You DON'T Need a Backlog 

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I feel like the internet (Read: Social Media) collectively created this impression that you *HAVE* to be a part of the conversation. *ALL* conversations. Consume all the movies, all the games, all the music in the world so that you can have an opinion on our world wide web. Be a part of all fandoms, understand all the inside jokes... y'know, engage and be engaged with. And that always rubbed me the wrong way, because I'm too ADHD-riddled to have a backlog or to play/watch/listen/whatever through any "essentials" list or to play the games I buy in order. Sometimes I'll read a text or watch a video about a game and have The Feminine Urge™ to play it. Sometimes I'll feel like watching this or that, and so on. Life is just like that. Like you said, we have to allow ourselves to be incomplete, to know that life isn't optimal. You can't min-max this shit, no matter how hard you try or how much you think you got this together! And, in fact, be allowing ourselves this "incompleteness", we allow ourselves to be always surprised, to know more through others, to be always renewed in our passions. Anyway, sorry for the long comment! Great video, as always. Made me feel less alone in my approach to appreciating art. Keep up the amazing work! ❤

I've never heard anyone talk about a backlog like this. To me it's always just "Games I'm interested in but haven't bought/beaten yet", and I don't really ever think about them until I go "Oh yeah that game" and just play it some day. Games to me are a de-stressor, I can't believe people do this.

I always thought I had a backlog of games. But after listening to how people treat backlogs, I just have a bunch of games I want to play at some point.

giving such specific advice for playing all the games you want to play is such a weird concept to me, i just play whatever game i feel like playing when i feel like playing it lol

Your perspective feels like a breath of fresh air. Whenever I read an article about video game backlogs (one article even melodramatically referring to them as "the pile of shame"), I always find myself thinking, "Jeez... Chill out, man."

I was on my high horse thinking "hah I'm glad I don't do this with games" for most of the video, and then realized I do basically the same thing but with books I want to read.

as an autistic and adhd-having perfectionist, this video might have saved my life actually

Honestly as someone who has a backlog i feel like i do need it. then again it feels like this video is less about not having a backlog and more about approaching gaming in a way that is not designed to cause stress and anguish (honestly the end of chapter 3 all but says that); which for me the sisyphean task of a backlog actually does by creating a sense of structure (and also helping to curb excess spending on new games). then again i approach the backlog in a more absurdist way: "when Sisyphus acknowledges the futility of his task and the certainty of his fate, he is freed to realize the absurdity of his situation and to reach a state of contented acceptance . . . one must imagine Sisyphus happy."

I went down with a really bad cold over the holidays and decided to chill by building a spreadsheet/backlog of games, books, etc. The most rewarding part of the process? Figuring out some rad functions on Google Sheets and color coding everything to look neat and tidy. It was very satisfying, healing my body and soul. I didn't know Backlog Porn was a thing, so what started as me designing an emotional torture device for myself ended up becoming a nice little journal where I write about the time I had with each game. It also doubles as an anti-consumerism force field which protects me from being bombarded by game sales and promotions. Instead of hoarding new indies because oh my it's so cheap I just check back and get reminded that I've already done that and forgot about it. Amazing video as usual! Halfway through it I paused, went back to my file, and renamed it from Backlog to... Catalogue. Changed my life

Im someone who struggles with video game addiction and self isolating. I started my journey with actually trying to get rid of my backlog as I felt like I needed to to be free of my problem. My life became completely about video games and all of these stupid games I wanted to play and felt like I needed to play. I do not enjoy the concept of owning things I do not need. It makes me feel weighed down and bloated and out of touch with myself and my needs. I used to own over 2.5k videogames. And I started my journey by trying to constantly wrangle and grasp whats important to me. What I need and truly want and desire, etc. Over time, I started to finally be able to breathe and distance myself from games a bit more and also I was growing to hate gaming and I dont want to hate this hobby as its a very special cornerstone to me and my identity. So it fueled more of my desire to conquer it. To clarify, I had been deleting games, selling games, really thinking and considering what im actually doing and spending my money on. Its been hell. Ive wasted thousands of dollars on games and bundles I have never played. But I really wanted to find me, make room for who I can be. Now. For the record. This is a part of the reason why backlogs are stupid. This is so much time and effort and misery that can just be put into learning new skills and getting into new hobbies. I needed backlogs to get in touch with myself and figure out what I really want out of gaming and also to deny and distance myself from my unhealthy relationship with gaming. I actually did not play a ton of my backlog. I cleared about like, maybe 50-100 something games. But i deleted 2.2k of my games. Its not worth it. Stop caring so much about the money value, and stop buying so many games. I currently have less than 70 games on my backlog and checking my average to beat time its still 77 days to beat my backlog. Its at this point I deleted my profile and my backlog number can just remain ambigious and ill figure out if i should delete or let go of a game as I play it. I think backlogs at best, should serve only to prioritize what games you would be crestfallen to not complete of if you were to not play them if you only had one more year to live. Or what serve to help you grow as a person. Like right now im playing breath of the wild because I struggle with learning how to go with the flow, and botw is all flow and nothing else, and im really connecting with that. I dont think people should stress so much about games they havent played, but i think we all accumulate way too many games. Games are not just a purchase with your wallet, you pay with your time too. And who knows how long that could take. I have 201 hours in the witcher 3 and the average to beat yome is 102. I havent even found or met ciri yet. I think in previous days, we used to get games way less, but with the commodification and rise in studios and indie devs, theres amazing games everywhere you look. And deep down i think a lot of us just get way too caught up in the nature of the new shiny things around us. You have limited time on this earth, and it could be up tomorrow. Dont waste your time with experiences you dont need, and also accept you cant do it all. No one can or has done and been everything in this life and even if they have, they werent one thing all their life like some have, true masters who have lived and breathed one thing for their whole life and still find it special. Honestly after my journey with backlogs, I just kept thinking of how envious and jealous I am of people who can just replay a thing over and over again. Or just play one game like runescap forever. Its fine, its justified, its all you need if that's what you need. I think we need to stop implying we need to play all of this crap. Shake up your life or let things come to you when they come to you. But dont grasp out to everything. Let things resonate wirh you when they do and dont be afraid to keep your nook where you have it if its all you need. I will beat most of my 70 games when I beat them, and I will discard stuff when I do. I want to get into ttrpgs and art and look more into careers and I am ok with just letting some of these games be unplayed forever and just replaying dust an elysian tail and working through killer7 and playing lethal company as a comfort game. Dont overthink this junk. Just live, play, clear out house when you need to make space for you. Often times, you will feel like you -needs- something or have the but ifs, not many things in this life you absolutely need. Listen for signs from the world if you should keep something, but dont be afraid to let things down the creek. My soul is so much lighter for it and yours will be too.

