I’m Trying to Beat Way Too Many Video Games Before 2019 Is Over

The end of the year is nigh. OK, it’s only Thanksgiving, but that also means we’re only a few weeks out from ringing in 2020. It’s when I need to start thinking about game of the year, and begin budgeting time accordingly. No one can play everything, so my best bet is to randomly guess what games might make an impression, check out what HowLongtoBeat has to say about the hours needed to see them all the way through, and go from there.

Over the weekend, I finished Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and immediately pivoted back to The Outer Worlds for two reasons: because I found Parvati so damn charming and want to spend more time with her and it’s a relatively short, focused game. I’m hoping to put that behind me over the holiday break, before picking up Death Stranding again. I dropped Kojima’s latest after eight hours or so—the start of chapter three—and while I’m still not entirely sure what to make of it, it left a charming mark I want to return to.

If only that were all that was left. Beating Death Stranding, by most counts a 40-hour epic, would be enough of an accomplishment in December, but I’m trying to juggle so much more. Disappointment is on the horizon.

Here’s what else is on my list, knowing full well that I won’t get to a lot (most) of it, which is why I’ve done some research on HowLongtoBeat and attached my level of confidence as to whether I will, realistically, be able to spend any time with that game, let alone truly finish it:

• The Outer Wilds — 15 ½ hours — 50%
• Disco Elysium — 20 Hours — 20%
• Gears 5 — 10 ½ Hours — 5%
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare — 6 Hours — 10%
• Metro Exodus — 14 Hours — 0%
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s Final Boss — 3 Hours — 0%
• Eliza — 5 Hours — 75%
• Indivisible — 18 ½ Hours — 0%
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night — 13 Hours — 0%
• Darksiders Genesis — Unknown — 60%
• Blair Witch — 5 Hours — 80%
• Afterparty — 5 ½ Hours — 0%
• Concrete Jungle — 13 ½ Hours — 5%
• The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan — 4 Hours — 25%
• Astral Chain — 18 ½ Hours — 10%
• Life Is Strange 2: Episodes 4 & 5 — Unknown — 100%
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood — 9 Hours — 0%

I’m sure there are tons of games, especially smaller ones, I’m not even remembering. The Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium are prime candidates to be games I don’t touch in 2019, obsess over in 2020, and suddenly find myself shoving into a game of the year list next year.

If I managed to play and beat all the games I listed with more than 50% confidence, plus Death Stranding, that’d be… 30 + 15.5 + 5 + ?? (let’s say 12) + 5 + ?? (let’s say 5)…

72.5 hours? Good lord. I’m screwed.

What games are you trying to finish before the year is up?

Follow Patrick on Twitter. His email is patrick.klepek@vice.com, and available privately on Signal (224-707-1561).