Backlog: an accumulation of something, especially uncompleted work or matters that need to be dealt with.
Oxford Dictionary
Some gamers see it as an achievement, others an albatross of guilt hanging around one’s neck. The dreaded backlog for me is simply a monument to potential happiness. I refuse to count up the titles I have yet to play, but I have mustered the motivation to use clearing my backlog as a writing prompt (and hopefully a de-stresser at the same time).
The ease of use of my Nintendo Switch and the extensive Xbox Game Pass library have given me both the tools and the strength to clear swathes of titles from my backlog.
Welcome to the first of a continuous look into the games I will be playing each week–note, these may not be completed, but I am going to push to finish as many games as possible. I’ll keep track of progress percentages and notes from week to week, and if I’m lucky, get some reviews out for some of these games (even though some have been around quite a while).
WEEK 1 – July 20th-26th

Legend: XGP=Xbox Game Pass, XGWG = Xbox Games With Gold, NS=Nintendo Switch, NSO=Nintendo Switch Online, PC=PC
- A Plague Tale: Innocence (XGP)
- Coffee Talk (XGWG)
- Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour (NS)
- My Friend Pedro (XGP)
- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (NS)
I’ve chosen these five titles to start this mission, as I’ve already started Coffee Talk, My Friend Pedro, and Xenoblade. Realistically, I have no intention (or time) to finish Xenoblade this week, but the other games on this list add up to around 25 hours of work [thanks to some research from HowLongToBeat].
For all intents and purposes, these are my gaming priorities for the week. I have already confirmed I will be playing Carrion on release Thursday evening for a review, and new release Neon Abyss has caught my eye, so that will probably take a little of my time in between as well. With that said, I will call this week a success if I knock at least a couple of these titles off my backlog.