Backloggin’ the Year – Sam’s Sojourn, January to March 2026

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I feel like with Spring arriving, I’ve slowed down a bit. I find in winter, because of the cold, I don’t want to go out unless I absolutely have to, so I get sucked into my cozy hobbies. Mainly, reading and video games. Life has been calm and good, but spring means hiking season and a variety of festivals and events coming up. I am beyond fortunate to live in a city that constantly has so much life and vibrancy when it comes to events, and I plan on taking advantage of that. Currently, though, I’m plotting my first hiking trip for the year, but in the meantime, the slowness in things has been wonderful.

Sharon and Randi came to my work for a fun-filled morning!

One event that sticks out from the last three months was having the pleasure of doing a storytime with Sharon and Randi. Sharon Hampson is from the famed Canadian kids’ musical group, Sharon, Lois, and Bram. They were a huge part of my childhood, as they were for many kids who woke up early to watch The Elephant Show or The Sharon, Lois, and Bram Show. It was such a joy to see so many people my age bring their kids in and share all the joy and happiness in the moment. Sharon is also over 80 years old, and she has the energy of a teenager! Watching her made me want to add even more to my performance skills, and I’m still a little starstruck, as silly as that sounds.

But you’re not here to listen to me ramble. You’re here to read about me completing games from my backlog and sharing long-form content where I ramble about games I played. If you would like to read more of my in-depth thoughts on some of these titles, check out the following:

The RPGs I Played:

Dragon Quest I HD (PS5): I begged my husband for the Dragon Quest I & II Remake for Christmas because I knew I wanted to replay both games at some point. I haven’t played a Dragon Quest in a couple of years, taking a large break from the series. But with the release of DQ III HD, DQ I & II, and VII Reimagined, it’s great to see Dragon Quest getting so much love outside of Japan. While I’ve never played any version of VII, I have played the first three games in their entirety before, and I do like them a lot. My desire to replay one came from wanting to play something comfortable and familiar, and I have to say, I love a lot of the quality-of-life improvements they’ve put into these remakes. They feel both very familiar and just new enough. I didn’t like DQ II the first time I played it, but Matt Masem has assured me that all of the improvements in II make it a must-play. Hopefully, I get to it sometime this year! (And VII, too!)

All the Non-RPG Goodness

Leon is over these poor Raccoon City welcomes.

I feel like I have so little to talk about since I reviewed the majority of what I played during this backlog session. While this game wasn’t in my personal backlog, I managed to snag a copy of Resident Evil Requiem from work and completed it in two sittings. I adored my time with it, and it had a good challenge level overall. The story was compelling, but ridiculous. Victor was a hilarious villain, and at no point did I find myself afraid of him. I will say, I both liked and disliked Grace’s sections, though at times it always felt like the player was at a disadvantage, given how little she can carry and the small number of weapons in her arsenal. Leon continues to prove that he is literally over everything, and his sass and quips prove it. Now I find myself wanting to go backwards and play some of the other Resident Evils I haven’t gotten to!

I also played Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories on PC at the beginning of the year, and honestly did not enjoy it at all. I loved the art style, but it was such a weird way to present drugs and drug trafficking as a storyline. It was mercifully short, and that may have been the best part about it.

Whatcha Playing Now, Sam?

Kai is a cool guy.

When I have had any free time for gaming, I’ve mostly been playing Avowed on my PlayStation 5. I love games made by Obsidian and have enjoyed nearly every single one I have played. While Avowed has some obvious blemishes and performance issues, I can’t deny how intrigued I am by the story and its characters. The world is interesting and strange, the use of fungus as a focal point is a neat angle, and I love the idea that I am solving my own murder. I am also very much loving the two party members I currently have in Kai and Marius, and I have a feeling their companion stories are about to get even more interesting. I’ve made it to the Emerald Stair, and hopefully by my next backlog report, I’ll have this one completed and reviewed for the site.

2026 Game Tally

Games Completed: 9

# of RPGs Completed: 6

# of Non-RPGs Completed: 3

# of Games Purchased: 2

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Sam Wachter

Sam Wachter is the Operations Manager at RPGamer. By day she is a mild mannered librarian, and by night she is a reviewer and staff wrangler.

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