Picking through the backlog is something i find really satisfying. There are games on it that I might move to ‘abandoned’ and i’m not afraid to do that, but a lot of things in there are higher and lower priority.Now depending on who you are, how long you been putting things in that backlog and how big it is, is a personal question and matter of your own tastes. We have a lot of choices for working on that or picking new games (and got so many that i’m ashamed to not have played) I tend to chip away at backlog and maybe get something done once a month or something, but i also try to tailor new games i start as ones i think i’ll finish.
And that’s kinda the problem for me, what new games to play? That’s a wider gamut of the decision factor. I’m interested in literally all eras and systems and genres with little discrimination. Whether its on the backlog or wishlist I still do the same thing though, I just pick diff kinds of games and slot and rotate. (genre) I might play a FPS then RTS, etc. (length) I might have a short length game and something longer and might mix that in (or between) an endless/online game. I’ll eye a game and slate it for something.
(platforms, eras/year) I also slot consoles, Say I want to play more games for particular consoles, I might flip between a certain generation (or early CD era games, which is what i’m trying to get more in)
I found the Grouvee Challenge really helps me pick and slate things and get into that kind of variety mindset. I try to spend a minimal amount of time with it, but even with the time investment of setting it up I plan to reuse my template for next year as well (I’ll change some things/refine i’m sure) It’s good because it gets me a sort of playlist going for diff categories, and i have shortcuts to all these games right inside my Launchbox… Everything just a click away, lol. Also HLTB and reddit guides that help me pick lengths (“reddit short games under 8 hours” etc) gets more progress done (and less hangups) so that way you can pick things that arent too long if your backlog keeps ballooning because you thought you could tackle three final fantasy games on your week off! hehe If you really are bothered by it i would suggest you look up each of your backlog games on HLTB or screen for shorter ones, and make a Grouvee Challenge spreadsheet and slot those suckers first, work them out as you work in new games from wishlist. You’ll feel better trimming 10% or more off the backlog and it’s definitely something you could do this way.
My habits have one big flaw though: There are a lot of great games that I’m afraid to touch because of length (like Witcher II and then Witcher III) i’m also somewhat more hesitant to play some genres JRPGS but that’s less from fear of commitment and more of because the mood i gotta be in when i play them isn’t something i’m in for. And while it’s not a big problem sometimes I will grind a game for achievements and give it several days more time than it really deserves from me, haha.
Also i looked at your backlog and while ~150 isnt that high i dont know the rate at which they’re growing. I see a lot of titles in that ~8 hour range though that you could finish or make an abandoned shelf for. An alternative would be to have a backlog (low priority) shelf. I seen some on here do that. That might be a good chocie for you if you just find it toughto flip through that shelf and pick things (if thats the case)