Attacking a Backlog

[Snerlord]

How does one attack a backlog, while new games come out constantly that you want to play As well. 

I'm overwhelmed with no idea where to start, after I've completed a game. I want to play something new, but I've also got 200 + games that I bought and never really played.

what are your strategies? 

 

 

[DaivRules]

9 minutes ago, Snerlord said:

what are your strategies? 

 

Figure out what the root problem you have with having a backlog is. What is it about having 200+ games that you bought and never really played that bothers you? Depending on your answer you can make decisions about your backlog. Also define how you're using backlog. Is it all the games you've bought/obtained (in the case of Plus, etc)? Is it just the games you bought and haven't started? Is it games you've started and haven't finished?

 

The main strategy I employed was I stopped buying new games unless I decided I was going to play them as soon as I bought them. Instead, games I want go on a list instead of buying them. I try to play one game per console (PS3, PS4, and Vita) at a time and generally, I try to only make one of those three a new/unstarted game and the other two games I've started that I want to finish.

 

 

[ExHaseo]

The things that have been the most effective for me, have been having a system where you can still buy and play new games, not limiting what you can or can't play, and not feeling pressured to beat/plat everything.

 

When I tackled my original backlog, I used a system that boiled down to, every 3 games on the backlog done, 1 new one can be added. It took me a couple of years, but for a long time my backlog was gone.

 

And to the other point, I've tried joining some of the events here that are meant to help people with their backlog, but most of them are just too limiting. You have to have a specific theme or a specific set of games that you play during a set time. I've noticed that participating in these events lead to burnout way faster and just make me end up dropping games because I'm not in the mood to play them. So just tackling whatever I want whenever I want helps a lot.

 

Something that sometimes helps with choosing what to play, is that whenever I see a new game I want to play, I look to see if there's something similar already on my shelf. For example, say a new fighting game is coming out that looks like fun. Instead of running out and buying it, I'll look at my shelf for unplayed fighting games. If there is, I'll just play that. It scratches the same itch and that's something that can be taken off the backlog. It makes it so I don't want the new game right away too.

 

For the last point, giving something a shot, and not enjoying it, means you can stop playing it and take it off the backlog. It's that simple. Don't let other people's ideas of completion bog you down or overwhelm you. If you play a game and aren't enjoying it after giving it what you would consider a fair shot, there's no reason to force yourself to keep playing. Just be done with it and remove it from your backlog.

 

I recently put together a new backlog last month with about 80 games (some new stuff, some stuff I wanted to give another shot), and I'm already almost down to 60. Just don't be limiting on what you can or can't play, make a system where more games are going out than in, and don't feel obligated to beat/plat every game. The backlog will start to decrease fairly naturally.

Edited October 8, 2021 by ExHaseo

[Snerlord]

53 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

 

Is it all the games you've bought/obtained (in the case of Plus, etc)? Is it just the games you bought and haven't started

 

Yeah alot of games are PS+ free games, or games that ive bought over the last 10 years or so during sales. i was deep in call of duty multiplayer for years. But id buy games that were on sale to play them when i got bored of COD or whatever. and never played them.  I have nearly 600 games on my PS library (not including random disk games), and have only played roughly 280 of them. 

 

so that seems to be the root of the problem, is i have so many. and every day something new comes out. like i really want to play the new Ratchet game (but not before i play all the ones i already own, and havent played or completed) or Kena, and Tony Hawk. its just getting hard to justify buying new games when i have so many old one i havent even played yet. 

[StraightVege]

Honestly, I'm just as lost as you when it comes to this. I mostly just begin playing whatever happens to strike my fancy at that moment, with a tendency to gravitate toward the shorter games first, since 100+ hour odysseys feel too overwhelming. Overthinking it hasn't helped.

[ladynadiad]

I found for me that it was effective to actually list them out.  I use PSNP+ and have a game listing for my backlog so I can keep tabs on how many games there are.  I also have a spreadsheet for tracking my completion and have one that includes what my completion would be with the backlog games too.  With good lists it's easy to make goals and see progress.

