HelixNebula's Galactic Backlog

[HelixNebula_x]

 

Ah the backlog. Arguably the trophy hunters greatest friend, as well as their mortal enemy. Providing hours upon hours of entertainment, all the while drowning us under it's oppressive weight.

 

I'm sure we've all done it. Seen something cheap while browsing the sales, and added it to the cart with no care for when it will be played. Hitting the purchase button and thinking to ourselves, "I'm sure I'll get around to playing it soon!", only to be side-tracked by a new release or an unexpected Plus gem, pushing many a game further into the unimaginable depths of the library. Not to mention with services hitting the market such as the expanded Premium/Extra categories of Plus, it has only become easier to become overwhelmed with the sheer number of options available.

 

I am no stranger to this process, with my own backlog currently sitting at around 200-300 games that I haven't even started, not to mention the probably 100+ titles which have only been touched once or twice. I'm also a Premium subscriber and have a list of at least 20-30 games from there that I wouldn't mind trying out either.

 

In recent years, I've tried to combat this and have slowly been working through some of the games but as I'm sure you all know too well, going for that sweet platinum trophy only further extends the playtime that each game asks for you. In the past couple of years, I've moved into my own house, got engaged to my other half, and am currently driving around 3 hours a day just to get to work and back so the actual time I have to play has dwindled to a fraction of what it was before.

 

And yet, with that being said, my love for gaming and trophy hunting is honestly at an all time high. There is such a wide variety of experiences available, from the AAA blockbusters to indie gems, and everything in between. I'm trying series I never would have looked at before, and genres I would have previously dismissed all because developers keep finding new ways to test the boundaries and innovate.

 

With all that being said, welcome to my Galactic Backlog, in which I will be working my way through the never-ending pile of stuff to play, sharing my experiences and sorting the great, from the not so great, from the downright dismal. I hope you'll join me on this journey, and provide me with more experiences to try along the way!

 

[ItsMeBiscuit]

Ah the backlog, wasted maybe an hour today just browsing content I’ve already purchased.

 

However, I can’t say mines at the same extent of 2-300 games but can definitely still be overwhelming.

 

Any plan in mind for a starting point? 

[Paleblood]

What I like to do is waste even more time, thinking about all the time that needs to go into the blacklog for it to get smaller. 🤡

 

Nah seriously, I tried this a couple years back and had mild succes with it. But I came to the conclusion that, in order for me to enjoy my hobby to the fullest, I have to let go of "the backlog". Not ignoring it, but simply understanding what it is.

You're not forced to play all that stuff you bought back in 2013, even if it feels that way sometimes. Your taste starts to change as you get older usually. Maybe you're not even interested in half of your backlog anymore. I certainly know it was this way for me.

 

What I like most about your post is, that you say your enthusiasm is at an all-time-high. That's great! Just keep going and do stuff you want to do. We gamers often think in lists that "we need to complete", which is, dare I say, utter bullshit.

 

I have this rule, that if I try out a game from my backlog, and it doesn't wow me after an hour or two - I just give up on it. I tried it, didn't like it, fuck that game.

You don't owe anyone your time, especially not games that are only there to improve your downtime. Maybe you will get back into the game one day, because you saw a youtube video on it and have a new perspective. But even if you don't go back - Who cares? Like seriously?

 

Maybe there is this one game out there you have so much to talk about, that would be your favorite game ever - but you don't get to play it because you're stuck playing fucking Wheels of Aurelia because you heard the platinum was simple, and now quitting feels like you're a fraud.

 

...got a little inside my own head there for a minute.

 

 

Basically, you do you and you'll be fine. I might check in from time to time and see how you're doing. Best of luck with your journey

Edited February 19 by Paleblood
typos

[Platinum_Vice]

Cool banner!

 

Too many games, not enough time? Relatable. My backlog is about 170 games. Over the last few months I deleted about 20 games from it when it was just shy of 190... when I did the math I just came to a realisation: I'm never going to play every one of these games that I've bought, so I reframed my plan and cut away the games that I was least keen to experience.

 

Tastes absolutely change. A '90% off' sale of a game that was on my radar back when I had 30 games in the backlog may have been a bargain years ago but it has become dead weight.

 

You can't be 'bad stressed' when thinking about your favourite hobby.

[HelixNebula_x]

21 hours ago, ItsMeBiscuit said:

Any plan in mind for a starting point? 

 

Lost Judgment is what I'm working on at the moment, and I'm getting into the end game now, so I expect that will be the first game that gets proper 'coverage'.

 

20 hours ago, Paleblood said:

but you don't get to play it because you're stuck playing fucking Wheels of Aurelia because you heard the platinum was simple, and now quitting feels like you're a fraud.

 

 

My live reaction to someone asking me to play Wheels of Aurelia again... God that game was mind numbing.

 

15 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

Cool banner!

