Author Topic: 2021 Backlog Report  (Read 5961 times)

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Reply #15 on: November 06, 2021, 02:27:32 AM »
One big complaint + the biggest reason I didn't even pick up the game, weapon durability.

Yeah, this is what largely kept me from enjoying BotW. I don't necessarily dislike the idea behind the mechanic, but the issue I have is just that it's wildly overtuned.

It also leads directly to game balance issues. Joseph Anderson on YouTube created a longform analysis video of BotW a while back and the weapon durability system actually prevented him from being able to complete fights that he had the skill level to do. Like, when he glided off of the central plateau, he ended up coming across a lynel really early on, and the only reason he had to flee is because his entire arsenal broke. One could make the argument that he shouldn't have tried to fight the lynel, but the problem is that the game is billing itself as open world while still having "wrong" progression paths.

I actually found myself enjoying the game a lot more when I used an infinite durability cheat. It actually made me want to use some of the better items I earned rather than encouraging me to use trash all the time.
"This is a machine for making cows."

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2021, 05:37:59 PM »
Yeah...it says something when a mechanic actively keeps people from buying the game/modding the game to remove/reduce said mechanic.

I didn't think it was THAT bad, but it did make the game less fun than it otherwise would have. My epic trek to hyrule castle to face ganon...was just me running past every single enemy in like 5 minutes to get to ganon. Not very cool imo. The game is good DESPITE that, but it would be way better with a different approach. I suppose we'll see if they address any of those issues in the sequel, which I at least kind of look forward to now having played the game, rather than it not being on my radar at all prior.

12. 10000000



This one is random, one day the gf wanted the tv to play the switch, so I got on my laptop for something not very committal...remembered I had this, never beat it.

The goal of the game...get 10,000,000 points. Kinda puzzle game, kinda rogue lite in terms of "you never lose, you only get incrementally stronger", but in the small bite-sized chunks the game presents itself in, it can get pretty addictive. I think back in the day when I was playing the game I got around 7.5mil before calling it quits, come back to the game years later to see my save is gone...but the game is short enough where it isn't a huge deal. It's fun, it's cheap, and it..has...a...sequel...more on that later. Give it a shot!

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2021, 11:04:25 AM »
13. You Must Build A Boat



I'll be honest, I don't know why the text is korean on my steam page...but it is. The text if you are going to read the sounds those funny squiggles make, literally...you must build a boat(or yu masutu birudu a botu if I want to get literal). English written in hangul, on my steam? Alright, I can read it at least.

Not relevant stuff aside, this is the sequel to 10000000. It's like the same game, but actually different in meaningful enough ways to make it a new game, and worth playing. The progression is more fun than 10000000 in that you are building a boat...well, it gets bigger and you get more crew. The gameplay is different enough, spells/items work different, shields work different, different resource tiles. This leads to playing a bit different than the prior game. Only real issue with the game was the "final run" which I felt to be quite a lot harder than scoring 10000000 points in the last game. I'd say a good 25-30% of my total playtime was grinding the last run over and over and over until I got lucky enough to clutch it out.

The game is $5 on steam, if you like weird puzzle games with a progression system that takes itself not seriously at all, give this a shot, and 10000000 too. Both games have been on my to do list for a long time now, both games have been enjoyed and completed.

다음!

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2021, 10:16:47 PM »
14. Shin Megami Tensei V



Where to begin, where to begin? This game was announced for the switch, before the switch was even announced to be a thing. Then...years passed, nothing, people getting worried game was going to be abandoned. About a year ago there was a nintendo direct showing off this game, and smt3 remaster, and everyone hated it because smash character you'll never use >>> brand new videogame amirite?

Now to the present, the game is out, and it's kinda good. In my megaten tier list I'd put it in the upper middle of the games I've completed thus far. It's got a unique feel with the game being not really open world, but kinda open? There's 4 quite large maps where a majority of the game is played, enemies roam around the maps dragon quest 11 style, and it probably has the most fun JRPG controls for just moving around the game. Feels almost like an action game, except with traditional smt pressturn styled combat.

Enemies drop money now, so that alone puts it ahead of the smt4 games for me. Buffs are way different, they last 3 turns like in persona and you can stack them up to 2 times for increased effect. They also need a "ma" prefix to be applied to the party now, like in...lets say it together...persona...In other mainline smt games an attack buff can stack up to 4 times, lasts forever or until the enemy removes it, and applies to the whole party. This aspect I prefer vastly over the way persona does it, makes them play different, but it isn't THAT bad. It's kind of a hybrid of the two, and with skills like boon boost, and the ex version (makes buffs/debuffs last 1/2 more turns), it adds another layer to the combat which I do not prefer, I understand them wanting to mix things up.