the bit about making the list and then playing something completely diifferent is real too. Tried once to make a "high priority" short list that I then completely ignored lol

"Thanks for the adventure" "Now go have a new one!" That hit *very!* close to home for me

I just wanted to say that the ending of the “Backlog Essentialism” chapter made me smile. I know it sounds odd, but it really clicked in my brain that nothing in life is “perfect” or “finished” and that’s OK, and it’s a very human thing to recognize that we’ll never achieve our impossible idea of perfection. I’m currently getting over some negativity towards myself after suffering some intense video game associated burnout so watching this, alongside making small efforts each day to be kind to myself, was helpful, so thank you very much for making this video. Also, as an alternative perspective, as someone who is well aware of her short-term memory issues writing lists is an act that helps me remember things that I love and things that I want to look into more, but risk forgetting if I don’t write them. So, if writing a list can help you remember what you love about certain games, whether it’s what you played or something that’s caught your eye but can’t play right away, then it can be beneficial. And like you said, we have to make sure that we don’t turn our passions into obligations, which is something I sadly learned the hard way post-burnout, but at least I am learning from that, moving forward, and striving to give myself some grace.

I also think the backlog misses a key way a lot of people enjoy games, as social experiences! I don’t know if I could ever say I “Completed” Splatoon 3. It’s the kind of game that resists the backlog in that it takes only as much time as you want to play it. The value can’t be in the act of completion because I can’t “finish” some games. But Splatoon 3 and the friends I made through it was worth every second. I may one day be done with it but it’s not meant to be completed. Also I tried doing a media thread too last year and it was rad as hell. Amazing video as always! ✨💫

"i will bless you" hit me like a truck, i just find it so silly and cute. thank you for releasing me from my backlog

I loved this video! I basically went through this exact same arc myself. When the pandemic hit, I used that time to start working through my then backlog. Until, about halfway through, I realized I wasn't really enjoying a good portion of the games I was playing. Eventually, I said to myself, "What is even the point of this? Why did I even get these games to begin with?" For me, I think my backlog was sort of an elaborate lie. I thought it was full of games I "wanted" to play. But if that were true, they wouldn't be sitting on a shelf still inside their shrink film for months on end. If I wanted to play them, I'd be playing them, or at the very least be excited to play them. Instead, I regarded most of the games with a sort of apathy, as if I were only playing them because I thought they'd be "good for me" somehow. So when I sat there and asked myself, "what do I actually want to play _right now_," I realized I didn't have much of a backlog at all, just a bunch of, as you say, obligations. I don't want my hobby to be an obligation. I've since deleted my backlog and never looked back. I know I'm never gonna get to all the games I own. I just don't really care anymore. Coincidentally, I also started recording all the games I've played in an annual Google Doc, which I've kept up for 4 years. It's a much more refreshing experience.

Hello, interesting idea for a video, I really enjoyed it. I have some thoughts and some disagreements with it, based on my personal relationship with video games 1) I personally just....enjoy compiling lists, either of my collection, or this vague notion of games I'd like to play one day. It's not at all a source of anxiety for me😅. I suppose the only trouble I have with this habit of mine is that sometimes I feel like I like the process of library management and list creation more than I do actually playing games, I guess that's due to how my brain is wired or whatever. But it's not that important at the end of the day because I'm still enjoying myself, it's still a hobby, even if it's one that would be perceived as nerdy work by some. 2) As for the capitalist, optimization of value argument, I mostly emulate and/or pirate most games I engage with anyway, so that's not a major problem. 3) I'm not even that much of an active gamer. I usually play one or two games once every week or so, and every now and then, try out a new game for a little bit to see if I like it. In this purpose, the backlog actually helps me, since I come across an infinity of games that I'm mildly interested in, but I forget about them. The backlog helps me quickly glance at all those games that are interesting, and make a split second decision based on my mood. Again, not really a source of anxiety, just a menory book. Thanks for the video, I really appreciate it, and I would love to see your thoughts on these points

“Let yourself be incomplete.” That’s a powerful statement. Your deep dives into gamer culture are always a treat! Backlog is a concept I admittedly took for granted, but it’s not something I concern myself with beyond trying to convince myself to spend more responsibly. (At least my untouched games and books are neatly organized?) I may simply be paraphrasing one of your points here, but the way you described the backlog and all the shame, guilt, and pressure it inflicts makes me think this sneaky lil’ social construct is, in part, a result of our collective wage labor trauma-to be a bit dramatic lol. Self-inflicted propaganda, if you please, and perhaps a response to the problem of stolen time. Yet to allow games to become “work” is stolen time in and of itself. I hope this video will help start the conversation and encourage people to play games for amusement, however that looks to the individual. Taking your approach seems like a much more fun, rewarding experience to addressing a “backlog.” But srsly tho, when can I play Daddy Lasso 7!?!?

It's funny having a retroactive eureka moment at this. I was kind of wrapped up in "backlog" business for a while until a big event in my life shattered something in me and I just hit the reset button in terms of the media I engage with, so to speak. I moreso have, like you stated in the video, a list of games I'm interested in playing in the immediate future that I'm very flexible with, pulling games in and out depending on how I feel about playing them at any given moment, finishing my time with a game just cements its place on an ever-growing list of stuff I've done. It's nice to have why that feels more gratifying than a traditional backlog turned into words.

