2022 - 12 Month Pile Program

Playing

1. Mass Effect 2

Paused

1. CHORVS
2. CHORTS (aka Black Book)
3. Bravely Default 2
4. NEO TWEWY

Lurking

1. Death Stranding
2. Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster
3. Shantae Half-Genie Hero
4. Shantae and the Seven Sirens
5. Ori and the Blind Forest
6. Wildermyth
7. Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology

Strategy Games I've Been Meaning to Give Another Shot (These get their own category because they don't really "finish.")

1. Old World
2. Hearts of Iron IV
3. Shadow Empire

I anticipate an avalanche in February, but I think I can knock a few games out before then. What's the deal with all the RPGs, though?

Oh we're doing the thing in January where we say what we plan to do in the year to come but then totally deviate from those plans? Look, listen... All I know is that y'all are totally gonna lose me in May when I fall down a deep deep hole (though I bristle at TR being called a "card game").

Trying to determine my priority list for 2022. I was hoping to keep it at 10, but with some of the 2021 games remaining, that's been... tough. Here's where I'm at:

  • FEZ (PC/Epic)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)
  • Fire Emblem (GBA)
  • Front Mission (DS)
  • Golf Story (SW)
  • Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
  • Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PC/Steam)
  • Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons, The (GBC)
  • Mega Man X 5 (PS1)
  • Myth: The Fallen Lords (PC)
  • Ogre Battle (SNES)
  • Sakura Taisen 1 (PSP)
  • Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together (PSP)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)
  • Ys Memories of Celceta (Vita)

I am currently playing Trails in the Sky the 3rd, and this one should be done at some point in February.

The list of games I plan to purchase this year is actually fairly short for now:

  • Monster Hunter Rise (PC) - Already purchased
  • Breath of the Wild 2 (SW) - Assuming this comes out this year

There will be more, for sure, depending on what's on sale (my Steam wishlist is pretty long).

Well, I always start the year with some semblance of a plan. This year, it already started well, so perhaps I'll actually beat all of the ones I've planned? I've beaten two games since the year started:

Marvel's The Guardians of the Galaxy
Conarium

Here's what's coming up next in no particular order:

Elden Ring
Psychonauts 2
Darksiders II
Adventure Time: Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
The Messenger
Tengai Makyou Zero
P4 Golden
Monster Hunter Stories
Shivers II
Shining Force III Episode 1
Wattam
Paper Mario
Axiom Verge
The Outer Worlds
CLEO: A Pirate's Tale
Metroid Dread
The Bureau
Torment Tides of Numenera
Wasteland 2
The Alliance Alive
Pikmin 3
Inscryption
The Darkside Detective 2
The Touryst
The Order 1886
Yomawari: Time Alone
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Cyberpunk 2077
Echo Generation
The Black Watchmen

Well I have a bunch on the pile but I think simply I will go with 3 to start with:

Pysconauts 2
Guardian of the Galaxy
Spiderman
Death Stranding
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order

My 2022 planning is a wreck. I've been endlessly picking over what I didn't get to in 2021 and mulling what approach to take this year, all while getting pulled in by Game Pass games that weren't on my radar at all (which seems likely to continue - I'm looking at you, Hitman Trilogy). Not sure how to plan for that except to significantly lower my estimate of how many hours will be devoted to the pile this year.

I think for now I'm going with 2022 being a year of enjoying what Game Pass brings me, and most pile progress will likely be catching up on PS exclusives that I missed out on last gen and when the Adventure/CRPG clubs serendipitously pick something already on the backlog.

As ever, this will probably hold true for the next 3-4 months before I change course entirely. At least I have a prioritized list of 70-odd backlog games I didn't get to last year as a fallback.

My plan is also off to a poor start as I replayed Metroid Dread again, then started up a new save in Hollow Knight for kicks, and after finding out I'm gonna have a job again I went and bought God of War on PC, streamed it, and think I'll keep streaming it. So I've made little progress in pile games or games I haven't beaten while diving in on games I've already played.

And now I'm gonna start FFXII, a game that I've not beaten but also wasn't on my pile list, so...

