How do you deal with a game backlog?

We’ve all seen the memes. The car salesman slaps the roof of the car with the Steam logo on it, and says, “This bad boy can fit so many unplayed games in it.”

Well, the meme was made for a reason. Many of us are guilty of this: We let our Steam accounts — or our console game libraries — just build, and build, and build, and we never actually get to playing all of those games that we own. Falling prey to sales is easy. Getting games for free also happens. Buying bundles full of games when you’re only really interested in one title is common. There are several reasons for it, but no matter what it is, the truth of the matter is that it happens.

But then, eventually, we get the urge to tackle those piles of unplayed titles. Right now, for instance, the moment is ripe for it: The current world situation has a lot of us practicing social isolation, and finding ways to entertain ourselves is of prime importance for our mental health. And even if World of Warcraft is our main escapism tool — which I imagine is true for many readers of this website — there are content lulls as well. We’re in one right now; Battle for Azeroth’s patch 8.3 is already old news, and a lot of us have mentally moved on to Shadowlands. I admit that I’m playing the Switch and the PlayStation 4 far, far more than WoW these days.

How about you? Do you have a pile of unplayed games as well? (Don’t lie; I know you do.) When do you decide it’s time to tackle it? Is now such a time? And, more importantly: How do you go about it? Do you pick games by your interest level in them? Do you play your older games first, before moving on to newer ones? Do you have a method to your madness?!