How Beat your Backlog or die in the process.

[SalvadorGamer_21]

Hello friends, how are you today, the truth is I'm a little frustrated because I never believed that the Backlog would screw me up so much in 2024 and that 2023 was a good year where I controlled it.

 

For those who are not familiar, the term backlog in the world of gaming is like a responsibility that you cause yourself by having many pending games in your library and how it grows so much and you don't know what to play, what to prioritize or what games to never play. will play, many videos will appear on the internet, some optimistic and others pessimistic, but I am one of those who believes that you are the one who calls the shots and you must take the right path, with this I want to imply that if you bought a game like Skyrim or The Withcer III because they speak well of it and you have abandoned them since 2020, so don't be ashamed to abandon them completely.

 

I will give an example, in November 2023 when I went on vacation to California I took the opportunity to buy some games that I was looking forward to, it was Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 1 and Dead Space Remake, with the opportunity to get closer to these legendary titles that have always I wanted to play, guess what happened, I haven't touched them and it's all because of the Backlog, not to mention that I was stupid enough to buy an Xbox Series I could see opting for a PS3, the catalog was very limited. I feel that having bought the Xbox was one of the three consequences that I paid right now, it was installing Rainbow Six Siege, don't get me wrong, it is a great online game that I have loved since the beta, but I am one of those who believes that online games are a lot more addictive and dangerous than basic history games, because they do not give you a purpose to win beyond a title or play professionally in leagues, I clarify that I admire the people who do it and they have my respect, but for them it is a drug that I should delete and having played this game again after almost 4 years of inactivity, has mentally sabotaged me from other titles, such as Dark Souls 2, Alan Wake, Death Stranding among others. It even causes me to question my precious time on which games are worth trying, like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers II or the upcoming Stellar Blade.

 

In another group, a guy from Spain gave me an answer that calmed my mind and got me back on the right track to try to beat the backlog, he simply told me "Play that game again because you fell in love with video games" and that was maybe it the best answer I heard, I decided to play two titles in particular again, Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag and Doom Eternal, the truth is that your advice worked and motivated me to overcome pending things in those games, the platinum of Assassins Creed 4 and the Doom Eternal dlcs that I will have finished by this Sunday at the latest.

 

With all this that I am telling you I want to get to what the title says, the reality is that you will never beat it, the backlog is above you but what you can do about it or is go back to where you were happy the first time and find an answer in that title and figure out what your type of games are or try to try those games and determine if they are made for you.

But from my experience I want to give you four pieces of advice:

 

1 - Avoid online games, if you are capable of playing them and play games of another style without losing your sanity or being addicted, you have my respect, but if that is not the case, avoid them, believe me, you will save more of your time for other great titles.

 

2 - Don't be afraid to abandon video games, there will be video games that you have collapsed and you say that the day will come to play them, learn to let go of them and dedicate yourself to other titles, in my case it was with the Metal Gear Solid saga, they have a brutal history of espionage, but honestly they didn't catch me in a good way and I'm not afraid to admit that they are not games for me.

 

3 - If you have more than one console, organize a list of the duration of each game you want to play but to be honest avoid having more than one console at all costs, it's not bad but honestly that will make your backlog the size of Godzilla.

 

4 - Identify what kind of games are not for you, in my case online games or online games have become hateful in my opinion and I want to avoid them for a while.

 

EXTRA TIP:

5 - I recommend that if you have a huge backlog crisis, do not start your rehabilitation with open world games, since they will stress you out more, unless it is a title that you did not need anything to finish or you have less than 5 left. or 6 trophies.

I hope all this is useful to you and that it has helped me and you know that you can talk to me about anything, greetings from Guadalajara, Mexico.

 

 

[DaivRules]

None of the rest of the tips will ultimately help until people who want to get their backlog under control/reduced implement this:

 

 

Step 0: Stop adding to it. Do not buy another game unless you are ready to play it right away. 

 

[Drizzora-]

Very well said, I hope your message reaches to many people on this site that seeks help with the backlog problem. I personally have been and am suffering from this. I have about around 300-400 games that I planned on eventually playing but I never really realized how I will achieve that. It’s unrealistic. Time goes by and it’s not possible to catch up with the present when trying to clear up. I found that it’s really not worth the time anymore especially playing stuff you don’t even like to play. In my case the effort I put into completing stuff that’s really tedious started to feel like doing tasks. It’s much more valuable to channel that energy and effort into school/work. It’s better for yourself.

