Backlog Picks — MC_Smooth's What To Play Next

🎯 What MC_Smooth Should Play Next — Platform Top 10s

What this is

A “what to play next” list for MC_Smooth, built entirely from his Backloggd ratings (he’s rated 115 games but written almost no reviews, so this leans on the star scores). Top 10 per platform he actually owns, plus a Top 5 to AVOID each. Companion in spirit to Backlog Picks — Platform Top 10s — and deliberately zero overlap with that doc or with anything he’s already played.

🧬 The Taste Profile (how these were picked)

Distilled from his ratings alone:

• ❤️ 5.0★: Outer Wilds, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Deltarune, Portal 1 & 2, Baldur’s Gate III, Super Mario Odyssey, God of War (2018), Mass Effect 3, Hi-Fi Rush, It Takes Two, Guitar Hero III, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker HD, OoT 3D, Majora’s Mask 3D, Team Fortress 2, classic Pokémon (Gen 1–2) → auteur narrative gut-punches, tight Nintendo first-party design, stylish/rhythm action, co-op, and choice-driven RPGs.
• 🔥 4.5★: Sekiro, The Last of Us I & II, Hades, Persona 5, Undertale, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, God of War II & Ragnarök, HeartGold/SoulSilver → loves the FromSoft challenge loop, immersive-sim choice, and roguelike depth.
• 💔 Bounced (≤2.0★): Skyward Sword (2.0), Xenoblade Chronicles X (2.0), Pokémon Scarlet (1.0), Mass Effect: Andromeda (1.0), Marvel Rivals (1.5), League of Legends (1.5), Dota 2 (2.0), Smite 2 (2.0), MultiVersus (2.0), Cube World (2.0) → allergic to live-service/MOBAs, hollow open-world padding, and low-effort sequels.
• 😐 Lukewarm (3.0–3.5): The Witcher 3 (3.0), Ghost of Tsushima (3.5), Yakuza: Like a Dragon (3.0), Balatro (3.0) → sprawling checklist open-worlds and grind-forward systems leave him cold even when acclaimed.
• 📌 Read: reward authored, self-contained experiences with strong hooks and momentum; punish padding, live-service loops, and going-through-the-motions sequels.

🗺️ Legend

✨ curated pick · ⚠️ caution flag · ⏳ play something else first ⏱ ~Xh main-story time from HowLongToBeat · 🏷 Genre · ⭐ N = Backloggd community rating · [↗] opens Backloggd · [[wikilinks]] for future per-game notes Every game below is one he has not logged, and does not appear in Backlog Picks — Platform Top 10s.

🧭 Jump to a platform

🔴 Nintendo Switch · 💠 PlayStation (PS5 & PS4) · 🖥️ PC

⏳ Play-order chains (don't break these)

graph LR
    FF7R[FF VII Remake] --> FF7RB[FF VII Rebirth]
    P3[Persona 3 Reload] --> MET[Metaphor: ReFantazio]
    DES[Demon's Souls] --> BB[Bloodborne]
    AW1[Alan Wake — already noted] --> AW2[Alan Wake II]
    ITT[It Takes Two ✓ played] --> SF[Split Fiction]

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🔴 Nintendo Switch

His most-loved home. Every mainline 3D Zelda and Odyssey are 5★ — so these are the first-party and JRPG gaps he hasn’t touched.

🥇 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 ✨

⏱ ~60h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 4.37 Backloggd ↗ He rated Xenoblade X a cold 2.0 — but that’s the divisive open-world outlier. XC3 is the linear, story-first Monolith game: “life” as its central theme, the most emotionally direct entry in the series. This is the one that converts an X-skeptic. Given his 5★ Zelda / 4.5★ Persona pattern, the melancholy-JRPG core is squarely his lane.

🥈 Metroid Dread ✨

⏱ ~9h 🏷 Metroidvania ⭐ 4.24 Backloggd ↗ Tight, authored, momentum-forward — the exact opposite of the padded open-worlds he rates 3.0. A Sekiro-lover (4.5★) will click instantly with the E.M.M.I. stealth-tension loops and boss precision.

