I deffo have a ton of unplayed games but the best way to "beat the backlog" has been to just play whatever I want, when I want, making it way less stressful and less "chore-like" for me. Once you treat games as a chore, the fun goes out the window
100%! The one point I left out of this video is that… I personally don’t care and will play whatever/whenever. If I drop something I drop it, if I love it I love it! I don’t feel any pressure to play stuff at any stage, unless I have terrible FOMO with new releases which happens way to often 🤣
@ this is how it should be. There's been a recent trend where people are ashamed of their backlog (and I was in that category too where I thought I need to try all the games I have). But who says you should?? Plus why play something that I am not feeling right now? It will make me resent games rather than see them as my peaceful escape. Love your approach!
I agree. I've seen so many people burn out of genres, series, or even gaming overall because of they focus too much on rushing through games without stopping to actually admire them.
The major one for me with my backlog is sticking to one game. I did better last year beating games, but I look to improve on that this year. I am following the set a time to game rule, so that I don’t just sit around doing nothing. Thanks again for such quality content! 💚
Knowing when to walk away has been a big one for me. I keep a list of all the games I stop playing and why, just so I can look back and go .. "oh yeah that's why."
This was fantastic! I love this topic because I get an immense satisfaction from beating games! Your social media tip - brilliant! It’s what I do and it holds me accountable and I admit I get a good feeling telling people I beat a game. This video was 🔥🔥🔥!
Really appreciate hearing your perspective on how to tackle the backlog. I did something to your suggestion last year by focusing on Persona 5 Royal for two months, then played a couple of shorter games before tackling another big game. As much as I love RPGs, I cannot play big RPGs back to back. Plus, my schedule throughout the year is never the same. The first month of the year is always when I have the least amount of free time so I tend to focus on smaller games. When my free time is greater, I can help myself pick a big game here and there because I can make the time to game. I heard from a podcast that we shouldn't look at a backlog as an obligation, but more like a wine cellar. There is no way you can finish every bottle of wine you purchase, but when you do open and drink it, you made that time to savor each drink. I feel like gaming and other hobbies should have this mindset. It will help us step back from making it feel like work.
Walking away, whether actually dropping a game or just playing through without trying to be a completionist, is definitely something I did in 2024 that helped a lot. Early in the year I played Trinity Trigger… and while I didn’t hate it, I got to the end pretty quickly and then realized the final boss difficulty spike would mean I’d need to go grind levels for a while and come back. No thanks. I didn’t need to see the credits that badly. FF8… a game I pretty much hated and gave up on several times in the last 25 years. Well I’m now about 34 hours in, using a strategy guide, not trying too hard to make sure I get everything but doing enough to feel I’m getting the experience. I’m actually enjoying it quite a bit now that I’ve given it a chance to open up and actually generate a likeable story and characters. But there’s too many games to play so I can’t spend 50 hours playing triple triad or going for a mastered file lol.
I have a huge backlog (a lot of it is replaying older stuff tbh) so this helps. I grabbed games if I saw em on sale just to have em but it’s been super overwhelming tbh but I’m slowly making my way through it
My backlog has been progressing slowly, but not for most reasons you have covered. The big offenders being games with events/dailies that I play alongside my 'backlog" titles, and I am a horrible JRPG addict so having 100ish 50+ hour games hurts. That said, the things that are working for me: I can ONLY add one new game to my backlog for every 10 games I complete. 5 may be more reasonable for most people. I select a 'Casual' game to work on alongside my current RPG. Sometimes I don't want to sit through long bosses and cutscenes for a few hours, I want to get in there and get things rolling. When I played through FF5, I was playing Megaman Zero 2 on the side for the moments I had that "Pick up and play" craving. At the moment I am doing Pokemon Black and Animal Crossing New Leaf as my current two rotation. This may slow progress, but it also gives me a reprieve if something is walling or frustrating my progress. If the game starts to wear out its welcome, I can shelve it, though usually I just power through, then skip the postgame content if there is any. And if I shelve it, I attach a note to it (either on the PC desktop, or self-delivered message on console system) of a pseudo-diary entry, telling me where I am, what I was doing, and what the last signposted objective the game told me about was. If possible, I play the game on the device I enjoy using the most. Most the time? its my Vita. Good size to performance for some retro emulation, and its own library/PSP library. I am also willing to concede some ports in favor of the convenience. Examples being I am not particularly likely to play say... Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth on my PC or PS4, when I could have it wherever I happen to be on my Vita/PSTV. Similarly, I am likely willing to take the downgrade for a game like Gundam Breaker 3, or Star Wars Force Unleashed and play their handheld console ports, still getting the bulk of the experience in a more digestable platform with a very convenient sleep mode. I can always replay a 'better/best' port in a few years time if I really, REALLY enjoyed my time with the game anyway.
