Being disinterested in the games in your backlog is the worst

[Deleted member 17627]

Been trying to go back to games in my backlog in an attempt to not buy any new games until I complete them. Then the sudden realization hit me: I kind of don't like half these games.

Granted, my backlog extends from 2013, and my tastes have shifted greatly since then, but now I'm just sort of stuck with these games. Some of them I might sell and get some decent money out of them, but others have so little resell value.

As someone who's in this situation, just a few words of advice: Be wary of your game purchases and make sure your backlog doesn't spiral out of control.

Would love to hear similar stories from the folks of Era.

 

[Lego Killer Moth]

At least you can resell them. My backlog is almost all digital

 

[It’s Time To Go]

A lot of my backlog is at a point now where I doubt I'll ever play them, but I don't want to lose money by trading them in, so I just keep them on the off chance my interest is peaked.

 

[night814]

I have a big backlog too and a lot of times I'll pop something in that I've heard is really good and it just doesn't do anything for me. Witcher 3 was like that, I bounced off it hard. I usually put them in a pile to resell them.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

Which ones from your backlog you deem unworthy of playthrough OP?

 

[VISION]

Don't waste your leisure time doing something you don't enjoy

 

[Mediking]

If you truly don't want them... sell them in the BST thread on here. Somebody like me will buy it

 

[Strangelove_77]

I'd say not being able to afford a backlog is the worst.

 

[Canucked]

Backlogs are silly. Just get the game later when it's cheaper.

 

[IDontBeatGames]

I had a huge backlog of like 20 games, but last semester I completed literally 17 of them. Fast forward to now my backlog literally is just Persona 5, NieR Automata and AC:Origins, yet I want nothing to do with any of them right now. I'm disinterested in everything until basically Sekiro or DMC or Days Gone, and even then I know damn well there isn't a lot of shit coming out post April. Everything is in June and the rest of the summer, via Nintendo's new games etc.

I just kind of don't wanna play any of the 3 games I have left to play cause like you said, none of them really interest me enough to play them right now.

 

[Ryengeku]

Backlogs are silly. Just get the game later when it's cheaper.

Click to shrink...

Some games need Day 1 support though. Niche or indie titles.

 

[Lant_War]

I made a thread about this some months ago. You shouldn't force yourself to enjoy them if you aren't already, just face the money loss and try to be more careful next time.

 

[Boddy]

Just don't play them then.
Scratch them for your list and move on to the next one.

 

[Deleted member 679]

Thankfully, I've been enjoying mine a lot. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was my favorite game played in 2018, and I bought that game in 2013.

My mistake was to buy it day one when it was available for $5 even before huge sales on consoles were common, but apparently my tastes are still very similar.

I do have periods where I just don't feel like playing my backlog, but that's usually because there's a new shiny thing I really want, not because those games don't interest me anymore.

 

[Deleted member 17627]

A lot of my backlog is at a point now where I doubt I'll ever play them, but I don't want to lose money by trading them in, so I just keep them on the off chance my interest is peaked.

Click to shrink...

I relate. Even though I'm disinterested in most, there's usually some element of them I still like, and in the offchance I catch a mood, they'll still be with me. I mean some of these disinterested games I have are rare (another thread I made recently regarding Skies of Arcadia), so if I sell those, there's no way I'm getting them back.

I'd say not being able to afford a backlog is the worst.

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To be honest, the one redeeming point is most of my backlog are games I bought on sale between $5 to $20 max.

Some games need Day 1 support though. Niche or indie titles.

Click to shrink...

And there are a few backlog games I have in this category, with some fitting into the rare category too.

 

[ezodagrom]

I have a different problem with my backlog, I'm pretty interested in many games in my backlog, I want to play them, but I don't have the time to play them. :/

 

[Spyware]

Forcing yourself to play games is a bad idea. If you rather play a new game, do it.

I have a backlog spanning over 10 years now, with hundreds of games in it. I get stuff I think I'll play pretty much immediately but then I have one of those down episodes where I don't even wanna play games at all or I get stuck playing Sims for three months and the games get dumped in the backlog. Then something new catches my eye and the cycle repeats.

I recently cleared out a huge amount of games due to that feeling you have. I have moved on, I have figured out that genre x and y are not fun for me anymore, I am tired of that series and so on. So I sold/deleted/hid about 150 games. Some I am saving for when I have beaten my "priority one" backlog but with the thought that I might never come back to them. Sure, it sucks that I have wasted money but I am not gonna fall into the sunk cost fallacy idea of needing to play them just because I paid for them. I wasted my money, I don't need to also waste my time.

 

[Rodney McKay]

I'm planning on not buying any games this year and I made a list of like 20-30 games on my backlog I want to finish before I buy another one. (Except that I did get Assassin's Creed Origin from that Steam Chinese New Year sale)

Sadly I'm just not in a gaming mood lately, so I think about which of thos games I want to start and I haven't landed on one I really want to dive into all the way.
Thinking about Obduction on PC, Spiderman on PS4, Luigi's Mansion on 3DS, and I even started most of them, I just didn't end up getting super far.

