All good things must come to an end. Late to post threads are back, baby! The title reflects the number of on time posts you will get.
Some housekeeping notes.
If you're interested, trueheart78, has the 12 month 2022 pile plan thread over here.
A quick reminder, in order to be considered "Pile of Shame" the game needs to be at least three months old. Otherwise, it's just a new game you haven't gotten to playing yet.
Also, if you are curious about some of the previous threads, Picks of the Pile, etc... Please go here and check out the spreadsheet I setup.
This month's Pick of the Pile isTunic
"Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure." (Official Site)
Multi-Platform
Battlefield 4 - AUs_TBirD
Close to the Sun - AUs_TBirD
Death's Door - iaintgotnopants
Dragon's Crown Pro - AUs_TBirD
Fallout 4 - iaintgotnopants
Fell Seal Arbiter's Mark - Stele
Final Fantasy XV - mrtomaytohead
Firewatch - mrtomaytohead
Golf Club Wasteland - bobbywatson
Metroid: Zero Mission - Forlorn Hope
Minecraft: Story Mode - Season 2 - AUs_TBirD
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) - AUs_TBirD
Road 96 - AUs_TBirD
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time - mrtomaytohead
Tunic - brokenclavicle, mrtomaytohead
Young Souls - brokenclavicle
PC
Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure - AUs_TBirD
Wildermyth - Stele
PS4
Ratchet & Clank - bobbywatson
Nintendo Switch
Metroid: Dread - brokenclavicle, AUs_TBirD
Genesis
World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - AUs_TBirD
SNES
Fell Seal Arbiter's Mark
Working on it with the JRPG & CRPG cross club Q3 game. So hopefully will finish this time. Resuming my game from back in January.
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
Bringing Metroid: Zero Mission (Wii U/multi) over. Not sure if I'll have energy for gaming this month either with the new job but one short game might be possible.
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy their fate be granted glory."
Backloggery|MAL| Switch 7924-5010-1433
While I am playing Fell Seal for the various clubs, I don't believe I'll have the bandwidth or focus to get that out of the way by month's end, so I won't be picking that for the time being. However...
Metroid: Dread (Switch)
Young Souls (Multi)
Tunic (Multi)
These three above are all started and shouldn't take me more than a couple of weeks to knock out. Leaving enough time to polish any of them off if I run behind schedule.
Now Playing: Crimson Shroud, Blood of Bahamut, SMT IV, RDR, SBCG4AP, Octopath Traveler, The Baconing, The Legend of Dragoon.
Switch Friend Code: SW-7025-5637-0902
Carrying Golf Club Wasteland (multi) for now. Otherwise I'm playing nothing but long JRPGs (and a replay of an older game), with no chance of completing any of them in July.
Currently playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5), Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered (PC)
Got a few days of the house to myself, so of course I'm going to totally over-commit.
Formatted list:
Multi-Platform
Battlefield 4 - AUs_TBirD
Close to the Sun - AUs_TBirD
Dragon's Crown Pro- AUs_TBirD
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) - AUs_TBirD
PC
Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure - AUs_TBirD
Switch
Metroid Dread - AUs_TBirD
Carrying over Metroid Dread, which I'm about 20% through. Halfway through Dragon's Crown. The rest are basically new to me, but none of them are terribly long.
I'm feeling so confident, that I suspect I'll be adding to this list.
Pride before the fall and all...
Steam | Backloggery
Still working on Death's Door (multi). Thought I would have finished it last week but I was busier than I thought I would be.
Just started on Fallout 4 (multi). My old PC couldn't handle it when I first bought it. Haven't had a chance to get back to it since I upgraded until now. This will probably take me well into August (if not all the way through).
Steam/Xbox Live/PSN: iaintgotnopants
Already finished on the 3rd: Final Fantasy XV (PC/Multi)
Working on Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (PC/Multi), and Tunic (PC/Multi) which released in March, so it should be eligible.
Backloggery
My latest ‘play all steam games in alphabetical order’ fizzled out again. I’m going to try going through the steam suggestions of what to play next for awhile to see how that goes. First on the list is Divinity Original Sin 2. I started and never finished the first one a whole bunch of times, and it seems like to large of a game to finish in July, but I’ll see how far I can get.
