Wow, thanks so much for the shoutout of Ten Bells, we really appreciate it! We'll have to have a chat about it at some point, I too grew up in a pub! I bet you're great at Pool too!
@@SecondWindGroup We cant thank you guys enough for the coverage. You've really made a difference. Ten Bells has been struggling a little so these islands of appreciation for the game haven't gone unnoticed. Thanks so much for supporting small indie devs!
@@stuartmorley6894 It was only $3.50 but I blazed through it in 40 minutes and it's nowhere near as intricate or layered as the video portrays. There's 25 more or less conspicuous spooks and a simple narrative wrapped around it. It's a 2 room environment made with simple assets.
I'd like to mention UFO 50 in the narrative design category. Being able to tell a story over multiple years using only credits and Easter eggs is very impressive.
Do you think that qualifies as narrative design? I'd argue it is superfluous and extra to discover on your own, not integral or related to the game's mechanics and play at all. It doesn't affect anything within the design of the game, it's more of a narrative structure added after the fact.
@@n0isyturtle I'd disagree. Part of how the game tells its story is seeing how the fictional designers changed their design principles over time, improving and changing their games with more experience and technology. The first few games kinda suck balls, which is intentional. That's the first crappy bedroom/basement/garage projects that get future games made. That's DEFINITELY a narrative design thing. That is the narrative of the game informing the design, even if the design is to make something kinda intentionally bad and obtuse. That's why the game is so interesting as a meditation on the industry's history.
@@LethargicScientist When you explain it like that, I agree. The way the story unfolds is directly affecting the gameplay. Just the way it is kinda hidden though makes it feel optional. _Sort of_ like Inscryption, although that takes it a bit further as the story becomes part of the design as you progress.
@@n0isyturtle It definitely can feel optional, and you can miss things, but the way that games improve and change over the course of the years is very difficult to miss.
I'm going to give Indy the "Most Tactile Game of 2024" award. This was driven home for me by a half tongue-in-cheek RPS article titled "Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is a game about a man with hands". I'll just post a quote from the article, since Nic Reuben said it better than I could: "The Great Circle’s simulated tactility flitters between glorious and laborious. Many deceptively simple actions are one or sometimes two steps longer than you might expect. Keys are inserted, then turned. Levers gripped, then pulled. Staves raised above pressure plates, then lowered. Hands are placed, and then used. Whips are hooked around ledges marked with white scratches - the gentleman’s yellow paint - then scaled aggressively slowly, each gripped invisible rung on the makeshift leather ladder drawing out a grunt of exertion from Indy, underlying his most endearing and important trait: he is a human accidentally capable of superhuman feats." That combined with the sound design really makes you feel like you're there doing things as Indy, not just issuing instructions to our favorite archaeology professor. "...The Great Circle is a game that is very much about touching and feeling things, and so asks to be touched and felt to be understood much more so than your average absurdly expensive luxury game. There’s much less 'don’t you worry about that, let us take care of it for you', and so Indy’s hands are your hands."
"Cryptmaster is the first game of its type..." I'm pretty sure NOT following that clause with "pun intended" is a criminal offense punishable by a hefty fine or possibly jail time.
Gotta give a shout-out to Tactical Breach Wizards for the rewind mechanic. Works well as an anti-frustration feature, while also perfectly fitting the gameplay of seeing how the enemies are going to react to your moves, and trying to find the best possible outcome.
As someone who was often in pubs as a child (it was a combination of Dad's social life and his connections to the various rituals that happen in my town), I probably should check out Ten Bells.
For me, the best narrative design of the year is 1000xResist. The ideas and some techniques used in it are simply exquisite. This game also straight up became one of my favorites btw
Unicorn Overlord, for having a HUGE cast, but being sure to give at least one mission to every unit, AND then giving them a series of other scenes to flesh them out. Beyond that, the gameplay was fantastic, with combinations for days, almost any of which could win the game, and difficulties that were very different and didn't feel like just number crunches. I would also add Everspace 2...that was released in 2023, but it had a DLC in 2024 that added big units, and helped to mitigate a problem ARPGs have with their endgame, giving a lot of new content there, on top of the Rifts and Incursions that had been the only post game content. The base game is just fantastic as a space sim, with full control of your fighter, several types to chose from that all play in different styles, and a story that is great...to me anyway, I admit I'm into it. Oh and Metaphor: Refantazio deserves a mention, just for its streamlining of the persona calendar system WITHOUT being braindead simple. The way it works merely allows the player to know what their options are from a menu, giving you quick and easy access to everything, without digging through three menus to see what you might want to do on any given day. Also, changing the reward for good answers from 'actually getting to see more content' to a bonus in conversations is a change I much enjoy, as it means you don't miss anything if you don't want to have a guide open.
Lol I can just imagine the bickering going on in Second Wind's office chat about Design Delve's and Fully/SemiRamblomatic's takes on the best designs of the year. I would love to see that chat!
With that recommendation I'm going to have to try that indy game. I felt that kind of overwhelming awe with Ghost of Tsushima and how it used ui elements to convey complex emotions really stood out to me as a long time game enjoyer
I know the Indiana Jones game came out too late to be considered for any of this past year’s Game Awards, but I really hope it doesn’t get forgotten by the committee this year.
Unless you're Smash Ultimate, that's just kind of the fate of December games. I'd say he'd have a decent shot, not a guarantee or anything, but a decent shot, at an Actor in a Sole/Primary Playable Character Role nomination, if they actually worked like I wish they did in terms of acting categories. But how I wish The Game Awards did performance categorization is Actor and Actress in a Sole/Primary Playable Character Role, Actor and Actress in a Secondary Playable Character Role and Actor and Actress in an NPC Role. And...though these are not meaningless categorization differences, they also don't 100% map onto the normal Leading/Supporting paradigm and I don't know if Geoff would ever think of the idea of acting categorization being oriented around levels of playability and not literal role size.
The sound is good, but the actual game…..isn’t, imo. I’m not sure I agree with the level design accolade for the Vatican- it’s not a “level” it’s like 1/3 of the game! That’s like saying the whole of Elden ring is “a level”
Well, definitely makes me want to play all of those games more. I hadn't brought into the Indy hype yet. My personal nominations are - Best Retro Compilation from a Fictional Console goes to UFO 50, for the sheer variety of game mechanics wrapped up in its pleasing retro aesthetics, Best Retro Compilation You Want To Live In to Llamasoft The Jeff Minter Story as Digital Eclipse did such an amazing job curating that with its Timeline idea, and Best Game That Continues To Have Its Hooks Into Me goes for a second year to Powerwash Simulator, for the brilliant series of paid and free extra content that has kept the game fresh. The news that there are Wallace & Gromit levels on the horizon means I'm going to be playing it into a third year...
