The Game Awardsthis, The Game Awards that. We’re already tired of hearing aboutGeoff Keighley’s marketing show, and it’s still weeks away from actually happening. ItisGOTY season, though, and while TheGamer’s staff will start sharing their lists soon, I’m more interested in classifying this year’s games in weird and unorthodox ways, because so many of them have been weird and unorthodox themselves.
So here’s 2024 in gaming, except they’re people who went to your high school. Strap in, students. You’re not allowed to leave till the final bell rings.
Future President
Will, Metaphor: ReFantazio
If you’ve already played Atlus’ latest RPG, you know this is pretty much Will’s whole deal.Metaphor: ReFantaziofollows Will, an orphan from a marginalised tribe, as he participates in a Royal Tournament in an attempt to take the throne.
Well, really, he’s just trying to kill the guy who killed the king so he can free his best friend, the rightful heir, from a magic curse. But he can’t, because the killer is protected by royal magic, because he’s a candidate for the throne, so he has to use the tournament to infiltrate his inner circle and… look, it’s very complicated.
The point is, he’s a great leader. That kid’s going places. As a bonus, Metaphor also gets Best Singer, because that Buddhist priest is goingcrazyon that battle theme.Here’s my other favourite Japanese Monk song, while we’re talking about it.
Most Likely To Be Famous
Black Myth: Wukong
Ah, the most famous of them all.Black Myth: Wukongis one of the fastest-selling games of all time, had 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam the day it launched, and is a torchbearer for triple-A game development in China, where the industry is dominated by mobile games with gacha mechanics. Also, Sun Wukong is one of the most famous mythological figures, like, ever. So I guess he’s already proven the superlative right.
Most Stylish
Phoenix Springs
Okay, we’re looking at this from an abstract point of view. Is protagonist Iris Dormer the best dressed character? She’s wearing a blouse and pants the whole game, so maybe not. ButPhoenix Springsis one of the most visually striking, memorable games I’ve ever played. I’m obsessed with its colour palette. It’s just unbelievably beautiful, a real feast for the eyes.
Most Ambitious
Harold Halibut
You all forgot about old Harold, didn’t you? WhileHarold Halibutisn’t the biggest game, or the most complex, it took ten years to make, because every single one of its assets was made by hand from materials like clay, welded metal, and wood, then rendered in 3D through photogrammetry, and animated from there.
That’s sets, puppets, props,andcostumes. In fact, the original plan was to make the whole game in stop-motion, before the team realised this would somehow take even more time than expected. If that’s not ambitious, I don’t know what is.
Best Driver
You, Pacific Drive
Pacific Drive’s fictionalised version of the Olympic Peninsula is full of danger, and your car is your safe haven – you have to explore the map over several runs, fixing up your motor all the while, because this survival game is also somehow also a roguelike.
I’m a good driver in real life, but I am a very, very bad driver in Pacific Drive. I also don’t know how to fix a car in real life, though Icanchange a tire, so that’s something. If you finished Pacific Drive, you’re the best driver of them all. This award is foryou.
Most Likely To Repeat Themselves
Naughty Dog, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered
Ah yes, the latest ofNaughty Dog’s remastering efforts, directed at a game that launched just four years ago and already had excellent graphics. Naughty Dog justlovesto make a remaster. Where’s The Last of Us Part 3, you sickos? All of these remasters, and for what? I swear to god, if we get The Last of Us Part 1 Relasted Reparted next year, I’ll challenge Neil Druckmann to a cage fight. I don’t even care if I lose, it’s the principle of it.
Most Likely To Save The World
Watcher, 1000xResist
1000xResistis very close to my heart – it’s about Asian diaspora, the pandemic, intergenerational trauma, and revolution. It has some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in a game. It’s unashamedly political and powerful. Hekki grace, Watcher, you can save the world. Whether you’ll reform it or keep the status quo is up to you.
Class Clown
Ichiban Kasuga, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
As everyYakuzagame has,Infinite Wealthmade me laugh till there were tears in my eyes. Every year I say the newest game in the series is the funniest that’s ever been made, and then RGG releases another one, and it supplants its predecessor.I will ride or die for Ichiban Kasuga, and you can put that on my tombstone when I’m dead.
I was obviously tempted to put Balatro because, like, Jokers. But I’m better than that.
