Exactly. Not only that, it is a custom library bc of only what you buy ends up there (obviously. Mean that if you buy something, odds are you are intrigued enough unless you just like to waste money or buy everything just to “collect”) Just switched to PC and im making my “360, ps2, ps3, ps4” era folders.
Yes, I don’t give myself any obligation because realistically there’s no way I finish all these games before I die. Sometimes I just like looking at all my game cases on the shelf, appreciating the box art and what not
This is such a big one. It's good to have them there for the day it feels good to jump into it. Got games I haven't touched since purchase, but I know I'll get to it at one point as I buy far less games now.
The discipline used to work on completing my backlog is less about forcing myself to play games and more about stopping myself from wasting time on social media that I don’t actually want to do.
When Remnant 2 came out I couldn't stop playing it, until one day I started playing something else, forgot about Remnant 2 and then eventually uninstalled it. A year and half later I decide to download it again and give it a 2nd try. Started a fresh campaign and a week later it's finished. Absolutely loved the game! If a game sitting in your backlog just doesn't interest you enough to finish, sometimes you just need to come back to it a year or so later. You might just suddenly love it.
I honestly absolutely love these discussions/podcasts, they are tonally incredibly relaxing and both of your voices are so clear and succinct it makes the listening experience not only enjoyable, but easier to digest. I appreciate they way you are both tackling these topics and that the podcast feels just like two friends chatting. I am so down for more of these. Highly, highly enjoyable and up there with the best gaming podcasts.
What I play on a daily basis very much depends on 2 things: Mood and time available. For example last night after finishing household chores and working out I really fancied playing Resi 2 remake that I just started the other night, but I looked at the clock and it was nearly midnight, knowing I would be woken up by kids at 7am I chose to play a quick race of Forza 3 instead. Most evenings I only have an hour or 2 tops to get into a game if I'm lucky and I end up playing games like Forza, or doing a level on the original Doom or playing Wipeout rather than getting my teeth into some story driven immersive game like Cyberpunk, ME2 or RDR2 - I want a whole evening to play those kind of games, or better still an entire weekend, which sadly doesn't really happen anymore when you have 2 kids and a house to keep on top of. But sometimes I may have that magical unicorn free evening and I just don't feel like getting immersed deep into those kind of games and I just want to load up Halo Infinite and kill some bots. My Backlog looks like this and falls into 2 categories: 1: Games I want an entire evening to play: Black mesa: Halfway through but played the original Cyberpunk: Completed, but on second playthrough Spiderman PS4: Haven't started Halo MCC: Halfway through, played the originals Resi 2: Just started, played the original RDR2: Halfway through ME Legendary Edition: Haven't started but played the originals Doom Eternal: Haven't started Project Cars: (VR and steering wheel which is a faff to setup) Games I can quickly jump in and play: Doom original Wipeout BallisticNG Halo Infinite Quake 3 Forza 3 Bomberman 2 Goldeneye Source Beats Saber (VR) Blade and Sorcery (VR)
Really appreciate your take on this. I'm the same way, I have a young kid and time for gaming is extremely limited. I like the idea of having a primary Longplay/story-driven game that I intend to fully play through for the nights when I have a fair bit of free time, and then a collection of "short-burst" games that I'm not really focused on completing for the nights when I only have a small amount of time to spare.
@@bgildersleeve I think this is a natural evolution as well as we get older. Being more picky and having played most games makes new ones feel less new. So the age of consuming as much as possible is gone. I see this across most of my friends and those I see writing about it in UA-cam comments. Life gets busy, and gaming is just one small hobby among many things. I always go with a system of one long single player, and then a bunch of small titles for easy fun which aren't as heavy to get into. Usually one for each type of mood or experience to have variety.
I feel that the word “backlog” is an example of how negative framing can make anything seem bad or problematic, even when the thing in itself (having a list of games you’d like to play someday) is either positive or neutral. Western culture and politics are full of examples of negative framing, illustrating the ancient Buddhist truth that there is no such thing as suffering in this world, only people who generate it for themselves through their words and thoughts. This is why it’s best to follow Orwell’s advice and use your own words to describe things.
Just wanted to say i appreciate this podcast, it has engaged my mind and prompted me to think about gaming as a whole, how its companies and branding have changed, how ive changed, a lot of stuff that i just dont think about since i dont really have that community or friend group to dig up questions and discussions like that. So thank you.
When you took the case and took out the disc to put into the console, there was kind of a commitment there that doesnt exist with icons on the desktop or through menus. This is why we have such problems enjoying or even picking a game to play.
Good point 👍 I've always stuck to physical games only, but recently bought a handheld gaming PC. Now that I'm using steam and have all these indie games on my start screen, I do find it harder to stick to one game from start to finish
Nah I still buy physical games and have that problem. The thing is when we were kids we only had like 5 games total so it was easy to pick from, now I have a PS5 with all the free games, a huge steam library, Xbox Game Pass has hundreds of games. It's too much choice.
@@ThisisCitrus its a complex issue, many things combined, what i said and what the other person said. But it always comes back to having too many choices.
Hey BBK and Epos. Been listening to these on Spotify and I enjoy them a lot! Keep it up! That said, I did want to mention to BBK that the latest Ratchet and Clank (Rift Apart) has been ported to PC and may be worth picking up at some point. I myself am waiting for it to go on sale closer to that $20 price point first so I can't vouge for how good it is as well as the port on PC specifically, but I've loved those games since playing the original with my mom and siblings when we got a PS2 one Christmas (one of my fondest memories of holiday gaming).
Really enjoyed your conversations, and it relates to me so much especially around pc / console gaming. This is why I prefer gaming on console because I’m sitting at my 3 monitor workstation for work and feel change of environment helps me relax away from work mode. Granted I could setup another PC in another room but I’ll still feel as if I’m working sat at a desk.
