Hello, this year was, for lack of a better word.

Shit.

Since the pandemic, everything I wanted to really do in life has been frozen, it feels like House Arrest. I am repeating myself here. And for me, a person who on resumes and bios say :”comedy writer”, has really found it difficult to find comedy in the last year or so.

Imagine this dumb year of video games, and I am sitting on the sidelines going “OH MAN IF I HAD A YOUTUBE SERIES, OH MAN IF I HAD TIME TO PODCAST, OH IF I HAD THE TIME TO WRITE THIS.

and no, none of that happened. Thankfully, this year, I was able to pick up a Steam Deck so that really did assist in so many of my choices for gaming.

And as usual, I have to go through some fun games i want to put up but can’t. this year.

Honorable Mentions?

Fortnite still remains a Top 10 game for me, this was such a weird year for the game, from the shitty cybertruck to Peter Griffin showing up, to Mr. Incredible and D23 and so much more.. The gears aren’t stopping on the Saints Row version of PUBG.

But I am not putting it on this list, simply because, man I was so busy trying to get games to work on Steam Deck this year. Also, the late edition of “shoes” just screams ONE EXTRA WAY TO TRY AND MAKE MONEY OFF THESE SUCKERS as if there wasn’t enough things to buy in the games.

Jackbox Party Pack this year, was to me, the very first BUST of the team. “The Naughty Pack” had dialogue that felt straight out of The Guy Game, and most of it was “seemingly dick?” as the punchline. Additionally “The Survey Scramble” was a very clever party pack based on opinions, however, it lacks a good chunk of humor and variety. It felt like such a “queue” game, like something you put on for a Twitch Chat as you leave for 20 minutes to go to the bathroom and vape.

I was so disappointed.

There was also Jackbox Survey Scramble as a redemption arc for Jackbox this year, with games like “HiLo” and “Squares” being actually fun one-word guessing games similar to Family Feud.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival was my big consumption this year. I love arcade gaming. and was so excited to see this game come out on Steam. However, this was a game that has already been out for quite a while. If we were to just say “hey i got around to playing this game, it was great” i would be handing the award right now to Half-Life 2 for the anniversary update.

Astrobot would be in my Top 10, it might even be in contention of my Game of The Year, if it wasn’t for the fact, I do not own a Playstation 5.

If I had a PS5, and that cool 4KTV and just that hour to have fun reminding myself of Playstation classics like Ape Escape and Ico, I would be just thrilled.

But, unfortunately, that is just not going to happen. However, as most of you know, I don’t really cater to a good chunk of the rules of game reviewing and coverage and journalism - I DID NOT PLAY THIS, BUT I KNOW ITS A GOOD GAME, I WANT TO PLAY THIS.

If this was any other year, I would just put it up, in the Top 10 say “i did not play it” and let the WHINY GAMER BABIES go “BUTYADANAPLAYAGAME!!!”

Now, let’s begin the list. 10 Games that I feel are very very good.

10) Tekken 8

It sounds like a broken record, but with a really good Street Fighter and a really good Mortal Kombat, and classic fighting games popping up getting great modern takes has been thrilling. Tekken 8 is no exception.

I am, however, of the mindset of “isolation” gameplay. I don’t play this game online that often, i am hardly “FGC” even with a slight background in arcade gaming. This is really that “arcade game” of the year, even though NBA Superstars also came out this year, and that was straight up just 3 on 3 NBA Jam.

9) The Plucky Squire

The Plucky Squire is most likely going to be forgotten on most lists. I love the art of James Turner, with great memes like “Business Kirby”. I enjoyed this game that starts out feeling like “Baba is You” with word manipulation in the game, before breaking out of the book and becoming a toy-story for childrens books. It’s cuteness of JOT mixed with a small zelda clone. I think this might be one of those indie titles that children would enjoy and in 10-15 years becomes the reason they went into game design.

8) Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection

I do not care if it’s retro games. Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is back! It is still, to this date, the most expensive video game I own, because of the Capcom and Marvel licenses breaking and I never bought a copy (this time i did for Xbox, it was $90, this is much, much less)

So, obviously, it’s a retro collection, and while there is some art and background stuff, people might say it’s a cop-out, or point at that Taiko section at the top and go “BUT WHAT ABOUT”

So, let’s just talk NES World Championships for a hot moment, if you want, you can even PRETEND that was this spot (it isn’t). Nintendo World Championship, was based on speedrunning levels in some NES video games, while I do believe that is the modern day “get the high score”, it ultimately has less to do than even NES Remix. Every time I played that game, I kept wanting to play the full version. I am fully aware Nintendo Online has all of these games available in their version of Xbox Game Pass, But Just Retro Games For Some Reason.

