pixelbitesgames

[pixelbitesgames]

A recipe for success: 

2 Tbsp of Puzzle 

1/2 cup of Dating Sim 

A dash of Naughty 

Stir to combine and then play to your hearts content! We take a look at the surprisingly fun HuniePop on The Backlog Odyssey!!

[pixelbitesgames]

The Backlog Odyssey | Exciting New Update!

Good day one and all!

When I decided to start writing here on Steemit my goal was to present to all of you my thoughts, feelings and passions for video games. For years I've been playing and collecting games and I've been having a blast digging through my collection and sharing my experiences!

Up to this point we've played and covered seven games and there are plenty more to come! So for the last few week's I've been trying to figure out what I could do to better centralize each of these articles and to better represent what the Backlog Odyssey is all about. And with that I'm proud to present our brand spanking new website:

The Backlog Odyssey

Stop on by and let me know what you think! Of course we'll still be posting each of our articles here on Steemit so keep an eye out for the next featured game!

You can also check out what we thought of each of the games we covered so far by following each of the below links! Or click on the blog section of our website above.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean SOMA The Wolf Among Us Life is Strange Rune Factory 4 Darksiders Syberia

And don't forget to check out a comprehensive list of all the games in my collection at Pixel Bites' Backloggery. Don't hesitate to take a look and let me know if there is anything you would like to see featured in the future!

[pixelbitesgames]

Yo Ho Ho and a Pot of Tea!

Guys, I’ve got a confession to make. I love Legos! I am well past the recommended age range on the box, but I still love playing with them. My son is 5 and has really only recently started getting into the regular size Legos and I honestly couldn't be happier about it. Whenever he gets to pick out a toy and he chooses a Lego set I skip down the aisle hand in hand with him. I can tell he's beginning to realize his parents are nerds, but he seems OK with it. Its cool. He gets me.

Five year olds are like that. Now the Lego video games on the other hand always made me feel much less enthusiastic. As a parent, all I could see is product placement. Until my son asked me to play one with him I had zero interest in any of these titles. But you know what? Looks can be deceiving and these games are actually pretty dang fun. So naturally, all three members of my family, myself included, were stoked to see that in July of this year Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Game would be free with the games with Gold on the Xbox.

It was originally for the Xbox 360 but hooray for backwards compatibility!  Really it hasn't been sitting in my backlog for very long and it certainly wasn’t lack of desire that kept me from playing it. It was mostly just a case of it getting picked over for other games. That and  my son was still hardcore into Lego Batman. He was much less enthused about playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean with me, especially since he discovered the all encompassing world of MineCraft, so I ended up playing more by myself than with him. I will say that with this game single player is the way to go, but more on that later.

Presentation

The packaging for Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is much like the other Lego titles in that it doesn't spark much interest in me. I mean the games are meant for all ages so a kid might think they are more fun looking than I do, but I’ve got M rated games to make my eyes sparkle, with their glorious M rated content splashed all over the box art.

These games’ box art is meant to draw a kid’s eye. Show off their favorite characters or just interesting subject matter if they haven’t seen the movies. My son hasn't seen Jurassic Park or any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies but the content is interesting enough for him to be easily drawn to it. Who doesn't like dinosaurs or pirates amiright?

The Game

The best part of this game, much like the other Lego titles, is that the developers really put in an effort to make the games playable regardless of your age. The puzzles are fun and engaging but not overly challenging. Sometimes it was more a matter of it not being clear as to what I had to do that kept me at a puzzle longer than intended and sometimes it was just me being dense...or tired. Parents are like that.

For my son, on the other hand, who can’t read yet it was really nice that most, if not all, of the puzzles included visual cues and pictures to show what needed to be done or collected in order to complete an area.

From what I remember of the movies the game’s story-line seems to follow them pretty closely, with some changes of course since this is a game meant for kids. My personal favorite is how they swapped out alcohol for tea. The pirates are all dancing and singing and staggering around in taverns while barmaids pour them tea from teapots. Good job Disney! Also, anyone that appeared hanged was still alive and waving, but just a skeleton now instead. Good job Disney?

Either way both my son and I walked away emotionally unscathed; him for not seeing anything unsavory and me for not having to explain my way out of anything unsavory he may have seen.

Some major flaws I would say this game brings to the table are few but worth mentioning. No lie, multiplayer made me motion sick at times. The “split screen” will change depending on where each player is in the stage. If you are near each other then there is no division but if you separate at all that divider bar spins around like a compass as you swashbuckle your way around the stage.

