Not much to update on my part since my last post in week 4, other than the fact that I am utterly, hopelessly in love with Darkest Dungeon 2.

When I first bought it and started it about two years ago now, I really didn't like it. I felt like it very much didn't live up to the original game and I just wasn't having fun in the slightest over the 12-hours I played it. And now? I'm so glad I restarted it. At this point I've put 30 more hours into it and I feel like I'm constantly discovering new things to tweak about my party builds and new ways to play the game more effectively. I just started a new run a day or two ago and I was feeling very unenthused with the party build I chose; it just didn't feel like it was going well at all and I was just sort of stumbling along.

So I decided to change up a few skills to address what I felt were some weak points in my Party and suddenly, we're just utterly kicking ass. It helps that my Heroes got a couple of positive relationship buffs, but I've also just figured out how to more effectively play them with the different skills I chose and again, they are just absolutely crushing it. I have somehow made it to the final region before the boss battle (in the second act) and I have also managed to do something apparently challenging in nearly completing the quest for the Crusader in a single run; I just need to make it to the Quest boss in the next region and I'll be golden. Only problem is, I'm notoriously bad at the bosses in this game and I've only ever won one boss battle in the many, many times I've tried.

At any rate, I've pretty much dropped everything else. I do finally want to go back to Cultic and see if I can make it past the part I got stopped-up at, but I think I'm otherwise done with Pacific Drive. As far as Advance Wars goes, that's one that I'll return to eventually, but I am feeling done with for right now. I didn't complete anything on my list nor get a bingo, but I'm happy with what I accomplished which is to find a game in my library that I'm content to stick with for awhile.

Wow, what an event! The contributions are always great, but I feel like the bar was somehow raised even further with this one. There were so many utterly brilliant comments made by all of our contributors. I loved reading all of your thoughts, impressions, personal anecdotes, and even backstory/development history of some games.

I failed to send in any highlights this month, since I was so focused on finishing my own task on time, so I'd like to offer a few shoutouts now.

• @J-Chiptunator, for some seriously impressive write-ups across a range of platforms.
• @JCPhoenix, for playing a ton of games, only some of which were detective-themed! The Let's Plays were great, and add so much richness to your first impressions.
• @Evie, for showing us the platonic ideal to strive towards.
• @dannydotcafe, a big welcome to a new face who nailed the assignment.
• @CannibalisticApple, for lulling us in with sweet stories of Animal Crossing and Katamari before converting us to a strange new religion.
• @kfwyre, for a non-golf blackout with some of the strangest classic titles and indie picks around. Thank you as always for emceeing these threads for us!
• @aphoenix, who snagged a blackout win while also leaving tons of replies/interaction. I really appreciate the added liveliness you bring.

There is of course more, but I'm trying not to embarass everyone! I promise I've read every single comment you folks have shared.

November was a crazy month for me. I played 32 new games, and some of them I even finished. I set out with the plan of doing rapid-fire game sessions and write-ups, but found I naturally migrated back into my overly-loquacious habits. Whereas in week 1 my writeups averaged 200 words per game, by week 4 they'd ballooned to well over 500. Whoops! Task failed successfully.

I think I'll set more reasonable goals for myself in the future, but I'm also super proud of making more than a dent in my backlog this month. Even better, I found a bunch of games I enjoyed and will get to continue playing.

I'll include the four cards I completed this month, in checklist format for easier reading.

Since my write-ups, I've now completed Manifold Garden, and put another three or four hours into Carnivores. I'll bag that T-Rex yet.

My pick of the month goes to Venba, which came as a complete surprise to me. It was a heartfelt story that really resonated, and gave me some cultural awareness that I really appreciated. I don't know that I'd ever have tried it if not for rolling the letter "V" by chance, but I'm glad I did. That's one thing I appreciate about the bingo card system -- it can turn us onto content that we'd never have experienced otherwise.

Other picks also left a lasting impression for me, including I Expect You To Die (superlative VR experience), A Bird Story (decidedly poignant), and Doki Doki Literature Club! (uniquely disquieting).

I plan to return to The Forgotten City next, where I'm excited to resume my investigation. Tails of Iron and Wuchang are also both waiting for me afterwards.

It's been an intense, yet fulfilling month, folks. Thanks for helping to make this event what it is. I'll see you all around the site, and for our next Backlog Burner in May!

My final card, a 9x9 blackout:

I ended up with no games that I didn't like, and had two games that I think I 100%-ed, those being The Room 3 & 4. I got back into some word puzzles - I used to be an avid NYTimes Crossword-er, and actually just yesterday borked my 22-day streak for all the NYTimes games (ah well). I picked up two games that will very likely stay in my rotation in some form as go-to games - Curse of the Dead Gods and Death Must Die for a dungeon crawler and a bullet heaven respectively. They Are Billions really scratched an RTS itch in a way that I didn't know I was missing. I'm looking forward to getting back to Inscryption and SCP: Secret Files at some point, but for now I think my game of the month is Subnautica. I don't know why I never really got into it before - too similar to too many other games that I have played, I guess - but I'm glad I've gotten into it now. My underwater base is expanding a lot, and I'm enjoying stabbing bone sharks in the face. I have to figure out how to take on a reaper leviathan... can I take on a reaper leviathan? I don't even know.

@kfwyre Sorry I did not pre-send you a highlight. I did read all the writeups and there were some great ones from everyone, but my highlight of the whole month was @Wes blacking out a card every single week. That's crazy!

I'm just happy to be able to tag along with a very minimalist approach while my time is so limited. When my time frees up, I look forward to bombarding you all with text and getting into new Bingo game modes. Thanks all and see you next time!

Final Bingo card:

During November's Backlog Burner, my plan was to sample 25 games in 20 days or less, spending up to a few hours with each one and using a 5×5 bingo card of genres as a guide. The card kept things varied enough that everything wrapped up two days early, which left the rest of the month open to breathe a bit.

That extra time went into some relaxed Kirby Air Riders sessions, finishing Portal's main campaign, and playing all of Tales from Toyotoki. That last one was quite a surprise: what looks like an unassuming coming‑of‑age boy‑meets‑girl story ended up hitting hard enough to make a usually stoic grown man tense up and cry, particularly during the final stretch.

Playing 25 games in 18 days didn't leave much room for deep writeups, so most of the writeups are short impressions with a bit of personal experience or historical context. Often, it took a round of online research just to fill in the gaps that a few hours of play couldn't cover.

That pace still works well for giving a broad overview of each game, but it inevitably flattens the nuance, especially for anything longer than five hours. Most of those titles in particular ended up with writeups that felt a bit more like rough, low‑budget Wikipedia summaries than insightful commentary.

Next time, the plan is to cut the number of games way down to make space for more detailed coverage. There will be a twist to go with that new approach, but that will have to wait until the next Backlog Burner in about five months.

Standouts (6): Animal Well, Hypnospace Outlaw, Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch, Untitled Goose Game, Tetris Attack, Enter the Gungeon
Good enough to continue (14): The Witness, Hyrule Warriors, Cuphead, Rune Factory 4 Special, Liberation Maiden, Grand Theft Auto V, A Short Hike, Resogun, Crimson Shroud, Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Long Puppy, WitchSpring R, Pokémon Ultra Moon
Shelved (5): Splatoon, Vegas Stakes, Weapon Shop de Omasse, Metroid Prime Hunters, Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game - Complete Edition