It’s hard for me to buy new games these days, not because there’s not games in interested in but because I’m well aware of how little time I have and my backlog.
For me, I only consider games I buy on steam as my backlog.
Games on Xbox GamePass I do not consider backlog and I happily drop GamePass games if I no longer enjoy them.
Games I own however I force myself to finish on steam.
I’ve been going through my backlog on steam last year and this year, and I only have a handful of games left to beat…
Kotor 2
Fallout 76
Fallout 4
Skyrim
I think I might leave fo4 in the backlog until the creation club update thing releases, which I assume will be like Skyrim with all existing creation club content for a small fee.
It feels good to nearly be free of my backlog but it’s going to be tough getting through these Bethesda games back to back.
Luckily I have the palette cleanser destiny to play at any time the backlog grind brings me down. Final Shape already pre-ordered and in the backlog . Plus the occasional GamePass game. Lies of p was incredible and I’m looking forward to Warhammer boltgun
I’m looking forward to the day my backlog is cleared, hopefully I can get it done this year. I have a number of games in my steam wishlist that I’m keen to play such as crisis core, the metal gear solid releases and Last Epoch.
I’ve learned my lesson here though. Never buy games you’re not playing immediately, even if they are really cheap or in a humble bundle or something. The looming digital clutter in the back of my mind is ever present. Sometimes I sit at my cubicle at work thinking of the backlog I have to get through when I get home and it’s exhausting.
From here on out I’d rather buy a game at full price and actually play it immediately than add more digital clutter to my life.
If anything, me replaying a few games is in the back of my mind a lot more than my backlog could ever be, mainly due to the fact that my backlog is minimal. I currently have 4 expansions and 2 full games to play and complete. As long as my overall backlog stays in the single digits (9 or less), I will be very happy.
I also favor new game releases over my backlog because im more hyped for the new releases and don’t want to add to my current backlog.
My approach is quite laid back - if a game grabs my attention it might be the only game / one of only a few games I play till I complete it.
If I bounce off, it goes in my backlog and I’ll see later if I come back to it - a few big ones have ended up in there like BG3.
If I don’t go back to it ever, it’ll sit in my backlog forever as clearly it didn’t “spark enough joy” (as the weird cleaning thing goes) for me to bother with it.
Game Pass helps and hinders - it gives me a constant stream of games, but also means I don’t look at my backlog much.
In terms of completion, if I like a game I’ll finish the story plus all good missions, if I love it I’ll likely 100% it - good examples in the last year or two have been Hogwarts Legacy, Powerwash Simulator, Escape Academy, Unpacking, Deliver Us Mars, Tell Me Why, The Invincible and HiFi Rush.
Banishers and Return to Grace both being enjoyed a lot at the moment
I’m very quick to use the steam refund feature if a game doesn’t hook me immediately. I’d rather get my money back and not have yet another game in my backlog to make me lose sleep over.
I’ve even permanently removed games from my steam account via steam support, for games I’ve owned for years but have no interest in. I’d rather delete the game from my backlog and memory than having it looming over me.
Lol. You’d hate me, I’ve still got PC games I bought 20 years ago in their cellophane wrapping as I never got round to them - my current PC doesn’t even have a disc drive now lol
I imagine you’re maybe on the spectrum as I’m similar in some ways - there are things if they’re not done in a certain way will bother me for example.
I’ve possibly got more of an issue the other way - I’m probably a bit of a hoarder, I dislike getting rid of things in case I might need them or want to play them.
Thankfully as well as autism I got ADHD which curbs it by realising however much I’d like to clear my backlog / tidy everything etc my attention span, procrastination and sheer laziness mean I never will so I have to let it go…
Except Powerwash Simulator - that game has its claws in me good lol, I start a level I can’t stop till it’s 100% clean
It’s only my steam account I care about though, Xbox, PS and switch I don’t care or consider my games there my “backlog”…Probably because there’s no way to clean them up like I can on steam with the steam support game removal.
If I could remove every game on Xbox I barely played from my profile history I probably would, but alas, there’s no option
Steam I’ve added so many Humble Bundle games over the years I wouldn’t know where to start clearing it down lol.
Xbox I agree I wish it would allow the option to remove them - too many games I started just for a reward quest that sit in my achievements comparison screen with 0 unlocked forever
Starfield - I had a bug that duplicated all the save files (the game has a maximum of 6 save files on Xbox Series X) and when I deleted 2 of them, the other 10 were just gone so I have to replay the entire game. Decided against it last October and played and completed 7 games in 3 months instead.
Scars Above - played it shortly after launch and couldn’t get into it but also had other games I was more hyped for. Since I own it digitally, I will give it another chance this summer.
The other four games are expansions -
Horizon Forbidden West: The Burning Shores (PS5)
Dead Island 2: Haus
Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties
Remnant 2: The Awakened King
I would say that if I have the game day one or close to it, I usually complete it. Right now, excluding Final Fantasy VII Rebirth which I bought digitally and will start Thursday morning, I have decided to rent games from GameFly here in the U.S. I currently have Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and should have the story campaign wrapped up tomorrow evening after work.
From there, I have Rebirth and will then rent Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade. My plan is to have them all completed before moving on to the next game. I do have Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Granblue Fantasy Relink and the upcoming Outcast game that I want to play and will rent them after I complete Stellar Blade.
So basically, if I have the new release in my possession, then 9 times out of 10, I complete it but if I don’t, then I usually “delay” them until I have a gap with no new releases that im interested in playing.
Yeah I have some games in the back of my mind. Some are even og Xbox, PS2, GameCube, Wii games I have Steam & Epic store accounts with a lot of games there that I don’t even want to think about , while my “active” backlog is on Xbox which I mostly go through but stuff gets added all the time. I genuinely don’t understand how people who have all the platforms manage to get through stuff, mind you I have a decent amount of free time and don’t have any live service games that takes my time like a lot of people do.
I would blast through my backlog if I wasn’t so bothered about getting all the achievements in each game. I don’t worry about my backlog and kinda like having a massive library of untouched games I can dive into when I’m bored. Xbox/Steam.
I started shifting from buying new games to buying used games around 2010 or so, and at that point my backlog got out of control so I started caring less. Games I bought full price were ones I cared about more.
Then I started buying fewer games because I was thinking that I should play the games I already own first. Which wasn’t a bad thing honestly.
When Game Pass came out I came up with a personal philosophy because I was paralyzed by so much choice. I started doing what I did with streaming services: play only what I’m in the mood for at that moment. So I never returned to the idea of playing something to see it through, or finishing a game before starting another. I play what I’m itching for in that moment.
So I apply this to any backlog. There are some games I own that I may never touch, and I’m ok with that. And there are games that I totally plan to return to, but it might be on a year or two when I’m really in that mood.
For example, I beat the first Forza Horizon game in 2018 or so. Had it 80% done and left it for years. I beat FH2 3 years ago; same deal. Then I finished FH3 in half a year because I was in the mood for it continuously.
I’ve taken a year long break from FH4. Don’t know when I’ll be back, but I plan to be.
So I don’t let any of it in the back of my mind anymore. When I want to, I’ll revisit these unfinished games. When it’ll provide the most enjoyment.
. Plus the occasional GamePass game. Lies of p was incredible and I’m looking forward to Warhammer boltgun
I have Steam & Epic store accounts with a lot of games there that I don’t even want to think about 
, while my “active” backlog is on Xbox which I mostly go through but stuff gets added all the time. I genuinely don’t understand how people who have all the platforms manage to get through stuff, mind you I have a decent amount of free time and don’t have any live service games that takes my time like a lot of people do.