Backlog by the Month Challenge 2023 (Sign-Ups Open!)

[Ode2Destruxion]

February was a good month for clearing up the backlog. Took my account completion to above 50%. Got three game completions for this competition (Grim Fandango, Life is Strange, Unpacking) but also managed to finish another 10 games that I resumed at above 33%:

 

Cave Digger: Riches

Costume Quest

Stories: The Path of Destinies

This War of Mine: The Little Ones

Floor Plan: Hands-On Edition

Goat Simulator (DLC)

Hue

BlazeRush

Type:Rider

Skylanders SuperChargers

 

Some decent low percentage trophies in there. Also made good progress on other toys-to-life games as well.

 

I start a new job with more hours tomorrow though so probably much less progress in March.

[StraightVege]

12 hours ago, Ode2Destruxion said:

Don't go through it alone, keep talking about it, whether it's with strangers on a forum or your friends and family. Mental health isn't taboo any more and needn't be bottled up. It may be a long journey but you will come through the other side and you will be stronger for it. Sending my best wishes.

 

Really appreciate the kind words. I generally dislike talking about myself or my personal life, especially online, but I'll keep your advice in mind. You're so right; it's just a health problem like any other, and ought not be something shameful. Thankfully, I have some coping mechanisms from prior therapy to work with.

 

4 hours ago, Taruta13 said:

Seriously, you must be a mad lad to complete so many games in two months, especially those that would take me years to complete.

 

You give me too much credit, friend—I had already made significant progress on those lengthier games last year, so it isn't as impressive as it may seem. ?

 

As promised, I've left my full thoughts on GreedFall in the spoiler box below, copied from another thread (fair warning, they're very long!). Will talk about the other games another day.

Spoiler

 

A bit of poison on my blade, then let's go!

A bit of poison on my blade, then let's go!

A bit of poison on my blade, then let's go!

A bit of poison on my blade, then let's go!

 

Mmm, a lukewarm stein of pure, distilled Eurojank, exactly as expected from something developed by Spiders and bearing the Focus Entertainment label. While I certainly wouldn't call it a good video game by most metrics, this oddball ARPG has distinct personality at the very least, making it undeniably more interesting than most offerings in the triple-A domain. Despite the atrocious combat, painfully repetitive quest design, and multitude of bugs, GreedFall is still reasonably charming in its own way.

 

Events begin in the fictional, 18th century-style city of Serene, the "old world," where the air is thick with the smoke of both burgeoning industry and burning plague victims' bodies. A mysterious and fatal malady known as the malichor is ravaging the populace, and their only hope for a cure lies on the once secret island of Teer Fradee, a magical place inhabited by a number of indigenous tribes, who seem to be immune to the dreaded disease for unknown reasons. Thus, it rests on the shoulders of silver-tongued protagonist Legate De Sardet, and their beloved cousin Prince Constantin, to embark for New Serene—a city currently under construction on the partially colonized island—where they're tasked with governing the settlement, improving diplomatic relations with the natives and other factions on behalf of the Merchant Congregation, and ultimately discovering a remedy for the ailment that's killing even De Sardet's own mother. Among the groups to engage in political repartee with are:

 

The Bridge Alliance, a union of nations run by powerful oligarchs, and focused almost entirely on scientific advancement. Set on finding a cure for the malichor at any cost, some researchers aligned with this faction subject the local people to forcible experimentation and murder.

 

Thélème, a devoutly religious nation, long at war with the secular Bridge Alliance. Certain Inquisitors within this faction are single-minded in their pursuit of either converting or killing the island's inhabitants, to the point of committing cartoonishly evil acts. Some even believe the indigenous people are causing the malichor somehow, through worship of demonic entities.

 

Coin Guard, a prolific guild of old world mercenaries, employed by all nations for security. Their guards are everywhere, and shadowy figures inside the organization are developing their own plans for Teer Fradee in secret. A captain in this faction personally trained De Sardet in the art of combat from a young age.

 

Nauts Guild, a centuries old community of skilled sailors, providing seafaring transportation of people and supplies for the nations. Culturally, one of the most interesting groups, with many of its members having been contractually recruited into the guild as children. They've no interest in colonizing the island, instead calling the ocean their home.

 

Yecht Fradí, the various native tribes, most of whom would obviously prefer to oust the settlers from Teer Fradee. However, some see value in leading a balanced existence alongside them, while others would happily sell out the island to the foreigners (whom they call "renaigse") for profit. A mystical connection to the land makes them hardier than normal humans, and bestows some with formidable magical abilities. They speak a Proto-Celtic language I found rather enchanting, but most are also capable English speakers.

 

De Sardet is a representative of The Congregation of Merchants, a neutral faction of wealthy merchant families, so they must be clever and cautious in their dealings with everyone to avoid a diplomatic incident. Their reputation level with the factions determines who will offer help when times are desperate, impacting the game's multiple endings. Fortunately, their impressive gift of gab (which can be boosted via the Charisma attribute) allows them to talk their way out of trouble more often than not. One can opt to create either a male or female De Sardet, and neither choice leads to disappointment, as both are fully voiced by very competent actors. In fact, likely the only well-polished aspect of GreedFall is its consistently excellent voice cast, which appears to have been sourced from the same talent pool as heard in popular titles like The Witcher 3. I definitely recognized several of these performers, and the voice work was doing a LOT of heavy lifting to maintain my interest in this game. As for the soundtrack, it's adequate if unremarkable, sounding similar to royalty free music. Decent sound design overall, and I appreciated how powerful the gunshots feel.

 

Over the course of exploring the exotic island, De Sardet also befriends several companion characters, who will assist them in battle two at a time, along with offering insightful dialogue during quests. Kurt tags along from the start, being De Sardet's longtime mentor. As a captain of the Coin Guard, he's a quintessential tank, able to wear heavy armor and clobber enemies with big ol' weapons such as great swords, all the while buffing himself with potions. Shortly after, Vasco, the captain of the Naut ship which transports De Sardet to Teer Fradee, joins their quest. He prefers a more flexible approach, poisoning foes with a tainted cutlass, while firing his flintlock pistol between strikes. Later, they run into Siora, essentially a princess of the Gaís rad native clan. This spellsword wields light weapons like rapiers in tandem with various spells, including healing magic to keep the party alive. Next, a surrogate father figure from De Sardet's past, Bishop Petrus of Thélème, lends his assistance. He employs quite different magical abilities from Siora's, blasting enemies with projectiles from afar, while his penchant for plate armor makes him nearly as resilient as Kurt. Lastly, the travelers recruit Aphra, a gifted researcher from the Bridge Alliance, who favors the utilization of rifles and bombs in battle. All of them can be equipped with appropriate weapons and armor, either found in the world or purchased at shops.

 

This companion system stands out as one the best elements of GreedFall. Every party member is likeable, useful to distract baddies in combat, and they often contribute interesting information or useful dialogue options in conversations. For instance, having the charismatic Petrus at your side when dealing with Thélème can make it much easier to convince them of your position, while bringing Siora into your interactions with the Yecht Fradí helps greatly to gain their trust, besides developing a deeper understanding of their traditions. As you assist them with their personal issues, the camaraderie between De Sardet and their buddies grows, unlocking stat bonuses and eventual romance options with everyone, excluding Petrus. Romance is rarely done well in video games, and I can't say GreedFall's attempt is an exception to that, but it's a feature!

 

Companion quests are some of the more interesting excursions in the game, too; Vasco, for example, wishes to discover more about his childhood origins, before he was taken as a Naut. Meanwhile, Aphra strongly desires to learn about the local people and their customs, Petrus has ambitions to become a cardinal, Kurt is investigating shady goings on in the Coin Guard, and Siora needs assistance with a variety of tribal business. I actually quite enjoyed helping these characters, and watching their fondness for De Sardet develop. Would it have killed them to record a few more battle cry lines for your friends, though? Hearing them shout the exact same things every time an enemy comes into proximity gets old fast, and their quotes are now permanently burnt into my brain as a result.

 

Regarding the narrative, I found myself most invested in uncovering the subplot mysteries surrounding De Sardet's true origins and Constantin's actions as governor of New Serene. The latter is a particularly fascinating and multilayered character, whom I could easily empathize with. Whether the main story and its message about the consequences of not living in harmony with the environment sticks the landing is another matter, and I'm not convinced the writers are always equipped to handle the heavy subject matter. It treads on tropey territory at times, with the noble savage stuff and what have you, although there are definitely memorable moments and some excellent dialogue. I also think its critiques of colonialism would've landed more forcefully if the Yecht Fradí weren't so powerful. It's just hard to feel as bad as I should when witnessing a fleeing native get shot in the back by a bigoted Bridge Alliance soldier, when said native not only survives the wound, but then proceeds to summon vine tendrils and a muscular nature golem to beat the shooter's ass. On the other hand, the manner in which GreedFall's fantasy elements dampen some of the icky feelings one might otherwise experience while playing it would probably be viewed as a positive thing by some folks.

 

For platinum, it was necessary to play through the game twice, which made its plethora of issues glaringly obvious. Upon skipping most of the dialogue, I quickly noticed how quests typically boil down to slowly jogging back and forth to speak with NPCs, ad nauseam. The developers clearly realized this, because a small number of quests even cut out the backtracking, providing you the option of immediately warping back to the necessary NPC after completing an objective. I can see little reason not to have made this feature ubiquitous, beyond shamelessly padding playtime. Films understand the value of jump cuts, and it's about damn time devs realize when to implement them in their games; what a colossal waste of time! This is the main reason why the game sat unfinished on my list for over a year. While on this subject, I probably ought to mention how limited the animations for these important characters are. For the entirety of the game, they'll mostly remain seated in the same rooms, and their movements reminded me of those old humanoid animatronics.

 

It's shocking how many assets were lazily recycled, as well, with a huge number of buildings and city districts being basically identical. The governor's palaces in each city, for example, are exactly the same structure, and they didn't even attempt to hide this. Understandable that they had to make do with limited resources, but at least try harder to disguise it. Becomes really obvious after you've sprinted through the same places a thousand times by the end. Be wary of fast traveling, too, because the game crashed a number of times when trying to load the area. I recommend getting into the habit of always making a manual save beforehand. Area transitions also load at the speed of molasses, unfortunately.

