The Battle of the Backlog… An Unwinnable War?
A fantastic new game crosses your path, all your friends are playing it, the reviews are going gangbusters and there’s even a -10% sale to tempt you. Do you hop on the bandwagon? Maybe, but what about all those other incredible games that are sat on your wishlist, or perhaps even more contentiously - installed and ready to go?
We’ve all been there. In fact, it’s happening more and more. The number of games releasing on Steam alone is increasing nearly 20% on average year-on-year since 2020. It’s true that only a small percentage of those games reach the true zeitgeist of popularity and critical acclaim, but when they are added to the ones you didn’t get around to last year - or the year before, how are you ever going to keep up?
It wasn’t always like this. Back when I first started out in the games industry around 2012, I was keen to keep myself educated and up to date with the latest trends. That meant taking the time to check out new releases, familiarise myself with studios’ work and learn what mechanics, art styles or narrative themes were trending, growing or shrinking. My background was in film, and I prided myself on my familiarity with the classics - the masters of the motion picture and what had come before. Flash forward to 2026 with the wealth of streaming services, explosion of new film productions and sheer capital being pumped into the entertainment industry and it would be near-on impossible to achieve such an acquaintance with the medium without significant struggle.
It’s possible that with concerted effort, a person could apply themselves to a decent understanding of true film classics - working through the top 100 highest rated movies of all time on iMDB perhaps, to complete their education. But the same is not quite as easily achievable for an individual looking to gain a similar understanding of games. Looking back at iMDB, the average runtime for top movies listed comes out to 2hr 23mins. When was the last time you played through an entire video game, including all of its bonus or optional content within two and a half hours?
The Pile of Shame. Yeah, I'm working on it. Source: esmeraldaip.com
Games are fundamentally a different form of media, and their play time takes significant dedication - or even skill. A recent study detailed in Science Direct demonstrated how on average, only one in seven people finish a given game’s core content - let alone any bonuses, expansions or alternative endings. For years, games have been sold to us on the principle that huge open worlds, endless levels or infinite sidequests are the gold standard for quality - justifying that expensive price tag. With the sheer quantity of games releasing each year and services such as XBOX Game Pass providing democratic access to a range of titles for a set price, similar to streaming services, we’re seeing video games’ length shortening. AAA titles like Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, James Bond 007: First Light and Mafia: The Old Country all boasted approachable play times to see the credits roll. With the average age of the American gamer coming in at 37 according to Theesa.com, it’s no surprise that studios are catering more to the time-poor gamer. And a good thing too - all that superfluous content takes time and money to make and shorter games means a quicker turnaround, more reliable revenue stream and safer jobs in the industry.
So as we trend toward this new era in gaming, how do we keep on top of our backlogs? Do we simply follow in the footsteps of our previously mentioned film student and focus on the top games of all time? Well, if they focused on only the highest reviewed movies, our student would end up with a skewed representation of what film truly is, missing out on emerging trends, arthouse cinema, indie classics or even whole movements like Nouvelle Vague. If we only ever played Call of Duty and FIFA, we wouldn’t be very rounded gamers now, would we?
How Long To Beat. Take a look - if you dare.
The answer is simple; learn to let go. Forget playing through the game you’re on right now just to get to the next one. Forget looking up the playtime on HowLongToBeat.com before you start your next campaign. Forget chasing whatever ‘must-play’ game is all over your TikTok feed right now. It will still be there later.
Games play best when you take the time to immerse yourselves in their worlds, their storytelling and their environments. If you enjoy the present moment and have fun in the game you’re in, you’ll soon find yourself turning your mind off, enjoying being stuck sometimes, avoiding the walkthroughs or the ‘meta’ optimisations. If you’re not vibing with that game, that’s fine. Maybe it’s just not for you. Don’t force yourself to play it just because. Find your own formulas, make your own mistakes and enjoy the consequences. Completionism is a true sense of achievement, but there are enough jobs in life – don’t make games another one of them.
References:
https://steamdb.info/stats/releases/
https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?groups=top_100&sort=user_rating,desc
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1875952118300181
https://www.theesa.com/resources/essential-facts-about-the-us-video-game-industry/2026-data/