How to Deal with your Overwhelming Backlog - [SuperSamBams]

My huge game backlog has been stressing me out for years and I’m sure many of you out there can relate. In this video I share some advice and methods that have helped me manage my backlog and overall reduce that feeling of “I’ll never have enough time to get to every game I want to play”.
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[@mercury3]

this video is great, i think it's also important to remind yourself that the whole reason you play games is to have fun so don't stress yourself on your backlog

[@mercury3]

also something that helped me is if you know you're gonna be upgrading your pc some time soon then it might be better to play newer games later so you can enjoy them with better performance

[@ExploreImagineDefineCreate]

Since I was around 10 I began having a very strong fear and anxiety that I would never experience everything I wanted to experience in my life. I struggled for many years with this sentiment. That I would never watch all the shows and movies I wanted. Never read all the books and comics I wanted to read. Never listen to all the music and sounds that'd be meaningfully touch my soul. Never play all the games and have all the fun adventures in life I could have. Never meet all the people I wanted to meet and hear their stories, share our experiences, and walk through life together. But at some point I learned that I simply had to do my part, do some of the things I wanted to do, and entrust the rest to everyone else to live the lives I would never have. I will never be able to do everything I wanted in life, so I just had to stop worrying about it because the humanity as a whole has got me covered. I just gotta do my part to help and enjoy the few things I will get to do.

[@mata218]

Dude your situation was the exact same as mine, when I started collecting I went from 2-3 games a year to 16 in the last couple years, and that's just physical not digital.

[@supersambams]

The amount of games we buy/have access to really changes the way we play games doesn’t it?

[@logansaxby7224]

I don't think I can play games anymore. I have 200 games in my backlog, I haven't even played a game in a month and a half. I think I need to just move on...

[@Woupsme]

@@logansaxby7224 it just feels so good to buy the game. Almost a whiff of what it's like to play it. And then never play it.

[@flying3833]

@@logansaxby7224 give me steam password i want play

[@Zontar82]

problem is TIME. i have no wife or kids unfortunately, but i work 12 hours per day, with 2 hours of train of commuting, i come back home so much late that i barely have the time to cook something then going to bed immediately, so that leaves me with only the weekend for playing

[@supersambams]

That’s tough. I had a friend who used to use his daily commutes on the train to play handheld games on his 3ds and he ended up finishing a lot of long jrpgs that way. Maybe you could try to make use of that commute time!

[@valvomo1540]

I am also commuting 1h 30min / day and am married with children. There are few games I've already finished since I started carrying Anbernic RG35XX with me daily. Upgraded to Retroid Pocket 2s to up my game.

[@idxman01]

Get a portable emulator for the train.

[@helenetakla9850]

This may sound stupid, but I've been using a method for over a year to artificially limit my available games. I pretend a wizard has stolen my entire backlog, and I regain one game for every X amount/hour of work I do. This keeps my collection small, and I have time to complete more games as I unlock new ones, and simultaneously get rewarded for doing work. It has greatly helped with overwhelm and choice paralysis. This likely won't work for a lot of people, but for me it has helped capture the feeling of the old days when I only had a few games.

[@sco9616]

yup I do this too.. it really makes playing the games feel more rewarding and actually makes me more appreciate the game more and be more likely to stick through the earlier parts of a game (the harder learning curve part, the boring tutorials parts etc). Sometimes when you have too many games its natural to lack patience with any individual game, knowing that if its remotely tough to learn or remotely slow to get started there's all these other games. I imagine anyone who has downloaded tons of roms has felt this way when they start a game and find themselves quitting it in favor of another game.. and another.. I mean.. I IMAGINE.. coz of course I would never download a rom.

[@wiktor3727]

@@sco9616 there's nothing wrong with downloading a rom. Be proud of who you are. Emulation = preservation

[@sco9616]

@@wiktor3727 You think that even if u don't own the game its ok? I mean for sure there are grey areas like games that are not actually on sale anymore, games where the only person benefiting from sale is those selling a 2nd hand copy (and therefor not the developers getting money anyway)... I do have my thoughts on how if people like Nintendo want to clamp down or berate those who download roms then they need to do a better job at offering the product in a more accessible convenient and value way, otherwise downloading the rom is the clear and obvious choice for some.. Its a complicated topic, but do you really think there's simply nothing wrong at all, with downloading games for free that we dont own? Im not judging you Im really just curious on your thoughts. I love retro games, and am planning to start a channel where I will likely talk about a lot of this stuff (and am also curious what I should allow myself to do.. eg. play and stream mame games of arcade cabinets I dont own.. play games that would cost $100s to own a copy of but I can download for free.).

[@goodfractalspoker7179]

Am a fan of using a similar method to make sure I get in enough hours of work before I start playing games.

[@_bhp]

I love your advice of writing down five games you feel like you would regret not finishing if you couldn't play games anymore. My backlog is substantial, nearly a thousand games thanks to bundles, reckless spending and FOMO. The most eye opening thing about this is trying to write down five of my own that I felt the same way about and could only think of 3 off the top of my head. This was such a cathartic exercise. If I could only think of 3 games I want to play and beat, why the hell am I letting these others bother me so much? I need to do more introspection, will definitely be writing more and love this idea, so thank you for that.

[@NantoShin]

My backlog is huge like 80 current console games (switch and ps4). Doing what you said about playing 1 or 2 games at max and it helps. It also helps not to grind JRPGs one after the other. Mix some shorter games too. With my relatively busy personal life (work and kid) it won't get easier. Still trying to get a the gaming going. It helped me a lot when I was younger and made me the person that I am.

[@AnarickTheDevil]

Me with a 99.9% rpg collection.

[@Woupsme]

Just about to finish (probably 15 hours left lol) The Witcher 3 for the first time. Planned to play Skyrim afterwards, but I definitely think I need a shorter game. The Steam Deck has helped me a lot with my gaming since I got a kid. Fast to get going, sleep mode to not lose any progress no matter when.