I never really realized specifically why I like keeping a media thread until you laid it out like this. I have never really been one of the types to labor over a backlog, because I find it more interesting to track what I've done instead of what I have yet to do. It's why I always get stuck on the backlog websites trying desperately to find everything I have ever played, rather than actually add stuff I have yet to play.

I adore how much is this video not only about backlogs (it's fully about it and not at all). Gathered gentle life advice-nudge, and thank you for not piling more pressure instead. Great content as always! ❤

i follow a simple rule that lets me enjoy not having any backlog - only buy a game when i want to play it, and when i play a game i play it to completion or until i can't stand it anymore. can always buy a game that i dont want to play later (often cheaper on sale) and dont really need to give into fomo of a big sale now if i'm not up to playing the game on sale, since the game will go on sale again eventually

It genuinely never occurred to me that some people might treat their backlogs like homework, that's so sad! The closest I get to any kind of negative feeling when thinking about my backlog is "Ooh, that looks like a neat game, but it's more expensive than I expected, can I justify spending money on this when I've already got good games in my backlog that I could play for free?" More often than not I don't think about it, and when I do it's usually when I'm not sure what I want to play next, and my backlog is where I'll start.

I've been fighting with my 'backlog' for years and years and I honestly think I needed this perspective. I don't have issue playing games until I stare at the list & feel this sense of dread & obligation. There are games that I want to play eventually, maybe tomorrow, or maybe 10 years from now. But I think removing these lists and removing these games that I, if I'm being honest with myself, never really wanted to play is something i've needed. I think i've always known i need to just play what I feel like in that moment, but hearing it externally will I think help me a lot in the future. Thanks for the video!

one minute and I already feel immensely vindicated

One big thing in this video that kind of stands out to me as weird is the distinction between "a list of games you want to play" and "The Backlog" as a specific, big, overwhelming thing. I have a pretty short list of games I'm curious about that I want to play in the near future, that doesn't really cause me any stress, doesn't include everything I own or everything I'm interested in, but I call it my backlog because the term just... makes sense? It feels sort of strange to attach all this baggage to a term I thought was just synonymous with "a list of games you want to play". The list is desire-based rather than obligation-based, I just write it down to make sure I don't forget - and if I do find I don't want to play something anymore, it comes right off. Maybe this is an example of the sampling bias you mentioned - when the only people talking about their backlogs are the ones treating it like a big deal, it makes it seem like an inherently big deal, but I don't think it needs to be.

This video is SO GOOD. Seriously, I do not understand why people insist on turning play into work like that. Just play what you want!! Don't feel like like you need to play stuff you don't really want to- I'm proud to say that I don't wanna play the Last of Us, no matter how good it is, so I just won't. I think that people wouldn't get so stressed about video game backlogs if games were just easier to get your hands on for free. I've never seen anyone get really stressed about tackling a backlog of books they'd like to read, probably because their local library might have some of them that they can just check out, so there's no need to "get your money's worth."

having a backlog is freeing as i have not allowed myself to buy more games. backlog in this case being games bought and not played.

i’ll admit, i was unconvinced through the first half of the video, but the solution you proposed is so simple and obvious that i can’t believe i didn’t think of it sooner. creation is the answer, not destruction. i’ve always had trouble getting myself to play games because i’m too focused on what i SHOULD play rather than what i WANT to play. combine that with being super susceptible to peer pressure from my friends, and it makes lots of SHOULD plays with very little WANT plays. it’s made gaming entirely unfun for me, to be honest, to the point where i hardly play anything these days. i usually find i’m most happy when i pick what i want to play by instinct, rather than deliberating over the choices i have. after all, fursona 3 reload isn’t going to fly away while i’m playing klomoa, so there’s no use in feeling guilty. i’m glad i ended up watching this video instead of yet another “HOW TO BEAT YOUR BACKLOG” video. thank you for the viewing session

I remember watching a Daryl Talks Games video about this and as he was writing out the spreadsheet I couldn't help but have the same thought about how hilariously dumb it all was. And the moral at the end of the video was to take the games you wanna play one step at a time and don't think of yourself as "obligated" to play anything - with the hyperliteral backlog spreadsheet being a massive source of anxiety. Wish I could say it was the longest "well, obviously" video essay I've sat through on RU-vid, but I don't have a lot of respect for my time.

The times I have the most fun with a game is when I play it on a whim, rather than going through a list and carefully calculating which game would be best to play in that moment (and spending an hour trying to decide lol). I've made lists and stuff in the past, just so I can understand what games I have, but I never understood the people who take the concept of the backlog so seriously. I guess I do have a backlog, but I'm a lot more casual about it than most people. I really love the analysis that highlights how backlogs turn playing games into simple calculations of value and productivity. It's a really gross way of looking at art imo, I'm glad you were able to make that connection for me! Great video as always :3

I do have what I personally call a "backlog" but after watching this video I realize it's not really. I have an actual catalogue of "games I want to play" but I don't treat it like a responsibility, I don't even want to finish it. I treat it like an all you can eat buffet. I cannot physically eat all that food, I just browse it and grab what I'm craving at that time. I treat it like a list to go to when the game I've been playing loses my interest. But I know it will always grow and never shrink, and by acknowledging that fact it causes me absolutely no stress or other negative feelings.

Imagine being distressed about having too many things to do for fun and a repository of possibilities for if you somehow find yourself unable to find something to do in your spare time.

Very good video! I've sort of ended up making my own "backlog" of sorts over the past few months, largely just starting from decision anxiety of what to play next. It has indeed expanded bigger and greater over time, and I've tried not to get too serious about it. I don't think I can truly get rid of it right now - I'm very reliant on structure as a way to reduce stress, and even documenting what I've read has ballooned out of control in its own way - but I'll try to keep what you've said in mind!

I tried doing a backlog for years on sheets. When i started doing your tip on logging games i played aswell, it helped a lot because it's really better to see progress than eliminations.

I wish people didn't see games as a chore, it makes actually important things like school or work even more exhausting when you treat what should be your relaxing wind down time like a job.

