Topic: Playstation 4 Backloggery and most wanted!

@RevGaming I bloody love XCOM2.

The War of the Chosen DLC is absolutely top notch too and expands on the base game so much. Great if you’ve not played before, even better if you have!

@Thrillho I don't play many Strategy games, so this should be a nice change of pace.

Let's review:

Not too bad.

Since then, I've also played and beaten:

• Intelligent Qube
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
• Mega Man Powered Up
• Spyro the Dragon (via the Reignited Trilogy)

I plan to do the following by April 18th (my birthday; seemed as good a goal date as any):

• Finish The World Ends With You on NDS
• Finish Pokemon Legends: Arceus on NS
• Finish The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve on NS
• Start, play, and beat Persona 5 Strikers on PS4

Planned Purchases thru April 18th:

• Either Horizon Forbidden West on PS4 OR Triangle Strategy on NS
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land on NS
• Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp on NS

@themcnoisy Have you played the Leifthrasir version of Odin Sphere? I really enjoyed the new combat and felt the game shone on the Vita.

I didn't really stick to my plans much, but am going more with the flow now and playing what I feel like in any given moment rather than being too rigid. Playing a mixture of old favourites and backlog games is a good idea and has struck a nice balance. I haven't been well recently so haven't been gaming too much, but my main focus has been on my 3DS backlog.

That said...

Currently playing:

• Assassin's Creed Odyssey Atlantis Episode 3 DLC (PS5)
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All (3DS)

Things I might play next:

• Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita)
• Ratchet & Clank: Nexus (PS3)
• Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds DLC (PS4)
• Halo Reach (Xbox One)
• Chrono Trigger (DS)

Things to Buy:

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land (maybe)

@RogerRoger Your comments on Ghost are quite interesting!

Whilst I have really enjoyed my time with it, I can 'objectively' step back and see why it wouldn't necessarily click for everyone.

In all honesty, I tried to start it several times... and just couldn't 'click' with it. Eventually I said I would force myself through Act1 and see how I felt about continuing. So glad I did, as the plot/game/mechanics really begin to open up within Act2 - not to mention some of the character developments are great (less so Jin the protagonist, but he really does shine in the Iki expansion!)

The thing that really changed it up for me was cranking the difficulty from Medium - - > Hard pretty much as soon as I started. I actually wish I played on Lethal for the 'base game', although I did do all of Iki on lethal. This added element of difficulty is 'do-able', but really makes you concentrate and plan your attacks properly... ensuring you use all the tools at your disposal.

Customisation and build awareness also are much more needed on hard/lethal, and all of a sudden you feel like you're actually playing a rich game!

Playing base and Iki back-to-back was interesting for me though, as I actually enjoyed Iki a lot more than the base game! The plot is wild, and the Iki antagonist is pretty preposterous in the best way (very 'Resident Evil' at times ha)

Let me know if you ever revisit? I cleaned up all the Iki trophies yesterday, have the plat on base game and now might dabble in NG+ and/or the online legends mode before Elden Ring next week.

Or indulge masochistic tendencies and (attempt to) tackle SIFU ha

@themcnoisy Cheers for the heads-up! I'll have to look up some gameplay videos of Odin Sphere and see if it appeals to me or not. I mostly wanted this game because of how highly people speak of it, but perhaps it's not something that I'd like.

@RogerRoger Thanks! I've actually already bought tons of games on Wii U and 3DS these past few days, so that's one thing that I'm able to check off as finished in my next update!

@mookysam yes bro. I got up to around halfway through the second character and left it there. It's still in my collection funnily enough.

@CJD87 exactly mate, you need to make every outfit a different build. That's not explained at all in game and you have to flick on a button in the settings. Way better. I finished on hard as well and took me over 50 hours.

@RogerRoger Thanks for sharing your take on GoT - as you say, very interesting how the same game can cater to two different 'approaches' to playstyle (difficulty vs story).

This is exactly why I sit on the fence a bit, when it comes to the ongoing discourse regarding 'difficulty modes'.

For games like GoT, wide-sweeping and story-driven open world adventures, I am 100% in favour of multiple difficulties to ensure that enjoyment of the game is made feasible to as wide a demographic as possible. If I had not been able to dial up to hard/lethal, I would have for sure dropped it in Act1. Likely, I assume same for yourself - if a more story-focussed difficulty had not been available, you may have dropped as well?

