(upbeat music) - Hello, how are you? My beautiful babies, my wonderful listeners. How was your new years? How was your holidays? Was it good? I hope it was good. I hope you didn't fight with your family too much or something or whatever. Bad start. You know what? No, I'm gonna roll with it. I'm gonna roll with it. I was gonna restart and then I was like, you know what? Fuck it. We ball, we're just doing this thing. 'Cause it's just me right now. Hello, I'm Kim. As we mentioned during our zodies of the year episode, which by the way, thank you all so much for the wonderful response to that. It's been really fun to hear y'all's feedback on that one. It seems like y'all had as much fun listening to it as we had recording it. And one of my favorite things that has emerged is everyone, not everyone but a lot of you guys have been zipping up your top 10 or whatever your list is of games of the year. And I love that that's a thing that's happening. So yeah, if you wanna join in on the fun in the Discord, hop in there and zip it up. Tell us the zipped up version of your feelings about your favorite games of 2024. That was a tangent. Okay. What I was saying was that we mentioned in the zodie episode that, you know, if you wanna hear Chasis Games of 2024, you can hear that on video game, Pod-emism. If you wanna hear AJ's Games of 2024, you can hear that on the Godie episode for Into the Aether, a low-key video game podcast. But if you wanna hear my Games of 2024, look no further, this is the place, this is the time. A lot of these games, a lot of them are zippies from the episodes we released this year. A lot of them I have talked about on other shows, you know, in sort of guest spots or on Rams or whatever. So it'll be, I think, relatively brief, but I wanted to talk about my top 10 games of the year. And then an unbelievable number of games that I wanted to play in time to make this list and didn't 'cause there are so many cool, especially indie games that came out this year that I started or didn't get a chance to start that I think, you know, could've been on this list if I had had the time. And so I wanted to shout them out and hopefully I will be able to play them in 2025 and maybe do some Rams to talk about them. But yeah, we're gonna start with number 10, which is cool. This is spelled, how many? Let me find, hold on. Let me consult the ancient tomes to tell you how many O's are in pool. It's P-O-O-O-L. This game is essentially kind of like Suica game, but it's pool like billiards. You're just sort of aiming your little balls at each other and trying to merge them. And it is very meditative. My favorite thing about it is the sound design because little click, click, click, clack that the balls make when they hit each other, scratches my brain just right. And this became my sort of go-to game to have on in the background while I was playing D&D or recording a podcast or something. Yes, I do game during the podcast. Don't comment me. It helps me stay focused to just have something to do with my hands and my eyes and just sort of engage in the conversation. My brain is fine, thank you for asking. It was just such a treat. I played it a bunch all year. I am told by Steam that I have 85 hours on record, which is probably overstated. I probably let it idle a lot of the time, but it's just delightful, very, very fun game. So that is number 10. Number nine, and I can't believe it's this low, but there are a lot of good games this year, is "Psychroma." Obviously, we talked about this one on the show, so I won't go into too much more detail about it. I think the only reason it's not higher is just I had some frustration points where I didn't know how to progress and how to look it up, which I think is just par for the course in a point-and-click adventure. If you're like me, not super detail oriented, but yeah, I mean, this game was immediately just arresting from the jump and has such incredible things to say about identity and gender and a number of other things, and it's a really special experience that I think is so worth investing some time in. And again, this was a zippy, so it's quite short. Number eight, number eight is "Fear the Spotlight." This is another zippy. One of the last ones we did this year. I loved this game. As someone who is not really into survival horror, it was sort of the perfect survival horror game for me specifically. The story was right up my alley. It was, the puzzles were perfect. Extremely accessible. You know, you always knew what you needed to do once you had all of the pieces. It was just a matter of finding them and putting them together, which I quite liked. The horror was right up my alley in terms of being suspenseful without being gross out or the other kinds of horror that I don't necessarily drive with. Yeah, the tactile puzzles were fantastic. It's a great game. I feel like it didn't get as much attention as I would have expected it to being the first in this line of "Bloomhouse Games." So you haven't checked it out. I do highly recommend. Number seven, "Another Zippy," which I have talked about at length. It's 20 small mazes. I don't know what to tell you. The mazes are perfect. Go play them. Number six, "Dungeons of Hinterberg." This is a game that I think would probably be even higher on my list if I had finished it. I didn't get like super, super far in, but the time that I did spend was a lot of fun. I think that this is a surprisingly like tight and interesting game considering it's an indie game. Like there are limitations on scope with any indie title. "Dungeons of Hinterberg," you don't feel it at all. Like it is really, it's a fantastic and fun game, as I've said before. I think at least on "Into the Aether," when I guessed it on that with Robin B earlier this year, this is a game that kind of combines like that like action, "Dungeons," puzzle solving, almost like Zelda-esque gameplay with a sort of like social element. The social element, I have not like, that's probably the part of the game that I feel like I've engaged with the least, with how far I got in it, but that's catnip to me. So it was really very fun, and I'm excited to play more of it. "Dungeons of Hinterberg." Go, play, it's fun. Number five is "Flock." This is a game that I feel like was like, it really turned a lot of heads