Commit to your backlog thread - 2019-2020

[JujuFish]

2021 starts here: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/2021-backlog-thread.2589123/




Partially inspired by @DigDog 's thread here about playing through your backlog instead of buying new games, as well as @BFG10K 's thread here about games you played in 2018.

I thought it might be fun for those of us with large backlogs to make a specific plan to play our games for the year. We could report back and see how we're all progressing throughout the year. This thread is not about preventing you from playing new games (I'll probably get Sekiro and The Outer Worlds sometime this year, for example), it's just about setting a goal for your backlog.

Personally, I'm going to pick 12 games (~1 per month), but this is just for fun, so feel free to pick any number you want.

Anyway, here's my initial list (I may change games out if I find out I'm not really enjoying one), in no particular order:

Batman: Arkham Knight
Assassin's Creed: Origins
Horizon: Zero Dawn
God of War
Life is Strange
LIMBO
A Hat in Time
FEZ
Half-Life (I know, I know. I started this a few times over the years but never finished it.)
Snake Pass
Metal Gear Solid V
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Started playing Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which is one of the earlier games from the now well known developer Arkane (Dishonored/Prey), that was released in 2006.

I'm having a tough time putting my finger on this game... its definitely fun, the graphics are older but thanks to the source engine are not displeasing to look at, and the game plays like a mash up of system shock and thief with its FPS perspective, sneak-ish focus, sword & board gameplay, and skill trees.

The game definitely took on on of the cringe-ier elements of 2000's eXtreme fantasy: absurdly oversexed female characters that basically only talk in innuendos with comically sultry voices. Its such a start contrast to the generally well rounded female characters in games today that I'd forgotten this particular brand of making fantasy settings relevant to the youths.

 

[you2]

It was a fun game but had balance issues and a few bugs they never fixed. It didn't sell well so publisher pulled all funding. I don't think it received much if any patches.

Started playing Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which is one of the earlier games from the now well known developer Arkane (Dishonored/Prey), that was released in 2006.

I'm having a tough time putting my finger on this game... its definitely fun, the graphics are older but thanks to the source engine are not displeasing to look at, and the game plays like a mash up of system shock and thief with its FPS perspective, sneak-ish focus, sword & board gameplay, and skill trees.

The game definitely took on on of the cringe-ier elements of 2000's eXtreme fantasy: absurdly oversexed female characters that basically only talk in innuendos with comically sultry voices. Its such a start contrast to the generally well rounded female characters in games today that I'd forgotten this particular brand of making fantasy settings relevant to the youths.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Started playing Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which is one of the earlier games from the now well known developer Arkane (Dishonored/Prey), that was released in 2006.

I'm having a tough time putting my finger on this game... its definitely fun, the graphics are older but thanks to the source engine are not displeasing to look at, and the game plays like a mash up of system shock and thief with its FPS perspective, sneak-ish focus, sword & board gameplay, and skill trees.

The game definitely took on on of the cringe-ier elements of 2000's eXtreme fantasy: absurdly oversexed female characters that basically only talk in innuendos with comically sultry voices. Its such a start contrast to the generally well rounded female characters in games today that I'd forgotten this particular brand of making fantasy settings relevant to the youths.

I love that game because it was one of the first games that actually let you use the environment to your full advantage. Not to mention there were significant rewards if you took the time to explore and reach some areas you didn't think you should be able to reach.

It was a fun game but had balance issues and a few bugs they never fixed. It didn't sell well so publisher pulled all funding. I don't think it received much if any patches.

It's been a long time, but if I remember right, there have been some community/fan patches that fix almost all the issues with the base game. I could be remembering wrong but I do recall my buddy and me over Skype trying to figure out how to install the patches to get the game to work better (mainly performance issues in the second area at night).

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I love that game because it was one of the first games that actually let you use the environment to your full advantage. Not to mention there were significant rewards if you took the time to explore and reach some areas you didn't think you should be able to reach.

-Its bizarre how gaming seems to have regressed from the peak of physics enhanced gameplay in the mid 00's, especially given the oodles of CPU power now on tap for many consumers.

Source games for Physics and Frostbite 2.0 games for destructible environments.