However, saying that I do think there are anomolies to this rule... SIFU being a recent example where I think the difficulty level (and vision of the devs) should be maintained. Whereas GoT has so much to be enjoyed, and so many facets outside of 'challenge', I feel that SIFU is essentially a game that is all about overcoming difficulty. Having kicked off SIFU now (and getting my *ss kicked majorly!) I would argue that there would be precious little left to enjoy if it was made easier.

I haven't dabbled in the online mode for GoT at all, but I have heard amazing things about it...! Basically the next week I am killing time for Elden Ring, so if SIFU starts to REALLY p*ss me off (and I fail to git gud) then I'll prob jump into Ghost online.

How did you find Iki Island measured up against the base game btw?

Previous backlog:
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (PS4) - Finished
Forza Motorsport 6 (Xbox One) - Finished
No More Heroes (Wii) - Finished

Previous upcoming purchases:
Tons of 3DS and Wii U digital games - Done

Current backlog:
999 (PS4)
Prototype (Xbox 360)
Yo-Kai Watch 2 (3DS)

Upcoming purchases:
None

Managed to finish all the games I've been playing and I also bought tons of titles on Wii U as well as 3DS. Next I'm focusing on 999 (which I'm making good progress with), Prototype (just started it) and Yo-Kai Watch 2 (which I've been playing for a few hours, very chill JRPG to play in between these titles). Don't have any upcoming purchases as the only thing I'm interested in is continuing to clear my backlog and maybe buy a month of Game Pass eventually since so many compelling games have been added since the last time I was subscribed.

It was April last year when I last updated this so thought I'd have a look and see how it went, I've had a lot of time off work since April so have managed to complete alot of games but it's quite interesting that alot of these on my list ended up getting pushed further down.

Resident evil 2 - completed one run and Leon and 1 run as Claire, loved it

Ghost of Tsushima director's cut- Completed and Platinumed and wow this game was special and the Iki island expansion was a nice change of pace

Jedi Fallen Order - Completed really enjoyed the game, Cal as the main character was a bit...dry but overall a really good star wars game

Assasins creed odyssey - Completed game and dlc, really enjoyed this game i put 150 hours into it but was glad to be finished by the end.

Final fantasy VII remake - Completed

Bloodborne - Completed now going for Plat

Replayed God Of War and got plat

Tomb Raider Trilogy - Completed all 3

Persona 5 - Started did 16 hours and then stopped really wanted to like it but wasn't feeling it.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition - Completed 1 and 2 still along 3

Sackboy - Complete

Spiderman Miles Morales - complete(Close to plat)

Doom Eternal - Completed

Greedfall - Played about 20 hours thenost interest.

Fortnite - played probably about 100 hours mainly with the little one

So the current backlog now looks like this

Outerworlds
Dragon Quest
Resident Evil 3
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil Village
Final Fantasy X/X2
Demon Soul's
Cyberpunk
Hades
Horizon Forbidden West
Elden Ring
Tales of Arise

@RogerRoger yeah it was quite a year 🤣 I did have a lot more time on my hands than I've ever had before as seen as I couldn't do anything physical for a good 6 month I put my time to good use (Gaming wise anyway).

Seems we got through alot of similar games, which if any did you enjoy the most? I know that their all different in their own way and each one had something unique about it but I was blown away by Ghosts of Tsushima, I even went straight on to the Iki island expansion straight after which I normally don't do with dlc, normally need a break.

Mass effect I've only completed the first 2 and I'm currently going through number 3 but they have been some of my favourite games since I first played them years ago, it's one of my favourite series mass effect and I'm not the biggest Sci fi fan but the lore in mass effect is really well written I think.

In regards to Persona its a strange one, I'm a big JRPG fan and a big fan of Anime although more old school anime, I struggle with the newer slightly more child/camper type anime. But I've never played a Persona game and this is my first in to the entry, I think because when I booted it up I was at the begging stages of working through my backlog and not to well at the time mabye this played a factor but I just didn't click with it, some of the early dialogue (which there is a lot of dialogue) seemed really drawn out and i found myself just skipping alot and then not really knowing what was going on which is really not like me. I wanted to like it, especially with they way everyone goes on about it but unfortunately we can't win them all can we lol.

