Game Of The Year 2024

I am going to be up front, my Game of the Year 2024 thoughts will not end with a top 10 or even top 5 list. I will definitely have thoughts and opinions on some highlights for the year, but as you will discover this was a very strange year for me. In October I started working on a preliminary Game of the Year list, and realized I did not have that type of relationship with games this year. 2024 was much more about growing up with games, gripping with aging, nostalgia, and how games affected my life outside of sitting down with a controller for a few hours. I hope you enjoy.

January 2024

A very strong start to the year in gaming. I dug into Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and loved it. I bounced off Yakuza: Like a Dragon extremely hard, but enough minor changes to Infinite Wealth pulled me in deep. Then the Kiru cancer storyline began to develop. I had a hard time accepting this particular tonal swing in a series almost defined by them. Once I reached DonDoko Island I chose not to leave. DonDoko was frozen in time, an island paradise I can develop, defend from ruffians, and more importantly stop Kiru’s illness from progressing. This was a portent of my year to come.

April 2017

I took a much needed vacation from a toxic job and visited Big Bend National Park at the invite of my best friend and her husband. My partner and I had never visited, and were very excited to visit this remote corner of Texas. Driving into the park from Marathon, Texas is a breathtaking experience. The vastness of the landscape highlighted by mountains and valleys that you would not be surprised if a dinosaur lost to time emerged from. We took advantage of the area being a Dark Sky sanctuary and gazed upon a meteor shower, and the Milky Way itself. I returned to work, and the job immediately became more toxic. I knew I needed a change.

March 2024

Expeditions A Mudrunner Game brought me back to Big Bend. This time my perspective had changed. I was not escaping a toxic job when I visited Expeditions. Life is good! I am due to be married in a matter of weeks. A new job had brought me happiness I did not think possible in my work. So I loaded up my SUV with recovery gear, and headed into the unknown that Expeditions provided. The challenge sometimes would be punishing if you did not pack the optimal inventory, but when the game allows for more freedom in your travel it becomes a marvel in video game exploration. You never know when a river, a cliffside view, or a valley will inspire you to stop and appreciate that you truly are on an expedition to mysterious locations. Expeditions A Mudrunner Game is a huge success for a very specific person.

May 2024

Married life is wonderful. Work is good. A honeymoon is being planned. Life is great. Until a derecho hits your city. I have experienced every kind of weather and disaster situation imaginable except an earthquake. What the hell is a derecho? It’s weeks without power just as the heat and humidity are beginning their grip on Houston. We stayed at my dad’s house, which was completely missed by the derecho, for over a week. We visited our home several times to clean out the fridge, try to air out the humidity, and hopefully find the power returned. I appreciated being able to spend this chunk of time with my dad, since we never had the closest relationship. We had a few disagreements, mostly around stereotypical boomer treatment of his new wife. The response was different from my dad, and I realized he was treating me as an equal. Was it because I was finally married? Or because I am succeeding at work? Or just because he realized I was a middle aged man? I spent a significant amount of time with Hades 2 and Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut on my Steam Deck until we were able to return home and begin recovery from the first disaster of 2024. We are very thankful for my dad taking us and our animals into his home, and I would come to cherish this time.

June 2024

Shadow of the Erdtree. All consuming. Anything else would be consumed by its gravity. My gaze was fixated on this expansion, and I wanted to experience everything it had to offer. I eventually slowed my progress and focused on the exploration, sometimes due to the one glaring issue I had with Erdtree, confusing or poor level design in the open world. I still have not completed Shadow of the Erdtree, despite my anticipation being on levels I have not had since Red Dead Redemption II. The Atlantic Ocean had other plans.

July 2024

Hurricane Beryl makes landfall. I long ago lost count of the natural disasters I have experienced. What I did know was this was the last one, and we need a plan for a change of scenery far from the Gulf Coast and insulated as well as a city can be from climate change. There was no escape to my dad’s house this time, as power is estimated to be out weeks again in the entire region. This hurricane also came with extreme heat and humidity, which led to an emergency room visit for heat exhaustion, and just short of experiencing a heat stroke. Once the power returned we began recovering yet again. Games were mostly ignored in this time, as my free time became researching possible relocation options. I do not want to be 60 years old and rescued in a boat or without power.

Unknown 1984

We just completed the first of what would become many moves to chase work as the oil and gas downturn makes life hard for many people in Texas. I do not know the occasion, but I remember it was in red wrapping paper. I tore it open and found an Atari 2600. A new copy of Pitfall and Stargate (Defender II) were included. We had little extra money, but my dad would take me to flea markets and garage sales looking for used 2600 carts. Finding a Mario Brothers 2600 cart was a life changing experience, since our new neighbors from New York had this thing called a Nintendo and a game called Super Mario Brothers. I would spend a few years waking up early to play Atari in my parents room while my dad showered and prepared for work every morning. I can smell the Brut aftershave just writing this.

August 2024

My Steam Deck is in my hand, and I am deeply fixated on Deep Rock Galactic Survivor. It’s a simple but extremely effective take on the Vampire Survivors formula which is exactly what I need. I am sitting in the hospital critical care unit next to my unresponsive dad. We have been in the hospital for two weeks now, with a diagnosis that I still shift between laughing at the absurdity and anger at it being such a regional issue only exaggerated by the hurricane. In between Deep Rock rounds I met with doctors, attempted to comfort my sister and dad’s wife, and communicate the seriousness to my disabled half-brother. I turn to the Giant Bomb discord for support and community. The support is overwhelming and heartening. As medical power of attorney I followed my father’s wishes and made the choice to end life support. I spent a Saturday morning saying goodbye, combing his hair, and giving him a final shave. The hospital room aroma changed from Lysol to Brut.

