robin2099

Question for those with a back log. How do you decide what to play next? Right now I have Mass Effect:Andromeda,, Nioh, Breath of the Wild, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Tomb Raider all waiting to be played and for the life of me I have no idea what to play next.

So how do you decide what to play next?

The Questyen

I think most people over think this stuff. I just play the game I'm most excited about.

K&AJones

It's just a matter of mood and if it's co-op what others are wanting to. The sad part is...not enough time no matter what you do or choose. I still have fallout 4 for single play and Dying Light for co-op; both at around 72%. Then we have Ghost Recon where we're at 48% and have returned to playing Warframe. And Diablo III had a new update and we haven't got back into that...yet. And we're giving Skyforge a shot as well. And I really wanted Horizon Dawn but knew I didn't have time....

...and come Fall....no idea what I'll do with Red Dead Redemption II, Destiny 2 and Middle Earth: Shadow of War

Gideon68

Depends on how much time I want to put into the next game.

OldBoy

good question. i think mood as well. i lose interest quickly, it seems, nowadays, so i play what i fell like playing. i was playing and loving BioShock, but then wanted to play Resident Evil 7 and i'm having fun with it. really no reason why just felt like getting back into an RE after so long...

dsa_shea

Whichever game winks at me gets me for the night.

Adam Tyner

That definitely factors in for me too. If I'm between two games and am not sure which to play first, I'll almost always go for the shorter of the two. (...or the newer of the two.)

RichC2

"Hmm, that looks fun."

mattysemo247

I can't play two super long games back to back. I just put over 40hrs into Horizon and now I need something different and shorter before moving on to something else longer again. So I think I'm going to play DOOM next and then go back to AC Syndicate. And I always keep a game in rotation that I can play in small chunks, like racing games. That's why I'm a huge fan of FH3.

Dan

Lately... I try to play stuff that doesn't appear to be a time-sink. I am really enjoying games that are ~10 hours or less, with a sense of accomplishment along the way.

mndtrp

I'll play a big game, then a few smaller games, then move on to another big game. How I choose mostly depends on what sounds interesting. I don't put much thought into it, aside from game length.

OldBoy

I have to revisit this thread.

But how the hell do you all decide what to play when you have time to play something?

There is just so much fucking good stuff out, I never know what to start, or if started something and then something else really grabs my attention after few minutes, I play that and figure to finish before I go back to previous.

In my conundrum now with loving Outriders and really want to play, but RE8 has me hooked as I instantly fell for it and all I want to play when I can, usually on weekends, or my nice upcoming 4-day Memorial Day weekend, have some stuff to do, but basically we hang, dinner and then whatever.

just, I can’t decide what game. Never sure what in mood for ever. I just go through choice after choice and nothing cries out “play me now”. Sure, I want to buy the ones I know I’ll like almost instantly even though I won’t play for who knows how long and yes go down in price, but I just get.

How do you decide? First: when there are a few new games you want to play how do you decide and Second: when there’s a lull in new games and there are so many older games that you want to play?

The Questyen

When there are new releases I want to play I pick the one I'm most interested in. When I don't have new games and I'm looking to go through my backlog I make a list of the games and number them. Then I use a random number generator to pick which game to play.

OldBoy

^really? The generator stuff? That seems like work...

The Questyen

It takes me like 2 minutes which is far shorter than going through my backlog and trying to decide what game to play.

OldBoy

seems like a game of chance. I’m not much of a gambler.

Adam Tyner

This one’s easier to answer. The factors are usually what’s on sale and how much of a time commitment each contender is. If I just finished playing a colossal open world game, I rarely follow it up with another one. But if I just finished a relatively short FPS or platformer or whatever, then, sure, throw a huge game at me. I try to switch genres and/or tones so I don’t get burned out or sick of more-of-the-same.

I’m trying to break my pre-order-by-default habits. I’ll still lock in a pre-order if it’s something I desperately need to play on day one, or if it’s a first-party Nintendo game (which typically launch in great shape and tend to hold their price anyway), but I’m a little tired of buying games on day one that quickly plummet in price and get amazing updates after I’d already finished the campaign. Plus it’s easier to get a clearer picture after launch if a game is up my alley or not, which in turn makes choosing between several easier.

Make an Amazon wish list with all the games that you’re thinking about. It’s a convenient reminder when you’re mulling over what to play next, and it’s a decent way to track prices/sales to boot. And a year later, you’ll probably be scrolling down a long list of games and wondering “wait, did I actually really want that?!” Or that’s been the case for me, anyway.

Try not to get caught up in FOMO. Be okay with the fact that you can’t play every game that people are buzzing about and that not every acclaimed game is going to be your thing.

OldBoy

^ I mean I try, but if people really raving, I’m gonna think about wanting to. It’s natural I think. I get different genre thing. But all I seem to like is FPS. And I do have a game wishlist, but nothing much that I know coming out that either I haven’t preordered (Necromunda, Scarlett Nexus) or don’t care. I don’t follow most things not here. If it’s not FPS I seem to not have interest, all though I was loving Outriders and Hitman before that. I gave those up for RE8. Which I’m addicted to.

The Questyen

Deciding what game to play next no matter how you do it is a game of chance.

lopper

Struggling with this right now. My wife and kids are on vacation and I literally have nothing else to do this weekend but play video games.

My backlog is insane and there are a ton of games out that I’m interested in, but I’m finding it hard to work up enthusiasm for any of them. I just know that whatever I pick I’ll bounce right off of or regret not playing something else.

Such problems, I know.

mndtrp

Nothing has changed for me in the 4 years since my last comment. I generally play a big game, then a couple smaller games, then another big game. Choice is generally done by scrolling through the library and seeing if a name or cover art jumps out at me. Sometimes I'll play something just to stop seeing it in the library. If it's good, I'll continue playing. If it isn't, I delete it.

Decker

Before June 11 : What can I play that I will be done with by June 11th, or what game would I not mind stopping playing on June 10th?
After June 11 : Ratchet & Clank : Rift Apart

fujishig

I am usually paralyzed by indecision (do I have enough time to play an RPG? If I play it will I remember how to play and what was going on? Probably not. Should I start over? Look up some tutorials?), then by the time I finally decide which game to play, it turns out there's a 50 gig update that needs to download and I lose interest.

It's the main reason I think most of my gaming these days is done via my switch or mobile games.