When it comes to video games I have a problem, I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, but here goes. My name is Joe Anderson and I’m a new-game-aoholic.

I can’t help myself, but whenever I see a new game I like the look of I just can’t help but buy it. This doesn’t really pose too much of a problem from January to August, as generally there aren’t too many games released, so whatever does come out is generally in my PS4 and completed within a few weeks. The main issue for me issue occurs from September onwards, as from then on we seem to get one new release after another which leads to me having a massive amount of games to get through and not enough time to do so. I like to call these games my “pile of shame”.

Currently, my pile of shame consists of quite a few games. The first I picked up, much earlier in the year, was Horizon Zero Dawn and while I’ve played most likely around 85-90% of it, I’ve still not quite got around to finishing it off, which poses a problem since I’ve recently purchased the Frozen Wilds content and not even downloaded it yet. Other games adding to the backlog include the latest episode of Guardians of the Galaxy and Batman The Telltale Series, while Need for Speed, FIFA 18, Call of Duty World at War II and Battlefront II are amongst the ‘many’ others. If truth be told I’ve likely got some games from last Xmas and the 10 before which I’ve not quite got around to completing yet (all the Assassin’s Creeds, Watch Dogs 2 and Sunset Overdrive spring to mind). Add to this my Xbox One games and of course, Nintendo’s, the latter of which I never seem to get around to finishing off. Currently, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario & Rabbids and The Legend of Zelda all fall into this category.

I think the main issue is that when I see a game I like I just want to own it. I want to play the games and have every intention of finishing them. Being a games journalist of 10 years + I’ve completed hundreds of games over the years, but that was my job, so I was completing them because I had to in order to review them. However, there’s something different about buying games and then completing them. I’ve never really been a huge fan of trophies, so that doesn’t motivate me.  Maybe I’m just one of these superficial gamers who buys a game and then moves on quickly when something better comes along, maybe I get caught up in all the excitement of E3 and Gamescom, as well as all the talk on twitter about what everyone is excited about, hence why the latter part of the year is quite an issue for me and my wallet too.

This photo doesn’t represent my pile of shame, most of them are sitting in my digital library, hiding from view.

Like any grown up, time is hard to come by, especially with three children and other responsibilities to take into consideration, so when I do get time to game I need to really find the one which fits into the time I’ve got to play. Sure, sometimes I make time, I’ve completed some of my favourite titles such as Uncharted 4, The Last of Us and other favourites (Darksiders!) without worrying too much about everything else that had to be done, but these are more the exception than the rule. Of course, once December hits and the new releases slow down, things get a little easier, January and February are generally good months to tackle the pile of shame, although more often than not there will still be half the pile left by the time March comes along and Sony release yet another big game. Other new releases soon follow and before you know it last years backlog is getting the latest releases piled on top of it.

I’d love to know the solution to this problem, other than winning the lottery and having time to sit around in my pyjamas all day playing games. I’m sure I’m not the only gamer in the world with this issue, which is why I want to see your #pileofshame too. So why not hit us up on Twitter.com/Square_XO with a photo of your Pile of Shame? Who knows, maybe you’ll make this gamer feel a little better about himself.