[@jeremysart]

This actually hits home big time. What you described wasn’t just about tackling your backlog.. it was tackling executive functioning, something I’ve always struggled with. Ironically, rather than spending too much time playing games, as an athlete I was spending too much time obsessing about running or cycling everyday and hitting certain distances and training goals, so much so that I had for years no longer been enjoying other things that really brought me joy; movies, video games, anime.. which lead to depression and no longer enjoying running or cycling as much.. I was out of balance. I’ve recently taken a similar approach of tackling lists in all aspects of my life, and I just recently finally finished I game I had purchased in 2014 and had started and shelved multiple times over a 9 year period! Along with that, I have been making time before bed to watch at least one episode or a movie that has been on my list. It definitely feels good.

[@douglinley9603]

I know I am late to this video, but it is interesting that I've found it literally a day after I put together a similar method to you on tackling my backlog. I created a spreadsheet, went through all of my libraries and listed only the games that I have played in the past and liked and those I really would love to get to the end of. I also included new games coming out this year that I planned to play. Then I created checkboxes for Must Play (like you, games that I would be disappointed to miss out on if I could never play games again) and "Commit 2023". After checking all of the must plays, I narrowed the "commit" list down to 5 games. Those are the games I am focusing on. As a 47 year old gamer dad with two younger kids, I don't get much time. Approaching it this way has kind of freed me from the backlog anxiety. I have been meaning to play Chrono Trigger for 20 years, and I am finally a fair bit through it. Anyway, kudos on this video. It was really good.

[@SummonerArthur]

I agree with most but one thing: If I had written why I didnt liked a certain game back then I wouldnt have had tried it once agin and figured out the issues I had were platform related and not game related. This certain game is almost turning into my favorite game now. And also: getting a portable console helps a lot. Mainly if you ride the bus for more than an hour daily to get to work.

[@DiaborMagics]

Yes, never-ending games are a problem for me, especially in combination with fomo/fear of missing out. Mmos and gachas suck up all my time because I'm so susceptible to limited time events/characters/etc. I know I am. But fixing it is a different story.

[@mythicaldragon2686]

Love the video man, I have problems buying to many Rpgs myself - then I look back "I hate you time" because I love them but like you said long games.

[@chrish8904]

I think this is really good advice! I've been managing with a very similar method, so one thing i'd like to add would be: sort your priority list by the average length it takes to beat them. I like to focus on shorter games first, knowing they aren't going to be a taxing commitment.

[@supersambams]

Yeah that’s such a good point! The length of games is a huge factor. I wish I would have mentioned that!

[@stubbornweeb2190]

This video hit hard. I just turned 20, and realized I’ve been pushing everything away to grind through a backlog I’m not enjoying. Half the time playing, I’m not even focusing on what I’m playing; my mind is constantly thinking about what comes next. I keep a journal like you do, and this topic has come up pretty often within it. I just wasn’t sure how to go about it. The game journal is a great idea, and I do think it’ll give me some closure for games I’m not really enjoying. Abiding by a 1 game at a time rule is probably going to help the most. It’s something I’ve known I need to do, but sticking to it has always been difficult because I’ll start to get bored of a game I’m playing. Thinking about it though, I probably just don’t feel like playing games at all at that point in time, but try and pick up something else to get over that feeling. Just staying at 1 game and then doing something else if I don’t feel like playing it will probably help game burnout a ton. I totally have the FOMO situation with physical games like you do and am glad to hear you’ve found a way to enjoy games again without stopping the collection. It sucks that as adults we feel the need to make one of our favorite hobbies feel like a second job. Thanks for the video!

[@ExploreImagineDefineCreate]

@gangstadrz9326 aren't we all? Not to sound nihilistic but most of what we'll accomplish in our lives will be washed away and our legacies surmounted by others in time. Not everyone has to make the most of their lives because even the greatest of achievements today will be looked back upon as small stepping stones to much grander goals that the generations of the future have. Like it's okay to not always have the best life. I'm fine with wasting my life in a situation I don't like and spending my time doing nothing. I'm satisfied not being happy all the time.

[@ExploreImagineDefineCreate]

@gangstadrz9326 I only said that I am fine with living like that, didn't say I was. Who are you to judge me? You don't know me. So stop wasting your time with me already. Funny that you're here on video discussing backlogs. Either you have a backlog yourself or came here looking to pick a fight. Either way I'd say you're wasting your time about as much as I am doing this.

[@ExploreImagineDefineCreate]

@@gangstadrz9326 sure

[@Parnolm]

Definitely an issue for me is I get stuck playing an RPG that takes 50 hours plus to beat so probably will start to expand my library of different genres. Awesome video

[@supersambams]

I love rpgs so much but they hate me. Thinking about making a video specifically about how I struggle to finish them haha

[@tuxedocatproductions2665]

@@supersambams please do!

[@WanderingMindSR]

This video is already so helpful, keeping a short list of priority games motivates me. How I've dealt with my backlog sometimes is situational. I'll take a few years ago for example, back in 2019. I was working a seasonal position at a national park, where I was living in park housing. It was far removed from a lot of places, I didn't have internet, and it took a while to get to places. I buckled down and went through my Steam library, sorting them by unfinished and beaten games, focusing on one game at a time. It made a huge difference because I had fun and played through a wide variety of games. In just a few months, I finished 40+ games. This included Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Warrior Within, Metro 2033, FEZ, Ys 1&2, Sonic Generations, La-Mulana, Half Minute Hero 2, NiGHTS into Dreams, Guacamelee, and Jade Empire, to name a few. I still found time to do other things, like read books and borrow DVDs from the library to watch. When the pandemic started happening in 2020, I found myself at home with a lot of spare time. I eventually got into Final Fantasy XIV, but I still found time to go through my backlog, among other activities. Max Payne 3, Fallout 3, They Bleed Pixels, LIMBO, Darksiders 1&2, Bioshock 2, Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, Saints Row IV, and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath were among them. In 2021, I didn't finish as many Steam games, but that was fine. I enjoyed what I played, including Fallout: New Vegas, Fable 1, Stubbs the Zombie, The Textorcist, Orcs Must Die 2, and Freedom Planet. Fast forward to the present in 2022. Still haven't finished a lot of games, but I'm at the point where my Steam library is manageable. I'm at the point where I've finished more games than I have unfinished, but I find myself putting off some games I want to play due to procrastination. The priority list really helps because I'll get around to playing Valkyria Chronicles 4, something I've been meaning to do for a few years. Also, the list will help me with going through my backlog of console games, something I've ignored for a good part of the last few years. I can change that.

