2022 - 12 Month Pile Program

Pages

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o6fJcqyBmUXCaSyY0/giphy.gif)

Oh, I didn’t see you there. Welcome to the 2022 thread!

Remember that each of us track our progress differently, but kind of with the same idea. It's about recognizing what you have, being okay with throwing out titles that don't catch your interest or that you will never play, and trying to focus on what you already have; there's no hard and fast rule.

Reminder that this thread and the idea it incorporates aren't about stopping you from buying games. Let's be honest: that'd be a fool's errand. It’s about trying to enjoy what you have.

Here are some steps to help those new to managing their games.

IMAGE( https://media.giphy.com/media/kggLZwV42Xm25wieXf/giphy.gif)

First, YOU decide whether or not something belongs on your pile; This isn't a collection to showcase, this is a list of games that will require your attention sometime in the future, even if that time is just spent deciding that you will never get to a certain title.

Secondly, just lumping them all together doesn't help anyone. Yes, make a list, but more than just that. You aren't buying groceries, you're committing your time. An invaluable, and ever-shrinking, resource. So, use some tools to help you understand what you may be in for. From sites like HowLongToBeat.com that tells you what to expect, time-commitment wise, to critical acclaim or notoriety, which may adjust when and where you aim your sights.

Third, You don't have to just sort your list alphabetically. Sort it by desire, zeitgeist, system preference, or anything else that you think makes sense to you. You're not building a web application, you're curating a very specific list of games.

Remember, it's your list, which means it's your rules. Wanna jettison a game because you don't like the box art? Do it. Does a 40 hour game seem like too much of a commitment? Boot it. Does it require 3 hours of boring at the start to get to the "good parts"? Nix it. If a game doesn't respect your time from the jump, then just be done with it. Does it mean you "wasted" money on it? No, not necessarily. The cost is your money plus your time, the latter of which is likely the most valuable.

Fourth, throw games off your pile like people throw coins into a fountain. You're not out to impress anyone. This isn't about monitoring your every move, waiting for your next post to see what titles have been kicked to the curb. It's about you being ok with saying "No" to commitments that are too much, and "Yes" to those that delight you.

Games should be fun. Enjoyable, even. Not wasting your time, feeling like a second, third, or fourth job. Those are signs that you need to walk away. Eject the disc, delete it from your hard drive, or put it into a "Jettisoned" folder on your system.

Finally, some games, you will be so excited for. Can't wait for the release. The arrival bears so much excitement. The public is going wild. Zeitgeist hasn't been like this for ages. And you just.... bounce off it. That is okay. I'm giving you permission to not like every game, to walk away without feeling guilty. Regardless of everything going on, some games just will not be for you. Even though you bought it day 1 digitally, you are allowed to be done with it before noon.

Repeat after me, “This process isn’t about others, it’s about what I enjoy. It’s all about me!”

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/Q7jFysVxloFRaacR6v/giphy.gif)


Clubs (Main threads only)

2022 Monthly Threads

  1. January
  2. February
  3. March
  4. April
  5. May
  6. June
  7. July
  8. August
  9. September
  10. October thru December

Obligatory ‘22 hype.

I've updated my spreadsheets and I'm ready for this. HYPE!!!

I've actually got a plan this year. We'll see how long that lasts.

Stele wrote:

I've actually got a plan this year. We'll see how long that lasts.

Do tell!

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/d0Pkp9OMIBdC0/giphy.gif)

Haha. It's not some overarching thing, just a few items on the checklist.

Last year I played... FFX (finally), Nioh, AC: Black Flag (after Odyssey in 2020). And also in 2020 played Batman: Arkham Origins.

So just trying to continue some of those trends, I have games lined up for this year.... FFX-2, Nioh 2, AC: Rogue, Batman: Arkham Knight.

Also I had the recent Tomb Raider trilogy on various platforms already from giveaways or PS+, and had been thinking of firing them up... but then Epic gave all 3 complete/definitive versions this week. (Still Free until Thurs). So I started TR (2013) already. I plan to try all 3.

And with GoW and HZD sequels coming, I plan to start GoW 2018 and finish (restart?) HZD on PS5 this year.

Plus Persona 5 Strikers... I picked up the Steam version on a decent sale in Sept or so but hadn't started it. Now it's coming free to PS+ in Jan. So not sure where I'm playing it yet, but I've got to try it this year.

