I suspect at least part of the excitement too was about Paper Mario getting 'something' from the classic formula and hope that it would sell well enough to get a third classic style game more so than the remake itself.
Well yeah, I bought it last year but only played up till chapter 2. Thing is I've played it half a dozen times before (only a year ish earlier at the time the remake released) and I mainly wanted to support the release--I imagine Arlo felt similarly.
That’s because the game is old af. If you’ve played it once, you’ve seen what it has to offer. And I like TTYD. It’s a great game… but it being rereleased on Switch was such a “meh” moment for me.
Played Animal Well with my brother-in-law, who is kind of a quiet keeps-to-himself type. He had beat it previously, and I would ask him for tiny hint morsels and then revel in uncovering the mysteries. He sat with me for hours vicariously reliving a first playthrough. The game is fantastic in its own right, but I now also remember it as a wonderful time hanging out with him.
As soon as you mentioned the Mewtwo card in the Pokemon TCG part, I remembered I had a pack to open… I couldn’t believe my eyes, I pulled THAT Mewtwo card. I was hearing your voice in the background as the animation played too, thank you Arlo.
Hey Arlo! I kind of realised the other day that I have literally been watching your videos for like 6 years, so I wanted to say thank you for the years of consistent videos, and for always making me laugh!
Since Arlo asked at the end of the video, my top 5 were as follows: 1. Astro Bot 2. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 3. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom 4. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 5. Unicorn Overlord.
1:07 Secret message: "Enormous statues depicting creatures I have never laid eyes upon nor even imagined. These statues are enormous, stretching high up into the air... Yet they are but blades of grass to the moon, for beyond them I see a great gate, closed, as tall as a mountain and taller. This gate is set within... no. It is difficult to even acknowledge it. My breath catches in my throat. Yet this is no dream, no vision, no beguiling illusion meant to lead me astray from my path to the tower. The tower. I see the tower and more like a wall; it stretches out of sight to my sides, obscured by statue and stone, so vast is it's girth. And it's height... How can I describe? It nearly fills up the sky, rises higher than I can eve see, with only the barest strips of yellow sky visible on either side. It is several minutes before I can begin inching my way to the gate. I am drunk with the sight of this thing yet I steel myself, quickening my stride with any strength I can muster. I am stratled anew with every step I take, shocked to find the gate growing larger and larger in my vision, my destination drawing nearer so gradually. It is hours before I am at the doors, and now they too stretch higher than I can make out. Fotunatley I know with certainty that my way to the tower has been paid, and the jet black obsidian doors open gradually as I approach. They open with eerie silence, and finish moving just as I arrive. Inside I see nothing but pure black, yet I do not hesitate. There is no dark so deep, no obstacle so treacherous, no guardian so viscious as to cause me even a moment's pause. I enter the black. I do not hear the gate closing behind me yet suddenly it is closed. I stand in the dark for a long while, listening intently to the silence. Then with a blink of my eye there is light. Soft, golden light, seeming to emanate from nowhere. I am standing in an unfathomably huge room. Here inside the tower the stone is a little lighter in color, with a soft texture to diffuse refflections. Everything is pristine, immaculately carved and kept, as though not a soul has ever set foot within these walls, yet there are no adornments, no markings, no color, no signs of life. A vast set of stairs lead up to a landing where I can just make out a great many doors. I ponder them for a few moments, as one savours the final breath before a plunge. The journey to find the tower has been long, as long as a lifetime, it seems. I can scarcely even remember my life before this journey began. And yet I know in my heart that the real journey is only just the beginning. My heart aflame, I"
My personal GotY was Prince of Persia: The lost crown. Which was an incredible Metroidvania by the Rayman Origins/Legends devs. It’s such a great, fast paced game with some of the tightest and most satisfying platforming mechanics I’ve played and incredible combat that feels like they took a smash bros moveset, and put it in a platformer. Don’t let the Ubisoft name deter you from it, it’s an incredible game, with none of the Ubisoft slop like XP boosters, season passes and stuff like that. It’s the best thing they’ve made in a decade
Animal well is truly one of the greatest experiences I’ve had in video games, it’s become one of my all time favorites. The atmosphere, the gameplay, the secrets, the compactness, the puzzles, this game really establishes a system and goes so far with it.