 

Thanks man, that's what took me a couple of days to get this posted, figuring out how to make the banner🤣

 

15 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

Too many games, not enough time? Relatable. My backlog is about 170 games. Over the last few months I deleted about 20 games from it when it was just shy of 190... when I did the math I just came to a realisation: I'm never going to play every one of these games that I've bought, so I reframed my plan and cut away the games that I was least keen to experience.

 

Tastes absolutely change. A '90% off' sale of a game that was on my radar back when I had 30 games in the backlog may have been a bargain years ago but it has become dead weight.

 

You and Paleblood have both hit the nail on the head. There's absolutely no way I'm going to make it through all the games I already have, never mind actually going for the trophies, but it doesn't mean I'm not going to give it a bloody good try. I'm sure there will be stuff that gets dropped, but I think that's going to be the fun of it, finding the gems in the rough. Looking forward to getting back into writing about them as well!

[Super_Mep]

Do you guys feel more guilty about your backlog you've never touched/opened/played or ones you maybe played once and never went back to?

[Platinum_Vice]

On 2/23/2024 at 9:55 AM, Super_Mep said:

Do you guys feel more guilty about your backlog you've never touched/opened/played or ones you maybe played once and never went back to?

 

I don't know whether commenting will hijack Helix's thread so I left it a little bit... but I also don't want Mep to feel ignored. 😅 what to do?

 

I don't feel guilty about making rational decisions, so if I can see that the industry would have to completely stop putting out games for a decade before prioritising some of the "oh that looks interesting"s then it makes it easier to cut them.

[iSympathie]

So many platinums so little time. 🥲

[Dinniestar]

Best way forward is to start a plan

 

go through backlog and make a list of achievable and enjoyable games 

decide are you going for just plats or 100% 

do you care for older games on older consoles such as AC3 on ps3 I can see you have started but not finished servers shut down in 2022 but are currently back up and running so would be best time to achieve this and keep eye on server shutdown and delisting's forum which have all most up to date information on games (even activate a weekly email) 

As well 3 hours a day for traveling is crazy are you able to work form home some days I travel 2 hours to get to work each day but I go by train so able to play my VITA are you able to travel other means to get more gaming time 

due to your account having unobtainable which is good means come to mindset never have 100% so if you are not enjoying a game put it down and forget about completion percentage and stop looking at games and buying new ones on sale unless its DLC for a game you have 

[Super_Mep]

1 hour ago, Platinum_Vice said:

 

I don't know whether commenting will hijack Helix's thread so I left it a little bit... but I also don't want Mep to feel ignored. 😅 what to do?

 

I don't feel guilty about making rational decisions, so if I can see that the industry would have to completely stop putting out games for a decade before prioritising some of the "oh that looks interesting"s then it makes it easier to cut them.

It's not really hijacking since we're talking about backlogs here 😂

[HelixNebula_x]

On 2/24/2024 at 10:52 AM, Platinum_Vice said:

I don't know whether commenting will hijack Helix's thread so I left it a little bit... but I also don't want Mep to feel ignored. 😅

On 2/24/2024 at 12:12 PM, Super_Mep said:

It's not really hijacking since we're talking about backlogs here 😂

 

Don't want anybody to feel like that here, this is a free space for everyone to come and discuss backlogs, games they're playing etc. Always happy to have more opinions and thoughts on things thrown out there. 😁

 

On 2/23/2024 at 1:55 AM, Super_Mep said:

Do you guys feel more guilty about your backlog you've never touched/opened/played or ones you maybe played once and never went back to?

 

I don't really feel guilty because I'm constantly of the attitude that I'll get to it someday. Maybe when I'm on my deathbed with hundreds of games untouched, then I'll regret it, but for now, just keep chipping away at it!

 

On 2/24/2024 at 11:07 AM, iSympathie said:

So many platinums so little time. 🥲

 

 

On 2/24/2024 at 11:26 AM, Dinniestar said:

do you care for older games on older consoles such as AC3 on ps3 I can see you have started but not finished servers shut down in 2022 but are currently back up and running so would be best time to achieve this and keep eye on server shutdown and delisting's forum which have all most up to date information on games (even activate a weekly email) 

As well 3 hours a day for traveling is crazy are you able to work form home some days I travel 2 hours to get to work each day but I go by train so able to play my VITA are you able to travel other means to get more gaming time 

due to your account having unobtainable which is good means come to mindset never have 100% so if you are not enjoying a game put it down and forget about completion percentage and stop looking at games and buying new ones on sale unless its DLC for a game you have 

 

Yeah there's certain games I started way back when that I have absolutely no intention of going back to. AC3 is a prime example. I played and platinumed the 'remastered' version on PS4, and I know I only have like 3 trophies off of the PS3 stack, but I'd rather focus on newer experiences or replays of my all time favourites than worry about what's in the absolute depths of the trophy list.

