February was all about showing your library some attention for #LoveYourBacklog.
During this community event, I encouraged everyone to share their love for their growing pile of video games. A mountain of releases surely isn’t a cause for shame, but rather a sign of how much we love our hobby and have something available to suit every mood.
The backlog appreciation isn’t over just yet as there’s more planned for the next few weeks. Last month, I asked bloggers to nominate unplayed or unfinished titles in five categories, including the one which had spent the most time in their libraries. So how about trying to complete it now for #MaybeInMarch? It might seem like a daunting prospect, but you’ll have a bunch of other lovely people doing the same alongside you for support.
This event is open to everyone regardless of whether they participated in February’s #LoveYourBacklog event or not. It also doesn’t need to be solely focused on your Steam library, although that’s what I’ve chosen to do to keep things simple. If you’d like to use this platform too but aren’t sure which game has been there the longest: click on your avatar in the top right-hand corner, go to Account details, then click on View licenses and product key activations.
My nominated game for last year’s #MaybeInMarch was The Path by Tale of Tales. While streaming it didn’t go according to plan due to clunky mechanics caused by the use of a controller, playing it offline by myself was a completely different and unique experience. As a bonus, I also completed Papo & Yo by Minority Media (now known as Meta4). Its meaning and ending were incredibly profound, and I remember tears welling up in my eyes while watching the protagonist’s finale.
That’s the beauty of this community event. It gives us a chance to try a title we might have forgotten about, perhaps a genre that we wouldn’t normally play, and inspires plenty of discussion while we’re doing it. #MaybeInMarch is about more than just ticking another title off your list. Like last month’s #LoveYourBacklog, it’s a way of celebrating the amazing releases which make up your library and showing that a backlog of any size isn’t a reason for guilt. With so much variety available to us nowadays, it’s no wonder there’s so much we want to play.
While checking my Steam account this time around, I discovered that the unplayed game which has spent the longest in my library was now The Cave by Double Fine Productions. This puzzle-platformer was one I picked up to review for a former blog due to its entry in the 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die book but never got around to. It allows for local co-op, so I’m going to see if I can persuade Pete to descend to the mysterious depths with me next weekend.
I’m planning on streaming my #MaybeInMarch attempt to the Later Levels’ Twitch channel from 19:00 GMT on Friday, 15 March 2024. There’ll also be a follow-up post about how I got on in a few weeks’ time. I’m looking forward to hearing about your experiences too. Good luck!