This is not where I thought I would be. Even with February being the shortest month, I would not have imagined my backlog progress stagnating the way it has. Truthfully, it’s disappointing. It’s a waste. It’s not what I wanted for this year. But there’s only one person to blame and that person is Joe Biden. Wait that can’t be right. No, it’s me.
I’ve truly dropped the ball in February after a successful start in January. While January might not have been the most full month of gaming, the drive to tackle the backlog and the ambition to stream it certainly helped propel me to play more than I would have. But as the month rolled over, I ran into the first roadblock on the backlog journey.
Rollerdrome’d Me
Oh, Rollerdrome. Added to my backlog after receiving it via a Humble Choice, and encouraged to play by a friend, I started to tackle the game on the final day of January. But by the two hour mark, I started to feel nauseous in a way some VR titles make me feel. Deciding not to risk it, I quit for the night, adamant I would return the next day. Which I in fact, did! For about an hour, when, after failing a stage multiple times, decided the game was just not for me.
It happens. Not every game will appeal to everyone. There were parts of Rollerdrome I enjoyed, but the onslaught of enemies became too much for me to handle and I was unable to skate, shoot, and trick my way to finishing the stage. Let’s just call it a skill issue. But that stage, some three hours into the game, was where I threw in the towel.
It was going to happen eventually, but the first “retired” game of my backlog came a month into my journey. While I know I won’t want to, or can, finish every game in my backlog, I want to at least try. Which is what happened here. I am, though, disappointed I could not find it in myself to enjoy a game, which on paper, seems like something I would love. And so, the month begins with a retired game, and being at a loss for what to play next.
Started: 1/31
Retired: 2/1
I Decided to Face My Fears: Resident Evil 2 (Remake)
Here’s the thing about me: I’m a big baby. I can admit that. Throughout my entire life, I have mostly avoided playing, but have had a curiosity towards horror games. Up until now, horror games have been a mixed bag. I’ve dabbled in some horror-lite (yes, that means my beloved Alan Wake franchise), and have dipped a toe into some absolutely scary (relative term: am baby) games like Dead Space and Dead Space 2. But some series I have not been able to do, and that includes the Resident Evil games.
There’s something about Resident Evil that elevates it above other horror games. It’s the history, the prestige of the series, and (for me) the survivor horror element. Having limited resources give me anxiety and ups the ante in a way I could never manage. But the fear of the series never stopped me from committing to trying it. Even if the way I went about it was by spending money. Over the last few years, I have purchased four games in the series: Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village. All with the intention of playing them one day. Little did I know, a backlog year would be the kick in the ass I needed to fully commit.
When I started Resident Evil 2 on 2/5, it was my third time attempting to play the game. I had previously started the game on PlayStation 4, getting to the garage before quitting. Then, I tried on PC, where I got an hour in, staying within the police station and stopping again. This time, though, I was tackling a backlog and I have to get this game out of my hair. I was also streaming the game on Twitch, which turns out to be a good motivator. In a way, the audience gives you an armor, some confidence to tackle something as scary as this game. At the least, someone would be laughing at the high pitched screams I would be making. It worked! Knowing someone was watching helped get me through the game.
Within a week, I was able to finish Leon’s campaign, something that had alluded me for years. Completing his half has opened my eyes to horror games. I can be scared by them but I don’t need to be scared to play them. I have a newfound love for the genre. One I hope will be able to push me to finishing the rest of the Resident Evil titles I own, and the others which appear on my backlog, including Aliens isolation, the Amnesia series, and F.E.A.R series.
Completing his half has opened my eyes to horror games. I can be scared by them but I don’t need to be scared to play them.
By the end of this month, I will finish my second playthrough, this time with Claire to see the other half of the story and that will wrap up my time with Resident Evil 2. This will be the only game I will finish for the entire month, despite being a relatively short game. But with how much I have enjoyed my time with this game and how it has turned me onto the genre, I’d argue it’s maybe the best possible game I could have played to keep pushing through the backlog.
Chugging Along: Street Fighter 6 – World Tour
Oh you the best? What a big cap cap. When I first started streaming again in earnest, I decided a part of the journey would be for me to begin my foray into fighting games in what I called the Fighting Game Academy. Trademark pending. This would be a series where I learn to play fighting games through two of the newest titles available in the genre. Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6. In the last update, I noted how I had finished the story of Mortal Kombat 1, effectively taking it off my backlog, but not out of my rotation of games, as I would need to learn the game. In doing so, I shifted my attention towards progress and the World Tour mode of Street Fighter 6.
World Tour is a long undertaking, not just for the genre, but for games in general, with estimates in the 25-30 hour range. Comparatively, the story for Mortal Kombat 1 is around 6-8 hours. We’re in open world adventure game territory, but weirdly enough, World Tour is somewhat that.
My opinion on the mode varies but I’ve settled on the idea it’s novel, but frustrating. An interesting experiment for a fighting game mode. Whereas the campaign for Mortal Kombat 1 is straight forward (chapters based around a single character in regular fights), World Tour has you create an avatar that battles using an amalgamation of moves learned from mentors. You run around main hub cities, completing quests and getting into “avatar battles” with NPCs. The main drawback is how heavily the game bases the fights into the RPG mechanics. Leveling, gear with stats, talent points. It’s less learning how to be a good fighter overall and learning how exactly to avatar battle within the mode. The thirty hours here outline what you’ll be doing in online matches, but never properly fills in the finer details.
At some point in March I will finish this mode and move into labbing to finally enter online matches and try to climb the ranked ladder. While I’ve enjoyed my time with Street Fighter 6, I look forward to checking it off my backlog and move into playing for the Fighting Game Academy. Patent still pending.
Yeah, I Bought a Game, OK?
(Almost) two full months! That is how long my pause on buying games lasted. On February 28th, I purchased Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. If you recall, I did specify that I could, and would, make exceptions to my purchasing pause. Sharp readers will even notice Rebirth as the most likely culprit to break my no-buying rule. So, I’ve added a game to the backlog, but the good news is it won’t sit there. I will start the game and it will be finished as soon as possible to be removed. There is now a purchases tracker on the Google Sheets file, and the total so far in 2024 is $69.99. Not bad for two months.
If you care to watch a sixty-plus hour JRPG be completed by an idiot… follow my Twitch to watch.
Marching Ahead
March might see a lot of the month dedicated to a new and massive game, but my goal will be to finish far more titles than in February. Admittedly, it is not difficult considering the total for this month. But that damn JRPG stands before us. But I’ll get it out of the way as quickly as possible. (That sounds like weekend streams. Maybe a hint.) Join me on next month’s check in.
Kevin is Write 