I do keep an eye on server shutdowns, but if I don't get to things, then that's that. Like you've said, 100% is never happening for me due to all the unobtainables I already have, so it's not really something I have to worry about. To be honest, the stress of maintaining a perfect profile just sounds like it would sap all the fun out of the hobby for me, but I know some hunters love it.

As for work, I'm in the process of looking for alternatives, as no WFH options at my current place, and it's 3 hours driving, so can't even play something to pass the time either!

 

In actual news, Lost Judgment is proving to be an absolute mammoth of a completion, but I'm really looking forward to writing about it when I get it squared away. Just wanted to keep you all updated on why there's been no posts yet. The game has been great so far and I'm inching closer to finishing my 100% run, and then it will just be a hard mode NG+ run for the plat all being well. I may try and squeeze in a plat this week depending on how things go, so there may be something coming soon depending on if I can pull myself away from Lost Judgment for long enough.

 

Thanks everybody for checking out the thread despite there not being any 'meat' on it yet. I really appreciate hearing all of your opinions on how you tackle the backlog and looking forward to sharing the journey with you all!

[DrBloodmoney]

On 2/23/2024 at 1:55 AM, Super_Mep said:

Do you guys feel more guilty about your backlog you've never touched/opened/played or ones you maybe played once and never went back to?

 

I don't look at my "backlog" as a backlog - I prefer to think of it and "insurance".

 

The way I see it - I've got a stack of games to choose from, and I will do for years, even if nothing good comes out for a while, or if I'm suddenly in a position where I can't afford to be spending money on games, or something of that nature.

 

When you look at it that way, it would be absurd to feel "guilty" about it...

...I mean, when you look in your savings account, do you feel guilty that you have all that money that you haven't spent yet?

 

No - you feel good, because you've set aside something for a rainy day.

 

That's my "backlog" - my rainy-day-game-store! 🙂

Edited February 27 by DrBloodmoney

[JohnCenaSong-]

2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

I don't look at my "backlog" as a backlog - I prefer to think of it and "insurance".

I try and have a similar mentality, knowing that there's a dozen games in my collection I'm more than happy to play of a variety of genres to fit any mood is really handy for those dry spells. I am spontaneous with how I play my games, I might buy something and play it right away or I might pull something out my backlog that I fancy and it's great to have all those options. My backlog size is at a point where it's unrealistic I'd ever get through it all so while there is some guilt to knowing some will never possibly touched, silly ol' FOMO, but I'd rather have games to spare in the same way as having savings like you mentioned.

[Super_Mep]

7 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

I don't look at my "backlog" as a backlog - I prefer to think of it and "insurance".

 

The way I see it - I've got a stack of games to choose from, and I will do for years, even if nothing good comes out for a while, or if I'm suddenly in a position where I can't afford to be spending money on games, or something of that nature.

 

When you look at it that way, it would be absurd to feel "guilty" about it...

...I mean, when you look in your savings account, do you feel guilty that you have all that money that you haven't spent yet?

 

No - you feel good, because you've set aside something for a rainy day.

 

That's my "backlog" - my rainy-day-game-store! 🙂

I've been feeling that so much right now as I'm going through my PS3 games and cleaning up. Feels good not spending any money and getting my %'s up!

[HelixNebula_x]

 

 

Platinum #424 – Lost Judgment
Earned – 4^th March 2024
Playtime – 103 hours

 

So, I do need to start off with a bit of a disclaimer for this one, which is the fact that I have never played a main series Yakuza game. I do have 0-7 sat in the library to play at some point, but I don’t know much of anything about the story so no spoilers please!
 

I did however, play the original Judgment and I absolutely loved it. Kamurocho feels like one of the most lived in worlds I have ever encountered in gaming. The story was insane, the gameplay was fast-paced beat ‘em up action and the plethora of minigames (which to my understanding is a staple of the series) were a nice change of pace when you got tired of cracking skulls. Except Puyo-Puyo.

 

 

Luckily for me the follow up sequel to the Yakuza spin off- doesn’t have Puyo-Puyo, so that’s a positive. (Editor’s Note – Seriously Puyo-Puyo is hard, and I don’t understand how people are so good at it. The fact that it isn’t in Lost Judgment is the only reason I was able to plat this I swear.)

What Lost Judgment does have though is an intriguing story, a whole new city to explore in Isezaki Ijincho, a brand-new fighting style, boatloads of new and returning minigames and more high school students to smack about than you can shake a stick at. Wait a minute, what?

 

Honestly, how could you ever get bored of beating up cocky teenagers?

 

Lost Judgment’s story picks up 3 years after the original, and we’re back in the shoes of everyone’s favourite detective, Takayuki Yagami. I won’t be delving into much of the story here, because I do feel like these games are at their best when you experience the narrative first hand, but all the old gang are here, and some of them have even set up their own detective gig in another town. Yagami gets a call to help them out on a bullying case at a local high school, and the story takes off from there.

