ABOUT

Ahoyhoy! I'm Remy, and this is Racclog, a blog dedicated to writing my thoughts on the games I knock out of my backlog! G-get it? Raccoon? Backlog? No? Ah, you'll understand when you're older.

I've always struggled with my backlog. I'm autistic, and often, part of being autistic is finding something comfy and familiar to latch on to and never, ever, ever letting go - at least, that's my experience with it. This means a lot of time playing plastic instrument rhythm games like Rock Band 3, Clone Hero and YARG, as well as several other usual haunts like Gran Turismo 4, Dragon Quest VIII, Final Fantasy X and most of the Pokemon games. If ever I was playing new games, they were usually for covering on my YouTube channel, and even then, my channel was mostly covering games I'd beaten to death like Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter.

So, at some point I devised a genius idea - whip up a backlog, record games as I play, and make chill podcast-style videos on 'em under the name Racclog. Wow!! Banger idea, Remy! Except whoops turns out I found making both Racclog and normal videos kinda exhausting and burnt myself out to the point where I uploaded maybe two videos in 2024. Cancelling Racclog outright seems... unfair, though. I dunno, I'm kinda attached to it.

Hence, why I'm here today, and you're reading text instead of hearing my dumb stupid voice. Racclog is now a written review format presented on a blog! A Raccblog, if you will. At least for the time being, while I try out this new format. Dunno if I'll stick with it, and if I do, I don't know if I'll stay here on Blogger since I hear it's a bit crummy - I'm mostly just trying the format out on a platform with minimal setup and hassle. But for now, I'll be posting reviews of games as I play them, from new releases to old stuff from my ever-expanding backlog.

And, I'll be rating it using the famous, patent-pending Four Point Raccoon Scale, a scale that is not an objective score, but simply a measurement of my own enjoyment of the game. It's even presented as several cute, hoodie-clad raccoons doing funny poses. Wow!

Remy, an anthropomorphic, brown haired raccoon with an orange hoodie and a robotic right arm, depicted in four poses. From left to right, they're crossing their arms and sticking their tongue out in disgust, shrugging, happily giving a thumbs up, and clutching their paws together as their tail wags behind them, with yellow sparkles around their head.

From left to right:

ARMS CROSSED ANGY RANTSONA POSE - Yes, that's what it's called, and if it ever leaves your mouth, you best not misspeak. This is awarded to games I either loathe and can't stand to play, or games I simply cannot get into. Examples of the former would be the RIDE series, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Twelve Minutes, while stuff like The Plucky Squire and Caves of Qud - good games loved by many - would fit the latter. Remember: this is NOT a "this game sucks, 2/10" rating (usually) - it's just me saying I didn't like it. Check to see what other reviewers think!

SHRUG - The shrug is awarded to games I'm a little mixed on, or games that I didn't gel with. Much of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series sits here (specifically Kiwami, 4 and 6), as do games I like the idea of but find a critical flaw (usually a less objective and more personal one) that holds my enjoyment back, such as Horizon Chase Turbo and Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom. Retroactively, Final Fantasy XVI also likely ends up here (it got the Tail Wag from me previously). Again, not any kind of ultimate condemnation, just me feeling indifferent about it.

THUMBS UP - Lots of games get the thumbs up as it's a very broad category; they can be games I massively enjoy despite numerous flaws, or games I like and find little fault with but don't quite love. This is where I'd throw games like Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Days Gone, Psychonauts and Life is Strange. If you see a game get the Thumbs Up and you like the look of it, I almost certainly recommend it!

TAIL WAG - The highest praise. Even games that receive GOTY at the Game Awards quiver in fear of those who receive the coveted Tail Wag. This is for anything I unquestionably and unconditionally love and I recommend playing them with every inch of my body that isn't reserved for thinking about funny animals and imagining Rock Band charts. Examples include Dragon Quest VIII, Rock Band 3, Lil Gator Game, Until Then, Hi-Fi RUSH and Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon (yes, Super Mystery Dungeon. Explorers is great, but get over playing as a schoolkid and play Super already.)

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