And then the biggest urge to play something ends up being games I've already played, haha. Like the Mass Effect games or Banjo Kazooie on the Rare Replay.

 

[Spaltazar]

I remember buying Ori on steam when there was that weird pricing bug going on some years ago. haven't even installed it yet and no desire to, even tho people are saying its good

€: looked it up, that was in 2015! damn

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Go through all your backlog and literally go "Do I REALLY need to finish this game?", make a list of them, ignore the rest.

And when you plan to buy a new game do the same thing.

I have hundreds of games I haven't even touched, but my backlog only has like 10-20 games and I'm also really selective about what I buy, it's been great.

Life is too short, don't make gaming a chore.

 

[black070]

My backlog has grown so high, the thought of actually getting through it makes me lose interest in gaming.

 

[Kalik]

I recently got through 2 games in my backlog (Metro 2033 Redux and Last Light Redux) in anticipation of Metro: Exodus being released...a new game in the series gives me the motivation I need to go and play...

 

[Hoa]

Backlogs are silly. Just get the game later when it's cheaper.

Click to shrink...

Huh? This is how the backlog grows!

 

[Gelf]

I wouldn't count a game I have no interest in as part of a backlog. I won't play it so it's irrelevant. Games I don't yet own but still want to play are more a part of my backlog.

 

[saenima]

I had a huge backlog of like 20 games

Click to shrink...

Hah good one

 

[elenarie]

Would love to hear similar stories from the folks of Era.

Click to shrink...

Used to get quite a bit of games on sales or in bundles or what not.
One day I just stopped, removed most games from my backlog, and only kept the ones I actually wanted to play.

Haven't been doing impulse purchases ever since, only buy what I want to play at the moment I want to play it.

 

[Zok310]

yeah, i just began on my back log. took me 4 years to start playing far cry 4 after buying it day one. having a blast wit it.

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

Playing videogames is supposed to be a hobby, not a job. (Unless you're in development or work for a videogame site or similar, obviously).

If you don't like them, don't waste your time playing them. Maybe stick them in eBay or take them to GameStop (or local equivalent), depending on how much effort you want to put in to offloading them, and get some of that money back

 

[Deleted member 7450]

ATM I'm on the verge of deleting all downloaded stuff to try and focus on something. >.<

 

[N.47H.4N]

It is not like I don't like half of my backlog,is just that I don't have any desire to start most of them,I have a lot of great games,I want to play,but not now :/
I decided that 2019 will be the year that I will finish most of them, the only games confirmed until the end of the year that I will definitely buy are:

• Days Gone
• Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
• The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening
• Hollow Knight Silksong

I'm now playing one of them, Rise of Tomb Raider and just started 2064: Read Only Memories, I still need to finish AC Odyssey and my race for RE2's Platinum has to wait.
But I will stop any game when launching one of the games mentioned.

 

[The Pet of the Month]

I would definitely trash games you've backlogged if you're not interested in them. What's the point of a backlog if you'll never get to those games?

Just don't actually trash em. Sell em, donate em, or just let them collect dust in the basement. Play what you really desire. Life is too short (^^)

 

[Lazybob]

Yeah tons of games on my PC that I love the idea of playing but I just never want to play lol. I've gotten better about this in the last year or so. At least now I don't buy a game unless I'll actually put a few hours of time into it. Still have a huge backlog on PC though that I'll probably never get to but I've made my peace with that.

 

[VeryBerryPunch]

I just take the hit and delete/hide or sell them
Already learned my lesson about buying stuff i'm not going to play soon after

 

[Ogami Itto]

At least you can resell them. My backlog is almost all digital

Click to shrink...

This lol, I traded my Steam backlog for a PSN and Switch one, I never learn.

 

[Revolver_Ocelot]

My issue is I have a huge backlog but then start to play games with no endings that I like. I just got into Apex Legends which is super fun... But it's free and I can play for as long as I want. I'm having fun which is the point but it doesn't help with the backlog

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

I'll never get through my backlog, but it's not a backlog of games I paid top dollar for either. I buy what interests me, but not until it's at a good price.
So I t doesn't bother me at all that I haven't finished most of my gaming library.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

My current gen backlog is about 100 physical PS4, 20 Xbox and 10ish Switch games. On top of the digital stuff from ps+ etc. Also not counting the prior gens. Shit is an out of control spiral but it's not changing. I do look at it when picking a new game to play and think I have no interest in like half of this now.

Edit: only real saving grace is I have no real interest in PC gaming outside of Blizzard so I don't have steam sales craziness.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Some games need Day 1 support though. Niche or indie titles.

Click to shrink...

One sale isn't going to change anything for those developers. If you don't want to play it right away, you can wait for a sale.

 

[Pachinko]

There is a simple solution to any backlog problems - a game is only entered into the backlog if you enjoy it and intended to complete it. At a certain point you also have to let go of games you never finished even if you did enjoy them and ... well I think that happens 100% for sure if a remake/remaster comes out of a game you never finished. Back in 2006 for example I played through about half of FFXII and loved it , always intended to go back but just never quite got motivated enough to just sit down and play the rest and welp... now we've got the remaster which I bought on sale over a year ago for PS4 and still haven't even installed. That's a second point - a game isn't a real backlog entrant if it hasn't been installed (digital) or opened (physical).

