BLAEO — Backlog Assassins Extraordinaire

August 2023

Steam

The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day: Short sci-fi adventure - fairly straightforward, stretched by some unfun but short driving sequences, and finishes a bit abruptly with a “To Be Continued”. Rating: 5.5/10
Eternal Threads: Good adventure/visual novel where you work to “fix” events in a timeline. Very enjoyable, and technically written well though the characters always don’t quite ring true (and I’m not convinced that female flatmates would be in their underwear only in some of the interactions… robes … robes). It’s somewhat in the Tacoma/Her Story/Obra Dinn region of detective puzzlers, but friendlier/easier to work with. Sequel-hungry true ending, which I’d happily play. Rating: 8.5/10
The Way Home - A Typing Adventure: Type random sequences chosen from a letter set in the available time. Hit space between words to shoot things flying overhead and collect runes. Rinse, repeat. I finished a few levels and stopped forever. Rating: 0.5/10

Gamepass

Outriders: Completed 3 player co-op campaign; endgame content continues. Solid co-op cover shooter with a good variety of powers and ability mods. I was surprised to see a mixed rating on Steam. Rating: 7.5/10 (3 player co-op – it’s probably not great solo)
A Short Hike: Fairly simple exploration game, with a lot of optional activities for shortcuts and cash/items. Sweet, but not much more (unless I’m missing something major in the sidequests) Rating: 7/10
Broforce: Absurd and constantly inventive shmup with destructable terrain, which makes some bosses easier because one pre-prep. Played solo, but I expect that 4 players is ridiculous. Rating: 8.5/10 (solo)
Celeste: Platformer, and at times a rather difficult one, but very fair controls. Much like Super Meat Boy, I’ve a bunch of uncollected optional collectables and levels that have broken me. 9/10