🥉 Fire Emblem: Three Houses ✨

⏱ ~50h 🏷 Tactical RPG · Social Sim ⭐ 4.07 Backloggd ↗ Persona 5 (4.5★) but tactical: the same calendar/social-link loop wrapped around a branching war story with four route-defining perspectives. Built for someone who loves choice-driven RPGs and replay-worthy structure.

#4 Metroid Prime Remastered ✨

⏱ ~13h 🏷 First-Person Adventure ⭐ 4.27 Backloggd ↗ The atmosphere-first exploration masterpiece, modernized. Deliberate and lonely in the Outer Wilds way (his 5★), with none of the checklist bloat he punishes.

#5 Super Mario Bros. Wonder ✨

⏱ ~9h 🏷 2D Platformer ⭐ 4.10 Backloggd ↗ Odyssey earned a 5★; this is Nintendo’s most inventive 2D Mario in a decade — one discarded idea per level, zero filler. Pure friction-free craft.

#6 Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition ✨

⏱ ~50h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 4.26 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ Best after XC3 or as the entry point. The original’s “the whole world is a corpse of a god” reveal is one of the great JRPG hooks — the kind of authored twist his Deltarune/Undertale ratings show he loves.

#7 Pikmin 4 ✨

⏱ ~25h 🏷 RTS · Exploration ⭐ 4.22 Backloggd ↗ The most approachable, generous Pikmin. Cozy tiny-world real-time strategy with a dog. Reliable Nintendo comfort between the heavier RPGs.

#8 The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom ✨

⏱ ~20h 🏷 Action Adventure · Puzzle ⭐ 3.81 Backloggd ↗ He’s played essentially every Zelda — this is the newest one he hasn’t, and the first to star Zelda herself. Top-down creative-sandbox puzzling; a natural completion of the set.

#9 Astral Chain ✨

⏱ ~30h 🏷 Action · Investigation ⭐ 3.62 Backloggd ↗ PlatinumGames’ dual-character combat. He rated Metal Gear Rising 4.0 and Hi-Fi Rush 5.0 — the stylish-action receptor is wide open, and the Legion-tethering hook is a genuine one-off.

#10 Pizza Tower ✨

⏱ ~9h 🏷 Platformer · Score-Attack ⭐ 4.18 Backloggd ↗ Manic, momentum-based, hand-drawn chaos. The same “flow-state + expressive movement” itch that Hi-Fi Rush (5★) scratched, in a Wario Land shell.

🚫 Top 5 to Avoid

1. Bayonetta 3 ⏱ ~13h 🏷 Character Action ⭐ 3.46 — Even Platinum fans found this one messy and tonally scattered vs. its predecessors. Given he’d be coming in cold on the series, it’s the weakest possible entry point to a stylish-action series he might otherwise love (start with the older ones).
2. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity ⏱ ~20h 🏷 Musou — He already rated the original Hyrule Warriors a flat 3.0. The musou formula clearly doesn’t land; more of it won’t either.
3. Pokémon Legends: Arceus ⏱ ~27h 🏷 Action RPG — He gave Scarlet a 1.0 and Pokkén/Unite 2.5s; the modern Switch-era open-ish Pokémon experiments are a documented sore spot. His Pokémon love is firmly Gen 1–2 (all 5★).
4. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes ⏱ ~40h 🏷 Musou — Same musou allergy, wearing a Three Houses skin. Play actual Three Houses instead (#3 above).
5. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ⏱ ~60h 🏷 Action RPG ⚠️ — The gacha-blade systems, anime-heavy tone, and opaque combat are the parts of Xenoblade most likely to trigger the same bounce as his 2.0★ Xenoblade X. Route him through XC3/XC1 instead.

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💠 PlayStation (PS5 & PS4)

God of War 2018 & Ragnarök, TLOU I & II, both new God of Wars — all 4.5–5★. He loves Sony’s authored blockbusters and FromSoft. These fill the obvious gaps.

🥇 Bloodborne ✨

⏱ ~35h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 4.53 Backloggd ↗ He gave Sekiro 4.5 and Elden Ring 4.0 — and hasn’t played Bloodborne. That’s the single most glaring gap in his whole profile. Aggressive, gothic, the most atmosphere-drenched FromSoft game. The top-priority pick on the entire list.

🥈 Astro Bot ✨

⏱ ~12h 🏷 3D Platformer ⭐ 4.49 Backloggd ↗ Super Mario Odyssey got a 5★ from him; this is the only 3D platformer since that’s genuinely in Odyssey’s league. Pure invention, zero padding, universally beloved. A lock.

