Best way to work through a backlog?

[PHIL_DADDY1]

So this year I’m planning to make a huge dent to my backlog. I have so many digital games that I’ve bought or from PS+, as well as quite a few physicals from Vita, PS3, PS4 & PS5.

 

My approach, I think will be to knock out the shorter games first, before tackling the longer ones.

 

How would you all approach it?

[Slifer1945]

i do 1 game at a time i unlocked 2 platinum trophies this month i wil keep doing that way 1 game at a time it does not matter wich games you do first i do the legend of dragoon ps4 once that is done then i move to the next game that is how i do my backlog 👍👍and i dont start any new games my older games are important to me now 

[evs_castro]

If you just want to thin out the backlog I'd suggest you sort your backlog by "time" and "difficulty", then do the easier and faster ones first. 

[ResiGamer_28]

Best way is to remove yourself from all gaming newsletters etc. If you truly want to beat a backlog, you have to force yourself not to buy any more new games and just focus on your old ones.  Fortunately when it all goes digital only I will completely stop modern gaming so it works for me. 

[the_sultan999]

What i do personally is that i check the last chance to play section and finish whatever games there are + focus on what new game is about to release and finish the game before it (if it's a sequel) if it's a new ip i play whatever that same studio has done before. Nothing crazy though so it's just me

[KenjiCBZ]

Play three games at once, one per console, and start either from the easiest ones, or from those you started playing since longest.

Edited January 23 by KenjiCBZ

[Akrioz]

1 hour ago, PHIL_DADDY1 said:

My approach, I think will be to knock out the shorter games first, before tackling the longer ones.

 

How would you all approach it?

Make yourself a list of every game in your backlog. Including the time to complete them and the difficulty. It makes it easier to decide what to tackle next. It will probably be the best to alternate between short and long games. 

Do not give yourself any deadline. 

Do not force yourself to play 1 game at a time, especially if something you have started isn't clicking with you right now. Staying committed to one game when you are getting tired of it isn't productive. 

Here is a couple of good videos on the topic.

Spoiler

 

 

[Dounew]

Hey there,

 

First of all good luck for your objectif, it's anice one !

 

There are two differents imo :

First one, you just wanna unlock a lot of trophies in a short period of time. In this case your approach seems to be the best.

The second one would be to Alternate between fast games and a long one time to time. It could be a pain to do a lot of long games in a row especially if you don't really like them (only if you want to clean up your games, if you don't really care about racing some games at low % just play the one you want to )

[IDiivil]

Really depends on the size of your backlog. Making a list might be good, but not practical if your backlog is in the thousands.

 

As someone who has more or less multiple life sentences worth a backlog at this point, I only have some philosophical principles to share:

 

• Don't worry too much about getting things done. Think of them as opportunities you've yet to experience, rather than a list of things you need to get done.
• Always remember that gaming is about having fun, even if you are trophy hunting. So it's okay to start a new game every now and then, instead of restricting yourself to just backlog clearing.
• That said, it is also great to finish things you start, as coming back to already started games can be difficult.
• You should also know how you game, and how you get games done. Like for me, I have a hard time getting started on a longer game, but once I'm like 30% into it, the routine kicks in and finishing even grindy stuff gets easier. Being aware of your personal traits can help with motivation and stuff.
• Finally, keep in mind that there are things outside your control that will ultimately affect your project. You might die, or end up in a situation where you cannot play a game you really want to play, so it might be good to get those experiences out of the way while you can, even if you "should" be playing something in your backlog. Also good to keep in mind that things ilke trophy syncing for older consoles and the trophy system in general likely won't be around for decades, which is a perspective you want to keep in mind when it comes to obsessing over things like 100% completion and unobtainables. It won't matter in the end anyway, so you might not have to worry about it in the moment either. Gaming shouldn't be something that adds stress to your life in a general level.

[shadaik]

Everybody's advice and experiences is going to be different because it varies depending on what kind of person you are. Here's my (barely working) process:

 

- Define what you mean by "completed". Story completion, 100%/platinum, or just "played until I didn't want to anymore". This allows you to have a clear point at which to strike a game from your list.

- I would say make a list, but really, PS5 and PS4 got you covered because you can just use your library and make any game you finished invisible. PS3 and Vita will need a list made, though.

- Still, prioritize. Maybe short games first, maybe easy ones, maybe short and easy ones, or maybe just ones you expect to be really good. But don't stick to the order in that list, because if you want to finish this, it helps  to actually have fun

- While you're at it, there might be games  you do not end up wanting to play, especially games  from Plus. Just strike them.