But, I'm having fun, and that's what matters.

benign1 wrote:

As ever, this will probably hold true for the next 3-4 months before I change course entirely.

Yeah, for the most part, though there's higher risk of collapse for me as soon as March hits.

benign1 wrote:

My 2022 planning is a wreck. […] Game Pass games that weren't on my radar at all.

IMAGE(https://media0.giphy.com/media/JrjKaqX0g3TbFL1wK5/giphy.gif?cid=5e214886xlc04t1gej3h9jom4fgho5b1wkvsk3pa6pq2ewx3&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)

benign1 wrote:

I think for now I'm going with 2022 being a year of enjoying what Game Pass brings me

IMAGE(https://media2.giphy.com/media/WS6vTB4ip7cLYkQm2I/giphy.gif?cid=5e214886et8oy8gphf62jjlkjl8uaiwwxq1hjmig22726n5f&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)

The above being said, I was able to add and remove two games so far: Pupperazzi (Xbox) and To Be Or Not To Be (Switch). Both were quite fun. Who knew Ophelia and Hamlet could become ninjas!?

IMAGE(https://media1.giphy.com/media/h3e8Hr4bBndS0/giphy.gif?cid=5e2148868kr44tjtdl8x1cihrtwpvecxogozc4hsgjyhdmjb&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)

Not much progress this month, I spent most of my time either starting on big new games, or replaying parts of big, old games

Added: 0 - Success!

Finished: 1 Nothing, this month!
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)Astro's Playroom (PS5) - If you can get a PS5, play this gem!

Also Played: X
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)Pikmin 3 Deluxe (Switch) - Ultra Spicy! (i.e., Hard Mode)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Shin Megami Tensei IV (Switch)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC)
IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)XCOM: Enemy Within (PC)

Dropped: 0

2022 Progress: 1 [1 finished + 0 dropped - 0 added]

Current backlog state: IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif)62/ IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif)13

Goals for 2022:

Spoiler:

First, Do No Harm: Finish, or set aside, the games that I bought in 2021 and haven't gotten through.

  • Astro's Playroom (PS5)
  • Dungeon Encounters (Switch)
  • Humankind (PC)
  • Into the Breach (Switch)
  • Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS5) - In Progress
  • The Outer Worlds (PS4)
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PS5)
  • Shin Megami Tensei V (Switch) - In progress
  • Trials of Fire (PC)

Long Have I Waited: Finish these "project" games, which I've been wanting to finish but have never quite gotten there. 9 games, with 5 that I'm highly motivated to finish

  • Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (PC)
  • Cthulhu Saves the World
  • Endless Space 2
  • Half-Minute Hero
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
  • King's Bounty: The Legend (PC)
  • King's Bounty: Armored Princess / Crossworlds (PC)
  • Tyranny (PC)
  • XCOM: Enemy Within

Why Haven't I Touched That?: pile games I'd really like to play:

  • Apotheon (PC)
  • Blackguards (PC)
  • Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
  • Legend of Grimrock (PC)
  • Might & Magic 3: Isles of Terra (PC)
  • Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom (PS5)

Completionism: 100% some of these:

  • Celeste (PS5)
  • FF VII Remake (PS5)
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
  • Persona 5 Strikers (PS5)
  • Pikmin 3 Deluxe (Switch) - in progress
  • Untitled Goose Game (PS5)
  • Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
  • Valkyrie Chronicles 4 (PS5)

Two Games Enter, One Game Leaves: Two games come off the pile before one new game gets added. - Still complied, so far

Possible Pile Additions: None yet; I'll start flagging games after the GotY thread comes out!

There is still some time left for this month, but I'm not going to beat anything else, so let's go with my first progress report of 2022!

Added:

  • Monster Hunter Rise (PC)
  • Inscryption (PC)
  • The Forgotten City (PC)

Completed:

  • The Forgotten City (PC)
  • Monster Hunter Rise (PC) - Rolled credits, but not done with it

Dropped:

  • Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PC)

Played:

  • Xenogears (PS1 - Replay)
  • The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PC)

2022 priority list progress so far:

Spoiler:
  • FEZ (PC/Epic)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)
  • Fire Emblem (GBA)
  • Front Mission (DS)
  • Golf Story (SW)
  • Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
  • Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PC/Steam)
  • Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons, The (GBC)
  • Mega Man X 5 (PS1)
  • Myth: The Fallen Lords (PC)
  • Ogre Battle (SNES)
  • Sakura Taisen 1 (PSP)
  • Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together (PSP)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)
  • Ys Memories of Celceta (Vita)

Planned purchases for the year:

Spoiler:
  • Monster Hunter Rise (PC) - Purchased
  • Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak (PC)
  • Breath of the Wild2 (Switch) - Assuming it comes out this year, which I highly doubt

Not a bad month, I beat two of the three games I purchased. I was not planning on getting either The Forgotten City or Inscryption, but I had Epic game store coupons, so I when ahead.

I made exactly zero progress on my priority list for this year. I'm starting a new job soon, so that means I won't play as many games this year. This coming week is my last week of freedom, and I'm thinking I should just rush through one of the two JRPGs I'm playing at the moment (Xenogears and Trails in the Sky 3). Playing two of those at the same time is not a good idea for me, I lose focus easily. I'm probably around 30 hours away from the end of Xenogears, so beating it this week is definitely feasible (provided I manage to stop playing Monster Hunter Rise whenever I sit down to play something).

Looking at my priority list, I will probably trim it somewhat, there are way too many strategy and tactical games in that list.

Probably wont finish any more games this month, although it might be close with Wildermyth (hard exactly to define when that game is finished). Been a pretty decent month for progress, and all of it on games at the top of my pile list.

Finished:
The Forgotten City
Spiritfarer
Persona 5 Strikers

Played:
Wildermyth

Added:
Timberborn
Rogue Legacy 2
-- Well, they are not technically added to the pile just yet, since they are in early access. Who knows when they will actually release.

Started:
Children of Morta
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark
Horizon Zero Dawn (continued in progress save from 2017)

Finished:
Steamworld Dig
Tomb Raider (2013)

Added:
Free Epic/PS+ stuff. No purchases.

But Daemon X Machina and Star Wars: JFO will definitely end up on the pile this year from those free games.

January IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/microsoft/310/snowman_2603-fe0f.png)

IMAGE(https://media2.giphy.com/media/jO2B3Llymxny6BSObJ/giphy.gif)

Beaten IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/source/skype/289/chequered-flag_1f3c1.png)

  1. Pupperazzi (XSX) [4hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
    • OMG those doggos are SO CUTE! IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/joypixels/291/smiling-face-with-heart-eyes_1f60d.png)
    • Nice break from a long RPG.
    • Really enjoyed it!
  2. To Be Or Not To Be (NS) [3hr]
    • Based on Ryan North's Choose Your Own Adventure-style book.
    • Having never read Hamlet, this was a wild introduction!
    • Ophelia and Hamlet turned into awesome stealthy ninjas! IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/joypixels/291/ninja_1f977.png)
    • Spoilers! They became queen and king. IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/60/google/263/princess_1f478.png)IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/60/google/110/prince_1f934.png)

Jettisoned IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/source/skype/289/fire_1f525.png)

  1. None.

Added IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/google/313/t-rex_1f996.png)

  1. Death's Door (XSX) [9hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  2. Ghost Giant (VR) [4hr]
  3. HITMAN 3 (XSX) [8hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  4. House Flipper (VR)
  5. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (XSX) [100hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  6. Pupperazzi (XSX) [4hr] IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/facebook/65/green-heart_1f49a.png)
  7. To Be Or Not To Be (NS) [3hr]
  8. Vader Immortal Trilogy (VR) [3hr]

Learned IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/apple/285/face-with-monocle_1f9d0.png)

  1. Not a thing.

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://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/source/skype/289/optical-disk_1f4bf.png) = Disc version
IMAGE(https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/google/313/floppy-disk_1f4be.png) = Cartridge version

IMAGE(https://media1.giphy.com/media/WpOeN2QtCB3n1UblFx/giphy.gif)

Good start to the year, game completion-wise. Taking into consideration that I got the 'rona and was nearly useless for a weak, I managed to get some high volume quality time with games.