Solid. The ones that impressed me that aren't on here: "Is This Game Trying to Kill Me?" for putting puzzles into both a 2D in-game game, and a 3D escape-room-y environment. I felt like it hadn't outstayed its welcome (though I will admit, it may have come close). For minimalism: "Security: The Horrible Nights", for giving a variety of horror stories where you really just interact with the world by walking around, pointing your flashlight at things, and yelling "Hey!". There's no dialog. It's all in the same hospital. Is it great? No. But it's telling stories in a pretty clear style, and with intent. For cardlike roguebuilders, Diceomancer gets a brief mention for a mechanic involving rolling a magic die to replace numbers on the screen. This includes ones on the cards in hand, enemy health bars (so they all have multiple health bars so you can't one-shot everything) enemy intentions... charges on relics, your own HP... so when the math says you're hosed, you can change the math a little. And... that's about it. There's good games throughout the year, but there's always a shortage of innovation.
Always love the lists this time of year. It is nice to see the different takes creators have and how they justify their choices. It can lead to some great recommendations!
Agreed - The Vatican in Indiana Jones: The Great Circle is so good. I don't normally complete levels in similar types of games but, man. It is so satisfying in that game and level, didn't get the same feel from the Giza level. Best wishes with getting real life Ludo transported!
Watching all Second Wind 2024 top game videos back to back really made me interested on Ten Bells. A Game cannot be so good that it mentioned on multiple best of list by multiple people right?😊
I personally found Metaphor Refantazio a fantastic rework of multiple formulas under ATLUS's vast catalogue of games into a perfected gameplay loop and progression in the JRPG genre. So, I think if I were to create an award/category for Best Refresh of a Known Formula this year, that would definitely be it; of multiple, in fact. That speaks levels in a design perspective to me. That also applies to storytelling setups and depth of thematic subject approaches as well, while I'm at it. When it comes to narrative driven games like this, I think it also does apply to its design on how it presents itself in an overview (Gameplay and Story Segregation are neatly absent from this game in all shapes and forms, even in regards to how the Job system is ultimately utilized). I'm pleasantly surprised it won the Narrative award in this year's Game Award show, as it was one well deserved award in my book at the very least.
Apparently even Baker himself didn’t think he’d be able to pull the voice off: according to a recent interview, when he heard the game directors were looking for the Harrison Fird voice, he suggested them to look at a couple other VAs.
My top game was Shadows of Doubt. A procedurally generated detective game/life sim where you play as a detective in a dystopian future/past (alternate history, think crt tvs and bionic upgrades) where murders happen in the world and you have to use your own powers of deduction to find the killer as well as do all sorts of odd jobs.
Very pleasantly surprised that you gave such accolades to Indiana Jones... the single player adventure game is my favorite genre, and this game really pulled off the magic... every piece of production fell into place. The writing, character portrayals, graphics, sound, atmosphere, map design, combat, puzzles... you name it, this game seemed to do it all right. I look forward to what Machine Games comes up with next!
Narrative design, I have to give it to Sandland. The game introduced me to the characters very quickly and gave a clear message about who they are and what is important to them, and it did this through a very small amount of dialogue.
@@n0isyturtle Narrative design is how the writing is presented within the game. The character introductions in Sandland could have been delivered in a voiceover or purely through dialogue. It wasn't. It delivered it through a combination of gameplay, short cutscenes initial quest structure and environmental factors.
There are two 2024 releases that I want to give specific design shoutouts: Nine Sols: The parry, especially in terms of sound design, is so satisfying, I was disappointed when I played Sekiro for the first time a few months later, because countering in Sekiro doesn't feel nearly as good as it does in Nine Sols (at least to me personally). Tactical Breach Wizards: The dialogue writing in this game is the funniest writing I've seen in a game since at least Portal 2, maybe ever.
When you revealed that you picked IJatGC for Sound Design, I was hoping you’d mention the magnificent use of Williams-esque incidental music to alert the player of nearby enemies. This was one of the most effective tools for making me feel like I was in an Indiana Jones film. Oh, and for level design, you didn’t mention how expertly they telegraphed what walls were claimable without immersion-breaking yellow paint. I’m telling you, I went from playing Great Circle to FF7 Rebirth and got whiplash, the contrast was so great.
For me personally, the best horror designed was also an Anomaly Horror game called Captured: With the very familiar feels of a house twisted into a limbo; With the unnerving feels when looking in familiar room after room, knowing that somewhere something isn't right; And (in normal difficulty and higher) the tense of opening doors and picking around dark corners where a deadly entity might lurk on the other side!
The only multi-player game I have put any time into in my life has been Helldivers 2. Not sure if it counts as well designed but I loved pretty much every mission I played.
I completely agree with regard to Animal Well. Furthermore, I found its atmosphere to be very distinct and immersive for all of the little attentions to detail and the effective use of screen spacing and layer depth of visuals to provide a larger-than-life / otherworldly aesthetic. It was downright disturbing in places, and utterly wholesome and comforting in others, and I loved that.
Let's see. I think I've got the same winners for Narrative and Puzzle Design, Cryptmaster and Animal Well respectively, for reasons you put into words better than I could. I believe Rivals is the only new multiplayer game I played this year so it wins by default, but as I'm sure you know I agree with everything you said here. Best Horror Design I think I gotta give to Mouthwashing for getting deep in my brain and not letting me stop thinking about it for several days after I finished it. Not the "scariest" game I've played by any means but certainly horrifying in several ways. Best Level Design is a tough one cause it's not something I tend to consciously think about as I play games, but I think I'll say Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I loved exploring each new area and I loved coming back through to access new sections with new abilities as I progressed. Also, every time I encountered something I couldn't interact with yet it was clear to me that I'd need to come back later, something not all Metroidvanias convey well causing me to waste anywhere from several seconds to several minutes. So that's gotta count for something. Best Sound Design is Astro Bot hands down. The sound effects in Astro Bot are so unbelievably satisfying to hear. Every different footstep sound for different surfaces, every special ability's associated sounds, every little thing you can knock around makes just the perfect sound and adds so much to an already delightful experience.