So I think that's a decent list, will probably take me at least half the year even. A few games on Switch, a few on PC, and a few on PS5(4). Should be able to take TV time when I can get it and start working on all of those at once. Will declare something officially for Jan when the monthly thread goes up and get started.

My plan is much more simple. I'm going to attempt to play games!

Can I also say I love the hero image for the thread? Because I totally love the hero image for the thread.

I’m going to attempt to participate in this thread this year and play more games than I buy.

I paired down a ridiculously massive backlog list to about 70ish games. Still probably ridiculous. So I will likely be also jettisoning some stuff from the list through the year as well.

I can't make a post without being verbose (a verpost?), so here's my sorting of 2022's priority pile, a readjustment of my goals, and looking out for what may be coming in 2022 despite a severe lack of proper release dates. Why do I do this? Why do I insist on writing so much when I suck at sticking to a plan? Probably some psychological thing about talking/writing about accomplishing something providing as much of a dopamine hit as actually accomplishing something.

Spoiler: Priority Pile for 2022
  • Gears Tactics (Xbox)
  • Yakuza 3 (Xbox)
  • Dragon Quest XI (Xbox)
  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS4)
  • Sakura Wars (PS4)
  • Code Vein (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Okami HD (PS4)
  • Grandia HD Collection (Switch)
  • Valkyria Chronicles (Switch)
  • SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech (Switch)
  • Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (PC)
  • Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PC)
  • Killer is Dead (PC)
  • Disco Elysium (PC)
  • Blasphemous (PC)
  • Liar Trick - Psychological Crime Mystery (PC)
  • Psycho Pass: Mandatory Happiness (PC)

I originally had Crystar on this list, but given I dabbled back in it last year and still failed to properly complete it, I am removing it from the pile. I may still go back and dabble some more, but as interesting as the story is, it's way too grindy and monotonous to really force myself to push through. Maybe after several other long-running games have been taken care of.

I purchased Ys IX on Steam last year and have had it installed for a couple months, but have yet to start it. With January almost being a clean slate, I plan to start it today. Honestly, however, this pile is not necessarily indicative of the games I plan to play this year. I definitely yearn to return to Dragon's Dogma and give it another run through, and I've already started Castlevania: Symphony of the Night this morning in my quest to play through some entries in that franchise. Nonetheless, these are games that I either started at some point, or have not properly given time to since purchasing that I finally want to make time for. It's going to be tough considering how many of them are lengthy, time-consuming games, but I think I can manage maybe half this list again, depending on how things go. Some of the smaller games, such as Okami HD, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and Killer Is Dead in particular should make for fine stream games, so there's that at least.

Spoiler: Gaming Goals for 2022
  1. Complete half of my priority pile by year's end.
  2. Continue streaming on a regular basis
  3. Unless I'm really certain, resist buying any indie or AA game until I've heard enough word-of-mouth on it
  4. Retail therapy is a mean temptation: let any items you wish to purchase in a sale sit in your cart for at least 48-72 hours before deciding to buy.
  5. Stop worrying so much about what others think of my opinions and just write or make videos because I want to share my excitement
  6. Try to use my love of games to encourage myself to draw more

It's kind of a dumb, bad list, especially since any financial advice to myself rarely works. However, I'm hoping these can work a bit better. In addition, I still love blogging about things and the itch to make videos persists (though that can certainly create problems in terms of budgeting game time), yet my biggest obstacle is a severe lack of confidence. Therapy and Church are slowly helping me in these matters, but it's still tough to just like myself enough to confidently do more.

Which kind of leads into the final point. I like art, but it's been so long since I did it regularly that I always feel like my works are nothing but trash. I lament giving up making comic strips in my twenties if only because it provided regular practice and polish. It's been over a decade since I drew regularly, and while I can still sketch some stuff out that looks nice, I see nothing but the flaws that will take so long to polish out with my current rust. So, I want to try and get back to how I was as a kid, just drawing things periodically based on games I'm playing. I tried my hand at pixel art this year as well, but I'm not sure I have the patience to truly get good at it. Nonetheless, I'd like to try my hand at it a bit more.

Regardless, those are my new goals for 2022.

