Hey NintendoLife community! This is my first time ever really starting a discussion online, so forgive me if I'm late to the party. Anyway, since the start of the new year, I've been doing somewhat of a "refresh" of my gaming backlog, primarily games on my Switch. It's been going great, I've played a bunch of games that I've been largely missing out on for the longest time. I finally played Persona 5 Royal, I've re-visited Super Mario World for the first time in over 15 years! My point being, ever since I've "restarted" my gaming library, I've felt a new re-invigorated energy towards gaming I haven't felt in a long time. To get to the point of the thread though, it hasn't all been perfect. There are times where, after I've finished a game, I feel stuck for lack of a better word. Sometimes, even when I've narrowed down my options for what to play next, I just sort of stare. I've never been good at decision making, so I thought I'd pose the question: What are some deciding factors that help you determine what to play next? Do you go with what's relevant at the time? Do you spin a wheel and play whatever it lands on? I've come up with a few small tricks such as setting a 1-hour timer and seeing if I'm invested by then. Unfortunately, the methods I've though of haven't really helped with the initial decision making part. I'm fully aware that these are games and that you shouldn't put too much thought or stress into them. I guess I'm just sort of curious how you keep a good flow going to your backlog while doing your best to avoid burnout. Thanks for reading this, as I've said this whole forum thing is very new to me so please go easy on me I'm genuinely curious about what helps you.
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
@beltmenot That's kinda how I ended up playing what I have so far. I just feel more susceptible to that "stuck" feeling when I go with that method. I'm the type that has trouble getting back into a flow once I slow down. Once that hype train halts, it takes a bit to stoke the engines, you know?
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
For me personally, I try not to "back-to-back" games of the same genre... especially longer/bigger titles.
By mixing up genres, and also trying new styles of game, I keep the hobby as fresh as possible. I also try to jump on games that have reviewed well, but aren't my usual style (2 notable examples are "Cocoon" and "Inscryption")
Souls Games and Metroidvanias are my usual go-to, but upon finishing one of these I'll often play a point-and-click adventure (Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park, Unusual Findings etc) as a pallette-cleanser.
Also don't try to force yourself to play something you're not in the mood for... I actually saved Baldurs Gate 3 until Christmas Holidays when I knew I'd have more time, resource and mental energy to invest!
@CJD87 Hi, thanks for the welcome! That's something I've been working on incorporating more and more lately. I really enjoyed my time with Persona 5, and though I felt super hyped to jump into Strikers, I also knew that (deep down) I couldn't commit. Burnout would have been inevitable, the very thing I've been trying to avoid. Thankfully Side Order was coming out just as I was in the last palace in the game, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect! It gave me time to sit with Persona while also giving me a change of pace and scenery. It really turned out for the best, I've been appreciating Persona more and more each day, and Splatoon 3's story mode has absolutely no right being as fun as it is! Anyway, this is all to say that I agree with your point. I've kinda adopted a bit of a new view on gaming similar to amusement parks. Rollercoasters are fun, but if kept going on them again and again, I'd be sick of them. The thrill they were designed for would be completely lost on me. On the other hand, if I took a break and went on a completely different ride, said burnout would be avoided and give me a brand new
experience in the process.
Trying games I normally wouldn't is honestly not a bad idea. Lately I've been playing games I'm familiar with, or one's I've watched on YouTube, so going in completely blind apart from the general consensus on some games may be fun and keep me on my toes. One of the games in my library, 13 Sentinels, has gotten some crazy good reviews and I know absoultely zip about the game. Might be fun to try something that I know absolutely nothing about. I did that with Danganronpa a couple years back and fell in love. Maybe something similar will happen here!
