Gaming backlog motivational partners, anyone?

[Metalhead]

Like many gamers in the first world, I have a tendency to buy a lot more video games than I have time to play. I am sitting on a backlog of around 900 unfinished games over six different consoles and one PC.

So, I have decided to not buy any more games between now and the time the new Xbox and the PS5 comes out next year. I also decided to set aside some time going through a significant portion of what I already own.

Does anybody else with a gaming backlog want to be a motivational partner for this totally first-world project? I am interested in boosting achievements/trophies and doing co-op on many of my 360, One, PS3 and PS4 games. Let me know if you are interested in joining me on this epic quest that might end up taking a few years for me.

 

[Misery]

I've *sorta* been doing the same thing lately, kinda.

Steam recently changed the library UI for... some reason. Huge change. You may or may not have seen it, heck if I know. Well, side effect of it, is that I find it's way easier now to skim through the whole mess and see what's really there. It's not just a list of words on the left side of the screen anymore, it's this huge blocky thing that covers up most of the screen, complete with proper images for most games. So it's much easier now to be looking at that and go "Hey, what's this? I dont remember buying this. But it looks neat, I should try it now".

Also finding that it's making it a bit easier to remember having recently bought something. If I buy something the thing constantly flags it as "new to library" with a bright blue banner mark on it, like "Hey dipwad, you still havent tried this thing you bought 2 weeks ago!".

Getting into board games recently is also helping to sorta kick the backlog habit. Alot of people into that hobby still have a backlog (and often a huge one, at that... they usually call it the "shelf of shame"), but the difference with those is that the "backlog" is physical and can take up a whole bloody room. So with those it's like, yeah, here's this box still covered in plastic, it's huge, very obvious, I'll spend some time with that before I so much as look at new things.


Of course, that all being said, ALOT of the video games I own cant really be "completed" in the traditional sense. And some are just so stupidly difficult that even 500 hours of practice wont get you a win (the shmups, usually). So I cant always just play one game to total completion before buying another. Still, there's some that I need to just sit down with for awhile. Like I *still* havent tried out all the new NMS content yet.... that's a heck of alot of stuff in that one. Sorta fiddled with it and then got distracted by some other game. And I just remembered that Phoenix Point is finally releasing tomorrow.... and I've had access to the beta version all this time and have still barely played it. Ugh. Maybe that's what I do today, is dive into that.

And that's how it is on my end. That's all on PC though. Consoles... I've pretty much dumped them at this point. I have a Switch, mostly for Mario Maker 2. Somewhere there is a PS4 but I dont care enough to look for it. Needless to say, I wont be buying a PS5... dont need another bloody doorstop. I will say though, the PS4 controller is useful for the PC (usually).


Aaaaanyway. Good luck with that backlog then, it's never easy to sift through one of those. There's always that desire to just buy a new one, eh?

 

[Iamnotarabot]

https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/17/gdc-most-players-donat-finish-games

Iv deleted most of my gaming related stuff and I dont want to go back in ( and pay again), so I can't help sorry.

 

[Transmission]

Steam recently changed the library UI for... some reason. Huge change. You may or may not have seen it, heck if I know. Well, side effect of it, is that I find it's way easier now to skim through the whole mess and see what's really there. It's not just a list of words on the left side of the screen anymore, it's this huge blocky thing that covers up most of the screen, complete with proper images for most games. So it's much easier now to be looking at that and go "Hey, what's this? I dont remember buying this. But it looks neat, I should try it now".

I've seen a lot of people online say that the way Steam's UI looks and behaves is very outdated (I mostly agree with this), so I thought Valve has started updating it. Maybe they only did the library UI for now because they don't want to do everything at once in case people don't like it. I'm just speculating though.

 

[Misery]

I've seen a lot of people online say that the way Steam's UI looks and behaves is very outdated (I mostly agree with this), so I thought Valve has started updating it. Maybe they only did the library UI for now because they don't want to do everything at once in case people don't like it. I'm just speculating though.

Honestly it's probably good that they havent updated the whole thing.

Steam as it is currently is a hideous glitchy mess... I very genuinely consider it to be the second-worst thing on all 3 computers that I own... only Windows itself is worse. I dont think I've ever had a single hour or two-hour session with Steam where it DOESNT spaz out at least once or twice (or in a recent notable case, 12 times). Hell, often all it takes is 5 freaking minutes for yet another bug to happen.