🥉 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth ✨

⏱ ~40h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 4.32 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ After FF VII Remake (#6). He rated Final Fantasy X a 4.0 and Clair Obscur a 5.0 — the character-driven JRPG-with-modern-combat lane is his. Rebirth is the emotional peak of the remake trilogy.

#4 Demon's Souls ✨

⏱ ~20h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 3.71 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ A natural on-ramp before Bloodborne if he wants the shorter, more digestible FromSoft experience first. The Bluepoint remake is the best-looking Souls game and one of the shortest.

#5 Marvel's Spider-Man ✨

⏱ ~17h 🏷 Action Adventure ⭐ 4.10 Backloggd ↗ The Sony first-party blockbuster he skipped. Traversal-as-joy (his Skate 2/3 and Sunset-adjacent taste) plus a tight, well-told story. Note: the open world is fun-movement driven, not the checklist-slog kind he penalizes.

#6 Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade ✨

⏱ ~33h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 4.16 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ The prerequisite for Rebirth. Hybrid action/ATB combat that lands right between his beloved action games and turn-based RPGs.

#7 Returnal ✨

⏱ ~25h 🏷 Roguelike Shooter ⭐ 3.87 Backloggd ↗ Hades got 4.5 from him — this is the roguelike loop fused with a bullet-hell third-person shooter and a genuinely eerie time-loop mystery (the Outer Wilds receptor). Punishing but authored.

#8 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart ✨

⏱ ~12h 🏷 Platformer · Shooter ⭐ 3.90 Backloggd ↗ Insomniac’s dimension-hopping showcase: tight, spectacle-dense, no bloat. The reliable “just have fun” slot, sized to finish in a weekend.

#9 Stellar Blade ✨ ⚠️

⏱ ~25h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 3.86 Backloggd ↗ Sekiro-style parry-heavy combat (his 4.5★) with a NieR-adjacent post-apocalyptic tone. ⚠️ Story is thinner than the combat — go for the mechanical dance, not the plot.

#10 Split Fiction ✨

⏱ ~14h 🏷 Co-op Adventure ⭐ 4.18 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ He gave It Takes Two a 5.0 — this is Hazelight’s follow-up and, by consensus, even better. If he has a co-op partner, it’s an instant recommendation.

🚫 Top 5 to Avoid

1. Marvel’s Avengers ⏱ ~15h 🏷 Live-Service Action — His ratings are a graveyard of live-service games (Marvel Rivals 1.5, MultiVersus 2.0). A gear-grind loot game with a superhero coat of paint is the exact profile he drops.
2. Destiny 2 ⏱ ~∞ 🏷 Live-Service Shooter — Same reason, endless edition. Team Fortress 2 got 5★ because it’s a self-contained arcade shooter; the live-service treadmill is what he punishes.
3. Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut ⏱ ~50h 🏷 Open-World Action — He already played Ghost of Tsushima and rated it a lukewarm 3.5. More of the same bloated open-world isn’t the move; note it here only so it doesn’t get re-suggested.
4. Horizon Forbidden West ⏱ ~30h 🏷 Open-World Action RPG ⚠️ — Gorgeous but the definition of a prestige-checklist open world — the exact box that earned Witcher 3 a 3.0 from him. High bounce risk.
5. Concord ⏱ ~10h 🏷 Hero Shooter — The dead-on-arrival hero shooter. Everything his MOBA/hero-shooter 1.5–2.0★ scores warn against.

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🖥️ PC

Balatro aside (3.0), his PC ratings skew toward authored single-player: Deus Ex: HR 4.5, Control 4.0, Slay the Spire 4.0. These target the narrative + roguelike + immersive-sim veins.

🥇 Disco Elysium ✨

⏱ ~25h 🏷 RPG · Narrative ⭐ 4.56 Backloggd ↗ The deepest choice-driven RPG of its generation and a natural next step from his 5.0★ BG3 and 4.5★ Deus Ex: HR. Pure writing, pure consequence, zero combat filler. The highest-rated game on this whole page.

