A message from your backlog

No. Don't you have a depressed teenager to harass?

Play the ones you want, be ok with not finishing the ones you just aren’t feeling after giving them a decent try

Same advice for books.

Average enjoyment across multiple games and books ftw!
I can't bring myself to finish dragon age inquisition.
Which sucks, it was a fantastic game I enjoyed nearly every minute of, and I wish I had gotten into the series when I had more free time than a hibernating bear.
No idea what it is, I just stopped playing one day and never started it back up, and now I just don't have any interest in it.
- Right. Some games are so good you like them. But it’s “uphill” to start them again… so it’s either don’t or just push through.
  That’s why I’m such cases I’ll watch a let’s play. Something I can have in the background to get the lore or story. Or a video that explains the story for Death Stranding.
  But for others, such as tears of the kingdom, that I had to stop halfway through because of a crazy work project and a lot of overtime I just went back and did side quests until the gist of what I was doing kind of came back to me.
How I do it. Huge game library tons of games I bought played and just felt meh after awhile with them. Now they are just part of my collection.
- Here’s what I’ve started doing.
  Games that I’ve played a bit but didn’t finish because I just don’t feel like it but have a story I’m really interested in? I’ll watch a let’s play or summary.
  Other games that I got because I thought, maybe, I wait until I’ve finished a game and want something as a palate cleanser. These I’ll give a go and either really enjoy it and finish or do what I mentioned above.
  Some I’ve saved because I really want to give them a try and, if it doesn’t work out, that’s ok.
  It’s ok to have games you’ll never play. You bought them, or got them via some giveaway, and in both cases supported the devs and studios in the bargain and that’s good enough.
  I loved bioshock. But just couldn’t get into bio shock 2. I have infinite and I may or may not get to it.
  Sometimes I know a game is special before I start it and so I save it instead of giving it a quick run. Sometimes I end up not liking them, and that’s ok. Other times they’re perfect such as Outer Wilds. A game that is now my favorite game of all time and has held that spot for a few years.
  I find that I’m leaning more and more into new experiences and unique stories lately (firewatch, outer wilds) or puzzles (baba is you) or a mix of both (Talos Principle 1&2) but other times I’ll spend hours and hours on something like satisfactory. Get super into it… and then feel like “this was fun, I’ve had a great time, what new experience should I go for now”

But the new ones are new.

This person makes a very compelling argument.
The only point why I'm playing them. After some time, they are no longer new, so I'm looking for next one.

Why would I continue a game I have no interest in?

I play games for fun, not because I want to finish them.

If a game stops being fun, I go on to the next.

And you can't stop me.

Ok but what about all the games you bought but haven't even installed yet?
- Hey listen here you little shit!
This is the correct mentality. Game fun? Play. Game not fun? Don't play.

But... But... I have Factorio and Rimworld...

You better beat them.
- 😭😭😭😭😭
  Lol.

The era of mass buying games on sale has come and gone imo.

I haven't seen any really interesting deals in relation to games I remotely care about in years.

I'm starting to go down the dark path of Indies only.

Dark path? My experience is that it's a more narrow but brighter path.
What I mean is that if you take your time, vet the cash grabs and ones that are perpetually in version 0.02a, then there are some real gems out there.
I don't play all the games I can anymore instead just focusing on ones I really like. Indie games are my goto anymore.
I have 200 or so hours in modded Fallout 4 GOTY that was bought on sale for like $40.
Factorio, just passed the 1200hr mark and just got into modding. $20 a few years ago.
I planned to write more but re-read your comment and realized you're joking....I need more coffee.
- Indie titles are nice, but There's really only so many pixel-art or cel-art style games I'm willing to play. And while, sure, there are noteable exceptions here and there, they're just that. Exceptions.
  I know why they do it, but my point is that I feel there is a missing middle in gaming.
Indies are the bright path. Been absolutely fucking enthralled with Signalis lately, and it was made by less than a handful of people.
The dark path is AAA games: expensive, buggy at launch, unnecessary micro payments, short-lived.
It's sad. The heyday of steam sales were insane - I'd never seen anything like it for gaming.
Now, it just feels underwhelming.
- I just opened my Steam wishlist and there's a lot of titles on there with 75% - 90% off. Including a one piece game normally $80 for $12.
  Now to go through them and see which ones I still want now that they are cheap and time has passed for more reviews/development. Seems like games I add to my wishlist are about 50/50 for if I actually want them when they are really cheap.
- Its underwhelming because the sales aren't as great, and all the games that I've wanted I've bought.
  Nothing new is all that enticing, and if it is it's an indie title and doesn't need to go on sale and therefore probably won't.
  Most indie titles are like 2.99 ~ 30 bucks tops. And all of the damn decent ones are around that 10~25 dollar range.
They may be gone but left a lot in their wake.
On a serious note, indies also sell at a discount sometimes and I already have too many games in the backlog to finish them ever, I think 😰

I'd never buy a new game again lol

...same
... So, what was your last game then?
- The last game I got to the end of or the last game I bought?
  Last game I beat was probably either Slime Rancher or Cyberpunk 2077, can't recall which was most recent.
  Last game I bought was Slime Rancher 2.