This feature is something I, thankfully, haven't seen in the other Lego titles I’ve played. Lego Batman multiplayer just tethers the players together and you can't go too far out of each other’s reach, which can be annoying in its own right but at least is doesn't make make me wanna yak afterwards.

Another flaw which I have noticed, that spans across all the Lego games,is that the camera angles often make any task requiring depth perception downright infuriating. Trying to walk across thin platforms or swing from place to place often resulted in a moment of silence for my irritated nerves. Naturally, this was also a big, frustrating deterrent for my son whose coordination isn’t that great in life yet, let alone in video games.

I will say that each individual Lego title, in its own right, is a great adventure especially if you are playing with a kid, but i wouldn't recommend making a marathon of these games as they tend to be a little rinse and repeat with their game formats. Lego Batman was a much bigger franchise and therefore much more elaborate with its puzzles and designs and characters, while Lego Pirates of the Caribbean was more meant to be an accompaniment to the release of the fourth movie. This lead to a much more watered down version of what Lego games often entail.

Despite a few issues encountered throughout our playthrough though, when I asked my son what he thought he gave the game two little, peanut-buttery thumbs up and I’m not inclined to disagree. We had fun playing it both together and separately, aside from the nausea inducing split screen, and definitely look forward to playing more Lego titles in the very near future.

[pixelbitesgames]

Beyond Logic, There is Fear

Game: SOMA Played On: PlayStation 4 Format: Digital Release Year: 2015 Developer: Frictional Games Publisher: Frictional Games

The mind is a funny thing. It helps us express our creativity, solve complex problems,  communicate with and relate information to one another. In many ways it defines who we are and how we perceive the world around us.

But our mind can also be our worst enemy. It can make us illogical or rash, see things that aren’t really there and with the right stimuli force us to act against our better judgment. Fear is a powerful force that controls many of our basic instincts and Frictional Games hopes to exploit this with their wonderfully crafted game SOMA.

Frictional Games is no slouch when it comes to making creepy games and with acclaimed series such as Penumbra and Amnesia under their belt they’ve made of name for themselves in the horror fandom. I’ve followed their releases since Amnesia: The Dark Descent and have been fascinated with the buzz that each of their games has generated.

As a fan of all things horror (video games, movies, comics, you name it!) I was eager to give one of their games a try, but until recently they have only been available on PC. I’m not going to lie, my PC is a bit of a potato and can barely run the word processor I’m using to write this! So that was unfortunately out of the question.

When I heard they were going to be releasing their latest horror-fest on the PS4 I was more than ecstatic! I would finally be able to experience first hand what Frictional Games had to offer.

Like most games though, I rarely buy them the moment they are released Then when I saw SOMA pop up in one of Sony’s Flash Sales a while back I jumped on it immediately. Now all I needed to do was mentally prepare myself and work up the nerve to play it!

It didn’t sit in the backlog nightmarescape for too long and in the spirit of the Halloween season here we are!!! So let’s plug in those headphones, turn up the volume and turn down the lights!

Fade to black… WHOOOSH…

Scary noises! Flashing lights!! Disturbing imagery!!!

Presentation

With one look, the cover art for SOMA makes you uneasy, there isn’t really anything particularly scary about it but it subtly unnerves you, hinting at some of the themes you will encounter when you play the game. The glitchy esthetic coupled with a distorted face that stares into the depths of your very soul do a wonderful job of making me want to play this game with all the lights on! I just can’t shake those eyes!!

The uneasy feeling the game gives you doesn’t stop there either. As the game loads it carries the  visual themes forward, but it’s not just the visuals that get you, it’s the sound design!  The atmosphere that Frictional constructed instantly entombs you with sounds that are haunting, pulsating, mechanical and electronic. There is something unnatural about it yet familiar and I think that’s what makes it so effective. And we haven’t even left the menu screen yet!!

To say Frictional knows what they are doing is an understatement. The fact that I momentarily hesitate before clicking New Game is a testament to their genius.

But would be a snooze-fest of a review though if I stopped there. So I tightened up my suspenders and pull up my socks and prepared myself to dive into the unknown.

The Game

If I could use one word to describe SOMA it would be uncertainty. The game never lets you feel too comfortable and just when you are starting to become familiar with what’s happening around you it’ll uproot everything, give you the runaround two or three times and then throw you back out to the wolves (or maybe it’s psychopathic sentient robots!).