Spoiler: Looking Ahead to 2022's Releases

So, if we consider games with release dates, my current purchase plan consists of:

  • Pokemon Legends: Arceus (already pre-ordered with a gift card)
  • Elden Ring
  • Triangle Strategy
  • Babylon's Fall
  • Tunic
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chernobyl (Game Pass)

Now, in some ways, that's not too bad. It's a small list, right? However, there's a lot of potentially interesting stuff left by the wayside. Sifu, for example, or Monark in February, or the combination of Rune Factory 5 and Final Fantasy Origins Stranger of Paradise in March. I'm grateful to not be interested in Horizon: Forbidden West given my lukewarm feelings on the first game, or else it would be worse. There's also games I may be roped into playing with friends, such as Chocobo GP or Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. I'm also on the fence on games like Forspoken.

That's okay, though, since the calendar after March is pretty barren, right? Yeah, well, it was back in 2021 as well, and look how that turned out. How about we look at games with some form of release window or without a specific date slated for 2022?

  • Scorn
  • Bayonetta 3
  • Splatoon 3
  • The still unnamed Breath of the Wild sequel
  • A.I. The Somnium Files: The Nirvana Initiative
  • A Plague Tale: Requiem
  • The Callisto Protocol
  • Dead Space Remake?
  • Crimson Desert?
  • Dolmen
  • Evil West
  • Final Fantasy XVI?
  • Ghostwire: Tokyo
  • God of War: Ragnarok
  • Gotham Knights
  • Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
  • Granblue Fantasy: Relink
  • Hogwarts Legacy?
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Metal Slug Tactics
  • Salt and Sacrifice
  • Soulstice
  • Star Ocean: The Divine Force
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
  • Trek to Yomi
  • Whisker Squadron (Kickstarted)
  • Unsung Story (Kickstarted)
  • Warhammer 40K: Darktide
  • The Soldat With Twin Arms
  • Ultra Age
  • Palworld
  • Black Witchcraft
  • SteamDolls - Order of Chaos
  • Ex-Zodiac
  • Gestalt: Steam and Cinder
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong?
  • Arcadian Atlas
  • Lies of P?
  • Replaced

..............AND THIS IS A TRIMMED LIST. Not to mention all the games that are likely unannounced, or that I won't be getting due to reasons (such as God of War: Ragnarok). Fortunately a good number of these are things I can play on stream and therefore will have a place, but... dang.

2022 is going to hurt. Regardless, this is where I'll definitely try to be careful about my purchases. Unfortunately, it means I may be missing a lot of stuff, and I already have a list of 2021 catch-ups. So... who knows, man. It's gonna be a crazy year.

My plan for 2022 is to work through some of the remaining games that I want to play on the older handheld consoles that I have: 3DS and Vita.

Nintendo 3DS:I have had the gold Zelda 3DS in a closet gathering dust until 2021 when my youngest found it and dug it out. I have only a few games but I'll see if I can get through them.
- Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds (kids bounced off this one hard but I'll give it a shot)
- Fire Emblem Awakening
- Bravely Default
- Donkey Kong Country Returns

PS Vita: The reason that I never opened the 3DS was that the Vita arrived at my house that holiday season first. With a huge amount of PS+ games "purchased" already, why mess with the 3DS? My list is very long but I'm tentatively adding these:
- God Wars: Futures Past
- Exist Archive
- Grand Kingdom
- Breath of Fire IV
- Broken Age
- Disgaea (1, 3 or 4--I have never finished one)
- God Eater 2 or Resurrection
- Hyperdimension Neptunia ReBirth1
- Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines
- Salt and Sanctuary
- Vagrant Story
- Cosmic Star Heroine
- Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

Playstation 4: I don't see much on the release list for 2022 at this point other than Horizon Zero Dawn and no plans for PS5 anytime soon so more time for the pile! There are a number of games that I have had for awhile and want to dive into along with a couple of newer ones.

- Days Gone
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- Kings Quest
- Witcher 3
- Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire
- Shadows of Mordor
- Nex Machina
- Seasons After Fall
- Nine Parchments
- Valkryia Chronicles 4

I know that there is little chance that I will be able to finish even half of these games but I'm writing these down for the goal in 2022. Go Pile!

Dang that reminds me I have a couple of PS+ Vita games that I used my PSTV to play. Hm...

ccesarano, I can vouch for Okami HD (PS4) (well I played the original non-HD), Valkyria Chronicles (Switch), SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech (Switch), and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PC) all being really great. You won't go wrong with any of those.

And 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim probably should go on my list too, but I haven't actually bought it yet. Just seen it on a ton of GotY lists here and putting it on my wishlist.