Added:

None (it's a miracle!)

Beaten:

Guardian's of the Galaxy
Conarium
The Order 1886
Wattam
Echo Generation
Monster Hunter Stories.

Not bad, methinks. Six games beaten, none added, and February will only have two additions to the backlog - very obvious high profile PS4 additions, at that - which shouldn't impact my progress to greatly.

Start: 63

Added: 9

Spoiler:

I managed to get a PS5 toward the end of last year but it had issues… so 2022 started with it at the repair center. And then my laptop cord got damaged and I had to wait for a replacement. So, I signed up for a $1 month of Game Pass and played The Artful Escape and Firewatch on my tablet. I also succumbed to 2021 GOTY list enablement and used an Epic $10 coupon for Inscryption and a Fanatic bundle for The Forgotten City. Of course, that came with 3 other games, but I chose other short ones.

Beat: 10

Spoiler:

As implied above, I played a lot of short games this month. I guess I wanted to ensure that I would play more games in 2022 than last year straight off the bat. I beat the games mentioned above and once I got my PS5 back, finished God of War (2018) and beat Resident Evil 2 (2019) and the PS5 upgrade of Uncharted: Lost Legacy, the only one in the series I hadn’t played. Also, Before Your Eyes, The Suicide of Rachel Foster, and Sagebrush.

Dropped: 8

Spoiler:

I did some weeding at the end of the year, but decided to do some more. While I like visual novels, I’ve realized that they are not interactive enough when I want to play something and when I want to read, I’d rather just look at text on my Paperwhite. So a bunch of those went. Also a few games that I already have similar on the backlog and I’ll probably just watch Let’s Plays of.

Also Played:

Spoiler:

I finally succumbed and bought the Persona 3 and 5 dancing games this month also. I’d played the P4 one, but never got around to buying these. I started Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight as a game to pop into for a couple songs here and there. I’m pretty bad at it. I also continued to chip away at my two current long-term games, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC and Shin Megami Tensei V, the latter being pretty much my exercise bike game.

Finish: 54

January Report~

Added:
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)

Beat:
(nothing)

Made Progress In:
The House in Fata Morgana (Steam)
Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Steam)
Moss (Oculus)
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... (PS4) (going for all the endings)

Poor showings this month but my neck/shoulder were bothering me so I limited my game time outside of playing Fata Morgana. Need to see a physical therapist or something since this seems to be a reoccurring problem with me.

First progress tally of the year!

GAMES COMPLETED:

  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  • Smelter
  • Batman: Arkham Origins

GAMES PLAYED:

  • Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
  • Metroid Dread
  • Touhou Luna Nights
  • Hollow Knight
  • Final Fantasy XII
  • God of War
  • Pokemon Legends Arceus

GAMES ABANDONED:

  • Dreamscaper
Spoiler: PRIORITY PILE PROGRESS
  • 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)
Spoiler: NAVEL-GAZING AND SCATTERED THOUGHTS ON WHAT I'VE PLAYED:

What a weird tornado of a month. The first half was effectively spent barely playing anything as I was trying to really hammer out my overly verbose blog posts going over my thoughts on 2021 in full regarding games played, and in the meantime I was pursuing a personal project that will effectively go unseen by anyone that helped me rekindle my enjoyment of art. So, my time was largely devoted to those and job interviews. When I did feel like playing games, it was for something more action-oriented.

Which is why I have barely made progress in either Ys IX: Monstrum Nox or Final Fantasy XII. In regards to the latter, I was inspired to give it another try as Shamus Young has started a series on the game and it's just got me wanting to finally go back and try again. I still am not fond of the gameplay but have chosen to abuse the x2 multiplier far more to help speed non-story stuff along. I completed the "first dungeon" where you meet Balthier and Fran, but have yet to progress through the prison. So, not very far. Similarly, I played one session of Ys IX and enjoyed it, but just haven't had it in me to load it back up since by time I've had time to play a game, I'm sick of sitting in my computer chair. It's possible this one won't see much progress until the Steam Deck ships, as I'll be getting a dock with mine for TV play.