Hopefully this next gen of consoles with 8c/16t of high performance CPUs brings this trend back in new and exciting ways.

 

[JujuFish]

Working my way through Spider-Man (on my list) and Link's Awakening (not on my list).

I don't know why, but ever since I decided that I might do a PC upgrade this year, I've been leaning more toward console games. Like I subconsciously want to save my PC games for new hardware. And I don't even have bad hardware right now, running a 6700K and 1070. I don't know.

I did finish the main story of Pokemon Sword, so that makes 4/12 from my list, but I got sidetracked by modded Minecraft with a friend for a bit so haven't made a ton of progress on my backlog over all.

 

[pmv]

All I've done (for many years now) regarding my ludicrous Steam backlog is to occasionally fire up Doom 2016, discover I _still_ can't get past that wretched mid-game boss, and then give up again.

Apart from that I occsasionaly fire up Steam and look at my library and find I just cannot summon up the willpower to play anything. They all seem like so much _work_ these days. Life's too short.

Perhaps if I one day make any further progress on Doom, I might get inspired to play something else.

 

[shortylickens]

All I've done (for many years now) regarding my ludicrous Steam backlog is to occasionally fire up Doom 2016, discover I _still_ can't get past that wretched mid-game boss, and then give up again.

Apart from that I occsasionaly fire up Steam and look at my library and find I just cannot summon up the willpower to play anything. They all seem like so much _work_ these days. Life's too short.

Perhaps if I one day make any further progress on Doom, I might get inspired to play something else.

Get a trainer.
Or look up the cheat codes.
Its worth it to beat the game.

 

[pmv]

Get a trainer.
Or look up the cheat codes.
Its worth it to beat the game.

I hate using cheats. Not that I even have looked into whether there are any for Doom. It feels like it undermines the whole essence of a game.

There's a long list of games I never quite finished because I never got past the final boss (Serious Sam 2, for example...or the original Quake). There are a few others I left half-finished for up to a decade before finally getting past some stupid difficulty-spike. I just accept that it's unfinished - like so much else in life (well, my life anyway). There are no cheat codes for real life (though, having said that - if anyone has found any, do let me know).

 

[mopardude87]

Not sure if planning on buying older games falls under the "commit to your backlog" or not. I have had a list of older stuff on the mind a while but was waiting on a rebuild.

Big maybe but planning on getting AC: Odyssey and finally Doom Eternal and Skyrim in June but waiting to see what happens at this nvidia deal on May 14th. My body is ready for Ampere and i have given up on plenty of pleasantries just so i could afford a 3080ti and plenty of games in June. Doubt its coming out that early but if so then yup i plan on getting those games then maxing them out at 1440p.

I need these games to pop out and run as they were intended, i am hyped about the entire idea! Got other stuff like Bioshock:Infinite on the list too.

 

[shortylickens]

I keep forgetting why I never finish Final Fantasy X-2.
Its because it sucks donkey dick.

Had to reinstall to find that out, not fun. But uninstalling is easy.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Just completed Dark Messiah, I'll do a write up on it at some point.

I'm doing a better at completing games that aren't on my "list" than those that are. Just not interested in a 40 hour time sink at the moment, really drawn to the 10-20 hour "fast fun" type games.

 

[zinfamous]

I keep forgetting why I never finish Final Fantasy X-2.
Its because it sucks donkey dick.

Had to reinstall to find that out, not fun. But uninstalling is easy.

I played it for maybe 20 minutes for the first time ever some month or two ago (bought it last year as some $5 X and X-2 bundle, I think), and the inescapable fact that it was a shitty game that will never get unshitty came on pretty soon for me.

 

[Red Hawk]

After playing through Jedi Fallen Order and thoroughly enjoying it, all the comparisons to the modern Tomb Raider series got me interested in playing those games...and the first game has been sitting in my Steam library since 2013 and I haven't put more than an hour in it. Not that I disliked the game, I just...never got into it. Time to fix that! I mean, it's a high quality game through and through, I don't know just why I let it pass me by.

 

[rivethead]

So getting in the way of me working on the next game on my backlog list (Dark Souls III) was the 2K Humble Bundle last month. I spent $1 and got Spec Ops: The Line. I finished that and it was ok. Game mechanics for a shooter were decent enough. I didn't really care for the dark storyline or moral consequences in the game.

