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Hello all!
I'm Crowdog09 or just Crow is fine! I've been gaming for as long as I can remember. I'm hoping this site will help me keep my backlog manageable and help keep the temptation of buying new games at bay. Before I start rambling about what I'm going to play or give up on, and the struggle of balancing that with real life. I thought a bit of context, on what my gaming experience was like, might be helpful.
Despite growing up in 90's rural Ireland, I was exposed to a broad range of games and platforms. I used to play the Megadrive (Genesis if you're a yank) at my childminder's (babysitter's if you're a yank :p) house. I got to play the SNES at a neighbours house and my cousins had a PC, which was a real rarity at the time.
I played a broad range of games. I would try everything but certainly gravitated towards platformers like Mario and Sonic when I was a child. Though, I also remember putting plenty of time into Mortal Kombat 2, and Micromachines was a particular favorite to play multiplayer. On the PC i got exposed to games like Warcraft 2, Worms and Sim City. They were a novelty and I wasn't much good at them but they left a lasting impression.
Around '97, my sister and I got our very own Megadrive. Every now and then, we would get a new game for it but more often than not, I just wanted the convenience of being able to play the games I had played elsewhere, at home. Discovering this website has caused me to reflect on the first games I ever beat. I think it was probably Streets of Rage or Golden Axe. If playing games at other people's houses was a fire burning in me, having a console at home was like throwing petrol (gas if you're a...) on that fire. Gaming consumed my every thought. I only wanted to talk about games I had played or hear about games you had. I would spend my time in school doodling new Dr. Robotnik boss machines or thinking about how I could get past that next level in whatever it was I was playing at the time. Other kids wanted to play sports, or dance, but I wanted to game.
We were neither poor, nor wealthy. Probably lower middle class if I was to guess. So it was a big deal when I got a new game. Even second hand, I remember games were expensive at the time. Things must have got better for us around the start of the millennium because that's when I really remember my gaming options bloom. I can't quite remember the timing but it was probably around 1999 that we got a Playstation from Santa. This console blew my tiny mind. Life in 3D was sometimes ugly but I didn't care. This was probably well in the PS's life cycle but it was all new to me. I loved the Crash Bandicoot trilogy and all the spin offs. I played Tekken 3, Spyro, Medievil, Gran Turismo, Rayman, WWF Smackdown and countless others. I'm pretty sure I spent nearly every evening on this machine.
I was a little bit older and more mature a this stage; I still credit my early gaming for helping me build up traits like patience, persistence and composure. This is when I remember actually finishing a lot of the gamess I enjoyed. I think I finished Crash Team Racing 100% or close enough anyways. I beat Crash 2 and 3 all on my own. This new found confidence encouraged me to dust off the Megadrive and finish Sonic 2. It's still my favourite in the series.
I didn't expect this to go on so long! Expect a part 2 soon. And thanks for reading :)
I'm Crowdog09 or just Crow is fine! I've been gaming for as long as I can remember. I'm hoping this site will help me keep my backlog manageable and help keep the temptation of buying new games at bay. Before I start rambling about what I'm going to play or give up on, and the struggle of balancing that with real life. I thought a bit of context, on what my gaming experience was like, might be helpful.
Despite growing up in 90's rural Ireland, I was exposed to a broad range of games and platforms. I used to play the Megadrive (Genesis if you're a yank) at my childminder's (babysitter's if you're a yank :p) house. I got to play the SNES at a neighbours house and my cousins had a PC, which was a real rarity at the time.
I played a broad range of games. I would try everything but certainly gravitated towards platformers like Mario and Sonic when I was a child. Though, I also remember putting plenty of time into Mortal Kombat 2, and Micromachines was a particular favorite to play multiplayer. On the PC i got exposed to games like Warcraft 2, Worms and Sim City. They were a novelty and I wasn't much good at them but they left a lasting impression.
