Support NeoGAF

[DunDunDunpachi]

The 2019 Pact is a distant memory. The 2020 Pact is complete. 2021 draws near.

THE RULES:

No playing games released in 2021
No playing games purchased in 2021
Otherwise, buying games is fine (you collectors and Steam sale junkies out there can keep packing your shelves)

Mini-FAQ:

Do I have to make a list?
No, feel free to add or subtract games to your pile as long as the title does not violate your desired challenge tier.

Can I buy games AT ALL? What about adding PS+, GamePass, etc to my digital library? What about SALES?!?!
Acquiring games is fine. Playing them is not. The challenge is intended to get you playing games you already own. Hopefully the restriction helps you cut down on new purchases and impulse buys. Technically, one could play zero games in 2020 and also fulfill the challenge, but this is a gaming forum so...

What is the minimum number of games I must complete?
There is no minimum. However, there is a 'Clear one (or more) backlog games per month' challenge included. See below.

THE COMPLETELY MEANINGFUL REWARD TIERS:

'Psychic Willpower So Strong You're Bored' TIER-- You have abstained from playing New Games in 2021

This won't be difficult, what with my front door welded shut anyway.

'Pokemon Quest Psyduck' TIER -- 10 backlog games completed per 1 new 2020 game

Free to play.

'President Kanye Takes Office' TIER-- You have completed 5 backlog games completed per 1 new 2020 game

Winner of the Georgia runoff.


'Perfect Student' TIER -- Cleared One backlog game per month

Just like one of my japanese animes.

AND INTRODUCING FOR THE Second TIME IN 2021

The @ROMhack Asked For This In the PREVIOUS Previous Thread Award --
One Game From Your Backlog Per Month​

Any questions? Ask in the thread.

Please feel free to use the thread as a spot to post your thoughts as you work through your backlog, offering your opinions and asking for insight.

---

Special shoutout to DelireMan7 Phase and LegionX for keeping the last thread clipping along with your backlog slaying.

Stories from 2020:

with all the delays there weren't any new games to play to begin with

Prophetic.

I've been very undisciplined lately with my games... I counted up the number of backlog games I've currently got installed and started, but not completed.. and it was 14 different games... oops! I got a mate to pick one for me to focus on and of COURSE he chose a JRPG that's over 30h long... so we shall see if I stick with it or not!

Annoyingly I've hardly played a damn thing so far this year. Grr. Lots to do though. Fitness to sort out, game dev to crack on with, etc.

Yep my backlog is huge ps5 will come in my home when I'm finished with my backlog I started playing Horizon and my backlog gets bigger and bigger
I need some first party recommendations to play

I've been working on beating my backlog for almost four years now. I mostly only play Japanese-style RPGs they're the bulk of the games I have all together. I'm pretty good at not buying new games but sometimes I binge on purchasing several RPGs when I go into the city. I haven't done that though for maybe two years.

Still haven't played Oblivion yet

I'm actually going strong on this. Only game I bought this year was FFX because I wanted to play through some of the main FF titles I missed over the past few years.

It's pretty damn satisfying clearing this old backlog and spending money on other things instead.

 

[Tesseract]

i'm in, good opportunity to scrape older content

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I have several 2020 games to work through, so I don't expect to be too tempted by new games early on. Ghost of Tsushima, Spelunky 2, and Luigi's Mansion 3 are first up.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

I could probably do this with my XSX, not my ps5

 

[INC]

Cyberpunk

Might be worth playing in 2021

 

[kingwingin]

I'll attempt kanye tier. My backlog is filled with too many turds to survive until 2022

 

[Sleepwalker]

I'm down. Backlog is huge and I keep adding to it so this will help me attack that.

 

[YCoCg]

You know what, I'm in! I've put off many games until I got a new GPU and at the current rate, I won't get one until 2021 anyway, I've got plenty to play.

 

[Walter Matthau]

Have to go with No for 2021. MH Rise is looking too fun to postpone for that long.

