What PC game should I play?

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The usual gaming schedule has taken a backseat this year, meaning the new releases we would usually be sinking our collective teeth into right now are postponed.

This means it’s never been a better time to clear out our gaming backlogs. But how do you know what to play?

We’ve got launchers for Steam, Origin, Uplay, GOG, Epic Games, Blizzard, and a handful of others, all gathering digital dust as we buy games before we finish the ones we already own.

2020 is different though, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve got another five months or more before anything major is really released.

That’s five months to clear off our backlogs of shame, and we’ll show you some handy tools to do just that – all you need to do is start playing.

So, what PC game out of my backlog should I play?

Short answer: There really isn’t a short answer here

Choosing what to play next is a difficult task at the best of times, let alone when you’ve got a backlog of titles that would have buried you by now if they were physical game boxes. There are a few great options for sorting that backlog into categories that make the task easier though. Here are some of those options.

Steam Backlog

If your game library is mostly on Steam, Steam Backlog is a great resource for sorting through your Steam library to figure out what to play next. You can sort by metrics such as Time to Beat, Metascore, or other options including a randomizer if you want the universe to take the choice away from you.

Steam also has its own suggestion tool nowadays, Play Next. Go see what the eggheads at Valve want you to play out of the games you’ve already given them coin for.

HowLongtoBeat

HowLongToBeat is another great resource, as you can figure out exactly how long it will take to beat your backlog down. The site includes estimates of how long the main story takes, how long all the side quests will add to that, and how long to get every single damn thing in the game for completionist status.

It’s also a good place to plan purchasing decisions, as you can really see how the price you’ll pay stacks up against the amount of content.

The Backloggery

If you’ve got games on other launchers, head on over to The Backloggery. You’ll need to manually add games here, but it’s likely that your non-Steam game list is fairly short. From here, it will let you gamify your backlog, with badges for things like Unplayed, Beat, or Mastered. If that’s not your speed, Grouvee does pretty much the same thing, and adds community ratings so you can start by clearing off games that others have enjoyed.

Hopefully, now you’ve got a bit of an idea of where to start on your backlog. If nothing else works, take the top 20 games in your library and roll a D20.

What do you think? How do you normally decide what game to play? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.