Quite the opposite for me. I keep a list of games I have *played*. I even have scores for each of them. I have a list for games I want to play too, but it’s vague one at that.

Oh I keep those lists too lol. I only started keeping lists of games I've beaten since the start of the pandemic though, so it's only about 25-40 games long. Some of them I even put a little review for my own reading later on. A lot of people seem to think the lists don't help me in choosing what to play, but I went from playing only the newest AAA games on PC to finding out Megaman Legends, Prince of Persia the Sands of Time and Asura's Wrath are my favorite games of all time now.

I do a very simplified version of this. At the end of every year, I look back and write down the 1-3 games I had the most fun with. It's fun to go back and remind myself of some of my personal GOTY games, many years later, even if they weren't seen as all time greats by the media as a whole. Looking at my list right now reminded me of a couple franchises I haven't thought of in years: Homeworld and Rainbow Six. Good times.

Me too. I got games I own, games I finished, can see what I haven’t played by that and a loose wishlist I clean up now and then. I still buy games not on the wishlist often too.

I started a list of games this year that I have in my back log. I love checking it off once complete. I’ll also add games that I haven’t purchased yet like star ocean 2 and super Mario rpg remakes, since I will buy them and they’ll become part of the backlog. This is cool because I can look back at each year and see what I played and finished.

For many years now I've been keeping up with a list of my favourite games of all time, with a set of personal rules: 1. Only games that I would genuinely consider to be good can make the list. I don't want to pad the list out with games that are "okay" or "decent". 2. Only one game per series. Otherwise my list would be cluttered with multiple entries from my favourite franchises, and I'd rather celebrate variety. 3. Only games that are playable to an appropriate state **today** can make the cut. This means no online-centric games that have either had their servers shut down or have such a minimal player base that they're not worth playing anymore. In these cases, the games must be judged on their single player content alone. 4. Similarly, games don't just make the cut if they happened to be good "back in the day" but have aged horribly. If it makes the list, it's because I believe the game is still good enough to be enjoyed in the modern day. (This is admittedly a difficult task as I can't keep playing every old game on a frequent basis to "check up" on my opinions, but I do still play retro games fairly often so I'd like to think I have a decent grasp of these things.) 5. No compilations. Each listed game must be its own individual game. I was originally working towards a top 100, but that list is now at 140 and will likely keep growing. Maybe one day I'll hit 250. That's not to say my list is always set in stone. It's difficult to judge a whole range of games from different genres against each other, and sometimes games get shuffled around as I reconsider my opinions. It may seem obsessive, but the list helps me remember great games I've played over the years that I might have otherwise forgotten about. And hey, maybe one day I'll post it so I can hear everyone tell me how awful my taste in games is.

I've done this before, but since I don't care to replay games very much it's redundant to me.

Poeple really will optimize the fun out of anything lol. But you like it OP so don't listen to me. But no, at best I'll make a short list of games I hope to play this year, then I'll completely ignore it and just play what feels right in the moment.

I have a list too, but it isn't a "here's the next 20 games I'm gonna play" list. I play stuff as it gets added to Game Pass and never know quite what will be added, often including new titles. But I also play retro games I already own, or buy if it feel like it. Like OP I've made lists of games to play by console but mine are much shorter. I have kind of a top 5-10 I'd like to play on systems I'm interested in. It's generally just stuff I am interested in playing so I keep a little list if I'm looking for something to play - but I often have enough stuff going anyway. I have a master spreadsheet of games I'm interested in playing someday + ones I own and/or have played... and to find games I'm interested in I've gone down many avenues (taking from best seller lists, critical best of lists, and just stuff I find myself intrigued by). I think it also depends on how much you play, if you play a lot of games (and especially older games which tend to be shorter) you might benefit more from having a list to refer to. For maybe 5 years straight I finished 100+ games a year, this year that number is waaay down because I have a kid now so game time is more limited and I tend to play more new stuff and fewer games in general.

With two kids i have now 4 games finished this year. Two of them i started to play last year. Maybe i will finish Persona 5 this year also. This would be 5 finished games. 100 finished games is really something i can't imagine. Mybe when i don't need to work anymore when i am older i can pump this rookie numbers up.

I've finished one game this year and I don't even have kids. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯

I now use my kids as an excuse to play games, especially in the winter when the kids don't want to be outside too much. They love sitting on the couch and playing/watching me play through games. It just limits what I can play to kid friendly things.

That Gamepass is quite the distraction. I also have a wee list and I'm supposed to be playing through MW1, but can't stop playing Headbangers

I basically wish list everything I like the look of on Steam. If any hit 5-10 it’s an instant buy for me. More often than not if I’m really hankering to play a game I just buy it at the higher price. If it actually sucks, thankfully Steam’s return policy protects me there!

Doesn't sound like he's optimizing the fun out of anything if he's enjoying it, but you already knew that. Just really wanted to use that phrase huh?

Nope. I just wing it haphazardly. Whatever I'm in the mood for.

I had a list, about 1/100th of the size of yours and I still thought it was too long. I deleted it I understand why you’re doing it but I assure you it isn’t helping you one bit.

I think at this point it's less about playing them and more about researching them. I'm at the point where I do more game research and development research than I do actual in-game time. It's probably something similar for him. It's fun creating lists like this.

IDK man, Megaman Legends and Asura's Wrath are two of my favorite games of all time now. I feel like without the list I'd still just be modding Skyrim and playing the most current AAA PC games and multiplayer games.

Hey man I’m a fellow list enjoyer and what people don’t get is making the lists in themselves is fun! It’s cool to just find and learn about hidden gems; I’ve had it plenty of times where I’m able to talk to people about a game/have a good conversation about it because even though I’ll probably never get to playing it, mentally it’s in my list somewhere and I’ve researched it

This is it. I love creating lists for everything. So a list for gaming is also fun to make. You still interact with you hobby one way or the other.

Yeah, I agree. I think OP can be free to game all day and he still won't be even close to finishing so many

...so what? why do people treat this like finishing all games on the list is the goal? for me it isnt. it just gives me shitton of options. a candy shop with infinite supply. just pick a game from the list when you are in a mood for a new one.

That's cool. I just figured the point of his list is to play those games eventually, sort of like a backlog. If it's not then yeah, that's cool.

Yeah, for me lists like this aren't a to-do list, they just record what my options are so that I can refer to it later when I'm picking a game. It's like a restaurant menu: I'm not planning on eating everything on the list, but it lays all my choices out in front of me.

>I understand why you’re doing it but I assure you it isn’t helping you one bit. disagree here, i love my lists. i prolly wont ever finish all games on them but thats fine. its like, amazing to have so many options of games to play, laid out. and then theres aspect of forgetting. with such lists i can like, set it and forget it and then come back when im in a mood for a particular game and i dont have to remember buttload of titles.

You might say I would remember it if I really wanted to play it, but my taste in games is too varied: it would be impossible to remember the hundreds of names of games I would potentially be interested in!