 

Anyways I’ve digressed. The most important thing should be is to play what you enjoy like you said. That is what gaming should be. Trying out different games and if it isn’t for you, just move on. I still sometimes force myself to play games that I don’t really like to play to maintain my completion rate by convincing myself that at the end I will finally earn a platinum trophy. In the end it might make you happy but after all you’ve just wasted your time doing something you didn’t enjoy doing. You did it for the sake of the platinum, not the game itself. Play what you would play if trophies weren’t a thing.

 

I know im ranting about all of this but I’m probably going to end up continuing to do the same. I will end up trying to complete games that I don’t like to play. It’s just what it is to be a completionist. 

[Beyondthegrave07]

Here's the easiest way to solve your backlog crisis...

 

Think of your games as sunk costs and stop worrying about it so much. If you never get to the end of your backlog, it's not the end of the world. Play what gives you joy whether it's 1,000 hours of Dead by Daylight or 1,000 hours of games A-Z. Don't let the size of your backlog dictate what you should play next or tell you when to stop playing.

 

If all you are thinking about while playing games is clearing out the backlog, you're turning it into a chore rather than entertainment. 

[Viper]

I really do feel like the only person who actually takes some joy in having a backlog. After all, it's MY fault my backlog exists in the first place. I've added nearly every monthly game we've ever gotten from PS+ (since 2012), and sales have been a huge positive side of being with Sony, I've spent thousands over the years. So why would I look at my backlog as something that's about to destroy my life? It's a great problem to have. 

 

But it brings me to number 4 there. Maybe I just define "backlog" differently? I always considered it, not all the games I have access to, but within those, the ones I actually intend on playing. I currently have 1847 games at my disposal between the various PlayStation generations, my Switch and some retro consoles. Take the 500+ games I've already played from that. We're looking at about 1300 games left...however about 800 of those are PS+ titles, most of which I'll never play. Bringing me to about 500 games that would be in some kind of consideration...and out of those, I have 231 games I have every INTENTION of playing (whether I do or not remains to be seen), which is what I consider my actual "backlog". 

 

So I guess for me, in that logic...I don't have anything in mine that I wouldn't want to play at all, none that are "not for me". I mean sure, you play something every once in awhile that you won't like, but I didn't know that before I bought it. 

 

I don't know, people bring this topic up a lot like they made a huge mistake buying games. I just don't see it that way. I grew up playing a single stack of games over and over again, the fact that I can constantly play something new and (hopefully) engaging is just something I never thought would be possible back in the 90's/early 2000's. And sure we could all just....stop buying games until we tackle our backlog, but then...you now have a backlog of unbought games waiting for you to buy. Might as well just enjoy yourself. 

[TheDarkKratos]

I personally find the term Backlog offensive and unnecessary. I came to terms with the fact that I will never ever in a million years complete my own backlog of games. And I also learned through many years of game-playing and serious trophy-hunting, that no matter what I do, it will never happen. So, why bother agonizing over it. It's no fun. As long as they are making games, and we are all buying them, there-in lies the problem. Especially for completionists and the like. I am willing to bet that most of us buy way more games than we can ever hope to finish. If I cloned myself 10 times (lol) and had all my clones play my games 24/7 like machines across multiple consoles, then and only then will I ever get my back log done. Yeah right, like that's ever going to happen. But what would be the point then. Perfection doesn't exist. And it's apparent that many gamers believe they can achieve total completion. Of course that doesn't exist if you only have a handful of games to play. I love trophies but hate what I have become - a trophy-whore. Tough cookies, right?