[@pheria]

I can relate to a lot of this. A lot of my hoarding of games comes from fear of not being able to play something later, thanks to liking a lot of old games and JRPG's. The organization helps, for sure. I also find that I do want to spend a little time with games I've already beaten, either to achieve some longterm goal or just to unwind. I like grinding and leveling up in games, so I have some games I consider my 'personal arcade' which just means I'd enjoy jumping in and doing something like that for a little while (stuff like rhythm games falls in here too). I devote a few hours a week to do that, but I don't require it. Which leads into my next point, scheduling my life has helped quite a bit. Almost as long as I can remember I've had trouble falling asleep, and waking up. Tossing and turning is a lot of lost time, too. On the weekends I'd catch up on sleep, but I'd be a zombie that didn't feel like playing games yet for a few hours too. I finally took the step to try to have a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends. I play a little on a handheld to wind down, and I also play a little after I awake from my morning alarm (I find it difficult to fully wake up for 10-15 minutes, and also hard to find the motivation to start the day. But 15 minutes in a handheld game that's on the nightstand helps with both. It's better (for me at least) than hitting snooze an repeatedly doing the cycle. The hardest thing to shake is not buying things out of paranoia that it'll be expensive one day or something. It's hard to do, but I try to remember that if you were to balance out all the money I could've saved by waiting (including things like a better edition being released later), allowing yourself to be burned a few times isn't so bad and you still probably come out ahead. I'm also trying to remember I care more about playing than collecting (this is why I try to schedule a little time for my old games too, I don't want to have them sitting around for nothing. I do want to revisit sometimes.) You need to be kind to yourself too. Don't beat yourself up or force things. Rules work a lot for me to counter analysis paralysis, but if I'm exhausted after work a walk or a nap isn't a bad thing. On the same note, I always wanted to force myself to play the things I was less interested in first. I think the idea was that I could build momentum. Get the hard stuff out of the way, then it just gets better. That works for chores and a lot of things in life, but this is supposed to be your enjoyment time. Allow yourself to play what you want to play most, first! Another small thing I've struggled with is that I've found it hard to play games if someone is around, even somewhere like waiting in a doctor's office. I forced myself to get over that and not waste that bit of time, too. Usually it's just 10 minutes, but I'm sure we've all been to an office where the wait has turned into an hour or two, but those 10 minutes each all add up too :)

[@danielscott70x7]

Appreciated this. Starting at the beginning of last year, I finally decided to start working through my backlog and to start actually finishing games as opposed to just jumping in and out of a handful at a time (like I had done in past years). I found that I was getting tired to not finishing more than a handful every year and I noticed the backlog was increasing far beyond what I was actually playing. I began to limit myself to one game at a time and to actually commit to that play through once I decided on whatever the next game was. I decided to use strategy guides and not feel guilty about doing so, because they help significantly reduce the amount of time spent aimlessly wandering around trying to figure out where or what to do next - instead, I always feel like I’m making progress, never getting lost, and it’s made my play sessions so much more rewarding which, in turn, leads to me enjoying the commuted play-throughs so much more. In between each finished game, I provide myself a handful of days to focus hobbies on whatever sounds appealing - books, movies, tv shows, etc - and then, when I begin to desire to play games again, I pick from a selection of 1-3 games and start all over again. I finished 26 games last year and, so far, I’ve finished 8 for this year. In previous years I’d maybe finish 5-10 games on average, and since making the change, I’ve more than doubled the amount of games I play through to completion. It’s felt so much more rewarding and I’ve enjoyed so many unique experiences as a result. Bonuses to finishing games are that I get to finally listen to spoiler-filled discussions on respective games I’ve finished and re-live my experiences and hear others perspectives on them.

[@tricycloplots21]

Large, sprawling, open-world games and RPGs have been a bane to me regarding this exact topic - I've found myself getting 1/2 or 3/4 the way through a fun but long open world adventure, playing nothing but that game for a couple weeks straight. Likely a brand new game lands in my lap (whether it's a new release from a series I'm a fan of or a superb cheap digital sale happens) that I will jump over to and start playing, only to go back to the open world game a month later and not have any recollection of what my in-game goals are, where to go, or how to use complicated button combos I had previously learned but have now forgotten. This is always a very frustrating feeling, and I tend to abandon the game and tell myself I will start it fresh with a new save file again in the future so I can re-learn the game. Your video here was great and quite validating, and hit really close to home. Other stuff I recommend doing to help curb your backlog: 1. Play and complete a couple shorter games before starting a new open world game. I can't stress this enough. 2. Stop playing sports games pretty much altogether - although I love baseball games, for example, I've played so many over the years now that I lose interest in them rather quickly and since the games don't evolve or mix things up as regularly, they get in the way of having new experiences. Baseball is baseball, regardless of the bells and whistles that may be added to dress it up. 3. Save fun multi-player games for multi-player settings. I no longer fire up Smash or Mario Kart unless friends are over. Getting sucked into these games I've already played tirelessly takes valuable time away from playing games I haven't experienced yet. 4. I no longer start large adventure games when a new release I'm excited for is about to drop- I'll play shorter, easier level-based games, which I have plenty to choose from in my backlog, to fill in the gaps while I'm waiting for the new release. This prevents me from getting halfway into an RPG and then haphazardly abandoning it for a brand new title. 5. Uninstall (digital) single-player games that I've previously completed. I will unlikely play most of these ever again (based on the size of my backlog), and this way it's way less overwhelming when going through your digital library of currently-installed games to find something new to start.

[@Thor-js2rb]

The idea of a mini list is perfect man! Really helps you play the games that you want to play. Rather than just tackling a backlog

[@italiener82]

Same problem, which I tackled by playing one game at a time, giving it time instead of dropping it right away and jumping it to the next one. I don't necessarily have to finish each game, but I found that if I focus on that one game, then I'm more likely to wanting it to play through completion. Granted, my backlog is huge and I haven't bought any new games since last year, because I'm focusing on the library of games that I've already purchased. The new games can wait, unless they're titles I'm really interested in and that I don't buy just to add to the backlog.

