After decades ofSteamSales and depression, I own far more games than I’ll ever complete. Sometimes I’ll even be surprised I already own a game that I purchased because of a bundle, drinking, or both. Other times, I’m absolutely certain I own a game I can’t find - later to discover that I never redeemed a digital code from a website. There are vast roleplaying games, deep fighting games, challenging strategy games, stylish indie games, and more! That’s why I’ve decided that 2024 will be the year I spend less money and clear out my backlog. Until I don’t.
For example, I never finished The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, which features two whole Phoenix Wright spin-off games. It’s funny, it’s fun, it’s well written, and this year I’m going to put in the time to finish it! I love Capcom’s Attorney series, so nothing can stop me from completing these two huge games. Except when Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes out next week, at which point, I’ll be buying another collection from the same series of games I still haven’t finished multiple entries in. Oh don’t worry, I already own two of the three games in the new trilogy! They just happened to be on slightly less convenient consoles, so I might as well burn more money in a trash can for warmth!
But, look, that’s just one game I’ll end up buying. There’s plenty I already have that will keep me busy. The past month, I finally had time to get intoLike a Dragon: Ishin. I’m a big fan of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games, so this spin-off set in the 1800s is a lot of fun. I thought I’d miss out on the big Sega arcades and other minigames, but it turns out there is more than enough to do in Like a Dragon: Ishin to fill up weeks of time. At least it will be beforeLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthcomes out. When that masterpiece lands, I’m going to crack like an egg and pull out my wallet with the speed of someone getting mugged. Who knows if I’ll ever see Ishin again; I’m gonna be busy making a messed up island.
And it’s not just full games! While it may not have been my favorite entry in the series, I’m hearing great things aboutFinal Fantasy 16’s DLCthat I bought and still haven’t touched! We’ve got new story beats and it really sounds like this and future content are going to round out the experience pretty well. There’s a lot of richness to FF16’s world, and I’m glad that the developers are exploring it on a deeper level. Maybe this will make me fall in love with it. And maybe not becauseFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis coming and that’s a day one purchase whether I’m healthy or at death’s doorstep.
If I was fair to myself, I’d respect that there are always going to be a few games that are must buys. I’m not just going to ignoreDragon’s Dogma 2, Homeworld 3, Eiyuden Chronicle, Frostpunk 2, the Person 3 remake, the Paper Mario 2 remake, and the Silent Hill 2 remake. Oh, and I already own the original versions of those last three and only finished two of them! In fact, I could play those right now if I wanted to. Actually… nah. I’ll wait for them to come back out so I can buy them again and also not finish those. They’re going right next to theResident Evil 3 RemakeI download once every few months, never launch, and then delete when I need space.
I’m excited to finally go back to the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters which I bought a little while back even though I own every Final Fantasy game already in multiple editions. Wait, I already talked about Final Fantasy. That’s right: I’ll be playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. That is until the latest Final Fantasy 16 expansion comes out! Then I will get to those other games. Definitely. And then back to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Sure.
You see, I don’t need new games!Mortal Kombat 1andStreet Fighter 6are incredible and I’ve barely scratched the surface. I’m going to be putting a lot of time into these! UntilTekken 8comes out. I’ve still got to close out Luigi’s Mansion 3. I absolutely will not close it out, though, because Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is coming. I’m going to finally completeMarvel’s Midnight Sunsunless Solium Infernum isn’t released before I get the chance. This year is full of possibilities and excitement. There’s so much fun ahead! I cannot wait to clear my backlog before dump-trucking more garbage into my digital library because it was 2 percent off and then starting the whole cycle over and over again.