Steam, Grouvee
Take two of deez nutz and call me.
Avus nethrolis
I will add Ratchet & Clank (PS4) to my list. After watching my roommate play it recently, I've decided to jump in as well.
Currently playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5), Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered (PC)
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (PC/Multi) is down. A bit dated in many regards, in a way that feels like it was designed at the end of the original show's run, and then released after the final season came out years later, and it was updated in ways to smooth out the rough edges, so it mostly works.
Backloggery
Metroid Dread is down. Jaysus H. Christ, that last boss took some doing. I'd forgotten one could use the super mega bomb, and once I'd recalled that, it was considerably easier. That third phase, people!
I must admit my reflexes aren't what they used to be, now that I'm in my forties, but this was pretty challenging there at the end. That and the EMMI, which were suitably frustrating for a while, made the game a very interesting proposition. I loved that they brought in elements from pretty much all the 2D iterations, and hope that they let me use that super weapon one gets at the end in futures games.
Once thing that I keep wondering about is, when it comes to Metroid, once you get some of the more powerful weapon upgrades, you're pretty much at the end of the game. I wish they would have one go through a bit more bosses and the like with those powers. It often feels like once you get to be uber powerful, you're pretty much done.
Now Playing: Crimson Shroud, Blood of Bahamut, SMT IV, RDR, SBCG4AP, Octopath Traveler, The Baconing, The Legend of Dragoon.
Switch Friend Code: SW-7025-5637-0902
This counts as a separate post,I think? What a beautifully sh*t game: Tunic. Great visual design; great world design. There are some really terrible encounters with the bosses and this is coming from a Souls-like fan. I find a lot of the trial and error game great if you have the patience or turn on the accessibility options to survive. I Think the devs need to analyze what they have done and adapt it. Not great, as much a I enjoyed the game.
Mind, these are drunken thoughts after completing the game.
Now Playing: Crimson Shroud, Blood of Bahamut, SMT IV, RDR, SBCG4AP, Octopath Traveler, The Baconing, The Legend of Dragoon.
Switch Friend Code: SW-7025-5637-0902
I beat Ratchet & Clank earlier today! It was pretty good!
I am also dropping Golf Club Wasteland. The game is not fun enough, and the audio is f*cking depressing.
Currently playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5), Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered (PC)
Finished Death's Door. Really good. I wish there was more variety to the combat other than swing a couple of times and dodge. The abilities all seemed kind of useless in combat because they took too long to charge. That's my only complaint everything else was great.
Still working on Fallout 4 as my main PC game. Not going to declare a new Deck game until I finish Stray.
Steam/Xbox Live/PSN: iaintgotnopants
Wildermyth (PC).
I'm hooked and might finish the whole thing this month. Fell Seal is in danger of carrying over but we'll see.
I can only fight on so many grids at once you know.
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
Soooo....I've been busy. Listing my declared games in the order I finished:
Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure- 09 JulyBattlefield 4- 11 JulyDragon's Crown Pro- 15 July, as the dwarfNever Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)- 18 JulyClose to the Sun- 19 JulyAlso finished some undeclared games!
World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck(Genesis) - 18 JulyMinecraft: Story Mode - Season 2- 21 July (4 episodes on the 20th, final one on the 21st)-------------------
I'm 2/3 through Metroid: Dread. Might finish it today, but probably tomorrow. Got several more things lined up that I hope to get to.
Steam | Backloggery
Oh, wow, I actually beat a pile game. Metroid: Zero Mission is down. I went into this just expecting "another Metroid" having beat Super Metroid and the Prime games but was pleasantly surprised by it. Despite the more primitive Game Boy Advance graphics, it oozed atmosphere. The music both familar and unfamilar filled me with nostalgic joy. I started out feeling a bit scared to explore since I was likely to get lost or overwhelmed but after I picked up more powers/upgrades, I started to feel really empowered.
Looking forward to playing Metroid: Samus Returns next but I'm a little nervous since I hear it's hard and I'm not good at these kind of games. Zero Mission took me just under 8 hours for only 60% completion. I think I'm going to take a little break before that and continue Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Steam/Multi) which I'll probably be carrying over to next month.