Best holiday gift was when my wife surprised me with with the original rock band full set. We played it so much that winter, the songs have rent free space forever
I thought about doing the whole backlog tracking thing, making a spreadsheet and tracking every game or even movie I play next year but when I pulled up a Google sheets to create it I realized what I was doing. I was turning gaming into work, a checklist. The endgame of the spreadsheet and tracking wasn’t to enjoy myself it was to finish as many games within the year and somehow that was supposed to be satisfying for me. I don’t want to go down the path of turning gaming into a chore and something I have to consciously track and try to keep a certain pace with, I want gaming to be something I go to to enjoy myself for a few hours, no strings attached. I’ve already been struggling with enjoying gaming recently due to having played so many that it’s difficult to find ones that are different yet still entertaining. I’ve been struggling mental health-wise too so I haven’t had much desire to play games as I used to so that also hurts it
The way I defined my backlog was the list of games I have access to that I have not finished but want to. I had about 40 games that I felt landed there, and another bunch I probably could have added, but last year I decided to try to tackle it. I beat 8 games, but only 3 were on my backlog list. This year I have completed 13 games so far, and only 4 were on my original list. Yet I feel really good about where I am with my backlog. I think it's because I am actually playing and finishing games consistently. I usually have 2 main games I'm playing and might dip into another couple when I feel like it, but I make myself return to those 2. I have a 3 year old who loves watching me play kid friendly games so that's motivation, and achievements for Xbox gift cards is another strong motivation. I play my mature games when he goes to sleep, and I have a nice balance of different genres. Soon I'll finish Assassin's Creed Origins, and then I'll move on to...well, whatever I feel like. Honestly choosing on a whim feels better because it feels like I actually want to play it. I tried narrowing the selection down and making an educated choice but it felt like I was playing out of obligation.
i thought i was crazy for thinking about overwatch being a xmas game and then you said it later and i was blown away. The xmas event with the snow updated maps the menu music the lootboxes that you could earn the festive skins in just from playing so good man
Always interesting to hear people's perspective who still hold a lot of value in the console experience even after becoming familiar with PC gaming. I grew up with both PCs and consoles in the house. I was literally playing the original Rogue game back when it was actually relevant LOL. Also games like Pitfall and Star Raiders with my Dad on the Atari. At some point along the line, after the XBOX360 actually, I totally shifted to PC-only. I guess a lot of the issues some people have with PC gaming, like the "pc stuff" you have to do just isn't a big deal for me as I grew up building and working with these things. I would imagine a lot of the PC crowd feels this way. From my perspective, there's nothing a console can offer me anymore. It's such a gigantic buy-in when I already own a PC. After the 360 and really even during that generation, consoles started to become more PC-like only in a clearly inferior way. If these companies still sold consoles that just played games and at a cheaper price, I might be more inclined to dip my toes back in the water. As it stands now, they have all totally lost me as a potential consumer.
41:00 What I learned in the 7th gen of consoles is that an 8-12YO won’t want a mascot platformer, they’ll want CoD, Halo and Assassin’s Creed. These days it seems they’re very into Fortnite and Roblox and all the liveservice stuff but I don’t think there’s a real huge demand anymore from children for Astro Bot-esque games.
My balance got very out of whack this year too, but I agree playing games and having opinions is better than secondhand. I enjoy talks and opinions too, I'm watching this after all, but they're excellent for when you can't be playing a game. A workout, a walk, doing chores, commuting, second screen while working, etc. They're great for that. I also wanted to chime in on the console gaming point. I still mostly go for consoles because I want to keep my old games forever. People argue PC's have better back compat because you don't have to worry about the console having it, and I do get the argument but I don't think about it that way and I think it's ignoring that the PC is always marching forward - old things will break and few will notice. I want the snapshot of time in hardware that's compatible with the game to keep indefinitely. 15 years from now I don't want to be browsing the Steam community to get Elden Ring to actually start on Windows 15 - I'd rather dust off my console and run it as I played it back in the day. PC problems are solvable, absolutely, but I prefer having my little time capsule boxes to plug in for old games.
I really appreciate your videos bud. I've had some hard times this year and spending time with God and playing video games has been my outlet. Your video's have helped a lot. God bless you brother.
It was always weird to me that people hate having a backlog. For me it's just the idea of knowing that I have something good to play at all times/next, as long as you don't spend money on games that you never play, I don't see a problem with it.
This is my box; this is where I play games. That sentiment is one thing I really enjoy about the switch for modern games since I don't even have to download anything, just pop in the game card and push the button lol.
I started using Backloggd after Dragoon's recommendation a few months ago. I like being able to check off which versions I own (physical, digital, lost, sold). Helps me keep track of my library. Currently playing through Spider-Man (2018) and CoD 2.
I had something similar with the toll gifts. Got Ace Combat 04 on Christmas Eve, little bro got MoH Frontline, then we got the PS2 the next morning. Was an incredible time.
I use Backloggd to log the games I've played and manage my backlog, plus I keep a spreadsheet for upcoming releases with their names and release dates. Honestly, I didn't even want to track my backlog or what I've played and finished anymore-it just stresses me out. But I still do it because, without it, I’d have no idea what to play next!
Yes :D (I have crippling ADHD and if I lived by never forcing myself do do the things I want or planning out how to actually keep up with my own hobbies, I'd literally never start OR finish any game ever)
My “backlog” has been playing through all the Pokemon games and catching all the Pokemon. Is fun, but also the goal I’ve set is “work” sometimes I just gotta do something else. As an achievement minded person I want to beat my games but then I find myself playing classic wow again! I think overall we just teeter back and forth depending on where we are in our heads and lives
i just wanted to say thank you for these first two episodes!! i decided to start approaching my games with more intentionality, so i uninstalled a lot of my multiplayer library and i decided to start Uncharted 2 and it is amazing so far!! thank you guys so much for these advice :)
5:45 I play a little bit of everything all the time depending on my mood. Eventually I get around to finishing the games I really want to finish. Games that are exceptional, I will usually finish them right away unless they are exceptionally difficult like the souls games. I loved Elden ring but it took me about 4 months to get through it the first time back in 2022. Off the top of my head, some big games I know I'm going to finish eventually: Final Fantasy VII remake integrade Final Fantasy XVI Mario and Luigi brothership Cyberpunk 2077 BioShock infinite Dark Souls II And that's just a handful, there's easily at least 20 of their big games from every major console and PC that I'm going to get through even if it's just an hour at a time on my own time.