I had a think as I was looking at my spreadsheet and rereading the original post. Specifically this part:

trueheart78 wrote:

Wanna jettison a game because you don't like the box art? Do it. Does a 40 hour game seem like too much of a commitment? Boot it. Does it require 3 hours of boring at the start to get to the "good parts"? Nix it. If a game doesn't respect your time from the jump, then just be done with it. Does it mean you "wasted" money on it? No, not necessarily. The cost is your money plus your time, the latter of which is likely the most valuable.
Fourth, throw games off your pile like people throw coins into a fountain. You're not out to impress anyone. This isn't about monitoring your every move, waiting for your next post to see what titles have been kicked to the curb. It's about you being ok with saying "No" to commitments that are too much, and "Yes" to those that delight you.

The thing is... I don't want to jettison games 99% of the time. I really WISH I could spend 60 hours on Torment: Tides of Numenera and I'm still hoping I will one day. I'm still clutching to most of these like a gigantic, comforting pile of plushies.

Stele wrote:

ccesarano, I can vouch for Okami HD (PS4) (well I played the original non-HD), Valkyria Chronicles (Switch), SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech (Switch), and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PC) all being really great. You won't go wrong with any of those.

Okami is one of those games I'm tempted to always plan to get to but never actually play just so I can torment a friend of mine over it. He's always on me to play it. I definitely think I'll be getting to it on stream this year, I just want to tackle some indies I got first. SteamWorld Quest I probably would have played already, what with being a SteamWorld game, if it weren't for the fact it relies on cards. I like deck-building games as deck-building games, but making a whole video game out of it is such an odd turn off. Nonetheless, it's in the cards, no pun intended.

Valkyria Chronicles has been taking me years to get to, sadly. I think that might get priority just because of how long I've been trying to get to it.

And 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim probably should go on my list too, but I haven't actually bought it yet. Just seen it on a ton of GotY lists here and putting it on my wishlist.

I think I got it on sale early last year, but the PS4 has barely been touched on the whole. So I think that's going to be my next big game on that platform.

If I could, I'd have one game per platform I'd be working on, but I just don't have the attention span to have one game on Switch, one on PS4, one on Xbox, and one on PC.

Eleima wrote:

I had a think as I was looking at my spreadsheet and rereading the original post. Specifically this part:

trueheart78 wrote:

Wanna jettison a game because you don't like the box art? Do it. Does a 40 hour game seem like too much of a commitment? Boot it. Does it require 3 hours of boring at the start to get to the "good parts"? Nix it. If a game doesn't respect your time from the jump, then just be done with it. Does it mean you "wasted" money on it? No, not necessarily. The cost is your money plus your time, the latter of which is likely the most valuable.
Fourth, throw games off your pile like people throw coins into a fountain. You're not out to impress anyone. This isn't about monitoring your every move, waiting for your next post to see what titles have been kicked to the curb. It's about you being ok with saying "No" to commitments that are too much, and "Yes" to those that delight you.

The thing is... I don't want to jettison games 99% of the time. I really WISH I could spend 60 hours on Torment: Tides of Numenera and I'm still hoping I will one day. I'm still clutching to most of these like a gigantic, comforting pile of plushies.

I can relate to that. It's easier for me to jettison a game whose mechanics or narrative are okay, but once I set it down I stop thinking about it and almost forget it exists. Those are the games easy to cast aside. The games that look right up your alley but have that time commitment? That's tough.

I actually got into a discussion with friends regarding games "respecting your time", and ultimately we all came away with different impressions as to what respecting our time means. Part of it really does depend on what one values.

Walterqchocobo, I envy your ability to tackle the pile by not looking to snag a next-gen capable system anytime soon. Part of me is wishing I didn't upgrade my PC last year since I'd be in a similar boat. Alas, here we are.

Eleima wrote:

I had a think as I was looking at my spreadsheet and rereading the original post. Specifically this part:

trueheart78 wrote:

Wanna jettison a game because you don't like the box art? Do it. Does a 40 hour game seem like too much of a commitment? Boot it. Does it require 3 hours of boring at the start to get to the "good parts"? Nix it. If a game doesn't respect your time from the jump, then just be done with it. Does it mean you "wasted" money on it? No, not necessarily. The cost is your money plus your time, the latter of which is likely the most valuable.
Fourth, throw games off your pile like people throw coins into a fountain. You're not out to impress anyone. This isn't about monitoring your every move, waiting for your next post to see what titles have been kicked to the curb. It's about you being ok with saying "No" to commitments that are too much, and "Yes" to those that delight you.

