The Backlog Check-in Vol. 28: 7/14/18: Frost Edition

[canedaddy]

This looks like something that a few of you might like. If not, hey, it's a slow week, and the name sounds very good to me as someone in Phoenix in July.



"Frost is a deck-building, solo-survival card game set on a harsh, frozen world ravaged by a lethal storm. You must lead a group of nomads in search of the Refuge – a haven away from the Frost’s icy grip. As well as the unrelenting threat of the Frost, your arduous trek will be fraught with many other dangers, such as wolves, cannibals, hunger and fatigue. Manage your cards wisely to stay alive and make it all the way to the Refuge."



Played last week: Destiny 2, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

Finished last week: nothing

Added to backlog: Destiny 2, Yakuza 0, No Man's Sky, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition

Current backlog: 34 (13 PS4, 10 Vita, 6 3DS/2DS, 5 PS2)

I'm about halfway through Layton and having a great time with it, even though it makes me feel stupid at times. It's interesting how some supposedly easy puzzles leave me dumbfounded, while I can solve some supposedly hard ones right away. My brain must be messed up (like that's a surprise).

Destiny 2 is just more Destiny but it's a blast.

[Phaseknox]

Played: Dark Cloud

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Dark Cloud

Purchased: Ape Escape 2, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, Dark Cloud, Dark Cloud 2, Inside, Okage: Shadow King, Primal, Rogue Galaxy, Siren, Wild ARMs 3

I decided to play Dark Cloud since I haven't played it since the early days of PS2, and I wanted to see what I thought of it now compared to back then. I remember when I originally played it being a little disappointed because like almost everyone else at the time I was expecting it to be Sony's version of The Legend of Zelda which it wasn't. Instead it was a randomly generated dungeon crawler with town building. I stopped playing it because the dungeon grinding was repetitive.

Playing it now knowing what it is I appreciate it more since I find the concept of it original, but the repetitiveness of the dungeon crawling is still an issue. The main problem is that they make you go through like 14+ floors to reach the end. These are flat mazelike corridor dungeons where all the floors look identical just with different layouts so after going through a few floors you're ready to reach the end, but they keep going getting harder along the way.

The town building is fun, the characters are cute, the music is really good and there's charm to everything, but it's definitely dated. It's one of the first PS2 games, and that's apparent by its blocky, flat and low res graphics, and somewhat clunky and stiff gameplay.

There's enough that I like about it to stick with it for now, but I have a feeling that like before I'm going to stop playing it due to the repetitiveness of the dungeon crawling.

[jfissel]

Finished: Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (platinum #56)

Now Playing: What Remains of Edith Finch

Added to Backlog: What Remains of Edith Finch, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Current Backlog: 30 games

Yonder was ok. It's got no combat and you basically just wander around the world collecting resources, crafting stuff, completing quests, running errands, etc. There is a fishing minigame included. Overall, it was decent and worth a play if you like those sorts of things.

Going to give What Remains of Edith Finch a try next before getting into something like Assassin's Creed: Syndicate or inFAMOUS: Second Son.

[argyle]

Games added: Quite a few since I last posted, but most recently Rainbow Skies (ps4 & vita) and Lili

Last whenever: Finished The Mummy Demastered, have mainly been playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

This week: Xenoblade 2

I'm not dead yet.

The Mummy Demastered is an awesome Metroidvania game, highly recommended. Not perfect, but definitely worth playing for anyone who's a fan of those games. It's made by the Shantae guys, so you know they know their stuff.

Xenoblade 2 is amazing. Finally got in the mood to really sink my teeth into a JRPG and that was my choice (I'm still gonna get to Ni no Kuni 2, don't worry ). The battle system is amazingly deep but they do a great job of building the complexity so as not to overwhelm you. Very interesting story, great quest system, massive world to explore with tons to do - what's not to love?

On a related note, I absolutely love the Switch. Easily the best Nintendo console since the Gamecube, and shaping up to be their best ever. I've added quite a few games to my library recently, and there are tons more on the horizon. Just an amazing system!

[Phaseknox]

I'm not dead yet.

I would hope not considering that you're only in your 30s.

The Mummy Demastered is an awesome Metroidvania game, highly recommended.

Good to know. I'll buy it when it's on sale for cheap.

Xenoblade 2 is amazing. Finally got in the mood to really sink my teeth into a JRPG and that was my choice

So that's where you've been.