Dreamscaper is abandoned as it was an alright rogue-like/lite, but I'm not overly fond of the genre. If I were to return to such a game, it'd probably be Hades. It's a shame because it's not a bad game at all, but the combat isn't nearly as polished or refined and as such, it's hard to really feel encouraged to go back when you know you're going to keep seeing setback after setback. It does have a mode that boosts stats slightly each time you die, so if you're a rogue-like/lite fan it still might be worth checking out. When out of a dream, you basically interact with folks in a sleepy-looking West Coast style town where social connections impact your action-packed dream wanderings, so the aesthetic may appeal to some folks around here.

Smelter was the game I chose for stream play after Dreamscaper failed to properly grab my interest, and it was a far better hit to my interests despite also lacking some polish and refinement of its combat. Best described as Mega Man X meets ActRaiser for gameplay, and a dash of Kill la Kill to go with its Biblically inaccurate interpretation of Garden of Eden events, it had a surprising amount of fresh ideas and well put together platforming segments. It's actually an interesting comparison to Flynn: Son of Crimson, which similarly was missing that special spit-shine in terms of combat but was far less difficult and challenging. Smelter is tough, and its final boss took me several attempts (and was especially excruciating since dying on the second phase/form meant restarting from the first, which was not a short or easy battle). Nonetheless, the boss fights were more enjoyable to try and master. If it felt as good to play as Mega Man X on the SNES had, I'd probably have been more inclined to try and 100% it. As it is, there was just something a bit too chunky in its controls, and if they do a sequel (as the ending implies they plan to) I hope they get to sand it down more.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was my third or fourth attempt to return to the game after having bounced off several times in the past. Having completed Circle of the Moon and become more open to Metroidvanias being less an imitation of Metroid than I'd originally craved, I went in with a fresh and open mind and wound up having a very good time. Real good, honestly. I still prefer Metroid-style design, but even now I feel like I'd enjoy going back and "optimizing" my run through Dracula's Castle. The only time I was tempted to give up was when I first inverted the castle, which was the first major difficulty spike. In hindsight, I did a poor job implementing Alucard's shape-shifting abilities to get by certain obstacles, much like trying to get through Wily's or Sigma's forts in Mega Man games without implementing the different robot master abilities. I got the 200.6% or whatnot of the map and a ton of achievements, and even beat the game as Richter after. It was a good time, and I'll probably replay it again in the future.

Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight were replayed games following, just a craving of more action-packed Metroidvania. I didn't actually beat Dread again, though I'm positioned to do so. I wanted to 100% again, but I should probably just roll credits. Not that it matters much, save for making things look more productive. Same with Hollow Knight. I've gone through the majority of the map and discovered a lot of stuff old and new to me, but I don't really need to beat it. In the end, it remains a joy to return to these games, especially to Hollow Knight. The first run through was filled with struggles and deaths, and it's nice to go back and replay the game with far better honed skills and a better plotted path for tackling certain challenges. It has renewed my excitement for Silksong.

Touhou Luna Nights was just some dabbling to record footage to get screenshots. I ended up playing more than I expected because I was having such a good time, but almost forgot I even opened it this month. No pressure to play through to completion again, even if there is some post-game content I never got to see.

God of War was a bit of a surprise in terms of games I'd go back to. I've had my reasons to want to avoid giving Sony money, but God of War on PC was too tempting and I bought it as celebration of getting a new job. It is now a game to play on stream, as I'm having a good time going back and it has surprisingly proven to be a really good title to comment on while streaming. I think I've come to accept that my personal Sony boycott is selective, and God of War is a game I don't feel bad about showing support since it's just good all around. We'll see if that extends to a purchase of God of War: Ragnarok on PS4, though at this stage I'd far more prefer PC since I'm not getting a PS5 unless it's used (and good luck with that given how difficult it is to get one new).

