Backloggds's Best Reviews of 2023, Selected by YOU!
December has still a couple of days left, but the arrival of 2024 is imminent, and I wanted to, in some way, celebrate all of the amazing, incredible reviews published by many of the users on here. I had a couple of ideas, maybe looking back and talking about the reviews of mine that I feel a bit proud of, maybe talking about and celebrating the fantastic write-ups that I've had the pleasure of reading made by the people I follow, and maybe I'll make those ideas a reality before the year ends. However, I thought taking it from another perspective, a more community oriented one.
I think that some of the crucial things that people that take the time and effort to actively write, be it original work or about the games they love, such as this case, is to be both critical with what they produce... but also feel proud about it, and that latter that it's perhaps the most important one, I think. It's good to want to improve and see the flaws in your own work to try and make even better pieces, I myself realize this is practically mandatory part of the process, but so it is realizing that what you do can be and it's great, that in some way or another it's worth to be admired the same way others do when reading it.
And so, this time it's an occasion to do it, I want you to share and talk about the review you feel most proud of that you've made this year, whether because it's the most personal, the one that required more effort, or any other reason, and I'd be pleased to add it to the list, of course linking the review and your profile. I think making this into a community list can be the best possible space for everyone to share their own work again, and maybe I'm not the better suited to do this, but nonetheless, I'd feel honored to help everyone share their reviews in any shape of form.
Thank you so much for sharing, reading or even if you are just stopping by!
I think that some of the crucial things that people that take the time and effort to actively write, be it original work or about the games they love, such as this case, is to be both critical with what they produce... but also feel proud about it, and that latter that it's perhaps the most important one, I think. It's good to want to improve and see the flaws in your own work to try and make even better pieces, I myself realize this is practically mandatory part of the process, but so it is realizing that what you do can be and it's great, that in some way or another it's worth to be admired the same way others do when reading it.
And so, this time it's an occasion to do it, I want you to share and talk about the review you feel most proud of that you've made this year, whether because it's the most personal, the one that required more effort, or any other reason, and I'd be pleased to add it to the list, of course linking the review and your profile. I think making this into a community list can be the best possible space for everyone to share their own work again, and maybe I'm not the better suited to do this, but nonetheless, I'd feel honored to help everyone share their reviews in any shape of form.
Thank you so much for sharing, reading or even if you are just stopping by!
47 Games
SkeletonGrimm67's Best Review of the Year!
You can give it a read by clicking right here!
You can also give a read to his Resident Evil 4 Remake review here!
You can give it a read by clicking right here!
You can also give a read to his Resident Evil 4 Remake review here!
GodOfMediocrity's Best Review of the Year!
You can give it a read by clicking right here!
You can also give a read to his Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls review here!
You can give it a read by clicking right here!
You can also give a read to his Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls review here!
111 Comments
Oh wait i didnt do it right.... yet another reading comprehension fail on backloggd
@moschidae Don't worry, it's also a fail on my part, should have made it clear sooner in the description. Still, those are all incredible write-ups indeed, but if you wish to mention a review made by ayou that you feel particuraly proud or happy with, I'd be happy to add iT! And thank you so much! :D
Pretty cool idea. Personally I'm most proud of my Virtue's Last Reward review, cause it's the one I put the most effort in and thought I had the most to say about, which is why it was slightly dismaying when it didnt get much of a reaction lmao, oh well, you win some you lose some.
Ahh thanks for being patient with me... i think out of all my reviews i really like the Thy Creature one the most. oh and a little unrelated but i also want to say its been a real honor getting to meet you and all my other friends on here, thanks for all the good times :D
@LordDarias Thank you :D! It's always a shame when something that required a ton of work isn't seen by as many people as one would hope, especially when it's as good as that review. Still, it's a commendable effort and one worth being shared, and hopefully people that didn't got to read it before will give it a read if they stumble upon this list, which hopefully goes for the rest of the reviews to be added. I'll add yours in no time, and again, thank you so much!
@moschidae Don't worry, there's nothing to be patient about, misunderstandings are completely normal, so it's no problem at all :))). I'll add your review right now, and thank you so much for the kind worlds, and say the exact same thing; it's a honor to be able to chat with and been able to meet you as well as everyone else, it's always a joy to read's everyone’s work and chat with each other, and I hope 2024 has even more of that in store for all of us :DDDDD
@moschidae Don't worry, there's nothing to be patient about, misunderstandings are completely normal, so it's no problem at all :))). I'll add your review right now, and thank you so much for the kind worlds, and say the exact same thing; it's a honor to be able to chat with and been able to meet you as well as everyone else, it's always a joy to read's everyone’s work and chat with each other, and I hope 2024 has even more of that in store for all of us :DDDDD
The best review I wrote this year was about the best game, Glover. Here it is. I'll let it speak for itself. I'll probably try to do something like it again, but I honestly have other creative ventures I'm engaged in. Although if Glover 2 ever does happen, you already know I'm getting it day one and analyzing the societal impact it will have.
