For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Pile Marches On - Pile of Shame March 2018

2018, rolling full-on into Dad jokes. Stay strong!

Might have to go for some low hanging fruit this month to get my mojo back. Big aspirations and real life often are in direct conflict with one another.

If you're interested, m0nk3yboy, has the 12 month 2018 pile plan thread over here.

If JRPGs are more your speed, steinkrugr has got you covered over here. This quarter they will be playing Final Fantasy XII.

If JRPGs don't move you, but RPGs do, check out Godzilla Blitz's CRPG Club thread. Their first game is Shadowrun: Dragonfall and they'll be playing until March/April time frame.

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.

Let's get on to the games!

This month's Pick of the Pile is

What Remains of Edith Finch


IMAGE(http://cdn.edgecast.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/501300/header.jpg?t=1498322718)
"As Edith, you’ll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive. Each story you find lets you experience the life of a new family member on the day of their death, with stories ranging from the distant past to the present day.

The gameplay and tone of the stories are as varied as the Finches themselves. The only constants are that each is played from a first-person perspective and that each story ends with that family member's death.

Ultimately, it's a game about what it feels like to be humbled and astonished by the vast and unknowable world around us." (Official Site)

Multi-Platform
Batman: The Telltale Series - Hemi
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons - honeycut1
Civilization 6 - jdzappa
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator - Eleima
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Eleima
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - brokenclavicle, Malkroth
God of War 2 - AUs_TBirD
Hollow Knight - Vrikk
The Last of Us - Aeazel
Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Aeazel
Mafia III - RawkGWJ
Mass Effect: Andromeda - Vrikk
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir - brokenclavicle
Old Man's Journey - benign1
Pillars of Eternity - jdzappa
Prison Architect - Bubblefuzz
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - benign1, AUs_TBirD
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - JohnKillo, Godzilla Blitz
Shadowrun Returns - benign1
South Park: The Stick of Truth - honeycut1
Stardew Valley - Forlorn Hope
Subsurface Circular - Eleima, benign1
Suikoden 2 - Malkroth
Thimbleweed Park - Eleima
Trails in Cold Steel - JohnKillo
What Remains of Edith Finch - honeycut1, Bubblefuzz
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine - MrDeVil909

PC
Outlaws - AUs_TBirD
World of Warcraft: Legion - jdzappa

PS4
Uncharted: Lost Legacy - Aeazel

Xbox One

Nintendo Switch
Fire Emblem Warriors - Stele
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Stele

WiiU
Pikmin 3 - Forlorn Hope

3DS
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - Vrikk

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/Oivne3ir8TzcA/giphy.gif)

I completed What Remains of Edith Finch today on XB1 and I loved that game. So I'm starting off March in a positive way.

I also want to complete Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons and South Park: The Stick of Truth on XB1

I’ll be declaring Thombleweed Park (Multi), Subsurface Circular (Multi). Might as well throw in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (Multi).

Setting the bar low this month starting out and going with Stardew Valley (Steam/Multi). I know the game is endless but I'm aiming to reach the start of year 3 when your farm gets evaluated (in summer of year 2 atm).

I will finish Shadowrun: Dragonfall (Multi) in the next few days. All other bets are off until then.

February bested me, and I was not able to finish it, so bringing in Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (multi) to finish this month.

Looking at what else is in my backlog, thing it's finally time to finish Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4) and The Last of Us (PS4).

While I didn't finish Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (multi) I did keep at it all month, so I'm carrying on with that. It's so good.

What Remains of Edith Finch (multi) again please.

Plus stick me down for Prison Architect -campaign mode- (multi), one chapter to go.

Good luck all.

Are Fire Emblem Warriors or Xenoblade Chronicles 2 eligible yet?

That's all I'm playing right now, aside from usual Rocket League.

Aeazel wrote:

Looking at what else is in my backlog, thing it's finally time to finish Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4) and The Last of Us (PS4).

I put Last of Us in multi due to PS3 and PS4 versions

Stele wrote:

Are Fire Emblem Warriors or Xenoblade Chronicles 2 eligible yet?

09/28 and 12/01 release dates, respectively. Good to go.

Dipping into the Backlog. Declaring Shadowrun: Hong Kong and Trails in Cold Steel.

I'll declare Shadowrun Hong Kong (multi).

I'm making good progress with this one and having fun.

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons has been completed on the XB1. I originally played it on the 360 (few years ago) and this game is still excellent.

Calling just one game for now.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (multi)

I am probably going to completely fail at it, but I am going to aim for completing Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (multi) and Suikoden 2 (multi) this month.

I beat Hollow Knight on the PC. It's a great game, and a great start for this developer, but it loses a grade to me because it overstays its welcome a little bit due to the constant backtracking needed. I don't mind this, but in a 25 hour game, it grew a little tiring. That being said, still a 4/5 game for sure.

Also, add back the two games I had last month (The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Mass Effect: Andromeda).

