Back-Catalogue of Games.

[Glockwyrks]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how others manage their ever-growing game backlogs these days. With so many great titles constantly being released, it feels like it’s easier than ever to become overwhelmed.

At the moment, I’ve got around 19 games installed, and I find myself jumping between them without really making meaningful progress or actually finishing any. It’s starting to feel a bit counterproductive, and I’d really like to make a proper dent in my “to-play” list.

How do you approach this? Do you focus on one game at a time, set goals, or just play whatever you’re in the mood for? I’d really appreciate any tips or strategies that have worked for you.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Colif]

I don't worry about it, Games don't have use by dates so just play the ones you want to 🙂

Only way you ever make a dent is if they stop making them, or heaven forbid, something happened to Steam and we had to play the new games.

 

[BeardyHat]

Similar to Colif.

My games library is exactly that, a library. It exists for when I'm ready for it, which might be today, which might be tomorrow, which might be three years from now, who knows?

I still regularly buy games, sometimes I play them immediately and other times, not at all. But again, I know that it's there when I'm ready to play it. For instance, the most recent game I started playing (UBOAT), I've owned it for something like two years now, but just a few days ago, had the thought that I think I'd finally like to play it.

A lot of times, I just buy games because I know I'll want to play them eventually and while often times it's easy to find a game for cheap if you discover you'd suddenly like to play it, I'd rather just own it already and not have to worry about finding a deal for it when I'm ready to play it.

 

[Zloth]

I don't have much of a backlog. (Well, OK, I guess you could say I have one on GOG, but those are more like keepsakes than games I expect to play in most cases.) How do I do it? Easy. I only buy enough games to get me through to the next big sale. I might miss by a few games, but then I just buy a lot fewer games at the next sale (or even none at all).

I mean, why buy a game unless you're going to play it soon? If you buy it later, it will most likely be cheaper. At worst it will be the same price. So, no rush.

I normally play just one or two games at a time. If I get a game I really want to play soon, fine, it's next on the list. That's soon enough. I would have to be VERY excited to drop what I'm already playing and jump to the greener pasture.

 

[Colif]

My games library is exactly that, a library. It exists for when I'm ready for it, which might be today, which might be tomorrow, which might be three years from now, who knows?

Just like books, I try not to buy anything I don't want to use now, but there are a few there now I bought and never played... that didn't happen so much with books.

I do return to the ones I have read/played before. Sometimes.

 

[Glockwyrks]

Perhaps in my circumstances, I have acquired too many games over the period of time. though I will be taking Zloth's approach moving forward and only treating myself to one after I've completed a few, I agree it isn't much use buying something if you don't on intend using it shortly afterwards.

Would it make more sense to go through the smaller, shorter games first and leave the larger ones until last?

 

[Colif]

That would be most time effective, if aim is to reduce numbers. I would do that and not buy any games until you are happy with the number that remains.

The game my avatar is based on (Journey) can be finished in 90 minutes or so but I played it for a few years, since its so short, and it had an interesting feature I haven't seen in other games. It also technically never ends but I have said too much. It might be dead now as its been out about 10 years.

So you might get stuck on a short game, I know I did 🙂

 

[Pifanjr]

I don't really make a distinction between games I own and those I don't own. There are a lot of games I don't own that are on the list of games I would like to play. Of course the fact that the games I own are free does mean I tend to prioritise them, but there are a ton of games that are free that I'm not planning on ever playing, including a significant amount of my Steam/GOG/Epic library.

In effect, I just play one or two games at a time and when I'm done with a game I pick a new game that looks interesting. If that happens to be a game I don't own yet and I have the money for it, I buy it and start playing it. I no longer buy games I don't intend to play immediately.

Do note that I'm often done with a game (long) before I finish it. In fact, I don't finish most of the games I play.

Would it make more sense to go through the smaller, shorter games first and leave the larger ones until last?

I typically find it difficult to play large games back to back, I prefer playing at least one shorter game in between, something that is easy to pick up and play.