[@Anubiszz512zz]

I honestly don't feel too much pressure with my backlog. I always remind myself to ask myself if I'm enjoying my time with my games. If I am then mission accomplished the Backlog has done it's job. I feel like replaying games isn't shameful either, it's important to return to games that are important to you. Now you'll want to keep it to a minimum if you are trying to make good progress on the Backlog. It's important to see the Backlog as a list of opportunities not obligations. I keep a fluid gaming schedule as well, (not like planning hours out of the day), that doubles as a priority list. Essentially it's a list of the next 5 to 8 games I want to get around to. But I don't keep it strictly, I move things around, take things off the list, add other things based on my mood, current interests, potential burnout, and to vary my genre and gaming experiences. It helps a lot. Now I have a subdivided Backlog (priority Backlog and general backlog) that functions like a cloud of games that I push into the funnel of my loose gaming schedule priority list. Recently I started keeping a journal, and have a list of games finished since the beginning of the backlog, and a games to buy list that are waiting for sales or for them to come out. I also keep a list of games to do more research into to see if they'll get put on the backlog, so I'm even vetting games before they are allowed to join the backlog. I'm really behind in indie gaming so it's great to organize everything.

[@ZarkAttack]

Even as a kid, I never liked getting more than 2 new games at the same time. I've aways kinda limited myself to that. I play them at my leisure, then I buy another. I've got a list of games I'm interested in playing. So I've never really accumulated a backlog, and I can replay games as much as I'd enjoy without any sort of guilt.

[@rooty]

A good tip is to cut out any kind of social media type crap you waste time on, whether it's Twitter or tiktok or whatever. These can take up hours a day for some people, for absolutely no reason. You just get angry or upset or depressed, you waste time arguing with people who don't matter amd won't ever change their minds anyway, or even best case scenario, you have a few laughs at stupid disposable videos. If you cut that out, you'll realise how much extra time you have that you can spend on something more substantial, like playing a game you've always wanted to. I also don't really watch tv shows any more because I got so tired of my time investment being wasted by shows that get cancelled or stories where they just completely fuck up the ending. I also agree with having other hobbies. I do a lot of cross stitching every now and then (still videogame cross stitches though lol). Just doing one piece can take all my free time for an entire month, so it really gives me a great appreciation of how much time I've got when I put it aside for a while and go back to playing games.

[@Woupsme]

According to the Steam Replay I tried 198 different games last year. I know about 190 of them is playing for 5-20 minutes and getting bored as you said. At least I made a dent in my backlog, wastes time trying to enjoy it, only to get frustrated I wasn't entertained. I love this hobby lol

[@VitharPL]

I've the same issue. My backlog has built up during the time I used to make KZbin videos. As I need to accumulate games to make videos about - I've ended up with more games I was able to make content about. I found your tips a great addition to repertoire of tools to deal with a backlog. Also - a good help might be a "less intimidating" Gaming setup. Recently I bought a Steam Deck, and I realized, that it helps to actually finish games. The trick is the mindset - on PC I must feel like having 2-3 free hours to even bother with running any game. With the Deck i don't have a problem playing something - even if I have only 15 minutes of free time right there. I think that finding yourself such a "minor device" (or making your own Gaming platform one) can be also helpful, along with all the tips given on the video.

[@IFGchannel931]

I can't stress enough how important it is to have other hobbies outside of gaming, especially outside of screens in general. I've took on singing lessons and miniature painting and my guilt and feelings of wasted time playing games (which were not satisfying me anymore) got quickly under control. I also made a rule of "I can only buy a new game if I'm going to install and start playing it immediately".

[@Walamonga1313]

Whenever I don't feel like gaming I just listen to youtube videos about stuff like unsolved mysteries or I just play guitar. That said, noe that I've an even more time consuming job, I spend pretty much all my free time gaming and haven't burnt out yet

[@DD93AFC]

Not an exact quote from your, but "I don't want to miss out on the deal when it's there, otherwise later on I won't get a better chance", not the exact quote like I said, but that is definitely the mood every single time with me. I'm from the UK, and usually the games I purchase rarely go over £5, but the point still stands, I buy waaaaaay too much games, physical editions, and my backlog just is humungous. I've got a tiny room, with 3 bookshelves, not massive, but holds my "collection" (I don't see myself as a collector, so I couldn't find a better term for what I have), and I'm double stacking my shelves, it's chaos. So anyways, I've tried this year so hard to cut down/not buy anymore, but the deals just keep coming, and the bank account gets less and less lol, I hate the habit, I feel like I have a problem/addiction to it.... But yeah anyways, long story short, this video hit me in the feels, explains my frustrations so much, the amount of time required to finish them all makes it feel like a chore, because by the time I finish them all, PS7 or something is probably genna be out lol, I don't wanna be too far behind the new gen of games aswell as enjoying what's part of history.

[@Elite_Teach]

Dude I’m convinced we’re the exact same person. It’s too crazy on how accurate this is

[@SwiftyStardust]

I ended up making a spreadsheet. It helped a little, but not as much as I thought it would, so I could probably do with narrowing the list down a bit more.

[@danielsultana3177]

I laughed when i heard you're answer it's pretty much exactly what i do. I have what i call a high shelf and a low shelf. High shelf is priority and Low shelf is just "One day ill get to it" I also have what i call 2 mainline games 1 that i pick to play from start to finish and the other mainline is a playalong with a podcast community im in which is voted on. I also have a 3rd category which i call casual games not to be confused with what i call "Endless games" or games as a service. These games help ease any burn out i develop which is not often. Games in this category are games like Tony Hawks, Crash Bandicoot etc games that don't really have a story and you can just jump in and out of but are still making progress regardless

[@kittyfolk]

This was a REALLY helpful video! I'm so excited to start making my own lists, thank you for the tips!

[@hav0c396]

After watching a few videos like this recently going through the exact same struggle , I find it insane yet also reassuring that there are so many people that go through the exact same thing. I also really like the idea of keeping a game journal and thanks to this video I might start keeping one for myself as well as keeping journals for other hobbies/pursuits. Thank you for the incredible video and I hope I can finally start to tackle my mountainous backlog 😭🙏

[@mindyourlanguage2066]

You are 100% on the mark with this. I had the same realization recently and decided to proceed in a very similar way with organizing my priorities. I wish everyone with a paralyzing backlog and a fear of losing their passion/enjoyment for gaming would watch this video! I truly believe this is the cure. - As someone else mentioned, sorting your priority list by the length of games is a great way to help you remain engaged and actually tangibly feel the progress towards clearing your backlog. - One more tip I'll share: On Steam, hide all games you can't finish (MMOs, multiplayer shooters etc.), hide all games you don't intend to play (games you claimed for free but are really far down on your priority list), and hide all games you've already beaten or are not interested in returning to. Your library won't look nearly as daunting by doing this.