 

Serious gaming also includes, these days, server closures, games being delisted, prioritizing, game-breaking patches. Plus many other factors that add even more stress. Games leaving subscription services is a great example. We are by nature all a bit greedy when it comes to trophy-hunting, or we wouldn't be here right now discussing this. This backlog dilemma is nothing new. It dates back to PS1 games and even farther back. The only difference between now and then is we have trophies, achievements needing/wanting to be had. We are trophy-driven to sometimes crazy heights without even realizing it until we first use the word Backlog. Gasp! Boosting games that have dead lobbies is also stressful in many cases. Especially when some games require a minimum of 4-6 players to even start a match. Hunters Arena is a prime example of this. 12 players/accounts to start a match. That in itself is annoying. Grindy games - take your pick. Plenty to choose from. This is yet another factor in gaming, and going for that 100%. Games that constantly add DLC. If you're into 100%'s then this will add more to your backlog plate. Yay!

 

People who torture themselves endlessly over their backlog need to realize that it's become like a job you either love or hate. We all have our own goals in video-gaming, but be brutally honest with yourself, who here really believes they will ever 100% complete their backlogs in trophy-hunting? I'm not trying to discourage anyone, or be a wet blanket, but be realistic. I myself have learned that Backlog is just a state of being that way too many people get stuck in, like a huge Rut. Play your games, earn your trophies, have fun as much as possible, but try to keep perspective if at all possible. Then you will be happier. It's like anything in life, people are so obsessed and single minded about certain things that it potentially becomes self-destructive. Look at any shows on TV about hoarders and you will see what I mean. Many people are like that, but with video-games and trophies. That's just my 2 cents worth for now.

 

Edit - I have so many games on different PS consoles, that sometimes when I think too much about it, my head implodes. 

And I'm certain that many others are in the same boat, and even worse. It may be time to get picky with your purchases etc.

 

Edited April 19 by TheDarkKratos

[PeachyJacobs]

You want to get through your backlog? The quickest way imo is stop collecting trophies. Can turn a 30 hour game into 80+ hours sometimes (e.g. Death Stranding).

 

Play a game, enjoy the story, collect what you can (if you want to), move to the next one.

 

Personally I would just cull an entire gen if need be. I did that with PS3. I have no way currently to play the games anyway so I sold my collection and moved on. Sure I'll no doubt miss out on some great titles but you can't play everything.

[Kishnabe]

Backlog will remain undefeated.

 

I still have PS3 games more than a decade old haunting me. Maybe I will reach 90+ years of age and won't even get to it. 

 

 

[djb5f]

12 minutes ago, PeachyJacobs said:

You want to get through your backlog? The quickest way imo is stop collecting trophies. Can turn a 30 hour game into 80+ hours sometimes (e.g. Death Stranding).

 

Play a game, enjoy the story, collect what you can (if you want to), move to the next one.

 

Personally I would just cull an entire gen if need be. I did that with PS3. I have no way currently to play the games anyway so I sold my collection and moved on. Sure I'll no doubt miss out on some great titles but you can't play everything.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing lol.  Trophy hunting can be an enormous time waster and generally leads to a bigger backlog.  Doing my best to get what I can within reason and move on and just enjoy a more general gaming experience.

 

After all, we have a limited number of disposable hours and we’re not going to be thinking, hey I really wish I got more plats on our death beds 😉

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

I came to terms with being unable to clear my backlog a long time ago. However, there are still a bunch of games on there that for whatever reason have fell to the wayside, and I do want to get to sooner than later. So each year, I try to make a small, reasonable list of some backlog games...maybe like 10 games. If I finish at least 5 of them, I'll be happy. Of course this is on top of any newer releases, games I'm actively working on etc.

 

I used to have lists upon lists of what I was gonna play in attempts to really put a dent in the backlog, but it just burned me out, or began to feel very robotic and chore-like, and then I abandon it. So now, as long as I can finish a few of them here and there, I'm content with it.

[Phlegeth]

My backlog has a mind of its own.  It hungers.  It cries out in the night for more.  It's never satiated.  I have a huge problem of starting a game, getting distracted and playing something else.  And I'm not even talking about getting the "Press start to trophy" trophy just to add it to my list either.  I mean a proper start.

 

3 hours ago, DaivRules said:

Step 0: Stop adding to it. Do not buy another game unless you are ready to play it right away. 

 

[czDante92]

Just give up and accept you will never finish your backlog. Just play what you want atm and don't buy games for later just because they're on sale. Finish games on discontinued systems if you have those and then just go with the flow and stop worrying.

