There are just too many games and not enough time

[Blade Wolf]

It doesn't help when I'm the type of gamer who plays really slowly and wants to explore as much as possible, even when I'm not exploring I'll usually stop by to take in the views or the atmosphere.

It tool me 90 fucking hours to beat Hollow Knight for the first time, I simply take too much time to appreciate the world.

You know that feeling when you're in a pool and instead of swimming you're just enjoying the water? Like you're simply just enjoying being inside the water without actually doing anything. That's how I play video games.

 

[Stairouais]

Thank god for the switch.
It's the only way I'm able to get a little play each day.

 

[crazillo]

I personally use backloggery.com and then just try and play as much as I can.

It's a good feeling to slowly check stuff off my list and I find it makes me much more aware of what I should play next. Try it, it may reduce the bad feelings you get by making sure you can always come back to something later.

Something I will occasionally do is link the ERA OT in my notes for the game, so I can later go back if I'd like to read some of the zeitgeist from when the game was hot. It's not the same as being "part of the conversation" but I still find it scratches that itch.

Click to shrink...

Great comment, I also do that. I look at OT threads here and on a native language forum, google stuff like 'ending discussion', 'spoiler' etc. It can be fun to experience older games by yourself and then relate your thoughts to the overall consensus (whatever that is).

 

[Danielsan]

Yeah, it's too much. I really wish I had more time to play everything. It also doesn't help that I still play GaaS stuff like Apex Legends / Magic Arena .

 

[Timeaisis]

I only play the good ones.

 

[AudioEppa]

This is why I enjoy having a low preference in what kind of genres like to play, and playing on one platform. Multiple systems + interest In hundreds of games? Nah I'm good.

 

[Funkybee]

And one of the worst things is when you started one of the most anticipated games BUT you are addicted to some moba or other multiplayer game and your buddies are waiting for you to start playing so you have to skip that single player game and fall a 'victim' to salty times with your buddies online and you just can't help it.

 

[Jerm411]

I've come to accept I won't get to play everything and may never play some stuff and I'm ok with that....

Backlogs are a slog and a burden...just play what you want when you want and don't worry about anything else.

 

[JG_Lionheart]

totally get you. When I look at the stuff I want to play (Gears 5, Link's A, FF8R, Destiny 2 and I could go on) vs what's on my backlog I go nope. It's tough to stop thinking about the zeitgeist but the sooner you just do you instead of the latest thing the better.

at least my steam wishlist is getting bigger by the day.

 

[Deleted member 31333]

I'm honestly thinking of skipping next gen until my backlog is clear.

Bonus is I'll save some money and it seems better to jump in to a gen anyways when the slim revisions come out.

 

[rdaneel72]

I have always recited the mantra of Adult Gamer Irony:

When I was a kid I had time to play videogames but no money to buy them.

Now that I am an adult I have money to buy videogames but no time to play them.

Digital downloads have made it too easy. I used to be able to limit physical purchases because of the hassle of having to go to the store. But now, I can buy games 24/7 without leaving the house, play for a little while until I am distracted by the new shiney. I still make an effort to finish my physical games, but I have dozens of digital titles that I have only scratched the surface of.

Also, it was easier when Nintendo consoles only got limited releases. Not that I'm complaining, but Switch is a monster.

Someday I will be retired.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

I just play what I feel like at that moment. That might be the new hotness, it might be a decade old BC 360 game I found on Game Pass. I flit between a ton of different games. Once in a while I even finish one!

 

[StreamedHams]

I should be retired in 13 years, and if I play my cards right, I won't have to work anymore. That's when I'll finally dig into my backlog for real. Until then, I'm barely treading water for my annual *must play* games.

 

[StreamedHams]

I have always recited the mantra of Adult Gamer Irony:

When I was a kid I had time to play videogames but no money to buy them.

Now that I am an adult I have money to buy videogames but no time to play them.

Digital downloads have made it too easy. I used to be able to limit physical purchases because of the hassle of having to go to the store. But now, I can buy games 24/7 without leaving the house, play for a little while until I am distracted by the new shiney. I still make an effort to finish my physical games, but I have dozens of digital titles that I have only scratched the surface of.

Also, it was easier when Nintendo consoles only got limited releases. Not that I'm complaining, but Switch is a monster.

Someday I will be retired.

Click to shrink...

And I think that the low cost of digital distribution has brought prices and availability to an all time low. Some days I feel like I'm just collecting keys.

 

[MythicReclaimer]

How do you manage your time? I've got hundreds of games I haven't gone through, which I want to play. There is simply no way I can finish my 3DS collection. I haven't even gone through my Vita games, and more Switch games coming out soon
I didn't even include consoles/PC...

Do you still buy new games despite not being able to play them?

Click to shrink...

No, any new releases that I buy are games I was really looking forward to so I play those immediately.