[@benjamincater4402]

The ideas in this video are genius I’m definitely going to start writing in a game journal

[@mancec3]

Thank you for making this. The way you described your situation I your journal was exactly the same thing I've been experiencing. This video has helped me get out of that stuck feeling.

[@MilesMetal]

I realized part way through the video that I can apply this to my backlog of movies. Obviously, they're less of a time investment than video games but with over 700 on my list it's pretty tough figuring out what to watch.

[@user-mj6zg8hh9h]

Watching this video playing 4 games simultaneously. The catch is that they're 4 very different games both in genre and length.

[@Quadraginta1337]

To paraphrase some unknown OP whose source I can’t remember: “My backlog is a buffet, not a checklist.” Just because you own the game doesn’t mean you *need* to beat it. You won’t be able to read every book in existence, watch every movie in existence, eat from every restaurant in existence, swim in every swimming pool in existence, etc. Just play what you want, when you want/can, and if you get bored halfway through a game, then drop it. Screw that game. You don’t need to beat it. You already got *some* enjoyment out of it. That’s enough.

[@sierrakyst]

I watched this video with my friend on discord and I really like a lot of the methods you use for helping relieve the stress of the backlog. I've kept a spreadsheet of my game collection since 2020 and recently I've been organizing games based on how long I've owned the games, but I did implement starring the games I want to play like you recommended and it feels even more organized. thanks for the inspiration! :)

[@Inkubak99]

Great video, really helpful. I'm glad there're other people that feel exactly the same as me. The only thing I was expecting to see were your thoughts about completing a game 100% or not. At least for me, despite the huge backlog that I have, every time I play a game I particularly like I feel the urge to see everything it has to offer, I am not satisfied with just finishing the story mode once

[@macthemeh]

Watching this video felt like I was listening to myself talk to myself. I struggle with everything that you listed and also do a lot of the things you do. I even have a similar list that I call “Before I Die” list. What games would I actually have regretted not playing through if I found out I was going to die tomorrow. A lot of my friends make fun of me with how many lists I have but it’s honestly necessary for me to have them if I don’t want to just be sitting in front of my hundreds games constantly repeating “Water, water, everywhere. And not a drop to drink.”

[@sweetwheatsy]

As a dude with a "backlog" (as in, Steam Library) of +200 games, yeeeh. Thing is, though, I'm not really playing games anymore. But I don't know if that's a good thing. Last thing I played consistently was Stardew Valley in 2019. Currently I'm busy with university (very busy), but at the same time, my new time sink - IE favorite procrastination-tool - has become KZbin videos, especially gaming-related ones. I'm unsure if I should better actually be focussing on playing games instead? 'cause with the videos, it's usually just a quick one that you watch while having your Word document open, and then one video leads to the next and so on so on... So maybe having that designated time for gaming and designated for reading/studying would be better? As in less distractions when actually studying? idk

[@supersambams]

I think you just answered your own question! Haha you’d probably get better quality study time in as well. When I was in school, I could not have any distractions while studying or doing homework or I’d never get anything done

[@Cognazzo95]

So late to this but across several consoles, I have a catalogue sitting roughly around 300+. Got into a bad habit of buying games I thought might interest me. I also went through some phases where different genres appealed to me. Anyways, despite this video being older, it definitely gave some very helpful advice.

[@darklordoffirex7777]

Already solved this problem 3 years ago it's pretty simple just make a list of all the games that you need to beat that you haven't completed yet and then only play games off the list make it a mission for yourself after a while it becomes easy

[@supersambams]

The almighty list truly is a game changer

[@BillDozer]

This is good advice, I kind of figured this out already on my own, but it's reassuring to hear that they are good ideas, so thank you. Here's my experience: I bought a PS4 in the Summer of 2018 because I'm a huge Spider-Man fan, and I wanted to play the new Spider-Man game that was coming out. So in the Summer I played the Uncharted 1-3 Collection on PS4 as well as Uncharted 4, then I played inFAMOUS Second Son, and the 2016 Ratchet & Clank game. After all of that I was just waiting for Spider-Man to come out before I played anything else, and I played it and loved it to death, heck, I think it's even my favorite game of all time now, because I got 100% Completion on the game 3 times. It's already rare enough for me to 100% a game twice, but doing it 3 times is something I've never done before, and that is where my Backlog Problem arised. I spent so much time playing Spider-Man and a couple of other games (Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Among Us, and Genshin Impact) that I couldn't make time to play anything else, but I figured that once I complete the reviews that I'm planning on doing, I'm going to devote time to completing the backlog. Like mentioned in the video that will require taking things 1 game at a time, (which is what I would do anyway) stop replaying old games, and as much as I would hate to do it, I may even have to stop playing Genshin Impact since it is what you described as a never ending service game. The 4 main games I want to play are Bloodborne, God Of War, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Uncharted The Lost Legacy since I never played that one originally since it's just a spin-off and not part of the main series. Once I finish those, then I'll start playing other games on my backlog until I'm done.

[@allthatremain5357]

Great video! I'll find myself having so much fun in the honeymoon phase and beyond in games that are my cup of tea, but that has compelled me to decide it's gonna be great to be a FOMO completionist even though I have a habit of not using a lot of weapons, attachments, consumables. This sure has helped me to realize that trying to squeeze all the fun out of a game just because there was a lot to be had at various times hasn't been the right way to look at incentives. It's also applied to TV shows, music, and movies.

[@Jack-nj9pi]

The fact we all have this issue is amazing haha. With everything digital and sales i came to the conclusion i will never finish every game. So now i focus on one at a time then switch from system to system and its fun like that. Most of my physicsl media is gone and with the market now its a good time to sell. My always advice stick to one and switch up every game and their mother wants to be as long as persona or Disgaea and now we got the souls trend which is another fat time sponge. As for replaying def ok when the game is short cause for the longer ones should be save when that nostalgia rocks u. Beat em ups, shmups, and fighting game are great foe those

[@bornbucket]

Thank you KZbin algorithm; I do like this style of videos. I love lists - they're extremely helpful! Thank you for the reminder, I really need to journal more. I used write in the past to omit my thoughts but for some reason I stopped. Now that I'm moving into counselling as a career, I need to recapture that skill, it really is therapuetic (for some) to write your emotions/thoughts down. Our thoughts can get overwhelming at times.