Ironically my first review of the year, that being for Dragon's Dogma. Was going back and forth between that or my recent and very personal one for Final Fantasy III, but I felt more proud of this one overall. Dragon's Dogma is one of my favorite games ever... in theory, and I feel that alone allowed me to write one of my longest reviews on this site. It's one thing when you have a lot to say about a game you dislike, it's another when a game has the so many good qualities but an equal amount of not so good ones. Really looking forward to Dragon's Dogma 2 as I hope they fix at least half the issues of the original.
That all said, great idea here. Very inviting and welcoming, encourages a more constructive community and I'm here for that as someone with bad social anxiety.
https://backloggd.com/u/AlphaOne2/review/617885/
That all said, great idea here. Very inviting and welcoming, encourages a more constructive community and I'm here for that as someone with bad social anxiety.
https://backloggd.com/u/AlphaOne2/review/617885/
@DeltaWDunn Truly, you are doing the best work all of us could only dream of, a review that the best game ever deserves... on a more serious note tho, that review was fantastic, I still remember reading it when you published it and I seriously hope Glover 2 gets either fully leaked online or done from scratch so you can pull this off once again. I'll add this to the list in no-time!
gone back and forth on my writing style enough to where i think my best review is my bullet point list where i finally snap and tell everybody exactly how it is
I think my Silent Hill 3 review was the some of the most I've ever had to say about a game. I've torn a lot of things down in a lot more words, but my Silent Hill 3 review is both more substantial and talks about shit that actually matters a lot more than most of what I've written. Definitely a piece I'm still proud of.
@AlphaOne2 I completely missed that one actually, will take the chance and give it a read myself for sure! And really, thank you so much for the wonderful words, and I'm really glad this list is able to help you and everyone that might find it useful, I'm beyond happy to know this can have a good impact :)))
@faea Sometimes it's better so say the facts than anything else xD. I'll add it to the list in a moment! :)
@psychbomb That's something vrey important to note, that sometimes we can be more proud or feel more happy about a piece that doesn't use as many words as others, especially when, again, it's so amazing and well written as your SH3 review. To the list it goes! :D
@faea Sometimes it's better so say the facts than anything else xD. I'll add it to the list in a moment! :)
@psychbomb That's something vrey important to note, that sometimes we can be more proud or feel more happy about a piece that doesn't use as many words as others, especially when, again, it's so amazing and well written as your SH3 review. To the list it goes! :D
This is a nice little idea!
I'd say my best this year actually wasn't any of the ones that were well-received or comparatively popular. It's the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts review and it's not even close. I have a bad habit of truncating my reviews for the sake of getting them out before the passion leaves (most notably my GTA4 review, which is about a third of the size of the google doc version), but my N&B review is both entirely uncut and also a very cathartic examination of a game I've played every year for about 15 years now. A lot of my earlier Backloggd reviews this year are a bit messy, I feel, but I'm still fairly proud of this one.
I'd say my best this year actually wasn't any of the ones that were well-received or comparatively popular. It's the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts review and it's not even close. I have a bad habit of truncating my reviews for the sake of getting them out before the passion leaves (most notably my GTA4 review, which is about a third of the size of the google doc version), but my N&B review is both entirely uncut and also a very cathartic examination of a game I've played every year for about 15 years now. A lot of my earlier Backloggd reviews this year are a bit messy, I feel, but I'm still fairly proud of this one.
My Emily is Away <3 is my favourite review from this year. I don't think it's necessarily the best one, but it's the one I put more heart into, or at least I tried. Also, great list idea! I'll be totally checking some of these whenever I have the time.
Well, technically all my reviews are from this year. And they're all the best so I nominate them all-
I don't really make "good" reviews so I pick the review where I have no idea what I'm saying. And you should put your own pick too >.<
I don't really make "good" reviews so I pick the review where I have no idea what I'm saying. And you should put your own pick too >.<
can i nominate myself
@MiraMiraOTW Thanks a ton for the kind words :D! Funnily the same thing usually happened to me, where I sometimes would write the review the same day I finished a game, so glad to know I'm not the only one xD. But it's good to have a review that covers all your thought of a game, especially when it's one you are very familiar with like it seems to be the case with you and Nuts and Bolts. To the list it goes, and I'll be sure to give it a read!
@paq250_ Aw thank you so much! Glad to people both sharing and meaning to read the works of others that are on here :)))). Pouring your heart into one review is something I belive most try to do whenever possible, especially when it's a game that you truly love, and it warms me to see one of those cases. I'll add it to the list in a moment!
