Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 9 - Getting to the Second Liberation Rites

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 9, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

it's been a while since part 8, https://youtu.be/sKA3UN479eU, and in that episode the world opened up and we got a lot of lore. in this video, there continued to be more lore of the world being revealed, but importantly we got some nice little story extra's which helped focus the experience back to the rites.

The rite games were still fun and definitely more difficult than the first time through to the Liberation Rites. i did win all the games i played, but they weren't exactly convincing wins. this meant that by the end of this video we are once again ready to take on the Liberation Rites. i have decided that i want Ti'zo to be the next one to leave. i feel like he's spent the longest, and maybe roughest, time in the Downside and he seemed interested in the Commonwealth. in the next video, part 10, we'll see if i can win it. 

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Valentine Cup 2 - Achievement Run

Welcome to Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday! Sit back and either watch me play through, with no commentary, the cup or leave it running in the background as BGM!

I play and earn all the achievements from The Valentine Cup 2! (2023/2/13 9:00～2023/2/20 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

Last week's Valentine Cup 1 video, https://youtu.be/8XiX8VErAN4, was tough because i was playing against many skilled opponents. But this week's video starts with me fighting against the computer as for the first couple of games there was no one else. things improved and got more competitive later one. the gimmick this week wasn't as clear and i thought i knew what it was but ultimately i was guessing. that would help to explain why i found it so hard against the final boss, and even tho i did beat it once it was during a game where i felt i played fairly poorly. i think i always came in the top 3 this week, which is great and the main reason why this week's video is shorter than most recent ones.

Switch Funday - Splatoon 3 - February's Chocolate Splatfest - An Hour Of Tricolor!

Welcome to Switch Funday.

As it's a Splatfest weekend, today i wanted to focus on the Sunday exclusive game mode called Tricolor. In previous Splatfests, this game mode hasn't worked as well as i would like. at most i'd get into 2 or 3 games and often there would be a disconnection causing the games to end. The game had been updated so i went in hoping for better, but i was expecting things to stay the same.

But this whole video is an hour of just Tricolor games! there were no disconnections either, unlike yesterday where we had 3 i think. this video is a first for myself, i've never experienced a Tricolor mode like it. i'm very happy that Nintendo finally fixed it, but also disappointed that it took them soo long to fix the Tricolor mode.

As for the hour, i think my team managed to win a couple of times. but for the most part it's an hour of White and Dark Chocolate teams kicking my team's butt.

It'd be great to hear if the mode was fixed for other players in other countries so let me know in the comments.

Online Saturday - Splatoon 3 - February's Chocolate Splatfest - A Poor Hour For Milk Chocolate

Welcome to Online Saturday.

The Splatfest for February is a three way fight between Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and White Chocolate. At the start of the video you see that White Chocolate has the early lead from the sneak peak, and throughout you'll see that some of the strongest teams i come up agianst are fighting for White Chocolate.

Throughout the hour, the level of competition is very high. i have a couple of huge losses, but also get a big win. What was a little strange, as you'll see, were the few disonnection issues. for a while know, whilst playing the normal online modes, i haven't had an issue with online play. but today there were some disonnections and a game ended early, too. it was easy to notice that the wait for a game was longer than normal, going from 10-30 seconds to sometimes over a couple of minutes.

But i had fun. even tho it was harder and i had fewer wins, Splatoon 3's online multiplayer continues to be enjoyable and my go to online shooter. you can watch the videos for other games and just hear in my voice that my excitment doesn't waver.

Mobile Friday: Apple Arcade - Shovel Knight Dig - The First 40 Minutes

This tenth, video in the new Mobile Friday: Apple Arcade series is on Shovel Knight Dig. I Played this as part of my Mobile Friday: Apple Arcade series, but it's out on other platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. 

We're coming to the end of the Apple Arcade series and i'm glad i got to try out this game before it ended. i had played Shovel Knight on the 3DS, i even backed it on Kickstarter back in the day. but i hadn't played any of the other games released around Shovel Knight so i was very curious as to how this game would play and what it's about.

I'll be honest that ultimatly, i didn't enjoy playing it that much. i found the on screen controls to not be well placed. this meant that the first part of the video was difficult to control. coupled with the game's difficulty being somewhat high meant i found it hard to get into it. i enjoyed my time outside of the hole, talking to the random characters that appeared and even stumbling upon a grave.

When i switched to the controller, it was easier to control the character but it didn't make the game any easier. each time i went down the hole, the level would change and sometimes it felt much harder than other times. If i thought that from the begining it was difficult, i wonder how i would've managed with the later parts of the game.

It does look good and the music is great, too. it's well worth trying. but i don't think it's the best one of these games, nor do i think it works well as an introduction to them. Games such as Steamworld Dig and Super Motherload have a better difficulty curve and some tutorial moments. 

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Valentine Cup 1 - Achievement Run

Welcome to Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday! Sit back and either watch me play through, with no commentary, the cup or leave it running in the background as BGM!

I play and earn all the achievements from TheValentine Cup 1! (   ) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

This was fun because i was up against soo many players throughout this video. And it wasn't just one person dominating either. there was a vareity of winners and players in the top 3. so whilst this is one of my longer videos, it was maybe one of the most fun i've had. I did get a couple of wins near the end as i was up against fewer players but for the most part i was in the top 3.

let me know in the comments how this week's Cup was for you.

Cloud Monday - Grip - Part 2 - A Better Cloud Gaming Experience

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 with Grip. For all Cloud Monday games, they get played twice to get a better idea about the streaming experience. 

In last weeks part 1, https://youtu.be/PdKk6qEhDrI, it was a mostly fine gaming experience. the main issue i saw whilst playing the game was the amount of macroblocking. for the most part it was in the background and not in my immediate view. so noticeable but not too distracting. however there was a moment where it did get in the way of my gaming experience leading to an issue where it was difficult to make out the course.

In today's part 2, i didn't have that issue. as per normal, part 2 is recorded at a different time and i found today's experience be better. there were instances of macroblocking and a couple of screen tears, but this was far less than last week. i'd argue that the game's own limitations were getting in the way more than playing it via PlayStation Plus Premium.

Racing was still fun, if not somewhat weird and unique. but i found the battle mode to be somewhat lacking and across both the racing and battle modes, the games pop in was far more distracting than the macroblocking. I only have a PlayStation 4 so i can't answer whether things improve with a PlayStation 4 Pro or a PlayStation 5. maybe you can let me know in the comments.