The opening of the game is a great example of these transitional periods as well. Your character wakes in his apartment after having a dream about an accident he suffered in the past that resulted in him having severe brain trauma. He is scheduled to meet a man named Dr. Munshi who is studying a scanning technology that can hopefully help patients with brain injuries. From what I gathered the machine can scan your brain and allow them to unobtrusively study it and determine the best course of action to a full recovery.

You sit in the machine. The visor closes over your head. Everything goes black and you wake in what looks like a worn down space station from the Alien franchise. I ask myself, is this a result of our character’s brain injuries? Is he hallucinating or dreaming again? Or could this be real and the machine transported us to a different location or time?

And just when we get “comfortable” with our new surroundings, out of nowhere we discover we are actually deep under the Atlantic ocean!!!

All throughout the game the environments are thematically consistent (oppressive, claustrophobic) but this is especially true of the underwater portions. Where in space you may feel isolated and overwhelmed by the vast volumes of nothingness, deep within the ocean everything seems much more foreign. This all induces a sort of paranoia where you hesitate to turn each corner and move forward. You are constantly worrying if it’ll be the pressure that kills you, the lack of oxygen or the creatures that lurk in the watery darkness.

You can hear the air bubbles as they expel from your diving suit, the creaking structures as they fight against the massive pressure of the immense amount of water pushing at their foundations, and of course the sounds of the unknown that echo from all directions. This is all topped off with a ambient soundtrack that increases its intensity at exactly the right times.

The gameplay loop on the other hand consists of quietly exploring creepy environments, unraveling the mysteries of Pathos-II combined with “What the eff is that!” and “Run the eff away!!”, repeat. Since there are no weapons or any real way to defend yourself, running is usually your only option.

Honestly on the surface that gameplay doesn’t seem like much but luckily the mysteries you do uncover while you explore SOMA’s world are fascinating, and coupled with it’s atmosphere, the game as a whole makes you want to come back for more. It’s the contrast between the exploration sections and the frantic “I need to get out of here!” moments that make it all so compelling.

If I was to complain about one thing it would be how the story is delivered. As interesting and thought provoking as it can be, for the most part I am only interested in how this all affects our main character and the state of the present situation. The revelations you come to discover and their consequences are what I care about.

I do understand that we need some backstory to fully grasp our motivations for what we need to do, but most of it is locked behind computer terminals and audio logs. The game would only benefit by making these story beats reveal themselves more organically instead of having to break from the flow of the game to stop and read something.

SOMA is a stressful and thrilling ride from beginning to end that’s more than worth your time. As a psychological horror it artfully plays with your audio and visual senses and heralds themes that will make you sit back and think.

Truly a great game that I would suggest to any horror fan!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Social Media Stuff

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on

PixelBites’ Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

Horror is one of my favorite genres. Whether it’s movies or video games I just can’t get enough.

Well, in the spirit of the Halloween season I thought why not make the next pick for The Backlog Odyssey be a scary one! 

My review of the masterfully crafted psychological horror SOMA should be available soon but in the meantime kick back and enjoy the first hour of the game!!

I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!!!

Social Media Stuff

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on

PixelBites’ Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

A Wolf In Sheriff’s Clothing

Game: The Wolf Among Us Played On: Xbox One Format: Physical Release Year: 2013 Developer: Telltale Games Producer: Telltale Games

“Imagine if you could not only read a comic book, but experience it with fully animated and beautifully cell shaded characters? Where you can guide their fate by making ‘well informed’ decisions and bare witness to the consequences that follow!”

That’s at least how I imagined the dev team at Telltale Games pitched the idea to transform the graphic novel series Fables into a “choose your own adventure” game. Well… Telltale is known for this type of licensed adventure game so it was probably more like “Hey, let’s make a game about Fables” and they all agreed.

I’ve never actually read the Fables comics but the concept has always intrigued me. The idea of fairytale creatures being forced out of their realm and having to blend into modern society by disguising themselves as humans is super fascinating and makes for a great story!

So when I saw that I was going to be getting the game for free as a part of the Xbox One Games with Gold in April 2016 I was super excited!! I’ve had my eye on it for a while but could never pull the trigger. The only other Telltale game I’ve played up to that point was The Walking Dead and although it was great, it kinda left me apathetic towards Telltale’s brand of adventure games.

And there the game sat in my Installed Game list for over a year, tempting me to play it and occasionally succeeding. I started it a couple of times, once by myself and once with my wife but we never made it any further than the first chapter. Fooling ourselves that we would pick it back up some day.

But it must have been fate that I would be writing about the game on this blog! For I found a fully sealed physical copy of it at the local thrift store. Begging me to buy it! Begging for us to play it!

So we did.