Around '97, my sister and I got our very own Megadrive. Every now and then, we would get a new game for it but more often than not, I just wanted the convenience of being able to play the games I had played elsewhere, at home. Discovering this website has caused me to reflect on the first games I ever beat. I think it was probably Streets of Rage or Golden Axe. If playing games at other people's houses was a fire burning in me, having a console at home was like throwing petrol (gas if you're a...) on that fire. Gaming consumed my every thought. I only wanted to talk about games I had played or hear about games you had. I would spend my time in school doodling new Dr. Robotnik boss machines or thinking about how I could get past that next level in whatever it was I was playing at the time. Other kids wanted to play sports, or dance, but I wanted to game.
We were neither poor, nor wealthy. Probably lower middle class if I was to guess. So it was a big deal when I got a new game. Even second hand, I remember games were expensive at the time. Things must have got better for us around the start of the millennium because that's when I really remember my gaming options bloom. I can't quite remember the timing but it was probably around 1999 that we got a Playstation from Santa. This console blew my tiny mind. Life in 3D was sometimes ugly but I didn't care. This was probably well in the PS's life cycle but it was all new to me. I loved the Crash Bandicoot trilogy and all the spin offs. I played Tekken 3, Spyro, Medievil, Gran Turismo, Rayman, WWF Smackdown and countless others. I'm pretty sure I spent nearly every evening on this machine.
I was a little bit older and more mature a this stage; I still credit my early gaming for helping me build up traits like patience, persistence and composure. This is when I remember actually finishing a lot of the gamess I enjoyed. I think I finished Crash Team Racing 100% or close enough anyways. I beat Crash 2 and 3 all on my own. This new found confidence encouraged me to dust off the Megadrive and finish Sonic 2. It's still my favourite in the series.
I didn't expect this to go on so long! Expect a part 2 soon. And thanks for reading :)
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Ah so you also grew up with doodling Robotnik bosses, they just seemed so easy yet fun to come up with mechanical animals and the sort haha
Hope your backlog battling goes well Crowdog and that the newfound confidence takes you far, can't wait for part 2
Hope your backlog battling goes well Crowdog and that the newfound confidence takes you far, can't wait for part 2
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Haha yea that would have 8 year old mes, dream job: to design the different contraptions for the boss fights! Thanks for reading :)
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My gaming history, part 2
I got a gameboy colour and Pokemon Red from Santa when I was about 9. This series blew my mind at the time. I had never played a RPG before, even if Pokemon is fairly light on the RPG aspect. I remember it took me ages to figure out that I had to walk into the tall grass to get Prof Oak to give me my first pokemon. I chose Squirtle, my sister chose Charmander and my cousin chose Bulbasaur. It started off a life long obsession. I love to sit down and do a nuzlocke run of Pokemon games now. And it was another game that I completed 100% as a child. Gold and Silver are still my benchmarks for a sequel. The amount of new features and QoE enhancements in those games was staggering to me.
Our PS died sometime around then. I can't explain it very well but basically the circular black bit that you pushed the CDs onto, fell apart. We were probably too rough with it as kids :/
Santa got us a N64 at my behest to replace the PS. I spent most of my time playing Mario Kart, DK64 and Majora's Mask. Even though I didn't get far in it, Majora's Mask started a fascination with Zelda for me. I played a lot of Pokemon Stadium as well. We loved Mario Tennis too. I played hours of that with my cousin. I'm sure I had others but there's nothing jumping out at me at the moment.
I saved some money and bought a PS2 after that. This saw me through my teens along with a Gamecube. I was getting older and my interests were changing. cough girls cough
I played GTA 3 and completed that a number of years after it released. I was too busy exploring the sandbox, when I first got it, to worry about doing the missions or progressing the story. I remember everyone at school was buzzing about it. One lad told me you could have sex with prostitutes and kill them afterwards. I was an innocent dummy and thought he meant 'protestants'. I wondered in my own head, "how can you tell what religion they are?" xD
I played a bunch of Smackdown and Pro Evolution Soccer 5 & 6. We had a group of about 8 friends and we had our own custom wrestlers. We had titles and once a month we'd do our own PPV at someone's house. There'd be title matches and fights to earn the right to be the next challenger. And then we'd probably stay up and watch the recording of that weeks Raw or Smackdown. It was some craic. And that was gaming for a long time. Football (soccer) games and the new GTA releases.
I liked the PS2 but it was the gamecube that really entertained me. I finished Mario Sunshine and Mario Kart Double Dash. I played Wind Waker and went back and completed Ocarina of Time and MM too from the bonus disc. And I played loads of Smash Bros Melee. This was a great era for multiplayer gaming for me. Nowadays, I hardly ever play anything multiplayer!
I'll move on part 3 next time I guess. It's high time I started talking about what's going on right now!
I got a gameboy colour and Pokemon Red from Santa when I was about 9. This series blew my mind at the time. I had never played a RPG before, even if Pokemon is fairly light on the RPG aspect. I remember it took me ages to figure out that I had to walk into the tall grass to get Prof Oak to give me my first pokemon. I chose Squirtle, my sister chose Charmander and my cousin chose Bulbasaur. It started off a life long obsession. I love to sit down and do a nuzlocke run of Pokemon games now. And it was another game that I completed 100% as a child. Gold and Silver are still my benchmarks for a sequel. The amount of new features and QoE enhancements in those games was staggering to me.
Our PS died sometime around then. I can't explain it very well but basically the circular black bit that you pushed the CDs onto, fell apart. We were probably too rough with it as kids :/
Santa got us a N64 at my behest to replace the PS. I spent most of my time playing Mario Kart, DK64 and Majora's Mask. Even though I didn't get far in it, Majora's Mask started a fascination with Zelda for me. I played a lot of Pokemon Stadium as well. We loved Mario Tennis too. I played hours of that with my cousin. I'm sure I had others but there's nothing jumping out at me at the moment.
I saved some money and bought a PS2 after that. This saw me through my teens along with a Gamecube. I was getting older and my interests were changing. cough girls cough
I played GTA 3 and completed that a number of years after it released. I was too busy exploring the sandbox, when I first got it, to worry about doing the missions or progressing the story. I remember everyone at school was buzzing about it. One lad told me you could have sex with prostitutes and kill them afterwards. I was an innocent dummy and thought he meant 'protestants'. I wondered in my own head, "how can you tell what religion they are?" xD
I played a bunch of Smackdown and Pro Evolution Soccer 5 & 6. We had a group of about 8 friends and we had our own custom wrestlers. We had titles and once a month we'd do our own PPV at someone's house. There'd be title matches and fights to earn the right to be the next challenger. And then we'd probably stay up and watch the recording of that weeks Raw or Smackdown. It was some craic. And that was gaming for a long time. Football (soccer) games and the new GTA releases.
I liked the PS2 but it was the gamecube that really entertained me. I finished Mario Sunshine and Mario Kart Double Dash. I played Wind Waker and went back and completed Ocarina of Time and MM too from the bonus disc. And I played loads of Smash Bros Melee. This was a great era for multiplayer gaming for me. Nowadays, I hardly ever play anything multiplayer!
I'll move on part 3 next time I guess. It's high time I started talking about what's going on right now!
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Last year started off with a bang. My then GF, now fiancé, got me a steam gift card so I treated myself to Persona 5 Royal. This is, of course, a massive time investment. I'm going to try and tip away at the backlog this year while trying to balance organising the wedding, stag party, honeymoon, charity work and professional work. So as much as I enjoyed P5R, I'm going to try and avoid 100+ hour adventures this year!
That being said, in the traditional gaming manner, I'm beginning the backlog clear out by adding to it. I got a month's free Gamepass so I started something short and sweet, Tunic. It was a wonderful adventure and I'm amazed by how many layers there are to it. It took me about 18 hours and I'd recommend it to anyone that loves puzzles and has the patience to take on the 'Souls like' combat. An 8/10 for me.
