You’re staring at the screen again. We’ve all been there. You have three different launchers open, a console that’s humming in rest mode, and a library of three hundred titles you bought on sale and never touched. It’s the "paralysis of choice." When you start looking for all games to play, you aren't actually looking for a list of every piece of software ever coded. You’re looking for a way out of the boredom. You want that feeling of "just one more hour" that usually only hits at 2 AM on a Tuesday.
Honestly, the modern gaming landscape is a mess of riches. Between Xbox Game Pass, the ever-expanding PlayStation Plus Extra tier, and the literal thousands of indie gems on Steam, we’re drowning.
The Problem With Modern Discovery
Most people think they want a list. They go to Google and type in all games to play because they want a menu. But menus are exhausting. If you look at the sheer volume of releases, it’s terrifying. According to SteamDB, over 14,000 games were released on Steam alone in 2023. That’s roughly 38 games a day. You can’t play them all. Nobody can. Not even the full-time streamers who get paid to sit in front of a ring light for ten hours a day.
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The trick isn't finding more games. It’s finding the right rhythm for your brain.
What You Should Actually Be Playing Right Now
If you’re feeling burnt out, you’re probably playing too many "forever games." You know the ones. Destiny 2, League of Legends, or Fortnite. These aren't just games; they're second jobs. They demand your time, your calendar, and your battle pass progress.
Sometimes, the best of all games to play are the ones that actually end. Take Outer Wilds (not to be confused with The Outer Worlds). It’s a space exploration game where the sun explodes every 22 minutes. That’s it. No leveling up. No loot boxes. Just your own curiosity. When you finish it, it stays with you for years. Or look at Balatro. It’s basically poker but if you could cheat using tarot cards and celestial bodies. It’s addictive, sure, but it respects your time because a run can last fifteen minutes.
The Heavy Hitters You Can't Ignore
Look, we have to talk about the big ones. If you haven't touched Elden Ring because you’re scared of the difficulty, you’re missing out on a landmark of human creativity. It’s not just a hard game. It’s a world that feels indifferent to you, which paradoxically makes exploring it feel more meaningful.
Then there’s the CRPG revival. Baldur’s Gate 3 changed the conversation. Larian Studios proved that people actually do want complex, turn-based systems and hundreds of thousands of lines of dialogue, provided the characters are hot and the choices actually matter. If you’re looking through a catalog of all games to play and you skip this because it looks "too nerdy," you’re doing yourself a disservice. It’s essentially a high-budget immersive theater production where you can accidentally turn into a sheep.
Why The "Backlog" is a Lie
We need to stop treating our unplayed games like a "to-do" list. It’s a library. You don't walk into a public library and feel guilty that you haven't read every book on the shelf. That would be insane. Your digital collection should be the same.
When you’re searching for all games to play, try categorizing by mood rather than genre:
- The "Brain Off" Category: This is for when work was a nightmare. Games like PowerWash Simulator or Vampire Survivors. You just move and things happen. It's digital bubble wrap.
- The "I Want to Feel Something" Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (post-Phantom Liberty update) is a genuine masterpiece of atmosphere. Or Disco Elysium, which is basically a playable existential crisis.
- The "Social Fix" Category: Stop playing competitive shooters for a week and try Lethal Company or Deep Rock Galactic. High stakes, but the goal is laughing with friends, not climbing a ranked ladder that resets every month anyway.
Subscription Services: The Double-Edged Sword
Let’s be real about Game Pass and PS Plus. They are the best and worst things to happen to people looking for all games to play. On one hand, the barrier to entry is gone. You can try a weird indie game about a goose for five minutes and delete it if it doesn't click. On the other hand, it encourages a "fast food" mentality. We start grazing. We play the first level of ten different games and then complain that nothing is "grabbing us."
Research into "choice overload"—often cited in studies regarding consumer behavior—suggests that when we have too many options, we’re less satisfied with the choice we eventually make. To combat this, pick one "big" game and one "small" game. Install them. Hide the rest of your library. Commit to five hours. If it doesn't work after five hours, toss it.
The Impact of Indie Sovereignty
We are currently in a golden age of indie development. Games like Animal Well or Hollow Knight often have more soul and tighter mechanics than $200 million AAA projects. When you look at the roster of all games to play, don't just stare at the top sellers list. Look at the "New and Trending" on itch.io. Look at what the developers of your favorite games are playing.
For instance, many people don't realize that Pentiment—a game about 16th-century manuscript illumination—was made by a small team inside Obsidian, the guys who made Fallout: New Vegas. It’s niche. It’s weird. It’s brilliant. These are the experiences that prevent gaming from feeling like a chore.
Tactical Advice for Navigating Your Library
Stop buying games just because they are 90% off. A $5 game you never play is a $5 loss. Instead, use tools like HowLongToBeat to see if you actually have the time for that 80-hour JRPG. If you only have four hours a week to play, Persona 5 Royal will literally take you six months to finish. Maybe grab Cocoon instead. It’s four hours long and will blow your mind more than any open-world map-clearer.
Also, check your hardware. Sometimes a change in "where" you play affects "what" you play. The Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch have revitalized the "all games to play" search because they turn those daunting 100-hour adventures into something you can chip away at while sitting on the couch or commuting.
Moving Toward a Better Gaming Habit
Gaming is supposed to be a hobby, not a performance. If you find yourself scrolling through menus more than actually hitting buttons, you’ve lost the plot. The "best" game isn't the one with the highest Metacritic score; it's the one that makes you forget to check your phone.
Immediate Steps to Take:
- Audit your current "In Progress" list. If you haven't opened a game in three weeks, uninstall it. It's okay. It’ll be in the cloud if you want it back.
- Pick a "Palate Cleanser." If you just finished a massive open-world game, do not start another one. Play a 2D platformer or a puzzle game.
- Use Steam Collections. Group your games by "Short," "Long," "Multiplayer," and "Must Play." It cuts down on the browsing time significantly.
- Ignore the Hype Cycle. You don't have to play the "Game of the Month" just to be part of the Twitter (X) conversation. Playing Skyrim for the tenth time is perfectly valid if that's what you actually want to do.
The search for all games to play ends when you stop looking for the "perfect" choice and just start the one that’s currently calling your name. Whether it’s a high-octane shooter or a quiet farming sim, the value is in the engagement, not the completion. Stop scrolling and start playing.