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
Love this list idea! Genuinely adore the positivity going on here :)
If I were to throw anything into this list it'd probably be my Mirror's Edge Review from February!
Something about it was more personal than I ever expected it being when I started writing it and it's like the perfect words for it and everything I felt about the game just poured out of me in a way that I've felt writing something only a few times. The more I've read back through it the prouder I've felt and the more I've done my best to keep writing with that kinda sharpened voice that I feel I really nailed there.
If I were to throw anything into this list it'd probably be my Mirror's Edge Review from February!
Something about it was more personal than I ever expected it being when I started writing it and it's like the perfect words for it and everything I felt about the game just poured out of me in a way that I've felt writing something only a few times. The more I've read back through it the prouder I've felt and the more I've done my best to keep writing with that kinda sharpened voice that I feel I really nailed there.
@TransWitchSammy I honestly could have never predicted this level of participation and positivity, but it makes me so happy and I'm glad to see everyone share and feel proud about their work, it's simply wonderful, and I'm really glad to see you also on here, and thank you so much for the wonderful words :DDDD.
Also, that's a wonderful if not the best possible feeling to get out of any work; that sense of accomplishment and pride on something that manages to be everything that it could have been, and I can certainly say that yours was stellar, an amazing review in every way. I'll add it to the list in a moment, thank you for sharing :)
Also, that's a wonderful if not the best possible feeling to get out of any work; that sense of accomplishment and pride on something that manages to be everything that it could have been, and I can certainly say that yours was stellar, an amazing review in every way. I'll add it to the list in a moment, thank you for sharing :)
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Just wanted to say thank you so much for doing this. It's a nice community here and I really like seeing the best reviews of the year all in one place so I can bookmark it and read them all.
If I had to throw one of my own reviews in here it would probably be for Final Fantasy VIII. It's the first FF game I played, the first one I completed (nearly 6 years later), and probably the one I've done the most U-turns on in terms of whether I like it or not. And you should never say never, but I think my opinion on it has more or less solidified and is less likely to change drastically and I think I managed to sum my thoughts up pretty well.
@iyellatcloud As I said before, no need to thank me at all, I'm honored to be able to provide this small space for so many incredible and talented people, and to see so much positivity and people reading the reviews of others makes me really happy. I'll add yours and read it as soon as I can, thank you so much for sharing it and thanks a ton for the kind words :DDDDDD
Lots of great reviews on display here! Now that I'm recommitting to Backloggd, I'll have plenty to read through this holiday season. Excellent work on the list so far.
For my part, I feel particularly affectionate toward this big blurb I wrote for Sword of Kumdor on PC-98 for its English fan patch release. It's one of those J-PC games that reminds me why I love that corner of the medium's history and culture so much. And something definitely inspired me to get into so much detail and analysis, even more than usual. Maybe edutainment JRPGs are just that compelling an anomaly to discuss. This also qualifies as one of the hardest games I've played recently due to its touch-typing focus, filtered through imperfect emulation, so it's hard not to feel a bit proud for toughing it out.
For my part, I feel particularly affectionate toward this big blurb I wrote for Sword of Kumdor on PC-98 for its English fan patch release. It's one of those J-PC games that reminds me why I love that corner of the medium's history and culture so much. And something definitely inspired me to get into so much detail and analysis, even more than usual. Maybe edutainment JRPGs are just that compelling an anomaly to discuss. This also qualifies as one of the hardest games I've played recently due to its touch-typing focus, filtered through imperfect emulation, so it's hard not to feel a bit proud for toughing it out.
@PasokonDeacon Thank you for the kind words, and I'm so happy to see you back on here, exciting to see what you'll publish in the future and it'll be always a pleasure to see you around :DDDD. Your work is super interesting and unique, and your review on Kumdor no Ken is no exception, and it's always a joy to see games being translated thanks to fans and people talking about them! I'll add it as soon as I can :))))
What a great idea for a list!
I'm really proud of my Persona 5 review, but it feels like cheating when I spent so much of 2022 writing it. So instead, I'm linking my review of The Banshees of Inisherin Game.. Despite having an existential crisis while I was writing it, I feel like in retrospect it did a lot for me to reframe how I write reviews after the fact. I always like to learn about the devs making products and discovering the weird rabbit hole of this joke game really make it a moral priority for me in the present.
I'm really proud of my Persona 5 review, but it feels like cheating when I spent so much of 2022 writing it. So instead, I'm linking my review of The Banshees of Inisherin Game.. Despite having an existential crisis while I was writing it, I feel like in retrospect it did a lot for me to reframe how I write reviews after the fact. I always like to learn about the devs making products and discovering the weird rabbit hole of this joke game really make it a moral priority for me in the present.
@Nerdietalk Glad to see you on here and thank you so much for the kind words :D! Even if the process was a bit complicated it seems, the result was amazing and I'm glad it served you to learn even more about writing, that's honestly one of the best things a game, be it small or big, remarkable or not, could do. I'll add your review as soon as I can :)
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Wow, I'm late to this! This is a great list idea and a great way to bring this community together at the end of the year!
Because it hasn't been mentioned already, if it's possible to nominate a review besides yourself, I'd like to give special thanks to dwardman's FFVII review -- an achingly beautiful and passionate review that heavily inspired me to take Backloggd and its community seriously, as well as Woodaba's FFXVI review, from one of my favorite reviewers (and increasingly, one of my favorite game developers.)