 

[Bakkus]

I'm in, but I think I have at least one more game in me to finish this year.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

*sees his backlog*

 

[Guilty_AI]

Yeah, i'm in.
New generation coming in, my PC is not up to par, perfect for going through the stuff i already own.

PS: Can I open an exception for freewares? I want to keep updating my Freeware thread as much as possible, and i prefer putting in games i've actually played myself.

 

[Shrennin]

I do not have the strength for this, but good luck and much respect for those who do!

 

[crozier]

I have over 100 unfinished (and often unplayed) PS4 games. Not to mention over 500 on Steam.

I’m not buying new games until May...that’s my rule. And after that I have to finish 3 games for every purchase of a new game.

 

[Phase]

2021 here we come. Rolling the backlog right over into the new year.

I may or may not get a ps5 next year. Probably going to wait for a sale. My list is ready (subject to change of course, and I'll be replaying some that I haven't touched in some time). I appreciate when others post lists as it gives me some new games to try that I probably wouldn't have noticed, so here's mine. Here's to another awesome year of gaming!

PC:
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem
Bloodrayne 1, 2
Bayonetta
MGS 1
Witcher 1, 2
Stalker SOC
Sleeping Dogs
Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen
Yakuza Kiwami
Jade Empire
Prince of Persia Warrior Within
Ni No Kuni WoWW
Daemon X Machina
Nox
Freespace 2
Outward
Project Wingman
Sunset Overdrive
Hellbound

PS4:
Gran Turismo Sport
Bloodborne
Dark Souls III
Persona 5
Final Fantasy 7

PS3:
Demon's Souls
Gran Turismo 5
MGS 2, 3, 4
Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction
Ratchet and Clank A Crack in Time
God of War 3 Remastered
ICO
Little Big Planet

PS2:
God of War 1, 2
Soul Reaver 2
Mafia
Final Fantasy 8

Xbox:
Lost Odyssey
Red Dead Redemption

Emulator:
Donky Kong 64
Banjo-Tooie

To get:
Armored Core 1, 2, 3
Gex: Enter the Gecko (ps1 version)

 

[graywolf323]

I mean sure I have the backlog to do this

but Hitman 3 comes out in January so I'm not even going to try

 

[Phase]

*sees his backlog*

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

Soon....

One day....

For sure....

 

[Eimran]

This is the year of the Trilogy for me. Currently playing on my PS3.
Prince of Persia Trilogy
Tomb raider Trilogy
Mass effect
Sly racoon
Dead space
Devil may cry
Fear

 

[belmarduk]

I don't really have a backlog.
Just Xenoblade Chronicles 2 but its just such a long game and I forgot what's going on in it.
I can see why some people like it.. but its just not my favorite jrpg.

 

[Radical_3d]

Absolutely in. I think I can get to tier 5 games comfortably.

 

[Mhmmm 2077]

I want to do this, as my backlog is enormous, but... Yakuza 3-6 are coming out on PC in Q1 2021 (even though I own and played them on consoles)...

edit: as the rules say I can buy games in 2021... I think I will try doing this challenge. I also recently got a new PC, so some games were waiting for me till I upgrade.

Plenty of games that were sitting in my library (some I started, some not) and now it would be the perfect opportunity to beat (or 100%) them.

Edit 2: yeah, so I'm in. Will buy what I want on Winter sale and let's go. Will probably aim for Kanye tier, cus Yakuza 3-6 and No More Heroes 1&2 are must haves for me.

edit 3: Alright, let's do this.

Spoiler: backlog games beaten this year: 6

1. Nonogram - The Greatest Painter | Bought 12.08.2018 - Beaten 01.01.2021​
2. Figment | Bought 07.09.2018 - Beaten 09.01.2021​
3. Deadpool | Bought 10.11.2016 - Beaten 23.01.2021​
4. Scribblenauts Unlimited | Bought 09.04.2013 - Beaten 25.01.2021​
5. VOI | Bought 25.12.2016 - Beaten 26.01.2021​
6. Yakuza Kiwami | Bought 04.02.2019 - Beaten 31.01.2021​

Well, fuck the not buying challenge, I'm a digital shopaholic.