Pokemon Legends Arceus is the final game of the month (oh yeah, I guess I should mention I beat Batman: Arkham Origins on stream with Shamus, though nothing more to add on that front). It's the first game to really pull me from the hunger for action-packed stuff. A nice, relaxing title that nevertheless feels good to just be "immersed" into its world. I dunno how other people think of the term, but for me, I feel like immersion is when you stop feeling the clock ticking, stop thinking about having to hit the next story beat, stop worrying over being in a certain zone or territory for too long, and just... play the game. This is why I think Ys IX and FFXII stalled a bit, though the latter more than the former. Though the game is seriously tutorial heavy for the first hour or two, once you can just start wandering, it's one thing after the next: a tree with fruits to pile in your satchel, or a rock to bash up for materials, or a new Pokemon you hadn't caught before, so on and so forth. It follows Breath of the Wild's design of a goal always being in sight of another goal, and that, I think, helps make it work so well. That it also speeds up combat a bit and remixes it somewhat makes it the first Pokemon game I've really enjoyed playing in a long time. I eagerly look forward to playing more.

Spoiler: LOOKING AHEAD TO FEBRUARY

I start a new job today! As such, I expect gaming time to be reduced. It's remote so I at least don't have to deal with commuting, but TV gaming will certainly see an increase in demand since I'll be at my desk most of the day again. This isn't a temporary contract, either, and sounds like I'll have plenty of work ready for me. At the very least I expect to be listening to podcasts a lot more again.

Regardless, that means I'm uncertain what I'll be doing in terms of play time and hours. Right now I plan to continue Pokemon Legends Arceus, Final Fantasy XII, and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. That last one is the rough one to predict since it would be at my desk, and once I'm done work I'll likely want to do something else. I'll also be continuing God of War on stream, as well as starting a series with Shamus Young on Resident Evil 5 tomorrow.

As of now, the only game I intend to purchase is Elden Ring. I'm interested in Monark and Egglia: Rebirth, but time is a precious commodity and I'll be seeing less of it. So, for now, no new purchases are planned of big, time consuming games, and both Monark and Egglia are JRPG's meaning a minimum of 40 hours.

I dread March...

Also, my Steam Deck reservation is listed as Q2 2022 so who knows what that means for being able to get my own. Hurray!

Either way, mostly continuing this month's games, then jamming on some Elden Ring at month's end.

Oh steinkrug is right. I bought those 3 Persona Dancing games too. Cheapest price they've ever been.

Finished: Mass Effect 2

Started:

  • Death Stranding (now in the second big area)
  • Wildermyth (near the end of my second campaign, which might be "finished for now")

In the Penalty Box: CHORVS (the tutorial arena for my latest rite was kind of annoying, so I'm putting it down for a bit.)

Wait, what happened to...: Black Book (Ever have a game that you think is too good to play part-time, so you end up putting it off?)

January update:

Games added: NONE!

Games finished: NONE!

Games Played:
- Ys VIII (PS4) - for JRPG club--I'm a little behind but on final chapter so this game is going down in February)
- Donkey Kong Country (3DS) - I am trying to clear the backlog of the 3DS games that I bought years ago when I thought that I wanted to play on the 3DS. I am finding that, unlike the Playstation Vita, the Nintendo 3DS hurts my hand--especially this game. Not only that, it is frustrating and the controls are much looser than I remember from the Super Nintendo Donkey Kong Country. At this point, I'm mostly rage playing through the game. According to a walkthrough, I'm at the end of world 6 of 9. If my hands don't hurt, I'll try to finish as my son likes watching me play, mostly to point out that I died again.

Up Next:
PS4 - probably Days Gone or Ghost of Tsushima
3DS - Fire Emblem Awakening
Vita - finish Trails of Cold Steel 2 and Cosmic Star Heroine

Upcoming Purchases: the only two planned purchased this year are Lego Star Wars and Horizon Zero Dawn 2.

Checkup on my working list for the year for the end of January, for record keeping purposes and self-motivation hehehe.