It's funny bc I have both a backlog (I call this the Gamer's Map) and a document listing every game I finish (Gamer's List). I have no problem not finishing games anymore but, it did take me a while to get to that point. The sunken cost falicy is very real.

The backlog to me is games I spent money on and haven't tried. If I tried the game and have no desire to play, it's off my backlog.

I actually have an account on a backlog site, and i intentionally only update my history when I finish something, not when I add something. Gives me an interesting view of new stuff I do over a certain period of time, plus I just like having a handy list of my collection that I can refer to. Half the time when I buy a game, I know I won't be playing it anytime soon and it feels like it goes into a vault for later. Rather than stress, I feel a sense of comfort knowing that I've always got something to do. Like you said in the video, just having a nice library of options is cool. PS. I really love the cat drawing, the art in your videos is always so good.

This is one of the best videos I've seen on the topic, and I love the concept of emphasising your wins instead of highlighting failures 😊

It's very very strange to see the concept framed this way, as my "backlog" is an ambient reminder that I have not experienced all the different kinds of art yet, such is my understanding. Its purpose is for me to understand games better, inderstand other people, and better understand my desires. Cultural research, to put it in more clinical terms. I did also make A List Of Games I Want To Play, and immediately forgot it existed years ago until this video. I don’t feel guilty about that, so the hypothetical person this video addresses doesn't really relate to me. I hope the people who are legitimately made miserable by having a backlog take this video to heart, I guess?

new transparency :0

This video has been coming up in my recommended for a few days but I've been ignoring it... Glad I have finished my video backlog now

Great video. I personally like having a backlog but they 100% are for everyone. Love the idea of journaling your media experiences.

I have actually not encountered talk about backlogs of games all that much, but I have encountered the exact same phenomena in bookish spaces. the subtle perspective differences are interesting to me though, while the gaming space seems to have is like this is a challenge to overcome time to hustle/grind type of attitude. while when it comes to books the refrain is more like as 'punishment' for having bought to many books you need to read them.

I had a two page spreadsheet for my backlog, the first page featured your standard list with all the games I wanted to play on it the second one had my personal thoughts / "review" for each game I played, basically a little journal The main thing I've done after watching this video is taken that second page, and now made it the main one. It's now the central focus

I wonder how many people here got the reference of why every chapter is the third chapter. That EarthBound joke is etched into my brain so hard I knew exactly what you were doing before you even showed the graphic for it! Anyway, this is something my roommate stresses about sometimes, and every now and then I get roped into it. One year I attempted a "Steam Cleaning" and had so little fun with it that I stopped after just one month! I removed the backlog from my to-do list after that and haven't looked back since then. I am perfectly happy to just play Picross in the bathroom every day without a care in the world :)

As much as I love video games, a backlog just makes me realize how much of a waste of time they CAN be.

It's so funny that this is relatable to me in a very very direct way. I have many massive -to do lists- For all this time I thought I'm just a crazy nerd who's obssessed with no missing out like how I missed out everything during my childhood. Actually.. scratch that. I am crazy. Okay, but seriously. I always had a problem with the backlog, and always felt that I'm exaggerating in filling. I mean.. Why the hell would I keep stacking up games when I haven't even played the ones that were there. Thank you for sharing your perspective on the subject. You made me realise how most of the time, the stuff that I play are stuff that aren't even in the backlog. There are dozens of great video games out there, and I bet they aren't even in my backlog. I think minimising the backlog should start with making a list of only stuff that you're hyped for and confident to play but you just don't have time for them at the moment.

This video has changed my entire perspective about games. I'm 41 years old and I wish I had taken this mindset in my teens. Thank you so much for sharing what I consider a perfect video! Instead of looking at my backlog as a "list of games I have failed to complete", I plan to start looking at it as a list of "opportunities" to share my experiences with others. Here comes my redemption arc!

There was definitely a point when came to terms with the fact that I was never going to finish everything on my backlog. I never "stopped" having one, just repurposed it to be a way to keep all the games I own in one place to refer to when I'm looking for something new. Still need to work on the "I should've finished that game I started" anxiety though...

I feel like the concept of a backlog frames games as a primary hobby, but there are so many other ways you can spend your time. Limiting yourself to conquering every game whether you like it or not can seriously limit how much of your life you actually live. Want to try rollerskating? No, you still need to finish Persona 5. Want to write that story kicking around in your brain? But you haven't even finished Fallout New Vegas! That new store opened up and you want to check it out? What about that half finished Elden Ring playthrough? It gets really absurd and a little insidious how much time and energy backlogs can eat. Edit: Okay I actually like stacking my current games in an immediate area cause then I can just pick one of the games I'm most interested in at this period, instead of having to sort through games I completely forgot about. My memory is also not good with small details, and if I don't have Dead Space next to me I will completely forget it exists.

man. i don't play video games much but i love y'all's work, as someone that's had a dvd backlog pile laying around for years this struck a chord with me just the same as if i did play games. i think i'll put that pile back on the shelf and watch what i want tonight \o/

Chapter 3 was my favorite. Also get those Wii U games out from under the bed, I'm going to have a breakdown! Honestly I've found that for myself, abandoning all lists is the way to go, but I have been enjoying taking notes on something as I play it, it's cool to see how my thoughts change over the course of a playthrough. Fantastic vid!

It's funny that you mentioned how fun it is to make lists--i find making lists to be really fun as well. I haven't worried about keeping a list of games to play for a while, but I DO keep a list of ideas for one page gag comics I want to draw, which is healthier for me.

The fact that people have “backlogs” for something that isn’t work-related or productive is insane. Most of my time are spent at work, outside with friend and family, or doing video editing, but I do casual music reviews on AOTY sometimes and have rated like 1k+ albums in 1.5 years of using that site, but I’ve never had any backlogs or whatever. Just listen to whatever I want to listen to, if it’s good then I give a good rating, if not then I write a review on why I dislike it. Same thing with games. I have 200+ games untouched and I have no worry at all. That just means I have 200+ options of games if I ever want to a play a game. If you have a full-time job, completing your gaming backlog is impossible, so why bother? Just chill.