Ff7 rebirth's combat was pretty spectacular imo. So much depth and so many different loadouts, not to mention it's just very fun. Also shout-out to queens blood, i also thought that was very well designed.
I very much love that narrative design has expanded beyond merely the story and dialogue of a game, which I would argue is narrative structure, not design. Narrative design is more how the narrative weaves in with the play mechanics. It could be as natural as systemic game design told 100% through play, or as in-you-face a la Cryptmaster. RPGs don't have narrative design, they have writing.
Ultros, Frostpunk 2, Neva, Phantom Abyss (1.0), Hades 2 (EA) and The Bazaar (Closed Beta) are all games that came out this year worth accommodating/mentioning. Not going to break them into categories but my GOTY would be Ultros.
I'd say my favorite game this year was "Animal Well". Got a pretty slow connetion and not much storage. A game that isn't 50gb+ is really convinent. And the game was pretty and fun. I even looked up videos about the more conveluted puzzles. I didn't finish it, but I didn't finish more games I reallly liked.
I'm a bad person for finding it funny, but mentioning your dyslexia and misspelling "Twitch" at the very end feels like a classic set-up and punchline.
I do think a fair handful of Marvel Rivals characters absolutely missed the mark. Rocket Raccoon's inability to spare a second from healing to fire his iconic heavy weapons, Captain America being stuck as an annoying healer-harassing gremlin, or Black Widow being relegated to "the sniper".
@AcrylicPixel if it's cheaper, you could just lend me a PC. I'm joking, of course, but thank you for replying. I've been avoiding seeing too much of the game, but everything I have seen and heard about it sounds amazing. Truly a game made by gamers who know which expectations to subvert.
Man, I know we don’t like giving Sony their flowers, but don’t be stingy on the Team Asobi praise. Astro Bot FELT incredible to play, and I can’t remember the last time a game made me smile so much. Just delightful.
I hear it when it comes to Marvel Rivals, but Helldivers 2 takes it by a mile, personally- every single thing is just perfectly neatly planned, and it all clicks together in a way that really makes clear the difference in quality when everyone involved was on point
Honestly, as much as I loved the narrative feel of Indiana Jones... the gameplay didn't do it for me at all. The combat just felt like I was flailing wildly, and the stealth wasn't really doing anything for me either. Narratively however? I could seriously imagine it as being a lost movie from George Lucas' heyday back in the 80s. It really did feel just like one of the old Indiana Jones movies come to life.
I think that list videos like this really *need* a title card for each entry. It took me over a minute into the second entry to realize that the name of the game is "Animal Well". At least.. I *think* that's what it's called?
Help bringing Ludo stateside? Shut up and take my money, JM8. As for the design questions of 2024: The award for Best Evocation of a Retro Style goes to New Star GP, which is such an absolute love letter to games like Virtua Racing and other classics of the early 3D era, right down to the use of "it's Formula One but we can't say it in so many words" to evoke the technical road courses necessary for any good driving game...chef's kiss. I could take issue with the difficulty curve (which can be downright brutal, but contributes in its own way to finding a difficulty sweet spot for casual play) but for the most part this game turns my PC into a Sega Saturn or a Nintendo 64 while it's running. The award for Best Use of DLC to Expand an Already-Great World goes to...(if it were anyone else but me it'd be Shadow of the Erdtree but Soulslikes aren't my jam)...Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, which yes was a free patch but I defy anyone to tell me that 99 percent of game devs and publishers wouldn't have sold the feature set as a DLC. We may never see Haunted Chocolatier (Silksong will come out first, I'm sure of it) but that's only because ConcernedApe keeps returning to his passion project and managing to make it something greater every time he sets to putting out a version increment. He could've stopped at 1.5-heck, the game was plenty complete as far back as 1.3-but we keep getting more and more, all for a game that still costs $15 at full price and frequently goes on sale. And the award for Best Community Engagement goes to SCS Software, whose "Best Community Ever" continues to make American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2, which are not only great games and wonderful ways to unwind after work, into community experiences the way Paradox's game forums used to during their golden age, when after action reports were as much a reason to play their historical grand strategy games as the games themselves were. I've joined their total distance unofficial forum competition (I'm so far running 34th in 2025, not bad for a guy with a job and a commute) and it's definitely subtly pushed me toward seeking out efficient long-haul routes to rack up the miles.
My best game of 2024 was _The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom,_ as the echoes and bind systems really rewarded experimentation and decision-making. One of my favourite moments in the early game was coming across a room full of boulders and slime enemies called Zols, choosing to summon a rolling enemy, and watching it defeat everything in the room in a couple of seconds. For me, the biggest weakness of the game was that it still gives the player the sword and other classic Zelda items, meaning the player can increasingly ignore the core mechanics over the course of the game.
I finished Cryptmaster in one sitting. It's a very good game. The combat is incredibly dumb, but otherwise, a very good game. Most of the fun comes from finding all kinds of different possible responses from the Cryptmaster, of which there are MANY. So really, they could have skipped the nonsense combat. The in-game card game was fun, too
I had multiple people on Reddit trying to convince me Animal Well had zero cultural impact, yet I am seeing it at least mentioned in pretty much every game of the year video. I didn’t get every egg, but I did finish the game and find most of the post-game secrets and was thoroughly satisfied with the experience. A must-play for exploration-focused gamers.
Given what I'd heard of it before release and how the receptions of the more recent movies, I wasn't expecting much of the new Indiana Jones game and got the feeling not many people were, but since release I have heard little but praise for it, or at the very least that it's impressively solid. Maybe I'll have to look into it.
One thing the constrained 1 room, 1 puzzle games have going for them over the inter-connected, contextual puzzles like Animal Well: I can pick it back up after a month and I'm not completely lost. Don't get me wrong, even 5 years ago I would have loved it so much more. But now without anywhere near the same level of consistent time I can dedicate to games, it's like playing on someone else's save file...
Unicorn Overlord had odd systems that somehow managed to all gel Pacific Drive had an addictive gameplay loop Metaphor Re Fantazio had a strong narrative hook and complex systems And Astrobot plays like a dream [420th like/yes I'm a man-child lol]
I felt like every point you made about rivals is still true for overwatch. Also I disagree that all of the characters fulfill the power fantasy; I think the tanks feel a bit off and don’t always reflect how powerful their character is in lore (ex: Thor and hulk)
I still find it funny that the Stray soundtrack is used so heavily in this dog-centric video series. Great soundtrack though. On topic, nothing I played in 2024 felt award-worthy; better luck this year.