But in that 2K bundle was another game called The Darkness II. I'm not a reader of comic books and I don't really care for super heroes. But I had an absolute blast playing this game. It's short (probably 10 hours at most to finish the story), it's linear, it's full of mob/Italian stereotypes which are over the top.

It's a shooter that allows you to dual wield, but you also have two demon tentacles coming out of your back. So you have four options to choose from when it comes to dishing out punishment. Played it with a controller, except for a few places that required precise, fast shooting to get an achievement - for those I switched to a mouse.

It just scratched that itch I had for a sit back, press buttons, and be entertained type of game. Not too much thinking involved.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

So getting in the way of me working on the next game on my backlog list (Dark Souls III) was the 2K Humble Bundle last month. I spent $1 and got Spec Ops: The Line. I finished that and it was ok. Game mechanics for a shooter were decent enough. I didn't really care for the dark storyline or moral consequences in the game.

But in that 2K bundle was another game called The Darkness II. I'm not a reader of comic books and I don't really care for super heroes. But I had an absolute blast playing this game. It's short (probably 10 hours at most to finish the story), it's linear, it's full of mob/Italian stereotypes which are over the top.

It's a shooter that allows you to dual wield, but you also have two demon tentacles coming out of your back. So you have four options to choose from when it comes to dishing out punishment. Played it with a controller, except for a few places that required precise, fast shooting to get an achievement - for those I switched to a mouse.

It just scratched that itch I had for a sit back, press buttons, and be entertained type of game. Not too much thinking involved.

- Its good to hear another perspective on Spec Ops - the game is garnering a helluva cult following based on its story and I'm interested in getting around to it when I'm back to a "military shooter" on my list. I'll admit I do get tired of the "America Hell Yeah" jingoistic story lines of a lot of these games so I am particularly interested in Spec Ops from this perspective.

The Darkness games seem interesting and I may check them out here at some point.

 

[rivethead]

- Its good to hear another perspective on Spec Ops - the game is garnering a helluva cult following based on its story and I'm interested in getting around to it when I'm back to a "military shooter" on my list. I'll admit I do get tired of the "America Hell Yeah" jingoistic story lines of a lot of these games so I am particularly interested in Spec Ops from this perspective.

I didn't mine that story line. It was just how it was resolved. I just didn't fully "get" it. And maybe that was by design.....

 

[shortylickens]

I played it for maybe 20 minutes for the first time ever some month or two ago (bought it last year as some $5 X and X-2 bundle, I think), and the inescapable fact that it was a shitty game that will never get unshitty came on pretty soon for me.

to be fair, if you only survived 20 minutes you probably didnt play the actual game.
The first 22 minutes are cutscenes and railroaded combat.
AFTER the real game starts you'll see its quite mediocre. And also full of cutscenes and railroaded combat.
I got up to chapter 4 (somehow) and it was just too much nonsense. You dont even play the game in Chapter 4. you use a camera to bounce around the regions and watch people and sometimes talk to them.
It was the final nail in the coffin for me.

 

[shortylickens]

Dying Light is a pain, I now remember why I only played it once.
The games story doesnt take that long, but you need to level up in 3 skills or else you get beat up a lot. And grinding for levels is such a pain in the buttocks.
But cracking zombie skulls never gets old, so theres that.

 

[you2]

Sort of working on grim dawn. I purchased it a long time ago when they were raising funds (crate) because I really liked Titan Quest and i lived in the same town; but never got around to playing. Then i saw this mod reign of terror so now i'm finally sort of playing - i'm playing the reign of terror mod not actual grim dawn which one day i might play if i ever get to my backlog

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I keep forgetting why I never finish Final Fantasy X-2.
Its because it sucks donkey dick.

Had to reinstall to find that out, not fun. But uninstalling is easy.

I played it for maybe 20 minutes for the first time ever some month or two ago (bought it last year as some $5 X and X-2 bundle, I think), and the inescapable fact that it was a shitty game that will never get unshitty came on pretty soon for me.