Excellent video that made me feel very validated. Yeah! I don’t have to play every game, read every book, watch every movie. I should just have fun

I've started doing the reverse backlog thing for the past year! I make little collages with each game being represented with a little sprite or key art, split up by genre and which little fursona goober of mine would play it. It does Good Feeling to see it slowly build up!

Around the start of 2020 I started lists for several things pretty much exactly as you suggested here, including what TV shows and movies I've watched, which games I've beaten + optional modes and objectives, what albums/soundtracks I've listened to, and another category for miscellaneous stuff that I have done that I would like to remember like social events. Seeing each list grow over time gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment and has encouraged me to see some games through to the end when I otherwise would not have. Just a couple months ago I picked up and tried Dr. Mario on game boy through Switch Online, and pretty much just as quickly put it down. But then I found out you get a congratulations ending screen for beating the highest selectable level (level 20) and that knowledge combined with my list pushed me to see the end of the game after many many tries. I don't think a 30+ year old game boy game on its own says a lot but the feeling of a documented accomplishment makes it feel permanent in a way that my memory can't accurately or completely reproduce. Lists in this way also act as that "library" of sorts as you mentioned, where I can look through and search for a good soundtrack to relisten to, or replay a fun game I forgot about, stuff like that.

At first I wasn't keen on the idea of not having a backlog, because I have a terrible memory and NEED to write down the name of the games I want to play to check when they go on sale or wether I feel like it's the right time to start them. And then you showed us how some people treat backlogs like chores, and I agreed with the point made. You can have a backlog and not treat it like that, though. It still fits the word perfectly (even though "library" might work too).

Good video! As it turns out, I'm already logging the games I finished along with my backlog, which does help in the long run. It's a lot of fun to see which games have been finished and when throughout the year I did finish them, so hearing about this in the video feels like vindication. Another thing I should note is that it's perfectly okay to replay games you enjoy when working on a backlog. Like, your enjoyment is what matters the most here, and you can mark that game as finished again if you're logging when you beat those games per year, or even per month if that's what you feel.

This is a great take on the backlog (& a great video). Totally agree on the idea of maintaining a list of completed games or anything else. I don't remove any games from my list so I can look back and see everything I've played whether I liked it or not. That combined with the list of games to play helps me remember what stuff I really want to try, and the stuff I really enjoyed & why.

oh jeez, one of my absolute favourite channels and you upload right before i have to go to bed ;3; dang. i am just gonna have to get up an hour early so i can watch this with breakfast

I think this is one of your best videos

Great video! As someone who suffers with clinical anxiety, discovering the "backlog concept" looked like just a natural thing for gamers at first but soon became clear that it was just one more thing to be anxious about. And my mind doesn't let me "just forget about it". Your video was a really good analysis of the problem. I'll keep in my favorites to watch it every time I start to think again that I should have a backlog list

This video actually consolidates things I've realized/done, and adds some extra context(?) to things I've felt in the past. During the height of COVID, I started formulating the infamous backlog spreadsheet to make the most of my added free time thanks to quarantine, but I had realized during the process that (for me, at least) it was gonna turn this medium that I have fun with into a chore, borderline part time job just to say that I "did it" or to "make the most of these purchases that I've already made". Since then, I vowed to not force myself to play/finish games if I wasn't having fun/didn't have interest with them. Also, the backlog kind of insinuates that once you finish a game, you should drop it and go to the next one, which I don't think is good. I've come to appreciate games more and more if I've played them multiple times. Independently from this, in my teen years I realized that there's just way too much media out there to consume, that there's just no possible way to stay current with everything out there. I've been at peace with this, and I'm okay with not always being "current" with what I'm playing, so I've been even more willing to go back to some games that are "older" (ie not in the zeitgeist). Just recently, I finished Hypnospace Outlaw and had a blast with it (yeah I did have to use a guide at points, sue me), to the point where I wanna go back to it again just to REALLY pour through the different websites. This game came out in 2019, so basically five years ago. If one only ever plays games in the current zeitgeist (and to just be in that conversation), or if one only ever plays free-to-play multiplayer titles, they'll never have experiences with lesser known gems like HO (Genuinely, anyone reading this should check out Hypnospace Outlaw, very different kind of point-and-click puzzle game that ends up having a surprisingly gripping narrative). Regarding the media thread thought (of flipping the backlog on it's head), I've kinda been unintentionally doing that over time, I just tend to do a 3-5 tweet thread on a game with my brief thoughts upon finishing a game for the first time, and if there's something extra I wanna say about it, I sometimes turn it into a video of some sort, whatever those extra thoughts may be. Like you mentioned, even if you just fire up your notes/voice memo app, ramble for a while, and never publish it to the world, that's still helpful to consolidate your experience to look back on later and remember what exactly you thought of a thing afterwards. Basically, at this point in life, I play what I wanna play: No strings attached. Thank you for the wonderful video!

Wow. I am beyond amazed at this video. I’ve always been stressed about this backlog concept, even thinking about setting a sort of hypothetical day(s) where I’d power through a bunch of games that I own but have not even started. Needless to say I haven’t done that yet, and felt kinda like it will all probably just blur together if I tried that. This video kinda made me realise that: Wait. I never play games in this way usually. Or even put any media in general in a list to complete. I discover something, and if I vibe with the concept I play/watch it asap, one thing at a time. Spending time on it until I get bored or feel that I’m content with where I’m at. Heck I don’t even like 100 percenting because it means I can’t return to a game and continue playing unless I replay the whole thing. I leave it at a point to where if I want revisit I can. My kind of way of playing games really doesn’t align with completing a backlog. Kinda wish I realised that sooner! Reversing the backlog is such a great way of encouraging myself to play more and sort out more games as new experiences rather than feeling like “Oh that game looks cool but, I haven’t starting any of these yet, it will probably just end up like those added to the pile.” Sorry for such a long comment but this video really got me thinking it’s really amazing :D

i think the ideal way of doing a backlog is a little scaled-down, renewing backlog (thats sort of a tasklist.) it's like this: say you wanna play smtv, fe4, and metroid zero mission - you put all of these on a backlog that renews every week or month (the time is arbitrary) and once you hit the time to renew the backlog, you change it according to what you're feeling (say you like smtv but haven't finished it, you keep it on the backlog; say you dislike fe4, you remove it; say you wanna play sonic adventure, you add it to the backlog.) i think this incorporates accountability, which i find great because i find that routine makes things better (at least personally), while also accounting for everybody having whimsy. this little backlog and a "stuff i did" list are great together!