I think you both made some good points about backlogs. It is important to be intentional about what you play and it is absolutely the right decision to drop a game if you're not having fun. However, I'm a little bit concerned about all of the talk of needing strategies to actually want to play through a full game. This should not be something you need to particularly focus on; this should happen naturally if you're actually interested in the games you're playing. Obviously, everyone's taste is different, but when hearing you guys throw out games like Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed, HZD, Cyberpunk, etc. as ones you were trying to make time for while simultaneously saying it's hard to get yourself to play through a game without jumping around, my honest thought was that these games aren't grabbing you because they're mediocre. If you were playing games you really liked, you would not want to stop and play a couple rounds of something else, and it would not require discipline to finish the game. If anything, it would require discipline to not let the game in the way of your other plans. The first thing I've found helpful is to be very intentional about the games you buy in the first place. I read lots of reviews and thoroughly vet titles before I even put them on my wishlist. Fun is not my only criterion either; for example, I avoid all free-to-play and competitive multiplayer games regardless of how fun they look because they're designed to be addicting and there's no end; you'll just be playing them until you burn out or the servers shut down, and there's nothing redeeming about that. If I'm playing with friends, I'd rather find something cooperative. I'd also rather spend my gaming time experiencing new content than the 10000th round of some multiplayer game. Once I've added a game my wishlist, I wait for a good sale before I consider buying, and I only buy what I can reasonably expect to finish in the next ~3 months until the next major sale. There are enough awesome games out there that you really should limit your purchases to games that are both fabulous and on-sale, unless you're specifically trying to support the developer of a game you love. You made a number of good points in your more recent video about waiting to buy games that explain the other benefits of this. There should be no FOMO when you raise your standards to a very high level, because the vast majority of the most-hyped games, which are generally AAA titles with huge marketing budgets, are mediocre and not worth playing. Once you realize that, there's no longer any reason to pine over the 97th identical Ubisoft open world game, say. At any given point in time, I'll usually have about a half dozen new games installed and ready to go. I pick one to play based on what I'm feeling in the moment, and it will usually easily hold my attention over multiple sittings until I finish it. A small percentage of the time it won't be what I expected and I'll drop it and refund it if possible, but this shouldn't happen frequently if you vet wishlisted games thoroughly. Occasionally I'll also play a game that will require a bit of a break before I finish (e.g. a stressful survival horror game) and in those cases I might take a break with something like a short cozy game to melt the stress away, or a puzzle game that I can easily pick up and put down. Otherwise, it's pretty much one game at a time. The result is that I've been playing a lot more indie games lately and have been enjoying gaming more than I have for years. Would recommend! TL;DR Buy better games and you won't have a backlog of half-played games that you need to force yourself to finish.
Man this is my 2nd video ive heqrd from yall & everything yall are saying is tbe sameway i had been feeling but i thought it was just me. I usually never replayed games but a few youtubers made it be ok...Theres some games ive replayed but i feel guilty playing an old game when i have newer games to play. When its a game i live in, i get the full experience by sticking to that 1 game & ill have a rest game in between like fight night champion & now dbz sparking. Ive been deep into rpg's recently. I usually have nba2k as my main game for over a decade so i missed out on alot of games b/c u have to focus on that game 2 be decent
What’s been helping me with my backlog is playing what I want to play in no specific order and with no obligations. I have a huge backlog so I can choose from a ton of different genres and themes. I’ve played and finished 4 games in November. It’s really helpful to write about the games after you beat them. Think of yourself as game journalist and express what the game made you feel, how fun it was and how impactful the story was for you. I can tell you exactly what happened on those 4 games including character development, plot points and what game mechanics I loved from them and it’s all thanks to choosing what I want to play and writing about those games. There’s nothing wrong with dropping games! Just make sure you’re having fun while playing and your backlog will start shrinking down in no time.
Regarding the tv vs monitor discussion. 10000% it's a different vibe, that's why i got 30m HDMI cable and ran it through my roof to the living room so i can get the best of both worlds, PC and a couch with a nice TV. Took a lot of work to get everything set up where its turn it on and go without fiddling with pc related things but its now at a point where i can do everything with controller and not have to bust a mouse or keyboard out at all. Unless its an FPS or something very clearly designed for PC i'll take the TV any day.
I have a backloggery account, the trouble is when you fin games that you really like and don't have a storyline with an end. Currently playing Rimworld but that can also be applied to most game as a service. I'm trying to find a balance between how much I play games that are really something that you can finish and endless games. Well also trying to balance that with work and real-life stuff, oh gosh I hate being an adult. Adding because I watched this video in 2 sessions. Immortals of Aveum it now how much the games spent, the worst is that they spend more in marketing than in the game
Crash bandicoot 2 and 3 are some of my favorite games, and I agree about crash 4, it just didn't have that fun factor the older games had. I think it might be because crash 4 was made so you could die infinitely without consequences, so they made the game harder to counterbalance the infinite lives. In the older crash games, you had lives, so they had to tone down the difficulty to match that. Otherwise, you'd keep getting game over screens, which would frustrate people. Another reason it felt not as fun, crash 2 and 3 had a flow to it, it kindof felt like mirrors edge when you got good at the game. With crash 4's difficulty spikes, it really slows the game down and makes it feel choppy. You don't get to hit that continuous flow state like in crash 2 or 3 or mirrors edge
I love these discussions I know you can't here me obviously but I go oh yeah and sometimes if I don't know the game I look it up and add it to a list when its on a sale. Also, when the video goes live, I play BO1 zombies until the 2 hour video is finished as I can relax and enjoy
I myself haven’t played much of the PlayStation “classics” such as sly cooper, crash, uncharted, ratchet and clack But after having played Astro bot I’m inspired to get into those. Amazing talk listened to all of it
I'm someone who really likes backlogs, I love knowing I have some great gaming experiences available for me in the future and I don't need to wait for potential future releases or scour for hidden gems, I also like taking my time with games within a series and I feel talking a break between titles makes me appreciate each title to its fullest
For me, the Backlog has never really been an issue? Ive for years had a backlog thats over 200 games large! For me? I dont care if I dont play them all, even if I own it physically. I just like having the options there. My backlog features so many different genre's and franchises ive yet to try out that I can game hop if I really wanted to? I tend to at max play one game per platform So I'll play Avatar Frontiers of Pandora on Xbox I'll play Mario Wonder on Switch. Etc. I like to change up what kind of games im playing on each platform to keep things fresh.
I like that you mentioned Immortals of Aveum. I thought that game was a genuine breath of fresh air being a solid single-player shooter with a cool premise (Doctor Strange adventure but in first person). I agree it could've benefited from a super scaled down budget and a decent marketing push instead.
46:00 Their “E3” is Summer Games Fest now. The Game Awards are so popular for announcements because it’s basically the only current event for winter announcements. They’d need to invent a sort of “winter games fest”, honestly.