- Keep an eye on online services ending. You ight want to prioritize games  with online trophies before they shut down.

-Have a running task. This will depend on how you define "completion" and on how you game, because the goal will  be some fraction of a completion in a given time. E.g. I aim for at least one trophy every day and one game done each week. By contrast, this would not be feasible  with a backlog that is made up of sprawling RPGs, thus the goals need to fit you and your library.

[DrBloodmoney]

Trust your own instincts.

 

If you don't feel like playing a game on the backlog then don't - trust that at some point in the future you will. After all - you bought it / downloaded it at one point, so at some point you wanted to play it - that feeling might come back, but forcing yourself to play a game you don't feel like playing for the sake of denting a backlog will just lead to a crappy time.

 

Instead, just have a look, see what jumps out at you, and don't second guess. Just load it up, and get cracking!

 

Also, try not to think of bought-but-not-started games as a "backlog" - think of it as insurance. If you suddenly had no money for new games, or if nothing good came out for a long while, you'd still be sorted, with enough fun stuff squirrelled away for a rainy day.

 

It's a good thing, not a bad thing 🙂

[GravityQueeen]

Personally I don't see the games that I own as a backlog anymore because it feels like a job instead of a hobby. I see my games as a good collection where I can choose anything I wanna play at a time, or don't, I think it's fine passing on a game we already bought because we are always changing anyways. Playing what you wanna play WHEN you wanna play is the only thing that matters and the way to go to have fun and don't burn out with either trophies or gaming in general. I accepted already I won't be able to play everything. 

 

[petrus_hendrikus]

I recently cleared my backlog and I prioritized games where servers were closing first, as you have a deadline there.

 

Then focusing on games with multiplayer components, as they often take more time to complete (might need to organize or wait for boost sessions etc).

 

Then I just went from oldest game to newest game.

[JAK-KRIEG]

I'm surprised you consider ps+ games as backlog maybe it's because in my case there's almost none of them I want to start. I only consider something as part of a backlog if you spent money on it, at least that's my weird logic.

[PalaceOfLove706]

I like to use the hour a day benchmark. If I dedicate an hour a day to the backlog, I will complete 3.5 100-hour games or 36.5 10-hour games for the year. Just keep in mind your backlog probably isn’t going down unless you dedicate more time. You get 36 PS+ Essential games for the year and then you have Extra and Premium on top of that if you subscribe. Those will probably take priority as they are time limited. 

[Dinniestar]

in regards to older consoles definitely have notifications for  

 

 

if a game you have on backlog has a upcoming server shut down then that becomes a priority 

also I try and play at least one new game while tackling backlog and also play at least one of PS plus essential titles jsut so does not get too big a backlog 

also if hating a backlog game put it away and start another one 

[LukeTheTyrant]

I've organized my backlog in a game list using PSP+, the I pick a random game (using PSP+) and play it until I get all trophies or get tired of it. But sometimes I really want to play a game in my list, so I play it. We can't became slaves of a video game hahaha. 

[Ich1994-1994]

Try to stay away from service games. Either giant open world games with tons of DLC like assassins creed valhalla or grindgames like monster hunter, minecraft dungeon (why did i have to spend 90h with this....). They tend to be giant timesinks that can keep your focus away from any progress and at least in my experience are often elss enjoyment dense than alot of other games you probably have in your backlog.

other than that just play them one buy one. i usually have 2-3 project running in parallel to have a for example a racing game and a shooter to choose from or have a game i play alone and one i play with a friend when we both have time. With a bit of focus on your goals (can be trophies or just finishing the story) you can get throught a lot of games quiet quickly.

 

one more thing. dont do quick things first and long things last. at least for me mixing them up i much nicer. i tend to play along one followed buy a medium and a short one and somewhat rotate throught. this also stops me from buying more games because i am in the mood to play something quick again and not having something available

[Beyondthegrave07]

Here's my advice and it's kind of along what @GravityQueeen, @DrBloodmoney, @IDiivil said:

 

Play the games you are interested in most first. Life is short. If you spend your entire time only playing short games from easy-medium difficulty, and you aren't super interested in them, you'll 100% burn yourself out or get bored rather quickly. 

 

Treating video games like a chore instead of a hobby is only going to lead to burn out where gaming is no longer fun because you're forcing yourself to do something you don't really want to do and that's not what it should be.

 

Also the short -> long method is typically a good way to avoid great games with large open worlds or more complex games that require more time to learn and putting these on the "do last" pile seems... almost silly to me. Sure, "save the best for last" is a thing, but when there are no guarantees or a real possibility that it may be years before you get to it, you are really punishing yourself for no reason. 

