Never Ending Backlog: Recent Episodes
Zach
Join our host, Zach, on his his never ending adventure of conquering his gaming backlog; as he produces daily podcasts reviewing previously un-installed and un-played games. With thousands of games from developers of all sizes, games from all years, and all genres and categories, there is something for every gamer in this byte-sized game review podcast. Welcome to the Never Ending Backlog podcast.
I knew this day would come. My backlog is too large to not have a few non-recommenders. Fortunately this week was full of phenomenal games, sure some didn't run here and there; however, I will blame a lot of that on using an ultrawide monitor, using Windows 11, and the games were older or super Indie and not optimized. Today's game, Iron Soul, is just a poorly developed game.
Here's Steam's description of Iron Soul:
Discovery of a new Goldilocks planet has led to the creation of a new type of army: One that is made of metal and steel. One that can’t feel pain or fear. One that is said to be our only hope against a possible alien invasion.
Iron Soul starts as every sci-fi TPS or FPS starts, you are awoken as your science facility is being attacked by an unknown entity. Unfortunately, like the games that it clearly took inspiration from, the similarity ends there. Here's my rundown of the review:
Graphics: It's hard to imagine this game came out two years after yesterday's game review of Hard Reset. This appears like it was on the PlayStation 2 (and not in the Valheim charming way).
Audio: By far the worst part of this game. I got a headache within five minutes of playing this game. I had to mute it in order to get through the level. The voiceovers are cringy, the sound effects are so loud and off-putting, and overall it's just bad.
Controls: Also super clunky. It operates like a third-person shooter; however, it just doesn't feel like it is.
Overview: Absolutely can't recommend this game. Even being $4.99 is overpriced. It has a similar aesthetic to MDK and Metal Arms: Glitch in the System; which I loved. However, MA came out 11 years earlier than this game.
Not the best way to kick off a weekend; then again, I am still playing games, still knocking down my Backlog, and 4 out of 5 isn't nothing to scoff at. Have a great weekend Backloggers.
I swear I remember seeing the box for today's game review, Hard Reset, or perhaps an advertisement for it somewhere, and I had always thought it was just a generic FPS.
And that's entirely incorrect, the storyline is pretty much non-apparent, and this is certainly a wave shooter; however, it's executed perfectly. Here's a brief description of Flying Wild Hog's, Hard Reset, on Steam:
Over-the-top destruction, loads of enemies & a beautifully realized cyberpunk setting. Hard Reset is here to shake up the shooter scene. Try the demo now.
Notice how it doesn't really talk about the storyline, instead it focuses on the gameplay and theming, and I honestly don't mind. The game is nearly a decade old now, and it worked flawlessly on my Ultrawide, and it has phenomenal graphics for the age of the game. Here's a brief rundown of my review:
Graphics: Beautiful, optimized perfectly, and works great on the Ultrawide. It's a mix of Cyberpunk, Blade Runner, and a number of other sci-fi games.
Audio: Barely noticed to be honest, I spent most of my time in awe of the graphics.
Controls: Standard FPS game, WSAD and mouse will reign supreme. It's not super challenging, not a lot of auxiliary keys, it is a simple FPS.
Overview: Highly recommend this game. It runs really well and I had zero issues with it. If you like wave shooters, you will enjoy this game. If you are looking for a deep storyline, I would probably pass.
Join us on this episode of the Never Ending Backlog, as we review Hard Reset Extended Edition on Steam.
Weather in Michigan is starting to warm up and snow is gone; however, it doesn't mean that we can't build a snowman! Join us on the Never Ending Backlog as we review Alan Hazelden's and Benjamin Davis', A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build.
The description for AGSIHTB (that's a mouthful) from Steam is pretty much spot on:
An adorable puzzle game about being a monster and making snowmen.
They know their game, that's exactly what this game is; here's my brief rundown of the review:
Graphics: Great animations, it's very smooth and has a similar graphic style as World of Goo, the monster especially.
Audio: Simple yet doesn't take away from the rest of the game.
Controls: Very easy to master, in fact they are on the left-hand side of the screen for reference.
Overview: I definitely recommend this game, it's creative, easy to learn, and challenging to master.
You know I have to say it... do you want to build a snowman?
If game reviews were like days of the week, Tuesday is perfectly summarized by today's experience with game reviews. We just kept hitting hurdles; however, fortunately we found a perfectly working gem of a game! Feather!
Join us as we review Samurai Punk's exploration sandbox game and live out our desires of being a bird, while being able to casually flying around a beautiful island.