I actually started making a list of everything I ever watched and played in a giant spreadsheet at the start of the year and it was really fun! I did choose to include things that I started but didn’t finish, and stuff I wanted to watch/play at a later date and it works great! I love both making progress no matter what art I consume, and it feels great to document my feelings on different pieces of art even if it’s as simple as a “I liked it” or “mastapiece” entry on the spreadsheet. It lets me write things if I have thoughts, or just add stuff to the list and mark if I’ve liked it or not! It’s fun and I’ve learned a lot about my tastes and art consumption habits while doing it!

This was a great watch! I hadn't realized until you pointed it out how closely "tackling my backlog" mirrors "tackling a homework assignment", at least for me. "The backlog" didn't simply represent a list of games I wanted to play, it represented a list of games I decided I "should" play: because I bought a game, others rated something highly or because I enjoyed other games by that developer, I therefore "owed it to myself" to play through all the games in my library I had even a passing interest in. And of course, since there are SO MANY great games out there , that effectively meant that my backlog was going to be an endless list of obligations I was setting for myself. Getting rid of the notion of a "backlog", therefore, has proved fantastically helpful for me! I've felt much more free to just simply play what I want to play now that I'm not fretting about the "efficiency" of my gaming decisions :) And creating a list of "played" games that I add to vs. having a "to-do-" list I make smaller has been really fun! So thanks for putting this video essay together :) It's definitely made a positive difference in my life!

mini-alicia is so cute, what a little rascal

Hollow Knight is the first "peer pressure" game to come to mind for me. I played it for an hour and it just didn't click for me, even though it may have in the past. At this point I dont keep a tangible backlog, but I do still have a long imaginary list of things I think I want to play, even though I barely have the motivation to play anything anymore. Now I try to "just play what I want when I want" which currently means... Warframe for a few hours a week. But that's where my fleeting enthusiasm finds itself so I'm embracing it haha 😤

Chapter 3 was revelatory, even for someone without a fursona. For me, the interest in backlogs is almost entirely around time management and prioritization tips. Lists help you organize a way to pick from what you have, and realizing how much time things take, as well as how much you spend on other things. I mostly struggle with enjoying my own free time well, and mostly try to combat a "I didn't do anything" ending. I encounter analysis paralysis easily and will strangely do nothing if I didn't decide what I wanted to do (or had some mechanism to suggest it, like a random number generator and a small batch of games to roll between) in advance. I know it can be a little confusing, I enjoy all of the options I would choose from and want to do them, so I'm not forcing myself to do something I don't want to (quite the opposite). I find it hard to relax and allow myself to enjoy something. It's a silly problem, but it's one I have for sure. The structure and mechanisms help a little bit with that. So I'd say RetroBird's videos about the backlog resonate best with me. Particularly the ones where he says when it's time to play, he just stares at his games and then goes to bed if he hasn't decided in advance what would be fun to play later that evening. I like picking a subset of my options to focus on, so that I can more easily use my free time how I seem to enjoy using it. I agree that it's a good thing for there to be more than enough, and to realize that you'll never be able to play everything. It's about fun. I try to use ideas about the 'backlog' to facilitate that fun. In the past, I did find myself more obsessed over completing the backlog itself and it was fairly miserable. That is what most people seem to fall into about it, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it. [I know you made a lot of these points too, near the end, about how it may be more about just wanting to spend your time better etc, so this is a pretty long winded way of agreeing with you. Haha] I have noticed I prefer to focus on 'playing' my backlog. Not 'beating' it. I also include games I have 'beaten' but would like to play more of, or just enjoy leveling up in. So it really is just a library for me as well. This section is a little personal, but I think it relates. My own personality quirks intertwining with how I enjoy my favorite hobby makes sense, I suppose. I tend to fall into the habit of being a people pleaser and can subconsciously expect others to set my boundaries for me (this is terrible, don't do this). I fall into masochism, where I feel immense guilt for enjoying things unless I suffered first, somewhat confounding the suffering for the enjoyment. My anxious tendencies love considering all possible combination and permutations, but the root fear is of making the wrong choice. All of these make the allure of hearing others' backlog rules and tips very enticing indeed. I'll willing to admit working on these and being kinder to myself are probably the healthier approach, so I'm willing to give it a try. I accept and appreciate your blessing! I have been free of the burden regarding the pressure of "games you should play" for a while now, but I think it's important and worth echoing (and I just really like sharing this story since it was so defining for me) When I first started dabbling in backlogs (more in the typical "I must 'beat' all of these sense), I was prioritizing games that reviewed well. I was suffering through games that everyone seemed to love, like Oblivion, and just not having a good time at all. Around this time I would also frequently pick up the box for Hyperdimension Neptunia in game stores, but whenever I looked up reviews on my phone, I'd always see low scores and put it back on the shelf despite feeling drawn to it (this is absurd to me now). Eventually, I did purchase it and I did start playing it. I adored it. I was staying up all night on the weekend having a great time playing it. This was the moment a lot of things finally clicked for me. Don't obsess over popular opinion. Don't obsess over review scores. Reviewers are all different and everyone's perspective is valuable to someone. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't like Hyperdimension Neptunia for the same reasons the reviewer didn't. It's not a bad review, but maybe it doesn't apply to you. Pay attention to what they say, and also who says it. If you find a reviewer you agree with, trust their opinion will align more with yours. If you find there is a reviewer you frequently disagree with, that's still very valuable to both you and others. It's not like cheering for a sports team and criticizing a referee's call or something. Be an individual and follow your own joy in games. By extension respect the individuality of others. Criticism is fine, too, just don't be an angry jerk about it because you want to reject someone's opinion so hard to validate your own. I'm so sad to see game review comments frequently devolving into that. Daryl Talks Games had a nice quote in one of his videos where he said his partner told him if he's always looking to the future, you can't be here in the present. Sometimes you need to stop planning, organizing, and just enjoy the moment you're in. I also agree a lot with journaling, however brief, might be a fantastic idea and it's something I've been wanting to do more already. You can also still totally just make a fan website on the internet, like the olden days! I think this would be my preferred approach, but social media is convenient, free, and better for interaction if one seeks it.

