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Last year, I decided to tackle my greatest sin: my gaming backlog.
My library was full of unfinished gamessome of them I’d never even installed.
That pile kept growing out of control as I bought the latest releases.
Lucas Gouveia |SJBright/agencies/mkfilm/Shutterstock
I wanted to play all these games, but how?
I got serious and employed various techniques to help me clear my pile of shame.
1Organize Your Backlog
Your first task is to identify your backlog.
Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
The simplest way to do this is to manually sort your games into folders.
I opt for a basic structure: to complete, complete, and never-ending.
Everything unfinished sits in the “to complete” folder, before moving to “complete” when done.
Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
If you want greater management, there are services likeBackloggery,Backloggd,Completionator,Grouvee, andGG.
These are particularly handy for tracking multiple platforms in a single place and typically have social features like reviews.
The secret is, games always go on sale.
Marcus Mears III / How-To Geek
The exception to this rule is forgames that are being delisted.
This happens for various reasons, like license expirations.
Instead, stick to a few games at a time to keep your focus.
It’s easy to get burned out if you play games of the same genre back to back.
Variety is the spice of life.
When you finish a racing game, tackle a platformer next.
Once you’re done with that, move to an RPG.
This way every experience feels fresh and your backlog won’t all blur together.
For some people, that might mean beating every side quest and unlocking all the achievements.
For others, it’s seeing the main story path to the end and watching the credits roll.
You don’t even need to beat the game.
If you’ve seen everything you want and it’s becoming a slog, move on.
There are so many games to get through and so little timefocus on the ones you actually enjoy.
Purchasing aSteam Deck revolutionized my gaming habitsbecause I can crack through my Steam library wherever I am.
They’ll all still be waiting for you, ready to play when you feel reinvigorated.
It’s helpful to explore a different activity for a while, perhaps away from a screen.
Remember, gaming is meant to be a fun hobby, not a chore.
