Community Backlog Blitz Season 9 - Runs October 1 through December 31 with a raffle at the end
- Thread starter Wibblewozzer
- Start date
Alright I finished of BioShock which I carried over from last season.. Some thoughts about it. I played until the end and got the good ending I suppose which is given if I don't harvest any of the sisters. Was the ending good? not really, was the game good? Not really, and I was expecting something fantastic since I heard so many people praise the game so much, and seems at time at least the game got many good review.
To summarize I'm a bit disappointed. Perhaps the game doesn't age well. Story wise I didn't get so much of it either.
To summarize I'm a bit disappointed. Perhaps the game doesn't age well. Story wise I didn't get so much of it either.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #53
I played Bioshock 2 either early this year or sometime last year knowing that the complain was always that it's "more of the same" and having remembered enjoying the first Bioshock back at release I thought I'd still have some fun. But it was quite a stinker. I imagine the original would also not hold up super well these days. The original is still the better of the two I'm sure, so I wouldn't recommend trying out the second one, but feel free if you're curious. It's like the first but the main difference is rescuing a little sister now includes a horde mode style protection of the little sister (this happens like 18 times through the game? 21 times?) and it also occasionally summons the same mini boss fight as you do them. You will be beyond tired of the formula and dread each little sister you come across.
Made progress:
Finished - Katana Zero
Man, this is a good game. Beat it on PC through game pass. It's basically Hotline Miami but without the eventual tedium, like a tough steak cut into perfect bite-sized pieces. I liked how the mechanics were weaved into the story too.
I found out about the secret boss and collectibles I missed but I'm pretty satisfied with the single playthrough for now. If I feel like tackling the rest and the upcoming DLC I'll purchase it down the line.
Postponed - Tales of Vesperia DE
Have you ever thought: Hey, I'm going to speedrun a jrpg before it leaves Game Pass in a few days while working and playing other games on the side? Well if so I can tell you that it's a stupid idea lol. I made it 2/3's of the way through and it was good, but it's not on GP anymore. Of course, I had it purchased on PS4 day 1 and never opened it so I'll hop onto that after. Just need a break so I don't get burned out doing the same part of the game over again.
Added - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Ultimate Edition
I love the Castlevania series, warts and all. That's what I'd like to say after I tackle the actual triple-decker of warts on the series. Somehow I fell off the wagon on this game when it was on the 360 but I couldn't tell you why. However, I'd like to give it another go before I say it was because it's a horrible game.
Finished - Katana Zero
Man, this is a good game. Beat it on PC through game pass. It's basically Hotline Miami but without the eventual tedium, like a tough steak cut into perfect bite-sized pieces. I liked how the mechanics were weaved into the story too.
I found out about the secret boss and collectibles I missed but I'm pretty satisfied with the single playthrough for now. If I feel like tackling the rest and the upcoming DLC I'll purchase it down the line.
Postponed - Tales of Vesperia DE
Have you ever thought: Hey, I'm going to speedrun a jrpg before it leaves Game Pass in a few days while working and playing other games on the side? Well if so I can tell you that it's a stupid idea lol. I made it 2/3's of the way through and it was good, but it's not on GP anymore. Of course, I had it purchased on PS4 day 1 and never opened it so I'll hop onto that after. Just need a break so I don't get burned out doing the same part of the game over again.
Added - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Ultimate Edition
I love the Castlevania series, warts and all. That's what I'd like to say after I tackle the actual triple-decker of warts on the series. Somehow I fell off the wagon on this game when it was on the 360 but I couldn't tell you why. However, I'd like to give it another go before I say it was because it's a horrible game.
I'll think about it. A friend of mine told me that BioShock Infinity is a must play though. Which I may or may not play
I don't think I'm going to play BioShock 2. Like you say it is imore of the same, and my friend also recommend me not to play it since it is considered the worst game in the franchise. I may or may not play BioShock Infinite though. It looks quite interesting as it takes place in the cloud. But maybe I'm going to be disappointed with it too?
I've continued with Phantasia a bit more. Went to the Moria Mines and felt like I was severely under leveled. Figured that maybe I'm missing something in the combat and read some FAQs, the one I read actually recommends to take a sidetour and get some other spirits before you go to the mine, so I'm going to do that.
Beat Legend of Grimrock from my list. It's alright. There are parts that I really liked but also stretches and puzzles that I thought were too obtuse for me. Also had some misgivings about the class system in the game. Kind of looking forward to play the second game at some point but I think for now I want to play turnbased dungeon crawlers for a while.
