Backloggin’ the Year – Sam’s Sojourn, July to September 2025

Summer was… a lot. As always, our library hosts our summer reading club program, and its eight weeks of programs, events, and encouraging literacy. It’s a lot of work, and the days fly by so quickly, but it’s also a time when I get home and all I want to do is crash. When I wasn’t working, I was enjoying hikes, which were plentiful, and spending time with a lot of my teacher friends, where summer is their only chance to recharge. I also had the pleasure of going to a concert, and for my birthday, my wonderful friends surprised me with tickets to an Emo Drag Brunch featuring Canada’s Drag Race runner-up, Helena Poison. It was such a wonderful event full of laughter, great tracks, delicious food, and a lot of shade being thrown about. It was nice to be told that, despite being almost forty, my youthful good looks have, in fact, not gone and that if anything, I’m still a queer cutie. As always, support your local performance arts space, and support local drag!

Helena Poison (left), me, and Midas (right)

I did some gaming, I promise, outside of being a social butterfly. Although the gaming I did was mostly content for the site! Between #JRPGJuly and reviewing one huge RPG, I haven’t had the chance to really play some of my own stuff, which I am hoping to make my focus for the last three months of the year. As always 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 on those titles, check out the following:

• Consume Me Review
• Nova Hearts Review
• Super Robot Wars Y Review
• Adventure Corner ~ Tiny Bookshop

The RPGs I Played

Transformation time!

Raidou Remastered: Mystery of the Soulless Army: Having owned the Raidou games and never played them, it was nice to finally tackle something that had been on my to-play list for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I would vibe with Raidou‘s action-based combat, and while it felt clunky at times, I found myself having a great time. Raidou‘s story is bonkers, and the appearance of a specific character only amplifies how insane the entire game is. I loved the setting and music, though I wish there had been more to the characters. Given this is a remaster, I was puzzled that more care wasn’t put into the graphics to make it a bit cleaner, but I guess you can’t have it all. Can I also point out how refreshing it was to play a short SMT title? I love a short RPG after playing a lot of long bangers! I am looking forward to the inevitable Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon remaster, and hope it’s as crazy an experience as this game was.

Valkyrie Elysium: I remember when the announcement for Valkyrie Elysium came out. I was so excited for a new Valkyrie Profile game, and having been hugely disappointed with previous entries, I had high hopes here. Much like a lot of game releases, this is another one that fell to the wayside, but thanks to #JRPGJuly, I finally managed to knock it out of the backlog. Unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed, as the game felt very hollow and lacking in the emotional punch this series is known for. The combat was fun, if unremarkable, but it felt like the whole game was missing a spark, as even the characters didn’t really pop off the screen either. While I don’t want Valkyrie Profile‘s story retreaded, I do wish that when developers tackle this series, they look at what made the first game such a success. Sadly, Elysium was a swing and a miss.

Whatcha Playing Now, Sam?

I love me a red-headed hot-blooded boy.

Honestly, I am having a case of “Oh Shiny!” syndrome right now. On top of reviewing a bunch of games for the site recently (with some reviews live, and others on the way), I’ve been struggling to sit down and focus on a game that is just for my own enjoyment. I have gone back to Trails through Daybreak and have made it to the Intermission chapter, which looks like it’s going to be a blast. I just finished Quatre’s chapter, and I really enjoy him as a character — he’s so sassy! I will be so excited if I finish this, given I haven’t finished a Trails game in a long while. I am also hoping to play some of the 2025 releases that I have received before we vote for Game of the Year. I have so many games, like Clair Obscur, Atelier Yumia, and more that I would love to tackle. We shall see what I get to before the end of the year!