Mostly games that don’t fit into an existing category that I don’t feel like creating a dedicated category for. Like I could create a stealth category for Thief and Hitman, but it would only contain those two games. Then there’s games like Transistor, Cloudpunk, Spiritfarer, etc where I just don’t know how I could even categorize them.

I mean, if you’ve already paid for the games in the past, and you’re going totally DRM free anyway… I feel like you’re morally all good to go sailing.

My problem with most Souls-likes is the slow/clunky (for lack of a better word) combat. I’ve bounced off Code Vein, The Surge, and Elden Ring (which was a refund instead of a backlog) over this. I want to try them again with an open mind at some point though, just with adjusted expectations.

Sekiro on the other hand I really liked the combat of, the reason it got backlogged is because I got tired of fighting through all the grunt enemies between deaths to bosses/mini-bosses. I like difficult bosses if I can immediately try again upon death (a la Furi), but it felt like Sekiro was wasting my time in comparison because I had to GET to the boss again for each attempt. The grunts didn’t pose enough of a challenge to be interesting, just enough to slow me down.

I’m not sure if that’s a common thing throughout the game, or if it was just in the areas leading up to the point where I stopped, but I am definitely planning on giving it another shot either way. It’s been a few years since I last played it.

I avoid early access in general, so I’ve only ended up with a handful from game bundles.

Sekiro, Code Vein, The Surge, and Steel Rising.

Honestly the first three are candidates for the “Dropped” category, I’ve started and given up on them before. I want to give them each one more chance at some point.

Very much intentional since I don’t own a headset at the moment. If I ever get one again, I’ll give the category an emoji to push it back towards the top lol

One of my favorites, I can’t wait for the sequel

Let me know how Severed Steel is

It got stuck in backlog hell for a while, just finished it today. It’s great!

A lot of these games are pretty short and playing on my Steam Deck during lunch breaks at work is responsible for several completions. I also basically never play online multiplayer games.

Shorter games is the biggest factor though. Just for fun I combined my time in To the Moon, Parking Garage Rally Circuit, Jusant, Sprawl, Toem, ExoOne, Ghostrunner 2, Loddlenaut, Unpacking, Lunistice, Up left out, Naboki, Hook 2, and Inside, and the total number of hours it took to beat all of those was 37.

I’m guessing you probably have more than 37 hours in your favorite online game this year, I just spend my hours on different games lol

Corn Kidz 64 looks super fun, I will definitely be picking that up!

lol when I was reviewing my HLTB log for this post, I had the same thought. “I did all that this year?!” The benefit of mostly playing shorter games, I suppose.

Sea of Stars has been on my radar for a while. I’m not huge on turn-based combat, but it looks so good!

Finally picked up the Cyberpunk DLC. Got Pacific Drive as well.

Still deciding on:

Dead Cells - I found two roguelites I actually like this year (Dome Keeper and Hades) and want to see if I can go three for three.

Dragons Dogma and Stalker - Games with recent sequels I’ve never touched. For $5/piece I’m tempted to give both a try.

Dying Light 2 - Been in the mood for some dumb open world fun recently, and I refuse to buy anything from Ubisoft to fill that void. This seems decent and I liked the first one.

Same here. I really enjoy Nonagon Infinity but haven’t been able to get into any other album of theirs.

Madeon - Good Faith

I adore Madeon’s first album, Adventure. I knew Good Faith would be different and I was really looking forward to it anyway, and it when it finally came out, it just never clicked with me. It’s an album I come back to probably once per year to try it again, but I just don’t vibe with it. It’s an album I respect a lot, but I just don’t like it.

Justice - Hyperdrama

Still a pretty new release admittedly. That opening track is one of Justice’s best ever songs, but the rest of the album just isn’t grabbing me. I’m hoping it’ll grow on me over time.

To twist your question a bit: The Glitch Mob - Ctrl Alt Reality

Another case of an artist moving in a totally different direction, and when I first listened to it, I didn’t like it. Similar feelings to Good Faith. But then I listened to it again. Then again. Then again. There wasn’t a sudden moment where it clicked, it just got better with every listen. It’s probably my second favorite album of theirs now.

And to twist your question even more. I thought I would dislike: Muse - Will of the People

I’ve been in the camp of “modern Muse isn’t that bad” for a while, but there’s clearly been a downward trend. Even I cannot defend Simulation Theory. I expected WOTP to be more of the same, and somehow I ended up loving it. It is maximum Muse cheesiness, in the best way possible.

I’ve been itching to upgrade to AM5, this might finally be the CPU to finally make it worth it. Hopefully power draw and thermals are good, I’d like to do an ITX build if possible.

I occasionally think back to Rocket League, which I loved in its earlier days. I put close to 100 hours into it, which is a lot for one game for me. Then they added lootboxes, leaned harder into the competitive space, and just completely sucked the soul out of it. And yet it’s still hugely popular.

I just don’t get it.

I’m so torn about stories like this and GTA online. Because on one hand, people play these games, and people won’t switch to Linux if they can’t play them.

But on the other hand, I just cannot give a single fuck about live service trash like this. I struggle to understand how people play games products like these, and I absolutely don’t understand why anyone would waste their time cheating in them. And yet they’re absurdly popular.

Despite gaming being such a big hobby for me, I feel so disconnected from what the average gamer values.

I would love to see what someone could do now in the same vein.

Genki is finally making a new TXR, got announced a few days ago.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2634950/Tokyo_Xtreme_Racer/

I have a work-in-progress list here, strictly games I would consider “must play” in the genre. Notably missing the Ridge Racer and Tokyo Xtreme Racer games because I haven’t played enough of them to have an opinion.

https://howlongtobeat.com/user/atmur/lists/40754/Peak-Racing-Games

Mostly arcade and simcade racers though. If you’re interested in sims:

For modding, Assetto Corsa is basically the modern rFactor.

For offline racing, Automobilista and Raceroom have pretty solid AI. Note: Raceroom’s pricing model is dumb, kind of like iRacing just without the subscription.

For career mode, Project CARS 2 (not 3) is basically the only sim that even tries.

For online racing, ACC and iRacing are unmatched.

For rally, you’re already playing DR2. Richard Burns Rally is also shockingly good for its age.

In an ASMR voice:

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