The thing is... I don't want to jettison games 99% of the time. I really WISH I could spend 60 hours on Torment: Tides of Numenera and I'm still hoping I will one day. I'm still clutching to most of these like a gigantic, comforting pile of plushies.

Oh, nobody ever said it’s easy. It just took me a week to actually jettison Guardians of the Galaxy from my pile. Didn’t play at it all during that time, but also knew I didn’t really wanna play it anymore. Add in all the GotY list entries, and it was more difficult than I thought it would be.

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/TfulLuyM3dnMkYQorZ/giphy.gif)

ccesarano wrote:

Walterqchocobo, I envy your ability to tackle the pile by not looking to snag a next-gen capable system anytime soon. Part of me is wishing I didn't upgrade my PC last year since I'd be in a similar boat. Alas, here we are.

My kids got a Switch this year but I haven't gotten any games for me on that. I have heard that there are lots of great RPGs on there but I'm going to leave it to the kids for now. We'll see how long that lasts. They were really excited on Christmas and then jumped right back to the PS4 for Minecraft, Genshin Impact, and Overcooked with friends. No need for PS5 for me until something other than Ratchet and Clank draws me in. When Final Fantasy 16 comes out in 2026, I'm in.

walterqchocobo wrote:

When Final Fantasy 16 comes out in 2026, I'm in.

I envy your optimism.

Whoopsie, edited this instead of posting a new comment.

So.. last year my targeted games list was a total failure. I beat 6 out of 20 of them. I tried making a new one for this year and couldn't get it to a manageable size. I think instead of an exact list, I'm just going to make some broad goals and see how that goes.

Finish games that I started in 2021- Good to tie up loose ends (if I want to).

Play through more 2D Metroid games - Want to be caught up on the lore so I can play Dread.

Finish my journey through the Half-Life series - Played Black Mesa and Half-Life: Alyx last year so the plan is to replay Half-Life 2 and the two episodes this year.

Finish the Danganropa series - Have Ultra Despair Girls and v3 left.

Play more Yakuza games - Too many games to try to get through them all but I'd like to make some progress.

Give a Souls game a fair shot - Bloodborne is sitting on my PS4 harddrive and I haven't gave it a good go because I'm intimidated. Could see myself getting into Elden Ring too..

Play more VR games - Still feel like I've just brushed the surface with VR.

Continue setting aside time for gaming - Think this has really worked the past month or so just to carve out some time every week to game.

Forlorn Hope wrote:

Play through more 2D Metroid games - Want to be caught up on the lore so I can play Dread.

Awesome. I did that in the month or so before Dread released. There's really little reason to play the original, just play the remake, Zero Mission. If you have Switch Online, there's a special version of the original NES one where you start in the last area with full items, if you just want to see the end of it.

Likewise, play Samus Returns instead of Metroid 2. The counter melee is a bit overdone but the map and other things are so much better than the old GB version.

Forlorn Hope wrote:

Play more Yakuza games - Too many games to try to get through them all but I'd like to make some progress.

I try to play one a year. I did that with 3 through 6 but didn’t get to one in 2021.

trueheart78 wrote:
"Eleima"The thing is... I don't [i wrote:

want[/i] to jettison games 99% of the time. I really WISH I could spend 60 hours on Torment: Tides of Numenera and I'm still hoping I will one day. I'm still clutching to most of these like a gigantic, comforting pile of plushies.

Oh, nobody ever said it’s easy. It just took me a week to actually jettison Guardians of the Galaxy from my pile. Didn’t play at it all during that time, but also knew I didn’t really wanna play it anymore. Add in all the GotY list entries, and it was more difficult than I thought it would be.

But that's the thing. I have zero qualms dropping a game when it hasn't grabbed me. But I actually DO want to play these. :'( Someone add 6 more hours to my days, please.

I mostly hope I can play more games in my pile in 2022, because absolutely nothing happened in the second half of 2021.
My pile had the largest growth of the year in the last days of 2021, when the various winter sales defeated me. On the positive side, most of these do not seem to be super long games.

So the top of my endless pile is now full of newly acquired games.
The Forgotten City
Spiritfarer
Inscryption
Wildermyth
Noita
Persona 5 Strikers
SteamWorld Quest
Loop Hero
Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest

A bit further down the list are some of the games that has been in the pile for much longer - some of them probably ripe for being thrown out. I am pretty bad at removing games from the pile, or giving up on games I have started however.