My new years resolution last year was to get through my backlog (or at least part of it). I made a spreadsheet and was able to track my progress daily. I was able to finish 65 games last year because of it
Im part of a Facebook group dedicated to game completed. Doesnt need to be 100% but we post photos and have a little description of the game, what we liked/didnt like etc. I've discovered a lot of games through other people playing them and the sense of community is nice. At least I know that when the moment happens that I do finish a game, I get to share it and that makes me proud. I've posted there a few days ago a photo of the games I'd like to tackle this year. Currently on legend of legaia and loving it.
I keep a list with all the games in my backlog, organized by what type of game. It helps me decide which game to play next. I'm currently playing through all the Final Fantasy games on the Switch.
Some really great recommendations! One tip I can add is playing on Easy mode as a way to get through the game quicker. This is something my husband now does because being parents to a young child whilst also working full time, we just don't have the time anymore and sometimes you just want to get through it so you can play another game.
Definitely some great tips here, and I would say "Yes" to this video! I'm just glad that I'm not one of those "No" people, thank goodness! Great video bro, I'll be applying these tips for myself this year.
10 steps? It only takes one! Stop thinking of it as a backlog you need to beat, and instead see it as a library you can browse and enjoy at your leisure, if and when you want to, or don't. Every single problem you've created for yourself is suddenly no longer a problem. You're welcome!
@Kimberly-lj9xw then obviously this video, or comment, wasn't for you. Although the whole idea of a backlog is that you're behind, backed up etc. That's why people find it stressful. If you enjoy being stressed out then.. cool, good for you, I guess??
@mydogeatspuke I'm a masochist, so yeah, I kinda do like the feeling of being stressed, so I guess it is and isn't for me, I mostly watch these videos trying to find ways to beat games faster than i already do
I also like to chunk games I want to play into seasons and plan to the play them then. Summer-y game? Plan to play it in Summer. Horror game? Play it in October. Planning things that way really works for me.
4:15 I used to be a 100% completionist for RPGs, but the amount of time needed for the return has gotten a bit overwhelming. Especially if a game has a good let's play out there that I can watch over time during lunch breaks, I can stand to just finish most of the interesting side content then look up the rest later. 11:00 howlongtobeat has helped me so much in prioritizing my backlog.
I've put Fantasian on the shelf because I didn't like how tough the thunder boss was, on top of reviews like yours talking about how challenging the second sounds to be.
Ive always kinda played games one at a time- its why i never understood the discourse around game lenth- like what does it matter if persona is 300 hours or whatever- ill just save quit pick it up next free time. it doesnt frustrate me to play a game bite sized over months if need be i poured soo many hours as a kid just trying to beat rayman and honestly its better for everything- I dont watch reviews cause they always miss stuff by powering through it- I watch retrospectives and focused analysis videos- because they cook all the thoughts alot more. feels more thorough and allows me to respect some opinions i dont agree with cause its not dismissive and reactionary its just that guys taste. you know what i mean- let things be as long as they need to be, be patient and youll have fun. right now im completing spyro again and im taking the time to find all the things and do as much as i can before i have to leave and thats how i play every game. let yourself chill through the game. there plenty of excitement to have later but i bet youd get stuck less. patients isnt a virtue for other people its inherently for your benifit.