According to Steam, Feather is a multiplayer game about exploration, relaxation and immersion. Transform yourself into a bird, take flight, and enjoy a zen-like, picturesque landscape on your own terms. Swoop, glide, and backflip your way around mysterious locations to uncover hidden paths that only birds can follow!
Here's a brief review rundown:
Graphics: Simple yet effective, works wonderfully on the Ultrawide and is really well optimized.
Audio: Best part of the game for me, the music is a mix between Stardew Valley and Jonsi and it really holds up by itself.
Controls: Very easy to master, WSAD to move around, QE to roll, you can flip, it's very similar to Starfox 64, which is a great thing.
Overview: Great game, I highly recommend it. It's very peaceful, I want to try it multiplayer one day.
It's time to join the flock, and review Feather on Steam.
Welcome back Backloggers!
We are back with a new addition to the Never Ending Backlog, the puzzle/tile laying game Dorfromantik by Toukana Interactive.
According to Steam, Dorfromantik is a peaceful building strategy and puzzle game where you create a beautiful and ever-growing village landscape by placing tiles. Explore a variety of colorful biomes, discover and unlock new tiles and complete quests to fill your world with life!
That sums it up pretty much perfectly, I like to think of Dorfromantik as a combination of Carcassone, Catan, and Townscaper all in one, it's a perfect combo!
Here's a brief rundown of the review:
Graphics: Very charming, it reminds me a lot of Townscaper which is a great thing.
Audio: Calming and relaxing.
Controls: Very easy to learn and master, primarily mouse; however, you can use WSAD to move around the camera.
Overview: If you like puzzle games, that are extremely calming and not stressful. Dorfromantik will definitely satisfy that interest.
Happy Monday, let's start gaming.
TGIF Everyone!
Welcome back to the Never Ending Backlog. Today we are knocking out the M1 Mac Compatible, Bloons TD 6.
I have always been a big fan of Tower Defense games, and Bloons did not disappoint, it was a great way to round out the first week of being back on the air.
Steam Description:
The Bloons are back and better than ever! Get ready for a massive 3D tower defense game designed to give you hours and hours of the best strategy gaming available.
Here's a synopsis of my review:
- Graphics: Very charming again, there are a lot of various graphics/sprites in the game, with a lot of variations. It also performed very well.
- Audio: Sound effects were great, I honestly don't remember much of the music.
- Controls: Very simple, I used my trackball and it worked wonderfully. This is an easy to jump into game.
- Overall Thoughts: Definitely recommend it for anyone that likes Tower Defense type games, it's engaging, the rounds are longer than expected and overall it's a fun/simple to learn, hard to master game.
Have a great weekend!
Woof today was a rough one regarding technical glitches. From Carmaggedon II to Cat on a Diet, we just couldn't catch a break. That is until Clatter came up next in our Backlog, and it worked FLAWLESSLY!
I was beyond surprised with this game (which seems to be a trend for this week). First the game looked great on Ultrawide, second it was made by Facepunch Studios, who makes my one of my favorite games, no not Rust, but instead Garry's Mod!
What is Clatter you might ask?
Create and command your own customizable squads of fighting robots in this turn-based, arena tactics game.
That pretty much sums it up perfectly. Here's a brief rundown of my review.
Graphics: They are cute, think Wall-E with explosions.
Audio: Very eSport'like / TRON battle royale'ish
Controls: Very easy to learn, and the tutorial does a great job explaining it.
Overall: It's a great turn-based tactic game. It's not hard to learn, and you can jump right in (literally, there was no loading screen, it threw me right into the tutorial).
Grab your flamethrowers, charge your bots, it's time for Clatter on the Never Ending Backlog.
Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of the Never Ending Backlog. Today I was pleasantly surprised by today's game review. I had initially thought FYQD-Studio's, FPS, Bright Memory: Infinite, was a tech demo type of game. One that was light on content, but a graphical masterpiece.
I am glad to say I was absolutely wrong, it's beautiful, it's full of great content, and it is an amazing indie-developed FPS game!
Here are the details:
Bright Memory: Infinite is an all-new lightning-fast fusion of the FPS and action genres, created by FYQD-Studio. Combine a wide variety of skills and abilities to unleash dazzling combo attacks.
Graphics: If you want to showcase the impressiveness of next gen graphics, play this game. This was my first Ultrawide supported game and it was amazing.
Audio: Nicely done, I would probably say audio is the weakest component of the game; however, it's primarily because the competition is real.
Controls: Flawless, there are many more button combos than I expected; however, it's seamless, it just feels good to play. Very smooth like Mirror's Edge.
Overall: I was happy that I was wrong about this game, it's one I will definitely play more, and one that I will showcase to friends when they see my monitor for the first time.
Thanks for joining us today!