I have contributed 5 times to our Backlog Burner column during its 24 episode run. Its been one of the more labored series on the site, with sometimes weeks between its entries. But it has a deep meaning for me. So it’s only fair now that the series is over with an excellent article about Magicka, I share what backlog means to me.
In the last year alone I have started Red Dead Redemption 2, Spiderman, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Kingdom Hearts 3, Far Cry New Dawn. All amazing games in their own right. All games that I have at least 30 hours in. Games that are now in my Backlog. Games that I will never play again.
But Why Is That?
1. I don’t have the time
This is probably the topic I have written more about than Destiny 2 on this site. I don’t have the time I used to have. I have a 9-5 job, an infant, and a wife. Plus, I also want to watch movies and read books and enjoy cricket. Furthermore, after multiple tests, I have confirmed that contrary to popular belief, a human being does need some sleep every 24 hours. So I am not gonna spend 40 hours in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to explore all those un-named islands. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that I can’t.
2. The Games Are Getting Longer
For all the talk that revolves around games being segregated into patches and DLC and expansions and what not; a standard AAA video game is much longer than it used to be around 10 years earlier. I mean why does Assassin’s Creed Odyssey need those afore-mentioned un-named islands when even the continents themselves are filled with tons and tons of stuff to do (I think it because they want you to use that boat). And they are still adding to that game, 3 DLCs have already extended the story further, adding even more stuff. A dollar an hour they say, I am lucky if a game lasts just 60 hours. Can I go back to CSGO and play Dust 2 again?
3. There Are More Games Around
Duh…it’s 2019, and anyone who wants to make a game can make a game. Indie, AAA, PC, Mobile, Platformer, RPG, Unity engine, Snow Drop engine, Steam store, Epic store. There is absolutely no classification you can make which would leave you with a manageable list of games. In the time of Pepperidge Farms (that’s 10 years ago), games used to come out in Spring (Summer vacations) and Christmas time. In the middle were these sporadic releases from time to time. You had enough time with a game to dissect it, understand it, appreciate it. I barely had time to finish Spiderman before Red Dead Redemption 2 arrived.
4. My Taste Have Become Very Niche
For all the games out there, the number of games that hook me is decreasing every day. Too tough like Sekiro, out. Too life-like Red Dead Redemption 2, out. Too short like What Remains Of Edith Finch, out. Too old to get into like Warframe, out. Too new to get into like Apex Legend, out. Too popular like Fortnite, out. Too hated like Anthem, out. Too much this, too much that. Sometimes it feels as if I look for reasons not to play a game these days just because there are so many to choose from.
5. I Forget The Game I Go Back To
By the time I had beaten the main story in Spiderman, I had mastered its mechanic. I could acrobat my way through Manhattan, and kick thug asses like I was Peter Parker from another dimension. Then I finished it and moved on to Red Dead Redemption 2. A few weeks later the DLC for Spiderman drops, I boot it up, lo and behold, I am shit again. Like I can’t go 2 seconds without getting hit, and 3 seconds without spiraling down onto the streets. And the DLC just assumed that I was an expert already, and had taken off the kiddy gloves, challenging me even further. Never thought I would miss a tutorial halfway through my game.
Slowly, without ever realizing it, my backlog is not a shelf, where I would come back to someday and pick up a game to play again. It’s now a graveyard, where games go to die, with their last autosave on their tombstone.
Tell us how your backlog has haunted you? And how you plan to clear that backlog if ever in the comments.