 

[Rillania]

I'll give the Kanye tier a shot. There's a couple titles in 2021 I kind of want to jump into when they release, but we'll see if I do actually end up buying and playing them. I really should make an effort to axe out my backlog though, given my penchant for starting and stopping games. May add or remove titles depending on how much I get through, but for now I'll start with this list to go off.

Switch-
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Piofiore (3/6 routes done)
Collar x Malice Unlimited
Rune Factory 4 Special (Sunk quite a few hours into it, but haven't beaten)


PS4 -
Digimon : Next World Order (Played a ton, haven't beaten)
Dragon Quest XI : Echoes of an Elusive Age
God of War
Horizon : Zero Dawn (Beaten main story but haven't finished DLC)
The Last of Us Remastered
Star Ocean : Integrity and Faithlessness
Utawarerumono Trilogy

PC -
.hack//G.U. Last Recode (On the second volume)
Assassin's Creed : Odyssey
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Cyberpunk 2077 (Already playing, but doubt I'll beat it in 2020)
Death Stranding
Fallout 4
Final Fantasy XV (Beaten main story, need to do Prompto / Ignis / Arden DLC)
NieR: Automata
Overcooked 2 (Doing co-op with friends)
Star Wars Jedi : Fallen Order (On the second planet)
Steam Prison
Tales of Berseria
XCOM 2 (Another one I've sunk a bunch of time into but haven't beaten)
Vampyr (Halfway through, give or take)

Bonus PC ones-
Beat the final boss + DLC on Dragon Age : Inquisition. I've played it several times, but I've never actually "finished" it. Got a save file right before the final quest. Not sure if I'll just hop in and beat it, or do another playthrough. At this point I should probably just finish it to cross it out.
Finish the main questline in Skyrim. I've sunk thousands of hours into this game over the years on several playthroughs, but never actually finished the civil war or main questlines. Finished DLC ones though. Recently migrated over to Special Edition from Legendary, so might be a good time to actually do that.

 

[Ryu Kaiba]

At my age I've learned trying to keep up with and complete everything I purchase is a fruitless endeavor. I know what I like and what I don't at this point and will just play the games that get me most excited, then drop them at any arbitrary point like hot coal once I'm bored and move on to something else.

 

[truth411]

Not just no, but HELL NO!!!
Im going to play Returnal, RatchetnClank and GT7.

If you have an XSX, then that make sense, cause currently the XSX is largely a Backwards Compatibility Box.

 

[Aurelius]

I'm in. To play it safe I'll go for the President Kanye Takes Office' TIER. 2 new games, against 10 backlog games.

My backlog is not that big. The games I want to finish, or at least put a decent amount of time in, in 2021 are:

PS4

• Persona 5: The Royal done!
• Resident Evil 2 gave up, fuck Mr. X.
• Rise of the Tomb Raider done!
• Yakuza Kiwami 2 done!
• Yakuza Kiwami gave up
• Subnautica done!
• Snowrunner (new) gave up
• Persona 5 Strikers (new) done!

Nintendo Switch

• Mario Odyssey
• Into The Breach gave up
• Return of the Obra Dinn done
• Katana Zero done
• Animal Crossing gave up
• Civilization VI done (but still playing now and then)
• Street of Rage 4
• Horizon Chase (new)
• Thimbleweed Park (new)
• Valkyria Chronicles 4 (new)
• Hotshot Racing (new) gave up
• Metroid Dread (new)

PSVita

• Stardew Valley done!
• Yomawari: Night Alone done!
• Final Fantasy X HD done!

 

[Spukc]

nah imma continue buying new games and not play them

 

[NahaNago]

nah imma continue buying new games and not play them

I pretty much have done this with Nintendo and the boxes of anime I haven't even opened.


edit: on topic I think I could handle the Kanye tier. Next year has the new Ratchet and Clank and Horizon Zero Dawn which for me are must plays. Hopefully next year I can actually finish some games

 

[stonedwal]

I'm in. Over the past decade a combination of cheap games, a growing income, an insatiable appetite for games and rapidly diminishing free time has put me in the shit. It's not a backlog anymore, it's something else. The release calendar so far looks bare, I don't have/want a PS5 or XSX yet, and I am waiting for 2022 for a new PC. Seems like the best year to do it.