 

Interspersed between all the needless running around are some of the most awkward and unresponsive combat encounters I've ever experienced, versus the strange beasts of Teer Fradee, bandits, and soldiers from the various factions. Unfortunately, words like "clunky" and "sluggish" don't begin to describe how dreadful GreedFall's fighting usually feels. Gaggles of enemies are frequently housed within such minuscule aggro areas that the player backpedaling a couple of steps will cause them all to immediately retreat to their spawn point, instantly healing themselves in the process. This can be especially problematic in close-quarters city battles, where it had me ready to pull my hair out at times. If that wasn't bad enough, the button shortcuts used to trigger your abilities fail to function properly half the time—I had alchemical bombs set to the R2+square button combo, and it was always a crapshoot whether one would actually be thrown, or if De Sardet would rather pointlessly kick the air or do nothing instead. Generally, there's a noticeable delay between pressing a button and your character executing the action.

 

Don't get me started about the weird glitches, either... the game's very first boss backed me into a corner and just kept plodding forward against the screen, making it impossible for either of us to attack. Fortunate that I had a recent save to load. To be fair, I did appreciate a singular combat feature: the ability to freeze time upon pressing the L1 button, which also brings up menus where you can select attack skills and use items. This was a far more reliable way to activate abilities or consume potions than the shortcuts, while also giving you time to carefully consider your next move.

 

Additionally, the three available playstyles aren't balanced in the slightest. On the skill grid, one can choose to build a character with proficiency in the use of bombs and firearms (Technical), arcane spellcasting such as the immobilization of foes with stasis (Magic), or handling standard melee weapons like swords, axes and clubs (Warrior). It's always nice to have options, but when Technical outclasses the other paths by such a vast margin, it feels foolish to bother with anything else. Crafting or duplicating a stockpile of ammo and bombs makes it laughably easy to win nearly every battle in the game: just toss a couple of explosives to melt through enemy armor, then spam shots with a six-round revolver. Add in some stasis with a short diversion into the Magic portion of the grid, and things get even less challenging. On the Extreme difficulty setting, only a couple of boss fights were actually able to kill me with this build.

 

As you've likely gathered by now, GreedFall is an extraordinarily flawed title in numerous ways, but I do think there's something kind of special about its eclectic blend of 18th century aesthetics/technology, fantastical primitive magic, and ancient gods of nature. How many big, mainstream games would dare to attempt something weird like this? I've got to give it some credit for having the courage to be different, even though the game is a mess mechanically and technically. The top-shelf vocal talent and endearing companion characters didn't hurt, either. With some improvements and polishing, GreedFall 2 has serious potential to be legitimately good, I'd wager. Anyhow, I promise my upcoming posts will be more concise! This game just had the exact right combination of traits to prompt an hour of my long-winded rambling, sorry.

 

To my health, and death to the others!

 

 

 

Also making decent progress on Psychonauts 2 (up to 39% now)!

[seannyboy913]

January Completion

Demon's Souls (PS5)   January 29th, 2023

 

February Completion

Catherine: Full Body  February 3, 2023

Prototype  February 22, 2023

 

One more game completed in February with Prototype. I had a lot of nostalgia going in to replaying this game and it didn't quite live up to expectation but it was still an enjoyable ride. This was technically considered a remaster but all they really did was up the resolution, which really showed how bad some of the characters look and hurt the performance when large mobs are on screen. Visuals aside though, the core gameplay is fun and offers a decent variety of powers and abilities with upgrades that can help you focus on your favourite powers. The story of the game won't blow you away but it's enough to keep you interested and the extra lore given with the web of intrigue really help fill out and expand the motivations behind the characters. Probably my favourite part of the game though was going for all the platinum event medals again, they offer challenging but fair scores to beat and most of them offer slightly different limitations meaning you can't rely on one method and have to learn each power and the best way to use it to succeed.

 

 

[Hurricane_Tanya]

I finished The Turing Test just as it was being removed from plus extra. It had a similar kind of storyline to The Swapper that I played earlier, and I picked the opposite ending to the one I picked in The Swapper. Possibly because of the twist at the end, maybe because I just wanted to see what would happen. I enjoyed the voice acting a lot, and the puzzles were fun, a lot of satisfying moments, although I preferred The Swapper overall.

 

I also finished The Pedestrian earlier today. I loved the puzzles in this one. The last chapter has a fun, albeit very short, mechanic involving leaving the puzzles to move up another area before going back to the puzzle. The whole game was very short, but had plenty of fun mechanics that were introduced well

 

Next up, some non-puzzle games maybe? Although Hitman 1 and 2 are basically puzzle games too

[Darling Baphomet]

7 hours ago, StraightVege said:

Really appreciate the kind words. I generally dislike talking about myself or my personal life, especially online, but I'll keep your advice in mind. You're so right; it's just a health problem like any other, and ought not be something shameful. Thankfully, I have some coping mechanisms from prior therapy to work with

 

Bit late here, but I just wanted to say that I can relate. Through most of January and early February I was dealing with similar trouble in regards to finding enjoyment in anything and I'm only just starting to get out of it. Good luck with figuring things out, and I hope it passes soon.

