Video Game Pile Guilt

I recently had to procure a new laptop because the old one simply didn't allow me to write notes on it anymore without heaving like a terminally ill hamster. The replacement machine can actually play games from services such as Steam, and suddenly my pc is bursting with titles I've half-played or yet left untouched. I've never even known this feeling before, and I had anticipated that it would have been a happier one.

It's too much.

Now I'm frozen solid with guilt, not least because I received a game for Christmas which is slightly less alluring than the 30 or so titles I have stored in and spread out over various devices.

"Do you like it? Is it a good game? ...Why are you not playing it right now?"

I feel bad. I'm not used to this much choice. Up until recently, I only ever got 2-3 games a year, and I'd always play old favorites while traversing these new adventures.

What do you do? Do you organize your archive into a checklist? Set daily quotas and goals, like completing 15% more of Far Cry 4? Will this make me happy? Will it get my gift-giver off my back?

The more choices I have, the less fun it is choosing something to play. And wasn't fun supposed to be the point of it all?

I'd like to play most games I come across. Except I don't really, not right now at least. It doesn't seem like an uncommon problem, so what is the cure? Going for a walk? Games used to be my walk. The inspiring "other" option when things became too much. Maybe it's time to go cold turkey for a while... or maybe it's just because games has become "work," and everything work-related is automatically distressing.

Do you have to be struck by inspiration and divine desire to play a video game? Does it have to be the highlight of the day from the moment you think about doing it?

Maybe the problem is that I want the game I'm playing to do something specific for me, and I'm no longer in a situation where this process can take properly place. There's a lot of stuff right now. A lot of pressure on being happy and enjoying stuff. On not causing trouble for anyone. When I sit down to play games, I'm somehow always taking away time from something I "should" be doing, or I'm just not playing with the right attitude, meaning I'm not doing something "how" I should be doing it. It's no longer play; it's a broken down vehicle for my ambitions, a broken down vehicle which easily turns into a blockade for everything.

I'm mentioning this because I think a lot, if not most people, know this feeling. Shelf full og games and nothing to play. Is it symptomatic of a generation? Is it a self-generated issue? Do we collect too many games, only to stockpile broken dreams and good intentions?

I'll be going for a walk and considering other career options now.