🥈 NieR: Automata ✨

⏱ ~20h 🏷 Action RPG ⭐ 4.28 Backloggd ↗ Platinum combat (his Hi-Fi Rush / MGR lane) fused with a multi-route narrative that recontextualizes itself — the definitive “authored twist-delivery machine,” which his Deltarune / Undertale / Outer Wilds 5★s prove he lives for.

🥉 Metaphor: ReFantazio ✨

⏱ ~65h 🏷 JRPG ⭐ 4.28 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ Ideally after Persona 3 Reload. From the Persona 5 team (his 4.5★): the same calendar/social loop in a fantasy shell with a sharper political story. A safe, huge, high-ceiling RPG.

#4 Return of the Obra Dinn ✨

⏱ ~9h 🏷 Deduction Mystery ⭐ 4.41 Backloggd ↗ The purest “figure it out yourself” deduction game since Outer Wilds (5★). All brain, no busywork; you solve it in your head, not on a checklist.

#5 Persona 3 Reload ✨

⏱ ~45h 🏷 JRPG ⭐ 4.35 Backloggd ↗ ⏳ Before Metaphor. He loved Persona 5 (4.5★); Reload is the gorgeous modern remake of the game that invented that formula, with the series’ most melancholy story. A direct bullseye.

#6 Alan Wake II ✨

⏱ ~18h 🏷 Survival Horror ⭐ 4.44 Backloggd ↗ He rated Control (same studio) a 4.0 — this is Remedy at full auteur power: a survival-horror mind-bender with the most ambitious structure of the year. Story-forward, not padded.

#7 The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles ✨

⏱ ~70h both 🏷 Visual Novel · Mystery ⭐ 4.47 Backloggd ↗ Two full games of sharp, funny, twisty courtroom deduction. His Undertale/Deltarune/Life is Strange ratings show a big soft spot for character-forward writing — this is the best-written entry point to Ace Attorney.

#8 Inscryption ✨

⏱ ~14h 🏷 Roguelike Deckbuilder · Horror ⭐ 4.17 Backloggd ↗ Slay the Spire got 4.0 from him; this takes the roguelike-deckbuilder and wraps it in a metafictional horror puzzle-box that keeps breaking its own rules. The deckbuilding + authored-twist combo tailored to his exact profile.

#9 Signalis ✨

⏱ ~9h 🏷 Survival Horror ⭐ 4.27 Backloggd ↗ A tight, gorgeous retro survival-horror with a melancholy sci-fi love story underneath. Short, dense, authored — the anti-padding pick for someone who rates bloat down.

#10 In Stars and Time ✨

⏱ ~20h 🏷 Time-Loop RPG ⭐ 4.28 Backloggd ↗ A time-loop RPG about the emotional weight of repetition — Outer Wilds’ loop structure (5★) meets Deltarune/Undertale’s indie-RPG heart (both high). Niche but almost custom-built for his tastes.

🚫 Top 5 to Avoid

1. Valorant ⏱ ~∞ 🏷 Tactical Hero Shooter — He’s already sitting on LoL 1.5, Dota 2 2.0, Smite 2 2.0, Marvel Rivals 1.5. The competitive hero/live-service genre is his single clearest no-go. Don’t.
2. Overwatch 2 ⏱ ~∞ 🏷 Hero Shooter — Same category, same predicted score. His 5★ shooter is Team Fortress 2 — the original, self-contained one.
3. Starfield ⏱ ~40h 🏷 Open-World RPG ⚠️ — Bethesda-scale content sprawl with loading-screen padding: the Witcher-3-3.0 / Days-Gone profile at its most diffuse. High bounce risk.
4. Diablo IV ⏱ ~30h 🏷 Live-Service ARPG — Endless loot-grind with a season pass. His roguelike love (Hades, StS) is about runs with authored endings, not infinite treadmills.
5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ⏱ ~50h 🏷 Open-World RPG — He already played it and rated it 3.0. Flagged here purely so it doesn’t come back around as a suggestion — the open-world-checklist formula demonstrably isn’t for him.

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🎁 The three "if you do nothing else" picks

1. Bloodborne (PS) — the biggest gap in his whole library given how he rates FromSoft.
2. Disco Elysium (PC) — the highest-rated game here and a perfect fit for his BG3/Deus Ex love.
3. Astro Bot (PS) — the only 3D platformer worthy of his 5★ Odyssey.