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.

 

[mjs warlord]

I usually buy a game and hammer it to death until i either complete it or decide to give it a break.
Whilst hammering the game i am using at any one time i keep an eye out for bargins ... i see something at a silly price and get it , it might be a few years old but on the day i get it , it is new to me. I currently have 9 games that i have not yet got round to using but of course i give them a quick test on day of purchase to make sure they work ok.

As you all know my go to game for the last 4 years has been SATISFACTORY with 4,500 hours clocked up on my latest playthrough , every now and again i give it a rest and do something different .... but not very often.

 

[Frindis]

I was more into juggling games before, but now I try to keep fewer games installed (I got 12 installed) and play it as much as I like and either finish it or move on to something else, while coming back to it at a later time if needed. It really depends on what game I want to play, like, it's not every day I want to play Dark Souls or an FPS game.

Another thing I like to do from time to time is to just pick a game at random and play it for a while. I get to play some wierd games doing this and also stumble upon something surprisingly good.

My installed games right now on Steam. I also have Lure of Temptress installed on GOG and SKALD: Against the Black Priory on Epic Games.

 

[Glockwyrks]

I think Frindis approach to keeping a smaller amount of games installed will help, but I'll definitely start working through the quick finishes first as per Colif idea. I think it'll help clear up most of my log and probably make me feel less overwhelmed when choosing a game to play!

Thank you for your input guys, it's appreciated!

 

[Johnway]

Although i have 4 steam games installed, i'm really playing 2 (path of exile and neverending nightmare) i typically restrict myself to one or 2 games and play them as much as possible before moving on. I typically try to rotate genres and when i buy them with some caveats as to whether there is something i really want to play overrides the process. The problem i'm facing is that i'm scraping the bottom of the collection and the dregs of indie games don't really appeal to me. but i have to play them someday...


My collection is growing and i am mindful that i'm buying stuff i don't need or games i need to wait for. Looking at 2025 i have currently 26 games in steam (lets not even count epic's library...) and half of those were free. being free i find that you're less committed to playing games properly and just blast through them or just cheat through it and cross off the list.

of course i'm also playing games on my vita and 3ds and thats a long term project.

 

[Pifanjr]

but i have to play them someday...

No you don't.