[Ode2Destruxion]

23 hours ago, Ode2Destruxion said:

February was a good month for clearing up the backlog. Took my account completion to above 50%. Got three game completions for this competition (Grim Fandango, Life is Strange, Unpacking) but also managed to finish another 10 games that I resumed at above 33%:

 

Cave Digger: Riches

Costume Quest

Stories: The Path of Destinies

This War of Mine: The Little Ones

Floor Plan: Hands-On Edition

Goat Simulator (DLC)

Hue

BlazeRush

Type:Rider

Skylanders SuperChargers

 

Some decent low percentage trophies in there. Also made good progress on other toys-to-life games as well.

 

I start a new job with more hours tomorrow though so probably much less progress in March.

 

Squeezed Disney Infinity into February to equal 14 completions for the month. Only 2.97% completion on PSNP so my 6th rarest platinum. Had to buy an extra PS3 controller and find someone to do the two online trophies with so it wasn't a simple cleanup. Also became my longest ever plat at 9 years and 5 months. Worth it though.

[Priorum2]

I'm down, my list will be:

1. Minecraft.

2. Minecraft: story mode.

3. Minecraft: Dungeons.

4. Minecraft: Legends.

5. GTA 3.

6. GTA: San Andreas.

7. GTA: Vice CIty.

8. GTA IV.

9. GTA V.

10. A Way Out.

11. Marvel's Spider-Man (GOTY).

12. Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

13. Stray.

14. Days Gone.

15. Mafia 1: Definitive Edition.

16. Mafia 2: Definitive Edition.

17: Mafia 3: Definitive Edtion.

18. Far Cry 2.

19. Far Cry 3.

20. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon/

21. Far Cry 4.

22. Far Cry primal.

23. Far Cry 5.

24. Far Cry New Dawn.

25.  Far Cry 6.

26. Knack.

27. Knack 2.

28. Toem.

29. Detroit Become Human.

30. Superhot.

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

January

Immortals Fenyx Rising 64%  DLC (Not Started) 

Cat Quest (100%) 

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (100%)  

inFamous: First Light (100%) 

February

Metro Exodus (73%) 

Final Fantasy XIII (100%) 

 

1. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (19%)

2. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (4%)

3. Warhammer: Chaosbane (7%)

4. Assassin's Creed Origins (19%)

5. Vampyr (1%)

7. Monster Hunter World (71%)

8. Saints Row IV (10%)

9. Batman: Arkham City (43%) 

10. Sackboy: A Big Adventure (17%) 

11. LEGO DC Super-Villains (Not Started) 

12. Super Time Force Ultra (28%) 

13. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (4%) 

14. Fallout 3 (4%) 

15. Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (20%) 

16. Scarlet Nexus (24%) 

 

I'm adding Scarlet Nexus to my list for now. I had been thinking of buying it many times so I'm pretty happy it got added to the PS Plus lineup 

[BlazzingWind]

Leaderboard Updated!

As of 02/28/23

 

January to February Standings:

 @Hurricane_Tanya 4.00 Points --> 6.00 Points

 @StraightVege 3.00 Points --> 5.00 Points

 @Hitman_Spinksy1 2.50 Points --> @Darling Baphomet 5.00 Points

 @be_minor 2.00 Points --> @KillerUni12 4.50 Points

 

A bit of a shake up as we move into March!

 

Welcome to the event @HollowCalamity and @Priorum2!

 

@Taruta13 - good luck on World of Final Fantasy; I have that game buried somewhere in my backlog and not particularly looking forward to it. And don't be surprised by how many games StraightVege can get done; they were a force of nature last year with their list!

 

Darling Baphomet - Awesome on the 6.6% platinum, that had to have been something else to complete. Also Evil Dead; you are braver than I am. Online 4 vs 1 like Dead by Daylight are no-goes for me as that type of gameplay just doesn't jive with me.

 

@jones_jr02 - Stray really is a great game for such a simple concept, I really should dive back in and finish my speed-run on the PS5 lol. I am curious, do you have a link to what will be leaving ps extra/premium? I was caught unaware when Seasons After Fall left the service and had to hurriedly complete Whispering Willows and The Turing Test before they left too.

 

@Ode2Destruxion - That is an impressive amount of games to have completed in February! Congrats on the new job as well! And no worries on having less time, still way early in the event and the first removal month is just around the corner if you need to reshape your list.

 

StraightVege - Thank you for the extremely detailed review of Greedfall, it makes me want to actually try and dive back into it. And I would like to echo what others have been saying, it is a pain to deal with, but things do get better. Since October of last year I have been dealing with similar issues. While I haven't gone to therapy (childhood mistrust of therapist - way different issue), I am talking with my doctor and on medicine that is helping.

 

seannyboy913 - Glad to hear that [Prototype] was still at least enjoyable. It is another game that I have somewhere in my backlog and that I keep meaning to get around too. I have heard stories of the challenges not unlocking correctly and forcing a restart of the entire game. But that might only have been on the PS3 version.

 

Hurricane_Tanya - There was another ending to The Turing Test? When I played, I didn't realize you could shoot the thing and only hit 1 of the two before control was taken away from me. I enjoyed the gameplay, but it could have been more difficult like Portal 2 was (one of my favorite games).

