#LoveYourBacklog Week 2020: dedicated to my backlog

#LoveYourBacklog Week has made a return for 2020. The next few days are devoted to love – not for Valentine’s Day, but for our ever-growing pile of video games. Everyone is invited to take part and show the world just how much their backlog means to them because the more titles you have, the more chance there is you’ll always have something to play.

We’ve got three activities lined up for you. The first is to display a #LoveYourBacklog badge on your blog with pride throughout the week, and the next is to dedicate a post to your overflowing library – as I’m doing today. To keep things simple I’ve decided to ignore my PlayStation 4 and physical libraries for now and concentrate on Steam only. I’ve trawled through all 300 of my digital games to highlight unplayed or unfinished titles in the following categories, so it’s time to show that backlog some appreciation!

A game you’re eager to play, but haven’t yet started

As explained in my post a couple of weeks ago, episodic games aren’t for me. Give me a title I can play from start to finish and see through to a fulfilling conclusion rather than a chunk of it that leaves me with a cliffhanger for the next month or so. That’s why I’ve been waiting patiently for the release of the last episode of Kentucky Route Zero. The game is now finally finished after seven years and, after hearing a lot about it and seeing it at the Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt exhibition in 2018, I’m eager to play it for myself.

A game you’ve started several times but haven’t yet finished

Deponia may have a ‘Very Positive’ rating on its Steam page, but I’ve started it a few times over the years and can’t make it through more than a couple of hours. I’m not a fan of Daedalic Entertainment because there’s something about their titles I just can’t get my head around and some of the narratives have been spoiled for me. Saying that though, I did enjoy State of Mind because it was different to the saccharine stuff they usually produce; and The Suicide of Rachel Foster has been waiting patiently on my wishlist for its release next week.

The most recent addition to your library

The game I most recently bought for myself was Moebius: Empire Rising. The reviews on Steam aren’t particularly great but I loved Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers and Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller, so I thought I’d give some of Jane Jensen’s other projects a go. I’ve also been given a review key for LUNA: The Shadow Dust and am looking forward to starting that very soon. I had the opportunity to see it at a couple of expos last year and it looks like an adventure I’m going to enjoy.

The game which has spent the most time on your backlog

The game which had spent the longest in my library during last year’s #LoveYourBacklog Week was LIMBO. Now that I’ve finally completed it (although I’m still unsure what to make of the ending), the next title which needs to be pulled out of the backlog is Thomas Was Alone. I bought it in March 2013 and remember getting quite far into the game after being reminded about the power of the good narrator; but platformers aren’t really for me, so I think I put it to one side in favour of an point-and-click. Perhaps it’s time for a revisit.

The person responsible for adding the most entries to your backlog

Most of the games that are now added to my wishlist are recommendations which have come from others in the community, either through personal recommendations or reviews on their blogs. I find that these are much more reliable than articles on the mainstream gaming websites because I know and trust their authors! Quietschisto from RNG suggested a few more adventures after we collaborated on The Point-and-Click Puzzle Pinnacle last year, and friend-of-the-blog Phil regularly throws narrative-based-game suggestions my way.

That’s it from my Steam library for now – how about yours? To find out how you can join in with #LoveYourBacklog Week, take a look at Monday’s post and keep your eyes open for #MaybeinMarch next month.

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