The Backlog Check-In Vol. 456: 9/28/26: Toem 2 Edition

[canedaddy]

New games this week:

Sept. 28
Keep Driving (PS5, Xbox, Switch)
Unshine Arcade (PC)

Sept. 29
Gothic II Complete Classic (PS5, Xbox)
Minecraft Dungeons II (PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC)
Nivalis Nights (PC)
Toem 2 (PS5, Switch, PC)
Way of the Hunter 2 (PS5, Xbox, PC)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered (PS5, Xbox, PC, Switch 2)

Oct. 1
Don't Fret (PS5, Xbox, PC)
Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered (PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC)
End of Abyss (PS5, Xbox, PC)
Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition (PS5)

Oct. 2
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (PS5, Xbox, PC)


(Had to give this one some love. I really enjoyed the first Toem.)


Played recently: Dragon Quest Builders

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

I'm just starting the third chapter of DQ Builders. Such a fun game. And even though I beat it 10 years ago on Vita, I don't remember a thing so it's like a brand new game! (A silver lining to old age mental failings. )

[isthatallyougot]

I'm just starting the third chapter of DQ Builders. Such a fun game. And even though I beat it 10 years ago on Vita, I don't remember a thing so it's like a brand new game! (A silver lining to old age mental failings. )

Ha, yeah, nice positive spin. Heck, you don't even need a library/backlog. You only need one really long game so that when you reach the end you can begin again as if it were brand new.

I'm about 6 hours into Onimusha 3, and it has been fun, if a bit formulaic, both in terms of my memory of the series and Capcom's bigger offerings in the PS2-ish era. I'm having a good time though.

I also have been continuing with Slay the Spire. Fun roguelike card-battler. I've had a couple of wins and am exploring other characters.

Also still working on season 2 of my current OOTP historical (fictional) franchise. We've cooled off a bit, but are still on a win pace to beat the all-time record of 116 season wins with about a month left in the season. I want that record, even if it's isolated to a world outside of the record, but I've never had a season like that in all my time playing. My fear is being so dominant and then laying a wretched egg that lands with a thud in the post-season. So, I'm not forcing over-use of important players, trying to maintain the bigger picture in focus while still hoping to break the record.

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Wolverine

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 35 games

Only like 2 hours into Wolverine, but having fun so far learning the mechanics and whatnot.

[argyle]

New games this week:
Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered (PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC)

Toem 2 Edition. Really?

glare.gif (1.54 MiB) Viewed 127 times

Games added: Sword of the Vagrant, and I cashed in some MS points to go ahead & preorder the Crimson Desert DLC that comes out next month

Last week: Finished nothing, played Balatro and Adventures of Elliot

This week: Same

I'm to Balatro what Izzy is to Slay the Spire right now. Just can't put it down. Working on clearing the gold seal difficulty on all the decks right now, and unlocking the few remaining things I still need to get along the way.

Also, I think my copy of Adventures of Elliot is defective. For some reason, whenever I turn it on, it's almost impossible to turn it back off. That game is Chrono Trigger meets old-school Zelda, and I absolutely love it.

So I read some juicy rumors about the upcoming Xbox today that, if true, guess it means I'll end up with one at some point. Supposedly, they're not only keeping the disk drive but also making it fully backward compatible with all past Xbox consoles. That would be major. In addition, I took a survey through their Insider program a couple of weeks back about potential features of the new console, how interested I was in each one, etc. One surprising one that kept popping up was the ability to play all PC games. So it's obviously going to be some kind of modified gaming PC. Very curious to see what it ends up being, I must admit.

[canedaddy]

Toem 2 Edition. Really?

Did I miss the post about how you've shelved Balatro and the Adventures of Elliot so you spend can the next few weeks cutting down hordes of bad guys with remastered Zhao Yun and Cao Cao?

So I read some juicy rumors about the upcoming Xbox today that, if true, guess it means I'll end up with one at some point. Supposedly, they're not only keeping the disk drive but also making it fully backward compatible with all past Xbox consoles. That would be major. In addition, I took a survey through their Insider program a couple of weeks back about potential features of the new console, how interested I was in each one, etc. One surprising one that kept popping up was the ability to play all PC games. So it's obviously going to be some kind of modified gaming PC. Very curious to see what it ends up being, I must admit.

If true, that will be my next-gen console for sure. (Assuming Sony doesn't reverse course on discs, which is a safe assumption.)