Presentation

Looking at the cover art for The Wolf Among Us, it definitely screams comic book. As a comic book and manga fan it’s what drew me to the game. The fact that it was actually based on a graphic novel series by DC was just the icing on the cake.

I can’t speak to how well the art style imitates the comics themselves. Looking at images of the comic for comparison, I can tell artists employed their own “Telltale” spin on the design but they more than channeled the comic book feel. The aesthetics from the dark outlines to the deep black shadows do really hit the mark!

My only issue with it was how they portrayed the main character in his “wolf-man” form. He kind of emits a Teen Wolf vibe and don’t get me wrong I love that movie, but I was hoping Bigby would look a little bigger and lot badder. I guess it’s fitting since the game is based in 80’s.

The back cover does little else to draw you in that the cover art hasn't already. Touting a hard-boiled thriller where your choices matter!!! Listen synopsis people, you had me at “Can you contain the beast within?”.

The beautiful look and feel continues as you boot up the game and are presented with a great intro showcasing Telltale’s expertise in cell shaded graphics. It’s really too bad they didn’t put as much effort into their character model animations. The clunky and artificial animations sometimes pull you out of the immersion the dialog and story try so hard to keep. Then you're drawn back in by how expertly crafted and gorgeously rendered the graphics are.

I’ll admit, it’s a love hate relationship with Telltale games and their graphics. But generally that’s not what you're here for.

The Game

Choices and story are Telltale’s nom de plume and with The Wolf Among Us they delivered on both fronts.

In most situations you are given a variety of choices that will have either significant or barely noticeable consequences throughout the game. These will alter how characters perceive you or can change how specific scenarios play out.

One interesting feature that Telltale employs is that each of your choices are timed. Making you think fast, choose on instinct and more than likely make ill-informed decisions. I personally like to try and make choices that I could see myself making in those situations, colored by where I feel the character’s moral compass lies.

Not having the time to analyze the situation and determine the best response make your choices all the more impactful. This also makes it feel like they have more control over how your character is portrayed and how they develop throughout the story.

One complaint I do have about this system is the fact that you don’t really ever know if your choices are making a difference. There are definitely situations where your choices will lead you down one path versus another, but for the most part it goes unnoticed other than the small notification you are given in the corner of the screen. You’ll get notified when someone “Will remember that” or “Noticed you didn’t agree with them” but what does that mean?! I’m sure there are systems at play, but if I’m perfectly honest, I don’t see them.

Truthfully that’s what makes these games entertaining though. The fact that the story is so dynamic and can be controlled by how you react and interact makes you want to come back and play it again. Seeing how different choices can alter outcomes.

No dynamic story is complete though without strong plot threads that tie everything together.

On the surface The Wolf Among Us is a noir murder mystery about fantastical creatures slumming it in 1980’s New York City. Each of them scraping by while being dragged through the dirt by both their inner government (who you, Bigby Wolf, work for) and a drug slinging, prostitute pimping, crime lord known as the Crooked Man.

Deep down, this game also comments on social injustice, discrimination, governmental corruption and poverty. It certainly doesn’t shy away from suggesting that the combination of all of these things almost always creates a toxic and oppressive environment forcing many of the Fable citizens to fall victim to a less than dazzling lifestyle.

Luckily, our main protagonist, Mr. Bigby, is here to take a BITE outta crime! Or maybe blow it’s house down.

The story as a whole was fun and intriguing starting with a bang but slowing petering out with a puff of smoke. It definitely kept me interested throughout by introducing new twists and new characters but ultimately left me feeling indifferent in the end.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing as it left room for the story to be expanded with a sequel. Telltale has confirmed a second season but who knows when we’ll see that. If they do actually follow through,it should hopefully make up for the gaping hole in my soul that can only be filled with more Fables lore.

There is one thing I’ve discovered about playing Telltale games though or any game of it’s ilk. If you can, play it with a friend, your significant other or your local superstore cashier, whoever you can!

Although it is presented as a single player game, sharing the experience with others, arguing about what choices to make and discussing that “end of episode” cliff hanger is half the fun!!

Highly recommended if you can play it this way!!

Social Media Stuff

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on

PixelBites�� Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Game: Life is Strange Played On: PlayStation 4 Format: Digital Release Year: 2015 Developer: Dontnod Entertainment Publisher: Square Enix

Giant tornadoes, solar eclipses, double moons and off the hook teenage parties!!

What more could you ask from a story plotline?  I dunno, maybe a murder mystery and an adorable nerdy love interest?  

