Mini-Review/Backlog Destruction Thread

Razzel

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2013
2,181
1,260
1,150
Soooo, my backlog is massive. It's a little embarrassing actually. So I've committed to working my way through that backlog and I thought it would be fun/helpful to write some mini-reviews along the way after I either complete a game or decide I'm done with it.

So rules for the thread are simple, play a game in your backlog and write a review. Doesn't have to be long, just share your thoughts and whether or not you recommend it. Look forward to reading some reviews and actually playing through some of the many, many, many games I've purchased haha.

To get it started of what I've played this past week:

Inside - From the creators of Limbo comes a game that's artsy, beautiful, and quite frankly way the hell over my head. Seriously, I played the game for 4 hours and couldn't tell you a single thing about the story other than there was a boy....with no face....who was running from....something. Still though, I recommend it! Great graphics, amazing sound, beautiful animations, and just a unique and enjoyable experience. Puzzles can be a little too simple at times, but no big deal. I'd recommend picking it up on sale though, it's pretty short for the asking price.

Valley - Ok so this game came out of freaking nowhere for me. Like almost every other game I buy I saw it on sale, thought it looked interesting, and thought why not. I'm here to tell you this is one of my favorite games I've played this year. Story is really minimal but oddly engaging, graphics are fantastic for a budget title, but the real selling point is the movement and platforming. It was way more smooth and satisfying to traverse the world than I would have ever assumed from watching videos, and that's what ultimately carried the game. One of the more relaxing games I've ever played, and would totally recommend it even at full price.

Dangerous Golf - So you shoot a golf ball at breakable stuff, and that's about it. Still, that by itself sounds kind of awesome haha. I was pretty skeptical though about this one because I had heard bad things, but I guess there was a patch that came out earlier in the year addressing all the technical problems. I can confirm that the game runs smooth, and load times to retry a level are very short. The gameplay is really great too if you just want to pick up and play in short bursts. I mean that's what it is, a game you play when you don't have time or you just want to destroy stuff, and it fits that bill perfectly. Still, even though I can see myself continually going back to the game and playing for 20 minutes at a time, I'd probably say get it on sale.
 
I like the idea of this. Gonna sticky this and see where it goes.
 
Oh god. My backlog is f***ed.

Never going to happen. I play games, like them a lot, then derp onto the next thing without finishing. I have gaming ADHD.
 
Titanfall 2:
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Campaign hit all the right notes, multiplayer is surprisingly engaging. It's a shame, depending on your source, that this game didn't sell well. All the guns feel weighty and different from each other. The titans have a good variation to them as well, though it feels as one particular class has a advantage in multiplayer.
 
My backlog is probably around 100 games thanks to Steam. Only positive I guess is a lot of those games were like $2 indie s*** I'll probably never play. As for big, more AAA type games I'm probably around 20. Problem is, most are like 20+ hour stories.
 
My backlog is probably around 100 games thanks to Steam. Only positive I guess is a lot of those games were like $2 indie s*** I'll probably never play. As for big, more AAA type games I'm probably around 20. Problem is, most are like 20+ hour stories.

Oh god. My backlog is f***ed.

Never going to happen. I play games, like them a lot, then derp onto the next thing without finishing. I have gaming ADHD.

Glad I'm not the only one with an insane backlog! And the Christmas sales are coming up so it's only going to get worse lol.

No problem though if you play a game that's really long or you don't finish it. If you play enough to get a sense on whether or not you'd recommend it, come back and let us know!
 
Battlefield 1 - The Dog's Nuts.

Haven't enjoyed a shooter this much since Battlefield 2.
The maps are great for the most part. The weapons all feel hefty and all feel different.
The balance between vehicles and infantry is as close to perfect as you can likely get.
TDM is actually a fun distraction this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dtwice and Razzel
Worked through some puzzle games this weekend...

The Fall - Heard good things about this game, but just this "click and point" style puzzle game just didn't "click" with me. Yeah I just made that joke, deal with it lol. Seriously though, I played about an hour and just didn't enjoy it at all. Puzzles were more tedious than fun, and even though it's got a pretty minimal graphics style there are a some technical issues, the worst being some sporadic hitching/framerate issues. Doesn't happen often but can be jarring when it does. The story didn't grab me either, so I just had no motivation to finish this one. Moving on to the next!!

