Every now and again I scroll my social media and see people discussing their video game backlogs.
I enjoy having a long library of games to look forward to. The list of games I have left to play far exceeds the limits of 300+, leaving me with years worth of peak to play through.
But when reading comments, and trying to look up tips and ideas to tackle ones backlog of games, I often see negativity surrounding the subject.
I’m constantly seeing people downplay the idea of a gaming backlog, saying things like, “I don’t have a backlog, I have a library”, or, “the term backlog is too stressful and negative”.
For me, the word “backlog” doesn’t have any negative connotation. It should never be a negative term.
A Tall Tall Wall Looms In Front Of Me
It’s easy for me to fill the role of a hero, protagonist, or anime character.
It gives me great motivation to see this mountain of tasks in front of me ready for climbing.
I picture a range of mountains, where there are few at the top who have climbed and finished their backlogs.
I want to be one of the people who actually do it, and not just say I’m doing it for the sake of it.
Discussion & Community
It’s fun to come together with friends and offer them strategies and advice that I use to get through my own games.
Seeing others tackle their games and finish their lists helps motivate me as much as I motivate them.
There’s a real community with positive reinforcement around stacks of games.
They are games we buy with intent to play some day, and that isn’t something to take lightly. It encourages us to have late night DMs full of discussing our progression, and celebrating each finish with a post.
It lights me up to see my friends beating their games.
It makes me happy to see we’re all fighting our backlogs.
It’s real power of friendship JRPG energy that we share together!
When I help make lists for my friends or have long discussions about how to tackle our games in a specific order, it gets me excited and powered up to play my games.
A Positive Outlook on Goals
Playing all the video games you bought should be your goal!
It’s not a bad thing.
I’m sure it’s easy to buy all those video games on sale and then become completely overwhelmed by the stress of needing to play them all.
As well, I’m sure it’s so easy to go online and complain about the sheer amount of games we all have left to play in a negative outlook.
But it doesn’t have to be that way…
Having goals to keep in mind is important because it offers chaos control.
By chaos control, I mean it allows the backlog-haver control over their games.
I can offer help to anyone who needs it, but essentially, when it comes to your backlog, you need a plan to beat it.
Always sticking to your plan and limiting game purchases, will whittle your list bit by bit while simultaneously offering you a sense of accomplishment.
This in turn will reflect a more positive experience for backlogs as a whole.
Manage and track your backlog by making a list.
If your backlog is so long that you don’t even want to count it, pick the first 24 games you own and start there. Use a backlog app like GG App and get to demolishing the stack.
24 games a year is two games a month, which is easily doable if you focus on one game at a time and do not try to take on every 80+ — hour JRPG back-to-back…
Unless… that’s all your backlog is… and honestly? That’s sick!
Final Thoughts & My Message To Gamers
The idea of a video game backlog doesn’t need to be a dirty word or negative concept.
Your backlog can actually be a tool to help you throughout many years of your life. It’s a journey.
A marathon, not a sprint.
Your backlog may be your library, but it’s still your backlog.
It’s something to look forward to when there’s a dry period of games coming out, something to focus on and give you a sense of achievement in your life, and a way for all of us to come together and share our gaming experiences…
either that… or bitch on Twitter about it.
“BACKLOG”! It’s not a dirty word!