Another great transparency video! I keep what most people would call a backlog but I don't call it that or think of it in the way the general gamer discourse thinks about them, for me my massive ever-expanding list is a pool of cool and interesting games to pick from whenever I need a new game to play and the idea of never running out is both exciting and comforting. The only real backlog I have is my fursona backlog.

Casuals seem to view games as disposable content to be consumed, rather than art to be appreciated, savored, and replayed. It's the same mindset MCU fans have towards movies as a medium, just consume as much as quickly as possible Backlogs are stupid. Simply don't play games you don't want to play, lmao

The core of The Problem for me is that I have a bunch of games I desire to play for reasons like "this looks really interesting" or "girls 👉🏻👈🏻 ", while my impulses lead me to play unending roguelikes, MMOs or card games. Thankfully, I've been able to play a lot more interesting and fun games since I dropped Magic Arena, which honestly was mostly a source of frustration. As a result, I could play a great variety of games in 2022 and had a great time doing it. And while not to the same extent, due to being busy with school, I similarly experienced a bunch of games during periods of 2023. Really, the most important thing here to me is that I play the games until I actively *decide* that I'm done with them, instead of accidentally leaving them behind upon being distracted by something else and then having to start over from the beginning the next time I feel compelled to try again. (Insert "I have no memory of this place" Gandalf meme.)

Oh, this was one of those videos I didn't know I needed. I do have a sort of backlog problem, not with video games since I mostly play old platformers or fighting games, but with books and comics and movies and even tv-shows. Especially books, since they take longer to get through. I love reading, and re-reading, and I love the idea of reading, but like you said; there is a difference between a desire and an obligation. And the moment my hobby feels more like an obligation, it ceases to be fun. As for the "completion list" instead of a back-log... I already do that, and it works well. I want to point out some pitfalls, though, so people can learn from my mistakes. 1. Do not compare your list with others in a competitive way. Comparison is the thief of joy, after all, and when I look at my "books I've read this year" list compared to one of my friends who is a way more avid reader than I, I tend to feel inadequate. Don't. It's your list, done in your time. We're all different. It's not a competition. It's more important that you've either enjoyed or got something out of the books you've read/games you've played/films you've watched etc. than that you completed many. The same thing is true for; 2. Don't compare your list in a competitive way with an older list. "Ah! I've only read X amount of books this year? Last year I read Y amount of books." Once again, no need to feel inadequate. It's not a competition, it's just a list. Yes, it could be a clue that perhaps work has taken up too much time, or that something else is off. Otherwise, once again, it's not the amount on the list that matters. I understand that the need to do all those 1001 X before you die and FOMO is big (In Sweden we call it "man måste ju passa på") and spurred on by social media and the consumerist hellscape and all that. But every "Must play/Must watch/must read" list are more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. Recommendations, not obligations. So just relax. It's your life, your journey, and not a competition. Tack för en förträfflig video, tjejer!

thank you! Explore the shit you want to! Play what you want to! A PURCHASE IS NOT AN OBLIGATION!!!!

Before I used to treat my backlog like a chore but then it made me not want to play much because of the pressure I put on myself, so I just stopped thinking about it. Now I feel like I'm already mentally at a place where I was going with the flow with my backlog. Just choosing whatever to play after finishing a game. But I love your idea way more! So I'll try it out :>

Hey, thanks for featuring a glimps of my video about that topic. ^__^

My approach to the backlog is General backlog, as in "games I have the capacity to play at the moment," and Priority backlog, which is a list of games I select as a guide to what I want to play next. Basically, I just select about 10 of them at the beginning of a year, split between the(mostly old and homebrewed)consoles I have, and say that I will at least complete 5 of them by the end of the year. That way, I don't fall into decision paralysis, can still play games that either strike me fancy, or are just new releases I didn't know about at the beginning of the year, and can freely take breaks whenever I want. For example, I knocked 4 games off the priority backlog already by the beginning of this month, so I decided to take the month off from going through the backlog, and then played a non-priority game on my DS while waiting for my mom at her tanning salon before I donate plasma. I'm basically guaranteed my goal, so I don't feel any pressure. And if I stagnate too much on any game, I either put it back into the general backlog, or just put it down forever if I'm satisfied with how far I got.

I love the idea of creating and building a log of games played rather than focusing on the ones that have gone unplayed. Thank you so much for your words.

I've had a similar mindset for a while, insofar as I've always thought of my backlog as kind of a good thing? It's comforting in its own way to have my own treasure trove of new art in my library to engage with that I won't run out of for a very long time. This video did convince me to rename my "Finished" and "Unfinished" collections on Steam to "Played" and "Unplayed", and to shuffle some games around. I used to only sort games into "Finished" if I got to the end credits of a game (or whatever the equivalent would be), but now my criteria for whether I count a game as "Played" is a little less rigid; it depends on whether I feel as though I've experienced enough of the game to form an educated opinion on the work as a whole, regardless of if I technically "beat" it. So I used to have a bunch of ultra-difficult roguelikes and arcade games and whatnot that I played for dozens of hours, but were marked as "Unfinished" because it was too hard for me to get to the end of them, and because of that, it felt like there was this gamer goblin on my shoulder telling me my experiences with these games were less "valid" then the games I beat, like I didn't *really* play them the way I should have. But I still feel like these games gave me more or less exactly the experience they were designed to give me, I still feel like I *got* the designers' vision, and I think that should be good enough, which is why I finally bit the bullet, changed the categories, and moved these games from "Unfinished" to "Played".