Finished Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers a couple days ago. Enjoyed my time with it immensely and can't wait to play Endwalker next month!
Finished COTM from the Castle Advance Collection. Overall, I really did not enjoy the game because of how grindy it was and hated the Castle layout. Very tedious to navigate. Finished it in 9 hours and opted to use the DSS bug to get the thunderbird for Dracula's second form eye phase (at level 41). Out of those 9 hours, too much time was spent grinding for cards and still did not manage to get all of them. Grind in a less than 10 hour Castlevania game? Yeah, no thanks. The OST was great, but the animation and presentation was no doubt lacking.
Also, I did not find the controls to be all that bad or clunky. (I've heard some complaints regarding this.) Maybe the game runs slower on the original GBA with higher input latency, but on PC with G-Sync + DS4, it was pretty responsive. I have no complaints about the core combat, except for some enemies having extremely random and erratic behaviour/movement.
Anyway, onto Harmony of Dissonance. Only played a few minutes of it.
Also, I did not find the controls to be all that bad or clunky. (I've heard some complaints regarding this.) Maybe the game runs slower on the original GBA with higher input latency, but on PC with G-Sync + DS4, it was pretty responsive. I have no complaints about the core combat, except for some enemies having extremely random and erratic behaviour/movement.
Anyway, onto Harmony of Dissonance. Only played a few minutes of it.
As someone who played the original COTM release, the controls had nothing to do with latency. Double-tap run was butt, vs every other vania control scheme. 3 frame run animation was pretty crappy too even for the time period. Other than that I can't say anything was really bad about the controls.
Regarding castle layout and navigation, I can't say it was any better or worse than SOTN.
Have fun with Harmony! Well, as much fun as you can have with it I guess. I think it's the weakest entry of the handheld games.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #64
Not a Blitz game but I finally finished Lost Judgment after putting in 60+ hours (and I played bits of other new games during this Blitz period). This finally opens me up to play more stuff so maybe I'll work on Blitz games soon!
OP
- Thread Starter
- #65
Also, we're about a month of the way in and the prize pool is still only $20. If anyone wishes to chip in anything, even just a little bit, the information to do so is here: Community - Backlog Blitz Season 9 - Runs October 1 through December 31 with a raffle at the end
We're also a bit low on participants compared to last season. Hopefully we get at least a few more!
We're also a bit low on participants compared to last season. Hopefully we get at least a few more!
As I predicted, I changed a fair few of the games I started out with.
I didn't get on with 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but I may go back to it in the future. I've replaced it with FF7R which I'm currently playing. I didn't feel like playing Lake or Root Film right now, so I've replaced those with Lone Echo II and Doki Doki Literature Club Plus respectively.
1.13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS5) Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5)
2. Impostor Factory (PC) [Completed]
3.Root Film (PS5) Doki Doki Literature Club Plus (PC)
4. UnMetal (PC) [Completed]
5. Lake (PC) Lone Echo II (PC)
As my updated list shows, I did finish UnMetal and Impostor Factory, though.
I thoroughly enjoyed UnMetal - it's basically just a game that builds up to a punchline at the end, and while I sometimes find those a bit cheap, in this instance I think it works with how funny and ridiculous the game is. The gameplay is also pretty solid (heh) and reminds me of the classic Metal Gear Solid games in a good way.
Impostor Factory was decent. I enjoyed the twist at the end and I like how it answers some questions raised from Too The Moon and Finding Paradise in a nice way. But I also think it's probably the weakest in the series. Still, a very good game nonetheless.
Currently enjoying FF7R a lot - I played it originally on PS4 and I loved it and P5R so much that I've gone through both games again this year. At least in FF7R's case they have a revamped PS5 version that plays really well at ~4K at a solid 60fps in Performance mode.
My girlfriend is now hogging the TV, so I will probably be playing DDLC+ on my office desktop PC this afternoon.
I didn't get on with 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but I may go back to it in the future. I've replaced it with FF7R which I'm currently playing. I didn't feel like playing Lake or Root Film right now, so I've replaced those with Lone Echo II and Doki Doki Literature Club Plus respectively.
1.
2. Impostor Factory (PC) [Completed]
3.
4. UnMetal (PC) [Completed]
As my updated list shows, I did finish UnMetal and Impostor Factory, though.
I thoroughly enjoyed UnMetal - it's basically just a game that builds up to a punchline at the end, and while I sometimes find those a bit cheap, in this instance I think it works with how funny and ridiculous the game is. The gameplay is also pretty solid (heh) and reminds me of the classic Metal Gear Solid games in a good way.