Swapper - Now this is good stuff! Very mysterious storyline that unravels as you play through the game, so don't expect to have any idea of who you are or what's going on in the beginning, but things gradually unfold. The gameplay centers around your gun that can create up to 4 clones that you can then swap between, and you use that to solve puzzles. What makes that completely awesome are the puzzles themselves, which are extremely well done. They toe the line between being challenging and solvable, which translates to you feeling like a genius every time you figure out a solution. Good times. Haven't quite finished it yet, but I'm more than halfway through and it's already worth the price. Highly recommended.
 
Great idea for a thread. Thanks Razz.

I played Gears of War Judgment last month. I gave the game hell for it's MP but after beating the campaign I really enjoyed it. The story was good and the game play was right on with a few control tweaks. I liked that you could select certain areas to be harder than others. It was a nice touch. Perfect game length as well. Overall I'm satisfied with the experience.

I'm also finished with Diablo 3 so I'll post my impressions in this thread soon.

Hey I also beat Gears 4 in October. I loved the campaign. Fighting both types of enemies was great fun. High production values all around on the SP and MP. The solar flairs made parts of the game intense for sure. I feel so much love went into this game. You can tell it. In Rod We Trust! Haha. I mean at this point, we all know what we are going to get with a full fledged Gears game. I'll replay the campaign again in a few months and horde is great for quick games.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Razzel
I wouldn't even know where to start. I have games stacked to the ceiling that i haven't played yet. Sometimes it's hard to hold off on a purchase even when you know you're not going to play that game for awhile, if ever. :laugh:
 
Took down a couple of walking simulators over the past few days:

Firewatch - So I'll start with the positives. The setting is really great visually, and it was cool to hike through the map and discover stuff. It's funny though because hiking is one of those mundane activities that you do for exercise or to experience real nature, so it feels more than a little weird to do it in a videogame lol. I guess it's December though and nobody is doing real hiking, so I'll give it a pass. The story is where this game sinks or swims, and unfortunately it does a little of both. On one hand it is really gripping at times. I got really wrapped up in the middle section of the story and did not want to put the controller down. The story is twisting and turning and it's just great. The beginning though is a real slowwwww burn, and while I actually agree with that design decision because it sets up the tense parts, I was still fighting off the boredom. I'm not a gamer with a ton of patience, but I needed every bit of it for this one haha! The much bigger issue is with the end. I just don't see how you can see that as a satisfying conclusion to the story. Not that it's a huge cliffhanger or anything, it just doesn't seem like a story meant for videogames because the conclusion is just so dull. Overall, I'd recommend this but only on a deep sale. It's an interesting but disappointing experience.

Oxenfree - This game is just fantastic. I knew next to nothing about it going in, but it blew me away. I don't want to say too much to avoid spoiling anything for people, but just know that it's another story based game with extremely well written characters, engaging dialogue system that more games should copy, a great style of graphics, and a plot that goes all over the place...in a good way. Highly recommended at full price, sale price, I don't care just GET THIS GAME!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BDaddyK
Backlog I have created for myself in the past 3 weeks due to video game deals:

Call of Duty: IW plus the remaster of COD something
Shadow of Mordor
Star Wars Battlefront
Doom
FarCry Primal
Hitman
Skyrim Remastered
Recore
Gears of War 4
The Last Guardian
Firewatch
Jackbox Party Pack 3
Trackmania Turbo (mainly for VR)
Eagle Flight
Tumbler VR

It will take me months to go through all these. And Resident Evil 7 is coming soon too. I must stop this buying monster and start playing.
 
I would definitely like to give Oxenfree a try sometime.
 
I've gotten into the habit of not buying games until I'm done with the ones I have. But I still have a a few I'm NOT done with.
 
Firewatch - I loved the visual style and the game keeps you in wonder of what the secrets are to discover both inside the park itself as well as your relationship with another firewatcher. In the end what could be an inferno ends up amounting to nothing more than a smoldering campfire. I've heard there are multiple endings but I'm not entirely sure what alternate decision tree I would need to do to enable it. Likeable while playing but the ending is meh.

Star Wars Battlefront: VR Mission - When you first fire this up I bet you say the same thing I did..."Holy sh*t!!!". The immediate size and scale of seeing Star Wars in full scale is enough to bring for a huge smile. And that smile never leaves as you jump into the cockpit of an X-Wing for battle. While the mission is far from challenging, it is an absolute joy to be flying about inside the Star Wars universe. A full game of this and other Battlefront maps would set VR on fire.
 
