The Building Backlog

As it currently stands, I have a collection of about 20 or so odd games that I have yet to play or finish. Some aren’t even opened yet. For younger gamers, this tends to be a non-issue. Either they have the time to get to the games they have, or they don’t have enough games to create a backlog in the first place. As the gaming landscape changes generationally, those of us who started gaming in the 70s/80s have found our lives evolving into new routines. This can cause a buildup of the very media we use to thrive off of. Along with the expansive length of games today, this causes a monumental backlog of “to-do” games that can, if left uncurated or ignored, lead to piles upon piles of unplayed games that can drive our spouses and significant others up the wall.

Now that Zelda: Breath of the Wild has dropped, I’m put in a very precarious position. I already had a rather large backlog of titles I’m excited to play. Just before Zelda released, I was playing Nioh. I hit a nice groove in my playstyle – I could take on any challenge, but the difficulty was still fun. Now that I’ve started playing Zelda and I’m off Nioh, I can already feel myself losing that groove. If I let my time with Nioh stagnate for more than a month, I’ll simply have to start it over in order to know what the hell I’m doing.

That’s one of the major non-problems I’ve had with gaming. There are so many great titles coming out these days, but the majority of them are complicated enough that they require an entire tutorial level, along with tutorials peppered throughout the game. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can lead to some issues if you’re not able to dedicate all your time to a single game and beat it before the next one comes out.

Having kids and a full time job, while very rewarding, can certainly dig into your hobbies. Oh, woe is me! If only I were a 30-something basement dweller rather than a contributing member of society!

Anyway, here’s my current pressing backlog:

I really need to finish this game. I’m about 3/4 through, and I’ve really loved it. As much as I’d like to platinum the thing, like Bloodborne, I doubt I will.

Being a fan of the series, I’ve really enjoyed playing this game, even if it is basically Dynasty Warriors. I’ve never minded that hack-n-slash formula, and while I have beaten it, this is one that I really would like to platinum. However, its been over a month, so I’m probably not great at playing it anymore.

I was supposed to finish Nioh before this came so I could start playing it before Zelda came, but with so much going on at work and PAX around the corner, I haven’t even had the chance to open it.

Here’s another game I’ve been ridiculously excited about that I haven’t even opened. I love the series (except for 6, which was a turd), so when I do get into it, I want to make sure I dedicate some real time with it.

It was in development for a bajillion years, I think it can wait until I’m done with the others. This is another game I really want to dedicate myself to, considering the pedigree.

I use to watch the show and read the manga after falling in love with the Dreamcast game, so I’ve been interested to see what this will be like.

I’ve been wanting to replay the series, especially because the whole family loves Disney and I can play it around them, but truth be told, with all the others, I’m not sure I’ll get to this anytime soon. Probably before Kingdom Hearts 3, at least.

That’s it for now. There are a few others, some XBox One and Wii U games I never finished (ReCore and Yoshi, I’m looking at you), but being primarily focused on PS4, these are my big “must-play” backlog titles. I hope to god I can get through them before the NEXT big release. And-oh, what’s that? A package?

…Oh, yeah.

That came out, too. Crap.

Do you have a backlog of games? Can’t decide what to play next? Let us know in the comments, or post on the Backlogs topic on the message board!