Not about to use the site, but I do the same on my own. I keep a blog where I write fairly detailed reviews when I finish a game... so yeah I do see progress. And I can share the opinions if others find them useful. As for how I pick games? I put priority to series Im in the middle of, but I actually just use a random number generator to effectively "roll dice" and pick from a selection of my collection to take on next. It's worked so far.
I really wish I could get into Cyberpunk, I've put 60 hours into it and it just doesn't grab me. I dislike the characters, the world feels empty and vapid, combat is fun but somehow unrewarding at the same time.
Been mainly playing BO6, last new game I’m gonna play before my baby gets here. Currently getting myself to play through Control again, for the 4th time. Idk why, but it’s a game that makes me enjoy games again. Maybe I’ll get through Alan Wake 2 someday. Scares me shitless.
Ps2-4 was also near and dear to my heart, but I could never justify the cost of a ps5 (I don’t have a 4k tv either). I built my 1st PC instead, and the experience has been the most fun I’ve had in years.
My mom would get me the game and my dad the console. I opened Halo 2 in my stocking and my dad opened a console later on Christmas. My mom just told me to keep it quiet until he opened his so I shoved it back in my stocking.
With a lot of 100+hr games, it’s easy to accumulate a backlog. On top of games like destiny that had me in a trance for years, I missed a lot. And then you build a decent pc that plays ALL the great pc only games from the early 2000s and that list quadruples. Now is easily the best time for gaming because everything that was great still is and is much easier (sometimes) to experience now rather than when the gear was out of price range to actually run well.
Still figuring out what games i want to play at home on the big screen but my go-to games going to and from work on the train are Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity and Sonic Riders on my phone lol.(screw touch screen controls, I only do physical since I grew up glued to my PSP).
To me I couldnt buy any game coz I was still a teenager / college student and unemployed. Now that Im at 30s and employed I have money to buy games I couldnt buy back then. And bcoz the games are now much cheaper than those back then due to sales, I now have tons of them at backlogs like Dying Light, Borderlands 2, Grim Dawn etc. And speaking of too many games, I cant stay committed playing the same games for months. While I would want to 100% games eventually, I am certain that I would be bored on sticking to only one game long term.
I know people who spend thousands of dollars a year and they will beat 1-2 games. They just buy and get swept up in fomo for as long as it takes for the next huge thing. I think it would be easier to justify if these were physical items, but they’ve paid full price for every popular game this year and never seen credits roll on any. Granted it’s their money and time, but to me it feels like reading the first 2 chapters of every new best seller on the nyt list. There has to be a balance between moment to moment fun and long term reward and satisfaction for seeing a story to its end.
35:56 to you point about crash 4 changing a lot i would like to point out that crash 2 also changed a lot as did 3 so if anything Crash 4 fits right in.
I bought an xbox 360 and like 20 new games last year and my strat is to play them all on EASY. Because I never played any of the games before I am basically giving myself an instant backlog but playing them on easy plus avoiding sidequests I think is a good strate for getting through games at a steady pace before you die. I am playing them for the core experience and not really for the challenge. I dropped borderlands because it was a grindy waste of time. and I dropped halo4 because it was boring. Rage was pretty cool - did the bear minimum side stuff but I have no FOMO because I had a good time.
*I've been tackling my backlog since 2020 and its been a JOURNEY but I'm happy to say I'm finally coming towards the end and it feels so good 😍 2025 looks like its gonna be just as mid as 2024 so I most likely won't buy anything new until maybe GTA6* 🕵
The problem is I dont want to spend 100 hours playing some woke crap like veilguard in order to be able to express my opinion on it. Expecially when its such a clear example of what is wrong with games nowadays
i think the biggest thing is experimenting with experiencing games. play that genre you never play, play that old game on that old console. play that game everyone said sucks. Almost missed out on Forspoken listening to other people that never probably played it. its one of my favorite games in the past couple of years, so glad you guys spoke on it. great podcast, now i gotta go back and listen to the first episode~
As most games nowadays are worse, a backlog of older games is a blessing for me. Also backlogs aren't much of a concern for me. I play what I want to play to have fun. No complicated systems, no gaming goals, nothing. I let my impulses guide me for the most part. Gaming is purely an entertainment for me, not a second job.
Idk for me once my wife got pregnant and I got a promotion I just dont see the point in continuing playing video games, at least the way that I was. Now its just something i can throw on for half an hour or so to wind down. Any spare time i get outside of work and family needs to be spent on myself
Don’t make a chore or job out of your games backlog no matter how long it is…otherwise you will simply bring your work baggage into your fun space. The moment you tell yourself you HAVE to finish something according to a schedule then it becomes a work/school thing!🥹
I treat my collection like a library. You don't HAVE to play everything, but it's there if/when you want to.
Exactly. Not only that, it is a custom library bc of only what you buy ends up there (obviously. Mean that if you buy something, odds are you are intrigued enough unless you just like to waste money or buy everything just to “collect”)
Just switched to PC and im making my “360, ps2, ps3, ps4” era folders.
Exactly, this is how I view it. Having existential dread/anxiety over them is not worth it
Yes, I don’t give myself any obligation because realistically there’s no way I finish all these games before I die. Sometimes I just like looking at all my game cases on the shelf, appreciating the box art and what not
I can’t imagine owning something and not being able to have a proper opinion about it, let alone have experienced it at least once . . .
This is such a big one. It's good to have them there for the day it feels good to jump into it. Got games I haven't touched since purchase, but I know I'll get to it at one point as I buy far less games now.
The discipline used to work on completing my backlog is less about forcing myself to play games and more about stopping myself from wasting time on social media that I don’t actually want to do.
Babe wake up !!! The gamers therapist released his new video !!!
Perfect Name 👌🏽💯
When Remnant 2 came out I couldn't stop playing it, until one day I started playing something else, forgot about Remnant 2 and then eventually uninstalled it. A year and half later I decide to download it again and give it a 2nd try. Started a fresh campaign and a week later it's finished. Absolutely loved the game!
If a game sitting in your backlog just doesn't interest you enough to finish, sometimes you just need to come back to it a year or so later. You might just suddenly love it.
I honestly absolutely love these discussions/podcasts, they are tonally incredibly relaxing and both of your voices are so clear and succinct it makes the listening experience not only enjoyable, but easier to digest.
