kill your backlog (re: “on cratediving” by noescapevg)

Reposted https://noescapevg.com/on-cratediving/.

Like basically everyone who has ever played a video game, I have a backlog. Technically multiple backlogs, if you count the unplayed games on consoles and various Non-Gamer Tech Devices like phones and tablets as separate from shit like Steam and Itch. But that sort of ever-present backlog exists, metaphorically at least, strapped to my back for all eternity. It very rarely grows smaller; it almost always gets bigger as I accrete more and more games that I think are neat and then just… never start up.
The Backlog stresses me out. I bought some of these games at different periods in my life, when my tastes were changing or before I even had any taste in video games. What I enjoy today isn’t even what I enjoyed playing six or seven years ago. The chances that I will actually go back and play something like Beat Hazard or Cogs are slim, no matter how good they are, because I’m just not… I’m just not into them, you know? And I hear all of the objections, from “okay but they’re actually good and you should give them a shot” to “why haven’t you gotten a refund for them then?” I need you to understand: you can’t make me do anything lmao. And at least on the question of refunds, I’m not refunding something I’ve owned for 15 years, that’s rude as hell. I wish I could resell the games, or at least even just give them away. I wish they were like physical CDs, or cassettes, or vinyls that I could haul to a record store and pass on to a future generation, make a couple hundred bucks, maybe spend an afternoon browsing the crates afterward.
The Backlog makes me feel guilty in a way that my music collection never has. And I wonder about this disconnect often. Because I haven’t listened to all the music I’ve ever owned or downloaded via a streaming platform like Apple Music or Bandcamp equally; some albums I’ve spent hundreds of hours drowning myself in, while other albums barely register on the tongue, having been things I’ve skimmed, maybe track-hopped on a few times.

this article touches upon something that is part of my philosophy: backlogs are awful.

something that i didn’t think about that kaile mentions is the comparative difference between music and games. i’m going to just be thinking out loud here, but i feel like it’s pretty rare for music fans to make a list of ALL the “great music” they haven’t listened to yet and then stressing out about that list. sometimes i might hear someone saying “oh man i should really check out more (insert act)”, or “i’m so ignorant about (genre), i should check out the classics and get up to speed”, but i don’t feel like it’s an obsession or a whole subculture to worry about clearing and maintaining your backlog.

i think that’s core to the stressful nature of the gaming “backlog experience” and… you should just… not do that. free yourself of the misery and just think: “what do i want to play right now?” if you worry about forgetting about a game you want to play… if you forgot, it’s not THAT exciting to you, right?

of course there are differences between music and games, with music generally taking exponentially less time. but on the other hand, people tend to listen to their favorite music endlessly, whereas playing a game again is only reserved for absolute stone cold classics (especially if you’re the kinda person who cultivates a backlog!). in the end, i have sympathy for the practice, but i think it’s a toxic habit that makes you unhappy for no reason!

i think if you wanted to keep a list, you could do worse than to keep a list of games you DID play, and a short review or thoughts about it. i don’t think this needs to be a public thread on bsky or anything either (though this is fine, of course)–it can just be an excel sheet you keep updated for yourself. or heck, it could be a physical notebook. wouldn’t that be quite the awesome artifact, seeing your autobiographical gaming history?

there’s a video essay by the excellent transparency on this subject that basically says the same thing, and explores the (imo extremely toxic) “backlog culture”, and i recommend checking it out.

“you DON’T need a backlog“, a video essay by transparency

it didn’t change my mind because i already 100% agreed with their take going in, but it affirmed what i already thought big time. plus, they are so funny and charming, it’s one of my favorite youtube channels for game video essays, highly recommended.

anyway, there is probably a lot more to say about this, but i think it’s an interesting point of comparison, and i recommend reading the original article & watching the linked video essay!

2 responses to “kill your backlog (re: “on cratediving” by noescapevg)”

Iro
September 4, 2026
I read the suggestion once to “Treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket,” with the idea being that it’s not a container that fills up and need to be emptied, but something that just flows along and you can choose when to take something out or put it back in.
1. surasshu
  September 18, 2026
  yeah that’s lovely! i mean, if the backlog/to-read pile makes you happy that’s fine ofc, but so many people just seem miserable while also saying it’s inevitable and it’s like. you’re not sisyphus… no one is keeping you here…

surasshu

kill your backlog (re: “on cratediving” by noescapevg)

2 responses to “kill your backlog (re: “on cratediving” by noescapevg)”

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