My predictions were close! I didn't think the Elden Ring DLC would be eligible. Balatro ended up being the indie nom, which I enjoyed on my phone for about a week but didn't get hooked like so many others.

Game of the Year:

Astrobot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio


Second half of the alphabet got screwed.

I haven't played enough 2024 games to really make a good analysis of these. I liked Helldivers 2 and Brotato alot, more than Balatro, but were they better than the 4 I haven't tried yet? Probably not.

Elden Ring being the first and only game to win Game of the Year twice would be well deserved, but also would feel pretty unfair to all the developers that started from scratch (ish.) Silent Hill, Stellar Blade and Like A Dragon fans are rightfully upset for being snubbed. So I think that backlash will cost it the win and the other rpgs will cancel out each others votes. Black Myth has a niche but dedicated fanbase, but I'm sticking with Astrobot for my prediction.

Still haven’t finished Final Fantasy VII part 1

Astro Bot wins.

Bigger news- Naughty Dog finally announced their new game, Intergalactic, and it looks awesome!

Its kinda funny that an adorable platformer would win in the year that Nintendo didn't get any big nominations.

Astro Bot looks like a more chaotic version of Mario Odyssey without the same level of atmosphere.

Looks like a game I'd want to play for once

About halfway through Astro Bot (depending on how many secret levels there are) and it is an absolute delight. Can see similiarities between it and Galaxy/Odyssey but it also totally feels like its own thing. Its hard to understate how much of an impact the controller has and I don't think any other game on the ps5 has ever taken advantage of all the features the dualsense offers. A blind man could play the game and tell what type of terrain Astro Bot was in.

Also, even with Astro Bot I still don't feel great about making a 2024 best-of list yet considering my count is only up to 4 new games, 3 annual franchises, one dlc and one remake. But, since I'm now almost always a year behind in gaming, I can make a solid top 5 for 2023 lol.

1. Hogwarts Legacy - 9.5/10 holding down its top spot despite some fierce competition
2. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon - 9/10 Fromsoftware is on a roll for the history books.
3. Final Fantasy XVI - 8.8/10 Surprisingly great combat and an epic story. Plus Clive is cool af, one of my favorite protaganists in the series.
4. Have A Nice Death - 8.5/10 always love a good roguelike.
5. Diablo 4 - 7.5/10 not my favorite in the series but I still had a good time

Zelda and Spidey are booted out by the newcomers. I have the Resident Evil 4 remake ready to go after Astro Bot. Mario Wonder is also still just sitting around waiting to be played. Not sure I'll ever play Baldur's Gate at this point.

My wife played a lot of Hogwarts Legacy. Seemed fun in that you could explore Hogwarts, but lacked the charm of what can make video games great. Almost uncanny too with the graphics

Going back to Majora’s Mask. Easily the best written Zelda game. Certainly up for debate as the best one as well

10/10 for Astro Bot. My first 10 since God of War Ragnarok in 2022. I'm actually sad that I completed it and might go through it again and again. Such a fun world to be a part of.

Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League is "free" on playstation plus less than year after release. Guess its time to see if its as bad as everyone says lol. Hoping that I'll at least get some joy playing as Harley and King Shark.

Also started Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. First few levels are solid, really does make you feel like Indy. But its also a slow stealth game and I dunno if I'll have the patience to get through it. Will try my best since im liking where the story is going.

Update: The Indy game is actually pretty great! Once you accept it for what it is (aka not Uncharted 5) then the pacing is fine. Feels like a classic Indy adventure.

Civ 7 in a few weeks!! Decided I'm gonna get the physical disc version for ps5, then sell and rebuy later on for Switch 2 with the inevitable DLC. Just don't think my laptop can handle it anymore.

Switch 2 direct on April 2nd ... or maybe February 4th? Does Japan write the dates like US or Europe?