Gaming abstinence challenge: buying just 12 games in 12 months in 2022. Clear your pile of shame!

[Qazimod]

November:

 

On 31/12/2021 at 20:46, Qazimod said:

1. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (Feb)

2. Elden Ring (Feb)

3. FFVII Remake: INTERmission (May)

4. Hades (Jun)

5. Clustertruck (Jun)

6. Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Aug)

7. Catherine Classic (Sep)

8. Persona 5 Royal - Steam (Oct)

9. Rhythm Tengoku (Nov)

 

Picked up RT as a birthday gift to myself  but there are no "new" games I'm interested in for the rest of the year.

 

I might pick up something in one of the last PSN sales, as I still have unspent credit, but I feel like this has been another straightforward year. It helps that D2 and Elden Ring dominated so much of my time; most other things (P5 excepted) have been idle distractions obtained from sales.

[teddymeow]

Elevator Action Returns is up now to purchase and download on PS4 for £11.99.

 

Used the £5 voucher I got from Shopto from my Ragnarok purchase a £15 PSN card for £8.71.

 

Score!!! And that's me out for the year!!

[Jamie John]

Did you just buy the GBA cart of Rhythm Tengoku, @Qazimod, or has it been ported to something? I've never played it, but want to.

[Qazimod]

Just now, Jamie John said:

Did you just buy the GBA cart of Rhythm Tengoku, @Qazimod, or has it been ported to something? I've never played it, but want to.

 

I bought the GBA cart from eBay. I think the original game's only been released on GBA and the Naomi arcade board, but the GBA game works fine with most emulators, and also various emulator handheld thingies.

 

And there have been sequels of course; Rhythm Heaven on DS, Rhythm Heaven Fever on Wii and Rhythm Heaven Megamix on 3DS.

[Jamie John]

And going into the final month of the year, the backlog is currently thus, at 9 games:

 

 

• I'm about two-thirds of the way through GoW: Ragnarok and am definitely going to see that through. I may even go for the Platinum, like I did the first game.
• Mushihimesama I'm still dipping into as my current handheld game, but it's not really one you 'complete'. I'm going to try to clear it without any continues, at least.
• XCOM 2, Frostpunk and Surviving Mars are all of a type. I've been putting off playing them, really, as I work on my computer all day and don't really fancy it once I get home. Maybe I'll get through one of them over the Christmas holidays.
• Phoenix Wright I'll get to at some point, but I'm in no rush, and I'm pretty sure I've played it before.
• It Takes Two I started with my wife, but she's not into games and we didn't get very far into it. Realistically, I doubt I'll ever have anyone to play it with, so I might scrub that off the list at some point (🥲).
• Ghost of Tsushima I still haven't got around to, and after rinsing Ragnarok, I may well need a break before my next big Sony action-adventure game, so that will likely be pushed into next year.
• And I can't really remember what Song of Horror is. A horror game, presumably. I think someone Steam gifted it to me years ago.

Apart from that lot, there are still lots of Game Pass games I want to get through before I decided on my GOTY list, including Sommerville, Pentiment and Return To Monkey Island. I think I might prioritise those three, actually, once I'm done with Kratos and co. As mentioned, I also want to play something on my Deck, so I could stream them.

 

As ever, too many games and not enough time!

[glb]

Completed a couple more games, so my pile is less troublesome. 14 games finished across the year is pretty good I think, especially when Skywalker Saga took 123h and Horizon FW 91h.
 

Jumping back into Cyberpunk next, which should see me through the rest of the year (and beyond) May still get a Switch but with or without it’s been a good year of gaming. Content to wait for big releases for the most part although Spider-Man 2 may test that resolve if it does release next year

 

Spoiler

Purchased

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (January)

Lego Skywalker Yortcakes (April)

Cyberpunk 2077 (April) - trade

Wolf Mountain - Sniper Elite 5 DLC (July)

Anbernic RG351MP (July - cost equivalent of two new AAA games)

Hero Emblems 2 (August)

PS+ Plus Premium (August)

Horizon Forbidden West (September)

Terminator: Resistance (October)

Saints Row (November)

(one game remaining, three if not counting hardware)
 

Completed 2022

Bee Simulator (PS+) - platinumed
Black Ops: Cold War (PS5)

Crackdown 3 (GP)

Deathloop (PS5)

Doom Eternal (GP)

Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - platinumed

Kill It with Fire (GP)