Ive always been a rpg fan. Most of them are massive time sinks (currently on a 60 hour playthrough of FFIX) and I find it difficult to choose my next game because I have around 40 of them I haven't played in my steam library. I may just put 5-10 titles into a wheel and let it choose my next one lol
It's really difficult for me to do tips no 2 because of 'peak-end bias' or save the best for the last approach. So thanks, maybe I should just jump into a game that I think might be the most fun to play instead
I dont have a backlogged, because when I start a game I just played until I platinum(imagine I played every assassin creed in realese order even if the last assassin creed was realesed alredy( the release day was 10 September…and I started from ac2 in octomber and waited until next year in January to play ac mirage)
I never shelve games. I feel like playing kusoge is necessary for player growth. I also feel like prioritizing would have not allowed me to personally try games I would have not touched. I utilize randomization.
Some reason walking around a town or city in new RPGs just makes me ask myself, "what made me so interested about towns like in ff7? Like Wall market? Why is this town in Fantasian or Metaphor Refantasio not feeling it is doing better than that when I know, at least intellectually, that it is?" Idk, just got to get playing more new games. Got myself playing Ys 8 and even Star ocean Integrity and loving whatever is newer which I'm finally starting to play now getting a new pc and a ps5. Love new generation, and how far we've come. Wow. But admit, I already relapsed into playing ff9 again.
I definitely need to limit my purchase, last year I only beat 3 games, but adding around 15 new games 😅 Had a plan to sell/trade some of my collection, but still unsure 🤔 I mean, these tips are good, but it's easier said than done for me.. 🥴
Many great tips in here! I fel like iam in the same boat as you here. There are so many jrpgs coming these is not time to play them all. I still got games in my collection that I bought years ago and haven't played them yet. Atm I declared sick so I do not work. Eventhiug the home and wife consumes time aswell. However when buying games one mistake to make if you wait to long buying it, once it's off the store market and enters the secondary market like eBay and sutch. Then it will get expensive.
The best advice someone game me is don't call it your backlog call it your library. Calling it a backlog makes it sound like a task while calling it your library makes it sounds like your collection.
I start doing a lot of those steps but the main thing I’ve done is cave in and lower the difficulty not because the game is too challenging but just because I don’t have as much free time as I used to so I start on easy difficulty and if I really like the game then I’ll do a higher difficulty on replay.
You should EACH be scheduling free itme for yourself, where u have X hours in a row to game or watrever u wanna do, and the same for the Wife, where she gets X hours off to do hjwhatever at all withut being interupted by kid stuff, aside from an emergency of course. We all need ME time. And if u don't schedule it, then the 2 parents might get mad at each other for being "lazy" and not chiping in enough.
I have over 100 games on my ps4 that I haven’t even started. It seems so overwhelming that I don’t even want to turn the system on. But yeah, I’m doing this. Good advice.
If I'm enjoying a game I tend to stop playing and "save it for later", but if I'm not enjoying a game I tend to finish so i can get rid of it. Problem is I seldomly get to play through the games i enjoy. 🤦
I have a huge backlog (a lot of it is replaying older stuff tbh) so this helps. I grabbed games if I saw em on sale just to have em but it’s been super overwhelming tbh but I’m slowly making my way through it
I deffo have a ton of unplayed games but the best way to "beat the backlog" has been to just play whatever I want, when I want, making it way less stressful and less "chore-like" for me. Once you treat games as a chore, the fun goes out the window
100%! The one point I left out of this video is that… I personally don’t care and will play whatever/whenever. If I drop something I drop it, if I love it I love it! I don’t feel any pressure to play stuff at any stage, unless I have terrible FOMO with new releases which happens way to often 🤣
@ this is how it should be. There's been a recent trend where people are ashamed of their backlog (and I was in that category too where I thought I need to try all the games I have). But who says you should?? Plus why play something that I am not feeling right now? It will make me resent games rather than see them as my peaceful escape. Love your approach!
I agree. I've seen so many people burn out of genres, series, or even gaming overall because of they focus too much on rushing through games without stopping to actually admire them.
The major one for me with my backlog is sticking to one game. I did better last year beating games, but I look to improve on that this year. I am following the set a time to game rule, so that I don’t just sit around doing nothing.