 

[turtlepowa]

No chance, the first half of 2021 is already better than 2020.

 

[Hostile_18]

I love classic games but it's a hard sell this year if you've bought a new console and arnt intending to play games made for it for a year.

Good luck to everyone participating though

 

[Perrott]

Alright, let's do this:

Spoiler

PS3

• Batman: Arkham Origins
• Demon's Souls
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Echochrome
• Gran Turismo 5
• Injustice: Gods Among Us
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2
• Mass Effect 3
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Motorstorm: Apocalypse
• Rain
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Silent Hill
• Siren: Blood Curse
• The Last Guy
• Tokyo Jungle
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

PS4

• Ape Escape
• Broken Age
• Day of the Tentacle: Remastered
• Deadlight: Director's Cut
• Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition
• Dead or Alive 5: Last Round
• Dishonored 2
• Dreams
• Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
• Fat Princess Adventures
• Grim Fandango: Remastered
• Hot Shots: Tennis
• Matterfall
• Nex Machina
• Shadow of the Beast
• Siren
• SOMA
• Stranded Deep
• The Evil Within
• The Evil Within 2
• The Sexy Brutale
• The Swapper
• The Talos Principle
• Titan Quest
• Twisted Metal: Black
• Vampyr
• Wipeout: Omega Collection
• Wreckfest

PC

• Celeste
• Commandos 2
• Darkest Dungeon
• Devil Daggers
• Diablo 2
• Disco Elysium
• Fallout 2
• Final Fantasy 7
• Genital Jousting
• Gods Will Be Watching
• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life 2: Episode 1
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2
• Into the Bridge
• Inside
• Left 4 Dead
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Luftrausers
• Pathologic HD
• Minit
• Night in the Woods
• Overland
• Oxenfree
• Pony Island
• Portal
• Portal 2
• Quadrilateral Cowboy
• Superhot
• The End is Nigh
• The Red Strings Club
• The Stanley Parable
• Tyranny

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

MiyazakiHatesKojima you're only allowed to post in this thread every Monday.

Phase I don't have a list of games handy but I'll post mine too (subject to change). It was a lotta fun reading through yours during the 2020 thread and I think I would've gotten more of my games finished if I kept a list.

Shoutout to Wozzer and jshackles who've been doing the '52 Games, 1 Year' challenge for a few years.

For the true backlog slayers out there:

52 Games. 1 Year. 2020.

7h-ish. Hardened difficulty. Completed Operation Chaos but not Red Circus. I'm the rare sort of guy that still plays Call of Duty for the campaign only, and I have to say, Cold War didn't disappoint. While the plot wasn't as consistent as in the Modern Warfare games (I'm not a fan of the whole...

www.neogaf.com

I'm in. Over the past decade a combination of cheap games, a growing income, an insatiable appetite for games and rapidly diminishing free time has put me in the shit. It's not a backlog anymore, it's something else. The release calendar so far looks bare, I don't have/want a PS5 or XSX yet, and I am waiting for 2022 for a new PC. Seems like the best year to do it.

Taking a break from new and new-to-you games -- even if just for a year or for a few months -- feels like a reset button. Glad to have you on board, and I hope you enjoy the thread.