Factorio space age dlc did such a excellent job building and improving on everything that I love about the base game easily the best factory game of the year and in my book ever
Maybe it doesn't apply, But I feel Like palworld at least deserves an Honorable mention. No one thing it does is original, No one element is a first, But the game manages to mix everything together perfectly in a form that wasn't done before. No systems feel out of place, and it all feels great to play together.
Man i never got the hype on marvel rivals, i dont know where these games are made but Rivals, Delta force, Arena breakout, Battlefield 2042, Strinova all looked like "China games" idk how else to describe it, the same way you can see euro jank in games they all just seemed fucking lifeless
I watched a streamer play all the way through Ten Bells (I don't have a PC). It was really great. I wish she had gone more slowly in places, but she wasn't speeding through, it was obvious that she was doing it at the speed that felt right to her. The tension made her speed up at times, and I noticed a few things that she didn't but I think this will be the case of everyone playing this game. No spoilers, but even small (but large!) changes happen, like the orientation of the wallpaper. Things that are right in your face, yet easy to miss. Really cool game.
FF7 Rebirth for me wins everything... it was not only the best game of last year, but most probably my favorite game I have ever played... and to give an idea, since 2007, together with my wife, we have played from start to credits over 800 games :)
Factorio: Space Age has been completely and utterly snubbed by every awards show and publication, but I'm not extremely shocked, given its niche, almost hobbyist audience. Game of the year and soundtrack of the year for me
I'm not able to pay most fresh games due to a weak PC, do I've built my gaming habits around that. Thus, it's hard to say which game did anything best when I've played two games released this year The unforgotten games of 2024 will get their attention from me later
I'd still say that, for my money, the best multiplayer design of this year was Helldivers 2. Obviously it had its ups and downs but, fundamentally, I think its innovations are more interesting than that of Marvel Rivals which is a bit closer to the traditional hero shooter.
Not to play the Overwatch fan-boy here, but really everything you said about Marvel Rivals could have been applied to Overwatch. I haven't tried MR, so I'll gladly accept everything you said about it, but that doesn't seem so incredible a design when a 9-year-old game already does the same. I'll be waiting for that video to see what it brings that's so innovative.
Best game that took over my life: Balatro. Still haven't achieved those "e" multipliers, but not for lack of trying. 2 jokers away from completing the collection. All other categories also go to Balatro. Because i haven't played the new Factorio expansion, which i'm sure would win "Best game that made me lose track of time and self preservation".
In addition to great puzzle design, Animal Well is also well-designed on a technical level. The graphics are fantastic, everything just kinda works like its supposed to, and the whole game is like 50MB.
I must be in the minority, thinking Troy Baker's impression of Harrison Ford wasn't...great. Like, it's almost indistinguishable in parts, specifically when Indy raises his voice, but most of the time it feels like he's just mumbling. Still an astoundingly good game though, largely.
Final Fantasy 16, released on PC in 2024, one of the best designed games I've played lately. Doesn't matter what people think about the story or the gameplay style etc. the actual design of the interface, the engine and all of that... the UX I guess, is IMO a case study in good design.
The equipment and skill select menu wasn't amazing imo. I can't remember off the top of my head but I feel like it was one of those "use an analogue stick as your mouse cursor" ones that are kind of cumbersome. I think the overall look of the skill upgrade menu is fantastic and really fun with the different orbits of the different eikons. That being said, how it handled combat and quests was amazing for me. I loved every single little battle with how satisfying it was to use the skills and dash around killing things. Plus, being able to just hold a button and teleport back to the quest giver after completing a quest was so nice. Made it simple to knock out all the side quests with minimal effort.
@@Ashbobsjunior I agree, I love the combat a lot. I also particularly love the active time lore feature, and the ability to pause in cutscenes and still see the subtitles. the save anywhere is fantastic. I have a form of ADHD so the simplicity of it all is an absolute dream for me, it's very easy to turn it on and just play.
Best open-world map goes to Like a dragon: Infinite Wealth. Whatever distraction you're looking for is 2 minutes travel away, gameplay disruptors are marked, the world feels lived-in like little else and you can auto travel with a reasonable trade off
Wow, thanks so much for the shoutout of Ten Bells, we really appreciate it! We'll have to have a chat about it at some point, I too grew up in a pub! I bet you're great at Pool too!
I think our team really likes your game lol
@@SecondWindGroupTen Bells has featured a fair amount recently. It's very cool!
@@SecondWindGroup We cant thank you guys enough for the coverage. You've really made a difference. Ten Bells has been struggling a little so these islands of appreciation for the game haven't gone unnoticed. Thanks so much for supporting small indie devs!
@@SecondWindGroup Just a bit 😂
I bought your game after Yahtzee mentioned it as his favorite anomaly horror of the year and wow it is SO good.
You heard it here third: Second Wind really likes Ten Bells.
I haven't heard anybody else talk about this game ever. Only multiple Second Wind members.
I trust Design Delve enough that tomorrow I'm going to wishlist/buy it when I can get to my PC.
@@Onyxthegreat91we have been so lucky with their interest in the game it’s unreal
@@stuartmorley6894 It was only $3.50 but I blazed through it in 40 minutes and it's nowhere near as intricate or layered as the video portrays. There's 25 more or less conspicuous spooks and a simple narrative wrapped around it. It's a 2 room environment made with simple assets.
Shout to Balatro for winning Best Dopamine Receptors Cooker award
I'd give a big-up to Vampire Survivors Castlevania DLC as well. Hits me right in the lizard brain.
I'd like to mention UFO 50 in the narrative design category. Being able to tell a story over multiple years using only credits and Easter eggs is very impressive.
Do you think that qualifies as narrative design? I'd argue it is superfluous and extra to discover on your own, not integral or related to the game's mechanics and play at all. It doesn't affect anything within the design of the game, it's more of a narrative structure added after the fact.
@@n0isyturtle I'd disagree. Part of how the game tells its story is seeing how the fictional designers changed their design principles over time, improving and changing their games with more experience and technology. The first few games kinda suck balls, which is intentional. That's the first crappy bedroom/basement/garage projects that get future games made. That's DEFINITELY a narrative design thing. That is the narrative of the game informing the design, even if the design is to make something kinda intentionally bad and obtuse. That's why the game is so interesting as a meditation on the industry's history.