The difficulty is kind of strange. On one hand you have no random battles, the game isn't really the standard JRPG endurance a thon they usually are. But...bosses will fuck you the fuck up. I hit level 99 with some strong demons, decided to fuck with shiva a little bit because I want to fuse him...and he ended my life in 2 turns...yeah, nope. If you like challenge, this game got it, but it's also designed in a way where you can be selective of when/where you get your challenge. I wanna call it easier and harder than nocturne at the same time. Nocturne on face value is a way harder game, by a longshot, but I think this game might have more brickwall bosses. I mean since random battles don't exist, the challenge has to be in the bosses, and the bosses alone, so it's hard to define.

Seeing some reviews, I noticed a few things highlighted.

"story bits few and far between"
Have you played a mainline megaten game before? This game has plenty of story bits, plenty of side quests, it's just megaten isn't as much about the characters, but rather the battle of ideals, law, chaos, neutral, with some wrenches thrown in depending on what game you play. But if all you played is persona, one of the most character driven "it's like im watching an anime havent touched my controller in 30 minutes" videogames out there, yeah, this game will feel barren compared to that.

"the soundtrack was forgettable"

No, it isn't.

Plenty of great guitar tracks such as this one.


To the surreal bells played upon leveling up


It's got variety, and it's all very appropriate to the scene, and the series.

My biggest issue in smt4, besides enemies not dropping money, the world. smt4 (not 4a) started getting really good after you got of regular tokyo, but that was 70-80% through the game. This game just flat out has a cool world, with different rules. It's all desolate, it's not nice, there's no "lets go on a picknic teehee. It's got the appropriate tone throughout.

To cap it off with something I appreciated the whole time through, demon negotiation in this game is the best in the whole series including persona. It feels fair, you can generally suss out the correct answers based on how demons talk, and even better, the demons are funny as fuck. The writing in this department is endlessly entertaining. From enemies requesting, a "shitton of hp", to being concerned about your grades in school, to seeing through your attempt to seduce them...looking at your lack of genitalia AND LITERALLY LEAVE THE BATTLE LAUGHING AT YOU, it's great. There's even a bunch of secret encounters if you have the right demons on you, that have references to the actual lore of the characters in history, to references to other games "cough" nocturne "cough", the attention to detail shows me they were paying attention. Even the demi fiend fight (doubtful I will spend the time needed to beat that monster) I noticed watching other people fight him, he has an extra pressturn (from when you complete all the graveyard challenges in nocturne, and play ng+ on the same file) to his pixie companion who sticks with him from the beginning of the game to the end, very well done.

This is a good videogame, with as much as I praised it...still not my goty, but very recommendable to any jrpg fan who wants something a bit different. It's very much a megaten game, but it feels as original as a jrpg can be in my opinion.

N E X T 

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2021, 01:51:46 AM »
15. Into the Breach



My search for mechs left me with something...different? Don't usually play rogue lites, but this one is in a "turn based strategy" wrapper, so it's up my alley. Also really fuckin' good.

Almost...had a win on normal...then seen you can unlock stuff on easy with pretty much no penalty...so...doing that. It's got a cool achievement system tied into unlocking stuff, and lots to unlock so there's a lot here.

First 4 island win was with rusting hulks squad. They put smoke clouds down that prevent enemy attacks...but they specifically have smoke clouds to electric damage. Plane guy upgraded with 2 range for 2 clouds attack, and found an aoe cloud weapon I dropped on the repulse guy, and 2 damage per cloud upgrade, felt pretty steamrolley near the end of the run. But I think that's the charm of these roguelites aint it? Getting the right synergy of stuff to make a hard as balls game feel "almost" easy. But on normal difficulty it's pretty much every single TURN feels like an almost unwinnable battle, no idea how I made it to the last map...only to fall short 2 turns away from a win...

Enjoying it more than I expected to considering I don't play these "endless" type games. No normal win...yet, but like 6-7 easy difficulty wins, so I'm gonna count it for ye ole list.

*edit*

Side note, this game is very much a strategy game, but the way it is put together makes it feel more like a puzzle game. I think if you'd played the game you would understand, but what makes this game a puzzle game feel over a strategy game feel? Is it really down to how much RNG there is? Because Advance Wars, while very different, goes to the minimal RNG route, and I get similar vibes. I mean it could be both, but I feel like some people would call it a puzzle game, and others might call it a strategy game.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2021, 01:58:03 AM by vladgd »

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Reply #20 on: January 01, 2022, 12:24:56 AM »
I suppose it's that time of the year again, new thread starteth, new thread endeth.

1. The Outer Worlds
2. Dragon Quest VI
3. Doom Eternal
4. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
5. Monster Hunter Rise
6. Death Stranding
7. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
8. Metroid Dread
9. Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance
10. Castlevania Aria of Sorrow
11. Zelda Breath of the Wild
12. 10000000
13. You Must Build A Boat
14. Shin Megami Tensei V
15. Into the Breach

15, not bad, like 7 of those are very short "beat it in a day" games, but then I got Death Stranding, Breath of the Wild, and Monster Hunter which are 70+ hour long experiences a pop, so iunno, good variety of game lengths/genres. Kind of surprised I've kept this thing going another year, life is bound to take a turn in a direction where 10 isn't obtainable anymore...but in the meantime, it's still fun.