[@tiaryzi8853]

I sorta like ban myself from buying more games until I complete at least some games that are in my backlog. Luckily I have some big games to get through. Watching game collections does sorta make me panic a little in wanting to buy all games. Though I told myself the games aren’t going anywhere and I can treat myself once I finish them. Then I realise players who have 200 games probably haven’t completed half of them. At the moment I’m playing through my Zelda games but also playing Pokémon let’s go Eevee which is a short game. So having short games does help! Along with other random games in between.

[@nikobaehr3638]

This has convinced me to organize my 900+ games in steam. It's going to a project in itself, but hopefully it'll get me off Slay the Spire.

[@YourAkiKun]

Wow thats its exactly what gaming is to me now and how I felt / feel for years..

[@OneShotFOGE]

Having zero backlog would be a disaster. It’s good to have stuff to play :)

[@Moonlitriffs]

Bless you for showing off clockwork Knight ❤

[@toastbud6870]

Wow that’s it bro you nailed it that’s my exact situation and thank you for putting the time to help others

[@rjmario2234]

I can relate to this. I've been making an effort to organize my own backlog into a priority list.

[@VoiceOfJack]

I start to think this is the situation every gamer tends to find himself in at one point. I sold most of my backlog some time ago (hugely discounted - just wanted to get rid of it) in order to counter that overwhelmed feeling. Now I have a manageable amount of games I still want to play, and not buying new games until my current games are finished

[@yazzmatazz86]

Same situation here, and I've actualy come up with pretty much the same rules as you. My entire library is digital and mostly on Steam. One rule I came up with was to acknowledge when I am no longer enjoying a game and playing it has become a chore. This especially applies to critically acclaimed games that have been on my backlog for a while and even more so if it is the first game of a revered trilogy - I just need to know when to quit. I also avoid buying any new games that go on sale unless I am prepared to play them right away and return them within the Steam return window.

[@yqisq6966]

About the replaying part - it's what I'm doing with Elden Ring atm. Finished the first playthrough, still with a lot of secrets unexplored, but I choose to take a break from the game for a while and move on to another one. Then later I can combat for a fresh experience. Also a good idea since games nowadays constantly get patched by the devs...

[@ivos_rs]

I have the same problem with similar thoughts about it, now when i hear it from another man i know i was right in something. Sam, you help me a lot, definitely will try your tips.

[@theconsolekiller7113]

Great video. Same thing with me. I have hundreds of games with saves in folders on my PC, since I record all playthroughs for the last 7 years. Not to mention saves from before 2016 where I got recording capabilities. I complete around 400+ games per year as volume KILLING is one of the main things I do with games and document that on the channel, almost like a journal of what Im playing. I really enjoy the variety but it also means I struggle to stay on a single game without constantly jumping around from game to game. Plenty of games get completed but hundreds more get added to the backlog every year. I really have to force myself to plug in time on the ones that I really want to finish. Picked up Shin Megami Tensei V and hardly played it, for example. Really want to but tons of RPG's in progress already , not to mention 100's of non RPGs from all platforms. I have an emulation focused PC I use to play everything prior to Wii U, with mostly complete collections of ROMs for over 100 platforms. Then theres Steam library, Switch, Xbox, PS and various generations of those. It used to be where it took long for good games to be released. These days theres a shit ton of high quality indies, triple A's and the incredible history of gaming with shitloads of old games to complete. Its a great problem to have, but like you Im constantly stressed that Im not keeping up with it. I get in about 1200-1500 hours of play time yearly, but its not enough to even put a dent in the backlog as it still manages to grow by hundreds each year Im guessing, not go down. The only alternative would be to just comitt to completing most of the games I try. There just isnt enough time, even if I wanted to play only the good and great games that exist. Im starting to come to terms with playing the most meaningful ones. Challenges that would feel real good to complete motivate me. Also really good games that I want to experience. Gone are the days of having to play a game because its good or great. They have to get in line now because theres just way too many. With all that said, I still like to spend alot of time playing random games an drifting off, fucking around with whatever I feel like playing at the moment. So it will always grow. In my case Im real goal oriented, so I have a minimum quota of 25 games beaten a month, average that I always aim for. This means constant sampling of many games to find easy victims for the kill list , or atleast games I want to work on and complete. It doesnt help with the backlog. Because of that focus, I rarely play any games online anymore, and when replaying games its usually only on a higher difficulty setting.

[@Puchinbola]

man what the hell this literally happening to me. what a great video and topic dude,

[@duhmez]

My solution is a way of looking at things. it is not a backlog. A backlog has a hnegative connotation. Think of it as a LIBRARY. Having a huge library of games u have not played or beaten yet is not a problem, it is just a library with alot of variety. It ensures u can go to the shelf and have a brand new experience. Also, when it comes to finishing the games, that6 should not be the goal. Beating a game is never fun because if I beat a game, it means I wanted more and there was no more ot play. But if you have 100 games on the go and u are partway into them all, that is awesome, the great experiences never end and you always have your favorite games you can jump back into. The gaming is about the journey, playing the games. not the beating of said game. I always feel a bit bad when i beat an awesome game, wish there was more. I nearly 50 now, and I gbeen gaming since I was 3 or 4. I gave up caring whether i beat each game a long long time ago and it has been smooth sailing since. I rotate around and play all stuff from NES on up to current gen, whichever I feel like that night. Recently, this year, beat Elden Ring, Demon souls, now working on Blodborne, but also playing Bayoneta 3, Binding of isaac, rogue Legacy, God of War Ragnarokmanda bunch of others., I bought Zelda Breath of the WIld on launch day and just now I am at the final castle ready to go and slay Ganon one of these days now finally! And it has been awesome, throughout the years I could pop in Zelda and play for a few hours and it has not ended fo rme yet.

