Community Backlog Blitz Season 21 - Runs October 1 through December 31 with a cash prize raffle at the end

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
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We just finished a successful twentieth season of the Backlog Blitz. 20! That's a big number! This was a hefty quarter we got through with a lot of great games released. Did you all start playing UFO 50? Because that right there is 50 new games on the backlog. Good luck! Also, with this completed season of the Blitz it means anyone that's completed every selected game from the very start has now gone through 100 of their backlog games because of the Blitz. I didn't take the time to look through and check but I know I'm in that select club. Are you? And with 20 seasons completed and moving in 21 we can now look Carson Daly in the eye and make him quiver in fear since we have more seasons than he did with Total Request Live.

We had 14 participants again, which is still on the low side compared to the previous Blitzes, with 66 game goals set (-4 change) and 47 of them were completed (-8 change). Congrats on clearing out those backlogs! The rate of completion is was a bit lower than the last Blitz but still on the high side. Congrats! Participant numbers stayed the same, which is nice it didn't get any lower, because overall we're on the low end. But for those of us that keep taking part, there are more games to complete! Congrats to Parsnip for winning the raffle. Make sure to give them congrats for clearing that backlog and winning. Parsnip got the win for completing Unheard - Voices of Crime. Looks like an interesting game and it's been on my wishlist so technically it's not a backlog game for me. Yet.

Final quarter of the year. That likely means there are at least a few big games people are looking forward to that'll get in the way. Assassin's Creed was delayed into a cramped February next year so my big one is off the plate. Good luck to those planning on starting Metaphor: RePhantazio. And if you like putting together a top games of the year list this is the warning bell that the final months are upon us so play those 2024 (backlog?) games!

The spreadsheet has been updated, the prize pool has been reset. We'll start with $20.00 but chipping in is always welcome. The details to do so will be posted separately within the thread soon after we get started.

Pick your games accordingly!

What it is:

It's a simple way to clear out some backlog games. You select a number of specific games you want to complete and if you complete them in a set time frame you have a chance to pick a game of your choice within the prize limits.

Rules:

First off, there is no time limit on when you can join. If you come in late and only have a month left please feel free to join. Even one completed game will get you entered into the raffle detailed below.

Everyone shares the same rules so an agreed amount of time would be set (three months this time) and then a set amount of games you want to complete in that time (been using five games). You then pick your specific five games with the intention that you don't go changing it all the time. The idea isn't that once you beat some game you go and list it and mark it complete. Instead, you pick five games to complete at the start of the Blitz and ideally you complete them as well as anything else you want to finish in that time.

Prize:

In the end, I suggest a prize pool and a simple raffle done. I always chip in $20 to start it and accept any other additions. Raffle winners must use at least half but can go up to the full price of a game (capped at $60 if the prize pool gets large enough). Leftover goes to the next drawn winner until it gets down to $0 (or close enough at which point I'll just add it to the next Blitz).

Thoughts?

There's no entry fee or anything so there's really no loss for taking part or starting it and then ignoring it. It's just a fun way to clear out backlog games and have discussion about what you're completing. And commiserate if you pick a game you don't enjoy and sour one of your spots on your list.

I created the Google Sheet so feel free to add yourself and games:

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I changed to a hide until replied as I think some people had issues with the hide until reacted. Ask any questions and sorry for those that already posted their new lists in the previous thread. Feel free to just post it again here as we continue for the next three months here.

Good luck, everyone!
 

Jav

Question everything, learn nothing
Sep 17, 2019
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For this one I'll do:

-Age of Mythology Retold: I loved the OG one back in the day so I can't wait to feel that hit of nostalgia again.

-Final Fantasy III (The pixel remaster one): Never played this or the 3d version, bought the pixel remaster when it came out, played 1 o 2, liked them and i kinda stopped so I wan to continue this series, those first games are always cozy and kind of fun.

-Mafia Definitive Edition: Really liked the first two games back in the day.

-Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, a couple of friends recommended this to me so let's try it out.

-Yakuza 3 Remastered: I had to force myself to finish Kiwami 2 so I'd say this one has the most chances for getting swapped but let's see.
 

Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,200
7,141
113
Finland
Woo!


