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.

-Age of Empires 2 - Chronicles: have to catch up with all the age dlc
 
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Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,302
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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
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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
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
1,131
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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
3,302
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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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Futaleufu

Laughing Chojin
Mar 14, 2019
703
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This season:

-Alien Isolation
-Aura: Fate of the Ages
-Stasis
-Superfrog HD
-Ridge Racer Unbounded
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
1,131
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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

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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.
 

Cacher

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Jun 3, 2020
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I dropped Scarlet Nexus (with reasons detailed here) so I replace it with Death's Door, a 2D Zelda game with a bigger focus on combat.
 

Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,302
7,365
113
Finland
Finished Strider. It's pretty good.
Missing 2 achievements, one for the hard mode and one for speed run, considering it. Speedrun on easy mode should be breezy. Should've probably just played hard mode from the start, but eh, not a big deal.
 

Futaleufu

Laughing Chojin
Mar 14, 2019
703
1,144
93
Finished Alien Isolation. Game starts kind of slow but grows and improves on each mission. Decent story and very atmospheric. Recommended. I'll buy the DLC on the next sale.
 

kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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Decided to not count Pathfinder towards this blitz as I finished it a lot sooner than I was expecting and it would feel like cheating to keep it on the list. So here's my full list for this quarter:

  1. Escape from Mystwood Mansion
  2. Tinykin
  3. Batbarian: Testament of the Primordials
  4. Cleo: A Pirate's Tale
  5. Oaken

Currently going through Tinykin on the Deck. It's a lot of fun and runs like a dream :drinking-blob:
 

Futaleufu

Laughing Chojin
Mar 14, 2019
703
1,144
93
Finished Aura: Fate of the Ages. It's a decent Myst clone with hard puzzles. Too bad the story ends on a cliffhanger and the sequel isnt available on Steam.

Finished Superfrog HD. It's bad, with generic platforming abilities, boring stage design, annoying little spikes that kill you instantly and get more frequent on later levels and terrible boss fights.

Two games remaining this season.
 

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
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Finished Death's Door. It's alright. Beat the main game and there's a post game, but I feel bored. Just too much walking and the map is too big for its own good.
 

Jav

Question everything, learn nothing
Sep 17, 2019
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Finished Age of Mythology: Retold (all the campaigns on hard) and...




What a blast from the past, it was like I was a kid again, I finished the last campaign after playing for the whole day. Some minor grievances with the remake but overall pretty good and I can see it being pretty much the definitive way to play the game going forward.
 

Futaleufu

Laughing Chojin
Mar 14, 2019
703
1,144
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Ridge Racer Unbounded is a mediocre to bad racing game. Physics are wrong, rubberbanding is blatant, drifting sucks, you can barely see in night races, music is annoying and graphics are bland. Its hard to get any enjoyment out of it.
 
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Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
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I should try to do a blitz.
 

Jav

Question everything, learn nothing
Sep 17, 2019
972
3,159
93
Mafia: Definitive Edition done, fun although the story makes some time skips without being that clear about it that sometimes makes it a little difficult to get a sense of what is going on.
But overall a pleasant experience, more or less as I remembered it but with better graphics.
 
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Futaleufu

Laughing Chojin
Mar 14, 2019
703
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Stasis. an isometric adventure P&C horror game, good idea and story, a lot of pixel hunting, sudden ending. Decent game that may not be everybody's cup of tea.

Season complete.
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
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Have a few rapid updates. Three games completed!

Boomerang X - Not quite what I expected (thought this was a super fast-paced and high death with instant reload sort of thing, instead I only died like five times and it's mostly high flying with tons of slow motion). But it was fun, albeit very short. If you like a lot of verticality and essentially being able to fly around in an FPS-ish type thing then check it out. Probably should appeal to Neon White fans.

Katana ZERO - Liked this less than I thought I would. Production is really good with some great art and music. Story stuff is somewhat interesting but I also found myself checking out at times. But mostly I just found myself frustrated with the gameplay the more I played. Seems it would be improved a lot if I turned off the hit pause thing it does in the options but I wanted to leave the gameplay as the developer designed so instead I got annoyed.

Tormented Souls - Went in knowing this was a classic Resident Evil style game with an indie budget and it's definitely about as average as you'd expect, except the environmental artist who decided to pull out all the stops. But the rest of it was really shoddy. Voice acting was amusing(ly bad), writing was pretty meh, the action was super simple and too easy, and the worst part was the logic for a lot of the item usage and puzzles. Without a guide expect to wander around a lot trying to find missed stuff in rooms or attempt interactions that don't really make that much sense. I used a guide for the final couple hours pretty liberally just to move it along if I couldn't immediately figure out what to do next. Anyhow, it's not actually a bad time, just one that is improved with a guide and knowledge you're getting into a B-grade game.