"I'll give more money to EA, Epic Games, Ubisoft, Riot Games or anything the community hypes up, then whine about how I'm mistreated, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Make me

Get in the robot shinji
Surely the new ones will give good chemicals! Old ones don't give good chemicals!

Hey, here's a radical thought... don't force yourself to finish something just because you paid for it. A lot of games accumulated were prior to generous refund policy and back in the days of Bundles and stuff. Why would you force yourself to play something you don't like.

Back in the days of bundles.
Looks at the 5 TRPG I just got yesterday for $15. So I could get 1 game I wanted that is always $20.
- Exactly. People wonder why so many are praising Gaben, but decision to refund any game for any reason within 2h of play or 2 weeks of ownership is an awesome one. So many times game looks entertaining only to realize it's bad.

Jokes on you, most of my games are from bundles so I don’t even remember what I bought vs what I got for free

But STEAM sales bro

Brb, just finishing Dead Souls

Hahahaha. No. You can't make me!

Brb finishing Runescape

OSRS? All skills 92? Halfway there!

You’re not my supervisor!

YMMV but I think a healthier approach to backlogs in general is understanding it's okay to leaving something unfinished, not be immediately hooked, or revisit it when you're in the mood.

As long as you tried the game and realise it's not for you (in the moment or later) then you don't need to finish. Playing games should be like travelling and visiting places - you'll likely never see all of it and that's okay.

Nah

I refuse. If I lose interest in a game, I ain't touching it until I'm ready. It's one of the big reasons I quit FNV months ago in the middle of what will be my first ever completion of the game.

No

Damn you Humble Bundle!

Fuck you I won't do what you tell me.

NO

I am still not finished with Anno 1602 endless mode. It is getting kind of boring…

What breaks first? You or the ancient CD it is run from?
Wow, the game is 25 years old...
- It was my second computer game that I bought. The first one was Warcraft 2. But that one did not have an endless mode.
  And of course I copy the CD over to a new one every year. That way the magnetic field of earth is no issue for my game!

I finished Axiom Verge, what more do you want from me?!?

You're not the boss of me now.

I have a moratorium on buying games until more than 50% of the games in my library have been played at least once.

I'M TELLING YOU I CAN'T

Nope, I bought Snowrunner this week and I'm having a great time with it, I would not be having a great time with most of my "backlog". There's a reason unplayed games stay unplayed.

But the new ones are on sale. I basically have to buy them now!

Letme go finish all of Eu4 real quick

No, I have to chase the thrill of having a New Game.

Well shit, if Asuka says so...

A rare moment of rationality from Asuka.

That's the plan for 2024. No new games until I beat the ones I have now.

But it's on sale.

I buy it now, save 50%, and my download queue can tell me which game I play next out of... 637...

Oh.

No! you're not my mommy!

I finally finished Wrath of the Righteous. Maybe I'll finish Kingmaker in 2024.

I spent days in Wraith wandering around on the army map with just my party before finally figuring out I had an actual army too. Now I can't find my camp to rest up in lol. It might be a failed campaign.
Don't turn off the Context Tips, people.

The PS5 shortage sucked but it helped me play and finish all the PS4 games I wanted to play, except for GoT which I completed recently.

I'm mostly using my PS5 to play PS4 games, if I'm being honest.

My 1070 seems to still be trucking along for most things.

Project zomboid.... finish project zomboid... I have 900hrs in the game is that considered finished

I'm not much of a gamer, so games are more like curiosities or toys to me.

I like to get in and see the styles and mechanics, but I don't have much time patience or skill to complete any of them.

I just appreciate them like art, I guess.

I would never buy a game again. What is the fun in that? (My backlog of owned, but unplayed or unfinished games is in the thousands)

Five Nights at Freddy 3

Hahaha no

I heard of this "buying" in regards of games, but I'm still a bit confused. There is another way to obtain them than loading and donating?

Unpopular opinion: a lot of games have an artificial massive skill cliff right at the game's climax that ruins the mood.

Some people collect platinum trophies and call it done, I hit about 99% and call it done. We are not the same.

Edit: Example - Dark Souls. I flew through the game with a bastard sword, medium rolling and smashing everything in my path. Can't beat Gwyn because I never learned to parry. Yeah, I need to get gud, but that's hardly a sane skill progression, even for Dark Souls.

I've played all the souls games, bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden ring (and love them all), and I'm complete ass at parrying. Aside from Sekiro where you have to, I never really learned. I've just beaten every single game by dodging or blocking.
- Point taken. Guess I should dust off my save and give it a go. Thank you. :)
  blocking
  Oh no, we don't do that here.