Thanks again for such quality content! 💚
Knowing when to walk away has been a big one for me. I keep a list of all the games I stop playing and why, just so I can look back and go .. "oh yeah that's why."
I created a "flushed" category on steam for exactly this.
Why would I play my backlog when I can play Donkey Kong Country 2 again?
30 minutes ago I thought "Hmm playing DKC2 again this weekend sounds like a good plan"
@@no1noseme96 that is always a good plan
Backlog? Nope. Dr Mario & Tetris still exist. I don’t have time for a 30 hour rpg but somehow I can play these 2 games for hours on end lol
This was fantastic! I love this topic because I get an immense satisfaction from beating games! Your social media tip - brilliant! It’s what I do and it holds me accountable and I admit I get a good feeling telling people I beat a game. This video was 🔥🔥🔥!
I struggle with this so much.
But not just with games. With books, movies and shows as well.
There's just not enough time for all of it 😂
Yeah this, like I wanted a 10y stop time watch, and to me just lock in to those medias.
Really appreciate hearing your perspective on how to tackle the backlog. I did something to your suggestion last year by focusing on Persona 5 Royal for two months, then played a couple of shorter games before tackling another big game. As much as I love RPGs, I cannot play big RPGs back to back. Plus, my schedule throughout the year is never the same. The first month of the year is always when I have the least amount of free time so I tend to focus on smaller games. When my free time is greater, I can help myself pick a big game here and there because I can make the time to game. I heard from a podcast that we shouldn't look at a backlog as an obligation, but more like a wine cellar. There is no way you can finish every bottle of wine you purchase, but when you do open and drink it, you made that time to savor each drink. I feel like gaming and other hobbies should have this mindset. It will help us step back from making it feel like work.
Walking away, whether actually dropping a game or just playing through without trying to be a completionist, is definitely something I did in 2024 that helped a lot.
Early in the year I played Trinity Trigger… and while I didn’t hate it, I got to the end pretty quickly and then realized the final boss difficulty spike would mean I’d need to go grind levels for a while and come back. No thanks. I didn’t need to see the credits that badly.
FF8… a game I pretty much hated and gave up on several times in the last 25 years. Well I’m now about 34 hours in, using a strategy guide, not trying too hard to make sure I get everything but doing enough to feel I’m getting the experience. I’m actually enjoying it quite a bit now that I’ve given it a chance to open up and actually generate a likeable story and characters. But there’s too many games to play so I can’t spend 50 hours playing triple triad or going for a mastered file lol.
I have a huge backlog (a lot of it is replaying older stuff tbh) so this helps. I grabbed games if I saw em on sale just to have em but it’s been super overwhelming tbh but I’m slowly making my way through it
My backlog has been progressing slowly, but not for most reasons you have covered. The big offenders being games with events/dailies that I play alongside my 'backlog" titles, and I am a horrible JRPG addict so having 100ish 50+ hour games hurts. That said, the things that are working for me:
I can ONLY add one new game to my backlog for every 10 games I complete. 5 may be more reasonable for most people.
I select a 'Casual' game to work on alongside my current RPG. Sometimes I don't want to sit through long bosses and cutscenes for a few hours, I want to get in there and get things rolling. When I played through FF5, I was playing Megaman Zero 2 on the side for the moments I had that "Pick up and play" craving. At the moment I am doing Pokemon Black and Animal Crossing New Leaf as my current two rotation. This may slow progress, but it also gives me a reprieve if something is walling or frustrating my progress.
If the game starts to wear out its welcome, I can shelve it, though usually I just power through, then skip the postgame content if there is any. And if I shelve it, I attach a note to it (either on the PC desktop, or self-delivered message on console system) of a pseudo-diary entry, telling me where I am, what I was doing, and what the last signposted objective the game told me about was.