Granted, it's not like Valve has any incentive to not suck. Steam is a money printing machine. They could sit and drool in a corner all day, which is what I always imagine them doing, and the cash will still keep rolling in. That's a whole other topic though.

But I do still admit that I find that new UI for the library useful.

 

[Metalhead]

Here is an update.

I have decided to commit to not spending money to add to my game collection until my vacation in May (I always hit the used game shops when I vacation). Then, after that, I will not buy games until the PS5 and Project Scarlett both come out at the end of 2020. Life goals, man, life goals. I will play what I already own until then.

 

[Schism]

I am interested in boosting achievements/trophies and doing co-op on many of my 360, One, PS3 and PS4 games. Let me know if you are interested in joining me on this epic quest that might end up taking a few years for me.

Yeh, I get you on this. I got so frustrated with being unable to complete 360 games due to needing co-op I actually quit playing. Have also returned to this for the same reason.

What games are you thinking of playing needing co-op?

NB. I might add though, if like me it was sooo long ago, it's going to be hard to play like the Boss you were then. I can't remember that's for sure!

 

[Raggamuffin]

I never had a backlog as a kid. Might have got 1 new game a year, maybe 2 at best. Unless the game wasn't my cup of tea, I played every game I had.

Platform games from the 90's were a bit challenging with no real save function. When I got Zelda Link to The Past, my interest in gaming started to ramp up. RPG's and exploring big worlds was especially appealing.

When I began working I had money to buy any game I wanted. Being spoilt for choice I started to complete less and less games. Having limited free time I didn't want to waste time on mediocre games or one's I wouldn't enjoy.

I'm stuck in a loop of a select few games now. 3 online RPG's of the Phantasy Star series, the Bethesda Fallout and Eldar Scrolls games and the Total War Franchise.

I've tried so many games - and most I gave up within an hour or 2. Nothing new, everything feels rather copy and paste these days. Every now and then something novel comes along. Borderlands struck me as one of those games, as did Dayz. But sure enough they hammer out sequels. Or other companies cotton on and soon you have a new sub-genre of game awash with mediocrity.

Last game I enjoyed that wasn't part of my set list was Wreck Fest. It was good fun, but within 20 hours I was bored and never played it again.

Ed

 

[Misery]

I've tried so many games - and most I gave up within an hour or 2. Nothing new, everything feels rather copy and paste these days. Every now and then something novel comes along. Borderlands struck me as one of those games, as did Dayz. But sure enough they hammer out sequels. Or other companies cotton on and soon you have a new sub-genre of game awash with mediocrity.

This is why I play indie games instead of the AAA crap. The big developers/publishers only care about nickel & diming you to death.... they'd feed you to a gator without hesitation if they thought it'd give them an extra penny. It's no wonder their games are so.... dull. I got disillusioned with those about 5 years ago after getting tired of their repetitive idiocy. So I switched.

With the indie stuff, if I want something totally new.... there's ALWAYS something totally new. These devs dont even HAVE restrictions on what they can make (which is what causes AAA games to be boring: The devs CANNOT just make what they want to). I'm a total impulse buyer with no real spend limit, and gaming is my main hobby, yet when I was sticking with the AAA stuff, it was getting really rare that I'd buy anything at all. After I made the switch, well.... I buy games OFTEN. There's always something new and interesting. In every genre. Which is another thing: With the AAA guys, MANY entire genres are outright missing, because they "arent profitable". Roguelikes, real-time-strategy, turn-based anything, it's all missing in the AAA space. But not in the indie space. Nothing is missing there.

Interestingly, this all holds extra true for those that use VR of any sort. Pretty much ALL VR games are made by indies (whether it's single devs or very small studios); the AAA companies wont touch VR with a 10 foot pole, as again it's "not profitable" (as if they ever bothered to TRY). Well, no, Valve is the one and only exception as far as I know, but their involvement has mostly been with SteamVR, not actual games.


Seriously, you want something totally new... there's LOTS of things that are totally new, no matter what type of game you're after. But unlike the AAA stuff, they dont come screaming and waving at you (thankfully), you have to go look around.

 

[Raggamuffin]

I get what you mean about indie titles. I've bought quite a few and I found the hit rate was higher than bigger budget titles. However, I am still set in my ways in general. It doesn't seem to matter how new or novel game titles are. I'm really stuck in my routine and highly particular about the games I like and dislike. I guess a fair amount has to do with nostalgia too.
Phantsay Star Online on Dreamcast was my first ever online gaming experience and instant messaging experience. But I was limited to 2 hours online a week. The game was the first ever console mmo, although population size never truly granted it an MMO title. Thankfully it had an offline mode too, which was rather ingenius as you could use the same character online and offline. The sequal PSU I played a lot during my carefree days in my early 20's when I was smoking way too much weed but hadn't encountered my anxiety disorder yet.

