August

My posts are becoming less frequent and it’s difficult to keep track of which ‘week’ of my backlog assassination, so I’m switching to the more common monthly reports.

I had a bit of a cull and deleted a lot of games that I didn’t have any real interest in playing or had got sick of (about 30 in total!). Also bought a few, so there have been quite a lot of changes in my library.

I’ve been jumping between these games for the last month, but nothing beaten or completed:
Bioshock - had it forever, but never really made an effort to play it. I remember getting a bit stuck fairly early in the game and not knowing where I should go. Also got very creeped out by the characters! I’m past that now, and have made some decent progress.
Torchlight - got this in a bundle, but never played it as I’m not really into rpgs and the whole fantasy genre. Better than I expected, although feels a bit grindy at times.
Shovel Knight - fun! some difficult parts, but generally feels like a good difficulty curve that keeps me coming back for more.
Crookz - picked this up in a bundle. It’s ok, but I have to be in the right mood.
The Curious Expedition - pretty difficult, but good fun. Quite different to any other game I have.
Beholder - dark. I really like the theme of the game. I read some fairly critical reviews, but enjoying it so far.
Renowned Explorers - feels a bit shallow, and I don’t like the limit of 5 expeditions. Seems silly to stop at 5 then have to start again. Not bad though.

…and after a long break, I’m dipping back into multiplayer games. LFD2 was pretty much the only game I played for a loooong time, but I haven’t played online for a while. Partly because it’s difficult to find populated servers with low lag where I am for a lot of games.

Verdun
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
Rising Storm 2 Vietnam

I like Verdun the most, so far. Had it since early access, but didn’t put a lot of time into it. The WW1 setting and weapons are great. Nothing like the panic of trying to reload in time to shoot an approaching enemy, and the action of shooting is much more satisfying than an automatic weapon. Hopefully the recent Humble Bundle inclusion will increase the number of players.
Vermintide is fun, but there’s more emphasis on hand to hand combat than I’d like. I guess it’s like LFD2 or Payday. Hasn’t grabbed me in the same way as LFD2 though.
Rising Storm - only played a few hours in this, but seems very difficult. A lot of veterans from the early Rising Storm games, and the lack of a single player option (as far as I can see) means you’re thrown in the deep end - having difficulty locating/identifying enemies, and accidentally killing teammates! Probably doesn’t help that I don’t bother with microphones.

Multiplayer

On the topic of multiplayer games, if anyone wants to get achievements or just play for fun (I’m too old for the super-serious, clan-affiliated, abuse hurling play that kids these days enjoy!) in any of the multiplayer games in my library, then add me on steam and mention this post or message here. I’m in Japan and play around 9-11pm some weekdays and a little earlier at the weekend, which can it difficult for timing and server locations but so long as there isn’t too much lag I’m game.