@@LethargicScientist When you explain it like that, I agree. The way the story unfolds is directly affecting the gameplay. Just the way it is kinda hidden though makes it feel optional. _Sort of_ like Inscryption, although that takes it a bit further as the story becomes part of the design as you progress.
@@n0isyturtle It definitely can feel optional, and you can miss things, but the way that games improve and change over the course of the years is very difficult to miss.
I'm going to give Indy the "Most Tactile Game of 2024" award. This was driven home for me by a half tongue-in-cheek RPS article titled "Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is a game about a man with hands". I'll just post a quote from the article, since Nic Reuben said it better than I could:
"The Great Circle’s simulated tactility flitters between glorious and laborious. Many deceptively simple actions are one or sometimes two steps longer than you might expect. Keys are inserted, then turned. Levers gripped, then pulled. Staves raised above pressure plates, then lowered. Hands are placed, and then used. Whips are hooked around ledges marked with white scratches - the gentleman’s yellow paint - then scaled aggressively slowly, each gripped invisible rung on the makeshift leather ladder drawing out a grunt of exertion from Indy, underlying his most endearing and important trait: he is a human accidentally capable of superhuman feats."
That combined with the sound design really makes you feel like you're there doing things as Indy, not just issuing instructions to our favorite archaeology professor.
"...The Great Circle is a game that is very much about touching and feeling things, and so asks to be touched and felt to be understood much more so than your average absurdly expensive luxury game. There’s much less 'don’t you worry about that, let us take care of it for you', and so Indy’s hands are your hands."
"Cryptmaster is the first game of its type..."
I'm pretty sure NOT following that clause with "pun intended" is a criminal offense punishable by a hefty fine or possibly jail time.
I mean.. if this was Darren on the Backdrop, sure.
Speaking of awards and sound design, the music selections for this video are absolutely fantastic
Omg worlds colliding! I got an OP-1 field because of Red Means Recording
Gotta give a shout-out to Tactical Breach Wizards for the rewind mechanic.
Works well as an anti-frustration feature, while also perfectly fitting the gameplay of seeing how the enemies are going to react to your moves, and trying to find the best possible outcome.
As someone who was often in pubs as a child (it was a combination of Dad's social life and his connections to the various rituals that happen in my town), I probably should check out Ten Bells.
For me, the best narrative design of the year is 1000xResist. The ideas and some techniques used in it are simply exquisite. This game also straight up became one of my favorites btw
I haven't heard sound design like Indy since Alien Isolation. Top notch.
I loved all the sound effects but often wanted a bit more of the theme music or the like when trying to escape a crumbling tomb
Unicorn Overlord, for having a HUGE cast, but being sure to give at least one mission to every unit, AND then giving them a series of other scenes to flesh them out. Beyond that, the gameplay was fantastic, with combinations for days, almost any of which could win the game, and difficulties that were very different and didn't feel like just number crunches.
I would also add Everspace 2...that was released in 2023, but it had a DLC in 2024 that added big units, and helped to mitigate a problem ARPGs have with their endgame, giving a lot of new content there, on top of the Rifts and Incursions that had been the only post game content. The base game is just fantastic as a space sim, with full control of your fighter, several types to chose from that all play in different styles, and a story that is great...to me anyway, I admit I'm into it.
Oh and Metaphor: Refantazio deserves a mention, just for its streamlining of the persona calendar system WITHOUT being braindead simple. The way it works merely allows the player to know what their options are from a menu, giving you quick and easy access to everything, without digging through three menus to see what you might want to do on any given day. Also, changing the reward for good answers from 'actually getting to see more content' to a bonus in conversations is a change I much enjoy, as it means you don't miss anything if you don't want to have a guide open.
Lol I can just imagine the bickering going on in Second Wind's office chat about Design Delve's and Fully/SemiRamblomatic's takes on the best designs of the year. I would love to see that chat!
Cant wait for the ludothon.
As someone who moved overseas with a pet, twice... I feel ya.
With that recommendation I'm going to have to try that indy game. I felt that kind of overwhelming awe with Ghost of Tsushima and how it used ui elements to convey complex emotions really stood out to me as a long time game enjoyer
Cryptmaster has been awesome so far! I love how simple yet rich it is...thank you for shouting it out. More people should play it 🙌🏼
I know the Indiana Jones game came out too late to be considered for any of this past year’s Game Awards, but I really hope it doesn’t get forgotten by the committee this year.
What was good about that game?
@@mrblooper1994Did you not watch the video?
@@BroadwayBrittany I had to stop halfway family suff I didn't hear much about the game so i thought it wasn't remarkable
Unless you're Smash Ultimate, that's just kind of the fate of December games. I'd say he'd have a decent shot, not a guarantee or anything, but a decent shot, at an Actor in a Sole/Primary Playable Character Role nomination, if they actually worked like I wish they did in terms of acting categories. But how I wish The Game Awards did performance categorization is Actor and Actress in a Sole/Primary Playable Character Role, Actor and Actress in a Secondary Playable Character Role and Actor and Actress in an NPC Role. And...though these are not meaningless categorization differences, they also don't 100% map onto the normal Leading/Supporting paradigm and I don't know if Geoff would ever think of the idea of acting categorization being oriented around levels of playability and not literal role size.
The sound is good, but the actual game…..isn’t, imo.
I’m not sure I agree with the level design accolade for the Vatican- it’s not a “level” it’s like 1/3 of the game! That’s like saying the whole of Elden ring is “a level”
LU 👏DO👏THON! LU 👏DO👏THON! LU 👏DO👏THON!
Upvote for Labyrith love! I knew there was a reason I love Ludo so much! Hope you are reunited soon.
Well, definitely makes me want to play all of those games more. I hadn't brought into the Indy hype yet.
My personal nominations are - Best Retro Compilation from a Fictional Console goes to UFO 50, for the sheer variety of game mechanics wrapped up in its pleasing retro aesthetics, Best Retro Compilation You Want To Live In to Llamasoft The Jeff Minter Story as Digital Eclipse did such an amazing job curating that with its Timeline idea, and Best Game That Continues To Have Its Hooks Into Me goes for a second year to Powerwash Simulator, for the brilliant series of paid and free extra content that has kept the game fresh. The news that there are Wallace & Gromit levels on the horizon means I'm going to be playing it into a third year...
Genuinely, more awards should be for Hyperspecific Categories like yours
Solid. The ones that impressed me that aren't on here: "Is This Game Trying to Kill Me?" for putting puzzles into both a 2D in-game game, and a 3D escape-room-y environment. I felt like it hadn't outstayed its welcome (though I will admit, it may have come close).