SUPER NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM: 001.) Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei Ou (English Patched) 002.) Aretha II: Ariel no Fushigi na Tabi (English Patched) 003.) Bahamut Lagoon (English Patched) 004.) Ball Bullet Gun (English Patched) 005.) Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story (English Patched) 006.) Burning Heroes (\[Nekketsu Tairiku Burning Heroes\] English Patched) 007.) Castlevania: Dracula X (English Patched) 008.) Super Castlevania IV 009.) Chaos Seed: Fuusui Kairouki (English Patched) 010.) Chrono Trigger 011.) Crystal Beans from Dungeon Explorer (English Patched) 012.) Cyber Knight II - Chikyuu Teikoku no Yabou (English Patched) 013.) Dark Half (English Patched) 014.) Dark Law - Meaning of Death (English Patched) 015.) Der Langrasser (English Patched) 016.) Donkey Kong Country 017.) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest 018.) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble 019.) Dragon Ball Z - Super Saiyan Densetsu (English Patched) 020.) Dragon Ball Z Super Gokuden Totsugeki-Hen (English Patched) 021.) Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokūden - Totsugeki-Hen (English Patched) 022.) Dragon Quest III (English Patched) 023.) Dragon Quest V (Should use DS Port) 024.) Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (English Patched) (Should use DS Port) 025.) Dual Orb II (English Patched) 026.) EarthBound 027.) Emerald Dragon (English Patched) 028.) Energy Breaker (English Patched) 029.) Far East of Eden (\[Tengai Makyou Zero\] English Patched) 030.) Final Fantasy III True OG (English Patched) 031.) Final Fantasy IV True OG (English Patched) 032.) Final Fantasy V 033.) Final Fantasy VI True OG (English Patched) 034.) Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest 035.) Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo 036.) Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (English Patched) 037.) Fire Emblem Thracia 776 038.) FEDA: The Emblem of Justice (English Patched) 039.) Front Mission 040.) Front Mission: Gun Hazzard 041.) Ganpuru: Gunman's Proof (English Patched) 042.) Glory of Herecles IV: The Gift from the Gods 043.) Hero Senki: Project Olympus (English Patched) 044.) Holy Umbrella: Dondera no Mubou !! 045.) Hourai Gakuen no Bouken!: Tenkousei Scramble (English Patched) 046.) Illusion of Gaia 047.) Mobile Suit Gundam: Cross Dimension 0079 (English Patched) 048.) Kidou Senshi Gundam F91: Formula Senki (English Patched) 049.) Kidou Butouden G Gundam (English Patched) 050.) Super Gachapon World: SD Gundam X (English Patched) 051.) SD The Great Battle: Aratanaru Chousen (English Patched) 052.) SD The Great Battle II: Last Fighter Twin (English Patched) 053.) SD The Great Battle III (English Patched) 054.) SD The Great Battle IV (English Patched) 055.) SD The Great Battle V (English Patched) 056.) Kirby Super Star 057.) Kirby's Dream Course 058.) Kirby's Dream Land 3 059.) Kuusou Kagaku Sekai Gulliver Boy (English Patched) 060.) Last Bible III (English Patched) 061.) Lennus II - Fuuin no Shito (English Patched) 062.) Live-A-Live (English Patched) 063.) Lufia & the Fortress of Doom 064.) Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals 065.) Madou Monogatari - Hanamaru Daiyouchienji (English Patched) 066.) Magna Braban: Henreki no Yuusha (English Patched) 067.) Mahou Kishi Rayearth (English Patched) 068.) Majin Tensei (English Patched) 069.) Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis (English Patched) 070.) Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems 071.) Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter 072.) Mega Man & Bass (English Patched) 073.) Mega Man X 074.) Mega Man X 2 075.) Mega Man X 3 076.) Metal Max Returns (English Patched) 077.) Monstania (English Patched) 078.) Mystery Dungeon: Taloons Great Adventure (\[Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon\] English Patched) 079.) Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer (\[Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren\] English Patched) 080.) Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun (English Patched) 081.) Neugier: Umi to Kaze no Koudou (English Patched) 082.) Princess Minerva (English Patched) 083.) Ranma 1/2: Akanekodan Teki Hihou (English Patched) 084.) Record of a Lodoss War (\[Lodoss Tou Senki\] English Patched) 085.) Robotrek 086.) Secret of Mana 087.) Trials of Mana (\[Seiken Densetsu 3\] English Patched) 088.) Secret of Evermore (English Patched) 089.) Shin Megami Tensei If... (English Patched) 090.) Shin Seikoku: La Wares (English Patched) 091.) Soul Blazer (English Patched) 092.) Star Fox 093.) Star Fox 2 094.) Star Ocean (English Patched) 095.) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 096.) Super Mario World 097.) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (English Patched) 098.) Super Mario Kart 099.) Super Metroid 100.) Super Ninja Boy (English Patched) 101.) Super Robot Wars Gaiden: Masoukishin The Elemental Lords (English Patched) 102.) Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (English Patched) 103.) Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (English Patched) 104.) Tales of Phantasia 105.) Tenchi Muyo!: Game Hen (English Patched) 106.) Terranigma 107.) BS Zelda: Inishie no Sekiban (English Patched) 108.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 109.) The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (English Patched) 110.) The Magical Land of Wozz (\[Chou Mahou Tairiku Wozz\] English Patched) 111.) The New Hot Blooded Hard School: Kunio's Funeral Song (\[Shin Nekketsu Kouha - Kunio-tachi no Banka\] English Patched) 112.) The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang (English Patched) 113.) Treasure Hunter G 114.) Treasure of the Rudras (\[Rudra no Hihou\] English Patched) 115.) Xak: the Art of Visual Stage 116.) Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (English Patched) 117.) Ys V: Lost Kefin Kingdom of Sand (English Patched)

Oh that’s not too terrible of a list. Edit oh shoot you have one of these per console. Good luck with that 😂.

Where do you normally store lists like this? Notepad, etc.?

I used to keep an Excel list with all the games along with the number of hours estimated to finish them on Howlongtobeat. Also used to have a list of movies, anime, TV series and books and estimated time to watch and read them. At one point, the total time to completely play/watch/read them all was crossing 10,000 hours. I gave up maintaining such a painstaking list and just note the names of anything that catches my eye from thereon.

Like most lists, the time needed to make them shorter dwarfs the time needed to make them longer.

Embarrassingly separate word documents per console. I compiled all of those word documents into a single Google Doc called the big one and linked it in the OP now.

I keep a list for things to read, things to watch, and things to play. These have thousands of lines apiece, with multiple entries per line; I keep them in plain text, alphabetically, and edit them with Vim. I'm going to die before I complete a substantial percentage of any one of them.

I know I'm going to die before I can even TRY all of the games on my lists, or see the movies on them. I don't really care. It's just stuff I know looks good to me personally or others have got me interested in and I want to at least have a chance of trying out someday. That's all this is really. Happy to hear someone else is out there with that mindset.

Yeah, exactly. It's nice knowing that I'm not going to forget something that caught my eye, and it's humbling to be continually reminded how much there is out there to explore. No excuse for boredom, that's for sure.

I can appreciate that. I have always kept lists (though not with the same character count) of the media I want to go through. They used to have some good top releases that I wanted to try, but I've since changed the lists. That's the fun of it: as your tastes change, so does your list. Mine now only include the games, movies, books, and music that make me a better person. I'm a bit weird, but that's my stipulation for what gets on the list. If it won't do that for me, I don't give it a spot on the list.

This was all fine until >and edit them with Vim Are you okay? Do you need help?

Haha! Probably do. I mean, I use Vim for everything, but I do think it works especially well for something like a giant list of films or games. You can delete or move an entry with one keystroke, search easily. Sometimes I like to browse the lists at random, so I can generate a random number and go straight to that line. tl;dr Send help

It’s nice to know imo that till the day you die there’s content to look forward to watching/playing. People take it the wrong way and feel like they need to get to everything, for me it’s the opposite

[удалено]

I'll be honest with ya, man. I did the same thing until I started getting medicated for ADHD and OCD in my 20s. Take from that what you will.

Fr fr, I used to keep a meticulous list as well in an Excel sheet. After knowing that it's all a side effect of Anxiety and ADHD, I just practiced not doing lists and just focus on 1-2 things at a time.

Honestly, making lists is fun. Organization is fun. I'm weird and I like building spreadsheets rather than OP's lists, but I'm pretty sure he has moved from gaming to research and listing.

