I turned this one into a review. As per usual, it's just me gushing about my life a little bit.

Backloggd has been a major contributor to my expanded taste in games within the past couple of year, and I don't think I can bring up a better example than New Ice York.

I stumbled upon some list or another that mentioned Ticket by magicdweedoo and I fell in love with his very distinct loose and scratchy artstyle almost immediately. Shortly after, I saw an ad for dweeMIXED: Thwee Pack containing Ticket and two other games, New Ice York and Mealmates. I love both of them, but enjoyed my time with the surreal adventure of New Ice York a little bit more.

I hope magicdweedoo becomes a little more well-known, because his games make me very happy.

God this demo is cool. It's pretty much a side-scrolling Hotline Miami, but the visuals and music are top-notch. Brutal in all the best ways.
Please play this, it's free.

I actually went to a Project+ tournament this year. I haven't been to either a Melee or Project M tournament in four years or so. I'm still way out of practice, but it was super nice to see some familiar faces and still be remembered in my local scene. I can't wait for rollback.

The NES was released during a time when Arcade gaming was at (or close to) its peak, and managed to be so commercially successful to an extent due to the idea of "bringing the arcade home with you." As a result, tons of the games for the NES (especially earlier releases) are either direct ports or follow the arcade format closely. They're often score-based, loop a small handful of levels, and offer a short duration of playtime on the average round. Some quick examples include Arkanoid, Donkey Kong, and Tetris.

To be honest with myself, I started going through the NES catalog in an effort to, for some reason or another, "get my numbers up." It was a perfect target for short gaming experiences I could breeze through and be done with, and I could hopefully try out some new games that I actually genuinely appreciate.

For the most part it has been a worthwhile experience, especially for deepening my understanding of the quality of games released before my time, and gaming history as a whole.

This leads me to Gyruss.

Have you played Gyruss?

I've played Gyruss. Gyruss rules!

It's an arcade-style score/level completion game where you fly through space in a ring/tube formation while enemies and stars fly past you. It did an excellent job of simulating a 3D effect, and I had a fantastic time playing it after wading through back-to-back garbage.

This game is one simple joke done over and over, but it's a really funny joke.

I played the Old Mystery of the Emblem hack which basically removes Kris completely from any of the original plot. It's great. Last year I played an iron man of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for the first time and it was some of the most fun I've had playing Fire Emblem.

I suddenly understand elitism about the older games on a profound level. We are never going back to this.

An incredibly personal and important perspective on sex work as a trans woman. Excellent.

I only started playing Off and I'm in love with it immediately. That tracks though, as I've loved all the the iconic "Earthbound inspired RPG Maker games" I've played.

I never owned this game growing up, only played it briefly over at friends' houses multiple times. This year I started and finished it thanks to Nintendo's overpriced online subscription service. It was an excellent experience overall. I hate hate hate that you need to completely wait for Mario to stop moving before trying to turn around in tight spots, lest you incur the wrath of the dreaded u-turn.

Pikmin 2 is one of my favorite games ever, mostly due to my not having played Pikmin 1 previously. After having completed it this year, I think Pikmin 1 is ultimately a better and more interesting experience overall due to the strict time day limit and the tension that it creates. That said, I still prefer 2 immensely simply because the Pikmin respond to your whistle instantly instead of after a second of it being held down. God that made for some frustrating fights. Stellar experience overall though, and I'm stoked for Pikmin 4.

Excellent game. Can't say anything about it without ruining something.

Yep. 2022 was the first time I played The Oregon Trail. It's great for its time, and I was surprised that my family died of measles instead of the infamous dysentery.

Rocket Slime is a game I look back on incredibly fondly, and this year I decided to play it again to see if it's as good as I remember it. It is.

I never had a Genesis growing up so I missed out on a lot of beloved games. Gunstar Heroes is on the Nintendo Switch Online Genesis thing. Gunstar Heroes kicks ass. I'm glad to have now played Gunstar Heroes.

I suck at shmups but Blue Revolver lets you have infinite continues after you save up enough points from repeated runs. Really I just appreciate any shmup that lets you have infinite continues in some way because they're beautiful games.

In order to answer "yes" or "no" in this game you have to tilt the right stick up and down or left and right to make Alba nod or shake her head and it's one of the cutest experiences I've ever had in a video game. :)

you can play as grass

I grew up with Donkey Kong Land 2 for the GameBoy and never played DKCountry 2 until this year. Can't wait to play more, it's outstanding immediately.

This is my brother's favorite fighter these days. The netcode is a fucking tragedy because the game itself is great. An easy-to-pick-up footsies-based short-combo fighter with an aesthetic similar to that of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It's very gay and trans.

I never finished this game when it came out originally. This year I finished it. Plants vs. Zombies is unironically great.

Raw.

I wish I may, I wish I might, please fix this game's shitty disconnecting netcode tonight

thanks Maradonna, I got stabbed <3

This is on here simply as a reminder of how much I love and appreciate backloggd discourse. The game is not good. It did get me thinking though, which can't be said about all of the games I've played.