BB's Backlog Challenge

[BB]

We've all got one, right? In this era of steam sales and humble bundles, we've all got a stockpile of games we've not so much as spent five minutes with just loitering around on our To Play list. We'll "get to them eventually", or "it's next after this one", or "I'm just not in the mood for that kind of game right now". Years down the line, it's still there, the weight of it bearing down on you every time a shiny new game comes out and you buy it instead of playing the ones you've already got.

So lets do something about it.

Bring together all the games in your backlog. Yeah, even that 20p platformer you got in a bundle one time because it came with that other 20p platformer you thought looked alright. Make up a list, post it here, and the games masters of NPF will collectively nominate a title from that list for you to play. If they can't agree on a single game, choose one of the nominated games at random.

Within seven days of being nominated a game, you have to give it one solid hour of play. Then, come back here, write up a short review, and at the end of your review make a decision- will you finishfinish here meaning "play through until you're satisfied with the amount of completion", not necessarily to get 100% it, or binbin here meaning you remove it from your backlog and let it never haunt your thoughts again... unless you want to come back to it in the future it? Then rinse and repeat until you've whittled your list down to a level you're happy with.

The end result will hopefully be a lot of games being played, a lot of nice surprises, the warm feeling that comes from having a good clear-out, some good discussion on what games were good and what games weren't, and maybe even some purchases based on these recommendations.

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To kick things off, here's my backlogue:

Long images

Please don't nominate Trine 2, Jamestown or Outland as I'm playing those co-op. Disregard which ones are installed and which aren't, all games are up for nomination.

Happy gaming!

[MuMu]

Despite not being a fan of VNs or Social Justice, I really enjoyed Analogue and it's narrative, to the point of buying the sequel(Also OK) at launch, so that's my nomination.


Here's Mine

There are a lot of Point'n'Clicks there because that was my favorite genre as a kid and I keep buying new ones to relive those memories but end up never playing them.

[mauve]

Well, I'm horrible at giving a single recommendation if I see multiple games I like, so I'll give you a few and let you guys choose:

BB: My Recommendations to YouTransistor is beautiful, if a little confusing in terms of narrative. The story itself unfolds both as the actual plotline AND in the (for lack of a better term) power/ability descriptions. The game forces you to unlock new powers in order to learn more about the backstories of various characters and the world, and while it can be hard to force yourself to try new ability setups once you find one that you really like, it makes it worth your while. The actual narrative itself is a little confusing, although this is done purposely at the beginning. Combat is a hybrid between turn-based strategy and real time beat-em-up, where you can either pause time and plan your attacks, or just run around mashing buttons. This works surprisingly well.

Borderlands 2 is immense fun once you get past the first few levels, and it's pretty funny to boot. If you're into first-person shooters with a weird comedy-Mad-Max flair, and you're OK with adult humor and the occasional immature mockery (there's a few things in the game that rub me the wrong way, like an allusion to a specific mental illness that kind of offended me, but I still love the game to bits) give it a shot. Plus, you'll need to play Borderlands 2 and MAAAAYBE also Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel if you ever want to play the absolutely amazing Tales from the Borderlands by Telltale Games, which I cannot recommend highly enough.

MuMu: My Recommendations to YouThe Blackwell Epiphany: If you have played the rest of the Blackwell games, PLAY THIS IMMEDIATELY. If you have not played any of the other Blackwell games, PLAY THE REST OF THEM, IN ORDER, IMMEDIATELY, AND THEN PLAY EPIPHANY IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS. Blackwell is my absolute favorite point-n-click series. In spite of its many flaws, (bad audio quality, differences in art from game to game, etc) I really do adore the stories and the characters, and I hope you do too.

Ghostbusters is fantastic. I adore it so much; it's basically the Ghostbusters movie sequel we're never going to get. While gameplay might be a little simplistic, it is incredibly fun to chase down ghosts, poke around locations from the films (and new ones!) and suit up alongside the original Ghostbusters cast. Sure, there's plot holes, and the female love interest is annoying and poorly voice-acted, but the characters of the Ghostbusters themselves are spot on and the banter between them is great.

Primordia starts out great but loses a little steam in the second half. It's still a really good game from the same studio that made the Blackwell games, though. The visuals and atmosphere are gorgeous and the main two characters are really fun. Give it a shot once you've finished everything Blackwell has to offer.

You can skip Gemini Rue. It's ok I guess, but to me it just seemed like bad fanfiction.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall is superb. The writing and characters are really top notch and more than make up for the somewhat simplistic gameplay. I love every single character (OK, everyone except Glory), and the world is deep and multi-dimensional. The game really makes you care about these characters and their lives. As a warning, however, it occasionally delves into some very dark issues like abusive relationships, addiction and racism. The game also tends to take a somewhat grim and nihilistic view of things. I LOVE this game, but I like to let people know about that in advance just in case. NOTE: I haven't finished the Director's Cut of the game, just the original release, so I can't say whether the new missions and mechanics are any better or worse than the original.