I appreciate they way you are both tackling these topics and that the podcast feels just like two friends chatting. I am so down for more of these. Highly, highly enjoyable and up there with the best gaming podcasts.
What I play on a daily basis very much depends on 2 things: Mood and time available.
For example last night after finishing household chores and working out I really fancied playing Resi 2 remake that I just started the other night, but I looked at the clock and it was nearly midnight, knowing I would be woken up by kids at 7am I chose to play a quick race of Forza 3 instead.
Most evenings I only have an hour or 2 tops to get into a game if I'm lucky and I end up playing games like Forza, or doing a level on the original Doom or playing Wipeout rather than getting my teeth into some story driven immersive game like Cyberpunk, ME2 or RDR2 - I want a whole evening to play those kind of games, or better still an entire weekend, which sadly doesn't really happen anymore when you have 2 kids and a house to keep on top of.
But sometimes I may have that magical unicorn free evening and I just don't feel like getting immersed deep into those kind of games and I just want to load up Halo Infinite and kill some bots.
My Backlog looks like this and falls into 2 categories:
1: Games I want an entire evening to play:
Black mesa: Halfway through but played the original
Cyberpunk: Completed, but on second playthrough
Spiderman PS4: Haven't started
Halo MCC: Halfway through, played the originals
Resi 2: Just started, played the original
RDR2: Halfway through
ME Legendary Edition: Haven't started but played the originals
Doom Eternal: Haven't started
Project Cars: (VR and steering wheel which is a faff to setup)
Games I can quickly jump in and play:
Doom original
Wipeout
BallisticNG
Halo Infinite
Quake 3
Forza 3
Bomberman 2
Goldeneye Source
Beats Saber (VR)
Blade and Sorcery (VR)
Really appreciate your take on this. I'm the same way, I have a young kid and time for gaming is extremely limited. I like the idea of having a primary Longplay/story-driven game that I intend to fully play through for the nights when I have a fair bit of free time, and then a collection of "short-burst" games that I'm not really focused on completing for the nights when I only have a small amount of time to spare.
@@bgildersleeve I think this is a natural evolution as well as we get older. Being more picky and having played most games makes new ones feel less new. So the age of consuming as much as possible is gone. I see this across most of my friends and those I see writing about it in UA-cam comments. Life gets busy, and gaming is just one small hobby among many things. I always go with a system of one long single player, and then a bunch of small titles for easy fun which aren't as heavy to get into. Usually one for each type of mood or experience to have variety.
My quick go to is a game or two of dynasty on college football 25. Other than that it's Red dead 2 or elden ring dlc
This show has been so comforting to listen to while driving. I have a short commute but I look forward to it each time I get to tune in.
I feel that the word “backlog” is an example of how negative framing can make anything seem bad or problematic, even when the thing in itself (having a list of games you’d like to play someday) is either positive or neutral. Western culture and politics are full of examples of negative framing, illustrating the ancient Buddhist truth that there is no such thing as suffering in this world, only people who generate it for themselves through their words and thoughts. This is why it’s best to follow Orwell’s advice and use your own words to describe things.
Like my gaming todo list
My Steam library and stuff I haven't played is just my bucket list. I'll get around to it someday.
@@BadMemeHere Same, I recently got hooked on Fallout New Vegas again, glad it's there for me when I want it.
@@Zodarus I have the same exact thing with Elder Scrolls III & Doom.
Loving these 2 hour discussion! Keep them coming
Just wanted to say i appreciate this podcast, it has engaged my mind and prompted me to think about gaming as a whole, how its companies and branding have changed, how ive changed, a lot of stuff that i just dont think about since i dont really have that community or friend group to dig up questions and discussions like that. So thank you.
When you took the case and took out the disc to put into the console, there was kind of a commitment there that doesnt exist with icons on the desktop or through menus. This is why we have such problems enjoying or even picking a game to play.
Good point 👍
I've always stuck to physical games only, but recently bought a handheld gaming PC. Now that I'm using steam and have all these indie games on my start screen, I do find it harder to stick to one game from start to finish
Nah I still buy physical games and have that problem. The thing is when we were kids we only had like 5 games total so it was easy to pick from, now I have a PS5 with all the free games, a huge steam library, Xbox Game Pass has hundreds of games. It's too much choice.
@@ThisisCitrus its a complex issue, many things combined, what i said and what the other person said. But it always comes back to having too many choices.
@@ThisisCitrusyou contradicted yourself though, you use physical games AND game pass which is exactly confirming his point.
Best video game UA-camr out there. Keep staying based.
"We all have that friend who buys EVERY new release" damn that's me
Hey BBK and Epos. Been listening to these on Spotify and I enjoy them a lot! Keep it up! That said, I did want to mention to BBK that the latest Ratchet and Clank (Rift Apart) has been ported to PC and may be worth picking up at some point. I myself am waiting for it to go on sale closer to that $20 price point first so I can't vouge for how good it is as well as the port on PC specifically, but I've loved those games since playing the original with my mom and siblings when we got a PS2 one Christmas (one of my fondest memories of holiday gaming).
Exactly the podcast episode I wanted to hear! So glad I found this channel. Happy holidays guys
Really enjoyed your conversations, and it relates to me so much especially around pc / console gaming.
This is why I prefer gaming on console because I’m sitting at my 3 monitor workstation for work and feel change of environment helps me relax away from work mode.
Granted I could setup another PC in another room but I’ll still feel as if I’m working sat at a desk.
Backlogs are a thing that just happen naturally there are just games some people want to play constantly or just crave playing
Best holiday gift was when my wife surprised me with with the original rock band full set. We played it so much that winter, the songs have rent free space forever
Love your channel man, thanks for the consistent uploads.
These are a great listen. Thanks for the awesome show!
I thought about doing the whole backlog tracking thing, making a spreadsheet and tracking every game or even movie I play next year but when I pulled up a Google sheets to create it I realized what I was doing. I was turning gaming into work, a checklist. The endgame of the spreadsheet and tracking wasn’t to enjoy myself it was to finish as many games within the year and somehow that was supposed to be satisfying for me. I don’t want to go down the path of turning gaming into a chore and something I have to consciously track and try to keep a certain pace with, I want gaming to be something I go to to enjoy myself for a few hours, no strings attached. I’ve already been struggling with enjoying gaming recently due to having played so many that it’s difficult to find ones that are different yet still entertaining. I’ve been struggling mental health-wise too so I haven’t had much desire to play games as I used to so that also hurts it
wow cool that yall are doing another one already!