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (PS5) - platinumed

Power Wash Simulator (GP)

Sniper Elite V (GP)

Sunset Overdrive (GP)

Terminator: Resistance (PS5) - platinumed

Two Point Campus (GP)

Unpacking (GP)

 

Wishlist (2022)

God of War Ragnarok

 

Currently Playing (owned/subs)
Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5)

Peggle 2 (GP)

 

Backlog (owned not subbed)

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Mortal Kombat 11 (story mode)

Resident Evil 7

Saints Row

Soma

EDIT: did play me some Cyberpunk this evening, but also popped the platinum for Bee Simulator *puts on sunglasses and strides out the thread* 

[glb]

So turns out that Skywalker Saga took me 129 hours, and was the game I played the most on my PS5 this year. Also bought my 9th game of 2022, Mario Kart 8... because, yeah, I caved and also bought a Switch. Mostly because Shopto had them available via paying in three instalments, which made doing so less of a plunge with Christmas around the corner. A present to self, I guess. 

 

That's 9 games, 2 pieces of hardware and a sub upgrade on PS+ this year. Have an eye on a couple of Switch games that are on sale, but otherwise quite pleased with the year's spend overall. For 2023 I've earmarked a couple of games although not looked in too much depth at what's out. Also really like the look of the Retroid Pocket 3+ but that isn't something I'm in a hurry to get. Will see what other retro handhelds are on the horizon. Or maybe it will be a Steam Deck 2 for next year's Christmas present to self...

 

2022 Purchase Summary

Spoiler

Games Purchased

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (January)

Lego Skywalker Yortcakes (April)

Cyberpunk 2077 (April) - trade

Wolf Mountain - Sniper Elite 5 DLC (July)

Hero Emblems 2 (August)

Horizon Forbidden West (September)

Terminator: Resistance (October)

Saints Row (November) - trade

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (December)

 

Hardware/Subs Purchases

Anbernic RG351MP (July)

PS+ Plus Premium (August)

Nintendo Switch (December)

 

[Jamie John]

Well done, @glb, for sticking it out  And with games to spare, too.

[spanx]

That’s a wrap for the year…

 

1. OlliOlli World (£15)

2. Elden Ring (£38)

3. Death Stranding Directors Cut Upgrade (£8)

4. Kodiak 100 Plane for MSFS2020 (£30)

5. BAe 146 plane for MSFS (£50)

6. Satisfactory (£14)

7. Stray (£18)
8. Inside (£2)

9. Super Mario 3D World (£35)

10. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (£50)
11. Milviz Cessna 310R plane for MSFS (£30)

 

Twelve games on the backlog now, but a couple of biggies in there I really want to finish next year: Death Stranding DC, Cyberpunk and Baldurs Gate 3. We’ll see what Steam Secret Santa throws up too. 

[ox1973]

Final 2022 Update:

 

1. Capcom vs SNK Card Fighters Clash (Nintendo Switch) - £4.19

2. Elden Ring (PC) - £36.99

3. Peglin (PC) - £13.49

4. Steam Deck 512GB - £565.00

5. Roundguard (PC) - £3.74

6. Cursed to Golf (PC) - £15.29

7. Arcade Paradise (PC) - £15.99

8. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (PC) - £16.64 (As part of RPG Legends Humble Bundle)

9. Front Mission 1st: Remake (Nintendo Switch) - £31.49

10. Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection (Nintendo Switch) - £21.99

 

And that's it for 2022. A couple of thoughts when reflecting back on the year:

• Apart from Front Mission (only bought a few days ago) and Atari 50 (on it's way but will be wrapped up by Santa for Christmas Day) I have completely rinsed all of these games. Elden Ring alone kept me going for about 6 months! Best game of the year, the decade, maybe ever?
• The Steam Deck was a game changer. It worked as a way to eat into the backlog, as opposed to just buying new game after new game and leaving them on the (metaphorical) shelf. I got through more 'old' games than I ever have and there is a lot of satisfaction in that.
• With the Epic, Amazon, GOG, etc. giveaways there are so many 'free' games now that you could buy nothing and still never run out of stuff to play. More than ever, time has become the limiting factor.

So, overall, job done and very happy. Where do I sign up for next year?

 

[Boothjan]

Total spent in 2022: £0

 

I got a couple of Sea of Thieves plunder passes, Lego Star Wars and Elden Ring using Microsoft points, and just played everything else on Game Pass.

 

Very pleased with myself!