@PitSolitayrh Not sure if I agree with that statement, your reviews always make me smile and even get a chuckle out of me in the best way possible, and hey, pirate talk always gets me, so this is no exception xD. And I initially decided against adding one of my own reviews here, but I honestly might add it later, this is a community list after all, so it also makes sense for the most amount of people possible to add something. Thank you so much for the consideration! :DDD
@paq250_ Aw thank you so much! Glad to people both sharing and meaning to read the works of others that are on here :)))). Pouring your heart into one review is something I belive most try to do whenever possible, especially when it's a game that you truly love, and it warms me to see one of those cases. I'll add it to the list in a moment!
@PitSolitayrh Not sure if I agree with that statement, your reviews always make me smile and even get a chuckle out of me in the best way possible, and hey, pirate talk always gets me, so this is no exception xD. And I initially decided against adding one of my own reviews here, but I honestly might add it later, this is a community list after all, so it also makes sense for the most amount of people possible to add something. Thank you so much for the consideration! :DDD
@PKMudkipz The point of the list is to add reviews written by yourself and share them here, so yeah, you can! (Unless you mean nominating all of your reviews or you yourself as a user, in which case that's gonna be a tad more difficult xD)
First, I want to say thank you for creating this list idea. Not only to share the best reviews on the site, but to share everyone's personal and lovely thoughts in their writing. For games they wrote in 2023. I also feel you deserve to put your own best review as well. Its been a pleasure reading your works and I think your smrpg remake piece imo was the best one I read from you. Dripping with love and care. So here's to you my dude. Celebrating 2023 best reviews and onwards to 2024! Huzzah!
.
This was a struggle to think of my 'best' review of 2023. So I'll share one I did earlier in the year. Bleak Faith: Forsaken. This was a very personal game to me not only for giving me similar wonder and magic as my time experiencing dark souls 1. But also I was beyond shocked and appalled to see so much gatekeeping and outright hyperbolization to the extreme when it launched. When the game clearly showed its mettle for an indie game. Yes, it's not perfect. Nor hits any of the best categories in nearly every area, yet I was captivated by the world of the omnistructure, fought challenging memorable bosses, and geared up to the nth degree with fabulous souls outfits. Filled with an ambient score I was left both in awe and anxiety. It's underrated as heck and filled with jank(well not so much now), but what lies beneath the core is a passionate game full of heart made by 3 developers. And I for one think it deserves to be put as my 'best' review of 2023.
.
fwiw i liked your review on virtue's last reward @LordDarias. I remember seeing it for the first time and going woah. There was a lot of care and passion in it. Granted I never played the game, but after seeing how much you worked on it, I couldn't help but put it in my backlog to try one day. Where previously I wouldn't have given it a second glance.
.
This was a struggle to think of my 'best' review of 2023. So I'll share one I did earlier in the year. Bleak Faith: Forsaken. This was a very personal game to me not only for giving me similar wonder and magic as my time experiencing dark souls 1. But also I was beyond shocked and appalled to see so much gatekeeping and outright hyperbolization to the extreme when it launched. When the game clearly showed its mettle for an indie game. Yes, it's not perfect. Nor hits any of the best categories in nearly every area, yet I was captivated by the world of the omnistructure, fought challenging memorable bosses, and geared up to the nth degree with fabulous souls outfits. Filled with an ambient score I was left both in awe and anxiety. It's underrated as heck and filled with jank(well not so much now), but what lies beneath the core is a passionate game full of heart made by 3 developers. And I for one think it deserves to be put as my 'best' review of 2023.
.
fwiw i liked your review on virtue's last reward @LordDarias. I remember seeing it for the first time and going woah. There was a lot of care and passion in it. Granted I never played the game, but after seeing how much you worked on it, I couldn't help but put it in my backlog to try one day. Where previously I wouldn't have given it a second glance.
@Detectivefail I have no words, thank you so so much for the truly wonderful words, and the pleasure is all mine, I'm happy to be able to share my thoughts and to also everyone's fantastic pieces every time I see them, which includes every single one of your amazing reviews I've had the pleasure to read. So truly, thank you for the bottom of my heart, to you and everyone else, thank you :D. And I never got to read your Bleak Faith: Forsaken review, something I'll fix in a moment, it's clear that you put a ton of passion and care into it, and I'll add it to the list in a moment!
@Detchibe Hey, happy to see you on here! I'll add it to the list in no-time, you did a stellar work on that one (something that could be said about all your reviews honestly) and I said it once and I'll say it again, the way you document your write-ups is simply incredible and, in a way, is an inspiration, and the research that was put into this one, I have yet to see it somewhere else. To the list it goes!