I still have VA-11 Hall-A and Blaster Master Zero 3. I started the former but probably won't prioritize them for a week or two? We'll see.
 

kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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Still working through my list but I needed to make a few changes as the games I picked previously weren't engaging me as much as I wanted.
Swapped Batbarian for Catmaze. I thought it would be a metroidvania, and the store tags point label it that way, but it's very lite on that department. It's much more a puzzle platformer with some light RPG in the mix which would be perfectly fine. It starts out well enough and as a nice sense of humour but the platforming gets too frustrating soon as the character's animations feel floaty and not well suited for the precision asked of the player. I must have been 3/4 done with the game before giving up.
I also swapped out Oaken. I thought it would be a linear tactical card-based rpg but it ended up being a rogue like. I subbed in Wartales in it's place and so far, about 50h in, it's absolutely amazing and a genuine contender for best sandbox rpg I've played so far.
 

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
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Started to dive into my PS4 backlog so I changed Strikey Sisters to Poison Control. Enjoying it.
 

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
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Poison Control done. Story has its surprising moments but gameplay is lackluster. I enjoyed it!
 

kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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I'm done with my blitz.
I played 3 fantastic games (Tinykin, Cleo and Wartales), an ok game (Mystwood Mansion) and a bad one (Catmaze), so overall I'm happy with my picks.
 

Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,302
7,365
113
Finland
At this rate I'm probably not going to finish all my games.
Though who knows.
Neither ReCore or Ghost Song are super long, but I still have Infinifactory there and as the complexity of the tasks/puzzles increased there I kind of lost steam and I guess I expected this too.
So I'm actually right now swapping it out, and putting Spirit of the North in.
It's also not super long game, but who knows if I get to it in the next 30 days because... I've sunk 240 hours into Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and I still have the last big DLC left there, some of the smaller free update quest lines and maybe some completionist stuff too if I feel like it.

:face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat:
 
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Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,302
7,365
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Finland
Finished Ghost Song.
It's fine. I dig the lonely vibes of it in general, but it's definitely not in the upper echelon of metroidvanias overall. Map kind of sucks. What little music there is alright. Story is whatever, I get that writing a compelling story and characters is tough, but I actually think that sometimes simpler is better. Trying to shoot for the moon with weird metaphysical shit is just going to make it all the more difficult to make it good.
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
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Forgot to update a few days ago that I finished my fifth game: VA-11 Hall-a.

It was good. And that's largely it. It didn't have any sort of main conflict to help tie it together so it doesn't have something that grips into you and makes you really want to keep going but the writing and characters are still good enough that it's enjoyable to just go through it day-to-day and see where things go. The bartending would be great if there was more interesting freedom and outcomes based off of choices there, too. I could see that being turned into a much deeper system that ties into characters and interactions and all that. Anyhow, still had fun and would recommend but nothing amazing.

Shame the sequel is essentially dead (for now).

Finished Ghost Song.
It's fine. I dig the lonely vibes of it in general, but it's definitely not in the upper echelon of metroidvanias overall. Map kind of sucks. What little music there is alright. Story is whatever, I get that writing a compelling story and characters is tough, but I actually think that sometimes simpler is better. Trying to shoot for the moon with weird metaphysical shit is just going to make it all the more difficult to make it good.
I was rather disappointed in the game. I remember warming up in the latter portions but some of the first half was so frustrating and designed in a way that wasn't enjoyable that I considered dropping it early on. Had some good parts but a lot of the design could have been much better.
 

Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
3,302
7,365
113
Finland
I was rather disappointed in the game. I remember warming up in the latter portions but some of the first half was so frustrating and designed in a way that wasn't enjoyable that I considered dropping it early on. Had some good parts but a lot of the design could have been much better.
Yeah. Given the long and troubled dev I'm kind of assuming that the dev maybe didn't have a everything thought out quite properly going in, and stuff evolved a lot because of that and maybe some stuff was cobbled together from parts.
It's kind of strange thing to point to, but the fact that the map sections don't always align with each other, or the pathway in the map doesn't always align with the pathway in-game and you are like, well something must have changed here very late in development.
 
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Wibblewozzer

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
1,131
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Yeah. Given the long and troubled dev I'm kind of assuming that the dev maybe didn't have a everything thought out quite properly going in, and stuff evolved a lot because of that and maybe some stuff was cobbled together from parts.
It's kind of strange thing to point to, but the fact that the map sections don't always align with each other, or the pathway in the map doesn't always align with the pathway in-game and you are like, well something must have changed here very late in development.
I don't specifically remember that now but I do remember there were a number of sections that just felt like they were too long and dying would cause you to replay big chunks over again. On top of not fully enjoying the base gameplay it was sections like those were I got particularly grumpy. I think I do also remember bitching about the writing when I finished it, too.