 

So The Pedestrian is a puzzly game as well? Interest in the game has gone up lol

 

-----

 

As always, please look over the leaderboard and make sure everything looks correct. I thought to add the dates of the 'last completion' to the leaderboard so everyone can see how the placements are the way they are. If people don't like them, I can remove the dates, just let me know.

 

Have a great first week of March everyone!

[Taruta13]

1 hour ago, BlazzingWind said:

@Taruta13 - good luck on World of Final Fantasy; I have that game buried somewhere in my backlog and not particularly looking forward to it.

 

Unfortunately, I had a bad turn: I accidentally downloaded my cloud save and overwrote my current save, losing me hours of progress. I decided to delete my save so I am starting over with the game. Don't worry, I think I screwed up trying to play it on Vita and I stopped at Pyreglow Forest so I won't have TOO much to backtrack and I hope to get some more power grinding in so I can get some more trophies, but I think I'll move this game to April since I plan on power hunting Hogwarts Legacy this month by going to Universal Studios to experience the Harry Potter atmosphere in real life. (It was supposed to be a trip to Disneyworld to get in the mood for Kingdom Hearts, but Disney is a leechfest and the cost of the park is WAY too expensive.)

[Hurricane_Tanya]

1 hour ago, BlazzingWind said:

Hurricane_Tanya - There was another ending to The Turing Test? When I played, I didn't realize you could shoot the thing and only hit 1 of the two before control was taken away from me. I enjoyed the gameplay, but it could have been more difficult like Portal 2 was (one of my favorite games).

I chose to hit them both in my playthrough which led to Tom seeming quite sad and confused. Then I loaded it up again to see what happens if you don’t do anything and just watch at the end which led to them shutting down control at the end. (Being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers).

 

I seem to have been on a puzzle game streak lately. My partner says it’s time for me to play The Witness. I’m not sure about it, I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy the puzzles, but I’ve seen my partner play parts of it and there seemed to be a lot of pretentious voice recordings to listen to for the story

Edited March 1, 2023 by Hurricane_Tanya

[BlazzingWind]

1 hour ago, Hurricane_Tanya said:

I chose to hit them both in my playthrough which led to Tom seeming quite sad and confused. Then I loaded it up again to see what happens if you don’t do anything and just watch at the end which led to them shutting down control at the end. (Being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers).

 

I seem to have been on a puzzle game streak lately. My partner says it’s time for me to play The Witness. I’m not sure about it, I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy the puzzles, but I’ve seen my partner play parts of it and there seemed to be a lot of pretentious voice recordings to listen to for the story

I STILL cant beat the final challenge for the plat in The Witness. If you manage to, please let me know.

 

There are actually several hidden environmental puzzles in the game that guides usually dont cover because there aren't any trophies for them.

 

Some of the puzzles are really confusing and unfortunately I had to closely follow a video to get through most of the main game.

 

2 hours ago, Taruta13 said:

 

Unfortunately, I had a bad turn: I accidentally downloaded my cloud save and overwrote my current save, losing me hours of progress. I decided to delete my save so I am starting over with the game. Don't worry, I think I screwed up trying to play it on Vita and I stopped at Pyreglow Forest so I won't have TOO much to backtrack and I hope to get some more power grinding in so I can get some more trophies, but I think I'll move this game to April since I plan on power hunting Hogwarts Legacy this month by going to Universal Studios to experience the Harry Potter atmosphere in real life. (It was supposed to be a trip to Disneyworld to get in the mood for Kingdom Hearts, but Disney is a leechfest and the cost of the park is WAY too expensive.)

Nice on being able to visit the theme park but ugh on having to restart. Definitely a gamers' nightmare!

[jones_jr02]

5 hours ago, BlazzingWind said:

 

@jones_jr02 - Stray really is a great game for such a simple concept, I really should dive back in and finish my speed-run on the PS5 lol. I am curious, do you have a link to what will be leaving ps extra/premium? I was caught unaware when Seasons After Fall left the service and had to hurriedly complete Whispering Willows and The Turing Test before they left too.

 

Sure thing - https://www.(URL not allowed)/n21448/playstation-plus-leaving

I have started WWE 2K22 but haven't got the time to throw 150 hours in to it to platinum it before it leaves the service so i'll have to do as much as I can and then pick it up in a sale.

Monster Energy Supercross 5 was one I had my eye on but again i'll have to leave starting that one as I just won't have time to fit them all in, especially as I'm making a big push to clear a big chunk of my list in March as the backlog is obscenely longer than the games i've listed on here so far

[StraightVege]

On 2/28/2023 at 1:10 PM, Darling Baphomet said:

Bit late here, but I just wanted to say that I can relate. Through most of January and early February I was dealing with similar trouble in regards to finding enjoyment in anything and I'm only just starting to get out of it. Good luck with figuring things out, and I hope it passes soon.

 

Thanks a bunch, and I'm sorry to hear that you've been going through a comparable ordeal. The most effective strategy I ever learned to begin feeling better is to set very small, achievable goals, and then force yourself to actually do the behavior, even though it might be the last thing you feel like doing. So, if your hobby is video games, for example, you could commit to playing for only five minutes, or to beating a single level. Don't pressure yourself to have fun, or feel bad if you don't, just follow through and complete that day's goal. As you continue doing a little more each time, eventually the enjoyment and motivation will start to reemerge. ? I actually found myself enjoying music again the other day, for the first time in over a month.