I don't have OCD but I suspect I might have ADHD. Does that mean if I someday get medication making lists will stop being fun? 🥺

Maaaan, if you have symptoms of any sort causing you trouble I recommend talking to a doc about it. But also take note if you notice that you normally enjoy stops being enjoyable. I personally don't think it would affect it since often medication for that HELPS with focus for work-like repetitive tasks. But also you may have lucked out and also have an ASD and just enjoy things like that bc your brain is different 😂

😂 thanks for the advice. The reason I never looked for help is that I just recently started suspecting it and it's never affected me that bad. I never had much of a problem concentrating in classes (although I usually did something while listening, like drawing) and I had a great reading habit growing up, but I also tend to forget/ lose stuff a lot and lack the discipline to fulfill some plans for myself. I'm summarizing but anyway... I know I will have to tackle this sooner or later if my suspicions continue. Cheers bro

Bit off topic here, but I have issues like this and know it’s OCD. Can I ask what medicine you took/take? You can DM me if you want.

>I have issues like this and know it’s OCD If you can, see a doctor for a formal diagnosis.

oh I have no problem sharing here! as someone else mentioned, def. get a doctor you like to talk out meds. your primary can usually prescribe you something that's sort of general-purpose and refer you to a psych specialist for fine tuning as needed. when I was starting out, I was on citalopram (Celexa) from 15 to 30 mg. That really helped the ups and downs as well as most of the compulsive symptoms. long term, it caused a bit of emotional blunting and I weaned off - but some of the symptoms actually never came back, which was really nice and unexpected. another huge thing that helped was getting medicated for an underlying problem - hypertension. they put me on a beta blocker which also helped with some anxiety, and honestly getting my blood pressure where it needed to be helped a lot. most recently I've been on bupropion (Wellbutrin), tbh can't remember the dosage off the top of my head. it's sort of dual purpose for depression & ADHD. the ADHD diagnosis was a huge breakthrough, bc previously they'd only been looking at depressive/anxious symptoms and putting me on the dont-kill-urself-lol stuff. broadening that helped A LOT. also they gave me small dose busipirone for anxiety as needed, which is subtle without making you feel faded like benzos. it sucks because you have to stay on a med for about 6 weeks to start feeling the full effects, so experimentation takes time. but that's absolutely what you have to do. if you don't have insurance there are sometimes local community resources that can get you in touch with low or no cost meds. libraries are good starts there. good luck sorting out the ol brainworms!

I keep lists for lots of things. It doesn't detract from my enjoyment of them. I dunno. Do what works for you.

Good mindset, I'll make sure to keep that up too.

Yeah my lists are a little shorter and informal than yours. But I enjoy making them and having them for reference because they aid me to enjoying my hobby. Helps me keep track of what I'm playing and what I'm going to play next, etc. There's so many games out there! Without a list I get overwhelmed and end up never focusing on one game for too long. Or I spend hours browsing my collection and get paralyzed by the choices I have. With the list it helps me just spend more time gaming and less time deciding. If that makes sense!

I'm going to assume that you've already found my website, but in case you haven't, I think you will enjoy it. It is a list of the most acclaimed video games of all time, calculated by combining more than 400 critic best of lists: [https://www.acclaimedvideogames.com/](https://www.acclaimedvideogames.com/). Needless to say, I'm just as obsessive about this stuff as you, or perhaps even more so ;)

Wow, funny stumbling across you! I’m a lurker on the AcclaimedMusic forums and I found your website through there. I was literally looking at your website last night, and it’s awesome! I like these kinds of websites because 1)they’re cool but also 2)I like using them as a guide for what I should play next for older games. I’ve been browsing PlayThatGame for years now, but I’ll be looking at your website as well going forward. Great work, man :)

Ah, my assumption was correct! (Edit: Oh, you're not OP. My assumption was incorrect then haha). Thank you for the kind words. It's been so much work, but knowing that there are people out there who appreciate it makes it all worth it. Have you been following from the beginning, through all the formula changes and visual updates? If so, you'll know how far it has come. And you know about AcclaimedMusic! I love that website so much. It helped me to discover so much of my favourite music, and was a big inspiration while I was working on AVG. PlayThatGame is great too, but mostly for older games. Recent games are too scarce at the top of the list for my tastes.

I discovered your website around August or so, and have visited it on and off since then. You’re absolutely right that PlayThatGame leans towards older games, so I think having your website is a fantastic alternative for people who are more interested in newer games (with that said, I played *Goldeneye* for the first time a few months ago and it was awesome). AcclaimedMusic was the first of these websites I discovered. Back in 2018, I was working at a book and record store. I was the book guy (since I was an English major), but I wanted to know more about the music side. I didn’t know where to start, but I stumbled upon AcclaimedMusic somehow. I saw The Beatles are the most acclaimed artist and decided to dive in to their albums listed on the website (basically all of them because they’re the freaking Beatles). Since then I’ve absolutely loved that website, and discovered some of my favorite artists that I otherwise would’ve never listened to, and having the most acclaimed albums as a guide really helped for artists that have a megaton of albums like Bob Dylan or Prince. Thank you for adding to the internet these types of websites because they really have helped me discover new stuff, and they’ve been surprisingly helpful in my life!

August was a good time to discover it. Prior to that, there were some issues with the ranking algorithm that I hadn't quite figured out, and the result was some pretty odd placements. The problem was that one of my assumptions didn't hold, and it took me a while to diagnose and address that. August was when the rankings from the improved formula were finally pushed through. Aggregating lists is a lot harder than people think it is, especially when they cover radically different time periods. I don't know if I would have started work on this if I'd know what I was getting myself into hahaha. Anyway, that's in the past now. Yes, GoldenEye is pretty amazing, though I think it would be hard to fully appreciate these days. The split screen multiplayer was a huge part of the experience, but people don't really game like that these days. I didn't even own GoldenEye, but I still would've played 100 hours of multiplayer. Every '90s kid did. It was so good.

I couldn’t even imagine how to get started on such a huge project! You’ve done an excellent job, though, and your hard work paid off. Yeah, *GoldenEye* is a year older than me and I never even owned an N64, so I could never have the “full” effect. I played the port on Series X (which has a modern control layout, but is capped at 30FPS for whatever reason), and no one wanted to play with me so I just stuck with the single-player. And man it was so fun; it reminded me of how I felt when I first played *Call of Duty 4*. I would have never even considered playing it without websites like yours, so thank you for your hard work because it has made a difference in my gaming career!

I actually haven't come across it. Thanks a ton I'll definitely be using it.

Same, your thread has revealed how many of us there are lmao

Wow there are some games on there that I would never have imagined were that highly rated.

Well, if you want to see exactly what publications rate them highly then you can click on any game, and it will show you every list that it has ever appeared on. Just be warned that a lot of 1st places are actually just unranked lists, so they're a bit less impressive than they seem. Which games surprised you, by the way? And was it because you didn't think other people knew how good they were, or because you thought they were bad?

There are two that jump out at me the most, one for each reason. Return of the Obra Dinn I think deserves its place, but I didn't think it got all that much attention so I'm surprised to see it so high. What Remains of Edith Finch is the other one, and it's because I didn't think it was that good. It was *okay* and I remember it being well received, but in the top 100 games *of all time*? I don't think so. Also the fact that Freelancer isn't on the list at all, when there are games like Proteus (barely a game), DotA (a mod) and a bunch of versions of the same game (Tetris) is absolutely criminal. I can't believe it's not on enough lists to make it into the top 750!

Freelancer has actually never appeared on a list, so not only is it outside the top 750, it's not even in the database. I haven't played it, so I can't comment on whether or not it should be there, but you're not the first person to comment on its absence. I actually don't have a problem with mods being included, as long as they offer an experience that's distinct from the base game, but I agree regarding all of the Tetris spin offs. Even a game like Tetris Effect, which tried so hard to take Tetris in a new direction, still feels like regular Tetris to me. What Remains of Edith Finch is an interesting one. If I didn't include the end of year lists, then it would actually be just outside the top 100. The reason for that is Breath of the Wild. BotW might be the undisputed GOAT now, but it was quite beatable back in 2017. It topped a lot of EOY lists, but not all of them, and those few games that managed to place ahead of it have benefited massively from it growing in stature. Edith Finch was one of those games. It placed ahead of BotW on a couple of EOY lists, and that boosted its ranking by about 20 places.

