Working Through Your Games Backlog: What Are Some Strategies You Use To Get Through It? | MMORPG.com

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Working Through Your Games Backlog: What Are Some Strategies You Use To Get Through It? | MMORPG.com

Many of us have gaming backlogs. It seems to be the current way of gaming, especially when so many of our titles are digital ones we just grab on a sale. But how do you decide which game to finally pick up, or attempt to see you way through this time around?

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Scot

"Oftentimes I'm too mentally spent to want to look at any more pixels. It feels like work at times when I sit down to play something for fun sometimes."

I remember us all thinking it would be great to work for a gaming review magazine and then we realised this would happen!

I have just had to accept that more than 30 games in my Steam library is normal, I won't change the way I play. Maybe I will have to leave my Steam library in my will to someone, that should sort them out.

Angrakhan

Epitome of a first world problem right here.

Kyleran

When I walked away from EVE six years ago I solicted advise from the members of this forum what games I should finally try out.

Over the next year I bought about 25 or so games on either Steam or GOG.

I've managed to play maybe 10 of them, but as I always try to completely finish a game before starting on another (and only ever play one game at a time) a good portion of them have never had their "seal" broken.

So my solution was to stop looking at Steam sales, not sign up for the Epic store, and I never download free games when offered.

In short, I stopped collecting games I know I'll never get enough time to play through to completion.

Problem solved.

DigDuggy

It's like Amazon prime.  I have such a backlog that it will never be finished.  It's like the Winchester house.  I'm convinced that I won't die as long as stuff is on my list.

Slapshot1188

Buy more. I'm like a dragon. I like to Hoard.

vegetableoil

I just play the free games on epic games, it's already totaled about 300 games and I'm barely through most of it I probably finished like 10 of it. I don't see the point to play all the backlog games. it's not a job, unless you are planning to be a twitch streamer even that most people only stream the same game to maintain viewer(most of the time).

eoloe

I don't go through the backlog.

Everything is according to mood and available time. I enjoy a game until I don't anymore, or the game is done. I may continue later or not. It doesn't matter.

There is no stress. I just enjoy my time.

However when I subscribe, I feel like I HAVE TO play to make the most of my money! And then it does not really becomes a stress but a requirement/a soft chore and not really bringing joy. So I don't subscribe anymore.

There are also some games that I buy, and that I don't refund despite knowing deep inside me, that I will never play them. It brings some level of frustration alleviated by one of the following statement:

Not lying to myself:
- "bah, it was just $20..."
- "That's ok I like these devs more than their game."

Lying to myself:
- "Bah, it was just $40..." (bitter guilty mistake feeling)
- "I will play it later..." (lol)
- "I will possibly like this game in a few years. (lol)"

KroxMalon

It's ever growing. I have literally given up and realised it's never going to happen. I now focus on games I know I'll love and enjoy thoroughly. And that's still challenging enough.

Dattelis

I think part of me has grown addicted to the idea of owning more games simply because I couldn't buy them whenever I wanted when I was younger. Closing in on nearly 500 games in my steam library (THANKS BUNDLE DEALS!) and I've probably played about 10% and beaten even less. What makes it even more sad is that I like to go back to either old ones from my childhood that have made it to pc and I've beaten multiple times (FF8 and 9/Grandia 2) or games I've liked playing through multiple times (Saints Row 3, DMC4 Deus EX HR).

Saruomo

Simply stopped playing WoW and only sub during the last month of an expansion to check out dungeons and LFR raids. That freed up the time for other games.

Mendel

Of the games I purchase, I only have three on Steam that I haven't played.  Those came as part of a package of Gold Box D&D games that I picked up on sale.  A lot of my purchases have been complete disappointments and have been pretty much abandoned, but they were played to some degree.

So with only 3 unopened games, I may be a bit of an odd duck here.  But you had probably recognized that already.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

giantessfan

I need a stratgey bad. I pushed through some games in January-March but this year was bad for me and the family. Just bad luck every month it seems. Things are picking back up now but my backlog is stocked with Elden Ring which has been sitting on console since launch for instance. Now I am playing Pokemon with my 4 year old, Callisto Protcol and Midnight Suns comes out the same day and then next year is going to be fucking nuts.

Baldurs Gate 3, Dead Island 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Sucide Squad, Starfield, Avowed (Hopefully), Forza Motorsport, Silksong, and the list goes on and on. I am thinking about just dropping the backlog and just focusing on the now

Talraekk

Seriously, WoW, FFXIV and ESO are the only games i'd see playing. Each of them are 'should I subscribe". They all... suck. But they probably give enough for a month.
I just got back into Neverwinter, it's got more in a few quests than most full month subscriptions. They... suck, but Neverwinter plays more smoothly.

finefluff

I have a backlog of both games and books. I don’t know how to deal with it. I just think “one day…”

One idea I had was to play a new game everyday for a predefined period of time. Maybe 1 hour or so. Even if I don’t finish any of them, at least I’ll have tried them all. Maybe I’d play the ones that really interested me till the end. I haven’t tried doing this though.

