I’m back.
In hindsight, starting off the latest post on the website with “We have not been idle” is kind of ironic after a hiatus lasting much of the year. C’est la vie!
So, much of the writing I’ve been doing this year has not been at all related to games media or things I would normally display here. Most of it is fiction, usually for myself and a couple of friends as quite a bit of it is related to (directly or tangentially) a D&D campaign I’m running. Not a lot of point in posting that stuff publicly here, so I haven’t been.
Beyond that, there’s two projects that I’ve been involved with (one significantly moreso than others). I figure it’s worth pointing spotlights at those and sending people in that direction should they ever want to see what else I’m up to.
So, the first: Acclaimed Video Games. Originally James and I published some of the test pieces and early results here for lack of a better website or venue to display them. Well, that better website now exists! Acclaimed Video Games is a project in which a staggering amount of Top X or Best Of games lists have been collated, organised, put into matchup data and then run through an extensive algorithm. The end result is a list of perhaps the most comprehensive critical consensus on video games that’s ever been undertaken.
Now, that’s not to say that these are the best games of all time; certainly not by James or I, and probably not even by most who read the lists or view the website. But it is, nonetheless, a very clear depiction of critical consensus of those working in games media and engaging in reviews and criticism. If the list feels off, biased, or in some way wrong, that’s probably a sign that the field of games media needs to self-evaluate accordingly. Will it happen? Who knows, but it was a fun project to see develop, even if my contributions were largely sounding board and data collation. Either way, James put a ton of work into the project and so you should really check it out if you haven’t.
Next is where the bulk of my personal involvement has gone: the Platformers Podcast. I was invited on as a guest for this podcast by showrunner and buddy of mine Brian Barnett a couple dozen episodes back. Apparently, I made enough of a good impression to be invited back not long after to talk Triangle Strategy, and then before long I’d become a regular co-host there. You can now find me on most recent episodes, barring the game-specific episodes that cover titles I’ve not gotten around to yet.
Mental note: ask Brian for a better resolution header image.
We stream the recording of the episodes on Brian’s Twitch channel, typically on Tuesday 10am AEDT (so Monday 4pm PDT). We don’t record every week due to schedules, but there’s typically at least one a fortnight, with the podcast version going up the following day.
Podcasting in general is a great format, as it lets me talk about the topics I’d like to without having to get stuck in my own world trying to write and edit these articles. As much as I love to do so, it’s a lot easier to just speak and refine as I go, especially when I have two (or more) excellent co-hosts to bounce topics off with. I can’t say that we’ve ever had an episode I’m unhappy with, but if you absolutely must just pick one to listen to what we’re about, I strongly suggest Episode 290. We went into that without set reviews or much of a plan, and the end result was some of the more philosophical musings and thoughts about games and the industry that we’ve had thus far. Check that out and go from there.
That’s been my primary outlet for games media related content for the bulk of the year, which at least partially explains why I’ve languished on posting here in 2023. As ever, a huge shoutout to Brian for giving me the chance and carrying it forward, as well as to the other co-host Will. I greatly enjoy the conversations we have and the opportunity to put our words and work out there, so I hope others can enjoy what we produce as a result. They also both do excellent work in their respective games media coverage across the internet, so show them some love.
Where does that leave Delfeir vs the Backlog, then? Well, it’s never been my intention to leave this fallow, and I always want to get back into it when the health and mood allows. Much of what I said at the end of the update last year about my general writing process has not really changed, though. I still tend to want to work through things sequentially, and so getting stuck on one draft that I’m struggling to finish or has otherwise blossomed into a much bigger idea than intended means a queue forms behind it. I still need to practice the skill of either switching off the perfectionism and letting things go even if they’re not up to scratch, allowing this to just be a blog, or else knuckle down and get projects completed (or put them aside in favour of queued articles).
Whatever may come of that, the current block in the pipeline is a review for Sea of Stars. The long and the short is that it’s great, I quite enjoyed it, and I recommend it. It’s the sort of baseline experience that more retro-style RPGs should aspire to reach, though it’s still not at the pinnacle. I actually received a review code for this one for the purposes of talking about it on the Platformers; initial review thoughts are in Episode 286 with the final review in Episode 288 if you’re interested in hearing that. Should I not finish the text version, that’s at least been done.
Beyond that, there’s not much to say in any general terms. I have things I’d like to write about, and a lot of topics covering a slew of games, both from 2023 and earlier. This has been considered a frankly exhausting year of big, high quality releases that have made quite an impact on the industry. Yet, for many reasons, I don’t think we’ll actually look back on most of them and see any real Greatest of All Time contenders.
No, not even Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s not even the best game in that series, guys! And no amount of Karlach being Karlach — no matter how powerful — can change that.
That sentiment in and of itself would make for lots of different talking points that I’ll hopefully get to. If you don’t see them manifest here at any point, you can almost certainly hear me talk about them on the Platformers, as well as any real trends to be catalogued in the coming months/years over on Acclaimed Video Games. Check both of those out regardless of if you want more content from me or not, they’re just good undertakings worthy of your time.
So, the content drought is now temporarily broken. Hoping to keep it that way and keep this website going strong, at least until a better one is found to write for. Until next time.
Delfeir vs. the Backlog 