This year I'm finally going to tackle my gaming backlog—please take me seriously, I have a plan and everything

GamesThis year I’m finally going to tackle my gaming backlog—please take me seriously, I have a plan and everythingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Valve)

Angry engineer

It’s 2024, the beginning of a new year, and you know what? I’m gonna finally get my gaming life in order: Tackle my backlog, tame my cluttered library, and be free from my hoard of unfinished games.

Wait, stop laughing at me.

I know you’ve heard it all before—from yourself, your loved ones, or your friend who buys way too many bundles and $1 Steam sale steals. We all say we’re gonna tackle our backlog, and do we? Hell no. It’s an unruly mess, a beacon of guilt, a huge-ass timesink. I’m guilty of it too; I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve installed games, proclaimed that today is the day I’m finally going to play it… and then I uninstall it two months later, still as untouched as it was the day it took up 60GB on my hard drive.

Each Starfield sandwich is a game I have yet to finish.(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield — a pile of collected sandwiches

For someone who claims to love games, I sure am bad at finishing ‘em.

It sucks! For someone who claims to love games, I sure am bad at finishing ‘em. I’ve got a couple tricks up my sleeve this year though, ones that I hope can help organise my brain, my games and give me that kick up the ass I really need to actually see the credits roll.

Give me structure

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(Image credit: rundisc)

Chants of Sennaar key art

I suffer from a severe case of caveman brain, so maybe a little structure is what I need. Or maybe it’ll just be another method of shaming me about all the money I’ve spent for games I’ve not touched for six months, who knows? It’s certainly more on the chore-y side than I’d like and I have to trust my scatterbrain to actually keep things updated.

(Image credit: Don’t Nod)

Jusant protagonist holding a cute critter

It’s lower-commitment than a whole-ass spreadsheet, and once I go through the pain of the initial organisation it should just be a matter of dragging and dropping each game as I get it. I feel like if I combine it with the spreadsheet I could be unstoppable. Maybe. I still gotta actually play the freakin’ things first.

Maybe I’ll come back to y’all at the end of the year and let you know if I actually manage to do it. Prove my haters wrong (it’s me, I’m my hater), do the undoable, achieve the unachievable. I don’t expect to tackle a backlog that easily spans a decade at this point, but I sure would like to clean up the last few years of waylaid games that I’ve ignored since becoming a Real Adult with a Real Job. And if I fail, I give you all permission to point and laugh at me. At that point, I’ll deserve it.

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World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

Image for World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

The Sims 4 - a woman with red hair and a purple top exclaims with excitement

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Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

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See more latest►

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Give me structure#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Give me structure

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals