This handy video game tracker will help tame your backlog

Thanks to my job here at Digital Trends, I play a lot of games. Just this year alone, I’ve played over 130 new releases that launched in 2024. Part of that is simply because it’s my job, but I’m also the kind of person who likes dabbling in as many games as possible to get a wider picture of the video game landscape. As you can imagine, though, it can get very difficult to organize everything I play.

There are plenty of organization tools out there that can help with that, but there’s one I simply can’t live without: Grouvee.

Grouvee is a free website that I’ve been using religiously for years now. It’s essentially Letterboxd for video games, a pitch that a few sites have tried to deliver on over the years to varying degrees of success. Users can browse games, rate them on a five-star scale, and, most crucially, organize them into lists. Those features have been a lifesaver for me, and not just because they help tame my backlog; Grouvee keeps my memory in check so that no game I love becomes forgotten.

There are some basic lists that you can sort games into easily that you’ll find handy upon signing up. The most basic ones let you note which games you have played, and which ones you’re currently playing. If you’re the kind of person that juggles a few games at once, the latter can be a small, but helpful tool. You can also place games on your wish list or drop them into your backlog — both of which are especially handy options for those who play a lot of games.

For me, custom lists are what I really use Grouvee for. I can easily make any list that I want, drop games in, and order them. If I wanted to make a list specifically of great roguelikes, I could do that. My primary use for it, though, is as a “game of the year” tracker. At the start of each new year, I make a list to track my favorite games that come out throughout the year. Each time I play something I enjoy, I add it to the list and roughly “rank” it. That simple act makes my life much easier when the end of the year comes and I inevitably get asked to recall my favorites.

With so many great games coming out every week, tools like Grouvee have become an important part of my life over the past few years. They don’t only keep my brain organized, but better help me navigate an increasingly busy industry. I even find new games I didn’t know about on the platform from time to time by checking its new release sidebar (not that I need more games to play).

If you’re like me and have been looking for a good tracking tool to keep everything you play straight, I can’t recommend Grouvee enough. You can use it for free, though you can also unlock Grouvee Gold for $10 a year, which removes ads and gives you access to early features. It’s only right that if you use something, you should give, right?