when it was previewed in different showcases. This is an "Anapurna" game, so that obviously always helps. It's a game where you fly around on a little bird and you collect other little creatures to just fly around with you. It's like a creature collector without battle or anything. It's just about vibing. There's one thing about me, I love a game about vibing. But I think also what was so special and unique about this and like really very appealing to me specifically is that it's also about like the taxonomy of categorizing creatures. So there are all of these different creature families, I guess you could say, and subspecies within them, and you're, you know, identifying them based on like essentially a field guide that you have. There's something about that. I don't know, this just feels like, like I'm surprised that I haven't seen a game like that. I'm sure they exist, and I haven't, just haven't engaged with them. But like, I'm just surprised that I've never encountered something like that before, and it feels very, like I feel like if you played this game with a kid, it would be a wonderful way to like get them interested in like the natural world around us a little bit. And I think it's really very cute and fun and delightful. And obviously this is like the frog of the week. Host in me who spends a lot of time researching different frog species that finds all of this taxonomy stuff. So delightful. But I think it's really fun. And the art is sort of whimsical and beautiful. And also you collect wool so that someone can knit you new outfits. And if there's one thing about me, I'd love a fashion game. So this really checks all the boxes for me. So that's block that is number five. Number four is caravan sandwich. This is another one that I discussed at length in an episode of Into the Aether. Caravan sandwich I did finish. And that is another vibing game. There's definitely a theme here, I think, with a lot of these. It is a game where you play as a young woman whose sister has went missing a number of years ago. And all of a sudden you get a distress signal from her ship and realize that she crash landed somewhere on your home planet. And so this character goes back to that planet called Sigolo and sort of gets back in touch with her past and the people who live in her hometown while she tries to solve this mystery. And the way that you do that is by driving a van around. And it is just like when I think about this game, I feel like I can feel the dry heat of the desert that you drive through and I can hear the sound of rocks and gravel underneath the wheels of the van. And there's so much of that. This game really invites you to feel immersed in the world. There's some puzzle solving elements as you're exploring different abandoned structures on this planet because the whole thing is like it was-- it was a planet that was used to help supply a project that is basically harnessing energy from the sun in the solar system. And so once that project was complete and this planet was abandoned by the company that was exploiting it, much of the planet, the structures on the planet have fallen into disrepair. And this town that you are from is barely scraping by. So there's this desolate feeling to it, but it is so warm and inviting and just-- there's a real sense of place in it, which I think is something that I find myself very drawn to in games. This game really does it very well. And so yeah, this feels like a game that I will be revisiting time and time again whenever I just want to go back there and feel that. And there's an incredible sort of both environmental and obviously a little bit anti-capitalist and message here that I think is not so black and white in a good way. But I find that-- I don't know, it's also extremely hopeful. And I think that there is something beautiful about this kind of oasis in a desert planet that has been basically stripped mind and the fact that people are still there, people are resilient, people are trying to continue to make the world better and support each other there. That all really speaks to me, especially in our current day and age. So I really, really loved Caravan Sandwich. Absolutely one of my favorites that I played this year. That was number four. Number three, it's Balotro, Balotro, girl, I don't know. It's fucking good. Number go up, make brain feel good. Jokers laugh at me. I laugh back. I laugh in the face of God because I have this card game that make my brain feel so good. I don't know what I'm saying. But listen, if you've played it, you get it. This is just an incredible roguelike deck builder that is-- the simplicity of it, I think, is the thing that I find so infinitely charming about Balotro. It's like, you can explain it to anyone. It's like, do you know poker? Do you know poker hands? Great. Go play it. You'll be able to pick it up fairly easily from there. That combination of familiar and the constant delight and the surprise that you encounter as you find new jokers and learn about different synergies. And I find all of that just so perfectly done. And listen, you can play it on your phone, and that's very dangerous. But it is such a treat. I've spent so many wonderful hours this year playing Balotro. That's my number three. Number two is web fishing. Once again, another game that I have discussed-- I think I talked about this one on press start, I want to say. Was it Chase and I guessed it on that one? Web fishing is so much fun. It is the perfect log on with your friends in vibe game. It is silly and irreverent, but in a way that is unforced, just delightful. It is so much more than fishing if you're not familiar with it. There are little hidden things throughout. There are customization options that can motivate you to keep playing. And it just feels like if it continues to be nurtured, there are-- I can't believe I'm about to do this. I'm about to compare it to Fortnite. But I feel like it's like chill Fortnite. We're like, there's a lot of different things you can do in this game that is ostensibly about one thing. But it's like, just a happy hangout zone. And some of my loveliest memories, gaming memories of this year, we're playing this game with some of the other TWG hosts. We had a couple of really nice sessions just vibing and playing web fishing. And you can