XboxEra's 2024 Backlog Challenge |OT| Surely this is the year?

My best friend just gifted me the Pixel Remasters as a “sorry you broke your hand” gift of sorts (really more that we’re both FF nerds and he knew it would be a while before I could pick them up). Do we count gifts against our count, can’t remember?

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That’s a good friend!

No, we don’t:

5. Any games received as a gift from your friends/family/dog do not count, as you did not make the conscious decision yourself to add it to your backlog.

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+1 Little Kite

Another short point and click. This one with a dark story about alcoholism and domestic abuse.

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I looked at the rules and might be games for next year but I’ve played Metro 2033 on the 360. I also bought at some time Metro Redux. These would classed as separate games?

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I would say yes, they are separate games. They are on different platforms, have separate achievement lists, and are actually fairly different to play. That’s because they added all the Last Light improvements to the original in the redux version.

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Yep, separate games :slight_smile:

Also:

  • +1 - Super Mario RPG Remaster (Switch) - this was such a perfect remaster/remake job of one of the all time greats, IMO. Loved every second, though I forgot how short of a game it is…

Total = 25.5

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Thanks for both replies. Looking forward to jumping into them but started a Goldeneye play through for something different and Conkers bad fur day. May do the Metro Exodus DLC as well while I still remember main story and more importantly controls.

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Another week, another update. Been a bunch of completions (and purchases…) but no changes in placements on the board.

The Leaderboard:

  1. @Zip 32

  2. @Knottian 25.5

  3. @SilentJay76 23

  4. @ACyberRazorCut 15

  5. @MasterLeePhD 13.5

  6. @APOPHIS1989 11.5

  7. @profjjj 11.5

  8. @vrinn 9

  9. @Searsy82 6.5

  10. . @ Mort 5.5

  11. .@ Rodya 2

  12. @BrigadiersBlue -5

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I’m really glad I’m not in the challenge after this fortnight - I’d be taking about minus 20, or if you count games claimed from monthly subs about minus 150!

Finally upgraded my PC (hardly any of it remains really) after years of dormancy as I concentrated on my Series X, and I’ve realised how much Game Pass has screwed me lol - it made me love game subscriptions and leave a load running.

In addition to finally going through all the Humble Choice monthly bundles I’ve been letting auto-renew for years and claiming over 100 games (many duplicating with Game Pass or already played before at least, and only claiming ones I like the look of) then going through my Epic free games, GoG freebies from Amazon Prime and crappy mystery bundles on Fanatical and claiming another 50 or so - I then went shopping (as I’d got all those for free, just sunk costs).

I bought a few PlayStation and PC-only games I’ve missed with birthday money, but then keep browsing Steam - and this is where GP screwed me again as it’s made me love indies as so many are on sale so often on Steam.

I’ve already bought like 5 to 10 puzzle and sim games (my favourite indie types) simply because they showed up on the homepage, looked interesting and had a discount - and Game Pass has opened my eyes to how many of these indie games are awesome and often have a bigger impact on me than many AAA games.

So yeah my backlog just tripled in size and is now looking super scary!

(On a positive note, if you have accessibility issues like me - autism means my hand / eye coordination and response isn’t as accurate as I’d like and is getting slower as I age - then PC or handheld are really helpful as many games have mods, consoles or cheats available that can allow you to play single player games you thought out of your reach due to a lack of accessibility options. It’s one of the reasons I’m so open to the next Xbox being a PC hybrid)

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+1 Iron Meat (this game rules if you like Contra)

Total 7.5

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Help! TA has informed me that at least 8 games on my wishlist are on sale this week! I just bought a bunch of games last week! I don’t want to erase all of my hard work going through the backlog this year…

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control control control

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OK, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Most weren’t at least 50%, which is how long I usually wait to buy. And a few were just different bundles that included the one game I had on the wishlist.

-1 The Gap

TBH, I don’t remember how I heard about this game, but I am sold by a neuroscientist traveling through dimensions.