I've been meaning to try Yakuza for the longest time. So I started Yazuka 0 with Gamepass. I got about 15 or 20 hours in. I really like. For me, it's like the quintessential Japanese game - it's got a serious side but it can also be very silly. I will come back and finish it at some point but right now it's sitting comfortably in the backlog (and why wouldn't it? It's got so much company there) as my trial of Gamepass has ended.
I managed to get a decent price on a PS5 so I bought one as a Christmas present to myself. I got Demon's Souls for it, as I love Soulsbourne games. I played the original DeS on PS3, after playing DS and DS2. I liked it but not as much as DS. The combat is a bit more awkward and the level design isn't as polished. Some of the boss run backs in DeS are brutal. That being said, the DeS Remake is a solid 9/10 for me. Graphically, it is beautiful and the animations are buttery smooth. But on the other side, there are elements which were changed, which I wasn't so happy about. They butchered my favourite piece of music, the Maiden in Black's theme. Some of the voice-actor's have been changed as well. The most noticeable for me was Stockpile Thomas. The Maiden in Black's gentle harp tune would play with it's melancholic beauty and Thomas said "You've got a heart of gold. Don't let them take it from you." in a way that was sincere and reassuring. The new VA just doesn't hit the same notes for me.
I understand the old VA might have been unavailable or retired, or God knows what but it's just not same.
It took me 19 hours to finish, though I will come back and platinum it at some stage.
I'm going to continue with the shorter and more managable games, to build up some momentum. And now I'm going actually going to tackle some of the backlog by jumping into LoZ: Link's Awakening for Switch. It's been in the backlog for 3 years or so, and I never played the original.
Here's to a reasonably successful start to 2024!
PS I love gaming remixes so here's the Maiden in Black's theme by Windmills.
That being said, in the traditional gaming manner, I'm beginning the backlog clear out by adding to it. I got a month's free Gamepass so I started something short and sweet, Tunic. It was a wonderful adventure and I'm amazed by how many layers there are to it. It took me about 18 hours and I'd recommend it to anyone that loves puzzles and has the patience to take on the 'Souls like' combat. An 8/10 for me.
I've been meaning to try Yakuza for the longest time. So I started Yazuka 0 with Gamepass. I got about 15 or 20 hours in. I really like. For me, it's like the quintessential Japanese game - it's got a serious side but it can also be very silly. I will come back and finish it at some point but right now it's sitting comfortably in the backlog (and why wouldn't it? It's got so much company there) as my trial of Gamepass has ended.
I managed to get a decent price on a PS5 so I bought one as a Christmas present to myself. I got Demon's Souls for it, as I love Soulsbourne games. I played the original DeS on PS3, after playing DS and DS2. I liked it but not as much as DS. The combat is a bit more awkward and the level design isn't as polished. Some of the boss run backs in DeS are brutal. That being said, the DeS Remake is a solid 9/10 for me. Graphically, it is beautiful and the animations are buttery smooth. But on the other side, there are elements which were changed, which I wasn't so happy about. They butchered my favourite piece of music, the Maiden in Black's theme. Some of the voice-actor's have been changed as well. The most noticeable for me was Stockpile Thomas. The Maiden in Black's gentle harp tune would play with it's melancholic beauty and Thomas said "You've got a heart of gold. Don't let them take it from you." in a way that was sincere and reassuring. The new VA just doesn't hit the same notes for me.
I understand the old VA might have been unavailable or retired, or God knows what but it's just not same.
It took me 19 hours to finish, though I will come back and platinum it at some stage.
I'm going to continue with the shorter and more managable games, to build up some momentum. And now I'm going actually going to tackle some of the backlog by jumping into LoZ: Link's Awakening for Switch. It's been in the backlog for 3 years or so, and I never played the original.
Here's to a reasonably successful start to 2024!
PS I love gaming remixes so here's the Maiden in Black's theme by Windmills.
