

Finished
Nowt

Played
Steamworld Quest

Purchased
Wargroove (double dip for Switch)

It’s more challenging than I expected! I haven’t played more than a few songs, but I tried one at expert and it kicked my butt. Also there’s enough happening on the screen, right now, that I’m not even seeing much of the dancing as I play. But I bet that will change as I get more comfortable.

The music is awesome, of course.

Welp, it's time for the June report. It's not good, folks.

Added:

  • Flower (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)
  • Journey (Epic) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • Astrologaster (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)
  • Nusantara: Legend of The Winged Ones (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)
  • Tavernier (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)
  • Contradiction - Spot the Liar (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)
  • Quern - Undying Thoughts (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)

Finished:

  • Journey (Epic) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Double dipped. It's still amazing. I'm just kinda disappointed achievements don't seem to be implemented.

Dropped:

  • Mad Max (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - After two sessions at the beginning of the month, I just haven't gone back to it. I suck at the driving, and I'm just not feeling it. Kinda bummed, but...

Played:

  • Guild Wars 2 (PC) IMAGE(https://backloggery.com/images/mastered.gif) - Yeah, I played a LOT of this.

Remaining games: 55 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (54 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 14 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 4 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 15 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 3
Est. remaining hours: 653 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (647 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 111 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 46 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 1 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 112 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 46

Backloggery is at 13, which a step back compared to last month. Yup. Gotta get back on the wagon.

...properly tempted...

Then the fact I've still got a fair way to go playing through all the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone tunes pops into my head! We'll see, at 55% off it's still £40.

June report time!

Added:
Nothing!

Finished:
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Dropped:
Back to the Future (PS3)

Played:
Trails of Cold Steel (Vita)

I decided to pick off some smaller PS3 games from the pile this month after finishing Tomb Raider. Ratchet and Clank was fun but the later sections were disappointing as they just threw a ton more enemies into the mix instead of doing anything else interesting. Back to the Future was...slow. I think that I have been spoiled by Life is Strange. BTTF was just not fun so goodbye! I think it was free through PS+ or really cheap so I'm not too disappointed.

For July, I'll continue working through Cold Steel as I'm a little behind on the JRPG club pick and see if there are any other interesting PS3 PS+ games before firing up the PS4 God of War game. No planned purchases for the rest of the year based on release schedules unless I missed something so plenty of pile gaming left for me!

It was a slow month for me. I finished just three games, two of them very short:

  • Gato Roboto
  • Layers of Fear
  • We Happy Few

Which settles me comfortably into 25 games finished for the year to date just as we crest the halfway point.

It's been a weird year! I started the year wondering why I owned any consoles other than the 3DS. Then I sort of hit a wall of not wanting to play any more JRPGs, and my 3DS has mostly been sitting in a drawer ever since. I had a hot and heavy time with my Switch for a couple months, but the unexpected MVP of the year is turning out to be the absolutely killer combination of an Xbox and Game Pass.

I've finished 8 games on the Xbox this year, and of those, 7 have been through Game Pass. If you sat me down and twisted my arm to make me rank what I've finished so far this year, my top two games would come from Game Pass.

We'll see how the rest of the year goes, but I'm mostly happy with how things are going so far. My biggest takeaway, though, is that my goal to finish in 2019 what I bought in 2019 was totally absurd. I don't have perfect predictive knowledge of what I'll like or not like, and games that should be right up my alley can sometimes turn out to not be very good at all. It's okay to drop stuff! Not only that, but it's better to drop stuff than to slog through it to the end just because I spent money on it.

Been so busy that I forgot to write mine up!

Finished:
Tetris Effect
London Heist (VR)
Statik

Added:
Crash Team Racing
Tetris Effect
PS VR Worlds
Moss
Farpoint
Superhot VR
Yoku's Island Express
DriveClub VR

Currently Playing:
Witcher 3
Tactics Ogre (psp)
Moss
Crash Team Racing
and dabbing in various VR games

Been busy with summer stuff, then hit a bit of a rutt mood wise and almost didn't play anything for a week. Feeling better last couple days, but still try to get out of the house while its nice out. But hey atleast I finished couple things. I'm hoping this fall/early winter alot of these long games will come together to the finish line, but with Trails of Cold Steel 3 hitting in the fall that might put a big stick in my spokes.