I really loved Animal Well. The ending of the first layer was a bit anticlimactic, but that just kinda makes me want to get through the others if I can. Normally I don't go for all the secrets but this game is just so pretty I don't mind spending a few extra hours looking at it.
Lies of P rules. It's so, so, so good. The Sekiro/Jedi parrying combined with more traditional Souls combat is amazing, the weapons are cool, and the vibes are immaculate.
This was the year I finally got around to playing zelda the windwaker, twlight princess, and skyward sword. Took me a LONG time to beat them all but it was so much fun!
Animal Well is also probably my own personal pick for my GOTY, for all those reasons you already mentioned. The game meant so much to me, and figuring out one of the hardest puzzles in the game on my own felt so rewarding!
Gotta say this last year for me was a big change, finally graduating college, figuring out where I wanna go and what I wanna do, all that. As I hunt for jobs I've needed games that just keep me busy and occupied, and as a result I've been getting really into grindy games. For me, my GOTY is probably hyrule warriors DE, I mean it's pure zelda fanfare to the nth degree, so much to do, so much of a sense of progression, and best of all... IT HAS 2 MIDNAS!!!
Congrats on graduating! I know it can feel like a slog in that last year lol, but you're now a "Proper Adult"(TM), great job! And best of luck with the job hunting mate
Echoes of Wisdom is honestly my GOTY. Yes it's really easy to focus on how inexcusably horrendous all the UI and QoL stuff is, but just past that is hands-down the best Zelda sidequests and NPCs since Majora's Mask and some of the best top-down Zelda gameplay ever
It's my game of the year as well. I love the echoes and bind mechanics and how much they encourage experimentation and a slower, more methodical approach. I played the game almost entirely without using the sword because I enjoyed experimenting using echoes and bind that much.
ENORMOUS STATUES DEPICTING CREATURES I HAVE NEVER LAID EYES UPON NOR EVEN IMAGINED. THESE STATUES ARE ENORMOUS, STRETCHING HIGH UP INTO THE AIR...YET THEY ARE BUT BLADES OF GRASS TO THE MOON, FOR BEYOND THEM I SEE A GREAT GATE CLOSED, AS TALL AS A MOUNTAIN AND TALLER. THIS GATE IS SET WITHIN...NO. DIFFICULT TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE IT. MY BREATH CATCHES IN MY THROAT. THIS IS NO DREAM, NO VISION, NO BEGUILING ILLUSION MEANT TO LEAD ME ASTRAY FROM MY THE TOWER. THE TOWER. I SEE THE TOWER BEFORE ME NOW, AS PLAIN AS DAY THO NOW IT SEEMS LESS LIKE A TOWER AND MORE LIKE A WALL; IT STRETCHES OUT SHT TO MY SIDES, OBSCURED BY STATUE AND STONE, SO VAST IS ITS GIRTH. AND ITS HEIGHT... HOW CAN I DESCRIBE? IT NEARLY FILLS UP THE SKY, RISES HIGHER THAN I CAN EVEN SEE, WITH ONLY THE BAREST STRIPS OF YELLOW SKY VISIBLE ON EITHER SIDE. IT IS SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I CAN BEGIN INCHING MY WAY TO THE GATE. I AM DRUNK WITH THE SIGHT OF THIS THING YET I STEEL MYSELF, QUICKENING MY STRIDE WITH ANY STRENGTH I CAN MUSTER. I AM STARTLED ANEW WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE, SHOCKED TO FIND THE GATE GROWING LARGER AND LARGER IN MY VISION, MY DESTINATION DRAWING NEARER SO GRADUALLY. IT IS HOURS BEFORE I AM AT THE DOORS, AND NOW THEY TOO STRETCH HIGHER THAN I CAN MAKE OUT. FORTUNATELY I KNOW WITH CERTAINTY THAT MY WAY TO THE TOWER HAS BEEN PAID, AND THE JET BLACK OBSIDIAN DOORS OPEN GRADUALLY AS I APPROACH. THEY OPEN NOT A SOUL HAS EVER SET FOOT WITHIN THESE WALLS, YET THERE ARE NO ADORNMENTS, NO MARKINGS, NO COLOR, NO