The Backlog Check-In Vol. 454: 9/12/26: Marvel's Wolverine Edition

[jfissel]

Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! (Switch 2) – September 14
Marvel’s Wolverine (PS5) – September 15
RuneScape: Dragonwilds (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – September 15
TCG Card Shop Simulator (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, Switch, PC) – September 15
Alex & Arty (PC) – September 16
Aniimo (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) – September 16
Concrete Burial (PC) – September 17
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (iOS, Android) – September 16
Endless Legend 2 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) – September 17
Fallen Tear: The Ascension (PC) – September 16
Little Witch in the Woods (Switch) – September 16
Roman Sands RE:Build (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) – September 16
Woodo (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, PC) – September 16
Absolum (Switch 2) – September 17
Another Eden Begins (Switch 2, Switch, PC) – September 17
Dave The Diver (iOS, Android) – September 17
Endless Legend 2 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – September 17
Fading Echo (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2) – September 17
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave (Switch 2) – September 17
Flamecraft (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) – September 17
Fountains (Xbox Series X/S, Switch) – September 17
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Switch 2) – September 17
Mr. Sleepy Man (Switch) – September 17
Sniper Dan (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) – September 17
The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 (Early Access) (PC) – September 17
Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (PS5, Switch 2, Switch, PC) – September 17
Trivia Murder Party III (Early Access) (PC) – September 17
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV (PC) – September 17
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (Switch 2) – September 18
Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth (PlayStation 5, Switch 2) – September 18
NASCAR 26 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) – September 18
The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – September 18
The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, PC) – September 18


Finished: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (story)

Now Playing: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 35 games

Still working on the post-game for Expedition 33 and cleaning up trophies. Mixed reviews on Wolverine, but I still think I'm gonna buy it to play after I finish Expedition 33 - I haven't had any expectations for it, it's just been on my list for something I thought I'd enjoy.

[canedaddy]

Still working on the post-game for Expedition 33 and cleaning up trophies. Mixed reviews on Wolverine, but I still think I'm gonna buy it to play after I finish Expedition 33 - I haven't had any expectations for it, it's just been on my list for something I thought I'd enjoy.

I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. Looks pretty cool to me, but if I get it, it'll be used a year or two from now.


Played recently: Dragon Quest Builders

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

The DQ Builders games really hit the spot with me. Really enjoying my time with the original.

No one here is playing the new Onimusha, right? It looks so good... I am tempted.

[argyle]

Games added: .stitch, The Blood of Dawnwalker

Last week: Finished Untitled Goose Game, played .stitch & started Grapple Dog

This week: Probably those 2, might fire up something more in-depth but haven't decided yet

Cashed in my Bing points for TBoD, mainly because the wife seemed interested. But since she hasn't booted it up as of yet, I'm kinda wishing I had just used them for Onimusha instead. Oh well. No sense crying over a free game.

I completed all of the tasks in UGG except for the timed stuff - seems like speedrun-related goals, so no interest in that from me. I also picked up .stitch on the Switch for $6 - it's a relaxing puzzle game about embroidery - basically something to play when you just wanna kinda zone out.

Played through the tutorial, the first 3 levels (one of them twice because I missed a gem) and 2 bonus stages of Grapple Dog so far. I can verify, it's good stuff. The game has a cute pixel asthetic with a sense of humor that has made me chuckle a few times already. The way they do the babble-talk reminds me of Klonoa. It's definitely a gameplay-first, story-second kind of game, which is OK in my book - especially for a platformer. Remember when the only story to be had was in the manual, so if you didn't read that you had no clue what anything was supposed to be? Sometimes I think we need that back, for certain types of games at least.

I had no interest in Wolverine from the first trailer, so the reviews haven't swayed me any. Still, as I keep telling my wife & reminding myself, these companies are not made up of the same people as they were in their glory days. Still, I'd hate to see Insomniac shuttered, and if the game bombs, that's entirely possible, knowing Sony.

In brighter news, I read that Onimusha has sold so well already that Capcom is looking to bring back other long-dormant IPs. C'mon Maximo!

