Topic: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

[M.K.Ultra]

It's August already and time to chip away at those inexorable backlogs forum fans.

If you are new to the site, welcome, and just post about the games you are playing, beating, and completing in this month of August 2025. While we are still waiting on a final count from last year  , I am sure whatever it was we can top that this year. After all, the Switch 2 is out and if your like me you already have a backlog game for it 

So whether you are playing a Switch 2 game, wrapping up something else to get to a switch 2 game, or still firing all cylinders on that Switch 1 backlog, this is the place to be.

[Khushrenada]

While we are still waiting on a final count from last year 

Yep, that has been on my to-do list for 11 months but I finally checked that off tonight. Does completing the hosting of a forum event count from a year ago count for Backlaugust? Maybe I should have waited one more day....

I've actually had Backlaugust on my mind from last week and was wanting to post something then to try and drum up support early. But then I remembered I still needed to tabulate things from last year so I wanted to get that done first. And now, M.K. Ultra has gone ahead and taken charge of the 2025 event just when I was about to tie pokepal148 for most hosted Backlaugusts.    

It's all good. If I don't have to host it then maybe I can just focus more on actually playing games this year.

[Khushrenada]

I know that the main thing I'm playing and looking to finish going into the event this year is XCX:DE. Getting close to completing it all. Storywise, I'm about to start Chapter 13 Act 2. Also have around 15 missions/quests to complete and nearing 100% of Mira. Cauldros is currently 100% done. I have one segment left in Oblivia, two in Noctilum, three in Primordia and a bunch to do in Sylvalum.

After completing XCX, not really sure what I'd want to do after. I'll admit I've been leaning towards diving into XC2 finally to see what that's all about but also not sure I want to do a dive into another long game again. Starting playing a bit of Metroid Fusion on the Switch GBA app because of it being a Mission for the Switch Online Icons and was really enjoying revisiting and diving back into that game having not played it in maybe 8 years. Perhaps I tackle some of the Switch Online Library games. We shall see.

[M.K.Ultra]

I rolled credits on Half-Life 2: Episode One yesterday. I played the game on Playstation 3 as part of the Orange Box compilation. Part sequel and part DLC, the game feels like the next 5-10 hours that would follow Half-Life 2. It is interesting the approach taken by Valve in putting out these episodes to extend the story of the second game. It has been a while since playing the second game and I have yet to play the first. I would have preferred more puzzle solving with the gravity gun and less combat, but overall I would recommend this to those that enjoyed the previous entries in the series. There are no trophies or collectibles here so beaten is equivalent with completed from what I can surmise.
Side note, I peeked at Team Fortress 2 and it won't start up at all since the servers are shut down. This means I just have Half-Life 2: Episode Two and The Orange Box will be complete. Still, I think I will save that for another day.

[Adrock]

I want to dust off my Switch 1 and roll credits on Another Code Recollection, both games. I'll continue my digital games on Switch 2. However, I want to see if I can avoid inserting a Game Card into the console entirely.

[RABicle]

Remember, it’s not a competition guys. But I am auditing my collection for games I’ve 90% finished to rack up as many credit screens as possible.

At the moment it’s looking like
Beyond Good and Evil 20th Anniversary Edition
Zelda: The New One You Play as Zelda
And maybe something else. I’ve heard Dear Me is like 40 minutes long. I might bully my partner into playing the rest of that black and white game about the fox and the dead too.

[Lemonade]

I can participate again this year.
Currently playing DK Bananza and Enslaved for 360.

Switch backlog
Little Kitty Big City
Stray. I already played this on Pc and Xbox, but I bought the physical on Switch and I want to replay it.
Lego Horizon Adventures

If I can finish all of these games in August, it would be great

[broodwars]

At the moment, I'm currently in the final stretches of my Platinum run of the PS4 version of Resident Evil 5, and I'm chipping away at DK Bananza as well. Might get some smaller games knocked out in the meantime as well.

[M.K.Ultra]

It is great to see some folks joining in the fun again this year!

I just rolled credits on Sonic CD for the first time. I played this on the Sega Genesis Mini 2. Normally I read through the manual before playing a retro game like this and really should have. There is a rather ambitious mechanic where you can shift to "future" and "past" versions of a level that I still don't quite understand. I think I get the bonus levels, needing 50 rings at the end of the level and then jump in the big ring, but that only happened once for me and did not lead to a chaos emerald. Hats off to anyone that can 100% complete this game.