June Report!
Not a whole lot of progress, but then, no backsliding!

Prior posts:

Added: None!

Finished: 2
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PS4)

Also Played:
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition (PC)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Celeste (PS4)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS)

Dropped: None.

2019 Progress: 34 (15 finished + 34 dropped - 15 added)

Current backlog state:
100IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) / 29IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)

Goals for this quarter:

Spoiler:

Finish Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel
Finish Metroid: Samus Returns
Finish Moonlighter
Finish Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
Finish Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (stretch goal)
Finish Baldur's Gate (stretch goal)
Finish or remove 3 other games from the backlog.

GWJ GOTY Eligible [Record-keeping for December]:

Spoiler:

Algobot (PC)
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (multi)
Celeste (PS4)
flOw (PS4)
Invisible, Inc. (PC)
Journey (PS4)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (multi)
Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)
Moonlighter (PS4
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (PS4)
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (PC)
The Swapper (PC)
Song of the Deep (multi)
Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Tactics Ogre (PSP)
Tales of Vesperia (multi)
VVVVVV (multi)

Not as much progress as I had hoped during my summer vacation, but still a lot more than in recent months. Most of it was new purchases rather than the pile though.

Finished:
Outer Wilds
Baba Is You
Resident Evil 2
Obra Dinn
Baldurs Gate: Siege of Dragonspear

Playing:
Underrail

Bought:
Tetris Effect
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Obra Dinn
Baba Is You
Resident Evil 2

Jumping in on this. July report!

Added:
- Super Mario Maker 2

Played:
- Cadence of Hyrule
- Airscape: The Fall of Gravity
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- Enter the Gungeon
- For Honor
- Super Mario Maker 2

Finished:
Nothing

Dropped:
- Airscape: The Fall of Gravity: good lord this gave me so much motion sickness. Guess that's not surprising when you consider the game mechanics reolve (pun intended) around the world spinning.

Accidental double.

Mostly played Final Fantasy XIV because Shadowbringers released. Picked up Fire Emblem: Three Houses at the end of the month and started that. Also a little more Nier: Automata.

I almost had a heart attack, because I couldn't find my June report at first. But phew, I'm still doing my reports, even when they suck. The July report should be better though.

Added:

  • Mr Love: Queen's Choice (iOS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)
  • The Arcana (iOS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)

They're both free, and I don't usually count iOS games, but... see below.

Finished:

  • Flower (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Another game I souble dipped on. I regret nothing.
  • Tavernier (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - This was a fun little game to play over the weekend while travelling by train. Enjoyed the mechanics a lot, disappointed the game assumed I was male.
  • The First Tree (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Oof. What a mjor letdown. It's pretty enough, but the areas are HUGE, and it makes it feel a bit empty at times. And the ending pushed some major religious crap on me which I did not appreciate.
  • The Journey Down: Chapter Three (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - The delightful ending to a magical trilogy of adventure games. Which should really be played back-to-back. And that I strongly recommend.

Dropped:

  • Jon Shafer's At the Gates (PC) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - Let's be honest here. That ship has sailed for me.

Played:

  • Guild Wars 2 (PC) IMAGE(https://backloggery.com/images/mastered.gif)
  • Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - I finally got into this one. For real. And I'm loving every single moment of it. There's over a dozen handsome young samurai to romance, so this might take a while.
  • Mr Love: Queen's Choice (iOS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - I'm enjoying this otome so damn much. Four gorgeous gentlemen vying for the main character's affection, a free to play game with a host of purchase options, all completely optional. You don't miss out on anything if you don't spend any money, it just takes a little longer to get there. Free to play done right.
  • The Arcana (iOS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - The art is gorgeous, the characters are endearing and sexy, so what's wrong with this free to play murder/romance game, you say? The business model. You can unlock a chapter with a key, and you get one key every eight hours, with a cap of three. Every steamy option choice is locked behind an option you have to pay coins for, and coins can be accumulated, one trickle at a time, or you can purchase packs of coins at exorbitant prices. Oh, and if you unlock a chapter with a key and want to play it again, you'll need another key. It gets exorbitant. I've done some digging, and even worse, this game is the product of a Kickstarter which has gone horribly wrong. Some backers got their art pieces, but all of them are still waiting on their codes to unlock the game (so they're playing the pay-to-play version like the rest of us), and the PC version that was promised has been permanently shelved. I'm very conflicted, because the writing is delightful and the art drop dead gorgeous, but the business model just shafts the players. I'm not sure where to go from here. Maybe finish the route I'm on and be done with it. But there's another character I'd like to romance next, and there are still so many questions left unanswered...