[isthatallyougot]

Played through the tutorial, the first 3 levels (one of them twice because I missed a gem) and 2 bonus stages of Grapple Dog so far. I can verify, it's good stuff. The game has a cute pixel asthetic with a sense of humor that has made me chuckle a few times already. The way they do the babble-talk reminds me of Klonoa. It's definitely a gameplay-first, story-second kind of game, which is OK in my book - especially for a platformer. Remember when the only story to be had was in the manual, so if you didn't read that you had no clue what anything was supposed to be? Sometimes I think we need that back, for certain types of games at least.

Glad you're digging it too. I'm @ 250/300 gems and the challenge in world 6 really ramps up. I still have the odd gem or two in previous worlds I have to go clean up as well. Not sure if I will (or can ) get all 300, but I'm still enjoying jumping in and cleaning things up now and then.

And yeah, the manual-only story. Those were the days. (Archie Bunker ) I do miss the days of those thick manuals. Even though I don't buy physical anymore and haven't for a long while, there was something special about really nice packaging that included a very thorough and colorful manual. You knew when you picked up the sealed box that there was a real TOME in there. I loved that!

I'm also really enjoying Slay the Spire. It's very addictive. Although, it does **FEEL** a little RNG-dependent - getting good cards/artifacts, etc for a good run, or maybe that's just me unintentionally acknowledging that I'm not very good yet. I'm not sure where the truth lies at this point. Certainly something I will continue with though, and probably for a good long while.

Edit: Oh and a lttp argyle's movie review.

I just watched Chasing Sleep (2000) with Jeff Daniels. I had never even heard of it before, but it's got a very Silent-hiil-ish sense of disorientation and denial saturating a troubled character who's wife has gone missing. What's actually going on within the world and the main character is uncertain and engaging. I enjoyed it, especially having never known of it previously. It was a pleasant surprise of an older film.

[jfissel]

No one here is playing the new Onimusha, right? It looks so good... I am tempted.

I don't know anything about the series, but I think you should buy it.

I completed all of the tasks in UGG except for the timed stuff - seems like speedrun-related goals, so no interest in that from me.

Some RNG can make the speedrun stuff a little annoying and more difficult than it should be.

[argyle]

No one here is playing the new Onimusha, right? It looks so good... I am tempted.

I don't know anything about the series...

kramer shocked.gif (6.32 MiB) Viewed 68 times

Man, you really need to correct that. They've ported the first, maybe the second as well, to modern consoles I know.

[canedaddy]

I don't know anything about the series, but I think you should buy it.

Ha, it *is* calling to me.

Man, you really need to correct that. They've ported the first, maybe the second as well, to modern consoles I know.

Yep, Onimusha 1 and 2 were given the HD treatment, and 4 (Dawn of Dreams) came last month. Unfortunately, 3 probably won't ever be ported because of licensing issues with Jean Reno.

[argyle]

I don't know anything about the series, but I think you should buy it.

Ha, it *is* calling to me.

Man, you really need to correct that. They've ported the first, maybe the second as well, to modern consoles I know.

Yep, Onimusha 1 and 2 were given the HD treatment, and 4 (Dawn of Dreams) came last month. Unfortunately, 3 probably won't ever be ported because of licensing issues with Jean Reno.

That's a shame, it's probably my favorite (it's between that one & the first).

Izzy, I've never heard of that movie either. I just pulled up a trailer, and it definitely looks interesting - I'll have to hunt it down & give it a watch. You reminded me, I've been slacking...

K-Pop Demon Hunters - We watched this because it's been so popular & we see so many references to it, that we figured we should see it just to be in the loop. Simple review? It wasn't FOR me.

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass - Backstory time - when I was in college, I was obsessed with the MTV sketch comedy show The State. I still love it; it has a very off-the-wall sense of humor that is right up my alley. The show ended after I think 3 seasons, but the members of the group have gone on to do tons of different, well-known projects over the years. As I started watching this one, I quickly realized it was a The State movie. Both in the movie and behind-the-scenes, I think I counted 7 or 8 members involved in this one. From the title, you'd think it was a raunchy comedy, but it's really not; it's more of a road trip movie. Really enjoyed this one, lots of laughs. I also love to see John Hamm in a comedy, and in this one, he plays an exaggerated version of himself (as does John Slattery, who played opposite him as Roger in Mad Men). 4/5 stars