-1 The Last Worker

I am a fan of Wired Productions’ narrative games, so it was inevitable that I would play this. I waited a good while for it to hit game pass like the others, but it never did join the service.

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+1 Creepy Tale

A short indie puzzle platformer to get me in the Halloween mood.

I would have tried to knock out more to offset the new purchases, but I am going on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, so I won’t have access to my Xbox for the rest of the week. Hopefully I can catch up next week.

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“Funny story” - it used to drive me crazy that I was so pathetic at certain games and I didn’t know why. It’s hard to accept being shit at something so simple, something you spend so much time doing. Then about two years ago I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asperger’s) in my mid 40s, and all of a sudden things started making sense.

I’m still shit at video games, obviously. But it makes it a lot easier to accept certain limitations and just pick that “easy” mode in most games, without feeling pathetic.

Now if only real life had an easy mode…

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Wow. I’m sure a revelation like that makes you recontextualize a whole lot of your life. Crazy that it took 40+ years to figure out - though I guess our understanding of spectrum disorders has come a long way in the last 20 years or so.

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Yes to pretty much all of that. It’s been quite the journey since a colleague at work asked me about it one day. I had no clue about autism at the time. Looking back, the worst part was always thinking that I’m perfectly normal and trying to act accordingly to fit in and fulfill expectations. Unfortunately that’s extremely exhausting and the result was (perhaps inevitably) burnout and depression. Today, just knowing my limitations and that there’s a reason why I’m a bit “weird” sometimes makes it so much easier to deal with. Better late than never!

But to get back on topic. I decided to take advantage of a €1 EA Play deal on PlayStation, so my backlogging has come to a screeching halt over the last couple of weeks. Already finished the campaigns for Battlefield 4 and V, as well as the Star Wars Battlefront single player content. (That game still looks absolutely gorgeous!) Happy to recommend all three of those games.

On to Battlefront 2!

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Yep I was diagnosed as an adult too - my ADHD masked the worst of my symptoms (it made me dislike silence, hyperfocus etc) as did the memory it seemed to come with, plus having a schedule from adults.

Once I was reaching higher levels in work and had to do my own admin (and would put it off) plus getting really annoyed if someone didn’t do things efficiently / the best way or I had to change plans it became apparent, and it was suggested I see someone - I was convinced it was OCD (as I’ve got a few compulsive tendencies) and ADHD.

However the psychiatrist said ASD and ADHD, the former was pretty obvious as I didn’t spot in 4 different ways he told me the meeting was running over - I then felt awful lol, as I really hadn’t realised the context when he talked about the motorway traffic or the other hints!

Just like you though, yes things suddenly fell into place - there were games even as a teenager with loads of time to practice I just couldn’t get past certain bits and sucked at multiplayer, I struggled with coordination in everyday life (was a really clumsy kid) and I realised I often learnt what was expected of me in certain social situations rather than knowing or reading people’s faces.

And yep it helps so much, knowing - I’ve learnt that my over-planning and over-preparing for things is OK, that if I take my time more with things as I get older I’m less clumsy, and most of all I no longer feel so bad about using easy modes or cheats, or ignoring phone calls in work (Teams me if it’s important with what it is so I can prepare, and I’ll call you back!) or just using prepared phrases when talking to people so I find social situations less exhausting.

It also makes me feel less weird, and spot the benefits too - I’m the only person in my company that has our hundreds of systems in my head, how they connect and who’s responsible for them, and I can find optimal solutions faster than almost anyone else (and so even in life I seem to be the person everyone brings their problems to) - and learn practically anything I set my mind to (unless it’s super abstract, then I’m screwed lol).

So I’d not change it for the world - despite everything!

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  • +1 - Mega Man X2 (Mega Man X Legacy - XOne): I only ever rented this one as a kid and it’s definitely a weaker entry compared to the other two Mega Man X games originally on the SNES.

Total = 26.5

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