Best way to work through a backlog?

[LukeTheGooner]

I say the same all the time but go through carefully and decide what games you just don't want to play, I'm sure you could clear a few just by doing that

 

also don't buy any new games because your backlog will just keep getting bigger and bigger just go and smash through the games as well, use any exploits you can as well to get through them faster

 

less talk on here and more play

[MonaSaxPayne]

I have a "master list" of every single game I've bought/want to buy/gotten "free" from ps plus, listed in order of release date

 

I have another list of 4 categories of games that I'm actively working on, prioritized in the following order:

• online platinum
• online dlc
• campaign platinum
• campaign dlc

there can be any number of games at any given time in either of the dlc groups, but I only play 1 game at a time in both of the platinum groups. only after I obtain the platinum for a game will I replace and start working on another platinum. as u can also see, I always prioritize online trophies first (I am VERY paranoid about sudden server closures)

 

this way I can keep track of every game I want/ am interested in, and I'm never juggling more than 2 platinum pursuits at once. and unless there's some surprise dlc released in the future, when I complete a game I can just move on and never look back

 

as a side note, I've made the personal resolution that, since last June, when I moved over to the new ps+ premium tier, I STOPPED buying any brand new releases unless I'm ready to play them right away. I've wasted so much money in the past on buying games day 1 even tho I know I won't play them right away, sometimes not for years even. and then they end up coming on plus/now (or heavily discounted in a sale) and I still haven't played it yet

Edited January 23 by MonaSaxPayne

[meecegoatsalot]

The key is NOT buying any more games. If you can't do that then just accept having a backlog because no matter what you do you are not likely to clear it.

[Milktastrophe]

Sleep 2 hours less each night so you have more time to work down the backlog.

[Viper]

3 hours ago, meecegoatsalot said:

The key is NOT buying any more games. If you can't do that then just accept having a backlog because no matter what you do you are not likely to clear it.

But see the issue with this that no one brings up, is that if you stopped buying games completely until you finished your backlog, considering most of us here would have YEARS worth of backlogged games to play. If you did manage to finish it...you'd then have a whole trove of games you now need to buy because you held off, in turn creating the dreaded backlog to play again. It's a never ending cycle no matter how you slice it. 

 

I gave up worrying about having a backlog. At the end of the day, it's a nice problem to have, there's always something to play. I always considered my backlog to be games I actually intend on playing (not so much everything I have access to, which is a much larger list), so my backlog is still over 200 games deep now. I made peace with the fact that, intentions to play or not, some of them won't ever get played, I've got games in my backlog that have been there for nearly a decade. It's nice knowing it is there if I ever decide it's time. 

Edited January 24 by Viper

[Charizarzar]

The forum events are a pretty great way to force me to look through my backlog and think of things to play next (like the bingo one where you might get a card for a game that starts with the first letter of your username). I only started getting into them last year and probably wouldn't have gotten around to half the stuff I played otherwise.

 

And ignore ALL sales notifications. 

 

[Lars]

First of all, as some may have said. Start with the games that you are looking forward to the most. I now notice that the time i have has declined and i still have so many games i really want to play in my backlog, when i had the time i didn't play them. So don't make that same mistake.

 

What i try to do now is i go through 2, max 3 games at a time. i have 1 main big title that i'm going for and i play when i have loads of time( so you can dive into the world or story).

Then i have a game (for me usually racing games) that is nice for when you don't have a lot of time and want to play some short stages. This is something i do before work for example, then i have 30 minutes of time and a big open world game with long story missions isn't suitable for that but a racing game with set stages of around 4 minutes is perfect for those moments.

As a 3rd you can play one of the easier shorter games in between, but i try to finish them immediately and to not play too many in a row as they are usually not the best games in the world.

 

But in the end it is your personal preference, as long as you remember one thing and that is to have fun. When it starts to feel that you don't like something then stop playing that game and play something you do enjoy. You won't have time for every game in the world so just play the ones that you really like.

[Prometheous101]

22 hours ago, shadaik said:

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

TBH, everyone should be doing this. For example GTAV PS4 is about to become unobtainable in a few weeks. Plenty of people are gonna be sad when they wont be able to finish it 100% once they go back to it.

 

Maybe try making a spreadsheet and rating EVERY GAME YOU OWN on a scale 1-5 on how much you want to play it.
Then simply sort your library by that statistic.