 

There’s a lot of twists and turns, with murders, national conspiracies, and gang violence but overall, I would say it slightly suffers from the original Judgment’s story being so damn good. There is a lot to like here, but I didn’t find myself drawn into the main plot as much as the original game. There are still some brilliant set pieces and brawls, and the cinematography in the cutscenes is honestly spectacular. I particularly liked the dynamic intros to boss fights, where you would see a bit of a fight taking place in a cutscene before a slow-motion section where the name of the bad guy pops up, and then you’re straight into battling. Truly a masterclass of hyping up a boss.

Soma is a smug prick. Not the best villain I've ever seen, but look at that face and tell me you don't want to punch the son of a bitch.

 

Outside of the story, there is quite a bit of detective work to dig your teeth into. Chasing and tailing suspects, observing for clues, and even using some of your new detective tools to narrow down sounds or track signals. It’s there and it’s a bit of variety, but it’s really nothing to write home about. In all honesty, after a few times at each activity, you’ll be wishing you were back to fighting goons. Speaking of which, the combat!

 

The combat isn’t vastly different from the first game. Tiger and Crane Style make a triumphant return but feel like they have a bit more oomph than the first game. Tiger Style is your heavy hitter. Big meaty combos with chargeable finishers that feel like they have some serious weight behind them. Not only this but it also has the best guard of the styles, allowing you to block heavier hits before knocking back with devastating finishers. It’s a lot of fun, especially when you get a nice combo string off on a boss and just see their health plummet.

 

On the other foot (literally as it’s mainly flying kung fu kicks) is Crane Style. Crane Style is all about crowd control with Yagami, flipping, sliding, and spinning feet first into crowds. Crane is your bread and butter for most of the fights against weak goons in the game, absolutely carving a path through enemies, especially when you’ve put a few points into the upgrades. My personal recommendation for both Crane and Tiger is to beeline straight for the triple finisher upgrades, as it just improves your overall damage, and allows you to drag a combo out just that extra hit longer. This can make all the difference in wrapping up a fight before you have to reset with a dodge and go on the defensive again.

 

But then, there is the newcomer, which was the absolute shining star of the combat for me, Snake Style. This fighting stance is based off Aikido, which is a martial art that focuses on protecting yourself but also protecting your opponent from injury. It’s very grapple heavy and can involve throwing bad guys into each other to keep multiple guys off your back at once, as well as the unique EX Surrender moves which are downright hilarious. It really is adding insult to injury, and Snake comes in clutch during the late game, when every enemy has either a gun, a katana, or some other sharp metal object they can aim at your head. Snake is the only style that has free disarms through EX moves which is just completely overpowered and this was far and away my favourite way to fight by the time I wrapped up the plat.

 

 

Of course, the fights are packed full of the EX Actions – known in Yakuza as Heat Actions. These are cinematic moves that can all be triggered based on your meeting certain prerequisites in a fight. These include things such as being drunk and going into Drunken First, power dropping a bike on someone’s head as they’re lying on the ground, or just going full Bruce Lee with a set of nunchakus. I’m sure there are dozens of these that I never even saw in hours of playtime, due to the conditions you need to meet being so specific. I did however find my absolute favourite during my Legend Mode playthrough, which requires you to have been stunned by an enemy, but also be carrying a bag of Dog Food.

 

 

On top of all of that, there are the side cases, which there are less of in comparison to Judgment. These are short little side missions, and I did like that there was the Dastardly Detective chain of missions having their own plot to follow. This felt like a more standard progression of the system rather than have all of these being one and done instances.

 

The main reason that there aren’t as many side cases in this game is due to the fact that a large portion of the optional content is tied to the School Stories. Early in the game you end up becoming a counsellor at the Mystery Research Club at the high school, which leads into a big investigation around the ‘Professor’, an individual who is attempting to turn many of the school’s students towards a life of delinquency and crime. There really is a lot to dissect here, but since I’m already up to an ungodly number of words, I’ve broken down each of the clubs Yagami works to infiltrate below:

 

School Story Ratings from Best to Worst
 

1. Mystery Research Club – The glue that ties all these plotlines together. The payoff for finishing all the separate clubs and getting to the bottom of The Professor mystery is great, and Amasawa is the perfect sidekick for Yagami. I wasn’t expecting the final twist in this side quest, and it was great to see some minor villains from the original Judgment still have a big part to play in the sequel.

2. Dance Club – Completely subjective, but I love rhythm games, and that’s all this boils down to. The Rabbits were a likable group and seeing them take home the crown at the finals was a nice send off to the minigame. The songs are also catchy as hell!

3. Boxing Gym – One of the most interesting school plot lines, with an engaging story and some of the best characters. Beating down the opponents in the boxing minigame was fun but did get tougher towards the end. EX Cross Counter is the secret to getting all the TownGo missions here. Getting to see all the gym homies as part of the final scrap was also great, and once again, the music slaps!