[sepheroithisgod]

I mostly stopped buying games outside of major releases I am interested in, but now PS Premium keeps me busy. Every month there always a handful of games I look at and think, yeah, I will play that...

[HoorayForTyler]

I died in the process. 

[den-69]

I would genuinely say don't worry about it. Play what you want to play. Gaming is not a chore.

 

BUT if it's that important make a rule to yourself something like you have to complete 5 games for every 1 new one you buy or something. Also I would cancel PS Extra as that just gives you a feeling of FOMO if you don't play a bunch of available games and just adds to your backlog.

[catstorm9]

I have a number of games that would be virtually impossible to play in my entire lifetime even if I didn't need to work, take care of my family or have other hobbies. I spend a lot of my time "cleaning the backlog", that is, open games from the past, however I never stop playing new games, especially from franchises that I love. Between one and another, I will clean it up a little bit.

 

There is no such thing as finishing the backlog, this is a lifelong task. These accounts with +1000 games completed and 100% are generally highly planned accounts, often people playing on alts to avoid problems with unobtainable, bugs etc. At this point, the hobby and gaming itself becomes a mechanized and idealized activity, just let the course of things flow.

 

Do you think these guys who chase the leaderboards or have "perfect" accounts have any fun? I've heard so many stories from these accounts, some worse than others. This meticulous planning and excessive fear of ruining the account are exhausting, there is no fun or joy in it. not worth it.

[syn1905]

So ive come to terms with my backlog being so big that ill most likely die before i play about 60% of it. So not having and kids of my own i decided that id leave my consoles and collection to a friend with a young son who games with the condition being that he keeps my psn profile alive and that he eventually passes it on to someone he trusts.

[Helyx]

5 hours ago, DaivRules said:

Do not buy another game unless you are ready to play it right away.

 

hesoutoflinebuthesright.fml

[ReverzerO-]

Backlog is not in my vocabulary. I look for a game to play if the game am playing is nearly done. 

 

Theres still hope, there are posts here that can help to change you! 

[SalvadorGamer_21]

The truth is that it surprises me how many people here manage to convince me with such powerful arguments and reasons to leave my Trophy Hunter side behind. And the truth is, I thank all of you guys, you are exceptional. I don't regret having entered this trophy page that hypothetically I am already trying to rehabilitate myself from trophies.

[Xillynoc]

What works for me is setting up a long Notepad list of all the games I own and placing them in a specific order to play - generally by order of acquisition, but also grouping series and like-style games together. I've also recreated this with the PSNP+ List function. This means I always know what to play next.

 

 

[J-S_93]

For me - I don't even consider games I haven't inserted or booted up as games that are apart of my backlog.

For me - they don't exist until 1 Trophy has been earned and the list is on my profile.

I only had around 57 Trophies to get a 100% account, but I started playing Samurai Jack JPN stack recently, so that of course added some more, but I'm enjoying the game.

I'll complete it at my own pace.

I recommend, going at your own pace and chipping away at a few Trophies at a time, I look at the incomplete games I have and their rankings, if there's a D Rank, then I play and get it up to C, then B and then A, from there, typically a game has more tedious stuff by that point, like Collectibles, so I take a long break, and grind the next incomplete game the same way, up to the same point - the trick is not to burn yourself out from the game until you only have the boring easy stuff left, and then you can go back to that any time and slowly chip away at it.

So, other than Samurai Jack which I'm currently playing, all my incomplete games are A Rank.

Don't start too many games, because the moment your account says you have thousands of unearned Trophies, it's game over for you at that point - you will never complete them, so best to just play for fun at that point and forget about thoughts of a backlog.

[funboy1246]

21 hours ago, DaivRules said:

None of the rest of the tips will ultimately help until people who want to get their backlog under control/reduced implement this:

 

 

Step 0: Stop adding to it. Do not buy another game unless you are ready to play it right away. 

 

exactly what i decided to do for the next year

[Dark_Overlord]

I'll be dead before I ever finish my backlog XD

[SuperPatchZ7]

Between buying less games and know when let a game go I reduce my backlog at a good pace.

 

Right now I have 60 games in the backlog and I think i can play them in 2 o 3 years, and then play the next 60 games in another 3 years, and so on...