The battle system is amazingly deep but they do a great job of building the complexity so as not to overwhelm you.

That's good, because I dislike overly complex and overwhelming systems in games. I like deep but intuitive systems that are fun to learn and master instead of feeling like you need to take a class to learn them.

I absolutely love the Switch. Easily the best Nintendo console since the Gamecube

I might get one eventually, but I currently have enough PS4 games to last me the remainder of my life.

[jfissel]

I've already finished What Remains of Edith Finch...it's a very short ~2.5 hours. Quite interesting game. I don't even know how to describe the story, but the game is a walking simulator through and around a big house. During your visit, you learn about all the different members of the Finch family and you play as them in shortish, playable little events. If you like these types of games, I recommend giving it a shot. 8/10

[Phaseknox]

It took me 6 hours to build one town and finish one dungeon in Dark Cloud, I found it mildly entertaining at best considering how dated the game looks and plays and how repetitive the 14+ floor dungeon was. The story and character interaction throughout that time were very sparse with short little in-game cut scenes that played when you completed someone's house. I got to the next area, and it was the same exact thing all over again but this time taking place in a forest area. I had no interest in doing what I had already done all over again just with different environment scenery, so I decided to stop playing. The game has some good concepts and ideas, but they're included in a really old looking and somewhat dull, stale and repetitive package.

I decided to play Dark Cloud 2 to see how it compares, and wow what a difference. There's really no comparison, DC2 is improved substantially in every conceivable way compared to the first game. It's simply baffling how Level 5 put it out two short years after the original, because it looks and plays like a late gen PS2 game instead of an early one. I remember being impressed with its graphics when it originally came out, but the core game failed to hold my interest for very long since I wasn't really into the dungeon grinding and town building at the time. I have a feeling that I will appreciate it more now, I'm already really impressed with it story, characters, graphics and gameplay. It has big production values, and on the PS4 it looks as good if not better than some last gen games. It's easily one of the best looking PS2 games, and still holds up today.

I've already finished What Remains of Edith Finch...it's a very short ~2.5 hours. Quite interesting game. I don't even know how to describe the story, but the game is a walking simulator through and around a big house. During your visit, you learn about all the different members of the Finch family and you play as them in shortish, playable little events. If you like these types of games, I recommend giving it a shot. 8/10

Thanks for the impressions, I definitely plan on picking it up along with all of the other notable story driven walking simulators when they're cheap. I got a physical copy of one called The Town of Light which is supposed to be really good (and longer than most), I'll let you know what I think of it after I play it now knowing that you like the genre.

[jfissel]

I've already finished What Remains of Edith Finch...it's a very short ~2.5 hours. Quite interesting game. I don't even know how to describe the story, but the game is a walking simulator through and around a big house. During your visit, you learn about all the different members of the Finch family and you play as them in shortish, playable little events. If you like these types of games, I recommend giving it a shot. 8/10

Thanks for the impressions, I definitely plan on picking it up along with all of the other notable story driven walking simulators when they're cheap. I got a physical copy of one called The Town of Light which is supposed to be really good (and longer than most), I'll let you know what I think of it after I play it now knowing that you like the genre.

Thanks, Phase. I've enjoyed Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch as far as those types of games are concerned. Never heard of The Town of Light.

[argyle]

I'm not dead yet.

I would hope not considering that you're only in your 30s.

40s - 43 next Tues, specifically.

[Phaseknox]

40s - 43 next Tues, specifically.

Old man.

For some reason I thought that you were 10 years younger than me, but you're only 5. I believe that cane is 5 years older than me, and that izzy and I are the same age. It must be j that's in his 30s, and sonuckles?

I can't deny that I'm starting to feel old, I went back to read some old posts that I made at the IGN forums and they were from 15+ years ago. I can't believe how much that I used to flip flop with my opinions on games back then, I know that I sometimes still do to a certain extent but back then it was from one extreme to the other.

I was reading some of my old Dark Cloud 2 posts and I was gushing over it at first, but then after playing it for 20 hours (I didn't realize that I had played it for that long back then) I was saying how repetitive that it was. As of right now I'm enjoying the dungeon crawling aspect of it which I know that I didn't like as much back when I first played it, but I'm still kind of early in it so we'll see what I think when (if? ) I reach the 20 hour mark this time.