play solo too. I have done that. And it's just relaxing and nice. And I caught a big, huge, giant whale. And it was the proudest moment of my year. That's not really true, but it's one of them. That's web fishing. Number two, and number one is, of course, 1,000 times resist. Everyone knows this. I have said it a million times. Yeah, my love of 1,000 times resist is so well documented that I won't bore you with even more word vomit about it. It's the best game I've ever played. Best story I have ever been told, a hecky grace. Hair to hair, I love you all, my sisters. Now, as for the honorable mentions or just games that I didn't get to finish this year, Indica, I started super, super interesting. I got stuck on one of the mini games and never went back, but I planned to. In a similar vein, I played a lot of Lorelion laser eyes. But then got distracted. I forget what else came out. Something else came out, and I focused on, oh, it might have been 1,000 times resist, actually. I think 1,000 times resist, pulled my focus, and I never went back. And now it's at the point where I'm like, do I restart Lorelion or do I try to pick up from where I was and figure out what the fuck I was doing? That's the only reason I haven't revisited that game since mid-year this year. But I really want to at some point, because I know that it's an incredible game. So many people whose opinions I respect have said as much. Next up, tactical breach wizards. I really loved the demo for this one. It was clearly a standout. I think I want to say this was like a summer games fest situation, where they released that demo, or maybe the steam next fest that was around them. And it's so obviously special from the beginning. The writing is just incredible, and the gameplay is really fun. And I'm looking forward to diving fully into that one one day. Absolutely shocking to me that I didn't end up playing this never. The follow-up to Greece, which is one of my favorite-- not the follow-up, but the second game of Studio Nomada. I can't believe I never got to it. But I just know one day I'm going to sit down and play that game, and it's going to emotionally wreck me. Phoenix Springs, I started, did not finish. That is the extremely stylish point and click adventure mystery game that was featured in a few different showcases around summer games fest. I'm so excited to dive back into that one. Next up is Interstate 35. This is a narrative game about a post-apocalyptic, or near-apocalyptic setting. And that's all that I know. But I also know that I think it was the person who created it. It was also a narrative designer on 1,000 times resist, I want to say. They did some kind of work on it. And so that was just an immediately like, oh, yeah, I'm going to check that out at some point. So I'm excited for that one. Todes of the Bayou, which I talked about on one of our Rams about-- I think it was the second next fest this year. I played the demo for it, and it was really very cute. This is not my usual genre. But I was excited to check this one out. Obviously, the frog factor is huge. But the art was super cool, and I love-- the setting was very fun. It's like this swampy historical fiction kind of vibe. I don't know how to describe it, but it's really cute. And I'm excited to check that one out. And except a sorry were closed. I did talk about that demo as well on the same episode, I believe. But I never actually got to dive into that one. I don't know. I'm a little skeptical just because I've heard that the gameplay gets quite hard. And I'm a gameplay baby. So I don't know. But I'm still as intrigued about it as ever. So I think I will give it another try at some point in 2025. And finally, I guess that's the only one on here that isn't an indie, which is so funny. Infinity Nikki, I really want to play this game. Ever since the trailer dropped for it, like I said, I love a fashion game. And from what I've heard, this is not only a good one of those, but so much more than that, a sleeper hit this year. I'm really, really excited to check that out. At some point, when I kind of have time to sit down and do a sort of open world type thing. And I just-- I don't know. I love that it exists. And I love the idea of games that are targeting audiences that don't ordinarily get targeted, especially in mainstream games. This is a PS5 game. It just feels like that is so rare to see. I'm also reminded of, I forget what, where it was showcased. Maybe Day of the Devs around the Game Awards this year. There was that game, Don't Stop, Girlie Pop. It's a first person shooter that is intentionally pink and girly and evoking kind of like a Y2K girly aesthetic. That is not out yet, but certainly a game that I am excited to check out when it comes out. I want more of this. I want more games that are kind of unabashedly going for a different demographic, selfishly the demographic that I am in, which is women who love to be a little bit girly. Or anyone who loves to be a little bit girly. Hey, you know what? Gender essentialism is dead. Anyone, if you need a little bit of girliness in your life, infinity, nicky, and Don't Stop, Girlie Pop are for you. I don't know if that car horn-- well, or that one. Somebody's honking. I don't know if it came through the recording. Did it? Anyway, I'm going to stop now. This was longer than I expected. But thank you for listening, for giving a shit about me talking into a microphone by myself for half an hour. And thank you for caring at all, the idea that we make this show and people listen to it and engage with it, and talk to us about it, and enjoy it, is really delightful. And it's a fun privilege to get to be in your ears and chat with all of you in the Discord, on Blue Sky, wherever it may be, to get your suggestions for games that we should play. That is all so special. And I'm very grateful for it. This is one of the highlights of my year was launching .zip with AJ and Chase. So thank you all, and thank you AJ and Chase for making the show with me, because it's truly such a treat. And yeah, again, I hope everyone had a happy and healthy end of the year, and happy 2025. Looking forward to gaming with you all. I wish I hadn't said that. All right, bye. [MUSIC PLAYING] PwG, the worst garbage to all mine. (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]