 

I guess my point to all this is the goal to tackling your backlog should prioritize fun over games. Because if you aren't having fun while doing it, then what's the point of tackling it at all?

Edited January 23 by Beyondthegrave07

[mega-tallica]

I'm finding mixing it up is the best method. Don't just focus on easy/short games, don't just focus on longer/harder games and don't totally neglect new games either. Play the games you're most interested in coming back to first and foremost. Once that becomes boring, play a new game you want to play, preferably one that you know you could get the plat on relatively easily so you don't add another unfinished game to your backlog. Which is easy since most newer games have very easy trophy lists. This greatly helps break up the monotony of tackling a backlog so you don't burn yourself out. 

 

And most importantly, don't treat it like it's a job. I tend to get into that mode myself and that's when you forget that this is supposed to be fun and if you aren't having fun with it then what's the point? It's good to be self-aware and realize your mindset going in so you don't develop a toxic obsession with this stuff. Are you turning on your console and playing this game just because you want those trophies even though you're not looking forward to it or do you actually truly want to play the game and trophies are just a bonus incentive? It should be the latter and not the former. 

[StewartBros]

Of course it will depend on your personal approach to tackling games, but here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

 

• Prioritise games with co-op/multiplayer trophies, and try to at least get said trophies done.  You can always clean up the single-player stuff at a later date.
• Don't rush through all of your quick games straight away.  Once you've finished 2 or 3 longer games, chances are that you'll want to relax with a short game before tackling the next big one.
• If you have any games that were downloaded via PS+ Extra/Premium, then focus on them, as you will only have so long to play them before they are removed.
• What's your definition for "completing" a game?  Are you satisfied with just getting the platinum or base 100%, or do you want to complete all the DLC as well?  Bear in mind that some games have DLC that will take many hours to beat (*cough* Battlefield Hardline *cough*), and you could likely plat another couple of games in that time.  Some DLC just isn't worth the time investment.
• If you're not enjoying a game, don't be afraid to just leave it and move on.  You may not be able to complete everything, and that's fine.
• Finally, don't be afraid to start a game that you're not confident of completing.  I started games like Street Fighter IV and V knowing full well that I would never platinum them, but I enjoy the SF games, so I just went in with the intention of having fun and not worrying about trophies.

Good luck!

 

[HaserPL]

The secret is, you don't! I speak from my experience but some people may agree with this statement, the more you try to pressure yourself into playing something, the more painful the experience will be. If I don't feel that "itch" to play something specific, I can usually play anything and be fine, but the moment I start thinking "I feel like playing Hitman 2...", every minute trying to play something that isn't Hitman is feeling like an eternity. So to combat this, I try not to buy a new game every time I see something cool. I do a bit of research, to value if the game is worth my time, and by doing so, even though I still have like 200+ games to finish just on PSN (not even counting Steam), I don't ever think about my backlog in a negative way. There's just only so many games I can work on at any given time, you have to prioritize some and leave others for later. Choosing games in advance to play through has never worked for me because of that itch thing. I may want to get back to a game and clean it up, but if in the meantime I feel the need to play something else, I will drop everything and do the other thing.

[Rebourne07]

10 hours ago, PHIL_DADDY1 said:

So this year I’m planning to make a huge dent to my backlog. I have so many digital games that I’ve bought or from PS+, as well as quite a few physicals from Vita, PS3, PS4 & PS5.

 

My approach, I think will be to knock out the shorter games first, before tackling the longer ones.

 

How would you all approach it?

Join the Backlog Challenge 2024

[Jeanolt]

The best advice I could give is to not have a backlog. If you have, it means the amount of games left to play is limited, and you'll eventually run out of them, having nothing else to play (no one wants that).

 

Take it as movies, no one really "finishes" watching every movie they wanted, we just keep watching them, forever. Since we play videogames we tend to gamify the task of actually playing videogames, like if it were another task to be completed, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to be honest.

 

9 hours ago, IDiivil said:

Finally, keep in mind that there are things outside your control that will ultimately affect your project. You might die.

"While I thought I was learning to live, I have been learning how to die"

Edited January 23 by Jeanolt

[VigilantCrow]

I use the mindset that backlogs are a chance at skill improvement. I'll determine the hardest games in the backlog and figure out what it takes to 100% them. From there I tackle games that give me muscle memory, reflex training etc so I can lead up to it.

 

I'm playing Binding of Issac as my hardest Rogue Like currently.

Before starting that though I knocked off Gods Will Fall -> Rogue Legacy 2 so I'd be fully capable of that sweet Issac 100%.