Spring 2022 Backlog Challenge

[Jelly Soup 2,153]

This did not go well. I have been strapped for general time since the whole house got sick all at the same time, so I've been putting out fires for the last few weeks. So far I was able to knock out The Last Tinker (5/7/2022), which took vastly longer than it should have, and get about half way done with Catlateral Damage. Now everyone is feeling better and I have time.....and about 2 1/2 days left. I can do it, really. If Catlateral Damage can stop being a pill, pretty everything else can be knocked out in an evening, assuming PSVR could just work like it's supposed to.

 

Edit: Ok, I take it back, there is no finishing this. Catlateral Damage keeps crashing and it's causing the PS4 to wigout. Gonna kill off as much of the other stuff as I can and call it. This wasn't even a poor planning thing, I just had a series of unexpected events popup since joining the event. Whatever I can't finish by tomorrow night (the 30th), I'll add it to the next challenge and take on a couple more things to make up the difference.

Edited May 30, 2022 by Jelly Soup

[The_Head_Crusher 910]

UPDATE #6
 

Digimon Cyber Sleuth Hackers Memory ---> 7  0  0  0  = 9/46 10%  ---> 11  0  0  0  = 11/46 16%

LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 --->67  4  4  1   = 76/76 100% (Platinum Achieved March 14th/100% March 18th)

One Night Stand 2  16  6  1  = 25/25 100% (Platinum Achived March 19th)

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order ---> 0  0  0  0  = 0/40 0%

WWE 2k22 ---> 0  0  0  0   = 0/55 0% ---> 46  6  2  1   = 55/55 100% (Platinum Achieved May 29th)

 

Phase 1 Total Progress

96  24  9  3   = 132/207 61.87%

 

Substiutes

Call of Cthulu ---> WWE 2k22

 

Finally acquired the WWE 2k22 Platinum, which took up way too much of my time, way more than I expected. But one of only 97 people with the trophy according to the site.  The remaining 2 games I am going to save for the Summer Event.

Edited May 30, 2022 by The_Head_Crusher

[reaperveteran86 1,614]

Final Update

- Super Neptunia RPG 100%

- Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal 100%

- Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez 43% -> 100%

- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age 100%

- Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception 33%

- Biomutant 100%

- Valkyria Revolution 100%

- Blair Witch 100%

- The Sojourn 100%

- Maitetsu: Pure Station 9%

- Trine: Enchanted Edition 100%

- Shantae: Risky´s Revenge - Director´s Cut 19% -> 100%

- The Dark Eye: Memoria 100%

- Wife Quest 100%

- Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don´t Dry (EU) 100%

- Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars (EU) 50% -> 80%

- Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (EU) 100%

- Paradise Lost (EU) 100%

 

My last update for this event. I played through the story and sidemissions in Neptunia X Senran Kagura but couldn`t finish the extreme frustrating Yomi Training in time for this event. I also got the platinum in Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez, which let me finish my first Backlog Event with 15 games finished (out of 18). It was fun to touch games from my backlog again  that I haven`t played in a long time and to finally finish them of to get the 100% or Platinum (the record goes to Shantae Risky`s Revenge with a completion time of 5 years and 4 months) and to read the posts of the other participants. And thanks @MidnightDragon for hosting such a fun event.

 

See you all again in the Summer Event.

 

Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez

The game looks and plays like a upscaled PS2 game (like Altered Beast Reboot or Eve of Extinction), which isn`t for everybody, but it scratched my nostalgia itch massivly. I never watched anything Kamen Rider related (except for the Masked Rider Power Rangers episode) but most of the heroes and villains in this game looked like people in rubbersuits, so I would say it catches the atmosphere of the series. My favorite characters were Kamen Rider Accel and the 2 Birth Riders, because their design reminded me a lot of Winspector (which is an series that I loved as a kid). For the platinum the only "hard" thing is, that you need 2 1/3 playthroughs to level up all riders and their different forms.