For minimalism: "Security: The Horrible Nights", for giving a variety of horror stories where you really just interact with the world by walking around, pointing your flashlight at things, and yelling "Hey!". There's no dialog. It's all in the same hospital. Is it great? No. But it's telling stories in a pretty clear style, and with intent.
For cardlike roguebuilders, Diceomancer gets a brief mention for a mechanic involving rolling a magic die to replace numbers on the screen. This includes ones on the cards in hand, enemy health bars (so they all have multiple health bars so you can't one-shot everything) enemy intentions... charges on relics, your own HP... so when the math says you're hosed, you can change the math a little.
And... that's about it. There's good games throughout the year, but there's always a shortage of innovation.
You had me at "Horror game set in a pub"
Always love the lists this time of year. It is nice to see the different takes creators have and how they justify their choices. It can lead to some great recommendations!
Cryptmaster has been criminally overlooked, it deserves so much more love.
Gonna have to give Cryptmaster a go, it looks and sounds awesome.
Agreed - The Vatican in Indiana Jones: The Great Circle is so good. I don't normally complete levels in similar types of games but, man. It is so satisfying in that game and level, didn't get the same feel from the Giza level.
Best wishes with getting real life Ludo transported!
January 26th? I don't have much to give, but re-uniting Ludo with their human is the best reason I've known for a while to give! I'll be there!
Watching all Second Wind 2024 top game videos back to back really made me interested on Ten Bells. A Game cannot be so good that it mentioned on multiple best of list by multiple people right?😊
Only 1 way to find out
I personally found Metaphor Refantazio a fantastic rework of multiple formulas under ATLUS's vast catalogue of games into a perfected gameplay loop and progression in the JRPG genre.
So, I think if I were to create an award/category for Best Refresh of a Known Formula this year, that would definitely be it; of multiple, in fact. That speaks levels in a design perspective to me.
That also applies to storytelling setups and depth of thematic subject approaches as well, while I'm at it. When it comes to narrative driven games like this, I think it also does apply to its design on how it presents itself in an overview (Gameplay and Story Segregation are neatly absent from this game in all shapes and forms, even in regards to how the Job system is ultimately utilized).
I'm pleasantly surprised it won the Narrative award in this year's Game Award show, as it was one well deserved award in my book at the very least.
Guess I will have to move these games up a few rankings on my backlog
Apparently even Baker himself didn’t think he’d be able to pull the voice off: according to a recent interview, when he heard the game directors were looking for the Harrison Fird voice, he suggested them to look at a couple other VAs.
My top game was Shadows of Doubt. A procedurally generated detective game/life sim where you play as a detective in a dystopian future/past (alternate history, think crt tvs and bionic upgrades) where murders happen in the world and you have to use your own powers of deduction to find the killer as well as do all sorts of odd jobs.
Very pleasantly surprised that you gave such accolades to Indiana Jones... the single player adventure game is my favorite genre, and this game really pulled off the magic... every piece of production fell into place. The writing, character portrayals, graphics, sound, atmosphere, map design, combat, puzzles... you name it, this game seemed to do it all right. I look forward to what Machine Games comes up with next!
I just moved to America too! Hope you're settling in well
Narrative design, I have to give it to Sandland. The game introduced me to the characters very quickly and gave a clear message about who they are and what is important to them, and it did this through a very small amount of dialogue.
That's just writing, not design
@@n0isyturtle Narrative design is how the writing is presented within the game. The character introductions in Sandland could have been delivered in a voiceover or purely through dialogue. It wasn't. It delivered it through a combination of gameplay, short cutscenes initial quest structure and environmental factors.
Check out that stream. That puppy needs a plane ticket!
There are two 2024 releases that I want to give specific design shoutouts:
Nine Sols: The parry, especially in terms of sound design, is so satisfying, I was disappointed when I played Sekiro for the first time a few months later, because countering in Sekiro doesn't feel nearly as good as it does in Nine Sols (at least to me personally).
Tactical Breach Wizards: The dialogue writing in this game is the funniest writing I've seen in a game since at least Portal 2, maybe ever.
Big agreement on both of those statements.
"You can't shove all of life's problems through windows"
"Maybe not, but we owe it to ourselves to try"
The Vatican level is incredible... then you can go look up the actual Vatican on Google Maps and it blew my mind
When you revealed that you picked IJatGC for Sound Design, I was hoping you’d mention the magnificent use of Williams-esque incidental music to alert the player of nearby enemies. This was one of the most effective tools for making me feel like I was in an Indiana Jones film.
Oh, and for level design, you didn’t mention how expertly they telegraphed what walls were claimable without immersion-breaking yellow paint. I’m telling you, I went from playing Great Circle to FF7 Rebirth and got whiplash, the contrast was so great.
For me personally, the best horror designed was also an Anomaly Horror game called Captured:
With the very familiar feels of a house twisted into a limbo; With the unnerving feels when looking in familiar room after room, knowing that somewhere something isn't right; And (in normal difficulty and higher) the tense of opening doors and picking around dark corners where a deadly entity might lurk on the other side!
The only multi-player game I have put any time into in my life has been Helldivers 2. Not sure if it counts as well designed but I loved pretty much every mission I played.
The punch and shot sound effects in the Indy game are straight out of the effects done by Lucasfilm in the movies, that's why they're so great.
I completely agree with regard to Animal Well. Furthermore, I found its atmosphere to be very distinct and immersive for all of the little attentions to detail and the effective use of screen spacing and layer depth of visuals to provide a larger-than-life / otherworldly aesthetic. It was downright disturbing in places, and utterly wholesome and comforting in others, and I loved that.
Let's see. I think I've got the same winners for Narrative and Puzzle Design, Cryptmaster and Animal Well respectively, for reasons you put into words better than I could.
I believe Rivals is the only new multiplayer game I played this year so it wins by default, but as I'm sure you know I agree with everything you said here.
Best Horror Design I think I gotta give to Mouthwashing for getting deep in my brain and not letting me stop thinking about it for several days after I finished it. Not the "scariest" game I've played by any means but certainly horrifying in several ways.
Best Level Design is a tough one cause it's not something I tend to consciously think about as I play games, but I think I'll say Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I loved exploring each new area and I loved coming back through to access new sections with new abilities as I progressed. Also, every time I encountered something I couldn't interact with yet it was clear to me that I'd need to come back later, something not all Metroidvanias convey well causing me to waste anywhere from several seconds to several minutes. So that's gotta count for something.