SIGNS OF LIFE. A VAST SET OF STAIRS LEAD UP TO A LANDING WITH EERIE SILENCE, AND FINISH MOVING JUST AS I ARRIVE. INSIDE I SEE NOTHING BUT PURE BLACK, YET I DO NOT HESITATE. THERE IS NO DARK SO DEEP, NO OBSTACLE SO TREACHEROUS, NO GUARDIAN SO VISCIOUS AS TO CAUSE ME EVEN A MOMENT'S PAUSE. ENTER THE BLACK. I DO NOT HEAR THE GATE CLOSING BEHIND ME YET SUDDENLY IT IS CLOSED. I STAND IN THE DARK FOR A LONG WHILE, LISTENING INTENTLY TO THE SILENCE. REFLECTIONS. EVERYTHING IS PRISTINE, IMMACULATELY CARVED AND KEPT, AS THOUGH THEN WITH A BLINK OF MY EYE THERE IS LIGHT. SOFT, GOLDEN LIGHT, SEEMING TO EMANATE FROM NOWHERE. I AM STANDING IN AN UNFATHOMABLY HUGE ROOM. HERE INSIDE THE TOWER THE STONE IS A LITTLE LIGHTER IN COLOR, WITH A SOFT TEXTURE TO DIFFUSE WHERE I CAN JUST MAKE OUT A GREAT MANY DOORS. I PONDER THEM FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AS ONE SAVOURS THE FINAL BREATH BEFORE A PLUNGE. THE JOURNEY TO FIND THE TOWER HAS BEEN LONG, AS LONG AS A LIFETIME, IT SEEMS. I CAN SCARCELY EVEN REMEMBER MY LIFE BEFORE THIS JOURNEY BEGAN. AND YET I KNOW IN MY HEART THAT THE REAL JOURNEY IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING. MY HEART AFLAME, I
If you like Sudoku, check out Picross. It is also a grid based number-puzzle which feels very similar with its brain-teaseryness but you get cool pictures at the end :D I absolutely love it
Fyi for mobile players, check out Simon Tatham's Puzzle Collection. It's a massive collection of puzzle games, all are designed to be auto generated so it's got infinite replayability, you can customise how big/difficult/etc the puzzles are, and it's free and open source so there's no need to pay, no ads, no sending your data to weird companies, etc. It's such a simple app but it does what it does so well it's genuinely irreplaceable for me as a massive puzzle lover! Edit: it also has sudoku and picross as two of the games in it, so your bases are covered there! (Admittedly the picross puzzles are auto generated so you won't get a picture of a boat or something by the end of it, just in case that's a deal breaker)
Lies of P is my favorite game of all time. I’m not a huge fan of souls likes, but this one really clicked for me. I also love gothic horror novels, and the inspiration for the story and references to other pieces of literature were inspired. I’m so glad to see it get some recognition!!!
Astro Bot was my Game of the Year simply because it brought me the most joy. It made me smile. It was adorable. It was a nice change of pace and I absolutely adored every second I played of it. I haven't felt that constant enjoyment in a game since Death Stranding. Truly an outstanding game.
The surprise of how good games were this year is what kept me going. This year my fiance left me and as horrible a feeling as that was, the realization of how much more difficult dating is now days considering my age, job, and situation made this year a constant depression. But astrobot, crow country Tekken 8 Lorelei and the laser eyes to name some of my favorites. This year, though full of major heart break, was also full of wonderful surprises. I'm so glad I chose this as my hobby.
Shocked you didn't finished TTYD Remake yet. For a game you truly cherish, you sure didn't take your time to finish it. But I get it. You played it many timea on the Gamecube and you know it's still the same game you loved with many QOL improvements it did. I get that. But still. I completed the game twice and I 100% both on my files too. Great times. But TTYD Remake, Dragon Quest 3 2D-HD Remake & Astro Bot are hands down my 2024 GotY.