 

[Eyjabria]

"Why can't I hold all these games??" is a true first world problem but it can get mentally taxing to wrestle the backlog. 
Using a site like Backloggery or HowLongToBeat can help form a picture of what's in your backlog and what are the games you really want to play and when. HowLongToBeat gives you an estimate on how long a game is, which can help plan what to play next. If you don't feel like jumping into a long game right now, play a shorter one next to thin out the backlog. Backloggery has a feature called "fortune cookie" which will give you a random game from your backlog if you have no idea where to start. 
If there's a game you aren't really interested in, don't add it to your backlog at all. This should help keep the amount of games manageable and make decisions on what to play easier. I get free games on PC all the time and I add them to my backlog only when I actually start playing them. 

 

Previously I was notoriously bad at finishing games I had started. After I joined Backloggery I became more motivated to finish games instead of dropping them once the "new and exciting game smell" wore off and another new release caught my interest. I'm still guilty of treating myself to new games before I finish earlier ones and I have a decent backlog but I feel the situation is more under control these days. 

 

Whatever you decide to do to weed out your backlog, I wish you the best of luck with it. Just try to have fun and keep enjoying great games. 

[Lava_Yuki]

I start with the shortest and easiest ones first and work backwards from there. If it's a game I intend on platinuming, then I look up the trophy guides and go from the shortest one and leave the long ones to the end. That clears the backlog quicker. Also it's best to refrain from buying new games for a while. I only buy games on sale or if i can get them very cheap used, and this has stopped me from wasting money on release days for games that would just pile up in my backlog

[Shaun1094]

I’ve got a huge backlog and I’ve been struggling to tackle it because I just love a sale ?. There have been many sales in the last couple of years which have included a lot of games I’ve wanted to complete so my backlog has just been growing constantly. I only buy new games if I’m going to play them straight away and I’ve stopped buying random games from sales (unless the deal is really good and it’s a game I want to play, not just for trophy-hunting purposes). 
 

My best advice (from someone who can’t control his own backlog) is stick to 1-2 games at a time. I tend to play a grindy one with a few quicker ones just to break it up a bit. 
Also maybe play the shorter ones first and then occasionally do a big one and play different genres instead of only playing racers for example as that’s a sure way to burn out 

[TomataEighty9]

I attack my backlog in the way that i play what i want to play, and the games i have on my shelf, untouched, don't bother me, cause i will get to them sooner or later  (or not, and they keep being on my shelf). 

[Viper]

I have no strategy. Having a backlog is a weird, twisted, love/hate relationship. On one hand I have way too many games to play, that I don't have time for, a list of games I have intent to play, but I know not all of them will come around, I mean hell we're on the PS5 and I haven't even been able to retire my PS3 yet. I'm spending money on stuff that may never see the console. But on the other hand, I absolutely love that I exist in a time where I have too many games to play! When I was a kid, I had a stack of games I played over and over again, maybe got a new game for Christmas or my Birthday, but it was generally just the same thing over and over...that's all I knew. Now it's a constant influx of something I'm interested in, it goes on sale fairly quick and I snag it. 

 

I guess that's my real issue here...too much I'm interested in. I see it a lot even on forums like this...you see a thread asking what games people are looking forward to and everyone is listing 1, 2 maybe 3 games...I can give you a whole list right now. And this Black Friday alone I bought 6 games I was waiting for sales on, and we have 2022 coming in hot with new releases. Between sales and PS+, I add games to my backlog far faster than I can knock them off. 

 

And I can't be one of those people who says "just stop buying games". That doesn't solve the problem, those games still exist, I'll still have interest in them. If I bought zero games between now and finishing most of my backlog, I'd just have a new backlog of games I need to buy that I didn't get to play because I decided to stop buying. It's a viscous cycle that doesn't stop until I quit gaming or the industry starts producing true garbage without anything to off set it. 

 

 

[Shikotei-kun]

"The Backlog smiles at us all, and all one can do... is smile back." - Maxi Deci Meri, 2000

 

 

Right now, my strategy is to stick to PS3 games until I've completed them all.

After that I'll probably just pick whatever tickles my fancy at the time of choosing. I like all my unplayed games and it shouldn't matter much in which order they're tackled.

[sa7355735502]

The backlog has been a god-send for me these last few weeks.  I've had to self isolate and having a series of easily accessible trophies for games I've not loaded for years has been a blessing.  I've finally seen the original Uncharted 2 in its original glory and am chuckling at the "game as a personality test" which is Doki Doki universe. This also helps to not drop a load of cash on a game that I won't plat for six months due to clearing up PS3 games and the like.