Impostor Factory was decent. I enjoyed the twist at the end and I like how it answers some questions raised from Too The Moon and Finding Paradise in a nice way. But I also think it's probably the weakest in the series. Still, a very good game nonetheless.
Currently enjoying FF7R a lot - I played it originally on PS4 and I loved it and P5R so much that I've gone through both games again this year. At least in FF7R's case they have a revamped PS5 version that plays really well at ~4K at a solid 60fps in Performance mode.
My girlfriend is now hogging the TV, so I will probably be playing DDLC+ on my office desktop PC this afternoon.
A lot of time leftI haven't played anything in a few days.
As for me, I played other things but Blitz games
I thought I was through with Forza 7, but...
Two months left, it should be doable.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 ate the savegame of my first session. Now I'm manually backing up my save before closing the game.
The moment you win the Forza cup a lot of new racing events open up
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 ate the savegame of my first session. Now I'm manually backing up my save before closing the game.
Only got the final boss left to fight in Seiken Densetsu 3. The previous dungeons was difficult. Monsters keep hitting me and I always end up using all the healing items. So it was many trips to the shop to buy more healing items. I think I leveled 10 levels in this dungeon
fast forward to the present with Tales of Berseria, which I more or less felt the same thing. Had to use CE to add the turbo function xD
Finished Seiken Densetsu 3 yesterday. The last boss took quite long time to defeat. I thought that all my healing items wouldn't be enough since the boss did high damage to my party members
Anyway, second game done
Anyway, second game done
Finished "Epistory - Typing Chronicles " which was quite okay game. Much easier than Textorcist. But gameplay wise I think Textorcist offers more challenge as Epistory was pretty easy.
Third game to play will be Shuyan Sage
1.BioShock Remastered
2.Epistory - Typing Chronicles
3. Shuyan Saga
4.
5.
Third game to play will be Shuyan Sage
1.
2.
3. Shuyan Saga
4.
5.
Cookie Clicker- done after near 900 hrs (my longest game other than that in playtime is Cyberpunk 2077 at over 100hrs)Horizon Zero Dawn- done in 90hrs, including expansion stuff- Doom Eternal - attempting all the DLC at Ultra Violence
- Hollow Knight - attempting 100% of the pantheon.... which will be difficult
- Dark Souls - made many plays of the first 10hrs but get distracted and stop. Not this time. Got to finish it and move on to the rest of the games.
Now on to Hollow Knight pantheons, Doom Eternal difficult DLC and Dark Souls
Death is my life now
I couldn't get into Sunset Overdrive due to how chaotic everything is. There are just so many things going on screen.
Switched to GTA4 because the upcoming trilogy remaster makes me longed for a GTA game. Tinkered as best as I could and the game runs without any major frame drop so far. It has my favorite story among all the GTAs. There are so many good quotes from Niko and other characters. Really enjoying it.
Switched to GTA4 because the upcoming trilogy remaster makes me longed for a GTA game. Tinkered as best as I could and the game runs without any major frame drop so far. It has my favorite story among all the GTAs. There are so many good quotes from Niko and other characters. Really enjoying it.
With Tales of Phantasia done I'm 3/5.
It's a fine game but there's just too much combat. It really wears thin by the time you are the end and you are glad to be done. I looked up some stuff and apparently there are extra bosses and other optional stuff to do too... no thank you.
It's a fine game but there's just too much combat. It really wears thin by the time you are the end and you are glad to be done. I looked up some stuff and apparently there are extra bosses and other optional stuff to do too... no thank you.
Swapped out Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse to Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade. Forgot when doing my list that SMT V is coming soon. So I don't think I would've been able to play it anyway.
And as luck might have it I beat Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade today. Really uneven game. Some parts are amazing, some parts are terrible. I never got my head wrapped around the combat system. I got what they wanted me to do but my brain couldn't handle it. Though now more than before I am looking forward to how the next parts will look like.
And as luck might have it I beat Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade today. Really uneven game. Some parts are amazing, some parts are terrible. I never got my head wrapped around the combat system. I got what they wanted me to do but my brain couldn't handle it. Though now more than before I am looking forward to how the next parts will look like.
Having finished FF7R today myself, I think my main issue with combat is that the pace is so fast that things like resistances/weaknesses and buffs/debuffs really aren't feasible. And I think Square Enix acknowledges that too, because they completely nerf it in the real time combat mode.
I haven't tried the Classic mode, but I can't imagine it's any different.