[KimBongUn420 1,007]

Final Update: 

 

#147 Horizon: Forbidden West [PS5]

Difficulty 5/10 on Normal Difficulty

Grind 3/10

Enjoyment 7/10

 

I honestly don't know how to feel about this game.  For whatever reason I found myself unable to commit to finishing this game for months.  I didn't have that problem with Zero Dawn, so I don't know if I was burnt out on open world games or too preoccupied with moving and changing jobs to focus on gaming.  Anyways, take this entire commentary on HFW with some salt because I'm not sure I'm giving this game a fair shake.  

 

The burning question that everyone wants to know about HFW is: "is it better than Zero Dawn?"  Yes...and no.  It's a tricky question to answer, because while there are a lot of improvements over ZD, there are some very questionable design decisions that lead FW to be a "two steps forward, one step back" type of improvement.  

 

Let's start with the easy improvements - there are many more customization and accommodation options (a huge plus) and the skill trees are much more meaningful and fleshed out.  There is much more freedom in how you can play FW over ZD, which is by far the biggest positive change.  There are also more weapons and outfits, and the variety of machines is much bigger.  

 

Other good things: the game looks beautiful and runs very well after several big patches, character development is excellent, the voice acting is top notch and the terrain variety is markedly more varied than ZD.  The combat is significantly more difficult which I think is a good thing.

 

The story is good, but I'm not sure I'd call it an improvement over ZD.  The ending in particular is...quite similar to how Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ended, which was a game that got a LOT of shit for how it cut off the story.  (Mankind Divided is a great game that didn't get a fair shake bc of SquEnix's completely asinine marketing campaign and I will die on this hill, I cannot wait to see what Embracer will do with the Deus Ex series).  Sorry, I digress.  I also really disliked how 

Spoiler

Sylens was used in the story.  He shows up at the beginning, disappears for literally 50 hours and then comes back for the last 3 hours at the end.  It's not very well done, especially given how incredibly well the character is voice acted by Lance Reddick

 

My big problem with FW is that while the open world is vast and beautiful, the main story only takes you to like...half of it, because the game is paced very badly.  It makes the game seem pointlessly large, and there are other games with vast open worlds that pace the story far, far better - Assassin's Creed Valhalla is an excellent example of how to do it correctly.  It's a very jarring downgrade from ZD in that regard, and makes the side quests and collectible hunts seem like filler to a degree.  Most of the side quests are bog standard fetch quests which also doesn't help.  My completion percentage is right at 70% in the statistics, and I really have no interest in going back to 100% the game until DLC comes out.  

 

Also, good god are the climbing mechanics horrible.  The distance that Aloy will jump when you press X is determined by a random number generator, I'm convinced.  I've gotten stuck on multiple cliff edges because Aloy refuses to climb up for some reason, and that's with the climbable surfaces indicator turned to Always On in the HUD.  It's massively worse than ZD, and on the first few patches the climbing was so bad I legitimately thought my controller was broken.  It's gotten slightly better as the game has been patched, but it's still inexcusably bad for one of the game's core mechanics.

 

Overall, 7.5/10, it's a very good game and is worth full price, but it doesn't make it into the GOTY category for me.  Maybe when I play the inevitable DLC I'll have a more positive outlook on the game - we'll see.

 

 

Progress:

• Going to call the challenge here and move both Shenmue II and Cyberpunk 2077 to the summer event.  Didn't feel like trying to power through Shenmue II in the next 2 days, especially since I wasn't going to be able to complete the challenge anyways.  I'll be more careful about the games I pick for the summer so I'm able to complete it like I was for the Fall/Winter challenge last year!

See you all in the next one!

 

Final List:

1. Horizon: Forbidden West [PS5] - 55% -> 
2. Cyberpunk 2077 [PS5] - 42%
3.  Ghostwire: Tokyo (Apr 2)
4.  Shenmue (Mar 17)
5. Shenmue II
6.  SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated (Apr 20)
7.  Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga [PS5] (May 10)

Games Complete: 5/7

Trophies: 223/297 (82.5%)

[ArtisticGeek 893]

Update #7

Alright last update for the event 11/12 games completed! I encourage anyone that likes charming stealth games that fully embrace their fantasy setting to Play Ghost of a Tale it’s really well done and I want it to get more support so the people behind it will expand on the story. 

