Backloggin’ the Year – Sam’s Sojourn, January to March 2025

by ·

As a Canadian, one would think that I enjoy winter, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Seasonal depression hits me, the lack of sunlight makes me grumpy, and we’ve had some wild weather these last few months. I got into a bit of an emotional funk, and decided to make some strong changes in my life to combat this. Between seeing my therapist regularly and meeting with a personal trainer to build my fitness goals, I feel like things are looking up for me personally. While the world is in such a difficult place right now, it’s so easy to focus on the negative and what is out of our control. While I am also frustrated by things, learning that I can only focus on what is in my control has been important. Community matters now more than ever, and being a part of one, either IRL or virtually, is how we all combat this loneliness epidemic. So thank you to every person who comes to RPGamer each day, engages with our posts, Discord community, podcasts, etc. We are a community, and that matters.

Look at this snow angel!

Despite the darkness, I did find time to go on a few adventures. In January we hiked Ontario’s newest provincial park and trekked through a lot of snow. It was so much fun, and truly a beautiful place to explore. We also visited friends and family, had an adventure in an old antique mall, and even went to Comic Con! Winter also meant a lot of time indoors with books and video games! For this feature, I’m only going to focus on the games I haven’t written articles or reviews about. If you would like to read more of my in-depth thoughts, check out the following:

The RPGs I Played:

The best town theme song ever.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5): I am here to tell you that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a good game. Is it near the same level as Dragon Age: Origins? No! But it is not as bad as I think a lot of gamers are making it out to be. I actually like the fact that this group of companions works through their conflicts together, I liked a lot of the companion storybeats. The combat reminded me a lot of Dragon Age II, which isn’t anything special, but honestly I had a lot of fun with this game. I enjoyed the overarching story, though I felt like certain plot elements didn’t fully pay off, but even with that, I found myself having a great time. Dragon Age‘s world is still interesting, it still has the pull to make the player want to discover what the larger mysteries are. I romanced Harding, though to be honest, I wanted to romance everyone, which is a testament to how much I enjoyed the cast. If you have this game or grabbed it for free while it was on PS Plus, it’s worth a play.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5): I absolutely see how this won the RPGamer Game of the Year Award. I loved the amount of care that has been put into the Final Fantasy VII remakes, I loved how much depth has been put into the characters and how some of the story gaps are being filled, and I found myself even enjoying doing a lot of the side content. I thought the Temple of Ancients final dungeon was way too long and convoluted, but for the most part I thought the dungeons were well designed. I still did not like the Chocobo-wrangling missions, and some of the overworld content was not great, but I found myself still having a great time and easily put over sixty hours into the game. Part of me still wants to go back and finish more of the overworld content, but like most gamers, I have too many games I want to get to and enjoy. I feel like these remakes have no longer made me the Final Fantasy VII hater I used to be. I cannot wait for the next one! 

Suikoden HD Remaster (PS5): I have played Suikoden and Suikoden II more times than I can count, and having this remaster has been such a joy, even with some of the doofy decisions Konami made in terms of improvements (which we will go into with our review). The first game is still a rough gem, and I still adore it even after this replay. Gremio still drives me bananas, and I loved how this game moves towards its climax. I still hate getting soap for Sarah, I am mad Lepant looks less like a cheeto, and why doesn’t Kimberley have a long nose anymore? Even with these mild complaints, I love how much McDohl grows in this story, and the deaths that occur in this installment still leave quite the impact. I even shed a few tears for a certain character’s death because it hits that hard for me every time it happens. While I may not love this one as much as Suikoden II, Suikoden as a series always brings up powerful memories in my life, and I love how relevant its stories have become.

 

All the Non-RPG Goodness

I don’t blame Jill for being tired.

My non-RPG time these last three months has mostly been spent playing survival horror games. I started the year off by completing the Silent Hill 2 Remake, which I adored. I have played the original, but never completed it. I knew many of the spoilers, but it was interesting to experience a lot of these moments for the first time, and get into the head of such an unlikeable but intriguing protagonist. There were definitely some moments that made my stomach turn, nearly throw the controller, and just straight up made me cry. I can absolutely see why Silent Hill 2 gets so much praise after completing it myself.

After beating Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I also needed a shorter game, so Resident Evil 3 Remake was a good palate cleanser. It’s a very pretty remake, but it felt way too short, especially as someone who enjoyed the original. Despite how short the game is and some of the fiddly moments in the gameplay, I can’t say I hated this game, but compared to other Resident Evils I have played (which isn’t many), I would say this one missed the mark for me. What I will say, though is Carlos is a babe, and Angry!Jill is the best Jill.

The last title in this category is a replay of Kaichu: A Kaiju Dating Simulator, where I romanced a sexy volcano as a giant lizardman. I bet you never thought you’d read that as a sentence, but here we are. I reviewed Kaichu for the site a few years back, but if you’re curious, we have put out a recent video review that is worth watching!

Whatcha Playing Now, Sam?

Suikoden II continues to own my soul, and I am perfectly okay with that. I’ve played the game way too many times, and now that it has trophies, I find myself trying to get all of them. Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way of my gaming time, so I’ve only hit Muse and had the big reveal happen. I am off to get a castle, meet some loveable weirdos, and begin my true quest as the Tenkai Star, and I am looking forward to having all the feelings again as I play it. I want to get to Iron Chef, darn it!

2025 Game Tally

Games Completed: 11

# of RPGs Completed: 5

# of Non-RPGs Completed: 6

# of Games Purchased: 4

Tags:

You may also like...

Leave a Reply