Krymner

Year 2023!! The year the backlog dies!

January

:PS5: Soul Hackers 2  [13]

Trauma Center - Second Opinion [16]

 TMNT Cowabunga Collection: TMNT II: Back From the Sewers (GB) [28]

February

 Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law [6]

 Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack [12]

 TMNT Cowabunga Collection: The Arcade Game (Arcade) [26]

March

 CSI: Fatal Conspiracy [7]

 Fire Emblem Engage [12]

Haven't had much time for games this month. Too much traveling, vacationing, and outdoors stuff. Finally went to the Grand Canyon and did a bunch of hiking there. Such a great time. I've also been doing a bunch of home remodeling, putting my handy-man skills to use. Still lots to do!

I did finally manage to beat Monark tho. I liked the combat gameplay, but it was far too grindy.

Looking forward to diving into Xenoblade 3, as I'm sure that'll consume the majority of my gaming time for the next couple months. In the meantime, I'm also gonna try and knock out some quick games in the backlog. Might move back to Mega Man, either the X collection, or the Zero/ZX collection, and I still want to replay Bayonetta 1 & 2 before the new one hits in October, so I'm gonna try to fit those in too.

I haven't played a game in about 5-6 weeks. 

 

I was into Darkest Dungeon PS4 but I got to the point where I was spending so much time doing prep work on characters before missions that each time I played it was a 3 hour ordeal at least. 

 

As someone that likes turn based RPGs I like it a lot, but it's a very unforgiving game as it autosaves and when you lose a character it's permadeath.  But the game was designed for this, you put them through the meatgrinder and bring in new characters.  The most difficult part is the stress effects on the characters and how they can make your dungeon crawl fall apart quickly.  There is also a lot of strategy on character positioning and movement against specific foes.

 

I know if I move away from it I'll likely never go back but I feel I need a change of pace.

Darkest Dungeon was an awesome game. I played the hell out of it and put in 100+ hours and still felt like I only scratched the surface. I was like you, wanting to play more but felt like I needed to move on. I can't wait for the sequel tho, but I doubt it'll come to consoles anytime soon after it finally releases on PC early next year. I predict maybe 2024 for consoles.

Got Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night off the backlog. I haven't 100%'ed it or anything, but its such a great 2D Castlevania clone, I'm sure I'll keep going back to it. I played the two 8-bit Bloodstained games and still go back to them occasionally for a quick romp. Now that I've enjoyed the full Bloodstained game, it really makes me wish for a Castlevania revival.

I also finally beat Mary Skelter 2 on the Switch. I've been working my way thru it for about a year now, usually playing for a bit before going to sleep. Good relaxing dungeon-crawl RPG. I may start the first Mary Skelter eventually, but I'm gonna take a break from it for now.

I'm gonna try and beat Monark now. I'm only about a quarter way thru it, so hopefully I can get it crossed off the backlog before Xenoblade 3 comes out and takes all my gaming time away. Monark is very grindy, but the gameplay is decent enough to keep me interested. The soundtrack isn't bad either.

In the last few months, I've nocked off several games from my backlog, especially PS4. Finally beat two of the best games on the system, Horizon: Zero Dawn and God of War. Both great games, and I'm not sure why I waited so long to get around to them.

I also finally beat Yakuza 3. I played it on the PS3 back in the day, and got pretty far, then shelved it. Then, about 4 years ago, I tried playing it again, and managed to get even a little bit farther, but then I got distracted by some other game and shelved it again. Finally tho, I played thru it and beat it in the Yakuza Remastered Collection for PS4. Gonna finally play Yakuza 4 sometime later this year.

I also finally played and beat all the Castlevania games on the Anniversary Collection. Back in the early 90's, I used to own Castlevania 1 on the NES, and I remember always playing it and only ever getting as far as the Grim Reaper. I beat him a couple times back then, but then I would always die on the stage after him. I remember renting 2 but didn't play it too much, not realizing what to do or where to go, then returning the game the next day. I never played 3 or 4 or Bloodlines. So, it was nice getting to play and beat all of them. Super Castlevania 4 was probably my fav on the collection. Those latter stages are brutal!

Still lots and lots and lots of games on the backlog. 

As someone who's been homeless before, I feel for you, man. I had to fit almost everything I owned into a very small storage unit and lived in my car for a couple weeks until I could afford a motel that had a decent weekly rate I could afford. I lived in that motel for about three months until I found a new apartment. I sold off a lot of my possessions back then, things I still regret having to sell, including most of my consoles and alot of my games. It was tough getting back on my feet.

All I can recommend is that you prioritize keeping your job and your car. If you got those two things, you'll eventually dig yourself out of it. Check the weekly rates for motels in your area, and see if its something you can afford until you find better living arrangements. If you gotta live in your car for a bit, its not comfortable but it'll allow you to save some money. Check local craigslist and social media like Facebook for rooms for rent or roommates wanted--sometimes you'll find something there. Make sure you have a renter's contract next time to avoid something like this happening again.

I wish you luck and hope things work out for the best for you.