Life Is Strange is an episodic “choose your path” adventure game that brings all this and more to the table. I first heard about Life is Strange when it was still in development and even though it was being published by Square Enix it didn't really spark much interest in me.

I mean Telltale had its own slew of graphic adventure games available at the time. They had games like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, which are full of action and intrigue and brightly colored cell-shaded awesomeness. All that Dontnod’s Life Is Strange was offering seemed like stiffly animated tumultuous teenage drama. Meh….

So for two years it lay forgotten in digital-game-store land until a few months ago when it was included in the PlayStation Plus monthly game line-up. So I figured what the hay? Its free after all.

And then it sat some more on my PlayStation, mocking me every day, until my wife and I decided to give it a go. We just finished The Wolf Among Us and we were still longing to make uninformed decisions that affected the fate of others (in video game form of course).

So we sighed and huffed and then eventually booted up the first episode of Life Is Strange.

Our opinions were negatively biased going in and honestly the first episode didn't do much to change that but the more we played the more we got sucked into the drama.

I gotta tell ya, that Nathan is a sketchy jerk! And where heckfire IS Rachel Amber anyway?!

Giant tornado aside the story quickly became a downward spiraling poo storm of bad decisions and worse compromises for poor Max Caufield. Her desperate attempts to keep Chloe, and everyone else, alive and relatively intact were becoming increasingly more futile!

Presentation

The fact that Square Enix occasionally branches out and gets involved with smaller lesser known projects is honestly one of my favorite things about the company and while the games aren't always mind blowing they are almost always unique in some way.

So when I saw that they were playing a part in publishing Life Is Strange it drew my attention, at first. But as I stated earlier the whole “time traveling teenage drama blah...blah...blah…”  spiel ended with a big ol’ nope!

The digital cover artwork didn't do much to inspire interest either. Kinda plain Jane with just a blurry polaroid of who I assumed was (and actually is) the main character superimposed on a hand drawn backdrop with a lighthouse and waves.

Not really much strange going on there, other than Max’s poorly portrayed time-winding hand gesture. Before playing the game i thought she was doing a weird peace sign.  Maybe they thought it made her look mysterious or something.

The Game

Life Is Strange is one of those games that draws in potential players by introducing a unique and interesting game mechanic that changes up the way the player interacts with their surroundings.  However, being a fairly complex concept, this usually means it isn't always executed with all the style and grace of a more established game mechanic.

I found the act of rewinding time, especially during more crucial times, to be too variable in speed and length.  Sometimes time would rewind almost too fast and it was easy to go too far back while other times holding down that dang trigger button never seemed to end.  I wouldn't say any of that made me enjoy applying the skill any less, I just hope for a more streamlined approach in any future iterations of the series.

There is a short prequel currently in the works where you play as Chloe that I am eagerly awaiting its full release and I definitely intend to play the second one that is slotted to come out sometime in the near future.

The game was certainly divisive in its general reception and I will say I agree with the majority of the opinions on both sides. The hokey, outdated “teenage” lingo often used by the characters as well as the stiff animations were definitely a turnoff. But if I’m going to be honest with myself, the biggest downfall is the slow start to the story.

If I had only been given the first episode for free, I can't say I would have dropped the cash to jump right into the second one. Even the second episode didn't really grab me, face plant me into the TV and make me say “My God what will happen next??!!”.  

But I forged on regardless and while the story never really put me on edge it was still a great plotline (which i promise not to spoil! Pinky promise!). It was definitely a plus that the developers didn't attempt to sugarcoat the story in anyway by avoiding some of the more controversial incidents like bullying and suicide.

In my opinion moments like that tend to develop the characters into more relatable beings, that in turn help the players immerse themselves into the story. They also persuade you to make choices based on what you think the character might choose, instead of just your own personal preferences.

The story ended up having plenty of hills and valleys, with an exponentially decreasing amount of hills the further you got, leaving you feeling depressed and morally corrupt regardless of your choices upon completing the game.

I still maintain that I would go back and replay it again sometime, more than likely making different choices as I go just for the sake of keeping it spicy, but I do feel more optimistic about the upcoming Life Is Strange 2. Although I'm sure my moral code will get equally trounced I hope Dontnod gets to it a little quicker next time.

Wait...what am I saying?

Maybe in the limited edition release they can include some adorable kitten pictures to keep on hand to raise your spirits back up as needed or a Life Is Strange 2 themed weighted blanket to relieve your anxiety.

I’m looking at you Dontnod! Don’t break my heart twice and make me like it!

Social Media Stuff

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on

PixelBites’ Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

Ultra Hello and MEGA Good Morning!