Metaphor, shadow generations, helldivers 2, Mario and Luigi brother ship, and soon echoes of wisdom, there were a lot of amazing games that came out last year. I’m still trying to keep up with them all, but I’m really enjoying the ones I’ve gotten so so far
@@awildmoose6541 except a lot of people actually finished it And anyone who played it can see it has a lot of qualities and IGN review was being very unfair rating it as a 5. Just as an example, the game got the best combat gameplay in the series since Superstar Saga and everyone praised this aspect of the game
@KevZ7. They didnt, you didnt finish it, i didnt finish it, arlo didnt finish it and no one else did. Its a bloated mess of a game, its slop and soulless. The game sucks and ign is right. The combat has been dumbed down to something so brainless that its easily the worst a mario rpg has had.
Another crab’s treasure was the only game I played this past summer. It’s getting an update for new game plus sometime this year, and the anticipation is killing me. 🦀🐚
i spent all of 2024 playing through the " trails" series by falcom. and also the Y's series. (trails from zero to trails of cold steel 4, Y's 1, 2 origins, felghana, celceta) it has been a monstrous effort. but they all went so hard. y's really impressed me. i honestly do not even remember playing anything but those games.
I've been playing a lot of Ys games as well. I already played Ys 8 a few years back, and this year I played Origin, 9, Memories of Celceta, and 10 (I was very upset to learn that Falcom has already announced an upgraded version of Ys 10). I recently got Felghana, but I haven't started playing it yet.
@@matthewmuir8884 yeah, the y's x situation is a bit shitty. but i guess it has been out in japan for 2 years. maybe it will just be dlc. who really knows.
This ended up being a games-lite years for me too. Echoes of Wisdom, PM:TtYD, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX, and a little Legends Arceus replay were about it. Echoes definitely scratched the itch I did not know I needed scratched. That was just SO fun. Oktorok firing squads for the win!
If you want to take your Sudoku to the next level: Variant Sudoku. There’s so much complexity and varieties of variant mechanics, the depth just blows regular Sudoku out of the water. And because it’s almost entirely handcrafted puzzles, you can really appreciate the thought process that went into the puzzle logic, as opposed to most regular Sudoku apps where the algorithm randomly generates puzzles.
i know what it’s like to try all the manifestation tips you see online and still feel stuck. that was me, too. nothing worked until i found Vibrations of Manifestation by Alex Lane. there’s something about the way it explains energy that makes it all so clear. when i read chapter 3, everything fell into place-it’s like the missing piece i didn’t know i needed.
I'm not getting the overpriced Bluray player for 1 game if I have a good PC and a Switch and there is little to nothing that'll change my mind on that.
Even though Arlo literally said in one of his topic Arlo’s what his game of the year would be, I was genuinely shocked to see Animal Well at the top. But given what kind of game Arlo likes, I definitely shouldn’t be surprised. That game’s secrets go deeper and deeper and deeper. My main gripe with the game was how item heavy it was in terms of discovering those secrets, but it was still an absolute joy to go through.
Animal Well was the most immersed i've ever felt in a game. Completed it in one 8h long sitting, then proceeded to 100% it the following two days. It's ofc my GOTY and it really do deserves more recogniztion outside of youtube. Only game that is competing with being goty would be Nine Sols, but there's def a gap. Animal Well was everything I wanted it to be and sooo much more.