The way I defined my backlog was the list of games I have access to that I have not finished but want to. I had about 40 games that I felt landed there, and another bunch I probably could have added, but last year I decided to try to tackle it. I beat 8 games, but only 3 were on my backlog list.
This year I have completed 13 games so far, and only 4 were on my original list. Yet I feel really good about where I am with my backlog. I think it's because I am actually playing and finishing games consistently. I usually have 2 main games I'm playing and might dip into another couple when I feel like it, but I make myself return to those 2. I have a 3 year old who loves watching me play kid friendly games so that's motivation, and achievements for Xbox gift cards is another strong motivation. I play my mature games when he goes to sleep, and I have a nice balance of different genres. Soon I'll finish Assassin's Creed Origins, and then I'll move on to...well, whatever I feel like. Honestly choosing on a whim feels better because it feels like I actually want to play it. I tried narrowing the selection down and making an educated choice but it felt like I was playing out of obligation.
i thought i was crazy for thinking about overwatch being a xmas game and then you said it later and i was blown away. The xmas event with the snow updated maps the menu music the lootboxes that you could earn the festive skins in just from playing so good man
So when you're playing RDR2 and Assassins Creed "with" your wife, what does that actually look like?
Always interesting to hear people's perspective who still hold a lot of value in the console experience even after becoming familiar with PC gaming. I grew up with both PCs and consoles in the house. I was literally playing the original Rogue game back when it was actually relevant LOL. Also games like Pitfall and Star Raiders with my Dad on the Atari.
At some point along the line, after the XBOX360 actually, I totally shifted to PC-only. I guess a lot of the issues some people have with PC gaming, like the "pc stuff" you have to do just isn't a big deal for me as I grew up building and working with these things. I would imagine a lot of the PC crowd feels this way. From my perspective, there's nothing a console can offer me anymore. It's such a gigantic buy-in when I already own a PC.
After the 360 and really even during that generation, consoles started to become more PC-like only in a clearly inferior way. If these companies still sold consoles that just played games and at a cheaper price, I might be more inclined to dip my toes back in the water. As it stands now, they have all totally lost me as a potential consumer.
41:00 What I learned in the 7th gen of consoles is that an 8-12YO won’t want a mascot platformer, they’ll want CoD, Halo and Assassin’s Creed. These days it seems they’re very into Fortnite and Roblox and all the liveservice stuff but I don’t think there’s a real huge demand anymore from children for Astro Bot-esque games.
So true. Those types of live service games have become their after school hangouts now.
My balance got very out of whack this year too, but I agree playing games and having opinions is better than secondhand. I enjoy talks and opinions too, I'm watching this after all, but they're excellent for when you can't be playing a game. A workout, a walk, doing chores, commuting, second screen while working, etc. They're great for that.
I also wanted to chime in on the console gaming point. I still mostly go for consoles because I want to keep my old games forever. People argue PC's have better back compat because you don't have to worry about the console having it, and I do get the argument but I don't think about it that way and I think it's ignoring that the PC is always marching forward - old things will break and few will notice. I want the snapshot of time in hardware that's compatible with the game to keep indefinitely. 15 years from now I don't want to be browsing the Steam community to get Elden Ring to actually start on Windows 15 - I'd rather dust off my console and run it as I played it back in the day. PC problems are solvable, absolutely, but I prefer having my little time capsule boxes to plug in for old games.
So happy to hear you on a podcast again miss the days of destiny the show so much
I really appreciate your videos bud. I've had some hard times this year and spending time with God and playing video games has been my outlet. Your video's have helped a lot. God bless you brother.
I really vibe with the way you guys talk about games.
It was always weird to me that people hate having a backlog. For me it's just the idea of knowing that I have something good to play at all times/next, as long as you don't spend money on games that you never play, I don't see a problem with it.
This is my box; this is where I play games. That sentiment is one thing I really enjoy about the switch for modern games since I don't even have to download anything, just pop in the game card and push the button lol.
I started using Backloggd after Dragoon's recommendation a few months ago. I like being able to check off which versions I own (physical, digital, lost, sold). Helps me keep track of my library. Currently playing through Spider-Man (2018) and CoD 2.
Just discovered your podcast and you guys have said things here I've been saying for years. Great takes and very refreshing.
I had something similar with the toll gifts. Got Ace Combat 04 on Christmas Eve, little bro got MoH Frontline, then we got the PS2 the next morning. Was an incredible time.
I use Backloggd to log the games I've played and manage my backlog, plus I keep a spreadsheet for upcoming releases with their names and release dates. Honestly, I didn't even want to track my backlog or what I've played and finished anymore-it just stresses me out. But I still do it because, without it, I’d have no idea what to play next!
Yes :D
(I have crippling ADHD and if I lived by never forcing myself do do the things I want or planning out how to actually keep up with my own hobbies, I'd literally never start OR finish any game ever)
Love this, keep up the good and hard work 💪
My “backlog” has been playing through all the Pokemon games and catching all the Pokemon. Is fun, but also the goal I’ve set is “work” sometimes I just gotta do something else.
As an achievement minded person I want to beat my games but then I find myself playing classic wow again!
I think overall we just teeter back and forth depending on where we are in our heads and lives
i just wanted to say thank you for these first two episodes!! i decided to start approaching my games with more intentionality, so i uninstalled a lot of my multiplayer library and i decided to start Uncharted 2 and it is amazing so far!! thank you guys so much for these advice :)
5:45
I play a little bit of everything all the time depending on my mood.
Eventually I get around to finishing the games I really want to finish.
Games that are exceptional, I will usually finish them right away unless they are exceptionally difficult like the souls games. I loved Elden ring but it took me about 4 months to get through it the first time back in 2022.
Off the top of my head, some big games I know I'm going to finish eventually:
Final Fantasy VII remake integrade
Final Fantasy XVI
Mario and Luigi brothership
Cyberpunk 2077
BioShock infinite
Dark Souls II
And that's just a handful, there's easily at least 20 of their big games from every major console and PC that I'm going to get through even if it's just an hour at a time on my own time.
