Too Many Games

My gaming backlog has never been as large as these days. Even though I continue to study, work, sport and socialize amongst other hobbies such as cinema and traveling, video games have never grabbed my life as much as now.

Whatever you may say about the quality of modern titles, it cannot be mistaken that the quantity of quality has drastically increased in the last decade. The biggest developers listen to what the communities want, graphical engines continue to grow, input has increased and there is more content than ever, thanks to DLC, unlockables, replayability, achievements and multiplayer.

Speaking very general then. There will always be hiccups in the industry, but what I observe is that despite all of the critique that most games seem to get nowadays, such as lack of innovation and tedious Hollywood experiences, gameplay and controls can hardly be argued that they suck.

The independent industry has boomed and never seems to stop growing. This subsequently means in regards to quality that people inside their garages, rooms and basements now also develop interesting and entertaining new ways of gaming, but many others also continue to show their love for retro genres such as platforming, point and click adventure and more.

What might be the most important pillar of the independent industry is that they innovate much more than AAA developers or the Big Three in general because they lack deadlines, publishers, target groups and other annoyances.

Titles such as Papers, Please, The Stanley Parable and Journey are all exceptional in different ways. Then there are very good and traditional based ones that are clearly inspired by older franchises such as Castlevania, Metroid or Mega Man.

And let's not God forbid forget that once again, despite all the critique of nowadays such as video game reviewers lacking the ability to look at games in new ways, or the fact that the categorization of genres needs a serious review, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are still the Big Three for obvious reasons.

An average video game in present time takes about 10 hours to beat the single player or campaign, and that usually leaves out side quests, harder modes, multiplayer and other extra's. Then, look at how many console libraries there are. And then be reminded that sometimes, you would love to replay one of your favorite games.

It's no wonder then that there are too many damn good video games the way I see it. And I like seeing this more than seeing all of the shovelware, the movie/game projects and other trash. Even though sequels and rehashes galore, I'd rather see more of that than what I previously stated.

But it is of the utmost importance that like any media, the industry must not forget to get out of their comfort zone and embrace new ideas and thoughts that have not been implemented yet. And this issue is something that many developers should consider before crying about their budgets, deadlines or target groups again.

I have no idea if I will ever "clear" my gaming backlog. Right now, I am merely typing out the titles that I will play in the nearby future, and simply wipe their names once I have beaten or played enough out of them. On second thought, I suppose it will never truly be cleared, as it's irresistible for me to go back to the past, stay in the present or embrace the future.