Winter 2005

Old Schools Finest enters Molten Core. As the main tank I took the lead, and at the end of the evening we found one Binding of the Windseeker and beat Ragnaros for the first time. One of the guild members even preserved the moment on YouTube. My night is not over though. I stay on Ventrillo early into the morning with my closest guild friends. This routine had been going on for a year by now. I found community in Old Schools Finest when I needed it most. My parents went through a traumatic divorce a couple years before this, and I found myself without a plan or direction. My mother is drinking too much. I have dropped out of college for the second time to work full time and spend every other free moment in Azeroth. I acknowledge my depression but am not equipped to address it. The relationship with my dad is non-existent.

August 2024

The entire world is cloudy. I am the adult in the room. There is no family to help guide me through organizing my dad’s estate. What little family I have has been excised from my life, or incapable of assistance. I take guidance from my father’s lawyer and begin my duties as Executor of the Estate. A third disaster in four months, but there is no template to follow. This disaster does not call for roof repair, tree clearing, restocking emergency supplies. So I find myself in a place I do have a template, and have found comfort my entire adult life. World of Warcraft The War Within releases at the perfect time. I find immediate comfort with Khadgar, Thrall, Jaina and the new Earthen race. Looking for Raid and the new Delves feature give me rewarding solo experiences that were long needed. The story is intriguing and mysterious, a huge improvement over the last three expansions. I do not stay up late with Old Schools Finest. I do not have a guild. I spent 17 years searching for a new community in Azeroth after OSF broke up as a guild, people slowly stopped playing, and some even passed away. So I play by myself, and I sit with Thrall comforting Anduin as the latter processes his trauma from previous expansions. I look across the bay of Dornogal and think about the time spent in Azeroth. Was it worth it? Why continue for so long without a community? I don’t know the answer to either. I know that I need the comfort found in WoW, a comfort that has lasted 20 years now.

Fall 2003

After the divorce I went with my mom. I was old enough to be out of the house, but I had no ambition and no money. My time is spent playing Diablo 2 or Morrowind. I scrounge up enough money to buy this new shooter, Call of Duty. I enjoyed Medal of Honor on PSX, and this should be worth the little money I can spend on games. My dad is also coming around to our home. He and my mom are talking. Things seem to be improving, and reconciliation is possible. I ask my dad to come look at this new military game. He watches me skulk around France for a bit and says he needs to talk to my mom. He never came back to our home after that. My mom picks up a bottle of vodka.

November 2024

Black Ops 6 is awesome. I love Call of Duty, and think that Modern Warfare 2019 was as close to perfect as the franchise has ever been. Since then it’s been varying levels of good to mediocre, but not Blops 6. The campaign is bombastic and head empty, but never boring. The multiplayer is fast paced, encouraged by the omnidirectional movement, and relaxing for me. I sit in my armchair, enter a trance, and three hours of Nuketown has happened. I don’t think about the increasingly stressful estate management. I just left trigger right trigger endorphin rush repeat. I do not put my typical hours into Call of Duty as we leave shortly after release for our honeymoon. I think about what advice my dad would have to share from his business travel he did quite a bit of as I got older.

Summer 1981

I am a very sick baby. I remain in NICU for weeks before going home. I returned shortly after. This pattern continues, and my parents tell me stories about how they struggled to find any way to comfort me while doctors try to solve my health mysteries. My favorite story is that they were driving around one night, trying to see if I would fall asleep. They notice the movie theater looks very empty, and decide to see if a cold dark theater will help. They buy two tickets for Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the claim has always been that when Indiana Jones stepped out of the shadows I went silent. I was enchanted by the movie for whatever reason, and gave them a short respite.

Summer 1989

My family returns to the same theater that screened Raiders of the Lost Ark years before. This time for the third Indiana Jones adventure. Indiana and his father, Henry, have a strained relationship but come together in a shared love: Archeology. And kicking the shit out of Nazis. My dad loves the movie, and repeats quotes constantly. “He chose poorly.” He takes me to see The Last Crusade 3 more times during the theatrical run. It is the first movie I remember seeing with my dad. We only saw three movies together in a theater, but this is my favorite.

December 2024

Fresh off my honeymoon I jumped on another plane. This one to Los Angeles to meet up with the sickos. The Giant Bomb discord community that has supported me through a year of the highest highs and lowest lows. I am tired, sick, and debating canceling the trip. I can’t though; I found a community. Two decades since the last time I felt like part of a larger community I found another that cheered my wedding, checked in during the storms, reached out privately to offer condolences for the loss of my dad. I have an incredible weekend with Paolo, Robert, Mike, Ian, and Soo. We talk about when we can get together again, with even more of the sickos in attendance. Then I come home and punch Nazis. Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is the realization of the movies I quite literally grew up with. I shoved a Nazi down a well. I sucker punched another and threw him off a warehouse. The lighting and performance by Troy Baker are on par with the movies. I wish I could show my dad.

Favorites Of The Year

World of Warcraft The War Within

Call of Duty Black Ops 6

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle

Balatro

Castlevania Dominus Collection

Gestalt: Steam and Cinder

Star Wars Outlaws

Need More Time With

I Am Your Beast

Nine Sols

Stalker 2

Ballionaire

Witchfire