It's that time of year again, literally the last day of the year, to look back on what was played and pick out the cream of the crop. Naturally, I'm going to be limiting this only to games I have played, and only games that came out in the year of our Gaben 2024.
Let's get started with my 2024 GOTY:
Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty
Ok, I lied. This didn't come out this year. But the Game Awards nominated a DLC for their categories so clearly there are no rules. Look, I brought a permit-
Like many, I was hyped to see what CD Projekt Red would do with a whole new genre for their rpg shenanigans, and like many I hated what came out on launch day. It was an unfinished buggy mess and ruined the whole studio's reputation overnight just to appease some greedy corpos. How very ironic. Even outside of the buggy broken mess, I didn't really like the storyline that much, feeling like it was missing a lot of the Punk for a cyberpunk game. Luckily not only were the game bugs fixed and revamped, but a lot of story paths were too, with the whole game getting a revamp with the release of Phantom Liberty DLC and the 2.0 launch. But the damage was already done and I had written the game off.
Cut to this year when I build a fancy new PC and need games that can really push and test that ray tracing everyone keeps talking about. Control does a pretty good job of this but there was Cyberpunk sitting in my steam library, and I know it can be a beast of a game to run. Not only did it run great on ultra settings and full ray tracing and path tracing turned on, not only did it look beautiful, but in testing out my rig I actually found it to be fun. 100 hours later and I've finished the campaign and the Phantom Liberty expansion pack, and all of it was fucking fantastic. The end to Phantom Liberty was especially powerful, with the whole storyline being a cyberpunk James Bond style espionage thriller where everyone lies. At the end of the Game of Spies, no one really wins... I guess that's life. It even had it's own bond-style music video at the end.
The game was breathtaking from start to finish, and even as I write this, having only rolled credits around 12 hours prior, I already want to play through it again. Had the game launched like this it would go down in history as one of the best games ever made, and has quickly become one of my favorites, which is why it's my 2024 Game of the Year.
Action RPG of the Year: Path of Exile 2
This game is in early access, and hasn't been fully released yet. This should make it ineligible but Geoff Keighley put a DLC in the running so again, there are no rules, I can do what I want.
I've put a total of 80 hours into this game, and the only reason I haven't put more is I ran out of shit to do. But then only half the acts are released, and only half the classes are released, and yet more ascendancies are going to be added, this is going to be a very big game. What really excited me the most about this game that clearly wants to be the true Diablo successor was how challenging it is starting out when most games of this type just let you steamroll through content. So much so that it's a shock to some players who initially bounced off of the game because they were dying so much. I loved the challenge, I loved the thrill of finally beating that final act boss that had killed you so many times before, and I even found myself gravitating towards the fighter, the class that universally most people agreed was the hardest to play. Just typing this up now makes me want to jump back in and roll another character, but I'm still forcing myself to wait just a bit longer for more stuff to be added. Don't be surprised if this ends up as people's GOTY next year.
Best Hideo Kojima Award: Hideo Kojima
Since I'm modeling this after the Game Awards, this award has to be given out, and I do gotta admit, Kojima is the best Kojima, and he even shows up in Cyberpunk, my 2024 GOTY. But since there are no rules and I can do what I want, I'm actually going to add a different category to open up the field, otherwise Kojima is going to clench it every time.
Best (Finnish) Hideo Kojima Award: Sam Lake
Alan Wake 2 is a fucking masterpiece and I will not hear any slander otherwise. Remedy is quickly becoming one of my favorite game developers and Alan Wake 2 and its DLC became some of my favorite gaming this year. My only complaint is they are still tying themselves to the Epic Game Store meaning I had to play this on PS5, but when the eventual steam release comes I'll buy it again and play it again.
As much as I love Alan Wake 2, it's also a very difficult game to recommend to just anyone. First, it helps if you were a fan of the Max Payne games. Then you need to have played Alan Wake. Then you need to have played CONTROL and loved it enough to really dive in to the lore and expansion pack, to discover that this whole universe is connected and that Alan Wake created the events going into Control. Then you can start playing Alan Wake 2, marvel at how great it is, and wonder if you might be tripping balls when you stumble into a live action musical number that you get to play through.
Those guys in the band are actual Norse Gods... look, the game is a psychological horror thriller, just trust me.
Alan Wake 2 was so good I even went and played Quantum Break. It is... not on this list.
Best R&B/Pop Fusion Album of 1981: Hall and Oates - Private Eyes
What's that look for? If Shadow of the Erd Tree can be nominated for game of the year then I can put the best R&B/Pop fusion album of the early 80's on my list. Hall and Oates rule and if you disagree then I'm afraid you're out of touch and I'm out of time.
That's actually a different album and a different year... fuck. Add it to the list!
Best Game that Made Me Deeply Uncomfortable: Mouthwashing
Huh... this game is actually released this year, and is not early access. Well damn, we did it, I don't even need to break out the permit for this one.
Unfortunately, Mouthwashing is a game that works best if you go in knowing next to nothing about it, so I can't really say much if I expect anyone reading this to be able to fully experience it. It's an indy game about long haul space truckers slowly (and not so slowly) going mad. It's a first person puzzle game/psychological horror and while it's only a few hours long, they were deeply impactful hours.