Remaining games: 50 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (49 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 18 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 5 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 15 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 8
Est. remaining hours: 613 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (613 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 125 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 66 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 7 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 112 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 86

Backloggery is at 20, I'm definitely pleased with that. I don't have custody for most of August, so I'm hoping to keep making decent progress. We'll see, but I'm very optimistic. Maybe I'll even tackle one of the bigger games I have queued up (Assassin's Creed: Origins).

July report~

Added:
Nier Automata (PS4)

Beat:
The Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine DLC (PS4)

Made Progress In:
Nier Automata (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)

Maybe I should try to beat some shorter games this month so it feels like I made good progress My main plan in August is to get ending A and B in Nier Automata for the jrpg club and hopefully play through Link's Awakening before the remake hits in September. Although I'm still not sure if I'll get the remake around release or not. It might be better to space it out.

Out of curiosity, Eleima, are you familiar with London Detective Mysteria? I mostly know about it due to following the woman in charge of its localization on Twitter. It was her last project with XSeed, but she had an awful lot of passion for it, right down to reading a whole bunch of the old mystery novels that the characters are all based on to try and get each character's voice right.

I don't know much about otome other than the sudden burst in popularity it has been getting in the West, but given the effort she put into the game's localization I'd love to see it do well and become known.


July report time.

GAMES COMPLETED:

  • Caligula Effect: Overdose

GAMES PLAYED:

  • Caligula Effect: Overdose
  • Judgment
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses
  • Super Metroid
  • Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
  • Scurge: Hive
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

SHORT AND SWEET:

Though I did not beat a lot of games, I certainly played a lot this month. Unfortunately, August is looking to be cluttered, and if the rest of the Autumn was looking calm I might feel fine just post-poning some stuff. Instead, it looks like the coming month will be... well, some stuff might need to be placed on the chopping block after all.

THE OVERWROUGHT NAVAL-GAZING:

Spoiler:

Judgment has been a slow burn of a game. When I play it I really enjoy it, but the Nintendo Switch and other games are dominating my time above it. It's not one of those situations like Caligula Effect had become, though, where I felt satisfied with what I played... though there's certainly elements to that since I already beat two Yakuza games this year. I think the novelty is off on Judgment, and therefore it beckons me far less than some other games.

Caligula Effect I'd like more time in, but by the conclusion I was rushing to get it off the spreadsheet and mark it as complete. Humorously enough, my pal Steve is playing it on Vita after having finished Persona 4 Golden, so we'll probably do a podcast on the game. I also did a write-up on my blog about it, one that captures my rather lukewarm take. Lukewarm only in that it truly is a mixture of extremely hot water tossed into a tub with extremely cold, canceling both extremes out into something that is comfortable but otherwise unremarkable. Furyu has stated they want to do more with Caligula Effect. Hopefully they can have more money with which to do it, or some more refined design.

Before I get into the dominating Switch titles, I'll first discuss the games that are hardly a priority. I had purchased a DS Lite at the TooManyGames convention in Oaks, PA, and with it a copy of Scurge: The Hive. If you want to know how awful I was at writing ten years ago, you can check out my write-up from when I first played it back then. I was looking forward to giving this obscure gem another go until I discovered the console I purchased had a busted L button. Guess I'm in the market for a clean, functional GBA or DS(Lite) all over again. Super Metroid, in the meantime, is my current "streaming" project. In order to prepare for Extra Life, and simply because I've been wanting to do it anyway, I've revived my Twitch account and have decided to Stream in the mornings before work. However, I do think streaming daily is a bit too much for me, and will be deciding on a schedule such as Mon-Wed-Fri. I've found that hour of gaming before work is refreshing, but having to speak while gaming is a bit much. So I'm still playing around with settings and regularity. Super Metroid seemed like a perfect experimental title, and in some ways has been. I think the difficulty is having enough worth discussing throughout the playing of a game in its entirety.