For the next round I'll be playing:
Semblance, which is a neat puzzle blobformer that I started today.
Infinifactory, which is tentatively here for now. Since it's a zachtronics game I have no idea if I will be able to finish it, or how long it takes, so I might swap it out if I get horribly stuck.
Ghost Song, it took so long to come out that I didn't feel like playing it when it finally did. But now it's about time I did.
ReCore: Definitive Edition, was always curious about this and liked what I saw back in the day.
Strider, pretty much the same thing here as ReCore, liked what I saw.
 
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Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
4,597
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In.

  • Ace Attorney Investigations 2: In-progress. Starting Case 2 soon
  • Scarlet Nexus: In-progress
  • AER: Memories of Old: Looks like a cozy and wholesome adventure game
  • SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS: My first SaGa game!
  • Strikey Sisters: Looks like something straight out of GBA. Really nice
 
OP
Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
1,127
1,720
113
Woo!


For the next round I'll be playing:
Semblance, which is a neat puzzle blobformer that I started today.
Infinifactory, which is tentatively here for now. Since it's a zachtronics game I have no idea if I will be able to finish it, or how long it takes, so I might swap it out if I get horribly stuck.
Ghost Song, it took so long to come out that I didn't feel like playing it when it finally did. But now it's about time I did.
ReCore: Definitive Edition, was always curious about this and liked what I saw back in the day.
Strider, pretty much the same thing here as ReCore, liked what I saw.
Good luck with this. Ghost Song was pretty disappointing (though I warmed up a bit towards the end) and ReCore filled me with so much hate and frustration. It was also extremely buggy. Strider, at least, I had a great time with and I think it's a completely solid Metroidvania.
 
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Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,200
7,141
113
Finland
Good luck with this. Ghost Song was pretty disappointing (though I warmed up a bit towards the end) and ReCore filled me with so much hate and frustration. It was also extremely buggy. Strider, at least, I had a great time with and I think it's a completely solid Metroidvania.
Did you play the original ReCore release or the definitive edition? They did some work on it with the update but I wonder how much. And added one robot too I think? Glanced around a bit and metro.uk gave the original release a cool 5/10, but a 7 for the def edition. :thinking-face:

I guess I hit the ground running, completed Semblance. :D Turns out it's a bit over 3 hours to get everything.
It's pretty neat. You are a blob and you deform the world by ramming into it in order to make platforms, holes, hills etc to collect stuff.
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
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Did you play the original ReCore release or the definitive edition? They did some work on it with the update but I wonder how much. And added one robot too I think? Glanced around a bit and metro.uk gave the original release a cool 5/10, but a 7 for the def edition. :thinking-face:

I guess I hit the ground running, completed Semblance. :D Turns out it's a bit over 3 hours to get everything.
It's pretty neat. You are a blob and you deform the world by ramming into it in order to make platforms, holes, hills etc to collect stuff.
Definitive Edition. And I think I largely had a decent time, per my notes, but I hated the final dungeon so much it really dragged the whole game down. These were my completion notes:

Finished in 8:40. Went from me having a fairly good time with some occasional frustrations and complaints and then the last dungeon came along. Oh man, fuck that. And this is after all the great changes made with the Definitive Edition. I can’t even imagine playing through it before that. I would have given it a 7 up to that point but now it’s like a 5 out of 10 and I never want to touch it again. Thankfully that last dungeon got easier around halfway through and I was able to blaze through the last half. Some solid ideas if they somehow made a Recore 2 with a bunch of sequel refinements it could be a really great time. But ultimately this felt like what I’d expect a (higher budget) Xbox Live Arcade game would be like for the current generation.
 
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kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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I still haven't put a lot of thought into what my list will be so for now I'll just one:

  1. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

While technically I've been playing it for the past 2 months or so I'm still a significant chunk away from finishing it. I'm about 260h in and by my estimations still about 50h away from the finish line :sweaty-blob:
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
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My five:

Tormented Souls - A classic Resident Evil-like sort of game. Played a tiny bit before. I think I'll have some fun with it. I think it has a bit of a small following?

Blaster Master Zero 3 - Enjoyed the other two well enough. Not really going to blow your mind but solid Metroidvanias.

Boomerang X - I know this is fast-paced and frantic twitchy action so I'm not sure how I'll do but chat asked me to play it, it's on my own list, and it's apparently only like three hours long? Sounds good to me!

Katana ZERO - Also been asked to play this. I liked the bit I played years ago. Should be fun to start over. And probably will make me want to go back to Sanabi which has a bit of a similar space in my mind.

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - Only played a little before. I know this is popular with some folks and figured it was due time to finally play it before the sequel hits.
 
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