... I don't think this game is about oral hygiene at all...
Let's get started with my 2024 GOTY:
Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty
Ok, I lied. This didn't come out this year. But the Game Awards nominated a DLC for their categories so clearly there are no rules. Look, I brought a permit-
Like many, I was hyped to see what CD Projekt Red would do with a whole new genre for their rpg shenanigans, and like many I hated what came out on launch day. It was an unfinished buggy mess and ruined the whole studio's reputation overnight just to appease some greedy corpos. How very ironic. Even outside of the buggy broken mess, I didn't really like the storyline that much, feeling like it was missing a lot of the Punk for a cyberpunk game. Luckily not only were the game bugs fixed and revamped, but a lot of story paths were too, with the whole game getting a revamp with the release of Phantom Liberty DLC and the 2.0 launch. But the damage was already done and I had written the game off.
Cut to this year when I build a fancy new PC and need games that can really push and test that ray tracing everyone keeps talking about. Control does a pretty good job of this but there was Cyberpunk sitting in my steam library, and I know it can be a beast of a game to run. Not only did it run great on ultra settings and full ray tracing and path tracing turned on, not only did it look beautiful, but in testing out my rig I actually found it to be fun. 100 hours later and I've finished the campaign and the Phantom Liberty expansion pack, and all of it was fucking fantastic. The end to Phantom Liberty was especially powerful, with the whole storyline being a cyberpunk James Bond style espionage thriller where everyone lies. At the end of the Game of Spies, no one really wins... I guess that's life. It even had it's own bond-style music video at the end.
The game was breathtaking from start to finish, and even as I write this, having only rolled credits around 12 hours prior, I already want to play through it again. Had the game launched like this it would go down in history as one of the best games ever made, and has quickly become one of my favorites, which is why it's my 2024 Game of the Year.
Action RPG of the Year: Path of Exile 2
This game is in early access, and hasn't been fully released yet. This should make it ineligible but Geoff Keighley put a DLC in the running so again, there are no rules, I can do what I want.
I've put a total of 80 hours into this game, and the only reason I haven't put more is I ran out of shit to do. But then only half the acts are released, and only half the classes are released, and yet more ascendancies are going to be added, this is going to be a very big game. What really excited me the most about this game that clearly wants to be the true Diablo successor was how challenging it is starting out when most games of this type just let you steamroll through content. So much so that it's a shock to some players who initially bounced off of the game because they were dying so much. I loved the challenge, I loved the thrill of finally beating that final act boss that had killed you so many times before, and I even found myself gravitating towards the fighter, the class that universally most people agreed was the hardest to play. Just typing this up now makes me want to jump back in and roll another character, but I'm still forcing myself to wait just a bit longer for more stuff to be added. Don't be surprised if this ends up as people's GOTY next year.
Best Hideo Kojima Award: Hideo Kojima
Since I'm modeling this after the Game Awards, this award has to be given out, and I do gotta admit, Kojima is the best Kojima, and he even shows up in Cyberpunk, my 2024 GOTY. But since there are no rules and I can do what I want, I'm actually going to add a different category to open up the field, otherwise Kojima is going to clench it every time.
Best (Finnish) Hideo Kojima Award: Sam Lake
Alan Wake 2 is a fucking masterpiece and I will not hear any slander otherwise. Remedy is quickly becoming one of my favorite game developers and Alan Wake 2 and its DLC became some of my favorite gaming this year. My only complaint is they are still tying themselves to the Epic Game Store meaning I had to play this on PS5, but when the eventual steam release comes I'll buy it again and play it again.
As much as I love Alan Wake 2, it's also a very difficult game to recommend to just anyone. First, it helps if you were a fan of the Max Payne games. Then you need to have played Alan Wake. Then you need to have played CONTROL and loved it enough to really dive in to the lore and expansion pack, to discover that this whole universe is connected and that Alan Wake created the events going into Control. Then you can start playing Alan Wake 2, marvel at how great it is, and wonder if you might be tripping balls when you stumble into a live action musical number that you get to play through.
Those guys in the band are actual Norse Gods... look, the game is a psychological horror thriller, just trust me.
Alan Wake 2 was so good I even went and played Quantum Break. It is... not on this list.
Best R&B/Pop Fusion Album of 1981: Hall and Oates - Private Eyes
What's that look for? If Shadow of the Erd Tree can be nominated for game of the year then I can put the best R&B/Pop fusion album of the early 80's on my list. Hall and Oates rule and if you disagree then I'm afraid you're out of touch and I'm out of time.
That's actually a different album and a different year... fuck. Add it to the list!
Best Game that Made Me Deeply Uncomfortable: Mouthwashing
Huh... this game is actually released this year, and is not early access. Well damn, we did it, I don't even need to break out the permit for this one.
Unfortunately, Mouthwashing is a game that works best if you go in knowing next to nothing about it, so I can't really say much if I expect anyone reading this to be able to fully experience it. It's an indy game about long haul space truckers slowly (and not so slowly) going mad. It's a first person puzzle game/psychological horror and while it's only a few hours long, they were deeply impactful hours.
... I don't think this game is about oral hygiene at all...
