TAGN Fantasy Critic League 2025 – Week Thirty Sees First Place in Competition and Disappointment in The Shire

Final week didn’t ship a lot in the way in which of modifications on the scoreboard.  Two titles launched, however just one managed to get a rating and the opposite didn’t stir the pot all that a lot.

Fantasy Critic League – Like Fantasy Soccer, however for Video Video games

Week 30 has tried to make up for that, with some scores that modified the state of play in addition to a catch up from final week.  However first the state of the scoreboard after we left off final week.

Week 29 Scores

The very first thing to provide you with the league this previous week was a change of tags for one of many titles chosen.

• Closing Fantasy Techniques: The Ivalice Chronicles
  • [Picked by Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod)]
  • Tags modified from Remaster to Partial Remake.

Not an enormous deal… besides, for no matter cause, I setup the league such that “Partial Remake” was a banned tag.  I’m not certain I may outline the distinction between a “Remaster” and a “Partial Remake,” and would possibly argue that there was no actual distinction in any respect.  That appeared a foolish line to attract, so I up to date the league to take away “Partial Remake” from the banned listing.

All modifications get logged within the TAGN Discord, so that is what popped up after the change:

• League 12 months Settings Modified
  • Banned tags modified from Presently in Early Entry,Director’s Reduce,Partial Remake,Deliberate for Early Entry,Port,Launched Internationally
  • to Presently in Early Entry,Director’s Reduce,Deliberate for Early Entry,Port,Launched Internationally.
  • (on Monday, 28 July 2025)

I’m open the take away just a few others from the listing.  The principle threat isn’t anyone gaining undue benefit as some issues, like a “Director’s Reduce” (Once more, are you able to outline that?  Is it the identical as, say, a “Sport of the 12 months Version?”) won’t get their very own evaluation rating.

I’ll depart issues as they’re now, however don’t need anyone to really feel they will’t choose a specific title as a result of vagaries of the league banned tags listing.

The we obtained a few updates for Killing Flooring 3 as extra critiques got here in, dropping its rating.  The primary hit was on Monday.

• Killing Flooring 3
  • [Picked by Slightly Scuffed Studios (Kluwes)]
  • Rating has gone DOWN from 73.3 to 72

After which one other drop once more on Tuesday.

• Killing Flooring 3
  • [Picked by Slightly Scuffed Studios (Kluwes)]
  • Rating has gone DOWN from 72.0 to 70.7

That had the cumulative impact of dropping Kluwes’ rating from 33 initially of the week to 30.4 by mid-week, which was sufficient to alter the rankings.

• Writer Rating Updates
  • Rodent Leisure (Arhanta)
    • Moved from ninth place to eighth place
  • Barely Scuffed Studios (Kluwes)
    • Moved from eighth place to ninth place

That was adopted by the primary launch of the week, Tales of the Shire, which didn’t come out of the gates very robust.

• Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Sport has launched!
  • [Picked by Frabjous Day Enterprises (Archey)]
  • Now has a rating of 64.6

Something underneath 70 is a detrimental for scoring, in order that was successful to Archey’s complete, dropping him a place.

• Writer Rating Updates
  • Play Ceaselessly Mwahahaha (Shintar)
    • Moved from seventh place to sixth place
  • Frabjous Day Enterprises (Archey)
    • Rating has gone DOWN from 43.8 to 38.0
    • Moved from sixth place to seventh place

And it didn’t cease there, as additional critiques dragged the rating down a bit extra.

• Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Sport
  • [Picked by Frabjous Day Enterprises (Archey)]
  • Rating has gone DOWN from 64.8 to 62.9

It’s virtually as if Embracer was not a dutiful steward of the Tolkien properties, however only a half-assed try by some wealthy nepo child to take advantage of no matter he can out of the issues he managed to purchase up in a match of narcissistic megalomania.  You could factor I’m being imply to Lars Wingefors, however exploiting Center-earth as a lot as doable was actually a part of the plan they bought to buyers.  So how is that figuring out?

Editorial rant over.

So issues have been type of down on the scoreboard by mid-week.  However then we obtained one thing of a rebound within the again half because the Ninja Gaiden title launched.

• Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has launched!
  • [Picked by Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane)]
  • Now has a rating of 85.8

That was a really stable rating for our league, and boosted Cyanbane fairly a bit.

• Writer Rating Updates
  • Neutical Publishing (Cyanbane)
  • Rating has gone UP from 65.8 to 82.5

After which, every week late, Wildgate lastly obtained sufficient critiques to have a rating.

• Wildgate
  • [Picked by Play Forever Mwahahaha (Shintar)]
  • Now has a rating of 80

An inexpensive rating, although that 80 was held collectively by 5 slightly disparate critiques. I’m not certain why Wildgate is so gradual to get critiques.  It’s from Dreamhaven, which is Mike Morhaime’s studio… , one of many founders of Blizzard.  You’d suppose he’d have the ability to name just a few individuals up and get reviewed.

Anyway, in the intervening time that fifth evaluation landed it gave Shintar a lift within the rankings, convey her as much as fifth place.

• Writer Rating Updates
  • Play Ceaselessly Mwahahaha (Shintar)
    • Rating has gone UP from 43.4 to 53.8
    • Moved from sixth place to fifth place
  • Crash and Burn Video games (Shawn)
    • Moved from fifth place to sixth place

It took a dip after that when a pair extra critiques got here in.

• Wildgate
  • [Picked by Play Forever Mwahahaha (Shintar)]
  • Rating has gone DOWN from 80.0 to 77.5

That pushed Shintar’s rating down a bit, however she held on to fifth place.

• Writer Rating Updates
  • Play Ceaselessly Mwahahaha (Shintar)
  • Rating has gone DOWN from 53.8 to 51.3

All of which left the scoreboard trying like this at 17:00 native on Saturday evening. (My minimize off for these posts as that’s when bid for the week resolve.)

Week 30 Scores

As loudly declared within the put up title, the race for first place is now tight sufficient that it may go both approach.  The league prediction presently favors Bhagpuss, however we’ve seen that flawed earlier than.  Nevertheless, Bhagpuss additionally has one open slot, one fewer titles launched, and a secure counter choose, so for Cyanbane to Marvel Cosmic Invasion and Steel Gear Strong might want to ship… or Bhagpuss will want some lemons.

And talking of predicted positions, for the primary time since week eight, I’m not predicted to return in final place.  Granted, I’ve by no means been predicted greater than eighth place since scores began coming in, and ninth spot is barely a comfort prize, however it’s one thing.  Sadly for Archey, it now him down on the backside for predictions.

This week we additionally had some bids on the board, which resolved as follows:

• Bids
  • Battlefield 6
  • Received by Rusty Shackleford (Shilgrod) with a bid of $10
  • Sword of the Sea
  • Received by Fairly Blue Fox Video games (Bhagpuss) with a bid of $10

So what I mentioned about Bhagpuss having one open slot… not now.

Which leaves us taking a look at what’s arising for subsequent week, the primary full week of August.

Coming Up for Week 31

Now we have two titles arising, Chained Echoes for Shawn and Mafia: The Previous Nation for Archey Kluwes.  Maybe that may transfer them out of the basement with the remainder of us for the top of season prediction.  Anyway, one other week on the way in which.

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