Both these games have private servers, so they tickle my need for nostalgia whilst also being very good games. I guess Bethesda Eldar scrolls is a similar experience. Oblivion was my first ever experience of a first person open world RPG. It utterly blew me away and I've been hooked on their single player RPG titles ever since.

Total War is mainly due to it being a relaxing and methodical style game, but the large scale battles are what test my PC builds.

It's not to say a new game doesn't come along now and then. But usually I have it completed within 20 hours or so and then I'm back to my old routine. Recently it was the latest NFS game - which was beyond mediocre and then Wreck Fest, which was great fun but short lived in terms of unlockables and progression.

I've tried some VR titles, but for me it feels like a gimmick. It's not to say it's not evolving as a sub-genre. I just mean that for me, I'm sat gaming whilst on the floor swaying from side to side for hours on end. So a VR headset can't be incoportated into how I play games. Gaming is sedentary, and whilst I get that VR is trying to engage other senses and make you part of a game, that's not what I really enjoy. Initially the experiences were breath taking, but within an hour I was starting to feel fed up.

I'm definitely set in my ways when it comes to gaming - a gamer who dislikes most games he encounters. A bit like music I suppose, I've collected tens of thousands of songs, but in terms of most music - I dislike it when I hear it.

Ed

 

[Misery]

Phantasy Star Online was a bloody fantastic game. Absolutely fantastic. I had the Gamecube version. Seems like a million years ago. I absolutely ADORED that game... it was the only reason I held onto the Cube for as long as I did. I was always a solo player though... I'm too impatient for teamwork. But PSO was very good about accomodating solo play. I sure would love to play it again...

As for completing something within 20 hours.... you know, that's actually one of the things that pushed me away from the AAA space. I grew up with games on the NES and the Atari 2600.... alot of "arcade" style games, meant to be played a bazillion times, skill and score constantly increasing as you keep going. Replay value was important! And that's kinda always stuck with me. I have alot of trouble getting into "one and done" games, which most AAA games fit into. I end up playing roguelikes more than anything, or shmups and arcade-style games. I gotta have that endless replay value. I dont like buying things that "run out", really. It just bugs me. Always has.

Now as for VR, yeah, I've heard that one before, and honestly it's how I originally thought about it. The problem that VR has is that you need to find the right games, to get into it. And since the AAA guys wont touch it, this means that MOST of the games dont advertise very well, if at all. So you gotta be ready to search pretty deep if you want to find the things that are going to make VR really click for you.

In my case, the game in question that sold the Rift to me isnt even a game... it's more of an emulator front-end. New Retro Arcade Neon. Recreate an entire 80s arcade, complete with 30 games of your choice. Of course, you have to provide the roms and things yourself... but as I already have every freaking rom ever, it was perfect. The thing absolutely blew my mind the first time I fired it up. I later found another VR emulation tool, except for consoles instead. They just amaze me.

The thing I always show to people new to VR though: Google Earth. Yeah, that sounds odd, but it's always the one that really gets them on a level besides just the graphical. I mess with it alot too, I find it relaxing and interesting. Overall, I've got alot of VR games now and use the Rift frequently. But the process of searching for NEW games is a little annoying. But I figure... I used to buy all of my games from actual physical stores. If I can put up with that, I can put up with the screwy VR market.


Feh, I'm rambling again. What can I say though, gaming is my favorite topic.


EDIT: It JUST occurred to me, literally 5 seconds after posting, that I could just DOWNLOAD the Gamecube version of PSO. I have the emulator, I always have all the emulators. And for solo play, it doesnt even need a server (which was good back in the day, as at the time my connection was *awful* and frequently didnt work at all). Why didnt I think of that before now? Oh man, now I gotta freaking do that. Gotta go find an ISO download of that.

 

[Raggamuffin]

I'll reply properly after work. Regarding pso there's several servers with hundreds online daily.

Ephinea
Ultima

Are the 2 main ones. Give it a go if you haven't already

Ed

 

[Bolletje]

Even though my backlog is huge, I often find myself replaying old favorites for comfort. I’m currently on my umpteenth play through of the original Baldurs Gate games, albeit heavily modded.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Good old nostalgia

Ed