The audio and visual quality is quite nice here, overshadowing the genesis games, but the level design still suffers from the usual issues. I think this is the first appearance of Amy and Metal Sonic in the games. Definitely recommended for fans of 2D Sonic.

[M.K.Ultra]

I completed Monkey Barrels on Switch a couple days ago. This was another short game, though my Switch profile still just says "First played 7 days ago", so I don't have a time estimate from the console, but I would say it took 5-10 hours. This is a twin stick shooter from the fine devs at Good-Feel. Overall the game controls well and has an interesting set with two main weapons, controlled with ZL and ZR, that have periodic cool downs *reloads* and two sub weapons, controlled with L and R, that have limited ammo. There is also a dodge button and manual reload button. For most of the game you can just get by with the basic weapons and no dodging, but the last couple boss battles get really tough and required me to experiment with different weapons and master the dodging. It would of been nice if that was a more gradual ramp up in difficulty but not a big deal.

The story and cut scenes are cute, especially if you like monkeys. I found the graphics during game play to be a little too blocky and blurry for my liking. This is where you can separate the quality of an independent Good-Feel game from a Nintendo supported Good-Feel game. In terms of completion, each regular level has four collectibles that are pretty easy to find so it was not much more work to get all those while playing the first time. There is also an online multiplayer mode but I could not get a game going due to lack of participation. If anyone does want to try this out let me know.

I am wrapping up a big game next and should have that done within the week.

[RABicle]

Guess what losers I just rolled the credits on Dear Me, I was. Gotta get those numbers up!
I also absolutely completed Project Highrise the other night. On the 8th. So that’s two games down and a bunch more to go. Probably do Beyond Good and Evil next.

[broodwars]

I have finished 2 games:

Resident Evil 5 (PS4) - Every once in a while, I like to replay an RE game to scratch that "horror shooter" itch, and I've been meaning to replay this one for a while now, as well as "the good version" (allegedly) of RE6. Having Platinumed this game once again, I have to say that this might be the most replayable game in the series from a pure mechanical perspective. The game's not the least bit scary, the difficulty scaling's all over the place, and the plot is just plain stupid, but it sure is fun to shoot these enemies in the face over and over again as you farm for treasure and higher difficulties.

RE5 does not give a **** what you need or want to do to complete it. Ran into a rough spot in the main game and you're low on ammo? Sure, you can replay an easier early level to replenish your stock. The devs don't care. Want to replay just a single chapter of the late game on other difficulties? Hey, it's your game. Go nuts. It's a very liberating game in that respect. Yes, there are FAR better RE games, but I can't think of any other game in the series that lets you play it however you want.

Donkey Kong Bananza - Finished this one last night, and considering this game was the entire reason I bought into the Switch 2 early I'm sad to say this game is just "good". It's not "great". It's kind of the quintessential 7.5 or 8 out of 10, largely because the game is so goddamn easy and takes so long to get interesting. IMO, the first 1/3 of the game is incredibly dull, because the only mechanics the devs decided to work with early on was "punch wall" and "punch floor". I'm sorry, but I didn't find the countless forgettable moons worthwhile in Odyssey, and I don't find the similar Bananas much better here, even if they do feel less random.

It doesn't help that the game will go to great lengths to build potentially interesting setups to Bananas, only for me to inadvertently smash through the back entrance through a wall or ceiling because I saw them on my radar and the radar doesn't distinguish between Bananas you're MEANT to tunnel through and ones you're meant to overcome an obstacle to get. The game starts designing Banana challenges surrounded by impenetrable material in the later areas, but by that point it's too little too late.

As the game goes on and it starts layering new materials with special properties and Bananzas with special abilities, it does get a LOT better but I don't find this entire "big open area with dopamine hits every 5 seconds"  design particularly satisfying. I prefer the older Nintendo/Rare style of collectathon where the major collectables were few in number but memorable and challenging.

At least the game ends in a particularly memorable fashion, though I don't think I'll bother with the post-game. I didn't really bother with it in Odyssey, either. I just don't feel any compulsion to replay areas I've already spent hours in just to do more busywork.