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2023 In Review
Figured I had better do a review of 2023 before we go any deeper into '24!
In retrospect, I played a bunch of RPGs and turn based strategy. RDR2 and Ghost of Tsuhima flew the flag for 3rd Person Action/Adventure and I only played MKX for the story mode which is only about 12 hours long. I love doing Nuzlocke challenges of old Pokemon games and some rom hacks. I played through a load last year so that has really scratched the itch for me. I'll surely get the craving to do a run before April but for the time being, I'm trying to concentrate on the backlog!
I really got bitten by the Fire Emblem bug towards the end of the year. I loved Shadows of Valentia. It's probably in my top 3 FE games (with the caveat that I've only played about half of them). Path of Radiance was fine. Definitely not a vintage entry in the series but it marked an important transition into 3D for the franchise.
Blood Bowl is my one true love. I've put almost 1,500 hours into the PC adaptation. I play as often as I can on tabletop then. For the uninitiated, it's basically american football meets fantasy races. It's a turn based strategy game decided by dice rolls and it's a complete test in risk management. I was fortunate enough to attend the World Cup in person this year in Spain. 2,200 people attended and played over 3 days in a team event. My team finished in the top 20% which a result to be proud of.
Completed
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 5 Royal
Wind Waker HD
Red Dead Redemption 2
Ghost of Tshumia
Mortal Kombat X
Pokemon Sword
Cassette Beasts
Pokemon X Rebirth
Pokemon ORAS
Black 2
HGSS
Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
On the Backburner
Persona 5 Strikers
Witcher 3 (Replay)
Baldur’s Gate 1
Doom
Dark Souls 3 (Replay)
Mass Effect
Ongoing
Crusader Kings III
Blood Bowl 2
I'll need to remember to take screenshots of my gameplay in future! Fingers crossed I'll get around to the games on the backburner this year
Figured I had better do a review of 2023 before we go any deeper into '24!
In retrospect, I played a bunch of RPGs and turn based strategy. RDR2 and Ghost of Tsuhima flew the flag for 3rd Person Action/Adventure and I only played MKX for the story mode which is only about 12 hours long. I love doing Nuzlocke challenges of old Pokemon games and some rom hacks. I played through a load last year so that has really scratched the itch for me. I'll surely get the craving to do a run before April but for the time being, I'm trying to concentrate on the backlog!
I really got bitten by the Fire Emblem bug towards the end of the year. I loved Shadows of Valentia. It's probably in my top 3 FE games (with the caveat that I've only played about half of them). Path of Radiance was fine. Definitely not a vintage entry in the series but it marked an important transition into 3D for the franchise.
Blood Bowl is my one true love. I've put almost 1,500 hours into the PC adaptation. I play as often as I can on tabletop then. For the uninitiated, it's basically american football meets fantasy races. It's a turn based strategy game decided by dice rolls and it's a complete test in risk management. I was fortunate enough to attend the World Cup in person this year in Spain. 2,200 people attended and played over 3 days in a team event. My team finished in the top 20% which a result to be proud of.
Completed
Persona 5 Royal
Mortal Kombat X
Pokemon Sword
Pokemon X Rebirth
Black 2
HGSS
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
On the Backburner
Persona 5 Strikers
Witcher 3 (Replay)
Baldur’s Gate 1
Doom
Dark Souls 3 (Replay)
Mass Effect
Ongoing
Crusader Kings III
Blood Bowl 2
I'll need to remember to take screenshots of my gameplay in future! Fingers crossed I'll get around to the games on the backburner this year
#From the looks you are both a trophy hunter and steam achivment hunter.
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I will put the hours into 100% completion if I really enjoy the game but that doesn't happen very often. I hate half assing things so I generally do more than the bare minimum. I don't know why, it would just annoy me to rush the main story or whatever, and not pick up any optional achievements!
How's your 2024 been so far?