Mauve's Unplayed Games:
-Banner Saga 2 (haven't played yet because it's a large download and my internet connection is terrible)
-Deponia (played an hour, got bored)
-The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (large download, shitty internet)
-Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (large download, shitty internet)
-Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon
-Rayman Origins
-Resonance
-Bioshock (large download, shitty internet)
-Cthulu Saves the World
-The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (large download, shitty internet)
-Mass Effect 2 (large download, shitty internet)

[BB]

MuMu: Gonna second Mauve on Blackwell if you've played the others.

Mauve: Cthulhu Saves The World is a really neat little parody RPG that actually takes the time to be a good game in its own right. Nominated!

[phil_]

BB: play Carpe Diem. You get a fully cleared Steam game in five minutes. Play it late at night alone for the proper effect.

MuMu: I recently watched _Mike play through both Abe Oddworld games. The attempt at making a puzzle game with communication elements ended up making pretty unique games.

Mauve: play Rayman. I played some of it at a friend's house, and it's just a great, fast platform. Plus it seems to already be downloaded.

I'd post my backlog, but I'm on my phone because no one at my ISP works weekends. I'll put writing it up on my backlog.

[Menarker]

@BB: Have the same "huge backlog" issue you do. Only played a few of the games you got on the list though. There are two games I played on your list though in particular that I can comment on.

Played Eternal Senia before. Despite not being THAT long of a game, it is grind-heavy and I probably wouldn't rate it higher than some of the other games on the list you got there.

Transistor is stylish and have some nice music, but it is also kinda short and repetitive (like it was forced to be rushed to completion or not be made at all), although combat is fairly interesting.

@MuMu: Blackwell Ephiphany is one of several games in the Blackwell series (The last one in fact). Was a bit humorous and have some atmosphere for an older series but basically old-school point-n-click story-game. You also won't enjoy it nearly as much if you don't play the entire series in order, especially since some character motivations/behaviors will be harder to understand if you don't play from the first one.
The Blackwell Legacy (2006)
Blackwell Unbound (2007)
The Blackwell Convergence (2009)
The Blackwell Deception (2011)
The Blackwell Epiphany (2014)

[Revising Ocelot]

DID SOMEBODY SAY BACKLOG?

Alien Isolation
And Yet It Moves
Apotheon
The Banner Saga
Battleblock Theater
Broforce
Burnout Paradise
Call of Juarez Gunslinger
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Child of Light
Cogs
CounterStrike Source
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition
Divinity Original Sin
The Evil Within
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Fallout 4
Fallout: New Vegas
Far Cry 4
Final Fantasy X/X2
Fractured Space
Freedom Planet
Gratuitous Space Battles
Grim Fandango Remastered
Grow Home
Hammerfight
Hell Yeah!
Hitman: Blood Money
Jet Set Radio
Jotun
Legend of Grimrock 2
LIMBO
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
Max Payne 3
Metro: Last Light
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
NightSky
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
Ori and the Blind Forest
Pillars of Eternity
Race the Sun
Rayman Legends
Red Orchestra 2
Renegade Ops
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil Revelations
SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics
Shadowrun Returns
Shadowrun: Dragonfall
Sleeping Dogs
Sniper Elite V2
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Steamworld Dig
Styx: Master of Shadows
The Talos Principle
Tomb Raider 2013
Transistor
Valkyria Chronicles
Viking: Battle for Asgard
The Witcher
The Witcher 2
The Witcher 3
XCOM 2


These are all games I have either not played yet or spent less time playing than it took to write this list. It's about 40% of my Steam library, but I have more unplayed games besides Steam.

You think you can beat my backlog? You cannot.

[Token]

man my backlog is just kinda sad
FFVII (i was never able to get into this at all)
FFIX (this was my jam when i was a kid, but never got past the first disc)
Ace Attorney 2
Persona 3 (never finished, keep getting distracted)
Persona 4 (same thing)
Persona Q (REALLY enjoyed what I've played, but figured I should stop until I got through the above two games)
Kid Icarus Uprising
SMT: Digital Devil Saga
SMT: Digital Devil Saga 2
...SMT
SMT III: Nocturne
Devil Survivor 2 (kinda? Got the remake, never got around to playing the new campaign)
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Halo 4
Hyrule Warriors
Shovel Knight
Soul Hackers
Fire Emblem Fates
Little Big Planet
Batman Arkham City
finishing goddamn skyrim jesus fuck

[MuMu]

@Everyone, I've played all the other Blackwell games before but it has been so long I might as well replay the entire series instead of just going into Epiphany. So that's what I'm doing!

@Mauve, I'm going to make a reccomendation here, Rayman Origins for being a great and pretty much a flawless plataformer, and a counter reccomendation: Drop the Deponia series, it just ain't worth it. They tried to make the MC a Jerk With A Heart of Gold but with no gold and while at the end of the first game it seems like he may have got some growth and matured, it all goes out of the window right in the beggining of the second one.

@Menarker, you cheated, where's your backlog!?

@Ocelot, you have way too many good games, I can't choose one

@Token, That's a lot of RPGs, I'd suggest finishing the Mass Effect series since it looks like you're already into it and maybe balance it with Arkham City so you have some punching to do when you're tired of talking people to death.

[BB]

RO: Hammerfight!
Token: Kid Icarus!