Abzu - Another one of these more artistic "experience" style games set in the ocean. Overall it's a good game, but really short and I wasn't astounded by the graphics. The reviews on this thing are just glowing, but I didn't really get the excitement. It's unique and has a cool art style, and overall it was enjoyable. Only recommended on a deep sale though, just soooo short and fairly shallow gameplay wise.
 
Gonna go through some of the finished games from the last couple months:

Gears of War 4 - You know what you are getting with a Gears game, great action, enjoyable story, and some of the best third person shooter gameplay ever. Gears 4 checks all those boxes, and also manages to be one of the better games of the series. Money well spent on this game, and looking forward to where they take the series next. Full price recommendation.

Battlefield 1 - Awesome MP. Way better than 3 and 4 for me. Not too much to say, just a great MP game. The SP on the other hand, I just didn't enjoy it. Battlefield always follows the same pattern for me with the SP. Pre-release they convince me this is going to be the one to have a great campaign, and then every single time I'm disappointed. The Bad Company games were exceptions, but all Battlefield games are lacking compared to other AAA FPS campaigns in my opinion.

Titanfall 2 - I trashed this game hard after the tech test and when it initially released, which is awful because I now think it's one of the best FPS games ever. Fantastic SP campaign, and while I don't agree with all the changes to the MP, it is also fantastic overall and I play it way more than any other game. Highly recommended. This and Doom have made this my favorite year ever for FPS games.
 
Titanfall 2: Finally finished up the SP campaign, the MP had me pretty well sidetracked. The SP campaign is really well done, with some great set pieces and fun Titan game play. It may come in on the short side if played on a lower difficulty and just blow through it.
As for the MP side of the game, I was really turned off by the beta earlier in the year, seemed they took all that I loved from the first game and threw it in the can. Suffice to say Respawn came through in the end, the MP is fast, fluid and fun. Although the game still feels a bit off from the first, it's been a blast to play.
 
I agree with both of you with respect to Titanfall 2. Its a shame the game didn't do as well commercially, so I hear.
 
I agree with both of you with respect to Titanfall 2. Its a shame the game didn't do as well commercially, so I hear.

It didn't do well because they f***ed with something that didn't need f***ing with. So they basically alienated their fanbase instead of building on it.

I loved the first Titanfall, but Titanfall 2 was just meh. Even on sale with almost 50% off wasn't enough to tickle my wallet strings loose.
 
Hitman 2016. Why didn't anyone tell me this game was this good. Totally excuses Absolution. Feels like Blood money 2.0
 
  • Like
Reactions: starseeker
Hitman 2016 - Completely agree with wshowers, this game is very good. I'm not even a big Hitman fan, but this one has been fantastic so far. Love the ability to hide in plain site, the rules of the game world make sense so it's easy to experiment, and there are a bunch of ways to play through each level and kill your target. Love it.

Assassins Creed Syndicate - Wasn't a big fan of this one when I first played it, probably because it is officially the one billionth AC game, but found it for 8 bucks on Black Friday and finally invested some time into it. I'm finding the gameplay loop to be very good so far. You have to take over sections of the map by shutting down various operations, and each of those activities is really fun. I also like that you can switch between the characters on the fly. I've leveled one to be stealth and one to be combat, so I can just randomly change my playstyle on the fly. The game is not mind blowing by any means, but it refines what made the series great and is a very enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.

Guacamelee - A metroidvania style game that is done extremely well. I missed it when it was free with GWG so I had to pay for it, but very much worth the money. You are constantly getting upgrades, and the platforming, enemies, and level design all help to make the game fun and challenging without ever being frustrating. The story is also very over to the top and amusing, love that you are literally saving a princess in the game. Very old school haha. Great game, recommend getting it on sale since it was free once already.
 
Hitman 2016. Why didn't anyone tell me this game was this good. Totally excuses Absolution. Feels like Blood money 2.0

Because it's episodic so some people won't even touch it. I don't like episodic content myself but a good game is a good game. Hitman is awesome.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gwyn / Razor
Rocket league - Holy crap this game is insanely fun!! It's soccer with cars, which is way more amazing than it sounds. Bought it yesterday, took me about a half hour to get the hang of things but I can already tell I'm gonna lose a lot of time to this game. Currently on sale for $12 but worth full price, get it now!!!!

Also on a side note, between this and Titanfall 2, I have somehow gotten into multiplayer. Never thought that would happen!