[@cladescandor7719]

Hi! You're video is really helpful. You described my feeling with my backlog spot on. Feeling that you're hobby is a task, and that you *must* spend you're free time in making progress of your backlog removes all the fun. I do have lists, but for me other methods have worked. I really like having a secondary game, apart from the main one. Like a console big game and a handheld gameboy as secondary. I also play live or online mainly to keep up with friends and having a chill moment after work. On the contrary of your case, I find myself wanting to replay games but choos not to because of the guilt thinking that i could use that time for advancing in my backlog. Greetings from Chile!

[@BlackKraya]

This is one of the most relatable videos I've watched. Yeah, I'll see how I want to go about this backlog (in conjunction with shiny hunting which I won't ever really give up)

[@obits3]

One thing I would suggest is deciding what it would mean to master a game. For example, I play a lot of Pokémon, but I haven’t felt the desire to replay Legends because I completed the Pokédex, all boss fights, and all stars. There are some more things that I could do in that game, but I completed the things that are important to me feeling like the core game is complete. Alternatively, you might consider what a perfect or aesthetically pleasing run would look like. Ask yourself, if this save file had to be permanent and was your only run, what would you consider a good run through. Finally, it is worth considering if you are actively losing anything by waiting. Using Pokémon as an example again, let’s say you really wanted to complete the generation 5 national dex and world tournament modes. Technically, all games from generation 3 (GBA) to 5 (DS) have forward transfer compatibility without online services (you just need two DS and at least one with a GBA slot), so you could put off that challenge. Same with gen 6 as long as you have all four games. That said, if you wanted to do something that used the online Pokémon Bank, you would likely want to prioritize that type of run. Same with keeping up with current games to participate in events with others.

[@AviaKun]

I’m in the exact same position as you, I bought a switch last year, and the amount of big titles available on the platform is super overwhelming and hard to manage

[@aiodensghost8645]

I still have a massive backlog, but I forced myself to finish ONE game and since then I've never felt any better if I shelve a game or not. Dark Souls Remastered gave me a sense of freedom I've not gotten from any other game. Sure, I may finish a game here or there, but if it doesn't click with me for some reason I don't mind shelving it and trying again later.

[@TheItalianoAssassino]

Me: Has a whole stack of sealed games and douzends of games digitally I've never played. Also me: "I have nothing to play" 😂😂😂😂

[@eduardorpg64]

My favorite piece of advice from this video was "replay an old favorite game of yours as a reward for beating a game on your backlog."

[@lanceknightmare]

Around four months or more. I started playing a game called Hero Wars. Started is inaccyrate since I had actually played and quit playing the game two times before. The reason I chose Hero Wars was due to Hydras. A guild based concept where as you become stronger you see yourself doing more damage to the hydra over time. I could have chosen many other games to get this same experience. I did not want to main with a Castle Builder since the game encourages aggressive bullying of other players. Only being kept in check by an anarchist player controled system of rules and regulations. I did not want that. I started doing Offer Walls which gave me the paid currency called Gems for Hero Wars. I would have 1 month from the time I started the Offer Wall to get as far in the game as possible. I was playing several games to maintain a steady stream of currency. All of the extra hours I was having to spend playing started to detract from my enjoyment of gamong. Then again, if I did not make the progress I wanted in the main game I was playing I would also feel encouraged. I eventually found a balance where I would regularly play Hero Wars and do 1 Offer Wall at a time. Maybe play another game casually. Though, I did not feel obligated to play that third game. I was making the progress I wanted without burning myself out. Hero Wars takes around an hour a day. So does the second game so that is two hours. There will also be short times I will login to the game for 10+ minutes several times a day. Sometimes I stick around but only if I have a reason to. This is not a perfect balance but it works.

[@hammahead101]

Thank you for the video! Appreciate listening to your story and there are a lot of good tips in this video. I personally also like to play one game at a time.

[@hundun5604]

7:00 For me that list is about 60-70 games long I selected. And almost all of them are big and/or complex. Comparing movies and games. Movies are about 90-120minutes. Video games take a lot longer than that. Switching once in a while between games isn't that bad. You can burn out if you keep playing the same game/gametype, over and over. A bit of variety can't hurt I think.

[@goon5544]

I think playing games the second or third time is even better than the first a lot of times. There was a time where I was just knocking out so many games a few years back that if feel like I was just taking in too much and it was a chore to learn new games at times. Playing a game 2 or 3 times lets you really learn the game and play it skillfully and bump up the difficulty and blow through parts like they are easy now. I started a 2nd playthrough on 2 games this year and wouldn't mind playing them all the way a 2nd time on new game plus or hard but I did end up moving on a little into the 2nd playthrough.

[@TheGaboefects]

Obtaining trophies/achievements has completely fix all the troubles I was having with gaming. The main problems were that I was a slave to my favorite games and I didn’t want to try any new games that didnt whao me inmidietly because I didnt feel like I was being productive. Having trophies as a goal aid me in trying new games and even if the games werent my favorites, the desire for completing the trophy list and obtaining the platinum aid me to finish that game I wouldnt have otherwise play more than once. Also if a game has a simple/easy or a time consuming/hard trophy list helped me choose which games to play. I would try only brand new games with easy platinums and only go for hard trophy list of games I know I adore and im willing to invest the time in.

[@nytesla_punk3327]

Same here ❤️

[@Woolen_Tea]

Thanks for this video. This is exactly how I’m feeling about my backlog and will try to better organize myself. Cheers

[@Bulazs250]

I have exactly this issue and I started to do kind of the same as you. I mainly play on PS5 and PC and in PS5 there is an option to create folders and categorize your games so I did a high priority folder and some other, while on PC I mainly only play Honkai Star rail now, so nothing there to do fortunately. Even still I catch myself looking at new releases and whatnot, but I always persuade myself to wait till at least a 50% off on a game to buy, This way by the time the price lowers to that point I usually finish the games before it and save some money along the way.

[@TheJmax04]

While I'm not specifically all that worried about the fact that I haven't played through all the games I own, my backlog has become a symbol in my mind of my seeming inability to change and grow, as I find I have similar problems in other aspects of my life. Therefore, it's comforting to see someone else overcoming this problem, as it gives me some hope that I can find strategies to deal with my problems.

[@officegossip]

I stopped using the word “backlog” and just play one fun video game at a time.