With the soulslike and metroidvania love, I feel like Hollow Knight might genuinely be an all time favorite game for Arlo if he gave it another try in 2025 I think he tried it years ago and got stuck at an early boss, but that was before the FromSoft obsession
I didn’t play many games that came out this year, so here’s my top 5 games I played in 2024 since he asked us 5. Animal Well (Fun and good, but I didn’t have as big of feelings for it as others. 4. Pokemon Black 2 (Doing a Pokemon marathon this year and BW 1 & 2 were easily the best games. 2 I just think has better gameplay. 3. Paper Mario TTYD (In only a few days I completed it. It’s so fun and addicting. Looks gorgeous too. 2. Persona 3 Reload (I love the modern persona trilogy and this game was really good. Just barely my least favorite of the trilogy. But the story and characters are great as usual and the gameplay is really good) 1. In Stars and Time (This game has one of the best stories and characters giving me big Omori vibes. This game has a few flaws. But man, the character arc of siffrin and everything revolving why everything is happening was so good and has such an amazing climax(s). Play this game please)
Hi Arlo, just want to say that I'm going through a really tough time in my life and love having these videos to alleviate my thoughts for a couple of minutes. Thank you so much ❤️
It makes me so happy that animal well was your number one game. I would’ve never played it if I didn’t see your video on it. It is genuinely a masterpiece.
My top games this year are definitely in no particular order: Astro bot, halo infinite(I just got into it), LOZ EOW, Indiana jones game, NieR: Automata. Also I played even more TOTK but that came out 2023.
15:54 the same thing happened in my own family, I have two little cousins under 10, and there is something about Astro Bot that just draws them, it's addictive. This damn robot is LSD for six-year olds.
So cool of you to not focus on the fact that videogamedunkey published the game Animal Well! Most youtubers say that dunkey made the game when he really just published it and I’m glad you gave the developer the credit he deserves! (He even made the game engine)!
i realize that subconsciously ive stopped noticing/appreciating the puppetry that goes into these videos and just accepted that this is a furry blue creature that records himself talking about nintendo like thats a normal thing
Gotta say, I'm digging this blue fuzzy creature. It's good to see creators stepping out of their comfort zone and trying new things. All joking aside, hope you're genuinely feeling better Arlo.
Hopefully a creative writing exercise by the editor or arlo lol. Feels like an incantation to summon Nyarlathotep ENORMOUS STATUES DEPICTING CREATURES I HAVE NEVER LAID EYES UPON NOR EVEN IMAGINED. THESE STATUES ARE ENORMOUS, STRETCHING HIGH UP INTO THE AIR... YET THEY ARE BUT BLADES OF GRASS TO THE MOON, FOR BEYOND THEM I SEE A GREAT GATE CLOSED, AS TALL AS A MOUNTAIN AND TALLER. THIS GATE IS SET WITHIN...NO. U DIFFICULT TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE IT. MY BREATH CATCHES IN MY THROAT. YE DREAM, NO VISION, NO BEGUILING ILLUSION MEANT TO LEAD ME ASTRAY FRON UHE TOWER. THE TOWER. I SEE THE TOWER BEFORE ME NOW, AS PLAIN AS DA NOW IT SEEMS LESS LIKE A TOWER AND MORE LIKE A WALL; IT STRETCHES OUT MY SIDES, OBSCURED BY STATUE AND STONE, SO VAST IS ITS GIRTH. AND ITS HEIGHT... HOW CANT DESCRIBERTNEAKLY PILLS UP THE SAY, RISES HIGHEK THAN CAN EVEN SEE, WITH ONLY THE BAREST STRIPS OF YELLOW SKY VISIBLE ON EITHER SIDE. IT IS SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I CAN BEGIN INCHING MY WAY TO THE GATE. I AM DRUNK WITH THE SIGHT OF THIS HING YETUSTEEL MYSELF, QUICKENING MY SURIDE WITH ANY STRENGTH I CAN MUSTER.I AM STARTLED ANEW WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE, SHOCKED TO FIND THE GATE GROWING LARGER AND LARGER IN MY VISION, MY DESTINATION DRAWING NEARER SO GRADUALLY. IT S HOURS BEFORE I AM AT THE DOORS, AND NOW THEY TOO SURETCH HIGHER THAN ICAN MAKE OUT. FORTUNATELY I KNOW WITH CERTAINTY THAT MY WAY TO THE TOWER HAS BEEN PAID, AND THE JET BLACK OBSIDIAN