I’ll just have to accept that life isn’t long enough to do all the things and be careful about spending too much time on things that won’t mean that much to me.

ashiru_1978

Talraekk said:

Seriously, WoW, FFXIV and ESO are the only games i'd see playing. Each of them are 'should I subscribe". They all... suck. But they probably give enough for a month.

I just got back into Neverwinter, it's got more in a few quests than most full month subscriptions. They... suck, but Neverwinter plays more smoothly.

I'd argue that Vanilla WoW plays the smoothest and it's completely free. AAA quality content and 0 price.

Kyleran

Clearly there's a need for GBA, Game Buyers Anonymous.

cheyane

None as I keep buying every sale. Incorrigible and my back log is shameful.

Scot

Kyleran said:

Clearly there's a need for GBA, Game Buyers Anonymous.

"Hi, I am Scot...I have over 30 games in my Steam backlog." There is hushed acknowledgement from the group.

Blowfeld81

While I know that I will not get through my backlog in the next few years if I do not stop spending money now, I just go for a different strategy.

I will just work very hard for the next few years, as it does not matter if I push out 10 more hours a week for work and extra education and certificates, as most days I feel just too tired to play a new game I have to sink my mind into anyway. With work, sports, 2 or 3 other hobbies like painting and reading, there is just not enough time to play all the game I want. Or to do all the hobbies I want.

So I am working hard and investing a lot, so in roughly 3 to 4 years I can run my own business, and in roughly 5 years being more flexible with my working time, having more time to do the things that really matter to me in life.

If incarnation is a thing, next time I try to repawn with priviledged family and rich background

Aeander

So, I'm definitely a different games for different moods kind of gamer, but in general, I have a few strategies to employ all together.

Designate one main clear game at a time
Your long, story-based RPGs go here.

If a game is designed for multiple playthroughs, clear a few other games inbetween each playthrough.
Right now, my multi-clear "weaving" game is Triangle Strategy.

Cleanse your pallet after finishing a big game
Something really different from the game you just finished. Fast action games are ideal here, IMO.

Don't feel like a big undertaking? Tackle multiple smaller games.
Games with clear times of 30 hours or less, preferably in different genres or genres you really like.

Play what you most want to at that moment
If you're tackling a game just to get it out of the way, that's going to mean less enjoyment.

Designate some games as stress relief
Know what relaxes you most, and set it aside from when you really need it. For me, it's mindless Warriors schlock.

Sovrath

eoloe said:

I don't go through the backlog.



Everything is according to mood and available time. I enjoy a game until I don't anymore, or the game is done. I may continue later or not. It doesn't matter.



There is no stress. I just enjoy my time.



However when I subscribe, I feel like I HAVE TO play to make the most of my money! And then it does not really becomes a stress but a requirement/a soft chore and not really bringing joy. So I don't subscribe anymore.



There are also some games that I buy, and that I don't refund despite knowing deep inside me, that I will never play them. It brings some level of frustration alleviated by one of the following statement:



Not lying to myself:

- "bah, it was just $20..."

- "That's ok I like these devs more than their game."



Lying to myself:

- "Bah, it was just $40..." (bitter guilty mistake feeling)

- "I will play it later..." (lol)

- "I will possibly like this game in a few years. (lol)"

I'm like this as far as mood and time. I'll sometimes dedicated a certain amount of time to demanding games like any of the souls games.

However, if i'm subscribed to something I never feel like i "have" to play. I look at the subscription as convenience. I can jump in whenver I want. If I want to play 3 hours that week then fine. If I want to play 10 hours then fine.

So it's like a gym membership. I don't feel like I have to be there every hour I can just so I can maximize the hours. It's just convenience around my schedule.

Kratier

i recommend playnite which organizes all your libraries onto one app, and you can make a manageable backlog list there

ive been burning through my backlog lately onto beating my 8th game now which will be persona 5 royal
being cheap in gaming really helps because your game pass trial ends after 30 days, so you rush to finish or play whatever before it ends haha

LackingMMO

So, I don't really know how many games i have in my steam library, epic, ps4/5/xbox/switch/vr. And then I can use my fingers to count how many I have played/finished in the past few years. I am beyond help at this point.

Valdheim

My most successful strategy so far was quitting MMORPGs. My last two were EQ2-TLE (kinda classic) and WoW classic somewhere in july/august.

Since then I've enjoyed stuff like Stray, God of War, Spide-Man and now Assassins Creed Valhalla. The thing is that none of those were games from my 300+ games backlog but instead games I got through various subscriptions (in this case PS Plus Extra).

The reason is simple, I just gave up working through my backlog just for the sake of it since I won't be able to ever catch up anyway. So instead I also do the "play what you feel like right now" strategy with my only restriction to not buy anything new but pick the games from either my backlog or all the free (Epic Games) or subscription (PS Plus) games I hoarded over time.

So far this strategy works very well for me. After AC Valhalla I got lots of ideas like The Witcher 3 next gen update, Spider-Man Miles Morales, AC Origins/Odyssey or finally continue Elden Ring but in the end it's gonna be a spontaneous decision.

Doing it like this somehow I feel liberated