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These last few months have seen slow progress in backlog land. Real life, work, wedding planning etc. has made it hard to find time. Having said that, I did manage to get some play in; it just happened to be replays of Elden Ring and Fallout 3.
I wanted to start a new character in time for Shadow of the Erdtree releasing next month, which I'm really excited about. I've been a Fromsoft fan since Dark Souls released on PC, and they consistently deliver excellent DLC.
The Fallout 3 replay was obviously inspired by the release of the Amazon series. I enjoyed it overall. Like any TV or movie adaption, you just have to accept that the writer's are going make a few changes. There's so many easter eggs and references to the games, you can tell it was handled with care.
Fallout 3 on the other hand... I had never played the DLC and I replayed New Vegas during Covid so I decided to return to the Capital Wasteland. At the risk of sounding like Gordon Ramsay critiquing food, it's just bland. It's a fine game but the quest and story design doesn't come near New Vegas. You have to give them credit for reimagining Fallout's world and helping it make the leap to 3D but there's just nothing going on. It doesn't have any of the moral complexity that New Vegas has. The contrast between FO3/4 and NV is night and day. There's plenty of good video essay's about it, and having watched many reviews and analyses of Starfield, I know I won't ever be touching that.
The DLC is boring. I didn't bother playing all of it. Point Lookout is almost a good quest. They came so close to giving you one of those moral quandaries: do you back Prof. Calvert or Desmond. Unfortunately, they never give you enough of a reason to side with either of them. Broken Steel is fine. It adds options to resolve the game, that should have been there from the beginning. Operation Anchorage is epitome of Bethesda not understanding that fans want to focus on the role-playing aspects of Fallout and not the FPS bits. I didn't bother finishing Mothership Zeta and didn't make it to the Pitt then either. I was very close to the level cap. I was 100 in pretty much every stat (despite trying to role play as morally ambiguous thief with no charisma). I was unkillable at that point and just didn't have the interest to continue. Though I understand that the Pitt comes closer to that quest writing I'd like to see.
I wanted to start a new character in time for Shadow of the Erdtree releasing next month, which I'm really excited about. I've been a Fromsoft fan since Dark Souls released on PC, and they consistently deliver excellent DLC.
The Fallout 3 replay was obviously inspired by the release of the Amazon series. I enjoyed it overall. Like any TV or movie adaption, you just have to accept that the writer's are going make a few changes. There's so many easter eggs and references to the games, you can tell it was handled with care.
Fallout 3 on the other hand... I had never played the DLC and I replayed New Vegas during Covid so I decided to return to the Capital Wasteland. At the risk of sounding like Gordon Ramsay critiquing food, it's just bland. It's a fine game but the quest and story design doesn't come near New Vegas. You have to give them credit for reimagining Fallout's world and helping it make the leap to 3D but there's just nothing going on. It doesn't have any of the moral complexity that New Vegas has. The contrast between FO3/4 and NV is night and day. There's plenty of good video essay's about it, and having watched many reviews and analyses of Starfield, I know I won't ever be touching that.
The DLC is boring. I didn't bother playing all of it. Point Lookout is almost a good quest. They came so close to giving you one of those moral quandaries: do you back Prof. Calvert or Desmond. Unfortunately, they never give you enough of a reason to side with either of them. Broken Steel is fine. It adds options to resolve the game, that should have been there from the beginning. Operation Anchorage is epitome of Bethesda not understanding that fans want to focus on the role-playing aspects of Fallout and not the FPS bits. I didn't bother finishing Mothership Zeta and didn't make it to the Pitt then either. I was very close to the level cap. I was 100 in pretty much every stat (despite trying to role play as morally ambiguous thief with no charisma). I was unkillable at that point and just didn't have the interest to continue. Though I understand that the Pitt comes closer to that quest writing I'd like to see.
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I did manage to scratch one thing off that backlog and that was a game I had been meaning to play with about 12 years, Shadow of the Colossus. I played the PS4 remake on PS5. I went in with high expectations. I was underwhelmed and disappointed. I understand it's a PS2 title and that certain limitations have to be accepted but the gameplay just didn't grab me. I love my boss fights; I love Dark Souls and classic Zelda but this was miles off for me.