Scratch me off for Stardew Valley (Steam/Multi). Got a 4 star rating from Grandpa but I think I'm done with it until the multiplayer drops.

Add Pikmin 3 (Wii U) for me. I promise I'll actually give it a go this time :p

I finally saw the credits on my February pile pick: God of War II (PS3/multi). It was quite fun, though I could have done with just a few less puzzles. That may be because I got stuck on a few of them. Also, I could have done without the instant-fail quick-time events that, upon failure, required reloading and rewatching 45 second or longer unskippable cut-scenes.

This was the case in the final encounter, where I failed the quick-time event roughly 30 times...

I did enjoy it enough to move right on to God of War III. The graphical upgrade is impressive - jarringly so - but so far it feels much harder to tell what's going on in some cases. No doubt this is just a case of me having to get used to the new visual style.

As for March, I'll declare:
Outlaws (PC) - I'm on stage 4, and it's tough. Death can come very quickly. I also have to get used to the game hiding items necessary for progression in strange and out-of-the-way locations, which has gotten me stuck a few times already.
The atmosphere Outlaws evokes, though, is top-notch. This is primarily thanks to its excellent music and animated cut-scenes.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall (PC/multi) - for the CRPG Game club. I've basically not touched it since completing the first mission in January. Time to catch up.

Subsurface Circular was wrapped up in about two hours. It's short and it's brilliant. Immediately went off to Bandcamp and bought the soundtrack. The story is... Something. I really liked the intro, and how it immediately sold the atmosphere and aesthetic of the game. Well worth the price of admission.

On an unrelated note, I kinda hope What Remains of Edith Finch is this month's pick, because it's a really interesting game (played it back in January, really recommend it, though I'd steer clear if grief is hard to handle - it gets dark).

Adding one more title, since I'm giving it a go in portable form on the Vita and am a good ways through half of the game:

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (multi)

I beat Zelda: A Link Between Worlds!

Definitely scratched the SNES nostalgia itch. It was a little too short, but overall a great game.

... And after a marathon session yesterday, I was able to play through Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (multi) and get both mainline endings. I still need some variations on scenes and to get a handful of trophies I'm missing from the Platinum, but the game proper is finished.

What a solid game!

Ok, Shadowrun: Dragonfall (multi) complete. Solidly enjoyed it, but I'm not really sure how it took me 40 hours to get through...did I really spend that much time waffling on skill tree choices??

Speaking of low hanging fruit as mentioned in the OP, I also played Old Man's Journey (multi) in one sitting last night. I may have been a bit too tired to fully appreciate it, but it was a lovely and therapeutic way to wind down a long day of travel. One more game off my winter sale pile!

I'm thinking I'll tackle Subsurface Circular (multi) and Shadowrun Returns (multi) next.

Still Dragon Quest Builders. There is so many little things to improve but it is still a fun game. I can’t wait for an improved sequel.

Man I’m so behind and getting back into WOW isn’t helping. Here’s what I’ve got:

Civilization 6
Pillars of Eternity
WOW Legion (defined as leveling to 110)

Paging Hemi! Unless you are carving out your backlog, and if so, keep at it!

I've finished Shadowrun Hong Kong (multi). Good fun had by all.

All right. List should be up to date. I was on a road trip to Disney World Friday, 3/9, through 3/17. Still haven't picked a game for myself yet.

Took down the big baddy in Outlaws a few days ago and finished the final "historical mission" last night, so mark Outlaws off for me.

I'm glad I got to play this one, even if I was 21 years late to the party. It's full of early FPS jank and some questionable design decisions in terms of leaving necessary items in far out of the way places, hiding the way forward behind you in the dark and a stupid-hard jump or two, but yet it's so endearing that it manages to overcome them.

I mentioned that death can come quickly when I declared the game, and that's still true. The "bullet with your name on it" aspect certainly can take some getting used to, but you have to unlearn modern fps skills - you have to fly into rooms at high speed, shooting, or you peek around corners, shoot and duck back. There's no deliberate plodding forward like I had gotten used to in the past decade or two. Once you're in the flow, the combat feels quite good. I found myself almost exclusively using the pistol and rifle, with the occasional stick of dynamite thrown in. The rifle, scoped or not, feels awesome, and it would be great to have it in more games.

The animated cut-scenes are gorgeous and the music can't be praised enough. It's such an evocative spaghetti-western score that I want this soundtrack!

If you can stomach janky Doom-style games (actually, it's the Jedi Knight engine), then this one is highly recommended.

Finished Thimbleweed Park tonight. It got kinda crazy towards the end and I lost track of who was doing what, but I still liked it, and it’s a solid adventure game.

Whoops, I thought I'd declared Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (Multi), but apparently, I forgot to mention it above. Anyhow, finished that. Didn't go through all the routes, but I found it lacking. I've played quite a few visual novels, and I don't understand what people see in it. There are better alternatives out there.