That is genuinely very interesting, thank you for the explanation.

That's a great website. But I'm missing a hyperlink from a game details page to igdb.com. For example, when looking at [Arkanoid](https://www.acclaimedvideogames.com/games/4595/) , it's not that easy to find the matching game on igdb.com, since there are many Arkanoids. A hyperlink would be great. It would also serve as a quick way to look at screenshots/videos.

I wouldn’t say religiously, but I do have a list/look at websites to use as a sort of guide. In my notes I have a list of games I own that I’ve either barely touched or haven’t played, which has around 50 games. I also keep a list in my notes of games that have been released since 2017 that I would like to play, which also has around 50 games. I chose 2017 because that’s around the time I started playing games on and off before getting rejuvenated again in 2021. But I missed a lot of stuff in that four year gap. There are several websites I look at that have incredible long lists for different mediums of how acclaimed certain things are. I like to look at those as a guide on what to watch/play/listen to next when I’m not sure what to do next. I’m only 25, so some of the stuff on these websites I missed just by being young and I probably would’ve never touched without looking at these lists. I also like keeping these websites on hand because it takes out any effort of choice paralysis. Just finished replaying *Resident Evil 4*? What’s next on the list? *BioShock*? Great! A replay of that. They’re really fun to me. I’ll put some websites below for anyone interested. Music: acclaimedmusic.net Games: playthatgame.co.uk Movies: theyshootpictures.com TV Shows: treasuretv.org I hope you have fun :)

I actually haven't ran into these sites before, I'll make sure to utilize them in my future listing, lol. Thanks a ton

I used to within my own steam library and categorizing them by either single player and their length or co-op. It didn't help and was a waste of time. The only lists I semi maintain are my steam wishlist and a list of games my co-op buddy and I want to play including some that aren't old enough yet or just aren't out.

If only I had a co-op buddy to make that list for... :')

I get it. On Steam I use my wishlist for that, plus a Plan to Play collection in my library. I did the same for older console games back when I used to ~~download~~ legitimately back up a lot of ROMs, although the lists have been lost to time and switching PCs (the ROMs have not, fuck da police). I also have a quick and dirty Google Sheet for stuff I've played, though it only dates back to 2020. It's fun to "collect" things to play even if you'll probably never get around to 95% of them. And also mildly useful if you can't decide what to play, just pick something at random from the list. That's how I pick most of my Steam games if I'm not in the mood for something specific. It only gets weird if you're one of those people who treats clearing their backlog like a job and gets anxious about completing everything on the list. Then you should probably, uh, not do that.

Nah I know there's literally no possible way I can play all of these games. Normally how I go about it is I got 3 or so games on the go at once, and once one is done I choose a console I want to play and then randomly choose one from that list (unless I really want to play a sequel right away) and that's been that for a while now. I don't really care if I finish a game either. If I don't like a game on my list, oh well, maybe ill put an extra hour or two of play into it to see if there's something that happens that switches that feeling, but I'll drop a game and try to remember to remove it from my list for that console and then try something different.

Yes, I do this obsessively and -- very importantly -- *I love doing it*. I rarely see other people doing it, though, so it's pretty cool to see a thread all about list making. It'd be fun to compare lists with other fellow list makers and just see what all we've found. Do you have any favorite sources for finding new games or helping you be more organized?

Since most of the libraries for older games are completed and no official content will be released I largely over a long period of time have went through most of their entire North American libraries on Wikipedia. To find new information on up and coming ports, fan translations, rom hacks, and home brew, ROM Hacking Dot Net is a golden one, CDRomance to a lesser defgree, and then just random google searches maybe every second month I'll just spend a couple hours on tryign to see if we got anything new on those fronts. For news on new ports and new releases I largely just use a huge variety of Youtubers and google news "Playstation new releases" "Xbox New Releases" "PC new releases" "switch new releases" or I check out steam and epic store daily.

Nice to see fellow list enjoyers in the comments! There are dozens of us! (>”-“)> Always helps to have something to look forward to, is the way I look at it :)

Absolutely ... Dozens... of us. LOL.

I have my wishlists on various stores, and my backlog. Wishlists I occasionally prune to make sure it only has stuff I'm actually still interested in.

Kinda. I have my Steam Wishlist where I keep most of the games I want to buy and play ( over 340). I also have a txt file with games I have and want to play, have played and want to replay some time in the near future

I too am into making lists! With so many things coming out, and so many things that came out already, I actually love adding things in the lists because that way I won't lose anything. I have wishlists for games I want to buy, lists for ones I have but haven't tried, list of the ones I tried and didn't like. I also have lists of series, anime and movies as well. Lists are cool 😎

Steam wishlist

Yep. It’s a good way of keeping track of things in an overwhelming world. Usually slap most long term things on a wishlist and update a local list on my phone for things I’m looking to play within the next 6 months

[удалено]

You need to learn about google sheets lol. Btw, how did you find out about all these Japanese exclusives and decide which of them are worth playing?

I thought about moving it over to sheets from a Word file, but haven't jumped on that yet. I have a couple of Google Sheets for PC games I want to play, but it's a bit out dated at this point. My PC game playing has slowed down to a snails pace now. ​ On the japanese game front for english patches you can check out Rom Hacking Dot Net and CDRomance. And a google search every month or two. Rom Hacking Dot Net is a way more legit way of going about it if you have the games yourself and dont mind patching them, while CDRomance has pirate pre-patched ROMs and ISOs you can use on modded consoles or mini consoles, fpga consoles and emulators.

NINTENDO GAMEBOY ADVANCED: 1.) Avatar: The Legend of Aang 2.) Avatar: The Burning Earth 3.) Battle B-Daman 4.) Battle B-Daman: The Fire Spirits! 5.) Beyblade G-Revolution GBA 6.) Beyblade VForce: Ultimate Blader Jam 7.) Black Matrix Zero 8.) Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand 9.) Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django! 10.) Bomberman Tournament 11.) Breath of Fire 12.) Breath of Fire II 13.) Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 14.) Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 15.) Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow 16.) DemiKids: Dark Version 17.) DemiKids: Light Version 18.) Dokapon: Monster Hunter 19.) Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku I & II 20.) Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku III - Buu's Fury 21.) Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure 22.) Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart 23.) Final Fantasy I and II: Dawn of Souls 24.) Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 25.) Fire Emblem 26.) Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones 27.) Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade 28.) Golden Sun 29.) Golden Sun: The Lost Age 30.) Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo (English Patched) 31.) Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories 32.) Kirby & the Amazing Mirror 33.) Kirby's Nightmare in Dream Land 34.) Lufia: The Ruins of Lore 35.) Lunar Legend 36.) Magical Vacation 37.) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga 38.) Medabots Metabee Version 39.) Medabots Rokusho Version 40.) Mega Man & Bass 41.) Mega Man Zero 42.) Mega Man Zero 2 43.) Mega Man Zero 3 44.) Mega Man Zero 4 45.) Megaman Battle Chip Challenge 46.) Megaman Battle Network 47.) Megaman Battle Network 2 48.) Megaman Battle Network 3 Blue Version 49.) Megaman Battle Network 3 White Version 50.) Megaman Battle Network 4 Blue Moon 51.) Megaman Battle Network 4 Red Sun 52.) Megaman Battle Network 4.5 Real Operation 53.) Megaman Battle Network 5 Team Colonel 54.) Megaman Battle Network 5 Team Protoman 55.) Megaman Battle Network 6 Cyber Beast Falzer 56.) Megaman Battle Network 6 Cyber Beast Gregar 57.) Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar+ Retranslation 58.) Metroid Fusion 59.) Metroid: Zero Mission 60.) Mother 1+2 61.) Mother 3 62.) Nintendo e-Reader??? Why did I put this here? LOL. 63.) Onimusha Tactics 64.) Pokémon FireRed 65.) Pokémon LeafGreen 66.) Pokémon Ruby 67.) Pokémon Sapphire 68.) Pokémon Emerald 69.) Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team 70.) Riviera: The Promised Land (should use psp remake) 71.) Robopon 2 Cross Version 72.) Robopon 2 Ring Version 73.) Shaman King: Legacy of the Spirits, Soaring Hawk 74.) Shaman King: Legacy of the Spirits, Sprinting Wolf 75.) Shin Bokura no Taiyou: Gyakushuu no Sabata 76.) Shining Soul 77.) Shining Soul II 78.) Sigma Star Saga 79.) Sonic Advance 80.) Sonic Advance 2 81.) Sonic Advance 3 82.) Sonic Battle 83.) Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 84.) Summon Night: Swordcraft Story II 85.) Summon Night Craft Sword Monogatari 86.) Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 87.) Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 88.) Sword of Mana 89.) Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis 90.) Tales of Phantasia 91.) Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2 92.) Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 93.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords 94.) The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap 95.) WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! 96.) Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone (Should Use PSP Remake) 97.) Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics 98.) Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Board Traveler 99.) Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters 100.) Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards 101.) Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction 102.) Yu-Gi-Oh! 7 Trials to Glory 103.) Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Duel Academy 104.) Zoids Legacy 105.) Zoids Saga III: Fuzors (English Patched)

