The Trouble with Too Much Time

Ever had so much time to play anything you want that you just scroll through your game library instead?

I’ve been stuck indoors recently after some minor surgery where I was told I have to chill out for the weekend and do absolutely nothing but lie in bed or on the sofa. This sounded like the absolute dream: chill out for 48 hours being waited on hand and foot, playing games on the Steam Deck all day? Yes, please. The only problem is, when you have access to something all the time, and it’s the only thing you can really do, it leads quite quickly to fatigue and burnout.

You might say, “But Mr QuestToZero, there are a million and one different and disparate games out there; how can you possibly be bored by these?” And you know what? I don’t really know myself.

I’ve found myself scrolling endlessly through my game library or the Steam store page, searching for the perfect game I want to play that doesn’t seem to exist. Or if it then somehow did exist, I’ve then not actually wanted to play it.

I’ve found myself playing the weirdest titles (of which some reviews will be coming soon) just because, rather than actually wanting to play them. Jonesing a meaty RPG, I instead found myself playing Sticky Business, an awfully dull and grindy online sticker shop simulator. Well, you know what? How about getting into this backlog of action-adventure games? Instead I found myself playing Long Live the Queen, an indie visual novel where you attempt to train up a princess to make sure she doesn’t get killed before she’s coronated. I mean, I actually think Long Live the Queen is pretty great, but I’ve completed it many times before.

It’s strange; it’s almost as if when you’re given enough time to finally just play games as much as you want, your brain panics and reverts to what I can only describe as “easy listening” games. As if, when you only have a few hours at night to play, you really want to put effort into something big and juicy, but when you’ve got all the time in the world, it just seems like a chore.

Ashley Mills
Ashley Mills

Hello. My name is Ashley, and I have a hoarding problem. None of this is physical though; my hoarding is entirely of a digital nature. I have nearly 1,000 games in my Steam library, and yet 95% of those have been completely unplayed. That's not even everything either—there are games I own on GOG, Epic, etc. as well!

So what's the point of all this? I guess it's to hold myself accountable, to finally plough through my gaming backlog of shame. With the advent of handheld PC gaming (the Steam Deck truly is one of the greatest ever creations), I'm finding it easier to make my way through what originally felt like a Herculean task. I'll be writing a review of each game, some of which will be triple-A (quadruple-A even!) mainstream behemoths, whilst others will be niche little novelties, but I'll treat them all with the respect they deserve (or don't, in some instances).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *