Endgame Viable

Yesterday an odd game called Enclave appeared on the Steam Backlog Bonanza. I had never heard of it before. It’s an action-ish RPG which I bought in 2016 for $1.24. This screenshot looks much better than the game does. According to Steam, it was released in 2013. I quickly discovered, through simple observations, that the game did not look particularly advanced for a 2013 game. I’ve since learned that it was actually released in 2002, and re-released on Steam in 2013. That explains the unexpectedly primitive graphics. (618 words.)

Speaking of Souls-like games, yesterday on the Steam Backlog Bonanza, I played a game that is frequently described as Souls-like: Titan Souls, from 2015. I got it in that infamous Winter 2016 sale, what turned out to be the last hurrah of Steam sales, for a whopping $3.74. I don’t remember why, except that I probably had a vague memory of seeing it described as a game that fans of Dark Souls would like. And it was super cheap. (1044 words.)

I started hearing some buzz about this new game called Remnant: From The Ashes. Most of what I’m hearing is that it’s “too hard” and that it’s a “Souls-like.” This of course triggers the usual “games have to make everyone feel like a winner” backlash, which is mostly what drew my attention. I’m sure the PR folks behind Remnant will be ecstatic to hear that, because I probably never would have heard of this game otherwise. (677 words.)

Yesterday for the Steam Backlog Bonanza I tried out an MMORPG called Tree of Savior. It launched in 2016, but I’m not entirely sure how it got onto my list. It’s free-to-play on Steam, so I never actually “bought” it, so it’s technically not in my backlog. I might have placed it in there manually because I wanted to try it, but I don’t remember. I made the game list weeks ago. Who can remember that far back? (821 words.)

It was a dark and stormy night, and noir was in the air when I played Max Payne 3 for the 26th day of the Steam Backlog Bonanza. I got it in 2013, just a year after it’s release, for $4. In those days, the sales were sales. Now you’re lucky to get $4 off in a sale. Anyway, I was looking forward to playing this particular game. I don’t precisely remember why I bought it-probably because it was a AAA title for $4, which was reason enough in 2013. I may have heard good things about Max Payne 3 at some point in my life. I don’t know. I just know I expected good things from this game. (1250 words.)

I used to play ArcheAge. There was a time when I got a ridiculous amount of blog traffic on my ArcheAge posts, which to this day, I still can’t explain. (This post on PvE content after level 30 was a top performer for some reason.) I remember being very excited about ArcheAge. It was actually a great game. Then I stopped playing. I was never particularly angry about it, I just didn’t agree with their decision to force people to subscribe to maintain a house and property. And once you lose your house and property, there is no compelling reason to play ArcheAge. (1176 words.)

Ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing up my sleeve, there are no wires or electronic devices of any kind. That’s because I played Crysis 2 Maximum Edition yesterday for the 25th day of the Steam Backlog Bonanza. And I’ve been watching episodes of Penn & Teller’s Fool Us as well. The mean streets of New York, sometime in the near-future. I bought Crysis 2 for $10 back in 2013. I already had Crysis 1, but I only played it for about 4 hours. I don’t remember much of anything about it except that I think it took place in a jungle and I didn’t care for it very much. I felt like it was just too dern complicated for a shooter. Too many fiddly bits to manage on your “Cryosuit” or whatever, which gives you magical superpowers like jumping and cloaking and shields. (475 words.)

I was in a funk yesterday so it would have been a great day to discover a fun new game. Unfortunately, Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods (Enhanced Edition) was up next on the Steam Backlog Bonanza. I got it as part of a “Gothic Complete Pack” for $7.50. Now I didn’t realize this until afterward, but Forsaken Gods is actually an expansion or addon to the base game of Gothic 3. Steam tells me I’ve played the base game of Gothic 3 for 12 minutes, so technically I can’t say that I haven’t played it. But, you know, I don’t remember it. (441 words.)

For the 23rd day of the Steam Backlog Bonanza, I played an indie game called The Age of Decadence, which I got in the 2016 Winter sale for $7.50. I think I mentioned this before, but the Winter sale of 2016 was the last time that I splurged on Steam games just because they were on sale. The outdoor isometric view, which is actually not seen very much. I don’t remember why I bought this game. But it’s interesting to me now because the game’s Steam store page spends a lot of time and effort trying to warn players not to buy and play the game. It’s filled with gems like this: (628 words.)

I found myself wandering a wasteland of wrecked tanker ships when a radiation storm blocked out the sun. In other words, I played S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat yesterday for the 22nd day of the Steam Backlog Bonanza. It’s one of those Eastern European shooters from 2010. I couldn’t find any record of when or how much I paid for it, which suggests I probably bought it soon after 2010 and it’s been sitting in my Steam backlog unplayed for nearly nine years. (660 words.)