In terms of myself, I don't know if I deserve to be on this list. I haven't written much this year, and much of what i have written is very low quality for my personal writing standards. I'm also extremely immature and spiteful (for which I apologize to @Detchibe and the rest of the Backloggd discord for), which really reflects in reviews such as subahibi and xenoblade 2 which are far too acidic and incendiary. That being said, my favorite review I've written this year is definitely A Blessing for the Herd, doubly so since it's such an unknown game and I want to bring more attention to it. Beyond that, it signalled a shift in how I write reviews and gave me the confidence to analyze video games that I'm passionate about with the detail and sociocultural depth that I think such titles deserve. I can't wait to write more reviews and experience more amazing games in the coming years.
Also @Cadensia, thank you for all the reviews you've written! You are my favorite reviewer on this site, and it was truly a pleasure to read your weekly reviews, which heavily influenced my personal reviewing style. I certainly wasn't mature in our interactions (which I do apologize for), but said interactions inspired me to reevaluate my perspective on art, game analysis, and writing. I'm sure your scholarly work and career will be incredibly fruitful, and I wish you the best on your journey.
It's been a great year and Backloggd has been a great community. Thanks to everyone here for this.
Because it hasn't been mentioned already, if it's possible to nominate a review besides yourself, I'd like to give special thanks to dwardman's FFVII review -- an achingly beautiful and passionate review that heavily inspired me to take Backloggd and its community seriously, as well as Woodaba's FFXVI review, from one of my favorite reviewers (and increasingly, one of my favorite game developers.)
In terms of myself, I don't know if I deserve to be on this list. I haven't written much this year, and much of what i have written is very low quality for my personal writing standards. I'm also extremely immature and spiteful (for which I apologize to @Detchibe and the rest of the Backloggd discord for), which really reflects in reviews such as subahibi and xenoblade 2 which are far too acidic and incendiary. That being said, my favorite review I've written this year is definitely A Blessing for the Herd, doubly so since it's such an unknown game and I want to bring more attention to it. Beyond that, it signalled a shift in how I write reviews and gave me the confidence to analyze video games that I'm passionate about with the detail and sociocultural depth that I think such titles deserve. I can't wait to write more reviews and experience more amazing games in the coming years.
Also @Cadensia, thank you for all the reviews you've written! You are my favorite reviewer on this site, and it was truly a pleasure to read your weekly reviews, which heavily influenced my personal reviewing style. I certainly wasn't mature in our interactions (which I do apologize for), but said interactions inspired me to reevaluate my perspective on art, game analysis, and writing. I'm sure your scholarly work and career will be incredibly fruitful, and I wish you the best on your journey.
It's been a great year and Backloggd has been a great community. Thanks to everyone here for this.
@akanta If the authors of the reviews you mentioned considered those the best reviews they wrote this year and have no problems with them being in here, I'd be my pleasure adding them, I just want to be sure everyone knows if they are on here just so there is no confusion and so everyone can decide their own write-up.
As for everything else you mentioned, I am i no position to judge (especially because I have no idea about what may have happened in the server or in other reviews here) and it's up to everyone else to accept your apologies, but I really want this to be the most positive space it can possibly be, and if you yourself recognize your mistakes and want to move past that and improve and genuinely feel proud about your ''A blessing of the Herd'' review (which I also think you did a great job with), I'm happy to add it on here. Again, I really hope as next year goes by you'll improve in your craft even more and on controlling your spite, the fact you already want to and realize it it's an amazing step.
Thank you so much for kind words, this is indeed a great community I'm so glad to see coming together on here.
As for everything else you mentioned, I am i no position to judge (especially because I have no idea about what may have happened in the server or in other reviews here) and it's up to everyone else to accept your apologies, but I really want this to be the most positive space it can possibly be, and if you yourself recognize your mistakes and want to move past that and improve and genuinely feel proud about your ''A blessing of the Herd'' review (which I also think you did a great job with), I'm happy to add it on here. Again, I really hope as next year goes by you'll improve in your craft even more and on controlling your spite, the fact you already want to and realize it it's an amazing step.
Thank you so much for kind words, this is indeed a great community I'm so glad to see coming together on here.
this may be scandalous and real 11th hour energy, but maybe could I swap my review to my doom II review which I feel really captures the energy I'd like to bring to this lil website?
I am simply a diva and it simply cannot be stopped by conventional means or ballistics
I am simply a diva and it simply cannot be stopped by conventional means or ballistics
@curse I have no problem whatsoever, just finished reading it myself and it was an amazing write-up, I'll gladly make the change in no time. Go on and slay, my friend, live at your pace and even if it was at the very las second of December 31st, I'd still change it with no problems, so don't worry!
I love that, thank you. you're the best :) !!!
If it's not too late can my review still get in? https://www.backloggd.com/u/FrozenRoy/review/1069515/
I was hoping to write an FE Engage or OT2 review that I could put in, but I really just couldn't find time.
I was hoping to write an FE Engage or OT2 review that I could put in, but I really just couldn't find time.
@FrozenRoy No problem at all! Apologies for taking so long to respond, I'll add it as soon as I can! Thank you so much for sharing and even if you didn't have enough time to write everything you wanted, I'm sure what you did write is great and I'll give it a read for sure! :D
Thanks for putting me on at all, honestly! This list is a really cool idea and I'd love to see it yearly, plus you seem like a cool dude. Cheers!
Finally finished em all! So much good stuff on here and such a simple concept. Amazing list!
DeemonAndGames
4 months ago