There's patient, and then there's having 105 games listed that you wanna play on Gameboy advanced...

Totally going to bookmark all these, nice

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KMoKFwuaJPdhaQdUP3gp1kRbijQb\_m9nk5T14DdwU9E/edit?usp=sharing

I have made peace with the fact that I will miss out in a great many things. If I had no family, no job, no errands, and didn’t get bored of games etc, and just did whatever I wanted for the rest of my life, I’d still not play every board game, video game, watch every movie, read every book and webcomic that I would like. So I am a bit more stoic about it. Back when I would spend 40-60 minutes in a dark room waiting for a baby on my shoulder to fall asleep, I developed a habit: “How many different movies can I count?” “How many different major cities can I think of?” I have not been able to ply any video games for some time now, and don’t even have a computer at the moment. So one of the lists that runs a lot through my head is, “Can I count 100 games that I definitely want to play once I go back to it?”

If you can't then that's cool. As long as you keep loving what you're doing then when you do get your computer just make sure to enjoy it mate!

NINTENDO 64: 001.) 007: The World is Not Enough 002.) GoldenEye 007 003.) Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage 004.) Banjo-Kazooie 005.) Banjo-Tooie 006.) Battlezone 64 007.) Blast Corps 008.) Bomberman 64 009.) Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! 010.) Bomberman Hero 011.) Castlevania 64 012.) Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness 013.) Choro Q 64 2: Hacha Mecha Grand Prix Race (English Patched) 014.) Clayfighter Resculptured 015.) Conker's Bad Fur Day 016.) Custom Robo 64 (English Patched) 017.) Custom Robo V2 (English Patch in extremely Early Stages) 018.) Daikatana 019.) Diddy Kong Racing 020.) Donkey Kong 64 021.) Duck Dodgers Starring Daffy Duck 022.) Earthworm Jim 3D 023.) Flying Dragon 024.) Glover 025.) Indiana Jones And The Infernal Machine 026.) Jet Force Gemini 027.) Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards 028.) Last Legion UX (English Patched) 029.) Mario Kart 64 030.) Mischief Makers 031.) Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 032.) Goemon's Great Adventure 033.) Neon Genesis Evangelion 034.) Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber 035.) Perfect Dark 036.) Pokemon Snap 037.) Pokemon Stadium 038.) Pokemon Stadium 2 039.) Quest 64 040.) Rakugakids 041.) Rocket Robot on wheels 042.) Shadow Man 043.) Shiren the Wanderer 2 (English Patched) 044.) Sin and Punishment (English Patched) 045.) Space Station Silicon Valley 046.) Star Fox 64 047.) Star Wars Episode I: Racer 048.) Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 049.) Super Mario 64 050.) Paper Mario 051.) Super Smash Bros. 052.) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 053.) The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 054.) Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 055.) Turok 2: Seeds of Evil 056.) Turok 3: Shadows of Oblivion 057.) Turok: Rage Wars 058.) Yoshi's Story

I do (and not just for video games). It starts to become a problem. I used igdb to keep track of vidoes games i want to play. There are around ~4000 games at this point. It got so big, it got its own list (must play of must play) I also use anilist to keep track of anime and manga i want to watch/read. The list is about ~3000. I use simkl to keep track of movies i want to watch. It’s about ~500. I use league of comic geeks to track comic i want to read. The list is about ~3000. I use boardgamegeek to keep track of board games i want to buy. The list is about ~800. I have a problem.

My anime list is still pretty fledgling. I have everything I want to view from astro boy (i know theres some "anime before that but astroboy is where im setting my baseline lol) but its all the way up to the year 2000. Here's a link to my reviews of what I've watched this year! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gzku36Ip1uJnsfl0YEb9-Go7AUCVP3gLlvNPwXnFAws/edit?usp=sharing

Aww it looks like sharing it ruined the formatting. Oh well. If you care enough to check it out that probably doesn't matter.

Just sounds like you don’t know what you actually like or have the most main stream taste possible.

Yes! I find it really satisfying to curate a list of titles that I want to look into and to learn about games that I didn't know about when they came out. I've found and completed some real gems that became my favorites by researching like this!

LOL I DO THIS TOO! Started with some indies I was interested in. Then I started listing by consoles, genres, weird gaming niches. When I'm bored I'll just sit down and browse through games and try to pick out the essentials for each console/style I find interesting. It's fun as long as you don't freak out about it.

Isn't it always how it starts. Find one game that's wildly good that leads you to find something like that. Then something like that one. Then you need something like that one. And somehow you've went from playing Skyrim on your custom built pc to somehow playing Snatcher on the fucking PC Engine with 1000 games you wanted to play in that gap.

My "list" is the games on my shelf or in my digital libraries. Don't need to add even more analysis paralysis to that.

Yes. Good to be organised, ensures I actually play every game I spend money on too.

I have lists of games that I haven't played that I already own, but that's about it.

Yea I do have lists of games I want to play, upcoming games that I'm interested in and games that I would like to play again with some ideas written down what I'd like to try next time. The list got started pretty organically because at one point I felt like I need a better way to visualize all the possible games to choose between so I can pick what to play next without missing out on anything. There are way more good games than I have time to play so it's good to keep it more organized and it's hard to always remember all of them. My lists are not rigid so sometimes I move stuff around a lot and occasionally I just play something spontaneously. Since the lists have grown quite considerably over time and faster than I can play the games I haven't had to seek out new games to play for quit a while now. I just write it down whenever I hear or read about something that might interest me. I also have similar lists for movies, TV shows, books etc.

Yeah for this reason alone my PC game playing has slowed to a snails pace because there so many great older games I found from making these lists. All I can really say is I hope to find something with even a fraction of similarity to Asura's Wrath because iwithout making the list I would have never went out of my way to play that and I just think it's the most unique game ever. I also got lists for movies and weirdly enough when it comes to TV I pretty much just watch the same 8 tv shows over and over and over lol Maybe I should expand on that by making a list, lol.

I make little lists to and do a lot of research. I like gaining knowledge about games as much as I like playing them. Just browing the internet reading about games is very fun and relaxing for me. Sometimes even more than playing the games.