DOORS OPEN GRADUALLY AS I APPROACH. THEY OPEN WITH EERIE SILENCE, AND FINISH MOVING JUST AS TARRIVE. INSIDE I SEE NOTHING BUT PURE BLACK, YET I DO NOT HESITATE. THERE IS NO DARK SO DEEP, NO OBSTACLE SO TREACHEROUS, NO GUARDIAN SO VISCIOUS AS TO CAUSE ME EVEN A MOMENT'S PAUSE. I ENTER THE BLACK. DO NOT HEAR THE GATE CLOSING BEHIND ME YET SUDDENLY WIS CLOSED. I STAND IN THE DARK FOR A LONG WHILE, LISTENING INTENTLY TO THE SILENCE. THEN WITH A BLINK OF MY EYE THERE IS LIGHT. SOFT, GOLDEN LIGHT, SEEMING TO EMANATE FROM NOWHERE. I AM STANDING IN AN UNFATHOMABLY HUGE ROOM. HERE INSIDE THE TOWER THE STONE IS A LITTLE LIGHTER IN COLOR, WITH A SOFT TEXTURE TO DIFFUSE REFLECTIONS. EVERT THING IS FRISTINE, IMMACULATELY CARVED AND NEF, AS THOUGH NOT A SOUL HAS EVER SET FOOT WITHIN THESE WALLS, YET THERE ARE NO ADORNMENTS, NO MARKINGS, NO COLOR, NO SIGNS OF LIFE. A VAST SET OF STAIRS LEAD UP TO A LANDING WHERE I CAN JUS I MANE OUT A GREAT MANY DOORS. FONDER THEM FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AS ONE SAVOURS THE FINAL BREATH BEFORE A PLUNGE. THE JOURNEY TO FIND THE TOWER HAS BEEN LONG, AS LONG AS A LIFETIME, IT SEEMS. I CAN SCARCELY EVEN REMEMBER MY LIFE BEFORE THIS JOURNEY BEGAN. AND YELUKNOW IN MY HEART THAT THE REAL JOURNEY IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING.
Animal Well is my game of the year, too. I actually believe it was your review that convinced me to pick it up, and thank you so much for that. I play very few new releases, but other 2024 games I tremensely enjoyed was Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, Echoes of Wisdom, and Rise of the Golden Idol.
Love the list! I have one shout out. Dave the Diver. That game is so much fun. The fishing and sushi resteraunt mechanic. The boss fights. The mini games. I loved it all. The vibes of the cutscenes. I'm glad it's getting a sequel but definitely try it out if you have the chance!
I had the exact same experience with Vampire Survivors... Skepticism, then bemusement, followed by taking over my spare time for a solid two weeks before I had to quit cold turkey 😂
Animal Well was the first game I played after my wife and I got married. It was my first experience with playing a single player game while someone was watching, and we had a blast. The atmosphere is so moody, the music is calming and atmospheric, and the puzzles are crazy. We loved it, and I couldn't have asked for a better wedding gift from Dunkey
Really hope you like the rest of Dark Souls 3! I'm not sure if its just because it was my first souls game, but I LOVE everything about that game. It really truly has some of my favorite parts out of all the fromsoft games.
Animal Well was already in my radar on the visuals alone... It being a metroidvania already sold me when I got my hands on the game... but what I like most is that it's one of THOSE games with super cool secrets woven into it. I did not expect another FEZ or TUNIC to just appear out of nowhere and that really elevated my opinion of this game.
9:34 i was listening to this on headphones away from my phone for a sec, and right when you said “you know how they make you play those games during ads?” i had an immediate heart attack cause i INSTANTLY knew it was fruit merge 🤧🤧🤧 i had the same story and got my sister and her bf HOOKED
2024 was a solid year for remakes/compilations giving me the big happies. I’ve had a great time with Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection, Sonic x Shadow Generations, Epic Mickey Rebrushed, and Another Code Recollection (I wish more people were on board with that last one - it does a great job of reimagining those original games). Aside from that, as a big fan of his comics, I really love Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. It’s not a perfect experience, and is prone to crashing, but I’ve never played a comicbook video game that feels so much like the comics it’s based on. The graphics look like Mike Mignola’s art come to life. The late, great Lance Riddick gives Ron Perlman a run for his money as Hellboy. And the art book included with the physical copy that released last year is a joy to peruse.
