Backloggin’ the Year – Sam’s Sojourn, July to September 2026

Summer is always crazy for me, and this year was no exception. Summer programming and outreach kept me incredibly busy throughout the last few months. I also had some time for myself, finding time for a few summer hikes, exploring new conversation areas, learning to find fossils, and visiting friends whenever my schedule was open. It was truly wonderful, even if the heat was a pain to deal with. While I am sad summer is over, we are moving into fall, which is my favourite season. I haven’t been apple picking since I was a child, and I had the pleasure of going with a friend, where we ate apples along our walk and filled our bag until we couldn’t anymore.

With fall having arrived, it also means more gaming time. Extra Life is happening in November, so I’m prepping for that. Beyond reviewing things for the site, I hope to knock out a few things from my half-started pile, such as Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined, Atelier Yumia, and, new to the pile, Wolverine. I played some great games the last three months, so I can only hope I close out the year with some new favourites!

For this feature, I’m focusing only on 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 Life and Suffering of Sir Brante Review
• Lunar: Eternal Blue Review
• Montabi Review
• Palm Sugar: A Village Story Review

The RPGs I Played

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales: I am usually not a fan of Zelda-clones, and in general that style of game doesn’t often appeal to me. I ended up borrowing The Adventures of Elliot from work and was pleasantly surprised by how much I wanted to explore the world and its story. I bought the game after my loan was finished, and while it’s taken me a bit, I can officially say I have gotten all three endings. I don’t know if I love how obtuse it is to get them, since I did have to use a guide, but I truly loved seeing and putting together the pieces of both Elliot’s story and the transformation of the Beast Tribes. I also don’t always pay full attention to soundtracks, but I adored this one because the music always felt on point with what was happening in the story. The Adventures of Elliot was truly a pleasant surprise for me, and I am so happy I got out of my comfort zone to give this game a try.

Metaphor: ReFantazio: I LOVED THIS GAME. I knew I would, but I didn’t realize how much I would adore it from start to finish. I get that it’s just fantasy-Persona, and I am completely fine with that. I loved the characters, the world, the villain, the political intrigue, the different archetypes, and how they could be upgraded. There was so much to enjoy here, and while I didn’t complete all of the game’s “social links,” I did manage to complete the majority, and I loved all of the smaller stories that were at play here. If the inevitable sequel happens, I’ll be demanding that it be pumped into my veins upon release.

All the Non-RPG Goodness

I didn’t play a lot of non-RPGs over the last three months, so there are only two games to discuss in this category. First is a game called Find Your Words, which was a very short-and-sweet game about kids at summer camp and making friends with each other by helping them with tasks, playing games, and exploring the map. The game is completely free and took me less than two hours to complete.

The other game I completed was the new Supermassive Game, Directive 8020, which I don’t get all the hate for. I loved the plot twist; I thought the characters were interesting, and I only accidentally killed one of them… I thought that was pretty good given in their games I often have very little in the way of survivors. It’s not a perfect experience as it has some small performance issues, but nothing that I would consider outrageous. I also loved the little nods to House of Ashes in this story. It’s definitely one I wouldn’t mind replaying with a friend, just to see how much the final outcome would change.

Whatcha Playing Now, Sam?

I loved The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante, so naturally I wanted my suffering to continue by playing its recently released sequel, The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian. My goodness, I thought the choices were mean in the first game, but Prince Jerian takes things to a whole new level of pain. Our review will be coming soon, as I’m still putting together my thoughts. I started a whole new playthrough to see if I could find success in new choices. We’ll see if I succeed! After that, my goal is to dig back into my half-started pile, as I have a small stack of things I started and would love to go back to. Fall is here, which means there is a huge chance I could knock a few more titles out of the ever-growing backlog!

2026 Game Tally

Games Completed: 30

# of RPGs Completed: 17

# of Non-RPGs Completed: 13

# of Games Purchased: 12