@Detchibe Hey, happy to see you on here! I'll add it to the list in no-time, you did a stellar work on that one (something that could be said about all your reviews honestly) and I said it once and I'll say it again, the way you document your write-ups is simply incredible and, in a way, is an inspiration, and the research that was put into this one, I have yet to see it somewhere else. To the list it goes!
@DeemonAndGames oh I just assumed we'd nominate other people's reviews
As I'm probably closing my time writing reviews on Backloggd, I'll consider it the opportunity to think a bit about the past year and the 400 pages – I'm the first surprised – of reviews I wrote. The Paranormasight review (thank you @moschidae for the vote of confidence!) in April was a transformative point, establishing a new standard for myself. All year long, I did my best to include elements of cultural anthropology in my reviews – as I did in my own works – and I was happy to tackle so many different topics. While some reviews became the core material for other projects, they are all became excellent crutches for my memory.
But writing here is too time-consuming and a struggle due to other reasons. I always cleared the writing process in the same day I completed a game, often finishing at 3 or 4AM. My personal standards became very high and what were on-the-fly reviews turned into small essays and research projects every time. I'm still glad I did all of that and I met wonderful people during this journey. Though highly unlikely, maybe I'll come back for some titles, dropping something about Umineko no naku koro ni or something else. And for the final selection... I have maybe twenty personal favourites, but curtain call oblige, let's say Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed, a nice way to wrap everything up.
I'm still working on the Sumida River video essay (I think the script and notes will reach 100 pages at this rate...) and I have concepts and preliminary analyses written until the fourth video, so I'm not completely disappearing. In any case, thank you for the continuous support all year long.
But writing here is too time-consuming and a struggle due to other reasons. I always cleared the writing process in the same day I completed a game, often finishing at 3 or 4AM. My personal standards became very high and what were on-the-fly reviews turned into small essays and research projects every time. I'm still glad I did all of that and I met wonderful people during this journey. Though highly unlikely, maybe I'll come back for some titles, dropping something about Umineko no naku koro ni or something else. And for the final selection... I have maybe twenty personal favourites, but curtain call oblige, let's say Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed, a nice way to wrap everything up.
I'm still working on the Sumida River video essay (I think the script and notes will reach 100 pages at this rate...) and I have concepts and preliminary analyses written until the fourth video, so I'm not completely disappearing. In any case, thank you for the continuous support all year long.
@PKMudkipz One of the original ideas I had while thinking about this list was something similar to that, but in the end, I thought it would better if this was dedicate to share and celebrate with each other our own work, a chance to talk about what we've done this year and what each person feels proud of doing. Maybe nominating other people's write-up is another idea for another list, but for now I wanted to focus on everybody having the chance of sharing and talking about this.
@Cadensia I'd lie if I said I didn't feel sad that I discovered you so relatively late on here; your works have been one of the main inspirations for me as well as I'm sure they have been for others, the effort and research in every of your reviews is visible throughout each and every review, and the way you analyze the medium feels so unique yet spot-on, a new perspective that I had never seen before and it’s always so interesting to read about. It's been a pleasure to read each of the pieces I've had the chance to and I cannot wait for your video-essay when it drops, I'm sure it'll be amazing :D. Thank you for your wonderful work, and I'll the XC3:FR to the list in no time!
@Cadensia I'd lie if I said I didn't feel sad that I discovered you so relatively late on here; your works have been one of the main inspirations for me as well as I'm sure they have been for others, the effort and research in every of your reviews is visible throughout each and every review, and the way you analyze the medium feels so unique yet spot-on, a new perspective that I had never seen before and it’s always so interesting to read about. It's been a pleasure to read each of the pieces I've had the chance to and I cannot wait for your video-essay when it drops, I'm sure it'll be amazing :D. Thank you for your wonderful work, and I'll the XC3:FR to the list in no time!
This is a really cool idea! :)
@curse Thank you so much! It was indeed a wonderful review, I'll add it as soon as I can :DDD
@ThatMagicalMage Thank you! I'm happy to see that everyone is liking it and sharing their fantastic reviews! If you yourself want to share one of your write-ups, I'd be more than happy to add it, and that goes for everyone else that wishes to shareone of their reviews! :)
@Cadensia aww im so sad to hear youll be leaving, i cant understate how smart you are and impactful your writing is to me. But if it stresses you out too much then i understand, im very grateful to have found u on here and im happy you made what you did ☆ and in case you're not around for a while, happy holidays (-:
(I don't want to crowd Deemon's comment section too much, but thank you, @moschidae. There are other difficult personal circumstances that forced me to rearrange my life and my schedule, so I'm not leaving in a foul mindset or anything like that – and who knows, there might be some sneaky reviews, if I feel like it. I'm glad my writing touched you anyway, so please look forward to the video!)
moschidae
4 months ago