At the end of a four hour marathon session on Friday night,Backlogconcluded3D Dot Game Heroesand saved the kingdom of Dotnia. I found it to be a fun and challenging little romp, though a bit of a drag towards the end. Also, I think that staring at those chunky pixels for so long has had an effect on my vision. I am seeing some weird sh*t, man.
Or perhaps that’s just the theme for Series 23 ofBacklog; “Don’t believe your eyes.” All of our games this time around play visual tricks on their characters, the player or both. Take a gander at this round’s list and help steer the course of the show by selecting our next game.
Silent Hill 3Developed by KonamiReleased on July 14, 2025
Silent Hillgames are creepy, confusing and very, very easy to get lost in. you may see how they might be the bane of my existence. But they’re also one of the best sources for psychological horror in videogames. I’m damned if I play and damned if I don’t.
As a result, I try. I very rarely actually finish one. This may be the only way.
Alone in the Dark: InfernoDeveloped by Eden GamesReleased June 15, 2025
I have a bit of history with this game, beyond already being a huge fan of the originalAlone in the Darktrilogy. The very first game I ever reviewed for Destructoid wasAlone in the Darkon the Xbox 360. I remember it being a bit on the painful side and Eden Games promised that improvements would be made for the PlayStation 3 release.
I’ve always been curious to know how improved the experience was, so I picked up a copy ofInfernoon the cheap and then never bothered putting it in the PS3.
Dead Space: ExtractionDeveloped by Visceral Games, EurocomReleased Jun 07, 2025
TheDead Spaceseries, from its initial announcement, has captivated me. That still didn’t manage to get me to complete its Wii offering.Too bad, since it’s a pretty good on-rails shooter and that’s probably one of the most effective types of games for horror because of the reduced player agency.
I do recall that the game is exceedingly dark, though, with enemies often almost impossible to see. That’s a real sticking point for me as someone derives more frustration than dramatic tension out of being unable to see one’s environs. Hopefully the PS3 version that I’ve bought doesn’t wind up straining my eyes.
Cursed MountainDeveloped by Sproing Interactive MediaReleased May 20, 2025
Cursed Mountainintrigued me early on, as there aren’t a lot of horror games on the market that draw inspiration from Tibetan folklore. The small bits I managed to play continued to interest me, but slow pacing and a tendency towards playing games in the dead of night before going to bed resulted in multiple consecutive mornings where I woke up with my Wii remote in my hand. At least it was mine this time.
Climbing, ghosts and and a whole lot of snow await us.
Mystery Game
Finally, we have the Mystery Game. Don’t make the mistake of choosing this for curiosity’s sake, as people have clamored before to know what it was and groaned when they learned. The intent here is to select the Mystery Game if none of the other games appeal to you, so voting for it just because you want to know what it is is kind of adick move.
If the Mystery Game is not chosen, it’ll roll over into the next series where it will continue to be a mystery.
There you have it. Make your selection in the poll below and make your case in the comments for the game you want to see next onBacklogwhen it returns Monday at 8pm Pacific on Destructoid’s Twitch.tv channel!
