Discussion Backlog Blitz Season 24 - Runs July 1 through September 30 with a cash prize raffle at the end

Wibble

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
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We just finished a successful twenty-third season of the Backlog Blitz. What happened during this last quarter that's worth noting? Clair Obscur hit this last quarter and is the best reviewed game of the year still, right? Switch 2 came out so that might be extending some backlogs and those games might start to show up? And I kept getting through a bunch of classics and big misses and ignored the new games. Oh no! With 23 seasons completed we have now bested the current number of Family Guy seasons. Take that, Seth! And now queue some non-sequitur that references some pop culture thing before going back to everyone with blank stares.

We had 15 participants, which was five fewer than last time but the last time was a big jump so that's okay. There were 75 game goals set (-21 change) and 53 of them were completed (-7 change). Congrats on clearing out those backlogs! The rate of completion was fairly high with two people accounting for ten of the 22 games that went uncompleted! Congrats to KainXVIII for winning the raffle. Make sure to give them congrats for clearing that backlog and winning. KainXVIII got the win for completing DOOM + DOOM II. We can only hope John Doom doesn't have any more Doom to come across.

It's the Summer and new games are still coming out. Backlogs are getting larger. As noted above, the second quarter had some bangers and a big ol' console launch so that's going to bulge them backlogs. As for what's coming over this next quarter? Hell if I know! How about you all tell me this time down in the replies instead of me looking things up to pretend I know what's coming. I am excited for Tony Hawk, though.

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:



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![/REPLY]
 
I won for the first time! :Kain_weendance:
For the next blitz season i will continue playing Elden BOTWRing, another game by Divide by Zero, Paratopic and Wii rail shooter. Still thinking about the last one!
PS - and the last one - Animal Well!
 
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Since this covers the summer holidays I think I can put some longer games in here:

-Final Fantasy IV (Pixel Remaster): The first 3 were great on the Steam Deck, looking forward to it.

-Sniper Elite Zombie Army I (with friends): This year, I decided to revisit some of the games I bought years ago and never played.

-Shadowrun Hong Kong: This year I've played Shadowrun Returns and Dragonfall and I liked them, so we're closing the trilogy in this Blitz. It's a shame there won't be any more.

-Draugen: This game has been installed on my PC for years. Steam says I've had it since 2019, and to be honest, I don't remember how it got there. It looks good, so here goes nothing.

- Pathfinder Kingmaker: Tried it years ago, got stuck because of a suboptimal build. I felt it was a great game but I was not smart enough to get it. I'll try again (Maybe I'll swap it with Neverwinter Nights 2 Enhanced edition when it comes out if it's any good)
 
My blitz games for this season:

1) - Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - (Started this yesterday after having finished Dawn of Sorrow. Only an hour in)
2) - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
3) - Paradise Killer
4) - OPEN
5) - OPEN
 
Congrats KainXVIII for the win.
There's something poetic about two 30+ year old games granting the prize.

Here's my list for this quarter:
  • Plague Tale: Requiem
  • Blue Prince
  • Ultros
  • Skin Deep
  • Little Nightmares 2
 
Here's my list, kind of on the long side, not sure how much I'll manage to finish.
  • Assassin's Creed III: Liberation HD
  • The Longest Journey
  • Final Fantasy II
  • Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace
  • Iconoclasts
 
Oh yeah I completely forgot to post mine. :face-screaming-in-fear:

Dungeons of Hinterberg
1000xRESIST
Cavern of Dreams
Discolored
ROOMS The Toymaker's Mansion

I started Hinterberg yesterday. So far I'm enjoying it. The combat is basic even though the different magic stuff gives it some variety. The look of the game is a bit of hit or miss, the outlines don't scale with distance so sometimes things just look like a blob of outlines with no inner detail. Also I guess I didn't expect to have a bit Persona style social links in there.
 
Nail'd is the most chaotic arcade racer I've ever played, track/course design uses a lot of verticality and the game speed is closer to F-Zero X than any other MX vs ATV game I've ever played. So good so far.
 
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Nail'd is the most chaotic arcade racer I've ever played, track/course design uses a lot of verticality and the game speed is closer to F-Zero X than any other MX vs ATV game I've ever played. So good so far.
I looked it up when I saw it on your list figuring that it might be an EA Big game that I forgot. It definitely fits that mold. Looking up video of it makes it look like a lot of fun so I might randomly give this a shot sooner than later, too.
 
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First game of the season, Far Cry 5. New toys like parachute and wingsuit. New activities like fishing. Less collectibles. The most unsatisfactory ending so far. Still, a lot of extra content and so far the Vietnam DLC changes things enough to feel fresh. Good game overall.
 
Just realized I never posted my list:

  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  • Red Dead Redemption II
  • Framed Collection
  • Stellar Blade
  • Disco Elysium

And I've made some progress so far. Frame Collection is completed, both the first and second game in the collection. I originally played the first game when it was new on phones. I remembered the puzzles but not the solutions so it largely was a fresh playthrough and I figured the second game would improve on most things. Nah, not really. I liked it less. But it's completed.

And a second game was completed the other day: Sekiro. At first it was my least favorite of the From Software stuff following their popularity boost. As I played deeper it moved up a spot so Bloodborne still sits at the bottom but Sekiro is down there, too. It's like a 7.5/10. I get why people like it but I have some rather big complaints with the way the game is designed that go beyond having to play it essentially the one way it's designed. It's simply not actually satisfying to parry, especially against bosses and mid-bosses! But I did have a good time against some of the bosses and got the "true" ending while taking out all possible bosses (Demon of Hatred was cheesed, though).

I'm probably like 1/3 of the way through Disco Elysium and plan to start Stellar Blade in the next week or two.
 
Oh yeah I finished Hinterberg almost two weeks ago. It was fine. The game has a bit of social link stuff in the style of Persona, but there's no time limit on dungeons or anything, so my completionist urges took over me and I ended up just doing all the social links and as a result ended up super overpowered by the end, I don't mind though, the combat didn't really evolve so just plowing through everything was perfectly okay with me.

Overall I'd say I enjoyed the vibes and the music the most, everything else was mostly fine. Some of the character writing was alright, mostly kind of eh.