My only hot tip on minimizing having too many unfinished games is that you have to commit to one at a time , if you're enjoying Game X - play it and only it until it's finished or at least until it's at an obvious break (like finishing a single episode of a telltale style game or getting to the third act in Dragon quest, finishing one of the 2 DLC's in Witcher 3 if you've completed the main game). Leaving games unfinished but in a state that's easy to come back to is key. I've tried to play through "the last of us" a couple times now and keep putting it down because I'm not sure I actually like it all that much but at the point I stopped there I barely remember what's going on in the story or what I'm doing next so there's too much of a disconnect to pop back in but I also don't really want to start it over either. That's the type of thing you'll want to avoid.

Playing games isn't work unless you happen to be paid to review them or test them. Don't make it feel like a job to "get through this". If you aren't having fun or really want to jump on the next zeitgeist than accept that you'll have some scarred earth behind you.

 

[Spine Crawler]

My backlog extends from 1998... some of the games i double dipped since some are still in their wrap and havent been touched for years. Im not proud

 

[VeryBerryPunch]

Some games need Day 1 support though. Niche or indie titles.

Click to shrink...

The best support you can give a game is actually playing it, sharing media, and discussing it through forums and social networks. That puts eyes on it that might not have seen it otherwise and possibly have them do the same.

Buying it and throwing it into the backlog dungeon won't make a difference.

 

[Budi]

Used to get quite a bit of games on sales or in bundles or what not.
One day I just stopped, removed most games from my backlog, and only kept the ones I actually wanted to play.

Haven't been doing impulse purchases ever since, only buy what I want to play at the moment I want to play it.

Click to shrink...

Similar for me, especially during the Steam flash sales flesh was weak. I've been quite glad those are not a thing anymore. I still buy humble bundles though, but I don't really consider all the games I have as a "backlog". Some games I've just picked up because they were free, without any real intent to necessarily play them. I also cut like half of the games on my Steam wishlist last year (still 160 left), I wasn't going to play all of those anyway so I better not buy them either.

 

[Boiled Goose]

Sell them or don't play them.

Don't buy games unless you are planning on immediately playing them. Games generally become cheaper over time.

 

[MarsipanRumpan]

My backlog is so huge with games I feel like I "need" to play, Im playing through Kingdom Hearts 1 once again even though I already have the platinum on PS3, and Im anxious to play CoM and 2 too. However I almost get stressed out by the fact of my backlog being so big.

 

[Armoredgoomba]

Anytime my backlog becomes manageable and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I just stop beating games to let it fill back up

Too scared to have nothing new to play.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Sell them and move on. Don't waste your time doing things you don't enjoy. Also, learn the lesson of don't buy games you aren't fully interested in and don't intend to play.

 

[CatSoul]

I don't remember why I added half of the games that are in my Steam wishlist.

 

[crazillo]

Sometimes you know what to expect from a game, sometimes you can get surprised in positive or negative fashion. I can relate to OP very well. Here's how I tackle this situation:

- Only buy a new game when you feel like playing it RIGHT AWAY. Not in three weeks. The next sale will come. Otherwise stay strong and skip it.
- Give all games in your backlog a fair chance. Spend like, say, two-three hours with them. Maybe five, at most. If the game really isn't your cup of tea, put in into the 'retired' category. I have done this with a couple of titles and mentally don't treat these titles as backlog anymore. People make mistakes, I make mistakes, but at least I gave it a fair shot.
- Finish all the rest

Also, accept that your mood will change. It can happen quite quickly, too. The desire might come back. But if not, see below...

I've become a lot better over the years. Most of my backlog actually consists of sins from the past, mostly game sales. This year I've set myself the goal to be buying no more than three games. If I end up with four because they convince me that's fine, but it won't be 20 games. Slowly but steadily I've been clearing my backlog and it now stands at 78 unique games (many long RPGs among them; plus quite a bit of DLC content) as opposed to 90 in September. Last year I still bought more titles day one and actually did complete the 52 Games. 1 Year challenge, but with my new approach I should be cutting the numbers down more quickly, even though I have less spare time this year available.

I do cheat a little bit with Games Pass though, and sometimes have trouble because I feel like playing one of the catalogue's title over a game from my backlog. In the end, that's fine as well, as even a purchase afterwards would not be a -1 in my backlog. Also, MMOs or games like Forza Horizon or Apex Legends can be problematic with my plan.

Don't stress yourself out too much, yet approach things with a better strategy, OP :)

Also, use HLTB which tracks your progress. It's rewarding to see the backlog shrink. The aforementioned retirement category is also there, also a custom list that I use for wishlisting games.

 

[Professor Beef]

I guess the best solution is to just dont buy a game if you know you aren't gonna play it.

Backlogs are silly. Just get the game later when it's cheaper.

Click to shrink...

Thank you

 

[GoldStarz]

IMO, if you don't want to play a game in your backlog, then it's not in your backlog anymore. It's just a game you own that you bought on impulse. No reason for forcing yourself to play something you won't like.