And Spiritfaryer hit me harder than I thought it would, it’s beautifully done with a somber but loving story and without giving to much spoilers the end credit song is a tear jerker.

I’m playing NieR now but I definitely don’t think I’ll finish it by tomorrow but it was a good run.

I wish everyone good luck in the last stretch on the event and I’ll see you all in the summer event. And once again thank you @MidnightDragon for hosting these they’ve been great motivation. 
 

Games List:

(1. NieR Replicant - 0% -> Adding to Summer event)

2. Ghost of a Tale - 100%

3. Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe -100% 

4. Spirit Farer - 100%

5. SongBird Symphony - 100%

6. Metamorphosis  - 100%

7. Beholder Complete edition - 100%

8. The Occupation - 100%

9. The Longest Road on Earth -100%

10. Kentucky Route Zero - 100%

11: Chernobyl -100%

12. Dragon Age Inquisition - 100%

[gruffiiti 2,942]

Finished up Chicken Police which is likely my last game for the spring event. I look forward to moving some of my incomplete games to the summer event and following along with everyone and their progress. Thanks for hosting again @MidnightDragon.

 

Chicken Police

Finished up Chicken Police and it was fantastic. Everything about it just worked really well. The characters and the voice acting were great and the heavy noir vibes it gave off were exactly what it needed to make the game stand out. Im really hoping we see more from the Chicken Police in the future.

 

 

Elden Ring

I am getting nearer to the end of Elden Ring but still way too much to do so may slide it over to the Summer event as it is still eligible. Would be a shame not to be able to use it for these events as I have put at least half my gaming time into it these last 3 months. Spent many nights with no trophy progress exploring and cleaning up dungeons and world bosses. The game is so good though that you just want to explore every bit of it. Elden Ring will be my vote for GOTY hands down!

 

Event Games

1. A Short Hike [PS4] - 100%
2. Edna and Harvey: The Breakout [PS4] - 100%
3. Carto [PS4] - 100%
4. Nostalgic Train [PS5] - 100%
5. Lego Jurassic World [PS4] - 100%
6. Hitchhiker [PS4] - 100%
7. Chicken Police [PS5] - 5% --> 100%
8. Elden Ring [PS5] - 32% --> 45%
9. Rise of the Tomb Raider [PS4] - 5%
10. Afterparty [PS4] - 1%
11. South Park: The Fractured But Whole [PS4] - 1%
12. Jurassic World Evolution [PS4] - 5%
13. Lost in Random [PS5]
14. Limbo [PS4]

Games completed (7/14)

 

[KazaneHime 1,111]

Update #9

1. Horizon Forbidden West - 100%
2. Elden Ring - 38% 100%
3. Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed - 100%
4. The Pedestrian - 100%
5. Death's Door -  100%
6. A Short Hike - 100%
7. Bugsnax - 100%
8. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - 100%
9. Unpacking - 0% 100%

Swaps (2/2)

 

Complete (9/9)

 

All cleaned up just in time!
Just finished Elden Ring today with @TalesofGaming and our other buddy, still have some side content I want to go back and clear out but the plat is out of the way!

 

Unpacking took only a couple hours, as I'd played it multiple times before. Just one of those games I am 100% willing to re-buy and play for the plat. Hope the devs come out with more like it, or at least some copy cats that are close to as good happen. The music, the sound effects, and the story made for the chillest game from all chill games I've played.

[PeachyJacobs 567]

Just a quick update to say I managed to get Gran Turismo 7 to 97%. So close! I just need to buy 1 car for the  and I have the credits ready to go, just need to wait for it to become available again (most likely end of June).

 

Anyway, see you all in the summer challenge!

[freddie1989 3,255]

Final update!! Not my best challenge admittedly but between Medan being just the bain of my life and Origins being long I've struggled a touch for motivation in this one at times.

 

Origins I have finished the story so I am on post game grind now so once locations are done that should move along fast and its eligible to carry to the next one. Beyond that i dont have anything else to report so catch you all in the next one!