I used to have so much stress revolving around having a backlog and all these games I just HAD to play..But then I reminded myself that video games are an art form and I need to appreciate them for what they are rather than trying to mindlessly consume one after the other. After that epiphany, I started to enjoy video games a lot more. I do have a Backloggd account but I don’t really use it for the sake of a backlog, but for notating what games I’m currently playing, and I wishlist ones I want to remember to buy later. I think that works really well for me ! I’m happy that I’m not the only who found backlogs unnecessarily intense, it just seemed like something so needlessly consuming of your time and well-being..

Ultimately I still like the idea of the Backlog, but i see it more as a tool than a definite list that lords over me like a lot of people apparently do. And i think having both a log for games you have and have not beaten is a good thing. It's sort of like exercising in a way. Sure you will always have more stuff to play and that goal will most likely never be achieved, but I don't really see that as a bad thing. The Journey is more important than Destination as they say, or at least i think that how it goes heh.. Ive always had a sort of "rule 0" with my backlog, sort of like DND. Sure in DND they're rules and regulations you have to abide by to play it (at least a basic campaign,) but stuff like rules and ideas can be change as long as it keeps the game fun. It's definitely not for everyone, but as you said it's sort of like its own game in a way, and for me that game is very fun to play. Especially with others people. Turns it into a competition or an mmorpg almost, which I've always been a fan of.

The idea of inverting the backlog is just amazing, and im excited to aplly that tip, i have been struggling with the "Backlog" for 3 years. Im not sure if its ging to work yet but, thanks for the advice, its going to be helpful ❤

Just want to say that this video convinced me to start writing a media journal and honestly I'm enjoying it so far. I feel like it's getting me to think just a tad bit more deeply about the stuff that I'm playing/reading/watching.

Good video! I wish you had more of a section for the "wanting to play games to get a broader vocabulary/scope of the medium" angle since that has it's own element of social pressure, it's likely someone who would watch videos about managing a backlog also is just as invested in their Video Game Opinions(tm), and there's been a growing notion that a opinion from someone that is not as familiar with a genre or games outside a certain platform are "less valuable" and open for mockery, that a this bad take *must* come from someone that barely played other games outside of the one they are talking about (I even thought "this is a Earthbound bit btw" was gonna be that since the title felt self-aware). Though I can see how that might be a different discussion, and how it doesn't change the conclusion regarding backlogs being a detriment to playing more games rather than helping reach that goal. Funny thing about the "journal the games you beat instead" part though, I've seen more than one site thats built as like, goodreads/letterboxd for games, whose name is some sort of play on the word backlog "backloggd" is built very similar to letterboxd and is the one I've been using, I just made a account to make silly reviews and ended taking a week having fun trip recalling every game I had played since I was a little, and got invested in the journal features for logging the games I currently was playing this could kinda be seen as "the backlog", in its growing presence in gaming communities, assimilating ways to document and keep track of games you played outside what its concept and meaning initially described. I mean, that would be way to explain why the concept as you described felt alien to me, while your way to go about playing games without a backlog was a lot more closer to how I saw things, except I never saw it as being outside that concept

I've had this mindset for a while now. I have a spreadsheet to hold some data on games I might play but it's strictly a reference sheet with no obligations tied to it (I also have a "graphical diary" which is like the reverse backlog you talked about). I don't think I have much to say that you haven't already said but I think the main point is that backlog-mindset focuses on your failures rather than your successes. It's like when people say you should buy clothes too small to "motivate" you to lose weight, but being put in a sitaution where you are being constantly reminded that you're "not good enough" is not condusive to a mindset that encourages you to succeed.

Got sent this a week ago and just now got a chance to check it out - I've done the whole "keeping track of games" thing in the "unbeaten list" style for a bit, mainly to play the stuff I got gifted and have yet to poke at. But then I saw someone doing the "Stuff That I Beat 20XX" stuff a couple years ago and started doing the same. It's definitely far more entertaining!

I was doing that thing where I comment before watching... Only to learn that everything I was gunna write basically... Is something you cover in this very video haha. Great video boss lady! Love both of you : ) This is the perfect money saving video for gamers lol. Your best advice in this video however is "DON'T USE TWITTER" lololol.

My greatest auxillary joy from playing games has been documenting them on discord servers, giving small reviews and progress updates, sharing tips and tricks and seeing people excited a game they like is being played and jumping in with extra knowledge, or getting to document something others might not want to play. It is so joyous

works with movie,anime,books etc backlogs too!

I found it incredibly ironic when you said "I see my collection as a library", because the book reading community has the same backlog dynamic. Even worse, the book reading community competes constantly on the number of books read, like "How I read 100 books in a week" and such. I don't get why we would need capitalism in our hobbies, too. I started making an Excel table for my game collection because I wanted to visualise how many games I owned so I wouldn't spend too much money on new games forgetting I had a lot of fun games waiting for me to try.

Buying bundles on Humble Bundle quickly got me out of backlog mentality. Now I just give unredeemed games away because I know I won't have time or willpower to go through all of them just because there was a bundle with two, maybe three games I wanted to try out.

This video shone so much sunlight on my idea of the backlog that it has completely dissolved. Who knew that you could be totally fine just casually playing the games you want to play? 🙃 Thanks for another great video!

I never had a "backlog" of games to play and kept for years a list of "games I beat this year" so watching this video sure felt nice, I guess I had the right idea from the start, but now after watching this I might make a sketchbook like that, each page a brief nice sketch of what I beat, thanks for the idea

i kind of already figured out the solution to this video by keeping track of the games I've finished each year around the time I actually started to try finishing more video games, and seeing my games completed list go from like 15 a year to nearly 40 has always been more important and satisfying to me than worrying too much about what's on the backlog. i've done priority lists before but the last one I did I mainly wanted to do so I could forget about it for 9 months and then look back to see how it aged at the end of the year, and not using it as a stressor for making sure literally everything in A Tier priority is done before moving on to B Tier and so on. it helps me get an idea of what i want to play soon but I don't view it as a list of tasks i need to rigorously follow.

"An open selection of possibilities." Love this. Excellent as always