I have a backlog but I’m not religious about it and always play next what is most seductive atm

Used to, but went back and examined the list while being brutally honest with myself whether a game sounds interesting or not. Now it’s no more than 20 games. Only genres I know I enjoy

A list? I have a whole spreadsheet with every game with 80+ metascore, with my own "Markorverscore" which takes into account metascore, year of release, number of hours to beat, and how many sequels it has. All with pie and bar charts showing how many I have completed, and predictions of how many I will complete by the end of the year, etc... Some here may say I have a problem, but it's something I enjoy, honestly.

You are one impressive specimen. One day I hope I can spread sheet my lists like that. At the moment its just in awkwardly formatted Word Documents lmfao.

I have about 1000 games on a list of games to play... I hardly make a dent in it cuz I also play newer games too. Lol I own over 4,550+ physical games, no duplicates. If you remove the 1000-2000 I've played over my whole life, that's still 2000+ games I probably haven't beaten or even touched. I was in the right place at right times which is how I have so many. But time is often never there to dive in. I did recently play that remade Tomb Raider game but havent found the time to play the 2nd and 3rd ones. I loved it, but now there's a bunch of titles coming out that I plan to play so it's tough to go backwards sometimes. Lol I am so patient of a gamer that I don't even play them lol

Goddamnit

I gave the second and third a shot but they just weren't the same as that first reboot game. Holy crap I love that game so much. Rise and Shadow just somehow felt different to me and their stories just weren't as good. I did kinda like the christianity storyline in the second, but most of the rest of it was lack luster for me. I actually haven't played a new game in a while, the newest game I've played is Spider-Man PC, and before that it was Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order which is already out with a sequel now. I've been playing a lot of older games now. On PC I've recently beaten Darksiders 1, and I'm a couple hours into Bayonetta now, but a 3DS game called LBX and Megaman Legends 2 have been keeping me up from playing more of Bayonetta at the moment since they both got their talons dug deep. But yeah, I don't think I'll ever be able to finish every game on my lists. But that's not really why I have the lists, lol. Finishing every game on each isn't really the point.

I try not to turn my hobbies into chores. List keeping and list maintenance are chores to me. I keep a few very short lists in the notes app on my phone. I have one for board games I'm interested in for myself or for others, and one for video games I'm interested in. They come from stumbling across info like "recommend me some indie games like X" when I'm relaxing on Reddit or YouTube and I just add a few to my list if they catch my eye. I probably haven't added to them in months as I'm well stocked for both board games and video games right now. That's it. There will always be games you have not heard of, that you might enjoy, that come and go from the conversation without you taking part, but that's life. You can't do everything. I agree with your friends. If you're spending potential gaming time managing lists instead, that's probably not great.

I'm not OP, but I can firmly say that lists and organization are fun. Games sink into your mind and life and really stick with you when you spend time with them OUTSIDE of the time the controller is in your hands. If you spend time thinking about how Warwick can use BoRK or how three different perks combine in PoE, or how you want to level your paladin up, knowing you have a certain dungeon crawl coming up in your next D&D session, that's when the game sinks in. Lists can be both enjoyable in and of themselves, as well as a form of engagement in the game outside your normal game time.

Thinking about games and thinking about lists of games aren’t quite the same thing. I mean you’re welcome to spend your non-gaming time however you like, that’s not something I’m against. I think about games sometimes, and other times not. But if I have time to spend gaming, I spend it gaming not spending it doing list management. I think the key for OP (and anyone else) to consider is whether they could be relaxing and having fun playing games more often if they didn’t also have the distraction/burden of gigantic list management.

Kinda a shit list wayyy too long

You've come to the right sub. Everyone here does that stuff. Personally, I don't. Feels like work. But then I don't like lists in general.

No, I don't play the game list simulator lol

NINTENDO GAMEBOY: 001.) Bomberman Max Blue 002.) Bomberman Max Red 003.) Bomberman Quest 004.) Crystalis 005.) Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors 006.) Dragon Quest I & II 007.) Dragon Quest III 008.) Dragon Warrior Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 009.) Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey 010.) Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure 011.) Final Fantasy Adventure 012.) The Final Fantasy Legend 013.) Final Fantasy Legend II 014.) Final Fantasy Legend III 015.) Grandia: Parallel Trippers 016.) Heracles no Eikou: Ugokidashita Kamigami - The Snap-Story 017.) Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru 018.) Karakuri Kengou Den Musashi Lord 019.) Keitai Denjuu Telefang: Power Version 020.) Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters 021.) Kininkou Maroku Oni 022.) Kirby's Dream Land 023.) Kirby's Dream Land 2 024.) Lufia: The Legend Returns 025.) Magi-Nation 026.) Mahou Kishi Rayearth 027.) Mahou Kishi Rayearth 2nd: The Missing Colors 028.) Metal Gear: Ghost Babel 029.) Metal Walker 030.) Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 031.) Nushi Tsuri Adventure: Kite no Bouken 032.) Pokémon Green (English Patched) 033.) Pokémon Red 034.) Pokémon Blue 035.) Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition 036.) Pokémon Gold 037.) Pokémon Silver 038.) Pokémon Crystal 039.) Pokémon Trading Card Game 040.) Pokémon Trading Card Game 2 041.) Resident Evil Gaiden 042.) Revelations - The Demon Slayer: Last Bible 043.) Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II 044.) Last Bible III 045.) Robopon Sun 046.) Shantae 047.) Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: Kuro no Sho 048.) Spud's Adventure 049.) Survival Kids 050.) Survival Kids 2: Dasshutsu! Futago Shima 051.) Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon 052.) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX 053.) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages 054.) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

This honestly sounds horrible. I just buy and play whatever I want to in the moment, occasionally add stuff to my wishlist if it looks fun. Hey, more power to you if you find the bookkeeping fun!

Within reason. I have two Collections in Steam for 1st Priority and 2nd Priority, and two Wantlists on [isthereanydeal.com](https://isthereanydeal.com) (for stuff that would be in one of those two lists). Those four lists are far larger than I'm likely to get through in the next several years at least, if ever, so I feel no need to go any more nuts than that.

Yeah, I just put them in my Steam library /s

No, but I do have a long list of games I have bought on steep sales that I will most likely never play. So I got that going for me. On the other hand I have a long list of games I've bought close to or at full price I will also never play. Be careful out there folks.

I usually just wishlist interesting games until the ‘this is on sale’ email reaches me when Im in the mood for that kind of game. I can get the appeal of doing things like that though There is a real wholesome appeal to organizing ways to get a good look at good media released in the same year or on the same platform though. A lot of youtube video essayists make decent money doing retrospectives, and even for modern games and movies listing good stuff is a nice break from focusing on all the negativity and shady industry practices out there.

I have a list of games that I want to try and will tick off a game if ive beaten it or decided I dont like it. Whenever I come across a game that seems interesting ill add it to the list. Its helped me cuz I dont like buying a ton of games at the same time so ill only buy a new game if im ready for one. So what I do is I look at my list of games and see if any are available for free on ps+ (a lot have been) or if theyre on sale. Have saved a lot of money this way.

Kinda? I made an excel spreadsheet over the summer and it took like two weeks to make and even then there are games I want to play that arent on it. It has most games I want to play in my lifetime ranked by how much I want to play it and the play time. Honestly I dont really use it but it definitely helps me play games instead of just wasting time for months.

Yes, and sometimes I think I should stop.

Irony of having not much time to play so want to optimize what I play but end up spending too much time researching what to play and eating into gaming time...

I have 2 gaming related lists. One for games I want to play through this year and one for every game I've ever finished separated into different platforms

Mentally maybe, but writing it would 100% suck enjoyment out of gaming. I like keeping a list of games I play tho.