I think you both made some good points about backlogs. It is important to be intentional about what you play and it is absolutely the right decision to drop a game if you're not having fun. However, I'm a little bit concerned about all of the talk of needing strategies to actually want to play through a full game. This should not be something you need to particularly focus on; this should happen naturally if you're actually interested in the games you're playing. Obviously, everyone's taste is different, but when hearing you guys throw out games like Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed, HZD, Cyberpunk, etc. as ones you were trying to make time for while simultaneously saying it's hard to get yourself to play through a game without jumping around, my honest thought was that these games aren't grabbing you because they're mediocre. If you were playing games you really liked, you would not want to stop and play a couple rounds of something else, and it would not require discipline to finish the game. If anything, it would require discipline to not let the game in the way of your other plans.
The first thing I've found helpful is to be very intentional about the games you buy in the first place. I read lots of reviews and thoroughly vet titles before I even put them on my wishlist. Fun is not my only criterion either; for example, I avoid all free-to-play and competitive multiplayer games regardless of how fun they look because they're designed to be addicting and there's no end; you'll just be playing them until you burn out or the servers shut down, and there's nothing redeeming about that. If I'm playing with friends, I'd rather find something cooperative. I'd also rather spend my gaming time experiencing new content than the 10000th round of some multiplayer game.
Once I've added a game my wishlist, I wait for a good sale before I consider buying, and I only buy what I can reasonably expect to finish in the next ~3 months until the next major sale. There are enough awesome games out there that you really should limit your purchases to games that are both fabulous and on-sale, unless you're specifically trying to support the developer of a game you love. You made a number of good points in your more recent video about waiting to buy games that explain the other benefits of this. There should be no FOMO when you raise your standards to a very high level, because the vast majority of the most-hyped games, which are generally AAA titles with huge marketing budgets, are mediocre and not worth playing. Once you realize that, there's no longer any reason to pine over the 97th identical Ubisoft open world game, say.
At any given point in time, I'll usually have about a half dozen new games installed and ready to go. I pick one to play based on what I'm feeling in the moment, and it will usually easily hold my attention over multiple sittings until I finish it. A small percentage of the time it won't be what I expected and I'll drop it and refund it if possible, but this shouldn't happen frequently if you vet wishlisted games thoroughly. Occasionally I'll also play a game that will require a bit of a break before I finish (e.g. a stressful survival horror game) and in those cases I might take a break with something like a short cozy game to melt the stress away, or a puzzle game that I can easily pick up and put down. Otherwise, it's pretty much one game at a time.
The result is that I've been playing a lot more indie games lately and have been enjoying gaming more than I have for years. Would recommend!
TL;DR Buy better games and you won't have a backlog of half-played games that you need to force yourself to finish.
Man this is my 2nd video ive heqrd from yall & everything yall are saying is tbe sameway i had been feeling but i thought it was just me. I usually never replayed games but a few youtubers made it be ok...Theres some games ive replayed but i feel guilty playing an old game when i have newer games to play. When its a game i live in, i get the full experience by sticking to that 1 game & ill have a rest game in between like fight night champion & now dbz sparking. Ive been deep into rpg's recently. I usually have nba2k as my main game for over a decade so i missed out on alot of games b/c u have to focus on that game 2 be decent
What’s been helping me with my backlog is playing what I want to play in no specific order and with no obligations. I have a huge backlog so I can choose from a ton of different genres and themes. I’ve played and finished 4 games in November. It’s really helpful to write about the games after you beat them. Think of yourself as game journalist and express what the game made you feel, how fun it was and how impactful the story was for you. I can tell you exactly what happened on those 4 games including character development, plot points and what game mechanics I loved from them and it’s all thanks to choosing what I want to play and writing about those games. There’s nothing wrong with dropping games! Just make sure you’re having fun while playing and your backlog will start shrinking down in no time.
Regarding the tv vs monitor discussion. 10000% it's a different vibe, that's why i got 30m HDMI cable and ran it through my roof to the living room so i can get the best of both worlds, PC and a couch with a nice TV. Took a lot of work to get everything set up where its turn it on and go without fiddling with pc related things but its now at a point where i can do everything with controller and not have to bust a mouse or keyboard out at all. Unless its an FPS or something very clearly designed for PC i'll take the TV any day.
I have a backloggery account, the trouble is when you fin games that you really like and don't have a storyline with an end. Currently playing Rimworld but that can also be applied to most game as a service. I'm trying to find a balance between how much I play games that are really something that you can finish and endless games.
Well also trying to balance that with work and real-life stuff, oh gosh I hate being an adult.
Adding because I watched this video in 2 sessions. Immortals of Aveum it now how much the games spent, the worst is that they spend more in marketing than in the game
19:52 perfect timing
Crash bandicoot 2 and 3 are some of my favorite games, and I agree about crash 4, it just didn't have that fun factor the older games had.
I think it might be because crash 4 was made so you could die infinitely without consequences, so they made the game harder to counterbalance the infinite lives. In the older crash games, you had lives, so they had to tone down the difficulty to match that. Otherwise, you'd keep getting game over screens, which would frustrate people. Another reason it felt not as fun, crash 2 and 3 had a flow to it, it kindof felt like mirrors edge when you got good at the game. With crash 4's difficulty spikes, it really slows the game down and makes it feel choppy. You don't get to hit that continuous flow state like in crash 2 or 3 or mirrors edge
I love these discussions I know you can't here me obviously but I go oh yeah and sometimes if I don't know the game I look it up and add it to a list when its on a sale. Also, when the video goes live, I play BO1 zombies until the 2 hour video is finished as I can relax and enjoy
Another banger episode..keep em comin 👍👍
I myself haven’t played much of the PlayStation “classics” such as sly cooper, crash, uncharted, ratchet and clack
But after having played Astro bot I’m inspired to get into those.
Amazing talk listened to all of it
I can’t wait to play mass effect for the first time 😮❤
I played ME 1 and 2! Never started 3. Planning to replay them all again
@ oooo I can’t wait
ENJOY
I'm someone who really likes backlogs, I love knowing I have some great gaming experiences available for me in the future and I don't need to wait for potential future releases or scour for hidden gems, I also like taking my time with games within a series and I feel talking a break between titles makes me appreciate each title to its fullest
For me, the Backlog has never really been an issue? Ive for years had a backlog thats over 200 games large! For me? I dont care if I dont play them all, even if I own it physically. I just like having the options there. My backlog features so many different genre's and franchises ive yet to try out that I can game hop if I really wanted to? I tend to at max play one game per platform
So I'll play Avatar Frontiers of Pandora on Xbox
I'll play Mario Wonder on Switch.
