Each nominate a favorite game of the year and why we recommended it and instead of a vote, everyone can just choose one based on recs to enjoy for the end of the year. Then we can pick a new theme come new years ish. I feel like December is usually pretty busy for a lot of people
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This is a nice idea. I played a lot of great games this year, most of which were on the older side. In the interest of avoiding handing the nomination to one of the beefier-sized Final Fantasy games I played (it’d probably be IX or XII), I think I’d nominate Tunic, which I completed pretty early on in the year.
Tunic managed to capture a childlike sense of adventure and a need to spend hours puzzling over things that I haven’t experienced since maybe back when I played Fez, which has a similar approach to puzzle design. It’s got an adorable and clean art style to boot and has a host of great accessibility options for those who might find themselves turned away by some of the game’s more challenging aspects. I played primarily on the Steam Deck, which seemed perfectly suited to the game, though I imagine the Switch would be a similarly excellent choice.
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I both like and dislike this. I like it because it’s a great idea. I dislike it because it forces me to pick one game 
How do I choose from:
- Kunitsu-Gami
- Phoenix Springs
- Caravan Sandwitch
- Sorry We’re Closed
- Ultros
- Dragon’s Dogma II
I have other favourites, but they are all games people will likely eventually play anyway. The list above feel like games that will need extra help or boosting to get them out in the hands of new players. I hate having to pick one
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Then pick 2? Lol. You can do it. Its critical thinking goty time anyway. I dont even know what Id recommend right now. I need to look at my list and see. This was a weird year, i barely played any of my most wanted games, didnt even pick most of them up, played a lot of older games from childhood. Got the vita so i explored that some. I mean my gut reaction is Dead Island 2, but thats a solidly chunky game and i know its not for everyone.
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I’m allowed to pick two?
I’m not quite there yet. I have my list, but I am still playing games that I think might make a spot on the list. I’ll probably be ready in a week or so, and then I’ll post the year end threads in the forums that I post each year for the community.
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My graphics card died about two months ago, and while I did get a replacement one for my PC, it was a downgrade in every way and got really hot really fast. To prevent any further issues, I tried to avoid computer games (and as a result, Grouvee) as much as I could. Ended up getting a whole new PC instead, so now I’m back in the club. Yippee.
Unfortunately, I already played and reviewed Venba, so I cannot participate in this month’s club. You can’t stop me from talking about it though.
Venba is a very important game about a very important topic, but has a lot of flaws when it comes to being a game. The idea of having to solve unique puzzles in order to learn each recipe is really cool, but the quality of said puzzles is really inconsistent and the game is pretty short, so gameplay-wise, there really isn’t much to this game.
The story’s perfect though. It’s a beautiful tale about how important your culture is to your identity, and seeing Kavin grow and accept his heritage is very heartwarming, even if he comes to this conclusion a little bit too late.
In hindsight, I do think I ranked it a little bit too high, but it’s still definitely worth playing.
I also played Beacon Pines but that was last month’s game so I wont talk about it but it was cute and creepy and overall pretty good i’ll write a review later :3
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I’m allowed to pick two?
Go for it. It’s kinda a wild west roulette this month if we each pick what we wanna play anyway, so why not? As long as it’s not a giant list of games, I don’t think the amount you choose for GOTY really matters.
I also played Beacon Pines but that was last month’s game so I wont talk about it but it was cute and creepy and overall pretty good i’ll write a review later :3
Talk about it anyway! Doesn’t matter when we played it. It’s still part of the game club so discuss away. :))
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I’ll nominate The Big Catch: Tacklebox!
It’s free and is easily my favorite 3D platformer of the past 5+ years, with fantastic level design and a moveset that cleverly adapts the best ideas from Mario, Rayman, Ratchet and Clank, and Prince of Persia.
Also, the star/moon equivalents that you collect are all fish for some reason, and most of them sprout lil cartoon legs and lead you on a merry chase before you can catch em.
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As usual, I didn’t play many games that came out on the current year, so I’m not really in a position to talk about this. That said, my Game of the Year has got to be Unicorn Overlord. It does feel pretty cliché and even unfinished at certain points, but it’s still an amazing game.
Now if we’re talking not the best game of 2024, but the best game we played in 2024, that easily goes to Hypnospace Outlaw. Everyone should go play that right now.
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The best game I played in 2024 was Toem but the best 2024 game I played was Magic Archery. That seems ridiculous cause I played FFVII Rebirth this year but there was so much content I didn’t care for or felt like filler that I don’t think I can wholeheartedly say with my chest it’s a great game, just one that has great moments.
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Time to release the list of games! Play as little or as much as you want and let us know if you think the nomination is deserved. 
2024 Released Games
- Kunitsu-Gami (PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S, PC)
- Phoenix Springs (PC, Linux, Mac)
- Caravan Sandwitch (PS5, Switch, PC)
- Sorry We’re Closed (PC)
- Ultros (PS4/PS5, PC, Mac)
- Dragon’s Dogma II (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
- The Big Catch: Tacklebox (PC)
- Unicorn Overlord (PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
- Magic Archery (PC)
Games Released Prior
- Hypnospace Outlaw (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Linux, Mac)
- TOEM (PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S, Switch, PC)
- Dead Island 2 (PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S, PC)
Hmm, this would be an excuse to finally crack open my copy of Unicorn Overlord.
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Not that it really matters, but i believe dead island 2 was a 2023 release. I know it just got new game plus…after a bunhc of dlc
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Yeah I uh totally knew that.
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Is this an auto battler/clicker?
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It is. Nothing super fantastic but it just hit the right spot one evening when I was feeling anxious.
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I think because i dont want to buy anything new, ill play Toem. Pretty sure ive got that already
Also i think Tunic got nominated as well by BurningKirby i think, i might go back to that as well. But it missed the list
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i will finally finish unicorn overlord. it is my december duty
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I’m definitely going to be playing Caravan Sandwitch because my partner loved it. We rarely end up playing the same games nowadays and I want to be able to talk about it with him.
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I enjoyed Hypnospace Outlaw for what it was. Anything like that worth playing? The only thing I can think of is basic stuff like Emily is Away. Broken Reality (A great game) isn’t really like it, but has a similar a e s t h e t i c
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