Backloggin’ the Year – Final Thoughts

You all may have noticed that I got a bit inconsistent with the updates for “Backloggin’ the Year.” Truth be told, November and December were rough months on me emotionally. Between work, the holidays, and grief, I was all over the place. I still gamed in those months, I just didn’t get as much completed as I would have liked. Let’s just say, seventy hours of Stardew Valley was what I needed to get over some hard times.

All things considered, I finished twenty-three games in 2018. That’s not too shabby. Did I make a large dent in my backlog? No, but I did make an honest attempt. I ended up adding more to my backlog at the end of 2018 due to holiday sales, something I normally don’t get suckered into. Now I am sitting on a mountain of new games, and a new console that I got from my husband — a Nintendo Switch.

This project was up and down for sure. I had months where I was gaming a lot and finding my stride with titles I was sincerely enjoying. I also had months where there was just too much going on to feel like I was even making a dent. The reality of backlogs, as many of us know, is that they can feel demanding and overwhelming. Some people love having lots of choice, while others – like me – harbour silly guilt about how I have too many games and not enough time to enjoy games as a hobby.

If I am being realistic there were two wonderful games that took up my time towards the end of the year — Stardew Valley was the inspiration for a conversation about the importance of empathy, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey ate a lot of my time because the story and world were surprisingly more compelling than I wanted to give it credit for. I haven’t talked much about Odyssey, mainly because I am still gathering a lot of my thoughts regarding it, and at 55 hours, the game is still going and I’m not bored yet. I blame how damn charming Kassandra is and how vast the world is in this game. It’s easy to get swept away by sidequests, exploration, and the ridiculous story. I love it so much, and this game was the reboot this series needed.

I still have the goal of completing Final Fantasy X. I got a bit stuck on Seymour Flux and recognized I needed to grind a bit more. I am still not huge on the Sphere Grid system, especially given there are times I wish I could go back and correct a mistake I’d made. I’ve had people joke I should just watch the ending on Youtube, while others say the last few battles are worth the effort. While I didn’t complete it in 2018, I’d like to in 2019, mainly because there’s a special feature I want to write and it won’t feel authentic unless I finish the game.

Along with that, the people have spoken and my 2019 game selection for myself will be to finally play through Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship regarding the original series (played FC and loved the story and characters but hated the battle system, never got to SC or TC), but Cold Steel is the one a lot of folks have told me that they enjoyed and found much easier to get into, so that will be my next handheld game once I finish Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu!

I am still proud of my efforts, even though this challenge didn’t entirely go the way I wanted it to. Life truly took priority in a way that I didn’t anticipate.

Below are all the games I beat in 2018 as well as the final tally. I hope you enjoyed my adventures through my backlog! While I may not be doing the same feature in 2019, you’ll still be seeing some prime backlog discussion out of me soon enough! Before I provide my stats, I want to extend a huge thank you to one of our former staff members, Clix, who managed a thread on our forums regarding titles we completed in 2018. I hope everyone tackles something older from their backlogs and finds a new gem in 2019!

Final Tally:

Number of Games Completed: 23

Number of RPGs Completed: 12

Number of Non-RPGs Completed: 11

By System:

WiiU
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

PS4
Banner Saga 3
Beyond Two Souls
Dragon’s Crown Pro
Final Fantasy XV
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (Platinum Trophy)
Okage: Shadow King (via for PS2 system)
Tales of Berseria
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
What Remains of Edith Finch
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

PC
Cinderella Phenomenon (via Steam)
Depression Quest (via Steam)
Galaxy of Pen and Paper
Ladykiller in a Bind (via Steam)
Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 (via Steam)

3DS
Miitopia
River City: Rival Showdown

Vita
Bad Apple Wars
Collar x Malice
Stardew Valley