Etc.
I like to change up what kind of games im playing on each platform to keep things fresh.
I like that you mentioned Immortals of Aveum. I thought that game was a genuine breath of fresh air being a solid single-player shooter with a cool premise (Doctor Strange adventure but in first person). I agree it could've benefited from a super scaled down budget and a decent marketing push instead.
46:00 Their “E3” is Summer Games Fest now. The Game Awards are so popular for announcements because it’s basically the only current event for winter announcements. They’d need to invent a sort of “winter games fest”, honestly.
I love this new direction 👌
Not about to use the site, but I do the same on my own. I keep a blog where I write fairly detailed reviews when I finish a game... so yeah I do see progress. And I can share the opinions if others find them useful.
As for how I pick games? I put priority to series Im in the middle of, but I actually just use a random number generator to effectively "roll dice" and pick from a selection of my collection to take on next. It's worked so far.
I really wish I could get into Cyberpunk, I've put 60 hours into it and it just doesn't grab me. I dislike the characters, the world feels empty and vapid, combat is fun but somehow unrewarding at the same time.
I feel the same way, something about it just doesn't grab me. Looks great! But after my latest harddrive refresh I didn't re-download it
I played it, beat the story, didnt play any more after that. I enjoyed playing through the story and stuff, but yeah it didnt grab me
Been mainly playing BO6, last new game I’m gonna play before my baby gets here.
Currently getting myself to play through Control again, for the 4th time. Idk why, but it’s a game that makes me enjoy games again.
Maybe I’ll get through Alan Wake 2 someday. Scares me shitless.
Ps2-4 was also near and dear to my heart, but I could never justify the cost of a ps5 (I don’t have a 4k tv either). I built my 1st PC instead, and the experience has been the most fun I’ve had in years.
this was great thanks
My mom would get me the game and my dad the console. I opened Halo 2 in my stocking and my dad opened a console later on Christmas. My mom just told me to keep it quiet until he opened his so I shoved it back in my stocking.
With a lot of 100+hr games, it’s easy to accumulate a backlog. On top of games like destiny that had me in a trance for years, I missed a lot.
And then you build a decent pc that plays ALL the great pc only games from the early 2000s and that list quadruples.
Now is easily the best time for gaming because everything that was great still is and is much easier (sometimes) to experience now rather than when the gear was out of price range to actually run well.
Still figuring out what games i want to play at home on the big screen but my go-to games going to and from work on the train are Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity and Sonic Riders on my phone lol.(screw touch screen controls, I only do physical since I grew up glued to my PSP).
To me I couldnt buy any game coz I was still a teenager / college student and unemployed. Now that Im at 30s and employed I have money to buy games I couldnt buy back then. And bcoz the games are now much cheaper than those back then due to sales, I now have tons of them at backlogs like Dying Light, Borderlands 2, Grim Dawn etc.
And speaking of too many games, I cant stay committed playing the same games for months. While I would want to 100% games eventually, I am certain that I would be bored on sticking to only one game long term.
I know people who spend thousands of dollars a year and they will beat 1-2 games. They just buy and get swept up in fomo for as long as it takes for the next huge thing. I think it would be easier to justify if these were physical items, but they’ve paid full price for every popular game this year and never seen credits roll on any. Granted it’s their money and time, but to me it feels like reading the first 2 chapters of every new best seller on the nyt list. There has to be a balance between moment to moment fun and long term reward and satisfaction for seeing a story to its end.
To me, I don't make a "backlog" on purpose. It's just there, piling up on its own. But I don't force myself to go through it either
35:56 to you point about crash 4 changing a lot i would like to point out that crash 2 also changed a lot as did 3 so if anything Crash 4 fits right in.
I bought an xbox 360 and like 20 new games last year and my strat is to play them all on EASY. Because I never played any of the games before I am basically giving myself an instant backlog but playing them on easy plus avoiding sidequests I think is a good strate for getting through games at a steady pace before you die. I am playing them for the core experience and not really for the challenge. I dropped borderlands because it was a grindy waste of time. and I dropped halo4 because it was boring. Rage was pretty cool - did the bear minimum side stuff but I have no FOMO because I had a good time.
2 hours.. WEEKLY?! Talk about something to be grateful for !
*I've been tackling my backlog since 2020 and its been a JOURNEY but I'm happy to say I'm finally coming towards the end and it feels so good 😍 2025 looks like its gonna be just as mid as 2024 so I most likely won't buy anything new until maybe GTA6* 🕵
Great podcast guys btw bbk ratchet and clank rift apart is on steam you don't need a ps5
Prey along with Vampyr and Darkwood and Black MESA and The Long Dark are the best games in my entire life.
The problem is I dont want to spend 100 hours playing some woke crap like veilguard in order to be able to express my opinion on it. Expecially when its such a clear example of what is wrong with games nowadays
TRUE
10:03 absolutely me
I patiently await the PS-Thrita
the word backlog just reminds me too much of corporate software engineering jargon lmao
My reading skills came from Final Fantasy VII.
What are backlogs?
i think the biggest thing is experimenting with experiencing games. play that genre you never play, play that old game on that old console. play that game everyone said sucks. Almost missed out on Forspoken listening to other people that never probably played it. its one of my favorite games in the past couple of years, so glad you guys spoke on it.
great podcast, now i gotta go back and listen to the first episode~
Lunistice is so fun omg
As most games nowadays are worse, a backlog of older games is a blessing for me.
Also backlogs aren't much of a concern for me. I play what I want to play to have fun. No complicated systems, no gaming goals, nothing. I let my impulses guide me for the most part. Gaming is purely an entertainment for me, not a second job.
Steams Sales don't help.....
Sony is already developing a new handheld console to rival the switch.
PSThreeta omg
Ps3Ta 😂
If only
Idk for me once my wife got pregnant and I got a promotion I just dont see the point in continuing playing video games, at least the way that I was. Now its just something i can throw on for half an hour or so to wind down. Any spare time i get outside of work and family needs to be spent on myself
Get a ps vita
In regards to old ips, while it would be live service and not just a game you can buy and have, give me a .hack mmo
Don’t make a chore or job out of your games backlog no matter how long it is…otherwise you will simply bring your work baggage into your fun space.
The moment you tell yourself you HAVE to finish something according to a schedule then it becomes a work/school thing!🥹
One year, I got an N64 for Christmas. With no games 🫠