Chore Gaming 1

I've got to finish it otherwise I'll never clear my backlog. Recognise that? In this instance, 'it' doesn't refer to an important project or a piece of school work – but a game instead. Some of you won't have uttered a sentence like that, but I'd wager that there'll be more of you that have than haven't. The fact is that many of us are guilty of treating games like our very existence depends upon them – but why?

I'm probably guiltier than many. My job relies on me knowing as much as I possibly can about every type of game from a wide range of genres, so you could argue that for me it really is work to remain up to date. But lately I've been looking at my Trophy roster and been questioning the number of Platinum gongs in my closet. It's simply not good enough, I've been telling myself. I need to bump that number up.

Fallout 4 PS4 PlayStation 4

Perhaps it's several years spent working with the web that's forced me to slowly become fixated on numbers increasing; if our data doesn't show measurable growth, then I'm running the site wrong, right? But, while I may be a bad example of this, I'm pretty sure that it's not just me. Many of you talk about your backlogs like they're a suffocating noose around your neck, and I've seen flickers of guilt in the faces of some when I've quizzed them about a hot new release that they haven't played.

But should we really be ashamed if we haven't got around to the latest and greatest yet? I'll give you an example: I think Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a mechanical masterpiece – it really is fun to play. But, for whatever reason, I can't get into it even though I want to. And I've tried several times now – I know it's great so I have to play it, no? It's gotten to the point where I'm forcing myself. Why?

Trophies PS4 PlayStation 4

I don't listen to songs that I don't like. I don't watch movies that I'm not enjoying. I switch off sporting events that are failing to engage me. Heck, I even stopped reading a book recently because it wasn't for me. And I do all of these things guilt-free. So why is Hideo Kojima's latest sitting atop my pile of PlayStation 4 cases like a scarlet letter, a mark of shame mocking me for my inability to, well… Play it?

Sometimes it's not even that I've failed to finish a game, but that I feel like I haven't played it enough. Take a title like Fallout 4: I got the Platinum Trophy, saw all of the endings, and did all of the quests – but with my save file clocking just 60 or so hours, I can't possibly have done my homework fully when there are folk out there nearing four figures. And then there's The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, a game that I was practically (and somewhat publicly) peer pressured into playing more of.

Metal Gear Solid V 5 Phantom Pain PS4 PlayStation 4

Why, though? Why? These are the same games designed to entertain us and fill our spare time, and yet I'm not alone. I've got to work through my backlog. I need to finish this quest. I have to get the Platinum Trophy. We all use vocabulary that is overwhelmingly negative at times, and similar to the language that we use with regards to chores. I've got to get the shopping. I need to finish the laundry. I have to put the bins out.

There's a real eagerness, I think, among hardcore gamers to keep up with the conversation. Like it or not, games are disposable, and maybe that's where this self-imposed pressure comes from. Who wants to talk about The Witness anymore – just weeks removed from its release? Who cares whether the The Order: 1886 sucked – it's old news, isn't it? It's all about The Division now. Good luck sparking an online discussion about Bloodborne after Dark Souls III comes out.

Bloodborne PS4 PlayStation 4

So maybe that's at the root of it. Or maybe it's the competitive nature of this industry which we all apparently adore that causes us to treat games like another tedious trip to the gym – after all, we're all secretly working towards the highest score. Got to go fast, and so on.

Whatever's fuelling it, though, perhaps we should all just consider taking a breather. It doesn't matter that I can't get into Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. It's not a problem that I'm still searching for my 29th Platinum Trophy. Games, at the end of the day, aren't work – no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise.


Have you ever considered that you treat your hobby like hard labour? Do you find yourself maintaining your backlog like it's unpaid work? Heigh-ho, heigh-ho – it's off to work we go in the comments section below.