February is upon us, and aside from gaining some new freebies courtesy of PSN Plus and Games With Gold, there’s a bit of an incentive this month to tackle your backlog. Known online as Four in February–stylized #4IF–the point is just that: pick four games in your backlog and take them down by the end of the month.
I typically handle our social media accounts, so I’ve seen lists popping up daily since the 1st of the month. It’s definitely motivated me to take a look at my backlog, hopefully resulting in playing through games I already paid for; rather than spending money on the shiny new stuff.
My list is as follows:
#1 – Hero of Many (OUYA)
Hero of Many is an artsy fartsy game that’s kind of like Journey and Pikmin, if they took place in the world of Limbo. There’s no dialogue, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a story to be told; hence the Journey comparison. What I’ve gathered so far is that your white underwater things are being destroyed by the black underwater things, and it’s your job to explore around the underwater corridors to find survivors.
It’s a simple game, but the combination of the art style, the fantastic orchestral soundtrack, and knowing that the survival of your species rests solely on your shoulders makes for a pretty powerful experience.
#2 – Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath (OUYA)
This game originally launched on the original Xbox in 2005, but an HD remaster eventually made its way to PS3 back in 2011 (which is good, since the PS2 version of the original was canned prior to its release). Much to every OUYA owner’s surprise, it was ported over to the micro-console late last month for a mere $6.
I loved the Xbox version and can’t wait to sink my teeth in to the remaster at some point this month. If you’re curious, it’s a direct port of the Android version that released last year, sans annoying-as-hell touch controls.
#3 – Citizens of Earth (Wii U)
Heavily inspired by the Earthbound/Mother series, Citizens of Earth released at the end of January across multiple platforms. It’s an oddball of an RPG in which you control the Vice President of Earth (because apparently that’s a thing), recruiting party members to battle for you in your attempt to save the planet. As a fan of Earthbound (and SNES-era RPGs in general), this was a no brainer.
I haven’t even started this one yet, but so far it’s gotten mixed-to-positive reviews. Once I finish it up, I’m sure you’ll see a review here at What’s Your Tag?.
#4 – Elliot Quest (OUYA)
Elliot Quest is one part Kid Icarus, one part bastard child of the Zelda series: Zelda II. It’s a retro-inspired 2D platformer/metroidvania/RPG in which you control Elliot on his quest across the island of Urele in search of a mighty demon. There’s tons of huge boss fights, an RPG-style upgrade system, great pixel art, and an awesome soundtrack to set the mood every step of the way.
This one took me by surprise, but I’m glad I stumbled upon it last month while browsing the Discover section of my OUYA. Non-OUYA owners can currently play the game on PC, while a Wii U version is scheduled for release some time this month.
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With any luck I’ll get through these before the 28th. I’ve already begun playing Hero of Many (which is fantastic, by the way), but unfortunately that’s the only game on my list that’s under 20 hours long.
What about you guys and gals? Are you participating in Four in February? If so, what’s on your list?
Bradley Keene is the Executive Editor here at What’s Your Tag?, generally handling reviews, public relations, and our social media communications on Facebook and Twitter. He’s an aspiring video game journalist, Baltimore native, and an aficionado of bizarre indie games. If it’s weird and pixely, he’ll like it. If he’s not writing, he can usually be found glued to his OUYA and Xbox One, or knee-deep in an MMO. Get in touch with him by e-mail at the address above, or follow him on Twitter.
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hmmm….I work on my backlog every month, lol. Not sure which four games I would commit to necessarily. I tend to just randomly decide to play a game, then finish it and move onto the next one. However, simultaneous to all that, I’m playing Lords of the Fallen, Bound by Flame, and Dying Light, lol. Not so sure I’ll finish any of those three this month though.
All three of those games are pretty meaty, so if you can manage to finish all three this month then you’re a machine lol.
I haven’t tried Dying Light yet. I can’t talk myself in to committing, since I loathed Dead Island. However, Lords of the Fallen and Bound by Flame are both good, fun sleeper hits.
This will be my third year taking part in the challenge. I did well the first year finishing Beyond Good & Evil, Assassin’s Creed III, Vanquish and Lollipop Chainsaw. Last year I didn’t do so hot finishing only half as I found myself in a bit of a gaming rut. I finished Gunpoint and Dishonored but left A Link to the Past and Sword & Sworcery on the table.
I’m getting a late start on this but I think I’ve narrowed my list to South Park: Stick of Truth, Shovel Knight, Bastion and a fourth title I haven’t given much thought to yet.
Nice! A great list of games all around, really. I finally picked up South Park last month, which was pretty fantastic. Shovel Knight and Bastion are both amazing, and damn near perfect at that. Both of those are also rather short, so they shouldn’t take up too much up your time this month!
I’ve never heard of this!
But I’m defo gonna tackle ‘the evil within’, ‘resident evil revelations’, ‘deadly premonition’ and ‘watch_dogs’!
Sounds like a fun month!
It’s a nice incentive to tackle things you’ve already purchased. I’m definitely guilty of buying games early, and by the time I even get to them they’re half the price in stores as they were when I paid for it.
Watch Dogs is pretty meaty, and Evil Within is about 20 hours long. Good luck, and have fun!