I played Timberborn the most last year. I also played Palworld, Zootrs, Fallout 4, Fallout London, Fallout 3, Hades, Dungeon Clawler, Elden Ring, TF2, Neon Abyss, Brotato, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, The Binding of Isaac Repentance, Zelda: Echos of Wisdom, Ballionaire, and a few more games I know I am forgetting.
A really appreciate seeing noble games being talked about. Because my best gaming moments of 2024 was finally playing through all the cut the rope games, where’s my water 1&2. And playing a couple cooking mama apps. And sonic dream team
Bigmode actually has another game "releasing" soon called Star of Providence. Would highly recommend. I say "releasing" in quotes because the game was out before, but is now getting a massive update and re-release under Bigmode. It's also coming out on Switch
I think my personal game of the year has to be Kitten Burst, it's made by one guy as well, It's a very unorthadox and niche game, you play as a cat in which you are in a cyberpunk early 2000s web internet type environment doing races and collecting data nodes. All the characters are so loveable, the environments are just beautiful with the early 2000s aesthetics and the story was just fantastic. The music as well, the amount of amazing electronic tracks are insane, It's a game that will stick with me for a long time, and is my favourite game of all time.
I cannot highly enough recommend finishing Dark Souls 3 and its DLC. Elden Ring was my first ever FromSoftware game, and DS3 was my 2nd. It's VASTLY different from ER, but (mostly) no less fun!
I feel its fair because its the most linear Dark Souls game, DS1 was very open ended and DS2 was a bit too but then DS3 took all the dungeon crawling focus out of the game. It feels rather out of place next to both Demon's Souls and DS1-2.
@@LZ02-OVERTURE It's certainly more linear, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of it one bit. I recently played Demon's Souls Remake, my first time through DS. It looked and sounded beautiful, but it somehow felt even more constricted than DS3 and I was especially disappointed with most of the boss fights. Not all were bad, but the best was only OK.
these categories are so me. Like I start so many games I run out of time to finish. I randomly become obsessed with mobile games for a week at a time❤ realistic 2024 games lists I need more of them
I can relate to your feelings on Dark Souls 3. After finishing a bunch of Soulsborne games, it wasn't quite gelling, but after finishing a significant portion, it started to click with me and now it's my favorite in the Dark Souls series. Also, Lies of P is awesome but so difficult when trying to use pure skill.
My top three games from the year were Shadow Generations, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection and Echoes of Wisdom. It was just so incredible that after 13 years we finally got the second Investigations game, and another 2D Zelda after over ten years.
Gameplay-wise it's quite different, but there's definitely a lot of similarities to Outer Wilds in the ways it rewards exploration and paying attention to details that help you unravel mysteries, so I'd highly recommend it if you like Outer Wilds. Check out Tunic, too, if you haven't -- that game also has some of the most satisfying puzzles and discoveries of any game I've ever played.
I tried to combine two watermelons in Suica game. It happened twice actually. And both times... nothing happened. All I had was two watermelons, sitting in there awkwardly together.
THE COMMENT I PINNED MOST TODAY
Go to buyraycon.com/arlo for 15% off sitewide! Brought to you by Raycon.
Anything for you, arlo
HEY ARLO MY NAMES ARLO TOO 😦
You have no ears - where do the Raycons go?
Sure hope Honey doesn't snipe all of your commissions.
100% chance Arlo stopped in Chapter 3 TTYD.
This spinoff channel is actually solid
You know this is his main channel right? This isn't TopicArlo
@@blu3g whooshed
@@blu3git's a joke because he only uploads there now
@@secretlysaki oops
Oh, lol, i didn't realize this wasn't topic arlo until now, lol.
You don't see mainstream game awards give recognition to Sudoku, I appreciate your bravery
Probably the all-time best game to be released in 2024
Brother has a panic attack when thousand year door was revealed, and barely got through the game 😂
Honestly, relatable.
I suspect at least part of the excitement too was about Paper Mario getting 'something' from the classic formula and hope that it would sell well enough to get a third classic style game more so than the remake itself.