 

As always thanks to @MidnightDragon for hosting. Hugely appreciated!

 

Far Cry 6 0%

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 100%

Dishonored Death of an Outsider 100%

Fallout 4 4%

AC Origins 16% - 33%

Man of Medan 100%

[ConAir 1,102]

Final update:

 

I waited a while with my last update, because the weeks went by without much progress. I barely played games due to real life, so my progress wasn't as much as I hoped. I did finish a few quick games. I wanted to finish Rocketbirds and Blazblue but ran out of time. Hopefully I can submit them again in the Summer Challenge. 5 Platinum Trophies within the challenge isn't too bad and I also learned that my free time is more limited than I would want.

 

Gleylancer 

A very nice shmup. I didn't do my research in advance. Only thanks to a few cheats this game was easy to Platinum. For my own pride I can at least say that I tried to do play without them until the game became very hard (1 hit = death) with avoiding bullets while not trying to fly into a wall when you are in a small corridor.

 

Games & Progress: (4/10)

Astro Aqua Kitty (Vita/PS4) 100% 

Takotan 100% 

Need for Speed Shift (PS3) 100% 

Blazblue Cross Tag Battle (PS4) 55% -> 66%

Rocketbirds Hardboiled Chicken (Vita) 18% -> 33%

Rayman Origins (Vita) 32%

Red Faction Armageddon 10%

Gynoug 100% 

Gleylancer 100% 

Team Sonic Racing 11%

 

1/2 Swaps: Smash Cars out -> Team Sonic Racing in.

Edited June 1, 2022 by ConAir

[TalesofGaming 3,289]

FINAL UPDATE:

 

1. Horizon Forbidden West - 100%  3/20/22

2. Elden Ring - 71% -> 100%  5/30/22

3. Scarlet Nexus - 100%  5/2/22

4. What Remains of Edith Finch - 100%  5/3/22

5. Haven - 100%  5/11/22

6. Unpacking - 100%  5/11/22

 

Finished Elden Ring just in time! It was a really fun game but don't think it was as good as Bloodborne. Big shout out to @KazaneHime who supports me on all the Soulsborne journeys.

[Jelly Soup 2,153]

On 5/29/2022 at 5:23 PM, Jelly Soup said:

This did not go well. I have been strapped for general time since the whole house got sick all at the same time, so I've been putting out fires for the last few weeks. So far I was able to knock out The Last Tinker (5/7/2022), which took vastly longer than it should have, and get about half way done with Catlateral Damage. Now everyone is feeling better and I have time.....and about 2 1/2 days left. I can do it, really. If Catlateral Damage can stop being a pill, pretty everything else can be knocked out in an evening, assuming PSVR could just work like it's supposed to.

 

Edit: Ok, I take it back, there is no finishing this. Catlateral Damage keeps crashing and it's causing the PS4 to wigout. Gonna kill off as much of the other stuff as I can and call it. This wasn't even a poor planning thing, I just had a series of unexpected events popup since joining the event. Whatever I can't finish by tomorrow night (the 30th), I'll add it to the next challenge and take on a couple more things to make up the difference.

 

Ok, I lied, this isn't happening. I was really serious about getting this done, but so many surprise things happened in the last couple months that there was just no doing. Gonna roll my list into the Summer challenge and set aside time, since I'm only really going to be swamped come the middle of August.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Jelly Soup

[rjkclarke 4,997]

Final Update

 

1. Little Nightmares (PS4) 0% > 100%
2. Lords of the Fallen (PS4) 0% >48% >100%
3. Limbo (PS4) 0%> 90%
4. HellBlade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4) 0% > 100%
5. Bastion (PS4) 0%> 100%
6. Resident Evil 4 (PS4) 0% > 100%
7. LEGO DC Super-Villains (PS4) 0%> 100%
8. Child of Light (PS4) 0% > 100%
9. Evoland (PS4) 0%> 77%
10. God of War (2018) (PS4) 0%
11. Peaky Blinders: Mastermind (PS4) 0%> 100%
12. Chicken Police (PS4) 0% > 100%
13.  NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... (PS4) 0%> 61%>100%

Games Completed 10/13

 

Swaps Used 1/2

 

Red Faction: Guerilla (PS3) > Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PS4)

 

Looks like it's time to take an arrow to the knee and admit defeat. I didn't finish on time.

 

I don't mind though, not really. I played some awesome games alongside so many awesome people, and for that I'm grateful to all of you, for making this another awesome challenge. Whether that came in the form of reading all of your updates,and keeping me busy in some of the darker moments this month (and there were definitely a few of those) or just chugging away at some of my own backlog and cutting it a little bit smaller.  I even got to play what is now my second favourite game of all time (I think) in NieR:Replicant. it's all been a blast! 

 

I'll carry God of War over to the Summer Challenge, which I really ought to y'know actually sign up for. I'll try and make that list a bit more "doable" 😂 Although I don't know if I'll start any games in that until I've gotten Limbo and Evoland finished. 

 

Huge thanks to @MidnightDragon for not only hosting the event itself, but for being such a constant stream of positivity wherever you happen to be on the site, we can always use more positivity however that manifests itself, so I'm really appreciative of that! Thanks again, you awesome Dragon Lady!

 

I'll leave some thoughts on my final completion too.

 

Thoughts on Hellblade:Senua's Sacrifice

 

This is one hell of a game (genuinely no pun intended). It isn't for the faint hearted it, it asks a whole lot from the player on an emotional level. Although, if you're willing to embrace that side of it you will absolutely come out the other side of it with a deeper understanding of how some of the horrific struggles people who suffer from mental illness have to endure.

 

As I said in a reply to my status update about this game, I feel so hesitant saying that I loved it or I had a wonderful time with this - because that just feels like I'm revelling in someone's misery (even if they are a digital person). It is however, an experience that I don't think I'll forget for an incredibly long time, if ever. So I really do feel like it's a worthwhile one. One that I'd absolutely recommend to almost anyone, so long as you're prepared for it to challenge you emotionally.

 

It's also got some of the greatest sound design that I have ever encountered in any game. There is such a uniquely brilliant synergy in this game in particular, between both the audio and the visual and it works startlingly well. As usual I'll drop a link to my review of it here, just in case anyone wanted to read more about it. Fair warning though, I talk a whole lot about sound in that review, so you've been warned.

[dark_moon689 1,064]

Final Update

 

This has been my worst event yet, mostly work/financial stress that is still mess up to high heavens sucking all my time and motivation to exist, but it is (I hope) stabilizing...

 

In gaming news from me, I can't get into Persona Strickers, I liked Persona 5... a little grindy but I enjoyed it... This one has felt like a shiny but absolutely boring new toy, the rpg elements are none existing, I found the combat dull and repetitive and keep wishing I could skip it entirely, I am just mindlessly mashing buttons because I can't be bother to engage with it anymore. And the story such as it has been so far is just bla, the party and their dialogue have been reduced to archetypes, stripped of what little nuance they had. I will slowly push through it to get the platinum but without any deadline looming... Maybe it was my state of mind, maybe it is that actually didn't like the game, I will come back to it with fresh eyes at later date.

 

As for God of War 3, I had hoped to have time this weekend to just go into a rampage with Kratos and relax, but a friend I haven't seen in years is visiting and I was out and about in the real world having fun instead of working for a change.

 

It was nice reading through everyone's updates, some make wanna to play, others convince me there games i should avoid but it is always a great time. And thank you @MidnightDragon for hosting as always, I am still deciding if I will join the summer event or take a break until fall.

 

1. (PS4) Yakuza Kiwami 2 - 0% -> 100% April 9th

2. (PS3) LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean - 2% -> 100% May 21th

3. (PS4) The Last of Us Remastered - 33%  - (PS3) God of War III 2%

4. (PS4) Persona 5 Strikers - 0% -> 22%

5. (PS4) Hellblade:  Senua's Sacrifice - 0% ->

 

Swaps used: 1/2

Games completed: 2 of 5

[beerwego 676]

Final update 

Well finished up the challenge and wow that was a close one .I completed Chicken Police and got the platinum at 23.59 🤣.Thanks Midnightdragon for hosting now to put a list together for the summer challenge.