 

Same goes for mundane tasks, such as household chores. If you're too depressed to even climb out of bed, commit to doing something very easy first, like washing/drying just a couple of dishes, and nudge yourself to perform the task no matter what. Over time, these little successes add up, and you'll find yourself motivated to do more and more. Hope this helps!

 

Kinda funny how much we've had in common where it concerns ailments. If memory serves: carpal tunnel syndrome, tinnitus, visual issues, and now anhedonia. What a couple of misfits. ?

 

21 hours ago, BlazzingWind said:

And don't be surprised by how many games StraightVege can get done; they were a force of nature last year with their list!

 

Thank you for the extremely detailed review of Greedfall, it makes me want to actually try and dive back into it. And I would like to echo what others have been saying, it is a pain to deal with, but things do get better. Since October of last year I have been dealing with similar issues. While I haven't gone to therapy (childhood mistrust of therapist - way different issue), I am talking with my doctor and on medicine that is helping.

 

Aw, shucks. ?

 

Sure, I'm always thrilled when someone finds those long posts valuable. Sorry to hear that, but I'm very glad you're seeking help of some kind. Yeah, I totally understand your hesitance—so many awful therapists out there. I was incredibly fortunate to randomly come across a proper psychologist for social anxiety disorder online (Thomas A. Richards), back in the mid 2000s, because most of them haven't the slightest idea how to treat it. Don't know if I'd even be here writing this without his cognitive-behavioral therapy program, honestly.

 

But enough about me and my problems—let's talk about games! My (much more concise) thoughts on Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour:

Spoiler

How this brought back memories of comparatively simpler halcyon days, when the juvenile incarnation of me found Duke's pastiche of action hero clichés uproariously funny, was somehow excited by indiscernible pixelated "babes," and never got bored exploring the utterly labyrinthine maps for secret areas. "So interactive—you can even flush the toilets," he thought. Across the PS1, N64, and PC, I grew up playing several iterations of Duke Nukem 3D late into the night, it being a game and franchise I was simply enamored with. Sure, Doom was fine and all, but I always had a preference for Duke's edgy presentation, and its cool gadgets like the jetpack. Plus, the man himself had personality, unlike so many video game protagonists of the time. To be honest, my father wasn't exactly an exemplary human being, thus I had a tendency to glom onto strong male figures in media as a substitute, particularly in games.

 

Nowadays, I'm perhaps less impressed, since almost every aspect of this FPS is about as dated as you'd expect over twenty years later. Combat is rather basic, amounting to little more than point, shoot, and strafe, while Duke's quips are decidedly more corny than I remembered them. Concerning the premise, all one really needs to know is: Duke bigem tough guy, he likey women ooga booga. Ugly alien invaders abduct women, make Duke mad. He blast alien bastards! As the horrendous Forever clearly illustrated, a modern Duke title would need to be far more self-aware to go over well. Personally, I agree with many fans that memer and voice actor Gianni Matragrano's hilarious characterization of Duke could work wonderfully in a new game. By the way, anyone else remember that terribly edgy old advertisement: "If you don't play Duke Nukem 3D, you like men!"?

 

At least the arsenal of weapons largely holds up—everyone loves the iconic shrink ray, after all. World Tour also appears to be a fairly comprehensive collection of levels, which seem to look and play better than ever before. A number of them are entirely unfamiliar to me, in fact, as I believe a new episode was created specifically for this version. Conveniently, the game allows you to warp to any chapter or level in the pause menu, making it effortless to jump into the campaign wherever you'd prefer. For the most part, it looks to be a superior product versus PS3's Megaton Edition, although I did suffer several crashes to blue screen, a fact which is difficult to excuse in a port of such an ancient game, since it presumably shouldn't stress the PS4 Pro significantly. Additionally, no version of this game's soundtrack has yet surpassed Mark Knight's glorious arrangement for PS1's Total Meltdown, so it's a shame that they couldn't use it here.

 

What still astonishes me to this day is the sheer complexity of the map design, and the creative tricks they utilized to pull off certain effects within the limitations of their engine. Modern shooter environments might look prettier, but are often so uninspired and linear by comparison, albeit less of a headache to navigate. Thus far, I haven't spent a great deal of time with World Tour, beyond speedrunning the platinum through shameless use of the cheats menu. Seeing as I've played most of these levels plenty of times already, I suppose I'm not missing much. However, I'm making a mental note to revisit it for a proper playthrough in the future anyway, now that the trophies are squared away. Speaking of cheats, this experience reminded me how I miss being able to enter a secret code to unlock stuff in games. Contemporary titles should repopularize doing that, says I!

 

Damn, I'm (not) good:

 

 

Exciting to see how competitive the leaderboards are looking compared to last year. Guess I'm gonna have to step it up! Appreciate the update, and best of luck to everyone in March.

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by StraightVege

[Darling Baphomet]

Gonna keep it brief this time, since it's 1 AM and I need to take my goddamn ass to bed. Finished Cat Quest 2, which was pretty much an improvement over the first game in every imaginable regard - which isn't saying that much, since the first game, while good, was extremely simplistic - but it's still a great example of a sequel.