Lastly, in regards to waiting for the right mood, that's been one of my biggest battles as of late. Without getting too personal, things haven't been as happy in my personal and family life as of late. It ended up taking a toll on my own enjoyment of things, even beyond gaming. Even so, I think that this site is a rather nice alternative. If I'm the mood for gaming but can't really bring myself to play, reading the threads here and seeing other points of view has been pretty engaging, truth be told.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble (Once I start I can't stop) but I appreciate the advice. Going forward, I'm really gonna try and spice things up, get out of my comfort zone, and try things I might not otherwise. (Also, I've actually been toying with playing Inscryption myself, funnily enough. I loved the dev's previous work, Pony Island, so I may end up giving that a shot!)
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
I decide what backlog games to play in a few different ways:
A wishlist game I recently snagged on sale.
Sometimes I sort my games from least played to most and just grab a game from the top of the list
Sometimes I don't know what genre I want to play so will pick 10 or so games all in different genres with the assumption I will end up naturally gravitating towards one or two depending on my mood.
I also generally alternate between:
Games I have recently bought, whether new or old.
Games I played part of but never finished.
Games I already finished/played lot of but want to keep playing or restart playing.
I often try to plan out what I'm gonna play, but the truth is I just play whatever speaks to me at the time. I had no idea a few weeks ago I'd be pumping 50 hours into Advance Wars 2 in March, but that's what happened!
@Ralizah Pretty much how I ended up playing Persona 5 Royal. I was playing Catherine and thought "Isn't this a prototype for Persona 5's engine? Hm, maybe I should play that next." (I may be misremembering that fact.) Anyway, a little over a month later and I finished the game. Didn't expect it to happen so soon, especially since it's one of the longest games in my backlog, yet here we are. I guess sometimes you just gotta jump on in, and see what happens.
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
My backlog is...uh...how you say...minimal??? It's small honestly. I only have Etrian Odyssey 4 & Phantasy Star Nova to finish up. I just finish Phantasy Star Zero recently.
I'm focusing on buying Blu-rays though. I wanna take a break from buying games until June at most. That's when my birthday starts then.
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It depends on a lot but most often it will be the game I need to get around already, at the right time, that's not the same as something I've played recently.
Nowadays unfortunately its made my time with the Switch a nostalgia tour, as I've focused on several remakes and multiple different, usually unplayed, 20+ year old series. I didn't plan to focus on old games when I got a Switch, but unfortunately it is the best retro gaming console ever made so here we are.
What I usually do is boot up Civilisation VI while I contemplate this difficult question. Once I've played a couple of quick games picking a game from my backlog is no longer an issue
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It's all about what I'm in the mood to play. Sometimes it's not that easy to know what I'm in the mood for, so I think it's always good to have some classic game collections or simple pick up and play games. This way I always have something enjoyable to play while figuring out what to play next.
@Servbot_EJ Not a bad idea, I've got plenty games in my backlog that could scratch that backlog itch while still giving me time to decide on the big ones. I've largely missed out on things like Mega Man and Shovel Knight, and something like the first two Pikmin games also fit that short-yet-fun mindset as well. (Your profile picture also really makes me long for Omega Factor on NSO. It's been way too long since I've played that gem.) @skywake I end up doing that too, especially lately. I've been playing some more "jump in and out whenever" games on my PC like Minecraft and Voices of the Void. I'm also eagerly awaiting when the Stardew Valley 1.6 comes around to consoles. That strikes me as a fantastic "in-betweener" while I consider what to play next. That's another good idea, finding a game that I can resort to when I'm not really sure what to play. A game that doesn't really have a set time to beat, and I can play for as long as I feel the desire. Lord knows I've got plenty of roguelikes on my Switch, those would probably fit the bill.
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
@Novamii depends on the roguelike... some take an hour or two just for one loop.
Mario Maker 2 and Suika game are my current 'just play for a few minutes' games. I do find it hard to start a game where I know I will need several hours just to truly start it so my backlog slowly gets filled with longer games...