A Plague Tale: Innocence  100%

Maneater 83% Plat

Danganronpa 2.....100%

Shadow Warrior 3....100%

Eventide :Slavic Fable ...100%

Chicken Police.... 0%......>100%

[StilRh 3,318]

Final update:

Deep Rock Galactic 28% > 51%

Dying light 2 45% > 100%

Elden Ring 8% > 11%

Horizon Forbidden West 10% > 100%

Legend of Heroes: Tales of Cold Steel 2 10% > 100%

Muv-Luv Alternative 13% > 20%

Nier Replicant 31% > 38%

Okami 18%

Sakura: Of rice and ruin 0% > 100%

Undermine 30% > 41%

 

4/10 Platinumed

 

I think this has been my worst and yet best run of this challenge. Worst as in I only hit 4/10 platinums, best as in I was able to stay pretty committed (with only work and poor health getting in the way of me sticking with it) to my listed games for most of the challenge. As always it's been a pleasure to play alongside you all and hear about your progress, it's really helped lift me when I've struggled with my mood or motivation. See you at the next one

[Static_Rook 2,906]

Final Update - 5/31/2022

 

Outriders 27% / 95% 5/31/2022 

 

Just managed to get the Outriders platinum before the end! Not counting it as complete for the challenge since I won't be getting the DLC trophies any time soon, but it still feels nice to get the plat done. So I'm ending at 5 out of 12 complete, not great but not my worst. I spent too long with Elden Ring in March and never really caught up from there. Even so, I marked a few more games off the ol' backlog list, and kept a couple of new ones from becoming backlog titles. All in all, another net positive.

 

Thanks again @MidnightDragon

 

See you all in the Summer challenge!

 

Ending Game List (5/12 completed, 2/2 swaps used)

Blue Reflection Second Light 26%
Chrono Cross Remaster 0%
Elden Ring 12%
Katamari Forever 50%
Necromunda Hired Gun 5/7/2022
Othercide 4/8/2022
Outriders  / 95% 5/31/2022 
Salt and Sanctuary (PS4) 3/26/2022
Samurai Bringer  4/29/2022
SteamWorld Dig (Vita) 15%
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin 3/22/2022
Surviving the Aftermath 4%

 

Swaps
Shadow Warrior 3 -> Othercide 4/1/2022
Atelier Sophie       -> Samurai Bringer 4/23/2022

Edited June 1, 2022 by Static_Rook

[Kishnabe 4,472]

On 2/28/2022 at 2:51 PM, Kishnabe said:

Final Fantasy VII  2%

 

Final Fantasy VIII 0%

 

Final Fantasy IX 0%

 

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age 0%

 

Final Fantasy XV 19%

 

Toukiden Kiwami 41%

 

Shadow Warrior 3 0%

 

Crysis Remastered 0%

 

Gravity Rush Remastered 0%

 

Gravity Rush 2 0%

 

 

0/2 Swaps

 

 

 

 

 

 

Didn't finish any games, only got Kiwami to 84%....I have everything setup. Could have gotten the plat, if not for RNG monster...

[DFuzed 1,704]

Final Update for this challenge:

 

Lego Star Wars Clone Wars (PS3) - 80%

Guardians of the Galaxy (PS4)

Slay The Spire - 30%

Life is Strange Remastered

Life is Strange BtS - 33% +20%

Ni No Kuni Remastered

Diablo 2 Resurrected - 65%

Flowers by Powgi (PS5)

Flowers by Powgi (PS4)

Persona 4 (Vita) - 75%

Hades (PS4)

Pic-a-Pix Color (PS Vita) - 50%

 

So we're at the end of another challenge and this has been a hectic month, both in real life and in my challenges. Especially these last couple weeks, me surviving my friends deciding to take me out to celebrate my birthday by taking me drinking (let's just say I'm glad for easy trophies), death of my uncle (cancer + Covid = bad combination) and celebrating the birth of my 2nd nephew (and having to help keep up with 3 other nephews/nieces when I went to see my brother and his brood).

