As I stated at the beginning of this year, my big 2018 goal is to work through my gaming backlog.  I have so many untouched games, RPGs or otherwise, that I really would like to make an honest effort to play. January allowed me to make some progress, though somehow, I couldn't seem to focus on just one title. Oh, and then there was the release of Monster Hunter: World and that pesky other game, Overwatch, both which love to pull me back in. Let’s discuss January's progress, shall we?

Tales of Berseria

This was my 2017 Valentine's gift from my wonderful husband, and oddly I am only now getting to it.  I devour Tales games normally, so I was surprised that it took me as long as it did to check Berseria out. I am absolutely loving it so far! The cast of characters is very strong; I adore Laphi and Velvet's interactions and my heart has wept for them on numerous occasions through the story thus far.

At this point I am roughly 28 hours into the game and have hit Hexen Isle. I have definitely hit some very interesting plot points along the way, particularly when I got to view Velvet and Artorious' memories. I find myself really feeling for Velvet in this game. I am hoping to knock this game out in February! I just need more time to game and, you know, not get sucked into Monster Hunter: World and Overwatch.

Miitopia

This was an unexpected title that I picked up on the recommendation of my good friend, Nick. He was saying how silly, sweet and mindless Miitopia was, and I knew I had to give it a whirl. It's been a great game to play while catching up on my TV shows. I've only put in seven hours so far and have made it as far as the second area, Neksdor. One aspect about Miitopia that I love is being able to assign Miis to fill the roles that exist in the Miitopia world. For example, Tay Swift — Not Taylor in this case — is my Dark Lord, while Nappa from Dragon Ball Z is one of the castle guards in the Greenhorne area.

My first party consisted of Sammers the "Energetic Warrior"; Scott, my husband as a "Laid-Back Chef"; my friend Kim was a "Cool Thief"; and Mercy from Overwatch was our "Kind Cleric". Over the course of the first area, Scott and I romanced, we broke up, then he cheated on me with Mercy, but then I took him back. Meanwhile I was busy cuddling close with Kim. Really, the melodrama of Miitopia is glorious. The reason being that there are player-selected personality traits attributed to the job chosen and they becomes part of your character. With Scott being a "Laid-back Chef" there were times in battle where he would slack off or hide behind my Warrior Mii. Depending on what personality the player selects determines some of the character’s motivations in battle. It's neat so far.

At this point in the game I have lost my original party and now have gained three new party members: Jesus, who is a "Cautious Scientist", RoboCop the "Cool Pop Star", and Mr. Pringles Man the "Air-headed Wizard." Sammers the adventurer is now Sammers the Cat Lady. Meow. Onward to find my old party and get the gang back together!

In terms of the actual RPG I completed, it was River City: Rival Showdown, which I reviewed for the site. I also managed to play three non-RPGs in January: Ladykiller in a Bind (where I made out with all the ladies), What Remains of Edith Finch, and Depression Quest, mostly because I wanted more narrative-focused games and I knew they were fairly short. I enjoyed all three of them, though I won't lie that parts of What Remains of Edith Finch gave me a bit of motion sickness, something I hadn't experienced in a game since the original Dead Island.

Hopefully throughout February I have some luck in completing another RPG or two. I want to be able to let you all vote for my next backlog pick!

Backlog Tally

Number of RPGs completed: 1

Number of Non-RPGs completed: 3