Games Beaten So Far: 6 of 31

Marvel's The Guardians of the Galaxy
Conarium
Monster Hunter Stories
Wattam
Echo Generation
The Order 1886

Currently Playing (from the list):

Psychonauts 2 (trying to get through this before Elden Ring drops)

Here's what's left on my list of wanna-beats (spoilered to not take up too much visual real estate):

Spoiler:

Elden Ring
Darksiders II
Adventure Time: Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
The Messenger
Tengai Makyou Zero
P4 Golden
Shivers II
Shining Force III Episode 1
Paper Mario
Axiom Verge
The Outer Worlds
CLEO: A Pirate's Tale
Metroid Dread
The Bureau
Torment Tides of Numenera
Wasteland 2
The Alliance Alive
Pikmin 3
Inscryption
The Darkside Detective 2
The Touryst
Yomawari: Night Alone
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Cyberpunk 2077
The Black Watchmen

Hello 2022, here's my January report, such as it is.

Added:

  • Tokyo Dark (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - Many thanks to Jonman for the lovely gift.
  • Back 4 Blood (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - A somewhat ill advised purchase, but I'm playing with my friends and colleagues and having a blast.

Finished:

  • King's Quest 5 (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - Two hours and it was done. Almost feels like a speedrun.
  • 100 Hidden Cats (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - It was very very short.

Dropped:
None at this time. Some games have been on my Pile for over a thousand days (23 games, to be exact). Maybe it's time. I don't know. I really really really want to play a lot of those, I just wish I had more time.

Played:

  • Touken Ranbu (Browser/Android) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - The sweet, sweet comfort of a managing sim where swords are handsome men.
  • Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Origin) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - A single 3 hour session.
  • Escape Simulator (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - One two hour session with Pyxi, absolutely must get back to it as soon as I come up for air.
  • Back 4 Blood (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - A single 2 hour session.

So what I'm saying is that I've played about 8 hours in the entire month.

Remaining games: 56 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (52 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 2 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 0 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 2 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 0
Est. remaining hours: 691 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (644 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 3 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 0 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 100 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 26 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 77

Backloggery is at 5. Which seemed impossible, but the only reason for that is that I let Two Point Hospital running for an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon while I was sick so I could unlock the 5* surgeon and 5* researcher achievements I was chasing, marking the game as "complete". I honestly wish I'd had more opportunity to play games, because I really, really miss it. It's my special interest, and I pretty much need to play at least every now and then to be happy. With the GOTY almost done and 2021 nearly wrapped up at work, things will hopefully get better soon. I think. I hope. I feel like I say this every time and it never happens. But I keep hoping.

I got rid of my PlayStation 4 Pro and boy howdy did that help quell my desire to even look at games for the PlayStation. Set aside the fact I had packed it away, I still found myself drawn look at game. I even at one point considered buying the new Horizon game for it, but now my brain just knows that it’s gone and that’s it.

One of my goals is to 100% a few games that I've really enjoyed, and I got a step closer yesterday with Pikmin 3 Deluxe! I beat Ultra Spicy Mode -- which isn't too bad once you've already beaten the game -- and finished a couple of the challenge maps. I have 4 more maps to clear, and then another 2 where I haven't yet cleared them with platinum medals.

Death's Door (via Game Pass) took a little getting used to, but in the end, I quite enjoyed it. I did not 100% it, but I did get the secret ending, which is further than I thought I would go.

Start: 54

Added: 4
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020/2022, PS5)
Elden Ring (2022, PS5)
Horizon Forbidden West (2022, PS5)
Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children (2020, PC Steam)

Beat: 1
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019, PS5)

Dropped: 0

Played:
Horizon: Forbidden West
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (2015) (PC, Steam)
Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (2018) (PS4)
Shin Megami Tensei V (2021) (Switch)

Finish: 57

Negative progress this month, but still less than I started out the year with. Horizon and Elden Ring were my two planned purchases for the year and they just happened to come out within a week of each other. Technically, I already owned Cyberpunk, but added it to the list because the PS5 version came out and sounds fairly stable. The Conference Call enabled me on Troubleshooter and it went on sale right after I listened to the podcast.

I really enjoyed Fallen Order and got the platinum trophy just before Horizon arrived. I also made some progress in my long RPGs and may just finish both in March despite Horizon and Elden Ring.