Also I forgot to mention I actually played through the whole of final fantasy 14 from the free trail then all the way to shadowbringers, I got the complete edition online for £20 on sale on ps and that included 30day playtime and I must say for any final fantasy fans out there this is a fantastic game, some of the best story's I've ever played in any game.

@MaulTsir Nicely done, buddy. Some great games in there.

On the Persona 5 subject, it is an interesting one. Although I really enjoyed P5 in the end, I have played P3, P4, P5 and have messed around with one of the P2s a couple of other SMT games in the past and so perhaps I knew more what to expect. I could see how being a newcomer to the series might be off-putting. There’s a lot of visual novel qualities to the game, in the sense that you have to be ready to do a lot of reading and listening to dialogue and exposition. The combat is pretty complex if you don’t have a background in the series too, with the all persona fusions and traits to track, etc.

That said, I think it’s a good entry point to the series because of the phenomenal art design and general production quality. So if you don’t care for it, then you may not like the other Persona games, unless you’re issue is just with the characters not being likable enough. Some prefer the flow, story, and characters of P3 and P4 better.

@RogerRoger Yeah Miles Morales was a fantastic introduction to the ps5, it was short and sweet but I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the whole experience of Ghost of Tsushima and although the gameplay wasn't anything revolutionary it worked really well in the world it was set and with the story. I'm glad you were able to get back in to it after a little break because. I can see why people would get bored of it especially going into act 2 but I enjoyed the story the way the old and the new clashed (similar to what has always gone on in history).

Yeah loving Mass Effect probably even more than the first time I played them, I never did any of the dlcs when they first came out, so going through all of the dlc has been brilliant and really opened up more of the story for me, some of the story arcs of the dlc are really important and tie the whole games together alot more.

@Th3solution I really expected to enjoy P5, its right up my street, I love JRPG's and I'm also a big fan of anime, I'm in my 30's so mabye I just couldn't get with the whole high school vibe.

The game art and style seemed really awesome and I felt after the first hour or so this might really get me hooked but then it just never. I've played alot of jrpgs so I'm quite accustomed to the heavy reading so I don't think it was that which put me off, I think I mabye just didn't connect with the story or the characters.

It was a bit if a weird one and I sort of felt out of sorts because of how popular the game is. It always baffled me when people would say The Witcher 3, Mass Effect, The Last of Us or God Of War wasn't for them, but now I guess I understand somethings just don't float ya boat.

@MaulTsir Like you say, I’m the exact same for Witcher 3 — on paper it should have been exactly my kind of game. I really like classic fantasy and magical settings. Add to that the universal praise as being one of the greatest games of all time, and it should have been a shoe-in. But I just couldn’t get along with it.

I suspect timing plays a role, as you or Rog mentioned earlier. It possible I tried it at the wrong point in my life. I kept it and when the PS5 version drops there is a possibility I’ll retry it. I can’t remember if they said it’s going to be a free upgrade from PS4 to PS5. CDPR did it for Cyberpunk (which ironically I’m playing right now) so maybe they will for W3.

@Th3solution they said it will be a free upgrade when they announced it.

@jdv95 Ah, thanks for the info. Surely they won’t retract on that offer now since they are still trying to rebuild their goodwill with gamers.

@Th3solution Definitely not. Despite the debacle release of Cyberpunk 2077, I still trust them to actually follow through with what they say otherwise, especially since they need to rebuild their reputation like you said. That and the fact that they just recently released the upgrade for Cyberpunk 2077 for free.

Oddly enough, I didn't love The Witcher 3 like most did. I still enjoyed it more than you did since I finished it, but I loved the characters and the story much more than the actual game itself. That's also a big reason why I was really excited about the Netflix show and have really enjoyed it so far. Maybe I'll give it another shot as well when he PS5 version comes out, or at least do the game's supposedly phenomenal DLC at some point.

@MaulTsir Agreed about the DLC for Mass Effect. I still have yet to play the remastered Mass Effect 3, but after playing through the first two last year for the first time in a long time, I thought the DLC for Mass Effect 2 was great. One of my favorite characters in that one was DLC (Kasumi). I ended up using her more than most of the regular characters.