If possible, I play the game on the device I enjoy using the most. Most the time? its my Vita. Good size to performance for some retro emulation, and its own library/PSP library. I am also willing to concede some ports in favor of the convenience. Examples being I am not particularly likely to play say... Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth on my PC or PS4, when I could have it wherever I happen to be on my Vita/PSTV. Similarly, I am likely willing to take the downgrade for a game like Gundam Breaker 3, or Star Wars Force Unleashed and play their handheld console ports, still getting the bulk of the experience in a more digestable platform with a very convenient sleep mode. I can always replay a 'better/best' port in a few years time if I really, REALLY enjoyed my time with the game anyway.
My new years resolution last year was to get through my backlog (or at least part of it). I made a spreadsheet and was able to track my progress daily. I was able to finish 65 games last year because of it
Im part of a Facebook group dedicated to game completed. Doesnt need to be 100% but we post photos and have a little description of the game, what we liked/didnt like etc. I've discovered a lot of games through other people playing them and the sense of community is nice. At least I know that when the moment happens that I do finish a game, I get to share it and that makes me proud.
I've posted there a few days ago a photo of the games I'd like to tackle this year. Currently on legend of legaia and loving it.
I keep a list with all the games in my backlog, organized by what type of game. It helps me decide which game to play next.
I'm currently playing through all the Final Fantasy games on the Switch.
Some really great recommendations! One tip I can add is playing on Easy mode as a way to get through the game quicker. This is something my husband now does because being parents to a young child whilst also working full time, we just don't have the time anymore and sometimes you just want to get through it so you can play another game.
Great tip! I always play on easy. I’m not interested in struggling when playing so easy is always the way!
Definitely some great tips here, and I would say "Yes" to this video! I'm just glad that I'm not one of those "No" people, thank goodness! Great video bro, I'll be applying these tips for myself this year.
10 steps? It only takes one! Stop thinking of it as a backlog you need to beat, and instead see it as a library you can browse and enjoy at your leisure, if and when you want to, or don't. Every single problem you've created for yourself is suddenly no longer a problem. You're welcome!
But what if I find fun out of the idea of the backlog?
@Kimberly-lj9xw then obviously this video, or comment, wasn't for you. Although the whole idea of a backlog is that you're behind, backed up etc. That's why people find it stressful. If you enjoy being stressed out then.. cool, good for you, I guess??
@mydogeatspuke I'm a masochist, so yeah, I kinda do like the feeling of being stressed, so I guess it is and isn't for me, I mostly watch these videos trying to find ways to beat games faster than i already do
@Kimberly-lj9xw oh aren't you just so edgy with your pretend masochism and your contrarian attitude 🙄🙄🙄
@@Kimberly-lj9xw yes ofc you are. Very edgy. Not nonsense at all.
I also like to chunk games I want to play into seasons and plan to the play them then. Summer-y game? Plan to play it in Summer. Horror game? Play it in October. Planning things that way really works for me.
4:15 I used to be a 100% completionist for RPGs, but the amount of time needed for the return has gotten a bit overwhelming. Especially if a game has a good let's play out there that I can watch over time during lunch breaks, I can stand to just finish most of the interesting side content then look up the rest later.
11:00 howlongtobeat has helped me so much in prioritizing my backlog.
Omg thank you Erik! Need this
The best gaming seshes w JRPGs are honestly the 10-12 hour ones lol
I subscribed as soon as I noticed you play lots of JRPGs!
I've put Fantasian on the shelf because I didn't like how tough the thunder boss was, on top of reviews like yours talking about how challenging the second sounds to be.
Ive always kinda played games one at a time- its why i never understood the discourse around game lenth- like what does it matter if persona is 300 hours or whatever- ill just save quit pick it up next free time. it doesnt frustrate me to play a game bite sized over months if need be i poured soo many hours as a kid just trying to beat rayman and honestly its better for everything- I dont watch reviews cause they always miss stuff by powering through it- I watch retrospectives and focused analysis videos- because they cook all the thoughts alot more. feels more thorough and allows me to respect some opinions i dont agree with cause its not dismissive and reactionary its just that guys taste. you know what i mean- let things be as long as they need to be, be patient and youll have fun. right now im completing spyro again and im taking the time to find all the things and do as much as i can before i have to leave and thats how i play every game. let yourself chill through the game. there plenty of excitement to have later but i bet youd get stuck less. patients isnt a virtue for other people its inherently for your benifit.