Best Sound Design is Astro Bot hands down. The sound effects in Astro Bot are so unbelievably satisfying to hear. Every different footstep sound for different surfaces, every special ability's associated sounds, every little thing you can knock around makes just the perfect sound and adds so much to an already delightful experience.
Ff7 rebirth's combat was pretty spectacular imo. So much depth and so many different loadouts, not to mention it's just very fun. Also shout-out to queens blood, i also thought that was very well designed.
I very much love that narrative design has expanded beyond merely the story and dialogue of a game, which I would argue is narrative structure, not design. Narrative design is more how the narrative weaves in with the play mechanics. It could be as natural as systemic game design told 100% through play, or as in-you-face a la Cryptmaster.
RPGs don't have narrative design, they have writing.
Isn’t narrative structure HOW the story is delivered to the player? Not the story and dialogue.
Ultros, Frostpunk 2, Neva, Phantom Abyss (1.0), Hades 2 (EA) and The Bazaar (Closed Beta) are all games that came out this year worth accommodating/mentioning. Not going to break them into categories but my GOTY would be Ultros.
Crouching behind the light to avoid the traps never comes up again in the Great Circle. I know since I 100% it a few days ago.
I'd say my favorite game this year was "Animal Well".
Got a pretty slow connetion and not much storage. A game that isn't 50gb+ is really convinent.
And the game was pretty and fun. I even looked up videos about the more conveluted puzzles.
I didn't finish it, but I didn't finish more games I reallly liked.
It feels like a new Indiana Jones game is something that shouldn't be happening in 2024 and just came our nowhere.
I'm glad it did though.
I'm a bad person for finding it funny, but mentioning your dyslexia and misspelling "Twitch" at the very end feels like a classic set-up and punchline.
I do think a fair handful of Marvel Rivals characters absolutely missed the mark. Rocket Raccoon's inability to spare a second from healing to fire his iconic heavy weapons, Captain America being stuck as an annoying healer-harassing gremlin, or Black Widow being relegated to "the sniper".
Not mentioning ufo 50... when you have not only one but 50 exceptionally designed games
I really hope Ten bells gets a console release, or I can get a new PC because i would love to try it out.
We would love to be able to bring it to consoles
@AcrylicPixel if it's cheaper, you could just lend me a PC.
I'm joking, of course, but thank you for replying. I've been avoiding seeing too much of the game, but everything I have seen and heard about it sounds amazing. Truly a game made by gamers who know which expectations to subvert.
@@D-S-9 Thanks! Thats exactly what we were going for!
Man, I know we don’t like giving Sony their flowers, but don’t be stingy on the Team Asobi praise. Astro Bot FELT incredible to play, and I can’t remember the last time a game made me smile so much. Just delightful.
I hear it when it comes to Marvel Rivals, but Helldivers 2 takes it by a mile, personally- every single thing is just perfectly neatly planned, and it all clicks together in a way that really makes clear the difference in quality when everyone involved was on point
Honestly, as much as I loved the narrative feel of Indiana Jones... the gameplay didn't do it for me at all.
The combat just felt like I was flailing wildly, and the stealth wasn't really doing anything for me either.
Narratively however? I could seriously imagine it as being a lost movie from George Lucas' heyday back in the 80s. It really did feel just like one of the old Indiana Jones movies come to life.
Please transport Ludo safely. I hope he arrives safely and calmly.
Ludo absolutely deserves to be self-absorbed
I think that list videos like this really *need* a title card for each entry. It took me over a minute into the second entry to realize that the name of the game is "Animal Well". At least.. I *think* that's what it's called?
Help bringing Ludo stateside? Shut up and take my money, JM8.
As for the design questions of 2024:
The award for Best Evocation of a Retro Style goes to New Star GP, which is such an absolute love letter to games like Virtua Racing and other classics of the early 3D era, right down to the use of "it's Formula One but we can't say it in so many words" to evoke the technical road courses necessary for any good driving game...chef's kiss. I could take issue with the difficulty curve (which can be downright brutal, but contributes in its own way to finding a difficulty sweet spot for casual play) but for the most part this game turns my PC into a Sega Saturn or a Nintendo 64 while it's running.
The award for Best Use of DLC to Expand an Already-Great World goes to...(if it were anyone else but me it'd be Shadow of the Erdtree but Soulslikes aren't my jam)...Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, which yes was a free patch but I defy anyone to tell me that 99 percent of game devs and publishers wouldn't have sold the feature set as a DLC. We may never see Haunted Chocolatier (Silksong will come out first, I'm sure of it) but that's only because ConcernedApe keeps returning to his passion project and managing to make it something greater every time he sets to putting out a version increment. He could've stopped at 1.5-heck, the game was plenty complete as far back as 1.3-but we keep getting more and more, all for a game that still costs $15 at full price and frequently goes on sale.
And the award for Best Community Engagement goes to SCS Software, whose "Best Community Ever" continues to make American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2, which are not only great games and wonderful ways to unwind after work, into community experiences the way Paradox's game forums used to during their golden age, when after action reports were as much a reason to play their historical grand strategy games as the games themselves were. I've joined their total distance unofficial forum competition (I'm so far running 34th in 2025, not bad for a guy with a job and a commute) and it's definitely subtly pushed me toward seeking out efficient long-haul routes to rack up the miles.
My best game of 2024 was _The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom,_ as the echoes and bind systems really rewarded experimentation and decision-making. One of my favourite moments in the early game was coming across a room full of boulders and slime enemies called Zols, choosing to summon a rolling enemy, and watching it defeat everything in the room in a couple of seconds.
For me, the biggest weakness of the game was that it still gives the player the sword and other classic Zelda items, meaning the player can increasingly ignore the core mechanics over the course of the game.
I finished Cryptmaster in one sitting. It's a very good game. The combat is incredibly dumb, but otherwise, a very good game. Most of the fun comes from finding all kinds of different possible responses from the Cryptmaster, of which there are MANY. So really, they could have skipped the nonsense combat. The in-game card game was fun, too
I had multiple people on Reddit trying to convince me Animal Well had zero cultural impact, yet I am seeing it at least mentioned in pretty much every game of the year video. I didn’t get every egg, but I did finish the game and find most of the post-game secrets and was thoroughly satisfied with the experience. A must-play for exploration-focused gamers.
I agree with all 5 placements.
Given what I'd heard of it before release and how the receptions of the more recent movies, I wasn't expecting much of the new Indiana Jones game and got the feeling not many people were, but since release I have heard little but praise for it, or at the very least that it's impressively solid. Maybe I'll have to look into it.
Man I keep hearing about this Nine Bells game; I think I should go pick it up!
It’s Ten Bells so it comes up in your search. Enjoy!
@@AcrylicPixel You fell for my anomaly
@@bird3713 doh!
My brain constantly is going back to Mouthwashing. That game just sticks with you, after it is done.
One thing the constrained 1 room, 1 puzzle games have going for them over the inter-connected, contextual puzzles like Animal Well: I can pick it back up after a month and I'm not completely lost.
Don't get me wrong, even 5 years ago I would have loved it so much more. But now without anywhere near the same level of consistent time I can dedicate to games, it's like playing on someone else's save file...
Unicorn Overlord had odd systems that somehow managed to all gel
Pacific Drive had an addictive gameplay loop
Metaphor Re Fantazio had a strong narrative hook and complex systems
And Astrobot plays like a dream
[420th like/yes I'm a man-child lol]
I felt like every point you made about rivals is still true for overwatch. Also I disagree that all of the characters fulfill the power fantasy; I think the tanks feel a bit off and don’t always reflect how powerful their character is in lore (ex: Thor and hulk)
I havent played it, but i did hear a lot of design hype around UFO 50. Idk if thats worthy of a closer examination.
Ludothon! Let’s get you and your pup reunited
I still find it funny that the Stray soundtrack is used so heavily in this dog-centric video series. Great soundtrack though.
On topic, nothing I played in 2024 felt award-worthy; better luck this year.
1:08 Snake guy from Sen's Fortress?
Factorio space age dlc did such a excellent job building and improving on everything that I love about the base game easily the best factory game of the year and in my book ever
UFO 50. For everything.
Honestly making me consider trying out The Great Circle...
Was this used in a podcast? I swear ive heard part of this before.
Maybe it doesn't apply, But I feel Like palworld at least deserves an Honorable mention. No one thing it does is original, No one element is a first, But the game manages to mix everything together perfectly in a form that wasn't done before. No systems feel out of place, and it all feels great to play together.
Man i never got the hype on marvel rivals, i dont know where these games are made but Rivals, Delta force, Arena breakout, Battlefield 2042, Strinova all looked like "China games" idk how else to describe it, the same way you can see euro jank in games they all just seemed fucking lifeless
Weird time to be moving _to_ the States!
I watched a streamer play all the way through Ten Bells (I don't have a PC). It was really great. I wish she had gone more slowly in places, but she wasn't speeding through, it was obvious that she was doing it at the speed that felt right to her. The tension made her speed up at times, and I noticed a few things that she didn't but I think this will be the case of everyone playing this game. No spoilers, but even small (but large!) changes happen, like the orientation of the wallpaper. Things that are right in your face, yet easy to miss. Really cool game.
FF7 Rebirth for me wins everything... it was not only the best game of last year, but most probably my favorite game I have ever played... and to give an idea, since 2007, together with my wife, we have played from start to credits over 800 games :)
Factorio: Space Age has been completely and utterly snubbed by every awards show and publication, but I'm not extremely shocked, given its niche, almost hobbyist audience. Game of the year and soundtrack of the year for me
I genuinely want to play animal well, but it feels like the visuals are made of migraine to my poor little eyes XD
I'm not able to pay most fresh games due to a weak PC, do I've built my gaming habits around that.
Thus, it's hard to say which game did anything best when I've played two games released this year
The unforgotten games of 2024 will get their attention from me later
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle makes me extremely excited for Machine Games' next project.
I'd still say that, for my money, the best multiplayer design of this year was Helldivers 2. Obviously it had its ups and downs but, fundamentally, I think its innovations are more interesting than that of Marvel Rivals which is a bit closer to the traditional hero shooter.
Not to play the Overwatch fan-boy here, but really everything you said about Marvel Rivals could have been applied to Overwatch. I haven't tried MR, so I'll gladly accept everything you said about it, but that doesn't seem so incredible a design when a 9-year-old game already does the same.
I'll be waiting for that video to see what it brings that's so innovative.
Best game that took over my life: Balatro. Still haven't achieved those "e" multipliers, but not for lack of trying. 2 jokers away from completing the collection.
All other categories also go to Balatro. Because i haven't played the new Factorio expansion, which i'm sure would win "Best game that made me lose track of time and self preservation".
Best narrative? Ludo's narrative, disco biscuits as they are.
In addition to great puzzle design, Animal Well is also well-designed on a technical level. The graphics are fantastic, everything just kinda works like its supposed to, and the whole game is like 50MB.
I must be in the minority, thinking Troy Baker's impression of Harrison Ford wasn't...great. Like, it's almost indistinguishable in parts, specifically when Indy raises his voice, but most of the time it feels like he's just mumbling.
Still an astoundingly good game though, largely.
Final Fantasy 16, released on PC in 2024, one of the best designed games I've played lately. Doesn't matter what people think about the story or the gameplay style etc. the actual design of the interface, the engine and all of that... the UX I guess, is IMO a case study in good design.
The equipment and skill select menu wasn't amazing imo. I can't remember off the top of my head but I feel like it was one of those "use an analogue stick as your mouse cursor" ones that are kind of cumbersome. I think the overall look of the skill upgrade menu is fantastic and really fun with the different orbits of the different eikons.
That being said, how it handled combat and quests was amazing for me. I loved every single little battle with how satisfying it was to use the skills and dash around killing things. Plus, being able to just hold a button and teleport back to the quest giver after completing a quest was so nice. Made it simple to knock out all the side quests with minimal effort.
@@Ashbobsjunior I agree, I love the combat a lot. I also particularly love the active time lore feature, and the ability to pause in cutscenes and still see the subtitles. the save anywhere is fantastic. I have a form of ADHD so the simplicity of it all is an absolute dream for me, it's very easy to turn it on and just play.
You're making me want to play the indy game even more than I've ever wanted to, and I can't even run it... ;_;
Thanks again
Best open-world map goes to Like a dragon: Infinite Wealth. Whatever distraction you're looking for is 2 minutes travel away, gameplay disruptors are marked, the world feels lived-in like little else and you can auto travel with a reasonable trade off
Reminds me of hugos house of horrors