4. Girls’ Bar – I was surprised by this one. Honestly, the minigame was dull and the completion requirements of beating all the girls at darts 3 time was over the top, but Emily S. Mochizuki saves this by being the best girlfriend in either this game or the original. Having to go out of the bar after 3 drinks to EX Drunken Fist and sober up got old quick though.

5. Robotics Club – A decent story, which ends up heavily involved in the overall Professor narrative, and the minigame is kind of fun, but I don’t really know what to compare it with. It’s like Tetris, meets capture the flag meets Robot Wars (shout out Craig Charles). The major downside to this one is the sheer number of games you have to play to wrap up the TownGo missions. Just a major grind to craft all the parts which is a drag.

6. Skaters – The story to this one is bland, and the minigame starts off fun, but ends up being a grind to get enough points. The races were better than the tricks minigame which is less Tony Hawk, more skate at a ramp and button mash the QTE.

7. Biker Gang – I know what you’re thinking, how can joining an underground bike gang be this low on the ranking, but it’s for one reason and one reason alone. This minigame is the most tedious thing in the whole game and there is so much of it. There are four branches of the gang to beat, each having 4 races. Okay, so 16 missions doesn’t actually sound that bad on paper, but trust me when I say, this is the most mind-numbing time I had playing this game, and I spent about 6 hours playing knock off Robot Wars. The only reason this doesn’t rank dead last in the School Stories is because the actual story and the characters involved in it are pretty fun. If you want to have a look at how bland and boring this game mode is, I urge you to have a look for yourself because I can’t even bring myself to find a video and subject myself to anymore of it.

8. eSports Club – This is literally Virtua Fighter 5. Would be rated higher if completing stuff here counted towards the other Arcade missions, but just makes you play the same stuff twice. I’m also not a fighting game player, so I just had to find the most mashable characters to beat this anyway, which takes a lot of the fun out of it. Big ups Vanessa and the circle kick spam.

9. Casino/Photography Club – Lumping these two in together. There’s not a great deal to either of them, and it essentially boils down to three side missions to complete each of them. Maybe I would rate the Casino one slightly higher as it unlocks some more minigames, but that’s just splitting hairs.
 

I realise now reading back through, that it seems like I had more to moan about than compliment going through the clubs, but I think the end game grind for some of these left me with a more negative view than I previously had. The School Story quest line is brilliant and is far above the rest of the side missions in Lost Judgment and its predecessor. I had a lot of fun going through it, and will be interested to see if the earlier Yakuza games have sub plots that can live up to how varied and interesting this was.

 

The mandem.

 

I can’t believe I’ve made it this far through the review, and I haven’t even spoken about the trophies yet. Most of the list is going to come from working towards your TownGo completion, which I’ve already mentioned a couple of times. This is essentially an app on Yagami’s phone, which details certain tasks to do at each of the various restaurants, bars and activities scattered around both Kamurocho and Ijincho.

 

A large bulk of the list will come from just cleaning out every restaurant and becoming an absolute connoisseur of the various Japanese cuisines you can partake in. Some of the food in this game, looks absolutely stonking. However, the bits that will provide a fair bit of challenge will come from the various minigames. Just to list a few, there the batting center, drone racing, arcade machines and fighting cabinets, shogi, a House of the Dead clone, and a myriad of gambling minigames – including the infamous Mahjong. I would honestly say that it’s hard to come away from these games and not end up being a fan of Mahjong in particular. It grew on me in the first game, but here is where it really took hold of me and made me a fan.

 

Aside from TownGo, there is a few story trophies and a few miscellaneous ones, but everything will fall as you work your way to 100% completion of the checklist. The only outlier is the Legend Mode playthrough, which is this series ‘Very Hard’ Mode, but this is made trivial by the fact that you can carry over everything from your 100% playthrough and steamroll through this. It took me around 6 hours to beat the game again which isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of my playtime.

 

You will be spending a lot of time looking at this screen.

 

Nebula’s Nitpicks

 

No game is flawless, we all know that. This section is just to highlight what I thought were the worst bits of the game and keep them contained. Reviews should be balanced, but I find it’s easy to get locked into the negativity when you start writing about it. Keeping all of this locked up here, helps me keep a more positive mindset when I’m writing these reviews and keeps things fairer on the game.

 

• The story is weaker than the first game. Not on a crazy scale, but noticeable in my opinion. If Judgment’s story was a 10 out of 10 (it’s not, but just for comparison’s sake) then Lost Judgment would be a 7, so quite the step down. I think the main issue comes from the pacing, as all the major players are already on the board by around Chapter 7 and with a grand total of 13, it leaves the latter half of the story lacking in the twists that made the first one great.