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy their fate be granted glory."
Backloggery|MAL| Switch 7924-5010-1433
Awesome. There's a Metroid series catch all if y'all want to talk more about them.
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
If you can beat those games, you can beat Samus Returns. The main things that had me stuck on that one were not knowing you could melee counter bosses, that the game uses some powerups in unique ways
and the feeling that the 3DS analog stick wasn't quite up to the task of a few challenges. It took me over 20 hours to get 100% completion, but I spent lots of time just exploring or bombing myself to areas I wasn't supposed to reach yet.
Almost done with Metroid: Dread myself - that one seems harder than I remember Samus Returns being.
Steam | Backloggery
Finished Firewatch (Multi) last night which was an unannounced game. It's a really well done game in a genre I'm not likely to ever return to. I enjoyed most of the story, but always was left with a big groan when asked to walk across the map even if it was filled with beautiful vistas and conversation.
Backloggery
Cool, I'll have to check that out.
I also used the restore points at a few irritating spots in Zero Misson which I won't be able to use as a crutch in Samus Returns. But I probably can get through it with some patience. Good to know about that spoilered part. My plan is eventually to get to Dread but I'm in no rush to get there. Just going to enjoy the ride.
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy their fate be granted glory."
Backloggery|MAL| Switch 7924-5010-1433
Dread has a generous continue checkpoints right before boss doors in most instances. The only caveat there is if you close the game, you load back in at the last save station you used.
I didn't get to finish off Tunic as I got sucked into working on all the extra puzzles instead of bashing my head against (what I assume is) the last boss and I've also been playing it only when the kids could watch.
Backloggery
Took longer than I thought, but knocked off my final declared game yesterday morning:
Metroid Dread - 31 July
Pro tip: don't try to take on the final boss when you've been exhausted all day and yet you're still up at midnight. You'll just get your face stomped for over an hour. Come back the next morning and take him out on the second try.
This was so great! Most likely third place in my GOTY (so far) after Control and Psychonauts 2. Finished in 13 hours and 44 minutes with 77% item collection. Huge world to explore, interesting story (that final battle cutscene...wow!), great action, tight controls (mostly - I never could figure out how to instant-shinespark), and a good challenge level. Not such a huge fan of the doors that were one-way only, even at the end of the game, which just meant huge detours just to collect another missile upgrade.
Can't wait for the next 2D Metroid!
Also finished some undeclared games!
Road 96 (PC/multi) - 28 July
Most likely you've never heard of this, but Road 96 is a very good roadtrip take on a Telltale game, complete with multiple endings and the ability to fail, yet the overarching story goes on. Not only that, but given current events, it's unexpectedly relevant, as you control young people in 1996, fleeing a fictional police state rich in oil in which they see no future for themselves. Along the way your players meet a crazy cast of characters (over and over again) whose stories all intertwine, and likely hold a few surprises along the way. Sometimes touching, sometimes scary, and occasionally very tense, this is a story worth experiencing. It starts off slow, but let it grow on you. The trippy dance scene (for me, near the end of the game), was worth any rough edges all by itself! The weirdest part of the story to me, however, was how there seemed to be no settlements in this dystopian country, just little bunches of trailers, and yet the roads were often filled with cars.
Highly recommended, and it also has a fantastic soundtrack!
...and a not pile eligible credit roll:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Switch/multi) - 31 July
Finished the story mode with Donatello in about 2 1/2 hours. Everything you loved about Turtles in Time is here and more! Lots more moves, more variety, more playable characters....it's just...incredible! They lean into the late 80's/early 90's pop culture extremely heavily, with lots of references back to the Turtles of old. The ending music is just....*chef's kiss*! Several fantastic references to Turtles in Time exist throughout, including an early stage name, spoken in a perfect imitation of the announcer on the SNES.
Just like Streets of Rage 4 (my GOTY last year), this needs to be played if you have any interest in these types of games! I can't wait to do some couch co-op runs with the kids when they are old enough for it!
Steam | Backloggery