Conquering the Backlog Part 1: Gaming my way through quarantine

By Eric Abent/May 1, 2020 3:44 pm EST

Today is the first day of May, which means that 2020 is officially a third of the way over. It's hard to believe, given all that's happened this year, that we're only four months into 2020. It's a good time to look back at those New Year's resolutions and take stock of your progress, but unfortunately for me, my progress on one of my resolutions has been absolutely abysmal.

You see, I have a gaming backlog that is way, way too big. Part of that just comes with the territory of being SlashGear's Gaming Editor, but I'm also a sucker who can't resist a juicy discount. With PC being my main platform, those deep discounts are never very far off, so over the years I've amassed quite the library of games.

With many of those games being left untouched months or even years after I bought them, I decided that 2020 was going to be the year I finally conquer my backlog. I didn't plan on playing through every single game I own, but I wanted to spend the year getting through as many games as I could. After all, I spent good money on them, so they shouldn't just sit there collecting digital dust.

So, how have I been doing as of May 1st? Very poorly, thank you for asking. I have completed a mere three games in my backlog: Cat Quest, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (the 2015 remaster by Nightdive Studios, which is fantastic by the way), and the PC version of Chrono Trigger. Now, I did do a 100% run of Turok, finding all of the game's secret areas and earning all of the Steam achievements, but my boasting really only serves to distract from the fact that my list of completed games for 2020 is looking very sparse.

There's one thing to blame, too: World of Warcraft Classic. When it first launched in summer 2019, I openly admitted that I was addicted to it, but boy that addiction has stretched on far longer than I anticipated. I'm a member of a really great guild with a bunch of my real-life friends, and we spend most of our nights raiding or leveling alts together.

I'm not going to quit playing World of Warcraft Classic, frankly because I'm just too good at the game and I would be letting my guild down by not carrying them through Blackwing Lair week in and week out (only kidding, guildmates), but I do want to get serious about tackling my backlog. In other words, I need to be held accountable.

So, I did what any person in a normal state of mind would do and I went to my boss. Seeing this New Year's resolution through to the end is now a part of my job, and every Friday I'll be writing an article in a new series I'm calling "Conquering the Backlog." In each post, I'll give updates on the games I'm playing, share my thoughts on the games I've completed, and talk about the games I'm looking to play through next. At the end of the year, I'll publish a full list of the games I completed in 2020 and either be sad about how short it is or bask in the glory of a thoroughly-played backlog.

And let's be real: I'll probably also talk about World of Warcraft Classic at least a little bit because sweet mother of mercy that game has its hooks in me.

In any case, with Turok, Cat Quest, and Chrono Trigger complete, what's next on the list? I'm currently playing through Journey, which I snagged for free on PlayStation 4 through Sony's Play At Home Initiative (which is ongoing until May 5th, so claim those games if you haven't already). I'm also playing through Ori and the Will of Wisps on Xbox One, which has been a wonderful experience so far. Finally, I'm working my way through Dragon Quest XI S on Switch; that one has been very slow going so far, but I'd like to pick up the pace there as well.

Once I finish Journey and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, I'll probably jump into Hollow Knight and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, both on PC. I actually started Hollow Knight back when it was new, but I didn't stick with it. This time I'll be playing it through to the end, because I know that after Ori is done, I'll want more Metroidvania action. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil will be a 100% run just like the original Turok was, and I'm really looking forward to that because even though I played that game a ton back in the glory days of the N64, I never actually beat it.

So, without further ado, here is the list of completed games as it stands on May 1st, 2020:

• Cat Quest

• Chrono Trigger

• Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (100%)

Pretty depressing, isn't it? Hopefully it won't be that short for much longer. Be sure to stop back in next Friday for an update on my progress, but in the meantime, feel free to head down to the comments section and share the games you're currently playing through.