Pile Rich, Money Poor - Pile of Shame August 2020

New consoles are coming. New games are coming. My money is going...

Let's be fiscally responsible and finish those game we already bought. At least that's what we'll tell ourselves.

Some housekeeping notes.

If you're interested, m0nk3yboy, has the 12 month 2020 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.

Let's get on to the games!

This month's Pick of the Pile is

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End


IMAGE(https://buttonmasherto.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/uncharted-4_-a-thief_s-ende284a2_20160512235242.jpg?w=1200&h=800&crop=1)

"Set three years after the events of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception, Nathan Drake has presumably left the world of fortune hunting behind. However, it doesn’t take long for adventure to come calling when Drake’s brother, Sam, resurfaces seeking his help to save his own life and offering an adventure Drake can’t resist." (Official site)

Multi-Platform
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey - jdzappa
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - Forlorn Hope
Forgotton Anne - brokenclavicle
Headlander - brokenclavicle
Jotun - brokenclavicle
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - bobbywatson
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - brokenclavicle

PC
Battletech - jdzappa
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns - jdzappa
Lair of the Clockwork God - Eleima
The Red Strings Club - AUs_TBirD, Eleima
Throne of Darkness - AUs_TBirD

PS4
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - AUs_TBirD

Xbox One

Nintendo Switch
Link's Awakening - Malkroth
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Stele

Nintendo WiiU
Star Fox Guard - Forlorn Hope
Star Fox Zero - Forlorn Hope

Nintendo GBA
Fire Emblem - AUs_TBirD

Declaring:
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) - on chapter 8 and really enjoying it.
Throne of Darkness (PC) - I'm guessing I'm about halfway through this tedious yet innovative Diablo clone.
The Red Strings Club (PC) - for the adventure game club.
Fire Emblem (GBA) - started this in late 2003. I've been about 80% complete for a decade. Going on vacation next week and taking the Gameboy Advance with the intent of finally finishing.

Dropping:
The Last Story (Wii) - declared it at least two months in a row and made little progress both times. Not going to declare it again until I'm a good long way into it with no signs of slowing down.

Planning to work on:
Spider-Man (PS4) - just played some today. I'm not very good at the combat beyond button mashing, but it's still fun in just about every way.
Mass Effect 2 (PC/multi) - perpetually in second place on my "things I'm going to play now" short list. Hopefully it'll slip into first a few times this month.
Final Fantasy VII (Switch/multi) - been keeping this on the Switch next to me to play while I wait for characters in Throne of Darkness to heal up.
Wasteland 2 (PC) - for the CRPG club. Hope to get past the first 15 minutes after the character creator.

Keeping it a little more conservative this month as far as what I'm declaring a since I have more work this time around. Feeling the platformer of the 2D veneer vibe, with smattering of other stuff on the shorter side of completion times, so this is what I've got in mind:


Forgotton Anne (multi)
Headlander (multi)
Jotun (multi)
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (multi)

Working on three this month - 2 PC and one multi platform:

Battletech
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Whoa I'm already on the list. Thanks!

I'm only declaring Shadow of the Tomb Raider (multi) this month (assuming I can get past this stupid stealth section). I've got other things going, but I don't think any of them will be done before the end of the month.

Carrying over Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Steam/Multi) from last month. I think I'm around the halfway point so it should be doable but I'm not sure if I'll get to more pile games since I'm working through newer acquisitions right now.

Also put me down for the Red Strings Club (PC) and I’m carrying over Lair of the Clockwork God (PC).

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (multi) is complete! I will probably play some more to get all the collectibles. Overall, I think Rise was a better game, but Shadow is my favorite of the most recent trilogy. I might try to collect my thoughts into a short review of something at some point.

Edit: Looking at the list of games I played this year, it's funny how I've abandoned 4 games so far in 2020. Before that, I was only giving up on 2 games a year maximum. I guess this is what maturity feels like! Or maybe I just picked games I was not in the mood to play.

Most of my time will be towards working on the JRPG club game (Trails of Cold Steel), but probably won't finish this month. But I am getting towards the end of Links Awakening (Switch) So I feel comfortable declaring that one.

The Red Strings Club is complete. Might need to digest it a bit.

Headlander has just bit the dust. Fun game, had been on my radar a long time, hadn't gotten around to playing it until this month. Super-enjoyable and entertaining stuff, and a very nice twist on the Metroid style of exploratory platforming, although given that there is no jump button, or jumping to speak of, the platforming changes a good deal.

Cross off Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair for me. What a ride Enjoyed it but it was pretty long, clocking in at 40 hours. Next up are shorter experiences hopefully. Put me down for Star Fox Zero (Wii U) and Star Fox Guard (Wii U). I probably won't try to get all the routes in the former but we'll see. The control setup sounds like a pain so I'm expecting to not love it.

Mid-month update:

Finished:
The Red Strings Club (PC/multi) - Thoughts in the adventure game club thread

Short version: VERY impressed! Open questions remain and I'm not sure they will ever be answered, but overall, "Wow!"
.................
Have I mentioned the Blade Runner inspired music enough? I'm mentioning it again right now. Love it!

Progress report on declared games:
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) - went from chapter 8 to halfway through chapter 10. It's great; I wish I could find more uninterrupted time to play.
Throne of Darkness (PC) - Managed a couple more hours of grinding through enemies and inventory management.
Fire Emblem (GBA) - no progress. I unexpectedly did not play any games on my week long vacation. Was once again overly optimistic regarding playing opportunities.

Progress report on side hustles:
Spider-Man (PS4) - dabbled a bit more. About 3% closer to 100% completion more.
Mass Effect 2 (PC/multi) - haven't touched it.
Final Fantasy VII (Switch/multi) - some slight story progress. Finally made it to a new continent.
Wasteland 2 (PC) - haven't touched it.[/quote]

Soooooo... I finished The Red Strings Club. Three times.

I definitely won't have time this weekend to polish of the games I declared. Save for Headlander, which I beat a week or so ago, I'll be carrying over every other title to September's Pile thread.

I've wrapped up Lair of the Clockwork God. It's so good, y'all. Really smart, very funny.

I don't know if Xenoblade is getting finished. Haven't touched it in a week, almost 2.

But I did pick up Pyre (PC, multi) around then and I'm getting close to finishing it I think. Hopefully.

Trying to complete at least one thing every month.

I completed Links Awakening (Switch) yesterday, just in time for the end of the month. Good game, but you can definitely tell it is a remaster of an old Game Boy game though.

Going to have to carry over Star Fox Zero (Wii U) and Star Fox Guard (Wii U). Didn't even start them last month

End-of-the-month update:

Finished:
The Red Strings Club (PC/multi) - see previous post.

Progress report on declared games:
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) - about 2/3 through the game (Chapter 13, I think). Hope to finish up the pick of August's pile in early September.

Throne of Darkness (PC) - I ---VASTLY--- underestimated the time I would have to put into this. Howlongtobeat gives an average of 19 hours for all play styles, so I budgeted up to 30 hours. I'm currently over 60 hours (I may be playing wrong), and still have at least two evenings to go before the credits.

Fire Emblem (GBA) - didn't touch it all month.

Progress report on side hustles:
Spider-Man (PS4) - no more progress since mid month.
Mass Effect 2 (PC/multi) - haven't touched it all month.
Final Fantasy VII (Switch/multi) - got to Gold Saucer. I remember it being an impressive side diversion in 1997. I'm far less enthusiastic in 2020.
Wasteland 2 (PC) - haven't touched it all month.