Ive always been a rpg fan. Most of them are massive time sinks (currently on a 60 hour playthrough of FFIX) and I find it difficult to choose my next game because I have around 40 of them I haven't played in my steam library. I may just put 5-10 titles into a wheel and let it choose my next one lol
Getting ready to back my beatlog
great guide to beating my backlog
this should help plenty of people
Hoping so!!
It's really difficult for me to do tips no 2 because of 'peak-end bias' or save the best for the last approach. So thanks, maybe I should just jump into a game that I think might be the most fun to play instead
I dont have a backlogged, because when I start a game I just played until I platinum(imagine I played every assassin creed in realese order even if the last assassin creed was realesed alredy( the release day was 10 September…and I started from ac2 in octomber and waited until next year in January to play ac mirage)
The Yakuza games are SO good. I started late, too. The first one was Judgment.
I never shelve games. I feel like playing kusoge is necessary for player growth. I also feel like prioritizing would have not allowed me to personally try games I would have not touched. I utilize randomization.
Some reason walking around a town or city in new RPGs just makes me ask myself, "what made me so interested about towns like in ff7? Like Wall market? Why is this town in Fantasian or Metaphor Refantasio not feeling it is doing better than that when I know, at least intellectually, that it is?" Idk, just got to get playing more new games. Got myself playing Ys 8 and even Star ocean Integrity and loving whatever is newer which I'm finally starting to play now getting a new pc and a ps5. Love new generation, and how far we've come. Wow. But admit, I already relapsed into playing ff9 again.
Could you tell which are the games that u showed in your video?
I definitely need to limit my purchase, last year I only beat 3 games, but adding around 15 new games 😅 Had a plan to sell/trade some of my collection, but still unsure 🤔 I mean, these tips are good, but it's easier said than done for me.. 🥴
Many great tips in here! I fel like iam in the same boat as you here. There are so many jrpgs coming these is not time to play them all. I still got games in my collection that I bought years ago and haven't played them yet. Atm I declared sick so I do not work. Eventhiug the home and wife consumes time aswell. However when buying games one mistake to make if you wait to long buying it, once it's off the store market and enters the secondary market like eBay and sutch. Then it will get expensive.
Too many games to play and not enough time to play them all
God this one was personal with all the persona showed when I'm going through p5r for my first time
Unlimited backlog helps me a lot if you’re looking for a way to track it
The best advice someone game me is don't call it your backlog call it your library. Calling it a backlog makes it sound like a task while calling it your library makes it sounds like your collection.
Great advice!
Never thought I need this
What is the game at :07?
This is a very helpful video
I start doing a lot of those steps but the main thing I’ve done is cave in and lower the difficulty not because the game is too challenging but just because I don’t have as much free time as I used to so I start on easy difficulty and if I really like the game then I’ll do a higher difficulty on replay.
It's really a two step process. Play and beat what you own and don't buy nothing else til you do so.
You should EACH be scheduling free itme for yourself, where u have X hours in a row to game or watrever u wanna do, and the same for the Wife, where she gets X hours off to do hjwhatever at all withut being interupted by kid stuff, aside from an emergency of course. We all need ME time. And if u don't schedule it, then the 2 parents might get mad at each other for being "lazy" and not chiping in enough.
Step 1: quit my job. Step 2: quit buying more games.
I feel this
Stop trying to beat your back log and appreciate the games you have played. FOMO is the real problem.
I have over 100 games on my ps4 that I haven’t even started. It seems so overwhelming that I don’t even want to turn the system on. But yeah, I’m doing this. Good advice.
Is the title supposed to sound dirty or is that just me?
I don't even understand what you're talking about
If I'm enjoying a game I tend to stop playing and "save it for later", but if I'm not enjoying a game I tend to finish so i can get rid of it. Problem is I seldomly get to play through the games i enjoy. 🤦
I have a huge backlog (a lot of it is replaying older stuff tbh) so this helps. I grabbed games if I saw em on sale just to have em but it’s been super overwhelming tbh but I’m slowly making my way through it