I had also received my code for Bloodstained on Switch, though I did not make much progress in it. Now that the 1.02 patch is rolling out, I will likely be restarting the game. I'd have played it more, were it not for the two major Switch titles demanding my attention.

Yes, I'm playing Darksiders: Warmastered Edition again, and this time on Switch. Less than a year after my last playthrough, and inspired partially by reading the Gaming Club's response to it. There were some observations from my last playthrough that I had yearned to explore, but as usual, the great distaste I had seen for the game had suddenly encouraged me to go back and figure out why it was that I love it so much. This worked out incredibly well for my video analysis of Final Fantasy VI, and so I decided to give Darksiders a go. It is not my next video, so there's not as much pressure to play through. A good thing, given the final game I'll discuss in this essay no one, or so few, bother reading.

Returning to Darksiders with this process in mind has been fruitful. It allows me to see some of the game's faults that I'd otherwise ignore while simultaneously identifying much of what it does well. In particular, I am in staunch disagreement with everyone that complained about the game's combat, but I understand why so many knocked it down to Easy. I do find frustration in knowing at least one member of this community makes the Devil May Cry style of action game -- which Darksiders is very much a beginner's variant of -- believes them to be button mashers, and many of those that declared Darksiders to be "bad" then immediately go and eat up hours of Sekiro or the like. How come you're willing to learn the finnicky, 30fps timing of parrying in Sekiro with far, far greater punishment and consequences for failure, yet cannot be bothered to do the same with Darksiders' block-counter, a move that very generously cancels any action War is in the middle of? This sort of discrepancy frustrates me, especially as this playthrough I've been having an easier time on Normal than ever before.

Perhaps the fact that everyone accepts that From games are designed to be "punishing" and "difficult" puts players in a mindset of "Oh, I just need to learn the game and get good at it", clearly establishing that development of skill as part of the experience of playing the game. Yet when the player is busted up by a crowd of foes in... whatever, Darksiders, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, what have you. When they lose massive chunks of health to several consecutively attacking opponents, then struggle to have a truly stylish performance, the mentality is "Wow, this game is unfair/poorly designed, I'm not having fun". Each game has the same expectation of the player: develop your skills and learn how to get better so you can overcome tougher obstacles and more punishing opponents. But the reputation and the framing of From games cause a different response, where your pride isn't hurt by being bad at it (until you go online and talk to other players). Do the other games lack that same reputation and therefore the response is to blame the game rather than your own lack of skill? Is the faster pace or more-punishments-available automatically shift the player's expectations?

Eh, probably worth exploring, but not worth the headache that would result from it.

The final game of the month was Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which I've already invested more hours into than Judgment despite having had it for less than a week. The hype is real, folks. Somehow they've put a game into a school setting and I don't hate it. I've already theorized that it's actually a genius method of forcing the player to take more interest and care into their units as individuals rather than broadly defined classes. Nevertheless, it is probably my favorite entry in the series already, and it is the primary reason I haven't gotten back to recording Darksiders footage. I'm just completely devoted to it at this point. I play Judgment occasionally, but this is the spotlight for me.

I have no doubts I'll have at least beaten it once before Astral Chain releases. The question is, will I be satisfied with one playthrough or will I immediately jump into a second? If I do, will I grow more exhausted as I had with each playthrough of Fates? We shall see. Either way, I am currently loving my time with the game.

LOOKING AHEAD:

Spoiler:

At first glance, August is not that bad of a month. I know I already pre-ordered Crystar, so I just need to invest more time into Judgment before it arrives in the mail. I have all of August to complete Fire Emblem and see credits role before Astral Chain releases. That's not too bad, right?

But wait! Control is one of the few Western games I've been interested in to release this year, and it releases the same day I'll be receiving Crystar! Metal Wolf Chaos XD releases on Tuesday! I haven't even touched the demo for Oninaki yet, and that releases the week before Crystar and Control!

Yes, five games releasing in August that I wish to play, followed by three or four in September. There is no way I can play everything I wish to play. However, September is pretty much all Switch games, so I should be able to somehow manage both Crystar and Control. I've gone over ten years without being able to play Metal Wolf Chaos XD, I can probably wait some time longer (unless I finish Judgment in record time).