Game: Rune Factory 4 Played On: 3DS Format: Physical Release Year: 2013 Developer: Neverland Co. Publisher: XSEED Games

What can I say about Rune Factory 4…. Well, not too much since I've never actually played the it. One thing I can say about it though is that as a farming simulator/ RPG type game it’s not exactly my cup of tea.

It is however one of my wife’s favorite genres so she happily agreed to play through it to completion and tell me all about it along the way. So the following will be mostly based on what I took away from our conversations during and after her play through.

I initially picked up Rune Factory 4 as a Christmas gift for my wife and wrapped in what I can only assume was the most extravagant and beautiful wrapping paper (complete with bow). Now, it’s been a couple of years but I believe she played through to the end of the first story arc before I unceremoniously tore her away from it to play something else with me. This of course led her to shelf it for a bit.

When it was recently dusted off and taken for a spin again my wife definitely seemed eager to restart her character and play through the game in its entirety.

Presentation

My impressions of the game just based off of its front cover are definitely positive. I love the anime-esque artwork and it reminds me of many of the fantasy anime I've watched like Log Horizon or Sword Art Online.

The game logo is very fancy and that amazing dragon in the background definitely draws me in and makes me want to give this game a try.

Wait, does that white haired guy have horns or really fluffy ears?!

Now, I consulted my wife and she informs me that he is the male equivalent of my beloved monster girls (Monster guys? Monster boys?) and he’s half horse….alrighty then….

Honestly, I'd say just based on the box art I would want to try this game out myself especially knowing it was developed/published by XSeed Games. I'm a big JRPG fan and like  Atlus or NIS, XSeed is known for it’s great Japanese ports.

The back cover displays more of the beautifully drawn anime artwork showing some more characters and also a few farm animals/monsters.

The in game screenshots are vivid and colorful and JRPGish and make me want to play the game all the more.  But am I prepared to plummet headfirst into a magical world? Do I have what it takes to be the new ruler of Selphia?

Although I’m generally not a fan of farming sim games (a la Harvest Moon) the fact that this has dungeon exploration and RPG elements certainly intrigues me. And we can play as a boy or a girl!!!!

Not gonna lie but I’d totally play as a girl just to try and win the heart of horse guy from the front cover.

Inside the game case is equally exceptional in displaying the bright and colorful anime-esque game that is Rune Factory 4.  

I really love how they utilized the 3DS game case design and displayed chibi versions of each character in those little holes. I gotta say XSeed knows what they’re doing. Even better is the increasingly rare full color booklet insert.

The 34 page booklet included with the game acts as a mini strategy guide giving you lots of background story, small tips on things like the basics of gameplay and short run downs on each bachelor and bachelorette. Did I mention that XSeed really knows what they’re doing?

The Game

Rune Factory 4 is a looooooooong game. It’s right up there with Disgaea and (insert another long game) with a potential level cap of 50,000. Even after playing around 150 hours my wife only reached around level 196 and this is after a great deal of grinding on her part just to be able to survive and complete the third and final story arc of the game.

Now like most games of this type you can continue to play long after the story ends. Since there is an exorbitant amount of stats, skills, runes, magics, weapons and tools to level up, as well as a never ending supply of dungeons to conquer. There's certainly plenty of things to keep you busy while you slog your way along to reach that enormous level cap.

My wife says she enjoyed the game immensely and would definitely continue playing it sometime or even restart a new character. If you are a fan of this series or this genre she gives it a two thumbs up and  highly recommends it.

There are rumors floating around about a 5th installment and that will be an instant buy for us for sure. We do own the 3rd of the series for the Wii and haven't played it yet but that's what this blog is all about amirite?!

Social Media Stuff

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on

PixelBites’ Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

Killing Scores with Demon Swords

Game: Darksiders Played On: Xbox One (Xbox 360 version) Format: Digital Release Year: 2010 Developer: Vigil Games Publisher: THQ

Darksiders has been a game that I’ve been wanting to play since I first saw a trailer for it way back in 2010. The combination of action, platforming and the artistic style instantly drew me in. This was my type of game.

The concept of Angels and Demons, the Four Horsemen and the apocalypse was also a huge selling point. How could Vigil Games go wrong and why wouldn’t anyone buy this game and play it if they could.

Well, as the years passed Darksiders inevitably got picked over for more current games or for games that happened to take my fancy at the time. It was always on my mind but for whatever reason I just could never convince myself to pick it up.

It wasn’t until four or five years after it’s release that I would grab it along with it’s sequel Darksiders 2 on a digital blowout sale on the Xbox 360. And once again there it sat for another couple of years, once again getting picked over for other games. Until today!