Commenting on another thread made me think about my backlog plan. It’s been nearly 4 months since my last update, so here goes…

>>>>>>Previous Backlog plan —
PS5
Demon’s Souls - Done! and loved it.
Dirt 5 - Done! and platinum!
Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Done! and platinum!
The Pathless - Not started. Ironically the shortest game on my list I still haven’t got to it. Chose to play Kena instead.
PS4
Mass Effect - Done! and enjoyed it.
Resident Evil 4 - Not started. I chose to play TLoU2 instead, which I loved.
Vita
MGS2: Sons of Liberty - Not started. I can’t explain why I just can’t muster any time for my Vita.
>>>>>>Previous Planned Purchases —
GT7 - Nope.
Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection - Nope.

Not too bad. I followed my plans fairly well. Now for the next couple months…

🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮

>>>>>>>>New Short-Term Plan —
PS5
Kena: Bridge of Spirits - I’m probably halfway through the game and should finish this soon. I have enjoyed it and each play session is better than the last. I’ll probably drop an official review on this one.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising - I’m ready for another open world Ubisoft game. It’s been a minute.
Yet undetermined multiplayer live-service game - Ugh, none of them look compelling. But I feel like I need to force myself to sample the unappetizing fruits of gaming’s future.

PS4
BioShock 2 - Playing this with the Game Club and I play too slow to finish with the group, but I do want to complete it on my own time. The game is… not terrible.
Life is Strange 2 - I might finally start this as a side-by-side companion to an open world action game. Some discussion on other forum threads have my interest piqued again.
Uncharted 2 - I think enough time has passed since my playthrough of TLoU2 to enjoy another Naughty Dog game.

(I just noticed, that’s a lot of “2’s”)

Vita - I’m not even going to state a plan. Doubt I’ll do any handheld right now.

>>>>>>>>Next Planned Purchases —
Horizon Forbidden West - It’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’
Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection - ditto
Sifu - this is a wildcard. I could see myself impulse buying this if it goes on sale. For some reason I’m curious.

@Th3solution Curious what kind of live service games youre looking at. There are many types of games in the live service domain, both pvp or pve. From f2p shooters to pay per month mmorpgs, games like Path of Exiles/Diablo 2/3 etc. I can recommend Elder Scrolls online (if youre a fan of the elder scroll rpgs), the base game is often on sale for 5 euro/dollar/pound.
Path of Exiles is a f2p version of diablo 2 if you like that type of game.
If you want to look at shooters i enjoyed THe division 2

@Lavalera Thanks for the ideas! Those are some that I hadn’t considered.
I did love Skyrim; it’s the only Elder Scrolls I’ve played. I think ESO might be one I’d enjoy, but I was worried that, like some of these big multiplayer online games, if you’re late to the party that you’ll be lost or don’t have access to the base content and story. So many of these seem unwelcoming to newcomers. If the entry level base game for ESO is only $5 and there isn’t monthly sub fees, I might consider that. I don’t want to be locked into monthly fees in order to play, otherwise I would look further into FFXIV. Even with the free trial of that game, I’m scared off of the subscription part of it.

I did play some of the first Division game and it was okay. I never made it very far and it didn’t hold my interest very long but I hear the second game is better.
I’ve never been keenly interested in the Diablo style games but it’s probably mostly from lack of exposure to them.

I’ve considered trying anything from Genshin Impact to Ark Survival to Red Dead Online. But I’m wanting something that will A) grab my attention and not have a huge time commitment to learn a bunch of complex systems B) won’t penalize me for not being an early adopter and/or playing the game already for hundreds of hours and C) has minimal up front cost, preferably something I already have access to via PS+ or F2P.

As far as genre, I like third person story driven, but am open to most things. I’ve played some Rocket League and that didn’t click with me, I played a tiny bit of Fortnite, and a little Battlefront 2 online. I have never get compelled to get absorbed in any of these, and I’m starting to get a complex wondering what’s wrong with me? 😅 Why does the world love this style of gaming and yet I can’t get into it? Sony is shifting toward these and I feel like I need to get on board the train before it leaves me behind.

When I posed the question a couple months ago on another thread, I had a couple recommendations to try Fall Guys, so I have that in the back of my mind to download, and in fact went to do it and was confused which version to download because I own it through PS+ and it’s also now F2P and it looked like there was two different downloads…? Anyway, it was enough to just skip it at the time.