Tetris Effect
Blasphemous
Rakuen
Fae Tactics
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Rise of Industry
A Hat in Time
Factorio
Icewind Dale EE
King of Dragon Pass
Chrono Trigger

Then of course, the next few months are looking stacked with new releases, killing all hopes of pile progression. Such as Monster Hunter Rise, Lost Ark, Horizon II: Forbidden West, Elden Ring, Triangle Strategy.

Eleima wrote:

Someone add 6 more hours to my days, please.

I'd throw good money on a GoFundMe for moving Earth a bit outward in the solar system and slow its rotation!

Shadout wrote:
Eleima wrote:

Someone add 6 more hours to my days, please.

I'd throw good money on a GoFundMe for moving Earth a bit outward in the solar system and slow its rotation!

That would mean employers would add four hours to regular work days

bobbywatson wrote:
Shadout wrote:
Eleima wrote:

Someone add 6 more hours to my days, please.

I'd throw good money on a GoFundMe for moving Earth a bit outward in the solar system and slow its rotation!

That would mean employers would add four hours to regular work days :(

Only in the USA. Europe has more sense than us already

Eleima wrote:

Can I also say I love the hero image for the thread? Because I totally love the hero image for the thread.

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/KbwzYYv7cziNd4PiuC/giphy.gif)

I went back and forth through my pictures, but with The Artful Escape being the amazing game it is, I found a few I really liked, and went with a wonderful line that wasn’t a potential spoiler.

I’m so glad you like it!

IMAGE( https://media.giphy.com/media/WQZMi97teGP94opfj9/giphy.gif)

Here’s my starting list for 2022.

Playing

  1. TBD

Paused

  1. Down The Rabbit Hole (VR) [3hr]
  2. SUPERHOT (VR) [8hr]

Unplayed

  1. Vader Immortal: Episode I (VR) [1hr]
  2. Vader Immortal: Episode II (VR) [1hr]
  3. Pixel Ripped 1995 (VR) [3hr]
  4. Deltarune: Chapter 1 (NS) [4hr]
  5. GRIS (NS) [4hr]
  6. Waltz of the Wizard: Natural Magic (VR) [4hr]
  7. Evoland (NS) [5hr]
  8. Moss (VR) [5hr]
  9. The Gunk (XSX) [5hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  10. The Solitaire Conspiracy (NS) [5hr]
  11. Deltarune: Chapter 2 (NS) [6hr]
  12. Raji: An Ancient Epic (XB1) [6hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  13. Transistor (NS) [6hr]
  14. Dirt 5 (XSX) [7hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  15. Trover Saves the Universe (VR) [8hr]
  16. Deadpool (XB1) [10hr]
  17. The Banner Saga (NS) [10hr]
  18. The Banner Saga 3 (NS) [10hr]
  19. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (360) [11hr]
  20. SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE (XSX) [11hr]
  21. Steamworld Heist (NS) [12hr]
  22. The Banner Saga 2 (NS) [12hr]
  23. West of Loathing (NS) [12hr]
  24. DOOM Eternal (XSX) [14hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  25. Child of Light - Ultimate Edition (NS) [15hr]
  26. DRAGON QUEST II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line (NS) [17hr]
  27. South Park: The Fractured But Whole (NS) [18hr]
  28. Children of Morta (XB1) [19hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  29. Darksiders 3 (XB1) [19hr]
  30. Valentino Rossi: The Game (XB1) [19hr]
  31. Darksiders: Warmaster Edition (XB1) [20hr]
  32. Evoland 2 (NS) [20hr]
  33. Art of Rally (XSX) [21hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  34. ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos + Episode Yamato DLC (VR) [25hr]
  35. Immortals Fenyx Rising (XSX) [25hr]
  36. AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES (XSX) [28hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  37. Cris Tales (XB1) [28hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  38. Astria Ascending (XSX) [30hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  39. Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition (XB1) [30hr]
  40. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 (XB) [31hr]
  41. Persona 5 Strikers (NS) [36hr]
  42. Scarlet Nexus (XSX) [36hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  43. Tales of Arise (XSX) [40hr]
  44. Hades (XSX) [44hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  45. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (XSX) [45hr]
  46. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (XSX) [53hr]