Yup, wife & I used to love playing these games all the way up to X-2 and we were both like Will this corridor or hallway ever end? We played maybe 30 minutes.
The final nail was the PlayStation 3 final fantasy whatever. We were so excited and it was such a huge disappointment

 

[Stg-Flame]

Dying Light is a pain, I now remember why I only played it once.
The games story doesnt take that long, but you need to level up in 3 skills or else you get beat up a lot. And grinding for levels is such a pain in the buttocks.
But cracking zombie skulls never gets old, so theres that.

You don't have to level up all three skills (4 if you have The Following) to survive but they definitely improve your odds of survival - especially once you unlock the grappling hook. Also, you don't ever need to grind so long as you play the game you'll level up normally. The only time I ever did any grinding was at night on the bridge between the three oil slicks and just let everything burn to death for double exp while retreating back to the bridge if I started to get overwhelmed. I suppose if you just rush through the main story you'll have some issues in Old Town, but for the majority of the game, there isn't much challenge. Always keep a rifle/pistol for humans (one headshot each) and three strong melee weapons for everything else. Don't be afraid to use blueprints because until the end-game, weapons will become obsolete incredibly fast and crafting components are everywhere. Going out at night isn't that much of a challenge either once you know how to handle the volatiles. A Ranger or upgraded crossbow can kill a volatile in one headshot and occasionally you'll get lucky with a shotgun blast to the face, but they have to be right in front of you for that to work. Even without those two weapons a flare, wall, and melee weapon is enough to kill a volatile (flare keeps them stunlocked against the wall while you hit them in the back - don't hit their front because they counter every time).

Sort of working on grim dawn. I purchased it a long time ago when they were raising funds (crate) because I really liked Titan Quest and i lived in the same town; but never got around to playing. Then i saw this mod reign of terror so now i'm finally sort of playing - i'm playing the reign of terror mod not actual grim dawn which one day i might play if i ever get to my backlog

After over 3,000 hours I still go back to Grim Dawn every once in a while. The progress they've made along with all the secrets and hidden lore (and literal thousands of weapons and armor) is enough to keep someone playing it all year.

 

[mopardude87]

Finally got the Special Edition of Skyrim and not even a hour in and ALREADY in love with this game. Its a damn cinematic masterpiece of a game. Everything from the combat, the ambient noises in the wilderness, the music and everything is as good as people kept telling me it was. It's my first of the series. I set up a Breton and shes been kicking some serious ass. I about jumped with glee when that dragon came down before i lost my head, that was AMAZING.

To think i almost waited for Ampere, my config certainly is overkill for the game at 1080p with like 40% gpu usage max. I even let WCG fold at 50% cpu and i barely hit 60% half the time for overall cpu usage.

Best $40 i spent, the game is almost therapeutic in nature and i already found myself exploring. I may have found a game bigger and better then GTA V for my go to exploring simulator.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Finally got the Special Edition of Skyrim and not even a hour in and ALREADY in love with this game. Its a damn cinematic masterpiece of a game. Everything from the combat, the ambient noises in the wilderness, the music and everything is as good as people kept telling me it was. It's my first of the series. I set up a Breton and shes been kicking some serious ass. I about jumped with glee when that dragon came down before i lost my head, that was AMAZING.

To think i almost waited for Ampere, my config certainly is overkill for the game at 1080p with like 40% gpu usage max. I even let WCG fold at 50% cpu and i barely hit 60% half the time for overall cpu usage.

Best $40 i spent, the game is almost therapeutic in nature and i already found myself exploring. I may have found a game bigger and better then GTA V for my go to exploring simulator.

are you running any texture packs or other visual enhancements? those can make a big improvement in graphical quality.

 

[mopardude87]

are you running any texture packs or other visual enhancements? those can make a big improvement in graphical quality.

Gonna play it as it was intended then perhaps on the second go or just for fun i may mod.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Waffling between starting Max Payne 2 (never beat MP 1, although I've played it at some point) and Darksiders 1.

Feel like playing an actual shooter instead of two hack n' slash games in a row, but Darksiders has been on the docket for a VERY long time, and I got the remastered version for free on steam.

Also got a bunch of new wireless Xbox controllers for the b-day, so it would be a good opportunity to to use those.