 

 

[Jamie John]

3 hours ago, ox1973 said:

Where do I sign up for next year?

 

I was thinking of creating another thread for next year soon, but focused more on keeping track of your backlog as opposed to limiting yourself to buying a certain number of games, otherwise the thread will just up being very similar to the gaming expenditure one.

 

Speaking for myself, I've kind of set out what I planned to achieve, which was always to reduce my backlog rather than limit the amount of money I was spending, and to that end I've been successful as I've gone from 50-something to just 8 games. Now, though, I need to make sure that I don't end up with a massive backlog once again.

 

Maybe a sort of 'Backlog Watch' thread, where people post each time they buy a game and set themselves a limit based on that? I don't want to have any more than 10 games in my pile of shame, for example.

[glb]

14 hours ago, Jamie John said:

Well done, @glb, for sticking it out  And with games to spare, too.

I sort of fudged things with two (lovely) hardware purchases but saying that I was quite please not to pay full price for any game except Skywalker Saga, which even that was under £50.

 

Forgot about MK8’s pretty generous DLC, but there’s enough in the main game to keep me busy for now.

 

Think it was the new COD I was looking at thinking, maybe I’ll just get that but the price put me off. This year was a good reminder that shiny and new isn’t always necessary.

 

Thank you for setting up the thread, look forward to chipping away at the backlog in 2023

[Jamie John]

1. Inscryption (PC) - 7/1/22

2. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS4) - 28/1/22

3. Elden Ring (XSX) - 21/02/22

4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch) - 25/03/22

5. Dragon Quest XI: Definitive Edition (Switch) - 28/4/22

6. Horizon: Forbidden West (PS5) - 27/5/22

7. Sifu: Vengeance Edition (PS5) - 6/7/22

8. Streets of Rage 4 (Switch) - 1/8/22

9. (One month of PS Plus) - 15/10/22

10. God of War: Ragnarok (pre-order) - 31/10/22

11. Mushihimesama (Switch) - 26/11/22 

12. Vampire Survivors (Steam) - 20/12/22

 

And that's my final game of the year to bring me to 12 games in 12 months

 

I have to say, I've really enjoyed doing this and am very thankful to everyone else in the thread who has taken part - there were several times where I came close to splurging in sales or buying games because they were cheap, especially once I'd got my Steam Deck, but the thought of failing the challenge was enough to stop me.

 

Even more fulfilling for me than only buying 12 games has been cutting my backlog down dramatically: on 31st December 2021 my backlog stood at 56 games and I've got that down to just 6 titles:

 

 

It sounds silly, but it feels really liberating to just have a handful of games in my pile, and I'm determined to keep my backlog in the single figures from here on out; I don't want to be in the same position I was this time last year. Buying fewer games has also meant I've played more of them, oddly enough, with 42 games I've completed this year, which is the most I've completed since I started keeping a record:

 

 

Thanks again to everyone who took part, even if you didn't quite make it to the end. I'll make a similar threat for next year soon.

[Qazimod]

I might have to check back tomorrow morning, as the PSN sale's still on until then and I have spare credit - so there's still time for me to do something I'll regret later 🙃

 

For now though...

 

On 31/12/2021 at 20:46, Qazimod said:

1. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (Feb)

2. Elden Ring (Feb)

3. FFVII Remake: INTERmission (May)

4. Hades (Jun)

5. Clustertruck (Jun)

6. Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Aug)

7. Catherine Classic (Sep)

8. Persona 5 Royal - Steam (Oct)

9. Rhythm Tengoku (Nov)

 

I don't think I did too bad. The only thing close to a dumb impulse purchase was Wolfenstein, and that was £1.49 so it wasn't a massive hit on my savings. Destiny 2 and Elden Ring dominated my time for much of the first half of the year, and then I was just picking up discounted bits and pieces until Persona 5 Royal. Considering how many 2022 games I resisted picking up - the latest EDF, Soul Hackers 2, Metal Hellsinger, Outmode, FFVI Pixel Remaster, Tunic, Sol Cresta, P4A Ultimax - I think I did okay!

 

Also, five of my nine were sale items - this was as much a money-saving exercise as anything, because next year's gaming could get expensive. We'll see.

 

Thanks again for arranging this thread, and thanks to everyone else for the mutual encouragement.  

[Qazimod]

22 hours ago, Qazimod said:

I might have to check back tomorrow morning, as the PSN sale's still on until then and I have spare credit - so there's still time for me to do something I'll regret later 🙃

 

And now the "January sale" has started.