On to March!

Oh, I was doing sooo well before freakin' Nintendo announced it would close up the 3DS and WiiU eshops next year. I had a little extra cash so I got myself some of my wishlist items while I try to hold out hope that Nintendo will run some kind of going-out-of-business-sort-of sale in the near future, before they shut off the means to purchase/add funds. Oh well...

Added:
Elden Ring (PS4)
Crimson Shroud (3DS)
Return to PopoloCrois: A STORY OF SEASONS Fairytale (3DS)
Ever Oasis (3DS)
The Denpa Men 3 (3DS)
The Denpa Men 2 (3DS)
The Denpa Men (3DS)
Infernax (Switch)

Beat:
Persona 4 Golden (PSVita)

I'll still be playing P4G for a few more weeks or months as I try to get the Platinum trophy for it, but my main focus will be on beating Psychonauts 2 before March ends and playing through Elden Ring until I'm sick of it hehehe.

Added:

  • The Last Campfire (PC)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (SW)
  • Fire Emble Fates: Revelation (3DS)

Completed:

  • The Last Campire (PC)

Dropped:
None

Played:

  • Xenogears (PS1 - Replay)
  • Monster Hunter Rise (PC)

2022 priority list progress so far:

Spoiler:
  • FEZ (PC/Epic)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)
  • Fire Emblem (GBA)
  • Front Mission (DS)
  • Golf Story (SW)
  • Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
  • Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PC/Steam)
  • Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons, The (GBC)
  • Mega Man X 5 (PS1)
  • Myth: The Fallen Lords (PC)
  • Ogre Battle (SNES)
  • Sakura Taisen 1 (PSP)
  • Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together (PSP)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)
  • Ys Memories of Celceta (Vita)

Planned purchases for the year:

Spoiler:
  • Monster Hunter Rise (PC) - Purchased
  • Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak (PC)
  • Breath of the Wild2 (Switch) - Assuming it comes out this year, which I highly doubt

Rambling thoughts:

I had a thought this week: What if I had no backlog?

I have to be perfectly honest with myself: I will never play all of the 250+ games that are currently included in my backlog. Even if I was able to retire today, at the age of 4243, I would have to do nothing but play games for the next 20 years to get to the end of it. And that's if I don't buy anything new.

I keep a carefully updated spreadsheet of all the games I buy and intend to play someday sorted alphabetically, with columns for platform, genre, year of purchase, estimated hours for completion, year of publication, and the occasional comment. In the same workbook, I keep a separate sheet for the games I buy, with prices, by year. And another sheet for the games I beat, with the approximate number of hours it took me to beat them. (I like making lists, don't judge me.)

I've used Backloggery and How Long To Beat to keep track of my backlog in the past, and yet I always go back to my spreadsheet. I've considered writing my own app to take care of it, with various frameworks like Ruby on Rails and Django, but eventually gave up on all of those attempts when I realized that the spreadsheet is a fine way to keep track of games I buy and haven't either beaten or given up on.

So, what if I grabbed that spreadsheet file from my OneDrive, dragged it to the Recycle Bin on my desktop, and then emptied the Recycle Bin, without keeping a backup of it anywhere?

I am going to be honest: Thinking about it fills me with dread. And I don't know why.

In the grand scheme of things, what are the consequences of not playing all the games on it? The truth is: There aren't any.

While there is some fear of missing out, I think the actual mental block is due to sunk-cost fallacy. I've paid for those games, so I should play them. The keyword here, I think, is "should". It sounds like an obligation.

It's not.

These are game, not items on a work to-do list. I do not have to play Alpha Protocol. The reviews at the time were pretty mixed. And yet, here it is, between the column header and Alundra, a PS1 game virtually no one remembers.

So, am I going to do it? I don't know.

What would it be like to live without having a backlog? I don't know, but the idea sounds pretty appealing!

What I might do is get rid of the backlog itself, but keep the list of games I buy and the ones I finish. I like being able to go back to the list of games I've beaten (or dropped) in a year, and to have an idea of what my game spending habits are.

If I do go ahead, though, it will be at the end of a long and painful thought process.