 

I have noticed that the games I have been playing or will be playing this year are mostly games I've played previously. Now, granted, how long ago I've played them will differ, some being decades while others only a couple years and some mere months. It's not like I plan to exclusively play remastered or different editions of these games, and I try to play games that extend out of my preferred genres, but i cannot help but replay these games because I enjoyed them so much or, in some cases, play games in the same series. And I want to thank @MidnightDragon for hosting this challenge before anything else.  As for my games, well:

 

Persona 4 Golden: So I've been working on this game almost daily since picking it back up after finishing other games, trying to work through my second play-through. It's slower than what should be a quick run, since I didn't get all Social Links. But I can focus on those and ignore things like reading all the books or other things related to trophies. Also helps playing on very easy which allows for high experience and lots of money. But all the trophies I need to do are near the end of the game and I'm getting there.

 

Hades: Knowing and remembering how much fun and how impressive the game was the first time I played it, I knew that I wanted to play this game again. I figured that it was time to play it again as a side game when I wanted to play something more casual and could be a relative quick game to run through. It also helped knowing some of the things I needed to do, especially the level 16 pact of punishment. I preferred using the shield, throwing it Captain America-style, especially when using Zeus (chain lightning) or Ares (huge delayed damage) boons. Trying to get a few other boons and making unique builds was enjoyable and a nice change of pace. If I have the chance to play it again I will.

 

Slay the Spire: Like Hades, I play this game as a change of pace but this game is kicking my ass more that i kick it's ass. The RNG makes it fun to build decks but it also makes it hard to try to go for certain trophies as you cannot expect to get certain things, never mind almost getting everything right only to lose it in a run. Still did get some things done and still plan to continue to play this going forward to either when I beat it or, more likely, I get pissed at it and give it up.

 

Life is Strange Remastered: One game series I have loved from the get-go, because of the story, the world building (since it has been confirmed that all the games are connected in the same world) and the ease of getting trophies. I tried not to burn through this immediately, wanting to savour the story as much as I could. But I also knew that, with other games needing long periods of playing and wanting to keep my daily limits in tact, I would eventually finish it. About the only issue I had with the game was literally at the end, in the nightmare scene where you had to avoid being caught by everyone in the maze. It took four resets to do: I was in the junkyard part (literally the last part of the maze) trying to grab the bottles for the last photo, when I got stuck on topography. Couldn't move no matter what I did. So tried again, got to the junkyard but got caught by one of the characters in their light. Tried to rewind but couldn't no matter what I did. Being stuck again, I reset the game, made it to the junkyard again, got stuck in the same place. Fourth reset, got to the junkyard yet again, and finally managed to get the bottles and the last picture trophy. Another game I hope to play in the future if I have the chance.

 

Life is Strange - Before the Storm Remastered: Started playing this game recently and already have one third of the game done. I knew that this prequel was short and, being a prequel, it was stuck in this spot of telling a story that could only do so much in the way of story choices. I do admit seeing all the little and major things that made her the way she was in the original made sense, between her arguing with her soon-to-be step-dad and her budding romance with a character we knew about but never saw in the first game. The biggest thing for me was seeing a character in this game appear I completely forgot was in this game. She appears in True Colors as a love interest and I didn't clue on her identity until I realized they both had love for D&D, which made me stop and look up her character on the Wiki. That 'holy shit' moment surprised me and made me appreciate the series even more. Adding to the timeline (since this game happens roughly a year before the first game) makes sense that she wouldn't be around that town if the sacrifice everyone option was chosen (then again the step-dad was revealed to have survived as well, so who knows who else survived).

 

Flowers by Powgi: One of my back-up games I play in case I need to get daily trophies done. Nothing fancy about it and easy to play. About the most difficult thing to do was looking up which games I had to play for individual trophies as most of the games themselves were done within a minute or two.  I didn't even look at the answers themselves because they were easy to figure out. It wasn't the hardest game the company has brought out nor was it the easiest nor the most enjoyable. I do like that they make me think (another reason I avoid looking up the answers) and they are good for that. Otherwise just something to play and be done with once the trophies are done.