I generally got the flow of combat as far as attacking, blocking, dodging and healing, plus switching characters regularly to min-max the ATB (the AI battles too slow), but the combat system generally removes the tactical element from it.
This is a problem FFXV had, and I expect FFXVI will have it too.
Classic mode is the same but the characters attack, block and evade on their own. But you can always take control of the main character. It helped me that I could easier get what they wanted me to do. My main problem was that I wanted to play it like a more character action oriented game or Dark Souls. Which made me put way more emphasis on the evade than I should've for example.
Or that I wanted to deal most of my damage with regular attacks with the occasional ability/spell. Instead of the regular attacks being the filler for the more powerful stuff.
Though I wouldn't compare it to FFXV. At least here I could follow the action and knew what I was doing and how things work. Even if my brain was not correctly wired for it. Which is not something I could say about XV
I think I'm going to swap out Shadow Hearts. Getting some annoying emulator slowdown every time I enter a menu in it and the only way I could get rid of it was to render in software mode instead of hardware mode, and I don't think I'm in the mood for swimmy pixels right now.
Not sure what I'm going to replace it with though.
EDIT: I think I'll do Super Mario Odyssey.
Not sure what I'm going to replace it with though.
EDIT: I think I'll do Super Mario Odyssey.
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Finished Soul Gambler and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion.
Two very short game. I didn't expect either to be that short though, especially didn't expect Turnip Boy to be seriously short :O
However quite fun game games anyhow. And Turnip Boy might has possibility for extended gameplay if ever the creator decides on adding more content to it. With that I finished my games for this round
Two very short game. I didn't expect either to be that short though, especially didn't expect Turnip Boy to be seriously short :O
However quite fun game games anyhow. And Turnip Boy might has possibility for extended gameplay if ever the creator decides on adding more content to it. With that I finished my games for this round
Complete the main story of GTA4. Great writing. Now moving to the two DLCs.
In case you didn't come across it, iirc you can like mash or hold one of the buttons to speed it up? Maybe it's the start/plus button?
You still have to sit through some repetitive animations though.
You can skip the cooking animation yeah. It's more the actual selecting ingredient parts that's bugging me, especially if you end up making multiples of the same elixir or something.
Forza 7 100% complete, that's 4 out of 5 for this season. This game is so good I raced a 3 hours endurance event. It's a shame it's delisted but having Fast & Furious, Hot Wheels, Top Gear, Hoonigan and many other IPs all at the same time would've been impossible without compromises.
I've just been playing FF 15 so not much progress at all. In order to perhaps change that I'll be replacing Hob (which I didn't like) with Ittle Dew and Paradise Killer (not in the mood) with Ittle Dew 2+ because I've been meaning to play them.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #95
I keep forgetting to bump the thread to remind people to chip in if they'd like to. Prize pot is still at the base $20 I always start it at.
Part of the reason I've been slow to update is I simply haven't been completing my Blitz games at all while I focus on 2021 games. Until tonight! I plowed through Mega Man X5 so that's one down. I liked it more than I expected but it's also as weird and terribly designed as I feared. But overall I had few problems getting through it (helps that I got all the armors) and enjoyed it well enough. But I'd never recommend it.
I've also put some time into three of my other Blitz games and think I can finish them pretty easily before the end of the month. I might finally swap out a game and put in something shorter to focus on or I'll just accept that it's unlikely I'll finish all my games this Blitz since I'm really trying to get through 2021 games. We'll see!
Part of the reason I've been slow to update is I simply haven't been completing my Blitz games at all while I focus on 2021 games. Until tonight! I plowed through Mega Man X5 so that's one down. I liked it more than I expected but it's also as weird and terribly designed as I feared. But overall I had few problems getting through it (helps that I got all the armors) and enjoyed it well enough. But I'd never recommend it.
I've also put some time into three of my other Blitz games and think I can finish them pretty easily before the end of the month. I might finally swap out a game and put in something shorter to focus on or I'll just accept that it's unlikely I'll finish all my games this Blitz since I'm really trying to get through 2021 games. We'll see!
I've been on a roll these last couple days. I figuratively devoured the Ittle Dew games, had a blast with both of them.
Then I sat down and continued on with Close to the Sun and finished that as well. With creepy/scary games I usually can only play them in short bursts - until the game kills me a couple times and I get used to things
I reached that part in Close to the Sun and after that it was more or less smooth sailing. Decent game overall. Great atmosphere, pretty graphics, decently interesting story - until the end, which was thoroughly unsatisfying, because it doesn't wrap up half the things and rather screams sequel bait but I'm not sure there's one happening.