And while I won’t get piped in crowd noises like WWE in the last twenty years, Capcom Fighting does have a great selection of Arcade Classics, and sometimes, at least to me, that is “good enough”. It isn’t quite as robust as a Digital Eclipse title (like Tetris Forever) but, it’s fine. HEY, IT’S FINE.

7) Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble

When I point to a “Jordan Game” I look at Super Monkey Ball, It’s a modern day marble madness, with a monkey getting bananas in that Atlasphere from American Gladiators. Every so often SEGA tries to remind you of this franchise, like Banana Mania, and you go “Man, Just Give Me More Monkey Ball Levels” and they finally listened. The gimmicks of this game are similar to Super Monkey Ball Adventure, with speed boosts and jumps still being focus, however, I still feel as a concept this is the “throwback” we need in the world of gaming. Eventually, some sicko will try and do level creator with Super Monkey Ball and we will truly be fucked.

6) Thank Goodness You're Here

Thank Goodness You’re Here is a Comedy Game. I miss comedy games. I miss laughing, remember laughing? Remember joy? Every time there has been an attempt at comedy in a video game, it’s been things like “High on Life” which has just been that Justin Roiland Rick and Morty, modern adult animation style of comedy which is “NON SEQUETOR!” “now i am talking, and i’m talking, yes i am talking, isn’t this annoying that i am talking? well i am talking, now it feels like we are just talking, but interupting sometimes, but its talking” and then “OHMANOHJEEZOHMANGUYSOH I AM SCREAMING! SCREAMING IS FUNNNNNNNNNYYYY!!!!”

I hate it, I hate that comedy has become “people recapping their own podcasts” and “people recording their crowdwork with forced hecklers”. There used to be fantastic things like set-ups and punch lines, there used to be nuance, where the dumbass on stage was not really an asshole, he was in the wrong and was playing it up.

Thank Goodness You’re Here essentially plays into this fantastic hybrid of british dry comedy, and that american cartoon of weird shit happening, and it’s funny, the size differences in the main character make for great scenes where you get confused, characters in the game give great double entendres (remember that? when you would PRETEND HORNY instead of just saying COCKS LIKE THE PENIS)

I would compare it to the Untitled Goose Game in which you go around a small town and basically wreck the place, however, instead of a honk, it’s a punch, and you can punch this loser who just wants to eat lunch, WHAT A LOSER, WANTING LUNCH!

It is absolutely worth a purchase and your afternoon.

5) Planet Coaster 2

I loved the original Planet Coaster. This is MORE OF THAT. Modern Roller Coaster Tech has now made an appearance in this game, from “trap door drops” to the vertical fall, while also adding more special effects and themes that you could make a theme park based on (almost) everything!)

To make things even wackier, WATER PARKS ARE NOW IN THE GAME. When I played the original Planet Coaster, my mind went back to the Roller Coaster Tycoon franchise, and that water park add-on. This means King Coaster finally has Queen Splash, and, if you love management sims, you are going to love expensing out Chlorine!

I am sure somebody is right now trying to recreate that Donkey Kong Country roller coaster in the game, as we speak. AND I WILL TRY AND FIND IT!

Also, this makes me want to go to Volcano Bay for some reason.

4) Mario Party Jamboree

Halloween 2024 saw a lack of people to give candy two, but I was able to play two video games, Super Mario Party Jamboree and Call of Duty Black Ops 6.

Most likely, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 will be on people’s lists, it’s a well designed First Person Shooter, with three ways of play, Multiplayer, Zombies and Story. Story mode is silly, perfect for those who love cheesy 90s action movies, Zombies is fine, it’s a hoarde mode still, feels like Left 4 Dead more than Dead Rising, which was what I was hoping for, and Multiplayer is great, but like every online game - if you aren’t there at the begging to get good, you will just end up losing. I didn’t win a single game until maybe two weeks later. And I am still “bad at the game”. Somehow, I got motion sickness playing Call of Duty, and that has NEVER HAPPENED to me before in any video game.

Super Mario Party Jamboree, fresh from what felt like ‘dehydration mixed with that tummy ache you get from eating too much”, was a contrast, sure, but it was familiar, very familiar, a good chunk of the games used were in previous titles (Hey, remember the basketball game from Mario Party 4? Remember that Underwater Treasure Chest Game in 1? Shy Guy Says? It’s still there) I keep saying Mario Party is “Big Brother : The Video Game” because not only is there somewhat of a social game going on, and strategies and sabotages, but the challenges and minigames haven’t ever changed. Big Brother won’t get rid of OTEV and BB Comics, Mario Party won’t get rid of Platform Peril.