Regardless, the next few months are going to be crazy, and I'll need to make some decisions on what I can and cannot play based on both wallet and time.

ccesarano wrote:

Out of curiosity, Eleima, are you familiar with London Detective Mysteria? I mostly know about it due to following the woman in charge of its localization on Twitter. It was her last project with XSeed, but she had an awful lot of passion for it, right down to reading a whole bunch of the old mystery novels that the characters are all based on to try and get each character's voice right.
I don't know much about otome other than the sudden burst in popularity it has been getting in the West, but given the effort she put into the game's localization I'd love to see it do well and become known.

Sudden burst of popularity? Really? I hadn't noticed, I've been playing them for years (see my last couple of GOTY lists ). Looks like it was only on Vita up until yesterday. Hadn't heard of it at all, and it sounds like it would be right up my alley. Will definitely have to check it out when I get the chance, so thanks for the heads up!

Okay, sudden burst as in "did Hatoful Boyfriend open the floodgates?" which was... how many years ago?

I'm getting older, so five years is starting to feel like yesterday.

July report time!

Added:
Nothing!

Finished:
Kung Fu Rabbit (PS3)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PS3)

Played:
Trails of Cold Steel (Vita)

I needed a short game so looked through the PS+ list and found Kung Fu Rabbit. I have a few unfinished disc games on the PS3 that I would like to get through and started with NFS: Most Wanted. The credits haven't rolled yet but I see how many additional boring races that I have to go through to unlock the last couple cars and I think that I am done. Making good progress in Trails of Cold Steel which will be my focus for August until I complete it.

July report:

Added:
Nothing

Finished:
Tomb Raider (1996, PC) -> Does not count, I've beaten it I don't know how many times before
To The Moon (PC)

Played:
Nier: Automata (PS4)
Tomb Raider III (PC)

I did reach the first ending in Nier, but I won't count it yet. I was planning on stopping Tomb Raider after Egypt, but by the time I got to the mine, I thought, "What the hell, I'm almost done anyway", and got to the end. I then started Tomb Raider III. I remember this one not being very good, so who knows how far I will get.

July 2019 Report

Beat:

Persona 5
Armikrog
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Added:

New: Dreams (PS4)
New: Ultra Street Fighter IV (PS4)
New: Subnautica (PS4)
New: Prey (PS4)
New: Ys: Memories of Celceta (PSVita)
New: Ys: Seven (PS4)
New: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PS4)
New: 198X (PS4)
New: Stranger Things 3: The Game (PS4)
New: Street Fighter X Tekken (PS3)
New: Hitman Go (PS4)
New: Slime Rancher (PS4)
New: Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (PS4)
New: Skelly Selest (PS4)

Played/Progressed in:

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Nier: Automata
Hollow Knight
Marvel's Spider Man (trophy mop-up)

I decided to take step one towards beating my backlog today.

I use Trello for my website, my 9-5 and personal life (I'm so rock and roll its ridiculous) so decided to add a tab to my personal one with a list of every game in my backlog along with how long it will take to beat them.

I haven't had the heart to add them all up (it would break me) but now I can put them into some sort of order and if I feel like completing something in a few hours I can quickly see those games.

That's the theory, anyway. I will probably just play Final Fantasy XIV while throwing money at Humble Bundles.

Better late then never.

Added:
NONE?!
I actually can't believe it, I don't think I've bought a single game in July!

Beaten:
Also none

Played:
Tactics Ogre Lets Cling Together
Moss
Witcher 3
Far Cry Primal
Forza Horizon 4

Been a kinda crap month for me, I was ether too tired, sh*t mood or just too dang busy to play much. Some days I felt like I'm getting over this hobby, but others I'm excited to get home and play except by that time that actually happens I'm exhausted
Weekends is the only time I managed to put in any game time in on the big sceens, and that has been split between the games above.
Making real good progress on Tactics Ogre, I think having someone to chat about it really helped me get through this game. (Shout out to JRPG club!)
The few days I got to play my PS4 I made a bit of progress with Witcher 3, I feel like I'm on the tail end of the main story now, it feels like there maybe a slim chance I can wrap this up before end of the year

Here's hoping for a better August!