 

[xrnzaaas]

*No PS5 in 2021, unfinished PS4 games only

 

[Spukc]

Alright, let's do this:

Spoiler

PS3

• Batman: Arkham Origins
• Demon's Souls
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Echochrome
• Gran Turismo 5
• Injustice: Gods Among Us
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2
• Mass Effect 3
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Motorstorm: Apocalypse
• Rain
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Silent Hill
• Siren: Blood Curse
• The Last Guy
• Tokyo Jungle
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

PS4

• Ape Escape
• Broken Age
• Day of the Tentacle: Remastered
• Deadlight: Director's Cut
• Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition
• Dead or Alive 5: Last Round
• Dishonored 2
• Dreams
• Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
• Fat Princess Adventures
• Grim Fandango: Remastered
• Hot Shots: Tennis
• Matterfall
• Nex Machina
• Shadow of the Beast
• Siren
• SOMA
• Stranded Deep
• The Evil Within
• The Evil Within 2
• The Sexy Brutale
• The Swapper
• The Talos Principle
• Titan Quest
• Twisted Metal: Black
• Vampyr
• Wipeout: Omega Collection
• Wreckfest

PC

• Celeste
• Commandos 2
• Darkest Dungeon
• Devil Daggers
• Diablo 2
• Disco Elysium
• Fallout 2
• Final Fantasy 7
• Genital Jousting
• Gods Will Be Watching
• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life 2: Episode 1
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2
• Into the Bridge
• Inside
• Left 4 Dead
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Luftrausers
• Pathologic HD
• Minit
• Night in the Woods
• Overland
• Oxenfree
• Pony Island
• Portal
• Portal 2
• Quadrilateral Cowboy
• Superhot
• The End is Nigh
• The Red Strings Club
• The Stanley Parable
• Tyranny

is this a list wars? because my list is like 4 times longer then that

 

[nightmare-slain]

I managed to get my "backlog" down to zero this year. I'm not including games like: Destiny 2, Rocket League, WoW, Flight Sim, etc because they are games you can't really finish. Nor am I counting any of my PS1/PS2 games that I want to play. I'm only including recent/upcoming story/single player games.

I did buy Watch Dogs: Legion last month and my plan was to finish it before Cyberpunk came out. Well, my XSX died after 4 days so, yeah, I won't be able to play that until whenever I get an Xbox again ... not that I want to play it again. I only got to play a few hours and was not having fun with it. Total waste of money that was!

Recently bought Death Stranding on PC. Originally had bought it for PS4 and planned to go back to it when I got a PS5 but who knows when I'll get a PS5 so I just double dipped. I played only an hour on PC before Cyberpunk came out and that's what I've been playing since. I won't be buying any more games until I finish it which is still a long time off. If I finish it with enough time before the expansions then I'll go back to Death Stranding.

After Cyberpunk/Death Stranding the games I plan to buy in 2021 on PC are:

Persona 5 Strikers
Nier Replicant
Hogwarts Legacy
Halo Infinite

PC games with no release date I want:

Elden Ring
Forza Motorsport 8
Diablo IV
Overwatch 2

If I get a Switch next year the games I want to get for it are:

Age of Calamity
Super Mario 3D World
Shin Megami Tensei V

Other games I want for Switch are:

Breath of the Wild 2
Pokemon Snap

 

[liminalcadet]

This sounds interesting but I have a few questions DunDunDunpachi .

1) Are games on Games Pass from 2020 allowed?
2) As it relates to Cyberpunk 2077, if the next-gen update comes out next year and is free, is it fine to play?
3) If I buy a battle pass for a game I already own is that cheating?

Thanks!

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

This sounds interesting but I have a few questions DunDunDunpachi .

1) Are games on Games Pass from 2020 allowed?

Depends. Certainly you should download them and keep them, but if it's a 2021 title it should be avoided (or you can go for one of the backlog tiers, which is what I'll probably do this year).

The spirit of the challenge is to avoid new games in 2021, whether that's a newly added GP/PS+ game or a new release or new-to-you or whatever. By all means, keep adding games to the collection if you so desire, just try to play from the pool of games you owned prior to January 1st, 2021.

2) As it relates to Cyberpunk 2077, if the next-gen update comes out next year and is free, is it fine to play?

Yeah, playing updated versions of pre-Jan 1st 2021 games is fine.