Presentation

One look at Darksiders and you’ll be wondering to yourself, “Hot damn! Why am I not playing this game right now?!”. The cover art and screenshots served up to you on the digital storefront are absolutely oozing with style. They are colorful and detailed showing wonderfully elaborate environments and intimately designed enemies.

In many ways the art direction in Darksiders reminds me of modern Blizzard. More specifically Diablo 3 and World of WarCraft.

Reading through the synopsis hypes us up with references to battles between Heaven and Hell, Apocalyptic Powers and betrayal. Urging us (subtly) that 19.99 isn’t that much money. And of course we agree!! We can skip buying coffee this week.

But it isn’t a question of if we should buy the game. It has already been set in stone. We willingly submit our credit card number. Our fate is sealed.

The Game

As soon as you boot up Darksiders you are presented with a game that delivers on all of the promises presented to us in it’s (I’m assuming) meticulously crafted synopsis.

Stellar art direction, voice acting for days, action, Heaven and Hell, weapons, magical powers and a progression system. Everything you could want in a well made action adventure game.

The more you play the more you see similarities and elements from other great titles in the genre. And this is a good thing. But something keeps nagging at me. Something feels off.

I should be loving this game and having a blast while I’m playing it but for whatever reason it just isn’t hooking me. The quests you are given start feeling repetitive and uninventive. The abilities you acquire never quite seem as useful or as powerful as they should. And although I keep unlocking new weapons I always seem to just want to use my giant assed sword.

But that voice acting am I right?!

If I was to rate this game I would give it an “It’s OK” and recommend it to someone who doesn’t have anything else to play. I mean, Darksiders isn’t a bad game. I was never dissatisfied while playing it but I never felt satisfied either.

The way the game presented itself from it’s art design to it’s story was all spot on but the gameplay and level design just kind of dragged it all down.

It had so much going for it and I’m a little disappointed that it turned into a slog. But here’s hoping the second one knocks my socks off!

Social Media Stuff

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on

PixelBites’ Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

My Heart Did Time in Syberia

Syberia is an interesting pick for the first game we will be featuring on the Backlog Odyssey. I’m a fan of adventure games and from what I’ve heard from those who have played the series, Syberia is fun, has a great story and challenging puzzles. And that’s about all I know about it.

The sole reason I picked this and the second game up when I seen them tragically orphaned at one of the local thrift stores was due to their praises. That and they were only a few dollars a piece. My Xbox collection needed to be fleshed out anyways!

This was actually a very recent pick up so it hasn’t been in my backlog for long but I’m excited to start playing it. I’m also looking forward to seeing if it lives up to what I’ve been hearing about it.

Before we do that though, let’s take a look at the physical game and everything it came with. First impressions are everything and can ultimately determine if you pick up a game and play it or if it just collects dust on your game shelf.

Front Cover

Looking at the front cover of Syberia it reminds me of many early Xbox and late 90’s or early 2000’s PC games. If I didn’t know any better, and in truth I don’t, Syberia looks like a port of a PC game you may find in a bargain bin.

The stiff character models displayed in full force on the cover, elegantly floating above a fancy steam powered train certainly don’t inspire. And if crediting Mr. B. Sokal above the title was supposed to be a selling point that was lost on me as well.

So what is this game about? I have no idea, but based on the cover I’d say a European woman and her robot companion riding their train to Syberia (Siberia?) in the early 1900s. Riveting!!

Honestly, at this point Syberia feels like a definite “would not play”. That’s probably why it got instantly shelved after I bought it. But I’m hoping to give XS Games and Microids the benefit of the doubt while I turn to the back cover.

Back Cover

One look at the back cover of Syberia and we start getting a glimpse of what we are getting ourselves into. Am I ready for a journey of discovery and intrigue? I want to say yes but the screenshots of the game haven’t sparked my interest yet. The graphics do look impressive though, especially for the time.

The background art seems detailed and the environments seem varied. At least we won’t be stuck on a train the entire time!

I can now revise my initial hypothesis on what the game is about. We discover that the lady found on the front cover is Kate Walker and she is tasked with caring for the sale of an old factory that manufactured automatons (kind of like robots right?). But it doesn’t stop there, little does she know she will be whisked away on a journey across Europe (ding), time (what?) and the supernatural?? I didn’t see that one coming.

We are also given a list of stellar features found in the game. Which I can and will verify based purely on the bullet-ed feature list I was given:

A gripping script?! Check

Rich and intriguing characters with realistic 3D environments??!! Check

Film like camera angles?! Double check!!

