What is a video game backlog? How do i get rid of my video game backlog? How do i tackle my Steam library backlog? These are all questions you might ask yourself if you have a list of games that you want to play but haven't gotten to or played due to a variety of reasons and they are now sitting there collecting dust physically or in your elibrary. It might be your booming Steam library or it could be a vast quantity of Xbox games that you have sitting on your shelf. Today most of us have our gaming libraries spread out across multiple gaming platform's and this makes it even more difficult to pick out a game to play and actually finish it. In fact actually finishing a game has in itself become a huge problem for me and it makes getting through my backlog even more difficult. However there are steps i've taken that have helped me get through a lot of my unplayed games and I would like to share these with you.
What steps can you take to tackle that video game backlog and make it disappear for good or at least reduce its size so that you are not endlessly staring at your Steam library with hundreds of games to play yet not knowing what to play? Well it seems easy right? Just stop buying so many games and play the ones you have. But it's harder said than done with the number of sales and discounts every day, not to mention all of the free games being given out on the Epic game store, GOG Galaxy and other platforms. Over the Holiday's Epic was giving away a free game every day. How do you stop your backlog from growing with that kind of a deal?
"Steam Library Fatigue" is a term coined by a user on Reddit on the r/TrueGaming subreddit to describe the mental strain and exhaustion he felt from his ballooning Steam library. That sense of shame from all those unplayed games that good money was spent on, and the game never finished or sometimes even touched.
He explains it like this:
"Instead of reveling in my immediate access to hundreds of games, I started to feel bad about it. It didn't represent a vast, untapped goldmine of entertainment; it was instead a monument to my lack of self-restraint and my terrible consumer habits. It said that I'd willingly throw money at whatever anyone could offer me, as long as it was cheap and had Steam keys. It said I had issues in real life for which buying games was my remedy."
In the beginning he was super excited to have access to all these games, this goldmine of entertainment, and he kept buying and adding to the pile of games knowing he could play a new game anytime he wanted, but eventually he saw things in a new light. While i myself never got to the point that he got to, i was always worried that i would so i took certain steps to keep my library from growing bigger then it wanted to. I essentially curated my personal Steam library and would even keep myself from adding free games, games i saw as junk, indie gala bundles with games that were pennies a piece were not something i wanted in my library. This was more of a need then a want as once i reached over 100 games it was difficult to find the game i wanted to play so i had to keep myself self- restrained to say the least.
There are certain steps you can take that will help keep your library curated and make it easier to clear the long list of games you have to go through. Whether it is to get the true value out of the money you spent or something else here are the steps you should take:
STEP 1:Take inventory of all your video games. Create a spreadsheet so that you know what task you have ahead of you. Do the math, calculate just how many games you own that you want to finish. Writing down or typing each game into a spreadsheet will help keep you organized and will show you just how many games you truly have. Sometimes it helps to have a visual indicator of the vast amount of games you own.
STEP 2:Delete Steam games you will never play or purchases you've regretted. Steam recently has implemented the option to easily get rid of games in your library without having to contact Steam Support. This has made it far easier to get rid of those purchases we regret to have made. This will help reduce the amount of games in your library that you have to get through.
STEP 3: Check off each finished game. After you finish a game reward yourself with a check mark or cross out the games you've written down on a list that you have to go through. This way you feel a sense of accomplishment and as if you are making progress.
STEP 4: Write a review on Steam after finishing each game. This way you know for yourself that you have finished and have something there visual that can show you that you finished the game. this is a nice way to show yourself the progress you are making. And you will have a written record of your progress for all time as Steam keep reviews forever.
Hopefully this list helped you clear your backlog. Leave a comment below about what has helped you clear your backlog. What steps have you taken? Or do you not even have a backlog of games?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/truegaming/comments/1os424/steam_library_fatigue/
https://www.reddit.com/r/truegaming/comments/1jg15u/so_i_actually_cleared_my_massive_steam_backlog/
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