 

Also started Fracked and made a fair amount of progress in it. Fun shooter, if a bit limited in content - feels kind of like if Borderlands 2 VR was made specifically for VR, but ultimately I think Borderlands 2 VR is the much better game because cover mechanics and ziplines can't beat having more than two permanent weapons. Hard mode requires no deaths through the entire game - which to be fair, is not that long, but still daunting. May have to give it up in April if it proves too daunting. Will also probably take off Powerslave Exhumed as well. A bit too janky for my liking. To replace my 50th empty slot, I'll put in Return of the Obra Dinn, which my main gaming friend has been recommending I play for probably two years now.

 

Also started playing Mythic Ocean and streaming it for a friend - what an absolute fucking treat of a game this is. Most of the obscure indie games I play are pretty low budget, but Mythic Ocean is a game that's actually very pretty, basically a 3D 'go around and talk to people and do quests' sort of game where you're tasked with influencing which god is going to be the next creator. Currently, I have this adorable little caterpillar leaning towards that position. Looking forward to being able to play it more, because it seems like a gem.

 

Backlog Games:

Spoiler

IN PROGRESS

1. Shadow Point - 13%
2. Evil Dead: The Game - 60%
3. GRID - 15%
4. Lucky's Tale - 12%
5. Along Together - 34%
6. After The Fall - 45%
7. Chromagun VR - 35%
8. Prodeus - 43%
9. Powerslave Exhumed - 14%
10. The Sims 4 - 5%
11. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem - 16%
12. Fracked - 27%
13. Mythic Ocean - 36%

FINISHED (9)

(January) Moss - 100%

(January) Serious Sam 4 - 100%

(January) Serious Sam Collection - 100%

(February) Manifold Garden - 100%

(February) Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - 100%

(February) Stray - 100%

(February) BoxVR - 100%

(February) Cat Quest - 100%

(March) Cat Quest 2 - 100%

 

NOT STARTED

1. Curse of the Dead Gods - 21%
2. Pixel Ripped 1995 - 10%
3. Megaquarium - 0%
4. Creed: Rise to Glory - 0%
5. Foreclosed - 0%
6. Forgotton Anne - 8%
7. Groundhog Day: like father like son - 0%
8. Hero Land - 0%
9. Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! - 0%
10. KeyWe - 0%
11. Iris.Fall - 0%
12. Time Carnage - 0%
13. Neon City Riders - 0%
14. Paper Beast - 3%
15. Paradise Killer - 0%
16. Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan - 0%
17. Shady Part of Me - 0%
18. Silence - 0%
19. Spiritfarer - 0%
20. Subnautica - 13%
21. Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown - 0%
22. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - 11%
23. The Town of Light - 0%
24. Mundaun - 0%
25. XING: The Land Beyond - 0%
26. Felix The reaper - 4%
27. Falcon Age - 28%
28. Wanderer - 0%
29. The Walking Dead Onslaught - 0%
30. Super Daryl Deluxe - 0%
31. BPM: Bullets Per Minute - 0%
32. Star Renegades - 0%
33. Ghost of Tsushima - 1%
34. Dungeon Defenders Awakened - 3%
35. Far Cry 6 - 3%
36. Sniper Elite VR - 1%
37. Return of the Obra Dinn - 0%

 

[jones_jr02]

Can I ask a rule clarification. The limit of 50 games, is that during the whole challenge, or just at one time? So for example if I had 50 games on my list, completed 2, can I add 2 more or do those 2 count towards the cap of 50?.

 

 

[ChecoMayor]

47 minutes ago, jones_jr02 said:

Can I ask a rule clarification. The limit of 50 games, is that during the whole challenge, or just at one time? So for example if I had 50 games on my list, completed 2, can I add 2 more or do those 2 count towards the cap of 50?.

 

 

Yes

The cap is for 50 uncompleted games, so as you said, if you complete 2 games, you can add 2 more after you finish them.

 

 

 

My Feb update 

I felt I played a lot but probably didn't, at least I 100% WWE Battlegrounds, that honestly is shit, 2k doesn't know how to do a fun arcade game, so we are stuck with simulation that is way too boring. Hoping AEW's game have that spark that old PS1 and PS2 games used to had.

 

I'm working on Lego Batman 3, but I got burned out, I think this is the first Lego game that made me feel that way,  but what the hell, I'm going to add both Vita games, that are all the same hahaha and I'm going to suffer trying to get the 100% on Crash Bandicoot.

 

Backlog list:

Detroit: Become Human

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham DLC*

LEGO City Undercover

LEGO Dimensions

LEGO Lord of the Rings

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes

Pac-Man World RePac

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition DLC*

South Park: Stick of Truth

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Yakuza 3

 

New

Lego Ninjago Shadow of Ronin

Lego Ninjago No droids

Crash Bandicoot DLC

[freddie1989]

This looks like a good one that I missed when it came around but I will throw my hat in. 