Think I'll keep my "awards" section the same, if any of you have any better categories, I'm game to consider. It's a fun way to wrap up the year as far as games played go.

Most rewarding game to complete

Dragon Quest VI

There's a few in here that probably deserve this more, but...the ending of this game was such a damn mess, and the arbitrary "you can only level up classes in areas close to you in level, you can totally overlevel early and fuck yourself over for no reason" kinda makes me happy to get this one over with. I HEAR VII DOES THE SAME JOB EXP FUCKERY SO...that's another time. Either way the dishonor goes to dq6, again not a bad game...just has more than a few user unfriendly mechanics.

Biggest surprise

Death Stranding

This was totally going to star wars, by the way. Then like I got past the tutorial area of this game, and seen what it really was...I went from not buying the game on release because it wasn't metal gear to PREFERING this over the last metal gear solid game. I did not expect this game to do what it did, and I think that's thanks to the games journalists not doing a good job...journalizing? what the hell this game ACTUALLY is. Thank you thorhighheels for sparking my interest enough to pick the game up.

Least Favorite Game

Dragon Quest VI

Yeah...mean game prevent me from grinding 50% through the game. Mean game final dungeon no save points/recoveryfinalbossmanyformsfullreviverandombullshit. Bottom of my dragon quest tier list, which is a shame because there's a good...10ish hours of that game that is legitimately a good jrpg experience, it's just surrounded by mad.

Runner up Favorite

Monster Hunter Rise

This is the best monster hunter game out currently...I mean what else could it do?  I am still a casual monster hunter fan, thus, it deserves praise.

Special Mention

BABA IS YOU

This is the hardest videogame ever made, I am not even sure you can beat the game, but it's awesome. Great to have friends backseat on, great to think about while away from the game, there's even "meta" secrets and whatnot. Very very recommended.

GUILTY GEAR STRIVE

TWO mentions?!  This is the most fun I've had playing a fighting game in years, I bought it twice, ps4/steam, and season pass on steam. This game alone is responsible for re invigorating my drive to actually play fighting games again, and I probably haven't played more ranked games with real randos in any fighting game I have ever played...besides super turbo...

EXTREMELY recommendable, very good for new players, very easy to pick up, but with plenty of depth to sink your teeth into.

Favorite Game/GOTY 2021

Death Stranding

No mention of megaten, or doom, or metroid?! All 3 are FANTASTIC games, and I like Death Stranding over all of them. I think the moment I started making the highway was the moment I realized I couldn't stop playing the game, I couldn't stop thinking about the game. The last time I played a game for 16 hours straight was the WoW TBC launch...I don't do that anymore. It's harder to recommend because I think what I PERSONALLY like is kind of specific to me, and my odd less than normie tastes in vidya. But it did something different, and it did it damn well. I even put 10+ hours into the game weeks after beating it, I just needed to play more.


1- earthbound
2- monster hunter world
3- smt nocturne
4- smt 4
5- south park fractured but whole
6- xcom terror from the deep
7- persona 5
8- deus ex mankind divided
9- metroid: samus returns
10- dragon quest xi
11- smt 4 apocalypse
12- advance wars 2
13- disgaea 5
14. Front Mission 4
15. Paper Mario TTYD
16. Luigis Mansion
17. Zelda Wind Waker
18. Rebel Galaxy
19. Persona Q
20. Eternal Darkness
21. Dragon Quest
22. Strange Journey Redux
23. Shining Force Sword of Hajya
24. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
25. Doom (2016)
26. Metroid Prime
27. Plants vs Zombies
28. Disgaea 1 Complete
29. Links Awakening Remake
30. Pokemon Shield
31. Dragon Quest 2
32. Dragon Quest Builders 2
33. SteamWorld Dig
34. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
35. Advance Wars Days of Ruin
36. XCOM Chimera Squad
37. Fallout New Vegas
38. Phantasy Star (Sega Ages)
39. Advance Wars Dual Strike
40. Cyberpunk 2077
41. The Outer Worlds
42. Dragon Quest VI
43. Doom Eternal
44. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
45. Monster Hunter Rise
46. Death Stranding
47. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
48. Metroid Dread
49. Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance
50. Castlevania Aria of Sorrow
51. Zelda Breath of the Wild
52. 10000000
53. You Must Build A Boat
54. Shin Megami Tensei V
55. Into the Breach

More than I ever expected, I ain't there yet, but I think I may be making my backlog my bitch...the backlog is infinite, so...untrue. Still, very pleased. New thread when next game is conquered.