At the end of 2024, I wrote an article describing my love-hate relationship with my gaming backlog. On the one hand, it was magnificent: a library of indie, AAA and classic games that have a beautiful trajectory that shows how far gaming has come over the past 40 years. On the other hand, the beast became too much for me to tame, and it became a pandemic of games that I have long shunned. It became a New Year’s Resolution for me to take on my backlog and see how much effort I could put into diminishing it.
Click the link here to learn more about my relationship with my gaming backlog and what games I have on it (as of December 2024).
Gaming Backlog: January Check-In
Before I began this odyssey, I made another New Year’s Resolution to reduce impulse buying games. In order to get this under control, I started putting a few dollars per week into the online stores where I buy my games: PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop and Steam. The idea was that once I accumulated a decent amount into each storefront, I would not beat myself up about spending money on games, and I could freely spend whatever the amount was in these accounts. This technique has been working wonders for me so far, but it does mean that a few more games have found their way into my backlog (more on this later).
Once all the necessary precautions were in place, I was ready to start digging my way through my gaming backlog. Here are the games that I played in January 2025, and I will give you my quick thoughts on each one.
MAFIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION — PS5 — 11 HOURS — 7/10
Mafia: The Old Country is coming out later this year, and I wanted to prepare myself by going through the Mafia trilogy beforehand. I only managed to play the first game this month, but I will get to Mafia II and Mafia III before the release of Old Country.
Mafia: Definitive Edition is the 2020 PS4 remake of Mafia, which came out on PC, PS2 and Xbox back in 2002. This remake was a good time, and I had much fun playing through the story and seeing Tommy Angelo’s rise and fall as a gangster. The controls of the game are clunky, and the third-person shooter gameplay is not as satisfying as GTA, Resident Evil or Red Dead. Some story beats felt like they needed more attention in order to make the ending more powerful. That is not me saying that the game’s ending did not shock me because it absolutely did. I knew nothing about the game’s narrative before playing, and the ending is the epitome of the phrase ‘crime doesn’t pay.’
Overall, Mafia: Definitive Edition was a good game to start the New Year, and I look forward to going through the rest of the trilogy.
DONKEY KONG COUNTRY — NINTENDO SWITCH — 1H 43M — 7/10
I have played this game before, but not the SNES version. I own the Gameboy Colour port of the game and remember loving it as a kid. With Donkey Kong Country Returns HD coming out later in the month, I wanted to prepare myself and dive into the series.
Donkey Kong Country came out in 1994 for the Super Nintendo, and the graphics still look great to this day. My problems with this game come down to the controls and the difficulty. The difficulty is not a bad thing, and I like the challenge, but it does feel unfair in many places, like the dozens of times that enemies come racing onto the screen, giving you milliseconds to react. It does not help that the game’s controls are heavy but slippery at the same time, making some platforming challenges a bit more difficult than necessary. Luckily, Nintendo Switch Online comes with a feature that allows you to rewind gameplay to a certain point, and this makes the game a lot more manageable.
Despite the annoyances, Donkey Kong Country was a fun experience, and I am glad that I finally played the original version, even though it was through emulation on the Switch.
DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 2: DIDDY’S KONG QUEST — NINTENDO SWITCH — 2H 26M — 9/10
This game is where the Donkey Kong Country series truly began. Not only is Donkey Kong Country 2 better than the original game, but it is one of the best 2D platformers I have ever played. It takes the core gameplay of the first game and improves it in pretty much every area, and that is everything you could ask for in a video game sequel.
The controls are much slicker and more responsive; getting rid of Donkey Kong’s heavy controls and substituting them for the snappy controls of Diddy and Dixie Kong was a stroke of genius. Dixie is also extremely fun to play, and her glide ability is a saving grace during tough platforming challenges. I only have one small nitpick with this game, and that is using the — button to switch between the characters. In the first game, you use the A Button to switch between Donkey Kong and Diddy, and I much prefer that to using the — button, which is in an awkward position on the Switch, especially if you need to change the characters quickly.
Nevertheless, Donkey Kong Country 2 is an amazing game, and you should absolutely play it.
BLEAK SWORD — APPLE ARCADE — 3H 40M — 8/10
Click the link here for my full-length review of Bleak Sword.
DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS HD — NINTENDO SWITCH — 11H 26M — 6/10
Click the link here for my full-length review of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD.
DOOM — PS5 — 8 HOURS — NOT FINISHED
Doom was the first game I decided to play after getting PS Plus Deluxe. I am loving the game so far, but I have not finished it. I will save my thoughts on the game for when I complete it.
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS — PS5 — 18 HOURS — NOT FINISHED
Stay tuned for a full-length review of this game, which is coming soon to Gaming Australia.
Gaming Backlog: Summary
That was every game I played throughout January. Unfortunately, only three of the games I played were from my gaming backlog. Bleak Sword, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and Dynasty Warriors: Origins were all played for a review, and Doom was a game I played on PS Plus.
In total, my January gaming equates to a total of… 56 hours and 15 minutes!
Gaming Backlog: New Additions
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that I have been adding funds to online gaming stores every week. This effort resulted in a few more games finding their way into my gaming backlog. Here are the games that are now a part of my backlog:
Blasphemous (Nintendo Switch)
Dark Souls: Remastered (PS5)
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (PC)
Halo 2 (PC)
Halo 3 (PC)
Halo 3: ODST (PC)
Halo 4 (PC)
Gaming Backlog: Closing Thoughts
I will be back at the end of February with another article summarising my efforts for February—until then, happy gaming, everyone, and remember to give your gaming backlog love and attention.
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