[@ryanpierce5460]

It's a hobby and no shame if u don't finish a game. You got a lifetime to finish them. I haven't finished every tv show or movie I watched and that's ok also. The good thing about a hobby, it's not required that you finish it. I have beaten nearly 1000 video games and started on the nes where games are hard as nails. Sometimes when I go back to a game 20 years later and beat it, feels even more rewarding.

[@Bkuuzin]

Great advice! Good point on playing one game at a time instead of alternating between games. I thought about trying an hour per game, but maybe that’s too complicated!

[@TheDucksEye]

I feel the same! I’m way guilty of this, couldn’t tell you how many Pokémon games I’ve ran through. I’ve played Pikmin 3 like 15 times… but last time instead of 3, I tried 2 and got way into it instead! I try finding situations like that to increase the variety of what I play, but it’s gotta come naturally for me.

[@yqisq6966]

Yeah it's impossible to finish every game just like how you can't watch every video on youtube with a limited life. The way I deal with the problem is to use Cheat Engine sparingly, to remove some of the repetitive grinds that don't offer new challenges. It saves tons of time, especially for those JRPGs that are notorious for their grindiness.

[@shadowedfate151]

As I get older I try and just tell myself I don't need to scour every inch of a game if I don't want to. That it's fine to just want to get to the end.

[@bryanleal6000]

I will try this, also I can’t relate sometimes the fomo is real when games go from cheap to extremely expensive seemingly out of nowhere. There are a lot of games I felt that way, recent ones I can think of is Tokyo mirage session, and klonoa (the double pack) like atlus games are notoriously expensive sometimes especially the more obscure titles also TMS begin a Nintendo game which their prices never go down made me just buy it. And klonoa because it’s a obscure little gem, I did play the beginning of it and I loved it but it’s not something I want to play right now, also the original releases of klonoa are pretty expensive. The game I would love to finish is shin megami V and I’ve dented but I keep doing the mistake of jumping of playing never ending multiplayer games.

[@caturiges]

Personally I think that completing a game isn't always needed. There's some genres that can be fun for me to play for a few hours and never play them until I get that itch again, like beat 'em ups, hack and slash, shooters, platfformers, racing, fighting, puzzle and even open-world games. The only games that I really enjoy finishing are visual novels, JRPGs and Metroidvanias, because of the progression systems and the development of the story and characters.

[@supersambams]

That’s very true! I agree with you there!

[@Horatio787]

I have 1600 games in my backlog. I look through literally every game on steam, so those aren't shovelware they're games that actually look interesting. I used to have a shortlist of high interest games but knowing what's coming up for weeks killed my interest to play them. I use GOG Galaxy as an aggregator of every game I own on any platform. I put my untagged (unplayed) games in list format and remove all the information on them so they're just small lines of text for the names. I then use a random letter generator and the search function to narrow down the list until there's only a few dozen, then I blur my eyes and pick a random one. Then I choose to either play it, don't play it if I'm really not in the mood (like playing another jrpg just after finishing one), or throw it in my dropped list if I think I might want to play it someday, or throw it in the trash list because I realize I just don't want to play it. Then I either finish the game, put it in my dropped list if I didn't like it enough to finish, or put it in my trash list if I don't ever want to play it again. Then I move on to the next randomly selected game. My choice paralysis is gone. Saying, "You finish this or you drop it." stops me from wasting time wondering if I want to play that game tonight. Also the first time I play a game, I'm allowed to replay it as many times as I want before I move on because almost no games are that fun. I also watch a movie or a season of a show every other game I finish. And after I finish 10 games I replay an old game, and rewatch a movie or show. I agree that you should be willing to put a looong game on hold to play a shorter game if you really start feeling the burnout.

[@RhetticusRex]

I suppose it depends if one wants to have the best lifetime completion of games or the best quality-time. As children we would play, there was a world we were trying to create in physical reality.

[@MissBubbles]

Your story is so similar to mine tho I started this trend when I turned 19-20 in my second year of uni and it only got worse when I discovered digital sales where now I am picking up a lot of games reaching close to 600games on my different platforms. However with some set rules, I am slowly playing my games more, happily finishing a lot of them (if they are entertaining me), and ditching games that simply did not click with me!

[@supersambams]

Yeah digital sales can be killer! Nice for my bank account but not for my backlog

[@Simoss13]

I recently got a PS3 and have like 60 games to try out (and more to buy also). To cope I tried a game I want and the next game I tried was of a different genre. This way is to not as easily get bored and give a fair run. For instance I tried Uncharted then went onto a racing game

[@shandeleen]

I started my gaming backlogs back when I was only 16 (ps2 era), and now I'm almost twice my age before but I still haven't completed my backlogs a decade ago. 😂 Now, I hop from one game to another. I'm also a victim of games on sale 😭

[@codydfwn]

Man, if I saw this video like 4 years ago it would saved me a lot of time until figuring this all out on my own til only just very recently... Lol 😭😭

[@Skyverb]

Bro I thought I Was alone. Listening to this felt like looking in a mirror.

[@Walamonga1313]

Biggest reason why I haven't beaten backlog games is because I go back to play my fav games very often

[@Kennosuke88]

I'm exactly the same my games collection is massive & iv only fully completed a handful ever since I was a young teen 😅

[@thomasellis6683]

I can really relate to this. Literally last year I had on,y one console and at the most 5 games. This year, I have around 15 consoles and too many games to choose from lol.

[@adam711s]

I try to artificially limit myself to a few games at a time. One story game and then the other few are those never ending ‘service’ games I cycle through. There’s still some games that I haven’t played yet, like paper mario ttyd. Ive had that game for close to 20 years now and I still haven’t played it lol. Every time I start it, it feels like I’m forcing myself to play. I’m sure it’s a good game, but I’m not gonna force myself to play something even though it’s in my collection.

[@POGObiWann]

What a great start to my day!! Always love seeing a new video from you in my sub box! Hope you are well Sammie :)

[@supersambams]

Thanks Jacob that really means a lot! :) I’m doing great and miss you a whole lot dude! Hope you’re doing well too!

[@Lalovoe]

my situation is exactly the same as you described in the beginning

[@ashleyhands7717]

My High Priority Game list consists of 1 game from each platform, them being: Gotham Knights, God of War Ragnarök, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and Zelda: BOTW :D