Also still working on season 2 of my current OOTP historical (fictional) franchise. We've cooled off a bit, but are still on a win pace to beat the all-time record of 116 season wins with about a month left in the season. I want that record, even if it's isolated to a world outside of the record, but I've never had a season like that in all my time playing. My fear is being so dominant and then laying a wretched egg that lands with a thud in the post-season. So, I'm not forcing over-use of important players, trying to maintain the bigger picture in focus while still hoping to break the record.

That would be quite a feat!

Ha, yeah, nice positive spin. Heck, you don't even need a library/backlog. You only need one really long game so that when you reach the end you can begin again as if it were brand new.

That becomes more and more possible with each passing year.

[isthatallyougot]

I'm to Balatro what Izzy is to Slay the Spire right now. Just can't put it down. Working on clearing the gold seal difficulty on all the decks right now, and unlocking the few remaining things I still need to get along the way.

As much as I've heard you (and others) talk about Balatro, it must be really fun and addictive. I'll have to try it out one day.

So I read some juicy rumors about the upcoming Xbox today that, if true, guess it means I'll end up with one at some point. Supposedly, they're not only keeping the disk drive but also making it fully backward compatible with all past Xbox consoles. That would be major. In addition, I took a survey through their Insider program a couple of weeks back about potential features of the new console, how interested I was in each one, etc. One surprising one that kept popping up was the ability to play all PC games. So it's obviously going to be some kind of modified gaming PC. Very curious to see what it ends up being, I must admit.

If true, that will be my next-gen console for sure. (Assuming Sony doesn't reverse course on discs, which is a safe assumption.)

It does sound like the better option for console gamers at this point, for sure. I did watch some video a few days ago about a patent or strategy or something about MS including mandatory, game-interrupting ads. I don't know how or if it will be implemented, but that would be something I would absolutely NEVER tolerate. If that became a part of gaming at large, I'd quit or just emulate exclusively.

Also still working on season 2 of my current OOTP historical (fictional) franchise. We've cooled off a bit, but are still on a win pace to beat the all-time record of 116 season wins with about a month left in the season. I want that record, even if it's isolated to a world outside of the record, but I've never had a season like that in all my time playing. My fear is being so dominant and then laying a wretched egg that lands with a thud in the post-season. So, I'm not forcing over-use of important players, trying to maintain the bigger picture in focus while still hoping to break the record.

That would be quite a feat!

Currently on a 120 win pace with about 24 games left, I believe. If I achieve the record and get a flat tire in the playoffs it would really sting, but I'd still be proud and satisfied with such a mark. And I've had some injury issues with key pieces this season, including last-year's MVP. No season-enders, except to my #3 starter, but a good number of multiple week injuries to key pieces.

Ha, yeah, nice positive spin. Heck, you don't even need a library/backlog. You only need one really long game so that when you reach the end you can begin again as if it were brand new.

That becomes more and more possible with each passing year.

You've just got to be like Guy Pearce's character from Momento and write everything down and refer to it religiously. That's probably one thing that keeps me from feeling lost at times - the fact that I keep that file with reviews, thoughts and pics about every game I play. If I didn't organize and structure things in that way, I'd probably be retracing my steps without even knowing it sometimes. Heck, I sometimes wonder if I've lived this life before. I remember asking my ex-wife long, long ago if you had done this all before would you ever even know it. I can't remember what prompted such a question, but memory is certainly shaky for us all to greater or lesser degree. I'm really bad about it with some movies. I'll start something up, thinking I'd never seen it before, only to realize an hour in that it seems really familiar, lol. To get even deeper philosophically, without memory, who/what are you?

[canedaddy]

As much as I've heard you (and others) talk about Balatro, it must be really fun and addictive. I'll have to try it out one day.

I tried it briefly and was thrown off by the non-poker elements (multipliers and whatnot). But I could see that it would suck me in big-time if I dedicated time to it.

It does sound like the better option for console gamers at this point, for sure. I did watch some video a few days ago about a patent or strategy or something about MS including mandatory, game-interrupting ads. I don't know how or if it will be implemented, but that would be something I would absolutely NEVER tolerate. If that became a part of gaming at large, I'd quit or just emulate exclusively.

Well that sounds like the worst idea ever! Forget what I said.

You've just got to be like Guy Pearce's character from Momento and write everything down and refer to it religiously. That's probably one thing that keeps me from feeling lost at times - the fact that I keep that file with reviews, thoughts and pics about every game I play. If I didn't organize and structure things in that way, I'd probably be retracing my steps without even knowing it sometimes.

My half-assed version of that is Backloggery. I don't write much (if anything) for most games, but at least it helps me keep track of what I've played and when I played it.