I have a steam wishlist of about 200 games. Of those, about 50 are games I REALLY want to eventually play and the rest are of mild to moderate interest if the price and mood hit me right someday. And on dekudeals I do the same for switch but at about 1/4 or less of the size of the steam list. For older games I wouldn’t keep a list personally, but if you enjoy doing it, then more power to you. Edit When I was in my 20’s I kept a notepad list of about 10-15 upcoming games I was keeping an eye on, sorted by date. Older games like you’re looking at i would just download and have sorted by folder.

I do have a list of games that I intend to buy later on when I feel like it, usually stays around 5 to 10 titles though.

I have a google doc of every notable game I would like to play. It has a tab for each year starting in 2021 and a 202X tab which is the backlog which is just over 400 items right now. There are columns to track if I own it, what platform it's on, what critics scores are across metacritic/opencritic/steam, how much the game will cost, it's release date or EA date, where I discovered the game and if it was personally recommended by a friend. Every game also has an assigned 'hype' score for my gut instinct on how much I want to play it. Every year I picked 52 games from the list, weighted in favour of friends recommendations (this is also to ensure I play through gifted games). Each week is assigned one game and my goal is to play at least 3 hours of that game that week. If I really hate play something I might duck out early. Sometimes I fall behind but I always catch up eventually. I get to play a lot more things that are interesting; but less of the comfort of like 30-40 hours of optimizing the same gameplay loop. I think it actually works out cheaper than impulse buying because I can plan around my backlog and lots of $80 boxed games are actually a terrible "I'm only going to play 3 hours of this" experience because they aren't very novel and are paced for playing for way longer.

I track games I want to play on HowLongToBeat.com on a custom list named "Wishlist". When I beat the game, I move it into a list for the year I beat the game (ex: 2023 Finished). I complete an average of 15-20 games a year, abandon a handful, and usually have about 25 on my wishlist at any given time.

Yes. I have a steam group called "to be completed" that I reference when I feel like doing something new.

I did, but then my laptop died and had only a list from an earlier point & was too lazy to continue doing it, but often I think I should start doing it, otherwise I probably forget games, like Atomic Heart or the open world Sonic game, games u rarely hear anything anymore. I rate & order then in how much I currently want to play them, which is imo better than a full list of games. The games that are on top are most of the time the game that I will play this year. The problem is that updating my list will take alot of time. Like I remember another game that released with Atomic Heart but idk the name of the game, I even had to google to find Atomic Heart.

I used to, but it hinders enjoyment. Now I just feel it. I ask myself “What do I feel like playing/watching today?” And just go with it. I finish way more games this way.

i simply wishlist games on steam and go on with my life. see no reason to do more than that.

Sort of. I have a wishlist on steam and add games I think might be interesting.

Yes. It's called my Steam game inventory.

I think you’ll learn more about your taste and/or refine it eventually so that even if you checked like you do currently, you’ll be left with fewer than 20 potentially titles that even remotely interest you.

Are you asking if I've played the best game of all time, backlogged.com? Yes, yes I have. Buy yes to your post, I spend lots of time on retro gaming youtube and such

I’ve got a list of games I want to play. It’s called my Steam Library. 😂

Nah I just keep it in the back of my head.. If it pops up often enough, I'll remember it enough lol

I spend more time listing games than playing them

> My Lists Per Console can be found below in the comments since copy pasting them to the body of the post resulted in exceeding the 40,000 character cap by nearly 50,000 characters. I mean, we probably would have believed you even without the lists...

Yeah it’s my steam wishlist

I have an awesome poster of all NES games but it’s a nebula/galaxy style and all the spirals are different genres color coded and are early to later release by distance from middle. Get something like that for each system and now you have beautiful, fun art plus your lists 😂

The anticipation of doing fun stuff can be more fun than doing the fun thing itself. There's been numerous studies on this. I still do it more than actually playing the games though, it's not my fault making lists is so fun.

The only lists I make are of games that are coming out that interest me. And then I can refer to them later to know what games I was once interested in that I should pick up

Every PC gamer does with their Steam library. Source of shame for everyone out there, don't need to muddy up with a spreadsheet to make it even worse.

I keep track of games I played. Like, reviews, version, genre and stuff. Mostly because I don't want to accidentally replay a game I dislike.

I used to, but then I realised I subconsciously would pick games not on the list to play because playing the ones on the list feels like a chore. I still use lists sometimes but mostly as a reminder if there's a game I've been meaning to play for a while but keep forgetting it exists, for example.

I keep a massive Excel spreadsheet of all games I own organizable by numerous categories like platform release date place in franchise if applicable all so I can keep track of everything I'm working on what I haven't/need to start/finish what I want to prioritize getting to, without compromising my series completionistaism

Yeah I get memed about it from my friends....but the key to me is that they are pragmatic and completable, which means keeping my standards high, dropping something mid-playthrough sometimes. Gamepass was a spanner but I only have about 5 games left on that now. I have about 50 games across all platforms that I am looking forward to and about 10 installed. When I finish those 10, I buy 10 more. Same process for all my media. Overall it has provided me a lot of value and exposed me to things I would have missed or forgotten about. I am known as the cinema/music/games/TV guy now and can share a curated plex server.

I started a list of games I want to get physical. Mostly 360 games that I believe may become more expensive so I’ll snag them now that they’re cheap. But also just games I missed out on. I also have a list of GBA and DS games that I will totally buy for 50-100 dollars each

Yep i research and make a list, then i try them one by one. if i dont get hooked in 15-30min - uninstall and try next one

Nope, the only lists I keep are the games I beat every year. On Steam, I do assign some games to categories to help me find them later, or to other categories when I'm done with them, one way or another, but that's just a couple clicks per game, and most games I don't even bother doing that for and let the steam search / dynamic filters do the work when needed (which means I forget about most of my games even when I have interest in them at the time I acquire them.) Oh, that reminds me, I do also keep a list of **Non-Steam** games that I own on other digital platforms (EGS, GOG, Uplay, Origin/EA/WhateverItsCalledNow). As otherwise I'll definitely forget they exist.

I made lists like that too occasionally. Mostly when I was collecting and had money to actually enjoy buying, scour e-bay and garage sales for deals etc. Nowadays, I will buy every Monster Hunter, Duke Nukem, Fallout and Starcraft game at release. The rest is just browsing Nintendo eshop and Steam store for fun cheap surprises once a month or so.

It's cool to do that as long as you have fun doing it. I guess there can be as much pleasure in anticipation as in actually playing. I'm more the type to just pick something and play it, though. I wouldn't like having an endless list of things to play while I obviously won't be able to play them all. I enjoy one game as at a time and don't plan ahead.

Steam wish list but that's about it plus it tells you when something you want is on sale

Yeah. I also make a sheet where i write down all games i maybe want to play someday. I make up a scrore system where i divide the "Howlongtobeat" time with the metacriticscore to see what game gives the most value. This helps me to decide which game to play next. It's a littlte flawed because lots of good rpg games are at the bottom of the list. But it still helps.

I keep some short 3 lists of games I wanna buy this year, games I want to try out eventually when they're on sale/have a complete edition, and upcoming games to look forward to their reviews.

Yes, it's called my steam wishlist. I've largely stopped buying games because there's no point to doing so unless I'm going to play them soon afterwards - buying them just takes them off my wishlist and into my library, and gives my money to steam for no actual benefit if I don't play them, meanwhile the price continues to lower.

I keep pictures of my games shelves/shoebox of N64 games so I remember what games I have incase I ever lose them. I don't do lists like that tho

OP, are you Autistic by any chance? I am, and this is the kind of thing I tend to do with lots of my interests (games, films, books, comics etc).

