Thanks!! 12 years and I still and probably wont at this point haven't beaten my backlog

Hehe yeah, Majora's Mask is a definite inspiration for NieR, I think. There's a lot of unique elements in the game you can't really find in a lot of other stuff, because Taro just went nuts. And it's not so much that the story is less compelling - it's a bit of an age thing, IMO. A lot of younger players tend to empathize much more with the brother figure because they can see themselves in him, whereas a lot of older players tend to empathize more with the father for the same reason. Not to mention the lengths Nier goes to in order to help Yonah is definitely father type action, especially in light of the revelations that happen in B route and onward.

I technically put NieR on hiatus for a bit while I played other/newer stuff, but I will get back to it sooner or later. It's one of those games I know will be super awfully painful in the best way for me to play, so I need to devote some good time and mental headspace for it.

What a gorgeous theme! You've really outdone yourself this time. Really nice music selection as well. Excited to get back to ShB? I have many goals to accomplish before EW launches, like prepare gear for Reaper and Paladin. What are your plans? Cheers!

I completely understand.

Yeah it's been fun going back. I did try to do yearly playthroughs until this past year when I heard about the MELE. Though... my backlog keeps growing instead of not.

No problem! Glad to hear you'll check out RE2, it is really great. Yeah RE3 is a bit of a let down. I mean it's fine, it feels like a short extra story expansion to 2 or something, no where near the level of a full RE experience.

Grats on finishing Demon's Souls! I really want to get back into playing it and some other From games I have put off til now. After Intergrade, I'll probably get around to that. Good to hear you enjoyed it.

NieR was so great to play again, I really missed that world. I guess the big reason for me personally is like Automata, I suppose I get burned out going through the routes multiple times to get different outcomes. I know it's by design and I do like the changes to each route going through it again, but feels a bit tedious. The best way I personally deal with it is save the other runs for another time when I'm feeling it again so it feels fresh. I really want to see that new ending though so I need to make time for it at some point. Yeah that route does hit hard, it makes you question everything you've done up til this point. It is a really unique way to tell a story so I can't fault it for trying different things but doesn't help with the burnout all the same.

Awesome, happy to hear you enjoyed Village as much as I did. I could be mistaken but... I recall you mentioning it's your first RE solo otherwise you've played them with friends? You might like Resident Evil 2 Remake and by extension, Resident Evil 3 Remake. I also really enjoy the remake of the original Resident Evil, but it definitely shows it's age with fixed cameras though I love it for the nostalgia it makes me feel. 4 is also great but I really want them to remake it because the controls take a lot of getting used to. RE7 is a very scary game but can be outright disturbing lol. Anyway, I love the series even for it's flaws.

Ohhhh cool to see you pick back up Demon's Souls! I need to as well, I really want to experience that game but it was really tearing me up and guess I didn't have enough focus at the time. I will conquer it though like I do all Souls games, it's just a matter of time! Good luck with your playthrough.