I don't mind the empty open world. That was definitely a conscious decision and it's still a beautiful place to ride. The controls are awkward in my opinion and not in the same way that the controls of MGS are. The protagonist is cumbersome when climbing which is a big issue when the whole game is basically a climbing puzzle. I'm confident the controls added about 2 hours to my 9 hours completion time. I'm sure this was by design too but I was just so let down. I went in with the expectation that it was going to make me rethink games as a medium of telling stories but it never reached those heights (pun intended).
Only that I knew I was almost done, I would have quit after about 6 hours. It's definitely not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination but it just didn't grab me the way I expected that it would. 7/10 for me.
I don't mind the empty open world. That was definitely a conscious decision and it's still a beautiful place to ride. The controls are awkward in my opinion and not in the same way that the controls of MGS are. The protagonist is cumbersome when climbing which is a big issue when the whole game is basically a climbing puzzle. I'm confident the controls added about 2 hours to my 9 hours completion time. I'm sure this was by design too but I was just so let down. I went in with the expectation that it was going to make me rethink games as a medium of telling stories but it never reached those heights (pun intended).
Only that I knew I was almost done, I would have quit after about 6 hours. It's definitely not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination but it just didn't grab me the way I expected that it would. 7/10 for me.
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On the plus side for me this update, I staved off the temptation to buy any new games until I've taken a chunk out of the backlog \o/
Right now I'm about 8 hours in Valkyria Chronicles which has easily been in my steam library for 8 years. I'll get there eventually!
Right now I'm about 8 hours in Valkyria Chronicles which has easily been in my steam library for 8 years. I'll get there eventually!
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August 2024
The old backlog really got put on the proverbial back burner for the last 2-3 months. Real life took over but on the plus side, I got married to the love of my life :D
I played and beat Hollow Knight since I last updated. I'm not the biggest metroidvania fan out there but I did really enjoy it. I found some of the platforming heavy sections hard going but overall, I really enjoyed it.
I'm not sure I'll manage to finish Valkyria Chronicles. I'll give it another go but I'm about half way through and it really hasn't held my interest :/ I'm loathe to put stuff into the "Did Not Finish" pile but this could be a candidate for it.
I also kind of broke my cardinal rule for this year about replaying games - I finished my replay of Elden Ring, in preparation for Shadow of the Erdtree. I literally just finished it, and I must say it blew me away. I didn't think they could improve any further on the base game but they managed it. I didn't find the difficulty to be insane, until I came to the final boss. It literally took me about 4 hours to beat. In contrast, I beat the other bosses in the DLC in 4 or less attempts. It took me 120 hours to beat the base game and DLC so it was a massive committent. I might try to jump into something a bit shorter next!
The old backlog really got put on the proverbial back burner for the last 2-3 months. Real life took over but on the plus side, I got married to the love of my life :D
I played and beat Hollow Knight since I last updated. I'm not the biggest metroidvania fan out there but I did really enjoy it. I found some of the platforming heavy sections hard going but overall, I really enjoyed it.
I'm not sure I'll manage to finish Valkyria Chronicles. I'll give it another go but I'm about half way through and it really hasn't held my interest :/ I'm loathe to put stuff into the "Did Not Finish" pile but this could be a candidate for it.
I also kind of broke my cardinal rule for this year about replaying games - I finished my replay of Elden Ring, in preparation for Shadow of the Erdtree. I literally just finished it, and I must say it blew me away. I didn't think they could improve any further on the base game but they managed it. I didn't find the difficulty to be insane, until I came to the final boss. It literally took me about 4 hours to beat. In contrast, I beat the other bosses in the DLC in 4 or less attempts. It took me 120 hours to beat the base game and DLC so it was a massive committent. I might try to jump into something a bit shorter next!