@FishyS I get that, some roguelikes have runs that can last you a comfortable 30 minutes like Vampire Survivors, while others are a bit more demanding of your time or take a bit longer to really get going. It's funny, I remember getting one or two roguelikes and thinking "I can basically play this game forever!" and then fast forward to today and I have so many that it's become overwhelming. It's like, "Cool I have tons of games that can basically last forever." which sounds great...and then you start thinking about it more and realize...."Oh God what have I done." lol
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
I made lists of the top 100 games (or smaller where appropriate) on each system and play them chronologically. I play a Switch game, then a retro game, then back to Switch and so on, alternating. So I feel like I'm on a journey through time exploring each system's library. It's a way for me to play a mix of old and new without feeling like I'm neglecting either. And going chronologically means I'm not burning through all of the highest-rated games first, instead it's a mix of the best.
As a further adaption to swiping through different genres (which I really Think is the key issue), you could also have 2 or 3 different games you fokus at - since a single game Can give a feeling of an asignment - more than an enjoyment. If you make sure the games is different in genres you could have a game you really is commited at - and 1 or 2 to give you varity. After completing your “priority” game, you Can choose either to let one of your varity games become one to fokus at - or Pick a completly new titel.
The only drawback at choosing different genre is, you Will come along genres which dosen’t appeal to you. But if you Can limiting it to a single try, its a Price worth to be paid.
@Gimli Great point! One thing I've been doing throughout this whole backlog thing is utilizing the Switch's folders (Or groups, or whatever Nintendo class 'em now.) Since I've started my backlog, I've been making a conscious effort not to take on too much at one time. Doing that, you're either gonna burn out real fast, or get so confused that you'll end up dropping most of the games altogether. As a sort of countermeasure, I've limited myself to only 3 games at one time. That way when I take a quick glance at my Switch folders, the very first one I see is the current 3 games I'm playing. I feel like 3 is a nice number for me as it gives me options, while not bombarding me with so many it becomes a problem. I've also made sure to mix up games with different levels of (I don't know if this is the right word.) commitment. For example, right now I'm thinking of picking up Rain Code. A story heavy, anime style, murder mystery. Until I've finished the game (Or stop playing, depending on my enjoyment.) I'm gonna make an effort to not take on too may story heavy games. On the other hand, something like Animal Crossing or Super Mario Bros. Wonder won't require nearly as much commitment. Those games I can just sort of play whenever. I definitely see your point about making sure you play out of enjoyment rather than assignment. I have a tendency to take things a little more seriously, when instead I should just pick a game and let what happens happen. Seems to be one of the key things I'm starting to learn.
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
@Novamii Different engines, but I have heard that Catherine was apparently used to get Atlus' developers comfortable with HD game development prior to the development of P5.
In terms of playing games from the backlog, I'm trying to get back into the habit of playing one or two games at a time until I beat them vs bouncing around between five to seven games at various times. I have a bad habit of quitting games in the last 1/3rd or so of the campaign. Also, not getting hung up on nit-picky completionist stuff. Like, I'm gonna move on from AW2 for the moment now that I've beaten the final battle, even though I scored less than an S rank on a few missions in the campaign. I might come back later and try for those, but it'll drive me nuts if I don't stop fixating on it for a bit.
@Ralizah
In terms of 100% completion, I've been trying to save that for the games I actively want to. Something like Kirby and the Forgotten Land is one of my favs, and it's short to boot. 100%ing that isn't an issue. Whereas something like Xenoblade, as much as I love the series, is probably best left at whatever percentage I feel satisfied. I don't see myself completing those fully any time soon, especially with stuff like new game+.
@Novamii I have a bad habit of quitting games in the last 1/3rd or so of the campaign.
I thought I was the only one! I don't know what it is, but there have been so many times I've gotten so close to finishing a game and then I just...don't play for whatever reason. It's weird, I've always thought it's my brains way of keeping a game going forever. Like, if I don't reach the credits the game isn't over, and if the game isn't over I don't get that melancholy feeling of quitting a game I love. (Even though I'm effectively doing the exact same thing. XD)
Idealism and realism are only a few letters apart, it's a fine line between the two. One must be careful not
to step too far on one end, as it could very easily throw the other off balance.
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Topic: Deciding what's next for your backlog
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