However, with Remnant, Control, Gears, Borderlands, and Destiny all releasing within 6 week's time I had to sacrifice GreedFall (refunded it at GMG) as I just don't think I'll have the time for it even though I'm really looking forward to it as well so I've decided to delay getting it a bit (maybe December or January) when there's less to play unless it turns out to be amazing and reviews better than anyone could have expected or something.

 

[Rocketz]

I don't really even bother buying day 1 anymore. I just wait for deep sales since I have too many in my backlog and I don't think mine is very big.

Gameoass is a blessing and a curse. I get to play games that were in my backlog that I didn't buy, but my backlog grows from other games they add.

 

[Deleted member 11976]

Outside of my obsession with Destiny 2, I've tried to limit myself to shorter games. I actually prefer games that are 5-15 hours these days, really.

Once I have my first kid I fully expect that I'll have to become even more selective with how I spend my time with respect to video games.

 

[bounchfx]

There really are. You just gotta be ok with not playing them all. Which is not too hard considering lots of games are sooo similar these days. Otherwise just pick the best of the best, whatever works for you. Great way to save money though. These days I think I'm satisfied just knowing a game is available, lol. That and watching a twitch stream of the game usually is enough to satisfy my hype needs.

 

[Deleted member 19813]

You'll be a lot happier when you just play what you want. I have thousands of games on Steam, a growing Switch library, 3/2DS games I want to play, manga to read, anime to watch, and I just have to enjoy what I can, when I can. I work, have a family, and can't be alone for the majority of the time like when I was younger. I'm happy with the time I do get. When you realize this, you'll stop buying new games on release. I wait and get many of them later.

 

[Arta]

This yeah the challenge is much greater due to all the great releases coming out.

If you're a PS gamer (like myself) the good thing is that all the early games will be discounted by year's end and you'll have yourself a good Christmas.

Unfortunately if you recently got a Switch ( like myself) you would have discovered that Nintendo laughs at the idea of digital deep discounts.

 

[Taco_Human]

I've been laying arcade games, so it's not like I'm even making a it of progress each time I play either lol.

At least I'm beating the stories in Yakuza. Only game so far this year is Kiwami 2, I've put in a bunch of hours in some stuff I have in my library so that's good.

 

[Roshin]

Games, books, music, films, tv, etc. You simply don't have the time to do everything. You have to pick something and focus. Try to look at your backlog as choice, rather than a burden.

 

[Philippo]

Yeah man, now my yearly schedule is to spend H1 of a year catching up with releases from the year before, summer for a couple of lesser known games and Fall is for the big games, or at least the ones i can manage before delaying them to the year after.

 

[ShinNL]

I call myself a collector so I can justify my behavior and ignore that I have a lot of symptoms resembling addiction. My 3DS collection? Hahaha, you think I will boot up an older machine when I can play on my Switch now? Surely not...

Spoiler

It's even missing some icons because I haven't popped in some of my acquisitions yet... (Assassin's Creed 3 + Liberation, Grisaia Trilogy, Stein's Gate: Elite...)

I don't have a problem, YOU have a problem, shut up. :(

 

[Pelao]

I try to squeeze gaming time wherever I can. I usually manage just fine. I got to a point where if I know a game takes 50 hours I can manage my time to finish it in a week.
I do arbitrarily discriminate a ton of games to make sure I only play stuff I think I'll enjoy and finish, though.
I usually play every major AAA release but unfortunately indies got axed pretty quick by me, I only play one if it gets a huge amount of word of mouth or if it looks like it has high production values.

I'm currently, as some people would say, with nothing to play. I'm waiting for DBZ Kakarot to release this friday and then it's nothing again until Iron man VR.

 

[K' Dash]

Welcome to the club OP.

 

[AtomicShroom]

One of the bigger problems of today is that games are made to be way too long. Developers intentionally stretch game lengths by filling them with collectibles, repetitive open world activities, RPG elements that require grinding, crafting, and plenty others that make sure you can't just beat (much less 100%) a game in just a few hours anymore.

Hell the other day my friend and I casually played through the entirety of Super Mario Bros. 3 in under 5 hours. Good luck doing that with Mario Odyssey.

 

[Agent_J]

There's never enough time! I've still got a back log spanning across multiple generations.

 

[eXistor]

I kinda plan it out. This month there is nothing new for me (and february is looking the same, so it's the perfect time to catch up on some smaller games. If I'm done with those and I still have some time left I usually spend it on retro games I want to replay or haven't played yet (always a bunch of those around). By the time that's done I'm pretty much ready for the next wave of new releases in march.

 

[Dragon1893]

I become more and more selective. If I have even the slightest doubt that something won't be worthy of my time I don't even bother with it.
Of course even after narrowing it down as much as possible there are still more games than I can hope to beat in my lifetime, especially because I'm into RPGs.
I'm just going down that list and try to add to it as little as possible. 2020 will have a lot of must plays for me though, fortunately January and February will allow me to catch up a bit.
Turbo mode is a godsend for jrpgs though, I'll tell you that much.

 

[RingoGaSuki]

Yeah, there are so many games I want to play, but just know I'll never get around to. I can never get through overly long games anymore either unless they're exactly my tastes.

For example I got Witcher 3 on Switch a few weeks ago and have played 15 hours so far and just got to Novigrad, but I'm struggling to get back into it because I know I'm so far away from the end (I hear it takes 100h+) and I have other games and things I want to do so I just can't dedicate that much time to the one playthrough even if I'm really enjoying it and am probably going to leave it soon. On the other hand, I put 105 hours into DQXIS and 180 into FE: 3H happily, likely could have done the same in Sword/Shield if it weren't devoid of content too.

 

[Chasing]

There comes a point in time you will just forget about the concept of backlog. Ultimately, just buy the things you want to play at the moment, but one at a time until you felt you got enough out of it. Don't buy stuff if you are only halfway interested, or are going to just put it off to later and maybe never get to.

 

[Gelf]

I feel those saying "don't buy a game until you finish the current one" are missing the point that for some of us the issue is wishing we had the time to play all these titles whether we own them or not.

I just had to accept I can't play everything and prioritize. Any minor reason to pick one game over others I'll take.

 

[PJsprojects]

I play a couple of gaas games every week so that leaves very little time for story games.
Wildlands took me two years to finish the main campaign. Currently running through Spiderman that I got at launch and have just started chapter three...

No way on this earth I will finish by backlog for this gen before next gen hits.

 

[Deleted member 51306]

I spend this time of the year playing a lot more compared to other parts of the year. December, January and February are the slow times at work for me and there's nothing to do outside so I try to get caught up on my backlog in that time period. I had 33 games on my back log. I'm down to 22 now. If I could get it under 10 by March I think that would be good.

 

[deltabreak]

Accept the fact that you can't play everything and stop worrying about it

 

[Deleted member 31133]

Isn't that the same for films, TV series and books? It is for me anyway.

There is only so much time in my life, that I need to be picky with what I watch/read and play. For games as an example, I'll only play games that I'm sure I'm going to enjoy.

 

[BraXzy]

The worst part is I'm terrible for procrastinating, even on playing games (or watching TV shows even) which makes it 10 times worse...

 

[Raiden]

How do you guys have 100 games in your backlog? I'm 32 years old and there are maybe 10 games I have to complete and 2 I have not touched.


Do some of you buy everything that gets a 70 plus metascore ?

 

[iswasdoes]

I feel this way about everything: games, films, TV shows, books, places I wanna go. Choice abundance and decision paralysis.

 

[julia crawford]

This is true of everything, but especially not true of toilets. Think about it. You can experience all good toilets in a lifetime. But we don't. Instead we spend our time in things we can't finish.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I'll trade you. I have a bunch of time and nothing to play.

 

[low-G]

In hindsight I see how the OP was talking about ALL the games they had to play -- but even if you had no job or anything you still wouldn't have time for all those games.

Just enjoy the time you have.

 

[Legacy]

Video games are a lot more enjoyable when you accept you can't play everything.

Click to shrink...

100% agree with this

 

[Chakoo]

I'm sitting out the launch of next gen. I'm still making my way through my 3DS backlog that I keep adding to while I can still find some games (before they double in price). I think due to game lengths, I'm now finding my self more contempt with just playing old arcade games in 15-30min burst, that or a quick game of pinball.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

How do you manage your time?

Click to shrink...

Strict selection. No games that are just "mediocre" of "somewhat fun", they need to be excellent.

Also, don't browse any store so you don't get tempted.

 

[Deleted member 1594]

I'm playing The Witcher 3 again because there isnt enough games...

...that I'm interested in. So it works out.

 

[Deleted member 9486]

I just long ago accepted I'll never come remotely close to playing every game that interests me. Or seeing every movie and tv show that I'd like to or read every book thst piques my interest etc.

Given that it's just a matter of prioritizing and sticking to my tastes, being willing to drop games I end up not feeling and move on to the next game in my radar. I finish most ESB days as I'm Kerry picky about what I buy and play.

I also stopped having a backlog as I just buy games to play immediately, or sometimes one to play next or there's a great deal on what's next on my radar.

 

[freakybj]

One benefit of having a large backlog is that you'll never suffer through a drought during periods where not a lot of good new games are being released.

 

[Retsudo]

How do you guys have 100 games in your backlog? I'm 32 years old and there are maybe 10 games I have to complete and 2 I have not touched.


Do some of you buy everything that gets a 70 plus metascore ?

Click to shrink...

Sales, gamepass, free games offered on pc by different stores, humble bundles and the like.

Just epic on 2019 gave more than 60 games for free. Its not that hard to have a backlog nowadays.