With each passing year, my game collection grows, and with it my gaming backlog. I used to think I would eventually make time for all the games I wanted to play, but the older I get, the more my thinking changes. The most recent of these evolutions has been to start thinking about making some tough decisions. I'm starting to think I may have to let some games go, at least for the foreseeable future, in the interest of making it clear which games really matter to me. Part of the reason I find it daunting to hack away at my backlog is simple choice paralysis. So to help make those decisions and to cope with a certain level of resignation, I've decided not to make this yet another "oh whoa is me I'll never get to my pile of shame" post, but to instead work through some kind of prioritization process. At the very least, I'm hoping that thinking through it will make me feel like I'm actually doing something about it. Also, maybe by doing this in a public forum it'll motivate me to make time for some of the most egregious of these blank spots in my gaming history.





To start with, I pulled up my records of every game I own, digitally and physically, across all platforms. I could've included games/franchises I don't own as well, but if I can't even whittle down the ones I do own, how can I be expected to manage the ones I don't? From there I decided on a 3-tier system of categorization. In descending order, they are:

3. Non-priorites - These are games/series that I've either played sufficient amounts of that I've had my fill, or will require relatively little effort to play to my satisfaction. Also in this tier are games I haven't played, but that I don't really have an interest in playing (plenty of PS Plus and Xbox Games with Gold games, for example). Finally, I may use this as a place to put games that I wanted to play at one time, but have either aged so poorly that I don't think they'd hold up if I tried to come to them now, or games that I've decided I'm willing to let go.

2. If I Can Make Time for Them - This category I'm sure will end up being the largest. It's for games that I do still want to play, but aren't high profile or shameful enough that I'll be upset if I end up not playing them. There's a lot of character action platformers, RPGs, and less-than-AAA games that will end up going here. A lot of newer games (within 5 years old) will fall into this category as well, because in terms of working on my pile of shame, I feel I should try to focus on older titles.

1. Priority Ones - This is it; the list of games that when I tell someone I haven't played them, they get a flabbergasted look on their face and I feel I have no excuse to give. The vast majority of the titles in this tier are at least 10 years old and seem like they would still be worth playing in 2018. Everyone says they have less free time as an adult, but if my game playing history has shown nothing else, it's that I'm willing to aggressively make time for a game if it deeply captivates me. Doom 2016, Bloodborne, Burnout Paradise, Borderlands, and Diablo III are all titles I put 80-100 hours into despite career and social obligations.

And so, to air out my most embarrassing gaming gaps and attempt to organize the ones I truly want to work on, I present the below list (in no particular order). I own every one of these games, in multiple formats in some cases, and have even played a couple hours of many of them, so it would be fairly easy to pick them back up. As a matter of fact, I could see some of these making fun topics for future posts, wherein I describe my perspective of playing through them for the first time and if I feel they're all they're cracked up to be in the modern gaming landscape.

It's worth noting that given my newfound thinking, this is less about clearing out my pile of shame and more about cherry-picking the best of the best I've yet to experience. Also, if I dig into a game and I'm honestly not enjoying it, either because it doesn't hold up or because I just don't like it, I'm willing to let it go. There are too many games out there to spend time playing ones I don't find fun.


Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - This one's a bit borderline for me. The game's legacy is well-known, but it slipped by me when it first released, and by the time I got a copy I was on to newer consoles and most of its shocking surprises had been spoiled for me. I'm a little skeptical of how well the graphics will hold up in this day and age, and I'm worried that expecting all of its insanity effect shenanigans going in will make it much less impactful. If the atmosphere and story are still good, I'm willing to give it a chance though.


Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - I love a good Metroidvania, and SotN is still considered one of the very best. The only caveat to this one is that the genre has gotten a bit crowded again. Does it still hold up against modern entries in the genre?

Halo series - I kind of have a valid excuse for this one. I was a Nintendo guy, and then a PlayStation guy. I never owned an original Xbox, and didn't get a 360 until well into its life cycle, so even though I eventually played almost halfway through Halo: Anniversary, by then Reach had come out and I felt hopelessly behind. If I do decide to go back to this one, I think I would stop after Reach. Seems like the franchise kind of went downhill once Bungie moved on to Destiny (which I loved, by the way!).


The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - I combine these because I haven't decided if I want to play them both or not. I think if I had to pick one I'd go with the latter. I want to love a 3D Zelda, I really do, but as someone who grew up watching the birth and growth of this franchise, it will always be a 2D series to me. The only 3D games that I feel have the potential to be in my top 5 for the series are Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild.


Half-Life 1 & 2 - The Orange Box gave me a perfect opportunity to right this wrong, but that didn't happen. I played and loved both Portal and Portal 2, but I told myself I didn't want to play Half-Life 2 without playing its predecessor. Was I wrong? Should I play the first or just skip to the sequel and its "Episodes"?

Mass Effect quadrilogy - This is without a doubt the one I'm most disappointed about. Everything about it is up my alley. Deep space opera with a large cast of interesting characters, a rich story, and oh man is that music incredible. I remember drooling over the trailer for the first game and wishing I had a 360 at the time. Like Halo though, by the time I got to the Xbox party the idea of playing through three (now four!) 80-hour-plus RPGs seemed laughably insurmountable.


Red Dead Redemption - This may be the most currently relevant title on the list. With the long-awaited sequel out later this year, there's never really been a better time to dig into the adventures of John Marsten. By some miraculous miracle, I've even managed to avoid story and ending spoilers, so I think I'd be able to appreciate it just as much now as if I'd played it upon first release.

The priority one JRPGs - There are so many JRPGs in my backlog.
   -Final Fantasy VI (FFIV almost made the priority one list. Like I said, tough cuts y'all)
   -Chrono Trigger
   -Suikoden I & II
   -Earthbound (the whole Mother series, really)
   -The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts. Are there any games that were once in your pile of shame that somewhere along the way you decided to let go of? Are any of the games above ones you've yet to play as well? Do you think they'll hold up in 2018? Are there any you'd be interested in hearing from me about when I play through them? This is part of the motivation for me to play them, after all, so don't be shy.

Permalink | Comments [7] | Digg This Article | Tweet