 

Lego DC Super Villains 34%

Zombie Army Trilogy 0%

Call of Duty Ghosts 47%

Dishonored 2 0%

Metro 2033 Redux 1%

Doom 0%

Battlefield Hardline 24%

Dying Light 3%

Spiderman Miles Morales 0%

Stray 0%

Nioh 0%

Guardians of the Galaxy 0%

Sniper Elite 3 3%

Mafia 0%

Assasins Creed Valhalla 0%

[jones_jr02]

2 hours ago, ChecoMayor said:

Yes

The cap is for 50 uncompleted games, so as you said, if you complete 2 games, you can add 2 more after you finish them.

Cheers for the confirmation. Clearly thinking way ahead given i've only completed 5 games in 2 months

[ZombHunter13]

Been a long time since I have last been on the thread. Last month was a really rough month so I didn’t complete any of the games on my list but I’m hoping to make up for that this month. Also I would like to add a few games to my total:

Unpacking-0%
God of War Ragnarok-0%
Persona 3-1%

[be_minor]

Coming in hot with a couple of early March completions to make up for my lackluster February: Hogwarts Legacy and Bunny Raiders. Enjoyed the heck out of Hogwarts Legacy; open world RPGs are my favorite genre, and this one fared better than most. And Bunny Raiders is a decent F2P rogue-like with a simple trophy list.. I’d like to add Ape Escape to my list. The goal is to work on my PS+ games before deciding to renew my subscription in June. 

 

Spoiler

Completed 

1. (JAN) Cult of the Lamb 
2. (JAN) Bugsnax 
3. (JAN) Pinball Heroes 
4. (FEB) Saints Row: The Third 
5. (MAR) Hogwarts Legacy 
6. (MAR) Bunny Raiders 

 

Backlog 

1. Afterparty 
2. Ape Escape 
3. Biomutant - 1% 
4. Chernobylite 
5. Child of Light 
6. Control: Ultimate Edition 
7. Cthulhu Saves Christmas 
8. Cyberpunk 2077 
9. Dark Souls Remastered 
10. Deathloop 
11. Deliver Us The Moon 
12. Dishonored 2 - 18% 
13. Dragon Age: Inquisition 
14. Dragon Age Origins -  73% (DLC) 
15. Dysmantle - 35%    
16. Elden Ring 
17. Final Fantasy VII - 2% 
18. God of War Ragnarok 
19. Gravity Rush Remastered - 4% 
20. Hades 
21. Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! 
22. Horizon Forbidden West - 95% (DLC) 
23. I Am Dead 
24. inFamous - 24% 
25. Last Stop 
26. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham 
27. Life Is Strange 2 
28. My Big Sister 
29. Nobody Saves The World 
30. Omno 
31. Party Hard 
32. Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition 
33. Spiritfarer 
34. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated 
35. The Artful Escape 
36. The Last of Us Part 1 
37. The Order: 1886 
38. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct 
39. TOEM 

Points: 4.5

 

[Crancian]

March Update #1

 

New Games:
- Code Vein

- Scarlet Nexus

 

Completed List:

1. January

DJMax Technika Tune

 

2. February

DJMax Respect

Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Future Tone DX

Deemo Reborn

Superbeat: Xonic

 

3. March

Overcooked - 100%

Overecooked! All You Can Eat

 

1. Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star

2. Code Vein
3. Hatsune Miku VR
4. Hogwrats Legacy
5. L.A. Noire
6. Orgarhythm
7. Persona 4 Golden
8. Persona 5 Royal

9. Scarlet Nexus
10. Superbeat: Xonic
11. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
12. Valkyria Chronicles 4 

[KillerUni12]

Wrapped-up Hitman: Contracts to kick off March! I enjoyed this one more than Silent Assassin - the controls felt cleaner and it was a little easier to stealth. Really enjoyed both games more than I expected, I can't believe I'd just left them on my profile for so long. I'll probably play Blood Money at some point to complete the trilogy  

[Taruta13]

Already starting on my March quota, though as I said, I'm changing it up a little. I'm going to be traveling to Florida later this month to attend a theme park. It was supposed to be Disneyworld so I could get inspired to play Kingdom Hearts, but sadly that is a little two pricey even with all the money I have saved up. Therefore, we worked out an alternate trip to Universal Studios, which has recreations of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, so my evening hotel plans will instead be playing Hogwarts Legacy. Unfortunately that will mean packing up my PS5 instead of my PS4 which is going to be a bit of a hassle. I have the spend the next two weeks getting a big enough suitcase for the PS5 and the wires to connect it - and finding out if the hotel my dad is booking will allow me to connect my PS5 to their TV - and getting a cooler for some drinks(so I can ship my cans of Zero Sugar Dr. Pepper Creme Soda so I don't blow my weight on hotel soda) and other things. So my plans are to platinum LEGO DC Super Villains and Wild ARMs (for the PS4) before the 20th and then work on Hogwarts Legacy during my vacation(I'll probably save the trash files to get those three trophies for visiting the map room as various houses for later and just do the main playthrough while at the hotel) for a third game.

[grumpaluffagus_1]

Finished up Marvel's Avengers to start the month. It sucks that the grindiest trophies are also the glitched ones, but at least there are ways around it. Honestly a little sad that this game is ending, I enjoyed most of the 120 hours I put into it over the years. They nailed the gameplay for all of the heroes (minus spider-man) and this could have been a great game. But they never fixed most of its glaring problems and couldn't deliver most of the content that was promised at launch. Either way, it's on to the next game in the list.