The best feature is of course the online mode, which you can play with friends, which to me, is still worth it especially in a group chat setting.

3) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

I need to keep playing this game. It is my “on and off” game this year, but man, it just feels like the dumbest, greatest things in video games rolled into one! I will get this out of the way - I REALLY DON’T LIKE LIKE A DRAGON spinoffs of Yakuza. Turn Based Combat is just not my thing when I can just do a beat-em-up and then buy a 90s ass Mountain Dew to heal.

HOWEVER, Infinite Wealth has really changed my perspective on it, almost having the turn based combat serve as a satire of the concept, than really doing anything to make it the part that stands out. If your favorite part of Yakuza Games are those bizarre as shit side-stories with crazy characters and you end up busting out laughing or going “oh no, what did I get myself into” THATS THIS GAME.

And all it does is make me really excited for “Like a Pirate” for the direction this series goes.

2) UFO 50

I can see UFO 50 being your Game of the Year. Absolutely! It was absolutely ignored at the game awards in so many categories. And it’s an indie darling. you don’t make 50 different video games, some action, some puzzle, arcade sports and even a horror game without being ambitious. This was AMBITIOUS AND HOLY SHIT THIS DUDE ROCKS

You can play it as a fake game collection, play your favorites like House Party over and over, and you will be delighted.

You can play the META GAME and play the games in order to get the storyline of what happened to this fake game studio, and be treated to the puzzle.

And you can even play “Ultra Deluxe Gamer” and try and just “cherry the games” like you are playing that GameCenter CX game for Nintendo DS.

There really is no wrong way to play this game, and whatever direction you want to go, it rewards you. It is absolutely that homage to the 1980s gaming era, and a good chunk of intentional mistakes and glitches and errors, The best part about UFO 50 is, they intentionally made BAD games in this collection with the intent of proving a point about game development and computer limitations of the era.

My favorite of the collection is Quibble Race, and I suggest you bring two more friends and play it like a board game. Betting on these animals and sabotaging them with drugs and banana peels.

1) Balatro

For the longest time this year, I spelled it “Baltaro” like its some sort of Mortal Kombat character. But remembering the ace int he center helps so much BAL - A - TRO, got it.

This consumed most of my life this year, and the fact there is now a mobile edition did not help AT ALL!

As of this writing, most people will be playing “Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket” and I wrote down that was going to be a game to look out for, it will possibly be a hit".

While I hardly play that trading card game aspect of the game, I enjoyed the opening of booster packs and hoping to find that one card to complete my collection without any actual money being lost (unless you somehow pay for in-game currency)

But guess what game also had that luck and hope mechinic? BALATRO

Balatro is an “easy to understand, difficult to master” game, that is roguelike as it is, just “Video Poker Deluxe”

You have some cards in your hand, put some on the table and build the best hand of up to five cards. like video poker, there is scores, values of the cards multiplied by what you have. But then, after that first hurdle. YOU GET JOKERS AND MODIFIERS

Jokers are the secret to the game, as you can multiply your hand, you can add more “Chips” to the value of the hand, you can get bonuses for caveats like using only four cards or only having spades.

When you win an ante, you get “cash” and that goes into a shop, where you can buy jokers or, buy abilities that are only available for a limited time only (3 rounds) you can buy tarot cards that can destroy your deck, and add new cards, add bonuses if one of your cards gets played or not played and more.

There are planet cards that boost the multiplayer, so a 3 of a kind is no longer 4 x but 5 x.

And while Spectral Deck is where things get REALLY CRAZY - there is a delight to the Booster Packs.

Jokers, Planets, Regular Ass Playing Cards, it’s all there. and it’s all random. The secret is, however, that every game feels winnable, and even if you busted in your 4TH ANTE or at the final boss that forces you to sacrifice a joker, otherwise you aren’t scoring anything. There is this “man if i just did this” or “if i sold this card, but bought that one, that would’ve been enough”

A ton of Coulda Woulda Shoulda in Jimbo’s Game.

And to me, that “take a break and try and focus on the cards, like it’s solitare, but get impulsive and make dumb moves is why i really love this game. It has consumed a good chunk of my life, and COME ON ALL I NEED IS THE BANANA JOKER, COME ON BANANA! FUCK!

That is it for the 2024 Game of the Year Awards, I would say “hey follow me on twitter” but I deleted it lmao.

https://bsky.app/profile/jordanhass.com

I hope to see you in 2025. hopefully.

About Jordan