The Backbloggery

[archived from a cohost post, originally made on june 30, 2024] none of the rest of my games are going to be bad. none of them are going to be bad! none of them are going to be harsh disappointments failing my optimistic vibe checks! I'm going to play 13 more games and I'm going to enjoy them over the rest of this year! RIGHT? RIGHT?! shining resonance refrain was a video game that seemed charming in a sort of knock-off Tales way, but didn't get localized on its home platform of the PS3, and instead it took until it got a then-current-generation port for the ps4, xbox one, and windows before it got an english release. I kinda wish it stayed japan-only. it's a slog of a video game with writing that would appeal more to me, a lover of mediocre light novel adaptations, as a 13-episode anime than it did as a video game they had to space out with a horrendous experience curve. by the time I hit the 1.5 hour mark, the game expected about 45 minutes of grinding...

[archived from a cohost post, originally made on july 12, 2024] this one was played in a blitz of like two days because I knew it would be relatively quick, I would enjoy it, and by getting all its achievements I'd hit precisely the 34 achievements I'd need to have 8,000 achievements on my steam profile with 69 perfect games anyway, irrespective of that weird itch of mine, this was a really enjoyable time! it has a few meta mechanical gimmicks that made me laugh when they came up, and the worst of the jumpscare/thriller horror sections are pretty frontloaded before it becomes more of a horrific mystery adventure game; the weaving of multiple protagonists' timelines and priorities together works really well. there's quite a few solid reveals and the ending was pretty satisfying for me, even having predicted it. it's a fun exploration of the way history and historical tragedies are turned into urban legends, as well!

[archived from a cohost post, originally made on july 8, 2024] little kitty, big city is one of those cute short wholesome games (that inexplicably takes place in a japanese city (for the purposes of aesthetic I presume but it's still weird from an american indie team, as the discussion around "wholesome games" borrowing bits of japanese culture points out)) and it's one of those! it's cute, it's short, it's wholesome, there's a few quests to follow instead of just going directly for all the stamina upgrades you need to get back home. not a whole lot to talk about here, to be honest, but I had a good time with it nonetheless