 

Fuck it! I'd rather hold on to my credit for new shiny 2023 releases. I'm done for the year. Really.

[Paulando]

@QazimodBetter get those purchases in before the 2023 thread gets created 

[Qazimod]

That's the thing - I don't want to pick up crap for the sake of it.

 

Although I do already have my January purchase planned courtesy of P3 Portable.  

[glb]

Splurge! Went eShop mad, and filled my 12 game purchases slots this afternoon. Final list for 2022:

 

Games Purchased

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (January)

Lego Skywalker Yortcakes (April)

Cyberpunk 2077 (April) - trade

Wolf Mountain - Sniper Elite 5 DLC (July)

Hero Emblems 2 (August)

Horizon Forbidden West (September)

Terminator: Resistance (October)

Saints Row (November) - trade

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (December)

Mario Kart 8 DLC (December)

Golf Story (December)

Actraiser Renaissance (December)

 

A dozen I’m happy with. Means my backlog has a few new additions but will complete at least one over Christmas, Golf Story the likeliest candidate.

[Benny]

Here come the...

 

 

[mechamonkey]

Nearly there, 42 'proper' games finished from the pile of shame (ie. non emulated arcade/retro etc), zero money spent, no games released in 2022 played, 200k Microsoft points (roughly 168 quid in xbox credit) banked.
Very happy with that.  

Edit: Elden Ring was the "joker" for the year, but actually purchased in 2021

[acidbearboy]

Previously

Spoiler

February:

£30 eShop voucher purchased for £27 to fund the following on Wii-U:

NES remix 1 & 2 £8.99 each
Tengami 6.99
Olympia rising 4.49

54p left over on account.

 

March:

Duck Hunt (Wii-U VC) £3.49 (-54p) cost me 2.95
The Adventures of Bayou Billy (Wii-U VC) £3.49
F-Zero (Wii-U VC) £1.49

Bridge Strike (Switch) 89p 66p with gold coins
Shinobi (Sega Ages) (Switch) £2.09

 

August:
Lo Fi Ping Pong (Switch) £1.59
ACA NeoGeo Big Tournament Golf (Switch) £3.14
Papers Please (iPad) £4.49
Kiki Kai Kai AKA Pocky & Rocky Reshrined (Switch physical) £30

September
Viper (PS1) £16

October
Namco Museum Arcade Pac (Switch) £4.89
*Boomerang Fu (Switch) £1.53 + DLC £2.61 with gold coins (*for the kids more than me)

 

 

October

The Mummy Demastered (PS4) £6.39

November

£25 eshop credit purchased for £22.50 which paid for everything below!
Capcom Arcade Stadium complete bundle (Switch) £14.99
Dusk Diver (Switch) £3.83 with gold coins

December
Capcom Arcade Stadium invincibility DLC (Switch) 42p with gold coins
Oniken + Odallus collection (Switch) £1.79
Gato Roboto (Switch) £1.79
Elli (Switch) £1.79

 

20+ games bought, but I've played most of them. I definitely could have bought a lot more in the sales; but that I didn't means that I have been working my way through my backlog. Mostly retro arcade titles completed, quite a few other titles abandoned. I've tried to keep on top of played/completed/abandoned status on backloggd, with reviews for everything I've played. 

 

https://www.backloggd.com/u/acidbearboy/

[AlexM]

I went from January-November without buying any games, but it's been a crappy few weeks so I treated myself a little bit.

 

December:

Sniper Elite 4 £3.99

Yakuza 0 £3.99

Doom £3.99

Hades £9.74 (I have it on Switch, but can't access that atm)

Circuit Superstars £11.24 (Really enjoying this!)

Wreckfest Season Pass 2 £4.83

 

£37.78 in total, still less than a new game and should keep me going for a fair while.

[glb]

6 hours ago, AlexM said:

I went from January-November without buying any games, but it's been a crappy few weeks so I treated myself a little bit.

 

December:

Sniper Elite 4 £3.99

Yakuza 0 £3.99

Doom £3.99

Hades £9.74 (I have it on Switch, but can't access that atm)

Circuit Superstars £11.24 (Really enjoying this!)

Wreckfest Season Pass 2 £4.83

 

£37.78 in total, still less than a new game and should keep me going for a fair while.

Sniper Elite 4 and Doom for less than a tenner is damn good value.