• Why do I have to rotate through my fighting styles in the same order just to get the one I want to use? Unless I’m being an absolute idiot, there is no way to go directly to Snake for example, without cycling through Tiger and Crane first. There is surely a better way to do this, as I would constantly find myself pressing the button, only to fly past the style I need and have to repeat the whole process.

• Extracts are broken, and make the Legend mode run a breeze, especially on NG+. I get that they’re supposed to be cracked items, but when I’m rolling in Yen and can stock up on enough items to just roll through even the super boss, then they’re maybe a little too broken.

• The minigames and the amount you have to play them for completion is wildly inconsistent. I’m not saying I want to play more Space Harrier or Fantasy Zone but when I can complete the requirements for those in a single run, but I have to play 507 games of darts over the Girls’ Bar and girlfriend storylines, something isn’t adding up.

• This is the big one. TOO MANY CHASE SEQUENCES. Don’t get me wrong, they help break up the combat with a different form of gameplay, but there is so many of these. Probably around 4 or 5 through the main story, and then an additional 20+ in all the side content. They’re boring and they go on for too long. I’m thankful for less tailing missions, but please RGG, make these less prevalent in the next game, I beg. But please don’t replace them with tailing missions, they’re somehow even worse.

 

What an absolute unit. I didn't really care for Kaito that much until I played the DLC and now I think he's one of the best characters in the series.

 

I also wanted to do a bit of a brief review of The Kaito Files which is a small expansion released as DLC for the game, in which you play as Masaharu Kaito, Yagami’s BFF and one of the biggest examples of a ‘tough softie’ that I’ve ever seen, especially in this DLC. The guy comes across as your classic dumb meathead, but the DLC really gives a chance for him to own the spotlight and show that he’s much more than first impressions.

 

It’s hard to delve into too much of this DLC without getting into major spoiler territory, as it is a very stripped back experience. There are no Side Cases, no TownGo missions, just a straight 5-8 hour run through a story that honestly ramped up a lot more than I was expecting. The minigames are still playable, although why you would want to after the amount you have to do for the plat I have no clue.

 

Kaito’s fighting is limited to just the two stances, but they’re so different to Yagami’s that I never really got bored with them. Bruiser is exactly what you would expect from how he looks. BIG MUSCLES = BIG HITS. Tank on the other hand was really interesting, as Kaito will basically grab any ‘pick up’ weapon in range and just start swinging it around. Being the absolute GigaChad that he is, I absolutely loved the fact that he could just pick up the heavier items that Yagami is too feeble for. Smashing a Vespa over an enemy’s head just never gets old.

 

The little that I can go into for the story without spoiling, is that the main villain is absolutely fucking outstanding. Just a complete nasty piece of shit, and the catharsis in knocking said shit straight out of him is one of the best feelings and honestly the most memorable fight in the game – main story included. Aside from that, the story also ends in a way that should hopefully have some lasting impact in the Judgment series, so I hope this doesn’t get retconned away like the plot of these games seems to.

 

There is also another DLC, the Detective Essentials Pack which does make the plat significantly easier, by giving you a busted Drone Frame from the start, the fastest skateboard in the game, as well as a few other helpful goodies. I believe this was originally a pre-order incentive pack, but it came along with the Season Pass when I bought it on sale. Not only do you get the broken drone this DLC also comes with not one, not two, but three whole girlfriends. Talk about bang for your buck! This was fine, it’s just more side content, but the main benefit is the drone and the skateboard. If you’re going for 100% anyway, then I would recommend getting the season pass on sale to get these included as it makes the whole journey much more manageable.

 

Emily is still the No.1 Waifu, even with all the DLC girlfriends.

 

Closing Thoughts - I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game, and I would say it is great as a returning fan of the franchise, but also as a jumping in point for newcomers being that the story is very self-contained. The combat is heavily improved from its predecessor and the introduction of a whole new city to explore, along with its own set of new minigames, and the fantastic school stories side chain means you’re never short of things to do, even as you chip away section after section of your to-do list. Lost Judgment gets the first official review score of the checklist with 4.5 out of 5 and is an absolute easy recommendation from me!

 

 

If you actually made it this far, congrats and thank you for reading. Please note, I don't intend on making all my reviews this long or detailed, but I really fucking loved this game, and with over 100 hours of playtime, I found I had a lot to talk about once I started writing it all up. I've had a few plats since, but nothing nearly as long to write about as this, so will probably cram a few into one post when I get around to it after this mammoth project.

 

Until next time! 

 

Edited March 15 by HelixNebula_x

[Casillena_99]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:26 AM, Dinniestar said:

go through backlog and make a list of achievable and enjoyable games 

 

I have seven games I've started but not finished yet. I think the enjoyable games would be FFXIV, A Hat In Time and Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. I'm not against FF7 Remake but I found the switching mechanic to be clunky for me.