Lessons Learned

  1. I should not buy DLC until I am ready to play it. This includes season passes, as well. I should just buy the base game.
  2. I stop playing open world games when I complete the main story.
  3. I am terrible at platformers and don't enjoy playing them.
  4. I am much more of a taste-tester than I ever was before. This leads to more jettisoned games, but in the end, I find myself playing more games and getting hooked on the ones that really click with me.
  5. If a game isn't living rent free in my mind, then I should consider moving on. I value enjoyment the most, so if the fun factor or story engagement isn't there, even for AAA GOTY titles, it's ok.
  6. Games that frustrate me aren't fun. There's no joy in beating my head against a wall. It's likely that a game that violates this once, will do so again. Don't be fooled.
  7. No difficulty setting in a frustrating game means I am also generally not interested.
  8. Shorter games that I can complete in one to two sittings are wonderful.
  9. I do not enjoy traditional adventure games. I'm not a fan of trying every option or attempting to solve illogical puzzles as the primary form of gameplay. Also, all the “get an item and then go 5+ screens away to use item and repeat” is frustrating in multiple ways.
  10. I am not always the intended audience.
  11. I should stop buying games just because they are on sale. I should buy a game when I'm ready to play it. Who knows? It might even be on Game Pass by then.

Legend IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/304/information_2139-fe0f.png)

IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png) = Xbox Game Pass

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/BMWqrE704c84e7q8r6/giphy.gif)

Stele wrote:
Forlorn Hope wrote:

Play through more 2D Metroid games - Want to be caught up on the lore so I can play Dread.

Awesome. I did that in the month or so before Dread released. There's really little reason to play the original, just play the remake, Zero Mission. If you have Switch Online, there's a special version of the original NES one where you start in the last area with full items, if you just want to see the end of it.

Likewise, play Samus Returns instead of Metroid 2. The counter melee is a bit overdone but the map and other things are so much better than the old GB version.

Yeah, I'm leaning on going with the remakes. The originals have their place but I think I'll have a better time with the revamped versions. I have played Super Metroid before so I'm debating on whether I want to replay it or not but the others will be brand new.

steinkrug wrote:
Forlorn Hope wrote:

Play more Yakuza games - Too many games to try to get through them all but I'd like to make some progress.

I try to play one a year. I did that with 3 through 6 but didn’t get to one in 2021.

Two seems reasonable to me since I got through 0 and Kiwami last year but I guess I'll see. Those are some beefy games..

Forlorn Hope wrote:
Stele wrote:
Forlorn Hope wrote:

Play through more 2D Metroid games - Want to be caught up on the lore so I can play Dread.

Awesome. I did that in the month or so before Dread released. There's really little reason to play the original, just play the remake, Zero Mission. If you have Switch Online, there's a special version of the original NES one where you start in the last area with full items, if you just want to see the end of it.

Likewise, play Samus Returns instead of Metroid 2. The counter melee is a bit overdone but the map and other things are so much better than the old GB version.

Yeah, I'm leaning on going with the remakes. The originals have their place but I think I'll have a better time with the revamped versions. I have played Super Metroid before so I'm debating on whether I want to replay it or not but the others will be brand new.

Mine might be an unpopular opinion, but I think Super Metroid and Fusion are really all you need for Dread. Super Metroid already has a summary of the first two games built in, and while Zero Mission is certainly fine, it's only real contribution is a stealth section with the now famous Zero Suit that's just padding. Similarly, Metroid 2 in any carnation, be it the original, AM2R, or Samus Returns on 3DS, is weakened by the fact that it's the most linear map design of the franchise (which might seem odd considering the reputation of Fusion and even Other M, but it's incredibly straight-forward compared to all the others).

Granted, I wouldn't say folks should ever not play a Metroid game (though maybe Other M, though I continue to defend it somewhat). But if the goal is to catch up on lore for Dread, then Super -> Fusion -> Dread is all you need.

Yeah good points on the recaps. Super + Fusion would be enough.

I think Returns is worth playing, but it's not necessary. It does have an extra tease for Fusion which is nice. And then of course you get used to the counter. But then you'll just hate it, and realize how much better it is in Dread.

OP updated with link to January’s monthly thread.

IMAGE( https://media1.giphy.com/media/xT1R9ZEfDfzslUd0VW/giphy.gif?cid=5e214886c2ggba6bwcoidkbfcjyg59mu7pu16xs1f5496fb7&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)

Started Tales of Arise earlier this week. Holy crap is this my jam!

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/bnW0Tq0.png)

Pages