I have done that before, it works somewhat well.

Edited January 24 by Prometheous101

[Dinniestar]

12 hours ago, Milktastrophe said:

Sleep 2 hours less each night so you have more time to work down the backlog.

2 hours less rookie numbers sleep 2 hours a night and have crippling caffeine addiction 

[Gand2t3ex2]

I'm starting with a bit of backlog (around 200 games). My decision:

- One more hard / time consuming

- One simple

- Taking care of the games leaving PS+ (that will change my priorities)

Do not buy any more games till i make a big dent on the backlog.... 

 

So - wish me good luck

[The Alchemist]

Oh man, this is a question almost as old as gaming itself. There are probably as many ways to tackle a backlog as there are games in your backlog, and as such I find there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. Some people have other people choose for them, some people use random name generators, some people start with the quick and easy stuff before moving onto the hard and grindy stuff, and others do the opposite. A lot of good tips have already been shared in the thread. I completely agree with not buying more games as you work through your backlog as that alone is probably the biggest problem most people have when trying to work on their backlogs. At least set a target to meet first, like for example; for every 5, 10, or 15 games you complete from your backlog you can then buy 1 new game, and then stick to that target moving forward. That way you'll still be clearing way more games than you're adding. 

 

My own backlog is about 200 games total now. Not the biggest, but not insignificant either. One approach I've taken in the past, and one I'll likely take again, is what I like to call 'culling'. My backlog contains every game I own that I've yet to play or finish, both digital and physical, and even games I only have the slightest passing interest in maybe one day playing. So about once per year I'll go through my backlog list and 'cull' any games I know for certain that I'll never touch or get around to. This can help to massively reduce your backlog. There's no point having stuff on there that you know you won't have the time or interest in playing just because you own it. Sunk-cost fallacy is a big stumbling block to a lot of people when it comes to backlogs. It's perfectly fine to let go of some games and move on. You won't get that money back regardless but at least your backlog won't be needlessly bloated. Worst case scenario, you can re-evaluate your list whenever you want and add games back that you might be having second thoughts about. It's not as though the games will be lost forever just by removing them from your backlog. Think of it like this; out of sight, out of mind. 

 

If I can add one more general tip, and probably the most important one; don't let your backlog weigh you down mentally. I know we all joke about backlogs but some people honestly take it very seriously to the point of getting stressed out about it. Gaming is supposed to be a fun escape, it shouldn't be stressful, well... for the most part. If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and evaluate. You'll never get around to every game you want to play, there simply isn't enough time and that's okay. Prioritise what's important to you and have fun! 

[darkrequiem7]

Depending on the size of your backlog, pick 10 games, or maybe 10% of your backlog that are really low on the list in terms of priority.

 

Then get rid of them. You'll probably not get to them ever anyway so ease your backlog burden.

[ChilledBrandon]

Honestly I would suggest to pick the games you are most interested in and go from there. That way it doesn't feel like a task or chore and you'll enjoy the process more.

 

I've started to do that myself. Like I have had Devil May Cry HD as an example sitting in my library for a while. Just finished up the first game.

Edited January 24 by ChilledBrandon

[TeflonJon07]

All great tips here, we all have backlog it’s inevitable. I just went through my library nice feature is you can create a separate list. No way I will ever get them all done but going to start with games that interest me first then check difficulty and time. Until then keep up the backlog grind peeps! 

[Seasonreaper]

Take like 10 physical games and put them around the house in mildly inconvenient places. Every time you to cook, go to sleep, go to work etc. you'll see it and have to move it, until it's beaten.

[Ninjise]

Be poor so you can't afford new games, in which your only choice is to attack your backlog. 

 

Jokes asides go for the games with easiest plats, or those games where you have some interested at the moment.

[Lava_Yuki]

I usually go for the ones I am most excited for, rather than by length or difficulty, so fun to least fun. 

 

At the moment, I had four games to choose, Hogwarts Legacy, FF16, Atelier Shallie and Persona 5 Tactica. The order I picked was Hogwarts legacy first as I was wanting to play this for ages and it finally was 50% off a while ago, then FF16 because of the hype, and lastly the other two, probable Atelier first because I recently played the previous game and want to know the sequel story.