Creative puzzles (completely integrated into the environments!!!)?! Check and check

Color me intrigued. But we can’t criticize a game based on what we are given on the surface. We must dig deeper and gaze upon what they provide to us on the inside. Of the package that is.

Accouterments

I crack the case open and inside I find a disc! But most importantly something that is a rarity in modern games these days, a manual!! A twelve page manual to be precise.

Now you may get excited to see such literature grace the inside of your game case. But don’t expect it to entertain you while you go about whatever business you need to attend to. Unfortunately this manual is exactly that. An instruction booklet featuring standard operations instructions, controls and warranty information.

It does have some pictures of icons and various menus but they are all in black and white and overall pretty uninteresting.

One thing I can take away from reading the manual though is there seems to be a whole lot of documents to collect in the game. And a whole lot of reading.

Final thoughts and the first hour

After the first hour or so of the game I want to say that it’s exactly what I expected. Whether that’s good or bad is yet to be seen but I will leave you will some of my impressions.

Firstly, the controls in the game leave something to be desired. Many times will I try to move Kate and she will either not move at all or spin in the opposite direction but only occasionally will she move in the desired direction. Interaction with the environment can also be slow, trying to pick up or examine an item is not always responsive.

The graphics on the other hand can be impressive and the environmental puzzles are fun. Not necessarily challenging (at least not yet) but more obtuse or ill explained. The one glaring problem I have with the presentation though is pathways and interactable objects are not always apparent and easily missed. To be fair this is also a problem in many other adventure games.

Finally, the story does seem interesting, and I’m curious to see how it all pans out. The dialog is written well and the voice acting is certainly good but there is something about the writing that seems a bit off to me. Like it’s too staged or theatrical.

Overall I am excited to play more Syberia, cautiously so, but still excited. I don’t have false pretenses that this game will blow my socks off but I’m hoping that it surprises me. I get a very Longest Journey vibe from the art work, synopsis and overall aesthetic and I did enjoy those games.

So what is the game actually like and how does it play? Well that’s really what we’re here for! You can following the link below for a playlist of my long play of the game. The first episode is available now!!

Let me know if you’ve played Syberia and your thoughts on the game. Would you recommend it to others?

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on 

PixelBites’ Backloggery

The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram

[pixelbitesgames]

The Backlog Odyssey Begins

I love video games. So much so that I’ve played them, read about them, watched them, thought about them and talked about them every day for almost three decades now (three decades!).

Not only do I love to consume this medium but I am driven to acquire as much of it as I can. Whether it’s free through subscriptions or bargain hunting at the local thrift store. I just can’t get enough.

Over the years my collection has grown and it has evolved as I’ve gotten older. As my tastes changed so did my collection. Each of the games that I own, at least the ones that I have played, can mark a place or time in my life.

Therein lies the problem though, not all games that I own I’ve played. I don’t have the same emotional connection to these games. I can’t say I’ve experienced them and I can’t tie them to any specific time or place in my life other than when I purchased them.

The long and short of all of this is I want to make a connection with these games. I want to sit back and examine them, analyze why I acquired each one and after I experience playing them, what they mean to me.

One issue with collecting for so long is that it starts to become much more difficult to keep track of what you have and what you have played. I did my research, watched some videos and read various blogs and finally landed on The Backloggery.

This site allowed me to not only keep track of my games it also allowed me to record which of those games I’ve played and which I haven’t. It’s a great site and I recommend you check it out if you’re looking for a way to catalog your own games.

Now that the monumental task of cataloging my entire collection of games both physical and digital is complete all I have left to do is the fun part; play them!

After I form my first impressions based on the cover art, box art and all of the other accoutrements that generally come with a game. I’ll boot it up and play it to see if those initial impressions were accurate or way off base!

This will be a long road but I’m also betting it’ll be super fun. I look forward to starting and stay tuned for my first post as we kick off the uphill battle of tackling my back catalog!

As we conquer each game look out for let’s play videos on my YouTube channel PixelBites and let me know what you think!

We’ll occasionally do live gaming sessions as well. Keep an eye out and stop by my Twitch channel at PixelBitesLive when we do!

You can also find the entire list of games in my collection on PixelBites’ Backloggery. The list will be updated regularly as I start and finish games as well as when I get new ones. Don’t hesitate to take a look and let me know what you would like to see featured in the future!

Follow me on social media to keep up to date with what we are doing next and other random video game shenanigans!!! See you there!

Twitter

Instagram