 

On 2/24/2024 at 5:26 AM, Dinniestar said:

decide are you going for just plats or 100% 

 

Oh, definitely not going for 100% in these games, this is why I made this account. Most of the games on it have DLC I deem to be impossible for my feeble fingers. I will earn the platinums in the games(yes, even FF7 Remake though I dread Hard Mode).

 

On 2/24/2024 at 5:26 AM, Dinniestar said:

do you care for older games on older consoles such as AC3 on ps3 I can see you have started but not finished servers shut down in 2022 but are currently back up and running so would be best time to achieve this and keep eye on server shutdown and delisting's forum which have all most up to date information on games (even activate a weekly email) 

 

This is why most of my games are not multiplayer. The only exception is FFXIV but then again, I know I will never get 100% on it because they will keep putting out trophies every expansion. I don't care if FFXIV shuts down in the next 10 years, as long as I can obtain the platinum before the servers are closed, I am happy.

 

Yes, I know that these questions were aimed for the thread maker, but I wanted to give my own take.

 

Good luck on reducing your backlog, Helix! We're all there for you!

 

On 2/27/2024 at 9:12 AM, HelixNebula_x said:

I don't really feel guilty because I'm constantly of the attitude that I'll get to it someday. Maybe when I'm on my deathbed with hundreds of games untouched, then I'll regret it

You could always bribe your grandchildren to play them. When my nieces get older, I could hire them to play Kingdom Hearts II and beat the Data Org for me.

Edited March 15 by Casillena_99

[realm722]

As someone who is currently on vacation in South America and wanted something to read in the morning before heading out, your entire Lost Judgement recap is phenomenal. Loved some of the more subtle observations (why do some minigames barely get some shine while others require boatloads of times) and everything in between. Good job by you!

[HelixNebula_x]

On 3/15/2024 at 3:22 PM, Casillena_99 said:

Good luck on reducing your backlog, Helix! We're all there for you!

 

I'm steadily working through it! Just been one of those months as work where I've been too tired to play unfortunately.
 

On 3/22/2024 at 4:51 PM, realm722 said:

As someone who is currently on vacation in South America and wanted something to read in the morning before heading out, your entire Lost Judgement recap is phenomenal. Loved some of the more subtle observations (why do some minigames barely get some shine while others require boatloads of times) and everything in between. Good job by you!

 

Thanks Realm, really appreciate the feedback! It's the first time where I've ever really taken note of everything as I went through the game, as I knew I wanted to do a big writeup on it. Hope you're having a brilliant vacation mate, and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Rebirth when you have time to write the essay that review will probably be!

Edited March 25 by HelixNebula_x

[Mr_Wright95]

A thread I can relate too immensely.

Goodluck on your grind through the backlog. 

May we all finish that which we never started 😄

[HelixNebula_x]

Time for a few quick reviews for a couple of shorter games I’ve cleared up on this endless journey through the backlog!

 

 

 

Platinum #425 – Ping Redux (PS4)
Earned – 10^th March 2024
Playtime – 3 hours
 

Ping Redux was added to the collection recently after I’d learned that it had been made free to play. The developer came out and admitted that they weren’t making much money on the game anymore, and would rather have more people play the game, than see the trickle of money it was bringing in for them. Big ups for the great attitude from the dev!
 

Originally, I was expecting this to be some kind of brick breaker game, but it’s not. I would say it’s more like golf but with a bouncy ball, it’s a very weird game. Luckily it doesn’t take too long to get through and at the end of the day, it is free so worth a try if you’re interested.
 

The little that I do have to say about this game is that the music should be muted immediately. It’s full-on drum and bass, which normally I’m a fan of, but it gets grating extremely quickly when you have to listen to it on repeat. The game should also probably come with an epilepsy warning as some of those backgrounds are chaotic to say the least.
 

Trophy wise – you can expect 95% of these to unlock as you play through the levels. My last trophy was 1000 deaths if that’s any indication to the difficulty of the list.
 

All in all, I would say this is only worth playing through if you’re absolutely strapped of games to play. It’s good that the dev made it free and allowed more people to experience it, but I don’t really know if it’s an experience worth having… 

Ping Redux unfortunately comes through with a dismal score of 1.5 out of 5. (and this is slightly inflated due to it being free)
 

 

 

 

Platinum #426 – Untitled Goose Game
Earned – 10^th March 2024
Playtime – 6 hours
 

Untitled Goose Game is the first game I’ve reviewed so far that was started before the beginning of this thread. Around my parts, we call that a good old fashioned ‘rez’! (Editor’s Note - I might do another post on this at some point, there are a few trophy terminologies that get thrown around in the group chat, that probably don’t make any sense from the outside looking in.)
 

Most of my trophies on this came in December 2023, however since the trophies I had left essentially amount to a full speed run of the game I still feel like my memory of this is fresh enough to give it a proper post here. Big shout out to my friend @ItsMeBiscuit for his help with a bit of couch co-op to work towards cleaning up those last speedrun trophies.

