Of course, true enlightenment comes only when you accept that you will never be able to play every game you already own, let go of the worldly desire to clear your backlog, and buy more games anyway. At this stage of enlightenment, you transcend the need for willpower.
this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2025
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You're saying I can dodge steam sales?
No Neo, I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready...you won't have to.
Transcending the need for willpower is a great way to put it, regardless where you end up. Itβs always good to dig into the basics of what you really want, what you get from it, etc.
Like in this case, if it brings you some small joy to spend $14 and get a handful of games youβve been reading/hearing about for years, I bet that is objectively a good use of your money and time given your priorities in life. No need for willpower, because youβre doing the small thing that helps you enjoy life.
In my case, I still play games on PC and console, but I started completely ignoring the sales and mostly not even using my wish lists. I still occasionally buy games, and most often on sale, but between my existing library and all the other stuff in life I am happy just ignoring the sales. No need for willpower because the desire went away.
The concept of "backlogs" as applied to entertainment needs to die in a fire.
My library of games is there to give me options for enjoyment. Reducing those options to zero would be a rather strange goal.
80% is very different from 0%.
Yeah, there is an eight out front!
Aren't "the options" the entire Steam catalogue available for purchase?
I suppose if money is no object and an internet connection can be guaranteed wherever I might take my steam deck.
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0% off: I sleep
10% off: eye-crack
25% off: gentle stirring
33% off: lean up on elbow
50% off: tentatively reaching for wallet
70% off: Urgh to purchase... rising.
80% off: Real Shit
90% off: STFU, and Take My Money
It gets me every time.
Just saw We Love Katamari + DLC around ~80% off and immediately used a birthday gift card from a friend the moment I saw it. No hesitation, knowing full well I wouldn't be able to play it until finals season ends like 3 weeks later. But I'm damn ready when it does end. Also knowing full well I have so many games to fucking beat this break π
I bought tears of the Kingdom when it came out because I could get it at $40. Still haven't played it yet, but you know, it'll still be $60-70 or whatever by the time I do.
I look at it like tipping a street musician.
The point isnβt to purchase access to the experience. You can get that for free if you want.
The point is to keep their creative outlet going, so I (and everyone around me) get to experience the next cool thing they do.
I support the arts as well.
Performance art, as it were
Early adopters of humble bundle crying in never being able to buy a game.
My Steam backlog is the only thing my kids will inherit. Sins of the father
Just don't tell Gabe. (Seriously look up the statement steam put out about a father dying, wanting to give his steam library to his kid)
Fuck all rich people.
Steam sales seem great until you realize before steam we owned Physical copies that also went on sale sometimes and didn't do the roller coaster of 5 year old game still $50 but on sale is $10, the price it should actually be given how old it is.
Fucking physical is a lost love.
I don't ever recall new copies of physical games being widely available for a tiny fraction of their RRP. Sure you could get more second hand games, but they're nowhere near as readily available.
Rereleased cheaper games were a thing but adjusted for inflation they'd still be very expensive compared to now. I remember buying them for ~Β£10 which is about Β£18.50 now. These days they're generally much cheaper and don't need manual patching or media. I never got my copy of GTA 2 back!
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I feel like I do gaming right:
- Find a single blockbuster game from last year that looks good, download it
- Play it for 3-4 days straight over a long weekend without sleep, using a trainer to skip the grindey parts
- Finish it, get sick of gaming, sleep
- Don't feel the need to touch another game for at least another 9 months
I pick up about ten free games a week. The backlog is still growing uncontrollably, but at least it's not costing anything anymore!
I've adopted a policy of only buying if I am playing it instantly.
I don't care if it's on sale or not, if I'm not playing it in the next hour I'm not buying it.
I've never had a backlog since then, and never bought any games I've never played.
Most of the time, the biggest hurdle to a backlog is playing the first 10% of the game. Once I do, the other 90% comes much easier.
Do games i got for free count?
I have played at least 100 minutes of every game i bought. At least 50 hours if not including the last game i got
What causes that dimming effect at the bottom of the images you post? I know it's some kind of overlay, I just don't get what kind exactly.
Facebook methinks
I've adopted the policy of only buying a game if I plan to play it that day. Works well.
Also now that I'm unemployed I'm not buying anything. Reinstalled Morrowind (OpenMW) and realizing there's quests I never even knew were here when I played this as a youth. It's also super janky, but mods help.
HEY! I can stop whenever I want!
Old dude has a bad case of Sigmoid Lip.
Lots of games can come in bundles, if you buy a bundle because it has 1 game you want in it, I don't know if it really matters if you don't play the other 8 in the bundle. Especially when the entire bundle is cheaper than the game you wanted.
Time to find a new teacher.
Iβve played around 60% of my library an still have to remember this to myself all the time.
I have over 1300 games across various libraries (digital and physical)
If I have cash to spend and it fits into all of the following categories I basically always buy:
-80% off or more, or under $5, or its part of a "complete your collection" bundle that compounds its discount with an existing one.
-Its 8.5/10 or better (or is part of a series of games that I want to play through that has a 8.5+/10 within it.)
-in a genre/series I really really personally like.
But this actually eliminates a lot of temptations.
The only other alternative situation is if I want to play the game immediately but that never happens because I'm always playing through a series of games already it seems like. Right now I'm playing through my Tom Clancy collection. Its the last bit of Ubisoft games I intend to play before uninstalling uplay/ubi-connect (probably forever).
Yeah looking at my backlog of games I haven't played yet, I now ignore all sales and only buy the games I plan to play immediately and not someday. And I get the free game of the week from Epic but I don't mind never playing any of those
I've started rooting through my steam library looking for unplayed games that have steam trading cards and achievements. I'll install the game and give it a try to see if it's entertaining. If it's not, I'll leave it on the main menu for a few hours to get the trading cards so it doesn't come up again in my search.
If the steam achievements look easy, I'll try to break open the game with cheat engine by myself as a sort of game of its own. No doubt I could find some cheat engine trainer that makes the game a single button click but where's the fun in that.
If you're even the slightest bit technically inclined and never heard of cheat engine, I highly recommend it. It lets you memory edit running applications like games. Once you figure out what you're doing you can change in game variables on the fly. The game isn't the game anymore, figuring out how to break the game is the game. When you install cheat engine you can actually run it on itself, and it is basically a self contained tutorial. Check up in the help menu to get started, the tutorial is AMAZING.
I remember editing memory with an Action Replay on a pokΓ©mon cartridge back in the day, possibly my first ever experience of computer programming!
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I made a point to play every game in my library a few years ago. Every game got 2 hours at a minimum (unless they didn't work). Played some real gems like Torment: Tides of Numenera, Tyranny, and World of Goo.
Oh it's not like I'd enjoy myself to force play, I'd rather play what I feel like I'd enjoy.
This is my gaming workflow.
Find game on steam I want to play
Check pricing history
Pirate game to see if it's worth the current price
If it isn't, I put it on my wishlist and continue playing until it goes on sale.
If the game turns out to be very good, then I buy it when it goes on sale.
How do you actually stop procrastinating on your steam games because I barely play them?
Just pick one, even if it's a random choice, install it, and give it an hour of play before you allow yourself to move on
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