 

Pic-a-Pix Color (Vita): So I am in the middle of a four week stint that I have to be out of town every Saturday for various reasons. I had to go see my new nephew last week, a funeral the previous week, this week family photos/cousin's son's birthday celebration and then a wedding the week after. And then coming up is the July long weekend and August long weekend where I might away from the house and, more importantly for this conversation, away from my PS4/PS5 for a couple days. This is where I love having the Vita on-hand. Unfortunately I didn't have enough trophies in my current game, never mind the fact that I wasn't even close to getting said trophies, to cover the previous weekend I would be away. So I had to add a game to my list and likely have to add a second or third game so I can be covered for the upcoming time I'll not have access to my main gaming consoles. I chose this game since I've played similar games of the like previously. This game also makes me think hard, and refuse to look up the answer to puzzles because I want to figure it out by myself. But this game will be only be played on said weekends I will be away, since I have other games I can play when at home.

 

And that's it for another challenge. I would like to thank my producers who gave me this chance, my fellow co-stars and...huh? Wrong speech? Oh, that's embarrassing. Uhh... I hope those who signed up for this enjoyed both having a challenge they set for themselves and a community who they bond with while also having fun. And I will see those who have signed up for the next challenge over on the new thread. Enjoy finding those quests, killing those bosses, sniping the trolls, harvesting the fields and laying down those blocks.

[MidnightDragon 29,473]

This challenge is over and summer has begun. Thanks for participating!

[oxford_wolf007 232]

Update 8 - Final Update

 

We made it! Thanks for hosting the event @MidnightDragon, I enjoyed knocking a few things off my backlog that have been sitting for a while. I finished just about everything I was aiming to do, minus NFS Rivals (SO CLOSE, made it to level 42 Racer!!!) and the Uncharted 2 100%, but I’m real happy with just the plat for now. Definitely going to finish up Rivals this week. Thank you to everyone who’s posted, I’ve also enjoyed reading all of your updates! It’s been a lot of fun! For the summer I won’t be joining, but I WILL DEFINITELY be creeping on ya’ll’s progress. I might be back for the winter challenge, we’ll see how busy I am in my new job. Ta ta for now!

 

Completed games

1. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom [PS4] - 100%
2. Infamous Second Son [PS4] - 100%
3. Immortals Fenyx Rising [PS5] - 100%
4. Ratchet and Clank [PS4] - 100%
5. Octodad: Dadliest Catch [PS4] - 100%

 

Incomplete Games

1. Uncharted 2 [PS4] - 89%
2. Need for Speed Rivals [PS4] - 42% —> 91%

 

Games Completed (5/7)

 

Swaps Used (0/2)

[YaManSmevz 3,854]

Update #8

6/1/22

 

Boy, ah tell you whut.

 

Not a strong showing by any means. No excuses from my end though, I just didn't have it this season. Which is not to say it was a bust though, oh hell no!

 

I got started on some stuff I otherwise wouldn't have, and perhaps the biggest takeaway is my progress with GTA V. In February, I had accepted that I'd never complete it, that it simply wasn't in my wheelhouse. Now, I've made more progress than I would've ever imagined, and while I've still got a lot of work to put in for that hundo, I know now that I've got the tools necessary to get the job done.

 

Big up to everybody who participated, it's always such a joy to read everyone's updates, and a big congrats to all who completed their challenge. The camaraderie in these threads really is second to none, and it's an absolute treat to be a part of.

 

Last but not least a huge shout to our host with the most @MidnightDragon. The work that goes into keeping these things going alone deserves a round of applause, but to do it with a perpetual smile on the face? You deserve every bit of gratitude that comes your way👊

 

Progress is progress, something is always better than nothing, insert-platitude-here. Thanks everybody!

 

1. Cities: Skylines (11-->16%)

2. Yakuza 0 (22-->35%)

3. Resident Evil 4 (0-->26%)

4. Grand Theft Auto V (32-->89%)

5. Final Fantasy IX (8%)

6. MLB The Show 20 (0-->84%)

7. Transistor (0-->4%)

8. My Memory of Us ✅️