Big Trouble - This is a 2002 comedy I had never heard of until a scene from it randomly popped up in my YouTube feed a few weeks back. I looked it up, gave it a watch, and I gotta say, I'm not sure how I missed this one all these years. I guess Tim Allen is the headliner, but it's really an ensemble movie with no one character being the star. The best I can describe it is if Guy Ritchie leaned a lot harder into comedy. I looked into why it was so overlooked after watching it, and it turns out it was set to come out just after the events of 9/11, and since the ending of the movie involves a bomb at an airport, they decided that was in poor taste & held it back a couple of years, then quietly released it. A shame, it's a great movie. 4/5 stars

Fatal Instinct - I was in the mood for a dumb movie, and this definitely delivered. A spoof movie in the same vein as Naked Gun, it was actually better done than I expected, for that type of movie. Probably its biggest flaw/problem is that the subject matter is too close to Naked Gun. Still, there are some laughs to be had if your expectations are adjusted properly. 3/5 stars

Coyote vs. Acme - After watching this one, it's baffling to know that Warner Bros. shelved it for a couple of years and, from what I understand, had to basically have their arm twisted to release it at all. This is a fantastic movie that really captures that old Looney Tunes vibe. I think it's safe to say it's the best live-action-crossed-with-animation movie this side of Roger Rabbit. The only real weak spots are John Cena as the bad guy (his motives are flimsy at best, and he just isn't that interesting) and Foghorn Leghorn (they managed to nail most of the animated characters, but Foghorn, who is one of my favorites, is a miss). Regardless, it's still definitely worth a watch, and I wouldn't mind owning this one on disc at some point - assuming they release it. 4/5 stars

The Mongoose - Liam Neeson in a car-centered fugitive action movie seems like the formula for a mindless good time. Unfortunately, it's not. The movie bounces between the present, Liam's time in the war, and the events just before the movie starts, which show what causes him to go on the run. It's disjointed and, unfortunately, not very interesting. The whole affair has a very low-budget feel, with sometimes laughable special effects and other times just plain dull chase scenes. Add to that a weird country vibe with a painful soundtrack and situations that require way more suspension of disbelief than the trying-to-be-grounded movie allows for, and this one was a slog to get through - even at a relatively short 1.5 hour runtime. 2/5 stars

Mayday - Ryan Reynolds plays a fighter pilot in the 80's that gets sent on a secret mission over Russia and ends up being shot down. He's found by a Russian who happens to have a strong love for all things USA (and has a bootleg copy of Top Gun that he's watched repeatedly). What follows is a fun action-comedy with a surprising amount of heart. No notes here, this is just a guaranteed good time movie. 4/5 stars

Masters of the Universe - I had been putting off watching this one, but a good friend of mine told me recently that it was actually pretty good, so I decided to give it a go. He was right. The movie doesn't stick 100% to the original story (in the original, Tela didn't know she was adopted - in this one, Man-At-Arms is played by Idris Elba, so I think she would have figured it out ). That's just one example, but the important thing is that they do a very good job of capturing the TONE of the original. Characters are recognizable by their personalities, and there are several Easter Eggs scattered around for us old-timer fans. In the end, I was left hoping for a sequel - that's a lot more than I expected. Oh, and Skeletor is fine - Jared Leto sucks as a person, but honestly, ANYONE could have been playing him in this, and you never would have known. 4/5 stars

The End of Oak Street - I sometimes like to glance at user reviews (non-critic reviews) of a movie after I've watched it, especially if I'm trying to process it. One of those reviews just said "bad speilberg impression", and I think that sums up my feelings pretty well. The movie is set in the 80s for no apparent reason - it could have been set at any time, it had no bearing on the movie, so it seemed like a "80's are cool now" thing. To avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn't WATCHED THE TRAILER WHICH GIVES AWAY WHAT THE MOVIE IS ALL ABOUT, the two unlikable parents bicker in the beginning, the two kids are...also there. The "thing" happens, they panic & flail around aimlessly for about 45 mins, nothing is ever explained, they fall ass-backwards into the mother of all deus ex machina that undoes any of the bad things that have happened (to the characters you meet, I mean the majority of the people involved were still screwed but you're not supposed to think about them). In spite of that, I would have added a full star if only Anne Hathaway had

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been eaten by a dinosaur

- I swear, she's like watching a sentient piece of cardboard try to act. 2/5 stars