 

 

I feel like this game is quite well known as one of the few indie games that seemed to really hit the mainstream. The game almost feels like a bit of a mash up between a stealth game and a puzzle game, having you play as a goose as it terrorises a peaceful English village. Growing up in the middle of the English countryside myself, I have to say that this game hits two things on the head perfectly from the get-go:

1. The sleepy English village vibe is absolutely nailed here. This does feel like villages I have known in my life, where everyone knows everybody’s business, and there is absolutely nothing there aside from 5 houses, a corner shop, and a pub. It’s very Hot Fuzz-esque, aside from the obvious murderous cultists. The fact that the developers House House, are based out of Australia came as a big surprise to me, purely due to the aesthetic being so perfect.
2. Geese are dicks. I would argue that in the animal kingdom, the only creatures that are bigger arseholes than geese are wasps. The goose you play as here, is absolutely no exception, and the entire point of the game is purely causing mayhem as you work your way through, not leaving any villager in peace.

The game gives you a to-do list as you work your way through the four levels, with stand outs such as tying a kid’s shoelaces together and chasing him until he falls over, ‘pruning’ a gardener’s prize flower and stealing someone’s clothes straight off the line and dunking them in the neighbour’s fountain. After making your way through the game, you’ll then get a new to-do list with even more outlandish antics to get up to, which all culminates in the only challenge of the trophy list… do it again but fast.

 

In all honesty, I expected more difficulty from these speed runs, and while I did 3 of the 4 in co-op, I did end up finishing the last one solo, and the only difficulty really is from learning the best order to do the objectives, and then pulling off a decent run. The timings are generous, and it does feel good when you pull off that clean run and see the trophy pop.
 

Nebula’s Nitpicks

This game is the only one I’m reviewing today that has enough meat on its bones to really have a nitpick section, so I thought I’d throw a quick couple in here.

• I could have done with a few more levels here. I know you unlock the second to-do list with more things to do, but it doesn’t take that long to get through these, and you may have even knocked some of them out as you were going through the levels the first time. I can appreciate that this is an indie game with an extremely small team, but I would have loved to see The Goose take on a park or a supermarket. Hopefully, these are things that we could see in a potential sequel.
• I want more variety of HONKS. Mashing square to honk and it only being the same sound over and over again is still funny, but it would have been even better with a couple of different sound effects, and would have only succeeded in annoying my fiancé even more.

Overall, the game is great fun for the time it lasts. Controls are smooth and fluid, and the art style fits perfect. Just for the sheer uniqueness of the game, I find it a hard one to not recommend. Untitled Goose Game gets a solid score of 3.5 out of 5.

 

 

 

 

Non-Plat Completion #69 (nice) – A Building Full of Cats
Earned – 14^th April 2014
Playtime – 39 minutes
 

Another first for the new checklist, a non-platinum completion. I bought this for 99p on the most recent sale, and didn’t really know anything about it, but I can’t turn down a game that’s cheaper than an energy drink.
 

A Building Full of Cats is a classic hidden object game, and if the name didn’t give it away, you’re looking for cats in this one. Honestly, I had a lot of fun with this for the 40 minutes it took me to complete, with only a couple of the levels giving me any trouble. Once you’ve got through a couple of levels, you start to get a feeling for where the cats might be hidden.
 

On top of the ones that are hiding in plain sight, there are also specific ‘hidden’ cats, which may be in a closed drawer or hidden in a vent that will take you a couple of clicks to get find, but nothing too difficult. With a guide, I imagine you could knock this out in half the time I did; if that, but it would take a lot away from the game just following a guide.
 

When finishing the game, there is a note from the devs saying that all the proceeds will be going towards animal charities and helping cats get adopted, which is more than enough for me to recommend this. I will likely be picking up the sequel A Castle Full of Cats, based on this alone.
 

My 2.5 star rating for this may seem a little harsh given I’ve been pretty complimentary towards it, but the game is too short to warrant giving more than that. Since I started the checklist, I have kind of been building a idea for scoring based on the other games I’ve already rated, in which rating this as highly as Untitled Goose Game or Lost Judgment just wouldn't make any sense. All in all though, I would definitely say to give this one a try for a short, satisfying and painless completion.

 

 

And that will round up this episode of my journey through the backlog. I was waiting a while to get a suitable third completion to chuck up with Ping and Goose Game as they didn't seem substantial enough for a post by themselves so that's the reason for the delay on another post. I have got my next review lined up to start writing since I actually managed to wrap up Demon's Souls, so expect that to get a bit of a lengthier write up. I wouldn't think it will be as long as Lost Judgment as pretty much everyone and their mother knows about FromSoft's games at this point, but it is my first plat in the series, so I want to do it some justice.

 

As always, thanks for reading, and I'll catch you in the next one!