How do you tackle your backlog?

[woodjer]

I traded in a couple games the other night and, since I've been taking advantage of my Amazon Prime membership for games more recently, I didn't want to keep trade-in credit around. Told the guy helping me that I already have a backlog so he asked what was in it...and I couldn't even remember them all. In other words, I've got WAY too big of a backlog.

So my question is...how do you tackle yours? Start with the short ones first to make a dent? Tackle bigger ones slowly over time?

My biggest problem is just that I don't have a ton of time to play anymore so I almost need to blog or make notes as I play since it can be several days between sessions now and I like to try keeping up with my Madden and NBA seasons, too. I'm leaning toward knocking off some of the shorter ones first

For what it's worth, here is what I have in mine:

Spoiler

Broken Age (80%-ish complete)
Disney Infinity 2.0 & 3.0
Dragon Age Inquisition
Ether One
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Fallout 4
Far Cry 4 (80%-ish complete...I think?)
Game of Thrones - Telltale Games
Gone Home
Journey
King's Quest
LEGO Dimensions
LittleBigPlanet 3
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
No Man's Sky
Rebel Galaxy (Currently playing...maybe around 50% complete?)
Skyrim (completed main story on PS3)
Last of Us (completed main story on PS3)
Unfinished Swan
Walking Dead 1 & 2
Witcher 3
Wolf Among Us
This War of Mine
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
Transformers: Devastation (Guessing 75% done)
Tropico 5
Uncharted 4

Other than the ones above where I mention progress, I would either be starting over or have never played. Yes...I know there are a lot!

[NoleFan]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I just can't seem to stop buying and when I buy I start playing the new game. And, since going digital, I can't get anything back. LOL


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[woodjer]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I just can't seem to stop buying and when I buy I start playing the new game. And, since going digital, I can't get anything back. LOL


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Same here minus the "start playing" part. There are a lot of PS+ freebies on my list that I might not otherwise have and, since they were "free," I don't feel guilty not playing them right away. At least most of those seem to be relatively short ones.

Really, it's the big games that I stress most about not playing...The Witcher, Fallout, Uncharted, Dragon Age, etc...

[33JAF]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I just can't seem to stop buying and when I buy I start playing the new game. And, since going digital, I can't get anything back. LOL


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It seems like the older I get, the quicker I burn out on games. I'll initially have tons of fun playing, but usually after 15-20 hours of gameplay, I want something different. I think it's a result of too many games following the same formula. I am really into Yakuza 0 right now, and I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I've never played a game similar to it.

Even with the Witcher 3, one of my favorite games this gen, I eventually had to force myself to get through the story. It was a hell of a game but I never want to see it or play it again after almost 100 hours, and I never got the DLC.

[DJ]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I used to stress a lot over this, but have changed my mindset and now just adopt a strategy of playing games when I want to play them. If I get into a groove with Madden or MLB The Show, I don't want to feel guilty about not playing Horizon for a week, ya know? Conversely, if I'm locked in on Horizon, I shouldn't feel bad about setting Tomb Raider aside for a month.

It sounds bad, but I have so many games spread across multiple systems that I likely won't get to fully experience all of them, and I'm OK with that. I have stopped buying as many games so my library isn't growing by leaps and bounds.

[NoleFan]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

Really, it's the big games that I stress most about not playing...The Witcher, Fallout, Uncharted, Dragon Age, etc...

And I've not played any of those. Just bought Watch Dogs 2 last week or so after getting an email about a 3-hr free play or whatever, playing the demo, liking the game and buying the full version. [emoji30]


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[woodjer]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

And I've not played any of those.

Wow! I thought I was the only one! LOL

Well, actually, I've played a little bit of all of those except Uncharted 4. But just not any more than a trial period. Now the other three all just seem so dauntingly huge that it's a little bit of a mental thing just to get started.