Replaying games that you haven't touched in awhile is highly encouraged, but it would be silly to restrict people from playing a better version of a game for no good reason. Play on the platform of your choice. Play in the format of your choice. If you, for instance, snagged a digital copy of such-and-such game that you already owned a physical copy of, you are not breaking any rules by playing that digital copy.

e.g. last year I received The Wonderful 101 PS4 in the mail and happily booted it up and played the first three stages to check out the improvements. I had already played/beaten it many times on Wii U.

Stuff like that essentially counts as a replay.

3) If I buy a battle pass for a game I already own is that cheating?

Thanks!

Perfectly fine. I'm not much of a mp gamer myself, but it seems like a good way to adhere to the challenge. DLC for existing games is fine. Season passes for new characters in fighting games is fine.

Again, the spirit of the challenge is to avoid playing the Brand New Hotness, to slow down a bit and visit/revisit the games you already own. New Game Abstinence, or something.

 

[hariseldon]

I've got Mario 3D world arriving in Feb but in truth there's not much outside of that in the release radar - I guess a lot depends on what releases on Switch since I'm pretty much at the point of saying fuck it with modern gaming. I dunno - I guess we'll see what happens this year but certainly there's nothing I have an aching desire to purchase.

 

[Petaya Berry]

I don't really have a backlog, but as I am always playing Splatoon 2 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons I take a long time to finish the games I start.

And think that is weird to buy games and to not play them. And I am surprised to see that some of these people are complaining about Nintendo game prices (I mean, if you waste money buying games and never playing them, so do not complain about prices that you think are unfair. This is only logical).

Anyway, I want to buy (and play)Atelier Ryza 2. Normally I would buy after I finish Breath of the Wild, but this game is so long and I want the sexy outfit that is limited until 2 weeks after the release, so...

 

[Duchess]

No way, man. My backlog is with me until I get my filthy mitts on a PS5.

I'm starting Greedfall after Christmas, though

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

@hariseldon glad to have you on board, brother.

 

[Birdo]

My only exeption will be GT7. Everything else will be backlog.

 

[Trunim]

I played Subnautica back in 2015 on PC, what if I download it on Xbox gamepass and play it next year?

 

[bushidobrown504]

Nope. I play what I want when I want.

 

[dano1]

Sorry GT7 Is coming soon!!

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I played Subnautica back in 2015 on PC, what if I download it on Xbox gamepass and play it next year?

You're in the clear. Replaying a game on a new platform is cool. The alternative would be to force people to replay games on the exact copy/platform they played last time, and that's too obsessive for me.

 

[dan76]

I'm in. 2021 will be the year that I finally concentrate on other shmups. Ibarra 1cc and getting to the second loop of Ketsui are my goals. I'm not renewing my PS+ subscription. I spend far too much time shooting idiots online rather than getting to grips with the intricacies of Mr. Do's Wild Ride.

 

[WhiskeyDiver]

I say I'm in, but Steam's end of year sale usually carries a bit on past the start of January of the next year.

I stand no chance of staying committed.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I'm in, and very excited for this. Thanks for setting this up, DunDunDunpachi !

Only 2021 games (if you can even call them that) that I'm currently interested in are the PC ports for the rest of the "Kiryu Saga" set of Yakuza games (the Yakuza 3-5 remasters and Yakuza 6).

My backlog is quite big, and the biggest culprits are PC and... Super Nintendo. Yeah, I went through a retro binge a few years ago and have all these carts I want to get to. Some are games I already loved as a kid, so they don't technically count as unplayed. Some are games I never played when I was younger, and very excited to play (Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, etc).

A couple of questions:
(1) For collections, does it count to just play any game in the collection, or do we play every game in the collection? I have quite a few retro collections, even on PC. For example, a Castlevania collection I have on PC has some OG Game Boy games that at first glance I'm just... not very interested in. Same for a Kirby collection I have on Wii.
(2) Where do we share our thoughts about whatever current game we're playing? In this thread? Make an LTTP? The "Games you're currently playing" thread? Or something else? I'm happy with any of those options.

My main avatar has always been Leon from the Resident Evil series, but for this backlog run, I'm going to make my avatar a character from the game I'm currently playing. Starting... now. That's Officer Chambers to you, fools.