Get ready to cringe, folks, because now you can find out exactly how much time it will take you to play all of the games in your Steam collection. That's right: Technology has found a new and improved way to send you into a panic attack.
For many gamers, there are few more feared terms in this hobby than “the backlog.” It's that creature always lurking in the shadows, ready to take a massive bite out of our free time, all the while mocking us as we clumsily chip away at a game here and a game there, barely knocking a dent in its enormous girth. To many gamers, the backlog is that final boss that will most likely never be beat.
Whenever I find myself getting too wrapped up in all of those games I still need to play, I usually have to take a moment to remind myself that there's no point worrying about what you won't be able to get done in this life. Play what you enjoy, move on to the next one when you're ready and, even if a bunch of games slide further into the backlog as you keep pushing forward, just do your best to enjoy what you're doing while you're doing it.
In other words, one of the things that helps get over the backlog blues is not really thinking about how much you feel like you still need to get to. What's the point in wondering if you'll ever get around to Far Cry 4 or Dragon Age: Inquisition when you're having a perfectly good time playing Shadow of Mordor for the time being? Unfortunately, a new online tool we stumbled across over on VG24/7 makes ignoring the problem even more difficult when it comes to your Steam library, as there's now a website that tells you exactly how long it should take you to finish all of your games. It's called SteamLeft, and all you have to do is head on over to SteamLeft.com, plug in your Steam account name, and wait for the calculation to pop up.
Now, keep in mind that this isn't an exact science. These figures are based on estimates and I'm assuming that you've played quite a few games in your Steam library which, as far as I can tell, are still included in the calculation. Still, it's a pretty nifty site and you can probably do a little basic math to figure out where your estimate actually lies. If you've played half of your steam games, for instance, just assume that you can cut that figure in half.
Actually, SteamLeft made me feel a lot better about my PC backlog. I swore off buying any other Steam games until I play some that I already own and, according to the estimate, I'm not in too far over my head.
For me, we're talking about just 197 continuous hours, which translates to eight days, five hours and 20 minutes. As an added bonus, the site will tell you other ways you could be spending that time. For instance, I could watch the entire Star Wars prequel series 28 times in a row. Considering the fact that I wouldn't want to do that even one time in a row, I think I'll stick with the likes of Saints Row IV and Transistor, thanks.