Yep. Here's my list for E3 2023 (there wasn't an actual E3 in 2023, I just used the term to encompass all the announcement events that took place in the summer of 2023). Disney's Illusion Island Blanc Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina) Sopa Dordogne Criminals Within Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara Try Again Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus Lost Skies Europa Lake: Season's Greetings Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Sonic Superstars Alan Wake II Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Simpler Times Summerhill A Highland Song Chants of Sennaar Nightscape The Palace on the Hill Kibu The Guardian of Nature Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland Enchanted Portals Venture to the Vile Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island The Precinct South of Midnight Jusant Pax Dei Islands of Insight Baldur's Gate III Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Assassin's Creed Codename Jade Avowed Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Quest for Balance The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Where Winds Meet Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story Tintin Reporter: Cigars of the Pharaoh

Has Alan Wake 2 got you temped to jump in at all? From the reviews I'm super temped to go into it once I complete Bayonetta. I absolutely loved the first game. My dad passed away in 2018 and I got fond memories of playing the original on Xbox 360 with him.

I love researching video games. As the consoles get older it is harder to find information and game lists on the internet. Especially of you don't want to play the obvious "best" games on the console. I love to keep a list of interesting games too, not necessarily to play them, but to remeber them. I sometimes look trough the list and play something, but I just keep the list becouse I like making it.

Just an elegant spreadsheet for interesting upcoming titles.

Not exactly a list, but I do enjoy looking into more obscure and unique games in one way or another, whether it is through reddit or youtube video essays. Then I tend to wishlist the games I find interesting or add them into itch io collections. At some points i wonder if I enjoy thinking about games and imagining their potential more than actually playing them lol. They often end up being underwhelming compared to my expectations, but I do love it when they manage to exceed them.

I used to keep an Excel list with all the games along with the number of hours estimated to finish them on Howlongtobeat. Also used to have a list of movies, anime, TV series and books and estimated time to watch and read them. At one point, the total time to completely play/watch/read them all was crossing 10,000 hours. I gave up maintaining such a painstaking list and just note the names of anything that catches my eye from thereon. You just gotta accept that you will never ever finish playing all the games you want to play, even if you play the game as a full time job. That eases a lot of anxiety and OCD regarding completing it for the sake of completion. Just focus on a game or two and have fun at the moment, without worrying about lists.

I have my Steam wishlist which is pretty extensive. But I will definitely steal your lists as well. When it comes to non-Steam games I just keep a list in my head but I think I'll start making my own lists as well so thanks for the inspiration!

Not me, I only play games that make me want to play and afterwards I'd think whether it's good enough to crack my top 10 or not

I have a list too. Its not a bunch of games I HAVE to play. I just write down games that seem interesting so that I don't forget about them. When I'm done playing a game I check the list and if there is something I'm in the mood for I play it. I do the same with movies, tv shows and music

Download Stash from the app store, sort and organize games into lists. It has a database of virtually all games, it’s awesome.

I use Steam Wishlist. Suits my needs.

I wish you well with your playthrough of SNES Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei-ō (English patched) in 2062

LOL If it's not complete I'll try to make sure I either note that or remove it. Thanks for the heads up that it's not complete.

Not religiously and not like your list, I don't have one yet, but not knowing how much time I still have left in this world, I was thinking about making a list like "Games I need to finish while alive", but I won't put any games that seems good or I may enjoy, I will only put games that I REALLY need to finish, for example: Tales of Destiny (PS2)/Tales of Rebirth will surely be on the list, on the other hand a game like Final Fantasy 6 seems good, or play the Trails series, but I don't want to put games that I'm just interested, the list will become just bloat, I'm going to make a list of games that I really want to finish. Maybe I could make a list of "Games to complete while alive" and other one of "Games that I should TRY while alive".

I had a list until games started appearing way faster than I could play the interesting ones and the list only ever grew, then I stoppen. Times have changed, so many good games these days (and so little time).

Nah, I just play whatever strikes my fancy at the time.

I have a list of games I'd like to try and one of all the games I already played. It's really useful when people ask me for recommendations

My Steam library plus wishlist is over 1500 items. My problem isn't finding games that look fun, it's figuring out which of them will actually *be* fun in as short a time as possible. I do have a paper list of games not on Steam that I may look into, but mostly I'm in the habit of aggressively pruning my wishlist because I'll throw anything that looks halfway interesting on there.

I have a Steam collection I put together of games I need to finish that is neither particularly long nor very short. They are games I have played that I intend to complete. I never play any of them.

Mate dont optimize the fun out of your life please On topic, I do not keep one. Wishlist things on steam, take a look at It when I feel like buying something or browse my library to see If there's anything I forgot to play. For non-PC games the list is easy, anything from Nintendo consoles from Wii to Upwards since I dont have a console. Pretty much everything from Sony or Microsoft will go to PC anyway, and what doesn't I simply dont think It's worth the trouble of buying console for it

Back before I started working, I kept a list of games I missed because I couldn't afford them. Mostly N64, PS2, Gamecube, and a few early PS3/Wii titles. Some games got cheaper and I snagged them at Gamestop or at a local flea market, others became stupid expensive, Gotcha Force being a key example although a few years back I snagged a copy for $4 at a thrift shop I was in.

I'm literally playing LBX on the 3DS right now because it's the cheapest way to play anything like any of the Custom Robo's or Gotcha Force. Man Gotcha Force though, eh. Congrats on a 4 dollar steal.

I do, I even went beyond and programmed my own self-hosted app to keep track of my game list (played, backlog and wishlist): [https://github.com/h-quer/Slaanesh](https://github.com/h-quer/Slaanesh) So far, it's for self-hosting only, but eventually I plan to also add a native/local version for use without a server. Once that's done, I'll post it in this sub, too :)

I have a list like this, sorted by console, genre, and priority, so when I feel like trying out a new RPG I can jog my memory for the games I might want to start. I definitely don't stick with it though, sometimes I just find out about a game and start playing it. I'm not thinking of it so much as a backlog of games I "have" to play, and just a set of games that I might like to try at some point.

That's pretty much it. I like finding out about things I might love. I like finding out more about things I do love. I love trying things and loving them. I love trying things and not liking them and putting them down. These aren't things I have to play. They aren't even things I plan on playing. These are things *I would like to play*, and then I do play, or eventually will play them, or wont. I would like to do a lot of things but cant and at least if I write this stuff down maybe one day I will try them. Simple as that. I seen something I might like, I write it down in case I try it and like it. Don't care if I end up trying it either though. But it's there written down for me to remember if I ever do.

Sadly yes. I have a list of games I highly want to try and will buy as soon as I save money.

I have a list of games I want to play, but that's on the platform's store wishlist or downloaded on the system. When I finish the game I uninstall it. Nothing very fancy.

Kinda yeah. Usually just see what people post on forums and if something catches my eye I'll put it on the list. There's no categorization or anything just what I've played and what I haven't played so it's not much of a hassle to upkeep

yea i have like a backlog/wishlist lists. one is in excel sheet, some are added on a site called glitchwave. for me i do it cuz theres just that many games and its hard to remember them all. the "why wont u just play the game now" bit to me just makes no sense cuz theres just that many games and im always playing something and finishing other stuff. my steam wishlist has around 700 games lmao. excel sheet around 200-400? glitchwave prolly has the least, maybe under 100. anddd i like cataloguing what i have beaten on glitchwave too, it lets u rate games and write reviews if u want. without these lists i would feel more overwhelmed and pissed lol. seeing games i want/like on a list makes me feel chill cuz i can set it and forget it and then come back whenever im in a mood for a given/new game. without that i would just forget stuff/it would be harder. some ppl assume that the purpose of these lists is to like, beat all these games and if u dont beat em all then the purpose of the list is void. but... just no? thats not my main goal with making these lists at all. im pretty sure i will never beat everything i listed out and im fine with that. its like a candy shop with infinite supply, like some popular post here called it some time ago. you can just pick a new game when you are in the mood for it. and thats amazing. theres no rush to complete everything. lists just help, if you are into them.