Can I Finally Beat My Backlog? 30 Games in 30 Days Challenge
- Ellie
- Dec 2
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
I have a problem.
I buy too many games and I play very few games. Based on my Steam library I have 500 games that I’ve never touched and there’s probably so many more than that that I started and never finished.
Something has to change and if you’ve seen my recent post, you’ll have noticed that December is very quiet for new cozy game releases.
Which makes it the perfect time to do something a little different.
Watch the video here or keep reading:
30 Games in 30 Days Challenge
I’ve set myself a challenge to play 30 games in 30 days. It’s bold, but I’m hoping it’ll shake me out of this rut that I’m in and I’ll get to play more games and talk about more indie games.
A big shoutout to Cozy with Nora who did this challenge on her YouTube channel. Definitely go check out her video as it was the inspiration for my own. And a second shoutout to the wonderful Kishi in my Discord who shared her video with me and my other community members.
I'll be logging every game I played and what I thought of them right here on my blog, as well as over on my YouTube channel.
It'll be kind of like a Cozy Game Advent Calendar for December with a new game every day! So please follow along and recommend your favourite short and sweet games for me to try. Or you can even join in by joining my Discord! There are several members of my Discord taking part.
Without further ado, here are my 30 Games in 30 Days:
Day One: Assemble With Care (Backlog)
In Assemble with Care you play as an antique-restorer called Maria who has just arrived in a small town for a short holiday. While you're there, you decide to try your hand at helping the locals with restoring their treasures. Take each item apart piece by piece and replace the broken parts, rewire them or simply move some pieces around until you can get it working again.
One of the highlights of this game for me was definitely the voice acting. It was so impressive and it really brough the written visual novel parts of the story to life, especially when combined with the small paintings for each page. The puzzle gameplay was fun as well, although I did find the controls finicky and the hints unhelpful at times.
At one point the game told me that I was missing a piece and I unscrewed everything and took the entire item apart looking for the piece and it turned out I just needed to put the glass lid on. I also found it annoying that they put the screwdriver down after every screw.
For the most part though, the gameplay was very intuitive and overall I really enjoyed Assemble With Care. It took me 111 minutes to finish it and collect all the achievements. Honestly I wish there was more!
"Relationships are like antiques, they can be repaired with the right tools, patience and a lot of love and effort."
Day Two: UMAMI (Gifted)
UMAMI is a frankly adorable jigsaw game that's played across three dimensions. Use wooden blocks to piece together mouth-watering models of dishes like pancakes, cakes, sandwiches, and more!
This one was recommended to me by the developers Mimmox Games on Twitter and I already wanted to play it so I decided to give it a try. It's a delightful little game; I loved the art style and the cute critters you could piece together (and then pet!!), plus it was so creative having to think about a jigsaw in 3D instead of 2D.
But UMAMI was not without its issues, although it only released a few weeks ago on the 17th November and this may be why I had so many issues with it. The most glaring was that sometimes pieces would not go into the slot they were supposed to. They'd go into every spot around it, but not the correct spot and this happened to me on the very first level with the final piece. Then at least seven or eight more times while playing the rest of the game and the only option was to fully quit the level and load back in. Thankfully it does save your progress.
The second issue was regarding the secret cards you can search for in each level. After collecting a card, the buttons to continue in the game would just brick and you wouldn't be able to return to main menu or continue to the next game with your controller. You'd need to use your mouse instead, which wasn't a huge issue UNLESS you were playing on Steam Deck because then you couldn't do this and you'd have to force quit the entire game and your card wouldn't count.
Having said that, I still liked this game and enjoyed the gameplay when it worked. But, honestly it might be the last time I listen to developers on this challenge because it took me two days to beat with 4 1/2 hours of total play time so I'm quite far behind now!
Day Three: Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery (Backlog)
PC (Steam) | EGS | GOG | PlayStation | Switch
I knew nothing about this game before I went into it, apart from what I could guess from the key art (namely that it involved painting) and this game is the perfect example for why I'm doing this challenge.
I bought Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery years ago and never got around to playing it. Well this week, I finally got around to it and I was so surprised by the emotional story hidden behind the innocent packaging.
In Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery you play as an aspiring artist, who is applying for an art gallery and trying to finish her next big piece. Every day you wake up, make your breakfast and coffee, check on your old neighbour and his cat and get to work.
But at the beginning of the game your colour palette is limited, which prevents you from finishing your piece. You'll soon discover that the other colours are hidden around your apartment and you'll need to solve puzzles in order to find them and discover more about your past.
I won't spoil any of the story because going into this game blind is definitely the best way to play it. From the heart-breaking story, to the painting and puzzle gameplay and Ghibli-esque animations, this was another thoroughly enjoyable game, which took me less than an hour to complete. I'd definitely recommend it, although maybe not for full price given the short playtime.
I did find out after there's also a DLC for this one and I may need to go back and try that once I've completed this challenge...
Day Four: Undusted: Letters from the Past (Backlog/Gifted)
Undusted: Letters from the Past released a few months ago and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of cleaning/tinkering games like Assemble with Care.
After her parents pass away, Adora returns to her childhood home to sort through their belongings. With each new item she discovers and cleans, she'll unlock memories from her past and remember a story that she'd tried to forget. Not all of them are happy memories making this a heartfelt experience which may tug on your heartstrings.
I played the demo for this one so I knew what to expect going into it and it did not disappoint. I've recently been playing a lot of cleaning games and the cleaning mechanics and tools in this one do not disappoint and all the sound effects made it even better. I especially loved the blow-tool that would clear all the dust up in a straight line.
The addition of the hint system to help you find the remaining dirt easier was a godsend, although it's actually not required to fully clean every item to 100%, unless you want the achievement. One of the things I loved the most about this one was how interactive it was, with many of the items having moving parts that you'd need to manipulate to clean up all the durst and dirt.
When it comes to the story, I didn't find it as impactful as I was hoping, but I do still think it's a game worth playing and it took me less than three hours to complete.
Day Five: Viewfinder (Backlog/PS Plus)
PC | PlayStation | Xbox | Switch
This may be the first game on this list where I think playing it as part of the challenge caused me to enjoy it less.
In case you're not familiar with this game, Viewfinder is a puzzle platformer where you manipulate the world around you using images and photos you take. Create bridges where there weren't ones earlier or turn the side of a building into a ramp to reach a new platform. Perspective and out of the box thinking are incredibly important for this game and the concept is so cool!
There's also a really interesting science-fiction narrative to discover as well, told through sticky notes, diaries, and audio recordings you find left around this empty world. You're trying to save a dying world and you're exploring a laboratory of sorts that belonged to a group of scientists who may hold the answer.
I love a good puzzle game and this one really excelled in that aspect. Viewfinder did a great job at gradually introducing new mechanics so that I never felt out of my depth or unable to solve something and sometimes it just required a few false starts before I could work out what I needed to do (and the helpful rewind function is great for this!).
But, as I mentioned earlier, I do think playing this all in one go for about four hours straight slightly soured my experience of this and my head was HURTING by the end of it. If you do play this one, I'd recommend playing it in smaller sessions over a few days.