Recently, thanks to Geek Life Mike’s inspirational tweet about completing games from his backlog. Together, we launched a biweekly show named “Backlog Barbarians.” If you’re new to the site, in the past I would journal about working through my ever-growing list of games I need to play and complete. Well, Backlog Barbarians has set me back on track, and having a biweekly “check-in” has kept me to my word. I have surprisingly finished seven games since starting the podcast, and the way I typically play video games has dramatically changed.
The Bad: Nothing Is Perfect
I will say that there are a few things that have changed in how I play games now that I am purposefully attacking my backlog. Any goal worth pursuing often requires adjustments and sacrifices. So what have I given up? What has been lost on this journey to roll credits?
The Infamous Grind
So I am notorious for grinding for levels and resources. Particularly in open-world games, I have spent numerous days playing Starfield and still haven’t rolled credits for the main story. To be honest, I had well over 10 hours in the game before actually meeting the Constellation faction. Only the Creator knows my level before obtaining a mount in Hogwarts Legacy. But if I can turn my mind off and grind for loot, perks, or abilities, I just know that is what the majority of my playtime is filled with.
This was one of the first things that had to be slightly adjusted in order to start finishing these games at a quicker pace. In Mafia 3, you can tap or bug the phone junctions in each area of the large world map to create markers on your map. Normally, I would spend a significant amount of time tapping the entire map to ensure I always knew where the enemies were. Instead, I only bugged the areas where I had a major mission or struggled with the enemies.
Crafting!?
Another major pitfall I often jump into headfirst is good ol’ crafting. Much love to the Boss Rush Network; they are interviewing someone from Warhorse Studios about Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. The Boss Rush Network was asking for questions from the community, and naturally, I submitted about six questions, all of which were related to blacksmithing. Am I a real-life maker or crafter… hell no, but did I get to high-level crafting in A Realm Reborn before even finishing the intro to Final Fantasy XIV, yes.
Do not even get me started on the endless hours of mining in Runescape. (I can still hear the pickaxe hitting the stone in my dream…tink). Now, this adjustment goes against the way I typically go through games, but then again, this is why my backlog is to the ceiling.
The Upside: Outside The Obvious
Getting to fully enjoy these stories and worlds has given me a nostalgic feeling that I thought I wouldn’t be able to experience again as a husband, father, and full-time employee. I felt like a kid again; I didn’t think putting on blinders for each game would be so rewarding. Just because you can buy every game you want doesn’t mean you should buy them all at once. (Please don’t ask me about my Black Friday list.)
Setting the rule that I won’t start another game till I knock out the one I’m currently playing has created a level of hype around the games I own. If I have to earn the right to play them, it gives me a goal to reach for. This upcoming Sunday, November 3rd, at 7 AM PST, you can hear Geek Life Mike and I discuss the games we are playing and need to finish on Backlog Barbarians Episode 4.
Leave a Reply