And then I also made some decent progress in Crystar - reached Chapter 4 today. Still a big chunk left in that game I think, but should be plenty of time if I manage to stick to it. Surprisingly enough I might finish all 5 games this Blitz.
Then I sat down and continued on with Close to the Sun and finished that as well. With creepy/scary games I usually can only play them in short bursts - until the game kills me a couple times and I get used to things
I reached that part in Close to the Sun and after that it was more or less smooth sailing. Decent game overall. Great atmosphere, pretty graphics, decently interesting story - until the end, which was thoroughly unsatisfying, because it doesn't wrap up half the things and rather screams sequel bait but I'm not sure there's one happening.
And then I also made some decent progress in Crystar - reached Chapter 4 today. Still a big chunk left in that game I think, but should be plenty of time if I manage to stick to it. Surprisingly enough I might finish all 5 games this Blitz.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #97
And second Blitz game complete: Punch Line.
VN with dreadful gameplay in sections and a silly tone that seems to really go nowhere for several chapters but then drastically improves and I was really hooked on completing it once the story picked up and got much more serious. It's worth trying out if you go in knowing it's going to have terrible gameplay (maybe just use a guide to speed that up a little) and the story's 22 chapters take around 3 or 4 or so before it starts taking shape and begins showing signs of getting more serious and focused.
I've been slowly working on Assassin's Creed Chronicles China so that'll likely be next but I'll also return to Sly 2 real soon to put progress into that.
Far Cry Primal I may swap out for something much shorter or maybe I'll see if I can get hooked and plow through it quickly.
VN with dreadful gameplay in sections and a silly tone that seems to really go nowhere for several chapters but then drastically improves and I was really hooked on completing it once the story picked up and got much more serious. It's worth trying out if you go in knowing it's going to have terrible gameplay (maybe just use a guide to speed that up a little) and the story's 22 chapters take around 3 or 4 or so before it starts taking shape and begins showing signs of getting more serious and focused.
I've been slowly working on Assassin's Creed Chronicles China so that'll likely be next but I'll also return to Sly 2 real soon to put progress into that.
Far Cry Primal I may swap out for something much shorter or maybe I'll see if I can get hooked and plow through it quickly.
I've still been putting more hours into Zelda. It's so easy to get distracted by some suspicious looking map formation or whatever and go there instead of moving forward with the story.
I hope that by the time I'm done with Zelda there have been a yuzu update that fixes the inconsistent frame delivery. If not, well I'll just deal with it I guess.
I hope that by the time I'm done with Zelda there have been a yuzu update that fixes the inconsistent frame delivery. If not, well I'll just deal with it I guess.
I've made a lot more progress than expected with Crystar. Already reached the first ending, 3 more to go!
(The way the game works is once you clear the final chapter, you have to replay the last 3 chapters 2 times - story will be a little different every time - and then you reach the entirely new "real" final chapter).
I'm surprised how much I like the story, I think it's genuinely good. Visually the game looks good too, music is good as well (though the best tracks are very underused unfortunately) and it also runs great.
Despite that it's still a hard sell, because frankly the gameplay itself is not good. Once things get a bit challenging, you get more party members and unlock some of their funner moves, it is decently fun - but still extremly shallow and repetitive with god awful enemy variety. Progression is also not exactly riveting.
It's a shame. I'll see it through because as I said I think the story is genuinely good (and I have a high tolerance for mediocre/bland gameplay if there's something else keeping my interest) but I probably wouldn't really recommend it.
(The way the game works is once you clear the final chapter, you have to replay the last 3 chapters 2 times - story will be a little different every time - and then you reach the entirely new "real" final chapter).
I'm surprised how much I like the story, I think it's genuinely good. Visually the game looks good too, music is good as well (though the best tracks are very underused unfortunately) and it also runs great.
Despite that it's still a hard sell, because frankly the gameplay itself is not good. Once things get a bit challenging, you get more party members and unlock some of their funner moves, it is decently fun - but still extremly shallow and repetitive with god awful enemy variety. Progression is also not exactly riveting.
It's a shame. I'll see it through because as I said I think the story is genuinely good (and I have a high tolerance for mediocre/bland gameplay if there's something else keeping my interest) but I probably wouldn't really recommend it.
I probably wont finish all five Blitz games in this season. Got two more games and they require around 20 hours each to beat. Knowing me it would take maybe 2 weeks to finish a 20 hours games. And there is a Chrismas holiday coming soon, which would be less time for me to play.
I think I am satisfied with three games finished.
I think I am satisfied with three games finished.