[woodjer]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I used to stress a lot over this, but have changed my mindset and now just adopt a strategy of playing games when I want to play them. If I get into a groove with Madden or MLB The Show, I don't want to feel guilty about not playing Horizon for a week, ya know? Conversely, if I'm locked in on Horizon, I shouldn't feel bad about setting Tomb Raider aside for a month.

It sounds bad, but I have so many games spread across multiple systems that I likely won't get to fully experience all of them, and I'm OK with that. I have stopped buying as many games so my library isn't growing by leaps and bounds.

I've tried adopting this mindset but it's like that Seinfeld bit about how guys don't care about what's on TV...they just care about what ELSE is on TV.

My biggest problem is with the storylines. Like I said, I think I need to start taking notes or something so I can pick up where I left off better. I just find that coming back from a break is really tough because I don't remember pieces of the backstory as well. And then sometimes I just decide that I don't care enough about the story to try to remember it and wonder if it's really worth continuing.

It seems like the older I get, the quicker I burn out on games. I'll initially have tons of fun playing, but usually after 15-20 hours of gameplay, I want something different. I think it's a result of too many games following the same formula. I am really into Yakuza 0 right now, and I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I've never played a game similar to it.

Even with the Witcher 3, one of my favorite games this gen, I eventually had to force myself to get through the story. It was a hell of a game but I never want to see it or play it again after almost 100 hours, and I never got the DLC.

I think this might be part of my issue but in a different way. I'll be playing something in one game and a story element/puzzle/game mechanic will remind me of something in another one that I haven't finished. Then I start wanting to play the other one.

And I can relate to your Witcher story. I've had plenty of games that I loved but then hit a point where I just decide that I need to move on to something else and plow through things to get through it. But then a month later, I wonder what I may have missed by rushing through it. LOL

[Altimus]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I just waved the white flag.

[woodjer]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I just waved the white flag.

This is how I feel sometimes but then my FOMO kicks in.

[bhurst99]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

Easy question. When I win the lottery, I am going to quit work and instead of going on a vacation around the world, I am going to finish my backlog. Should take about a decade.

[Herky]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

I keep adding more to it.

[pk500]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

Pretty simple solution for me: Stop buying games.

[ESPNdeportes]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

My strategy is to wait to buy games and see if I really want to play them. I usually wait at least a year when I can get the "complete edition" on a sale. Thats how I got witcher 3 for $24.99, great deal.

I find that just by waiting I'll end up passing on some of the games that I might not have liked.

As for the OP, your backlog is crazy lol, I'd say just let some of them go and not worry about it. Gaming should be fun, and not stressful. Ask yourself- will you be upset in 5 years if you didn't play a game, if the answer is no, move on.

[woodjer]

Re: How do you tackle your backlog?

Pretty simple solution for me: Stop buying games.

Actually, more than half of my backlog is PS+ games so it's not entirely that simple. But otherwise, I have stopped buying games. I guess I could not DL them or cancel the membership. Just seems silly to me to not take something for "free" when I'm already paying for it.

My strategy is to wait to buy games and see if I really want to play them. I usually wait at least a year when I can get the "complete edition" on a sale. Thats how I got witcher 3 for $24.99, great deal.

I find that just by waiting I'll end up passing on some of the games that I might not have liked.

As for the OP, your backlog is crazy lol, I'd say just let some of them go and not worry about it. Gaming should be fun, and not stressful. Ask yourself- will you be upset in 5 years if you didn't play a game, if the answer is no, move on.

I did the same with Witcher 3. In fact, the complete edition of that one is the last game in my backlog that I actually spent money on. I bought a used version of the original with some trade-in credit and it happened to be just a few days before that came out so, after trying it out and returning it, I think I got the complete edition for even less.

And, yes, my backlog is crazy. Looking back at it, I could definitely let go of some and others appear to be pretty short so I could probably knock a couple out in a weekend (some maybe even less). Then again, that's part of it, too...I always think that I'm going to have a lot more time to do this stuff than I actually do.