ImaJAN Media Network
MeltedJoystick Home
   Games  Members
Search +
Searching... Close  
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
 
  Login Using Facebook
Twitter
 
     

Backlog: The Embiggening – August, 2021

View Nelson Schneider's Profile

By Nelson Schneider - 08/01/21 at 04:35 PM CT

Welcome back to another look into the near future! Summer’s almost over. You know what that means: I’m a year older and a year curmudgeonlier, and the cute (read: nauseating) little Snowflakes of Gen-Z and later are heading back to school, where to learn Critical Race Theory and Gender Spectrum, but not math, science, or good old traditional thinking (a.k.a., philosophy) because who needs those, right?

Let’s take a look at what garbage the Games Industry is dumping on us for the next 30 days.

Out of 27 planned August releases – still an amazing turn-out for a traditional “drought” month – we’ve got 6 that I’m classifying as ‘shovel-ready,’ which isn’t all that bad. There’s a licensed tie-in for babbys in “PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls,” another for slightly older babbys in “Madden NFL 22,” one for grognards who still think crappy ‘80s sci-fi is cool in “Aliens: Fireteam Elite,” and one for anime weeaboos in “Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle.” Two non-licensed IPs round-out the batch of doo-doo, with a super-casual Sports-themed mini-game thing, “Instant Sports Paradise,” and Amazon – a company even more divorced from the Games Industry than Microsoft was when the OG Xbox was released – pooping out a new MMORPG in an age when the genre is on life support. Oh well, maybe all those SJWs who are mad at Blizzard will quit “World of Warcraft” and start playing “New World” instead.

Unfortunately, the out-of-control port trend isn’t letting up even a little as we move into August, with a whopping 9 rehashed releases on the schedule. However, the Switch isn’t the primary culprit/victim for once, sharing nearly equal blame with Sony’s PS4/PS5 ecosystem in portage. The Switch is getting “NIS Classics Vol. 1” (and I *snort derisively* at the very idea of a NIS game being a ‘classic) and super-cute, super-chill platformer “Hoa,” while Sony is making sure the people whose Social Credit was high enough to pre-order a PlayStation 5 can also have the privilege of re-buying “Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts 2” and “Ghost of Tsushima” instead of implementing a proper backward compatibility system. Both Nintendo and Sony are getting “Zengeon” and “Star Renegades” (both Roguelikes, and therefore should be contained instead of spread), while EVERYONE is getting a remastered version of Chris’ favorite Visual Novel, “Doki Doki Literature Club,” “Harvest Moon: One World,” and another friggin’ Roguelike, “Hades.”

With all the crap and old stuff out of the way, are we actually getting any new releases in August?! Why, yes. Yes we are! Are we getting any good releases, though? That’s doubtful! There is a fairly diverse slate of genres coming up, though, with two seeming competitors in most of those represented. For casuals, there’s a mail-sorting game starring Kiwi birds and… wait a minute, did Lord GabeN come up with this while trapped in New Zealand during the pandemic? Nope, unknown developer and Sold Out Software as the publisher for “KeyWe.” Fans of interactive fiction can look forward to “Road 96” and “Greak.” People who like to watch wheels go ‘round can look forward to “RiMS Racing” and “Classic Racers Elite.” Likewise, Survival Horror fans (like Chris) can get their poopin’ pants ready for “Tormented Souls” and “In Sound Mind,” though I definitely think the title of the former is bait to trick Souls Trolls into buying something else. Our last three titles, however, have some minor potential to be interesting, though I can’t say I’ve rushed to wishlist any of them. “Foreclosed” is a kind of “Cyberpunk 2077”-lite title by a B-tier developer. “King’s Bounty 2” is the first actual sequel in the hoary and aged ‘King’s Bounty’ PC Strategy/RPG series, which was mostly spinoffs and expansions, apparently… and it’s hitting consoles for the first time! Lastly, “Rustler” claims to be a medieval Sandbox game, yet the title gives off a distinctly Wild West vibe. And didn’t we already get a medieval Sandbox game from a B-tier developer in “Kingdom Come: Deliverance”? And didn’t it suck? Yes, and yes.

A couple of exclusives managed to get pinched-off and dropped in Nintendo’s toilet this month. “Witch Spring 3” is one of those Japanese games with a subtitle like the translator passed out and landed face-first on his keyboard, and, mysteriously, “Witch Spring” and “Witch Spring 2” don’t appear to actually exist. On the other hand, “No More Heroes” and “No More Heroes 2” definitely do exist, so the release of “No More Heroes 3” as a Nintendo exclusive isn’t terribly surprising, especially with the under-utilized HD Rumble feature of the Switch Joycons.

When it comes to months like this, I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad. On one hand, there are ZERO games coming up that I’m interested in playing. On the other hand, my backlog will stay the same size for 30 days, giving me a chance to prune a handful of games out of it before adding a handful +1 to it.

Backlog Embiggened: +0

Share:    
MeltedJoystick Gaming Blog RSS Feed
Comments
0 comments
Name: 

Avoid spam Captcha: Sign Up + or Log In +   



 

Bloggers

Previous Blog Posts

Archive

All Posts

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

December 2023

November 2023

October 2023

September 2023

August 2023

July 2023

June 2023

May 2023

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

December 2022

November 2022

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022

July 2022

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020

January 2020

December 2019

November 2019

October 2019

September 2019

August 2019

July 2019

June 2019

May 2019

April 2019

March 2019

February 2019

January 2019

December 2018

November 2018

October 2018

September 2018

August 2018

July 2018

June 2018

May 2018

April 2018

March 2018

February 2018

January 2018

December 2017

November 2017

October 2017

September 2017

August 2017

July 2017

June 2017

May 2017

April 2017

March 2017

February 2017

January 2017

December 2016

November 2016

October 2016

September 2016

August 2016

July 2016

June 2016

May 2016

April 2016

March 2016

February 2016

January 2016

December 2015

November 2015

October 2015

September 2015

August 2015

July 2015

June 2015

May 2015

April 2015

March 2015

February 2015

January 2015

December 2014

November 2014

October 2014

September 2014

August 2014

July 2014

June 2014

May 2014

April 2014

March 2014

February 2014

January 2014

December 2013

November 2013

October 2013

September 2013

August 2013

July 2013

June 2013

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

 
Log In
 
For members wanting to use FB to login, click here
remember me
 
 

What Members Are Doing

Comments about...

New Game Reviews

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams game review by Megadrive
Sunset Overdrive game review by Chris Kavan
The Vagrant game review by Chris Kavan
Honkai: Star Rail game review by Chris Kavan
Assassin's Creed IV: Black... game review by Nelson Schneider
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands game review by Nelson Schneider
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart game review by Nelson Schneider
Cthulhu Saves Christmas game review by Nick

New Game Lists

Backlog by Nelson Schneider
Top Wii Games by Megadrive
My Backlog by Chris Kavan
Games I Own: Switch Digital by dbarry_22
Top Nintendo (NES) Games by Nick
Backlog by Matt
Top Game List by SIngli6
Top Game List by Jonzor

 

 

 

Contact Us Public Relations MeltedJoystick Friends    

Advertise and Business

Contacts Us

Jobs

About us

SiteMap

 

Support Us

FAQ and Help

News and Press

Terms of Use

Privacy

Hitfix.com

Amazon.com

OVGuide.com

   
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this blog?