He would have put a brand new one at 1 probably it’s like when a Pikmin game comes out
Well yeah, I bought it last year but only played up till chapter 2. Thing is I've played it half a dozen times before (only a year ish earlier at the time the remake released) and I mainly wanted to support the release--I imagine Arlo felt similarly.
That’s because the game is old af. If you’ve played it once, you’ve seen what it has to offer.
And I like TTYD. It’s a great game… but it being rereleased on Switch was such a “meh” moment for me.
Played Animal Well with my brother-in-law, who is kind of a quiet keeps-to-himself type. He had beat it previously, and I would ask him for tiny hint morsels and then revel in uncovering the mysteries. He sat with me for hours vicariously reliving a first playthrough. The game is fantastic in its own right, but I now also remember it as a wonderful time hanging out with him.
that’s actually so sweet omg
Sounds like a lovely bonding experience!
I still gotta try it out!
Bro isn’t sick anymore 🙌
Start the day counter. might even hit double digits this time
Those vaccinated people sure get sick a lot. 🤔
Those vaccinated people sure get sick a lot. 🤔
He's been posting nonstop on the other channel
Whats up hesienburg, i just watched your show for the first time, i watched all 5 seasons in 6 days
After all years of eating everyones ear about how good paper mario ttyd is and why it should get a remake, Arlo not finishing it is hilarious to me.
Yeah it’s crazy I’m over here thinking the review shoulda been out awhile ago
As soon as you mentioned the Mewtwo card in the Pokemon TCG part, I remembered I had a pack to open…
I couldn’t believe my eyes, I pulled THAT Mewtwo card. I was hearing your voice in the background as the animation played too, thank you Arlo.
happy for you 😠
Edit: no longer mad, just pulled it after months of trying
BEEG
I have two of them.
Now you have a Digital card with no value whatsoever and nobody cares you have it. God I hate that app.
Hey Arlo!
I kind of realised the other day that I have literally been watching your videos for like 6 years, so I wanted to say thank you for the years of consistent videos, and for always making me laugh!
I prefer to watch the videos figuratively
Since Arlo asked at the end of the video, my top 5 were as follows:
1. Astro Bot
2. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
3. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
4. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
5. Unicorn Overlord.
1:07 Secret message:
"Enormous statues depicting creatures I have never laid eyes upon nor even imagined. These statues are enormous, stretching high up into the air... Yet they are but blades of grass to the moon, for beyond them I see a great gate, closed, as tall as a mountain and taller. This gate is set within... no. It is difficult to even acknowledge it. My breath catches in my throat. Yet this is no dream, no vision, no beguiling illusion meant to lead me astray from my path to the tower. The tower. I see the tower and more like a wall; it stretches out of sight to my sides, obscured by statue and stone, so vast is it's girth. And it's height... How can I describe? It nearly fills up the sky, rises higher than I can eve see, with only the barest strips of yellow sky visible on either side. It is several minutes before I can begin inching my way to the gate. I am drunk with the sight of this thing yet I steel myself, quickening my stride with any strength I can muster. I am stratled anew with every step I take, shocked to find the gate growing larger and larger in my vision, my destination drawing nearer so gradually. It is hours before I am at the doors, and now they too stretch higher than I can make out. Fotunatley I know with certainty that my way to the tower has been paid, and the jet black obsidian doors open gradually as I approach. They open with eerie silence, and finish moving just as I arrive. Inside I see nothing but pure black, yet I do not hesitate. There is no dark so deep, no obstacle so treacherous, no guardian so viscious as to cause me even a moment's pause. I enter the black. I do not hear the gate closing behind me yet suddenly it is closed. I stand in the dark for a long while, listening intently to the silence. Then with a blink of my eye there is light. Soft, golden light, seeming to emanate from nowhere. I am standing in an unfathomably huge room. Here inside the tower the stone is a little lighter in color, with a soft texture to diffuse refflections. Everything is pristine, immaculately carved and kept, as though not a soul has ever set foot within these walls, yet there are no adornments, no markings, no color, no signs of life. A vast set of stairs lead up to a landing where I can just make out a great many doors. I ponder them for a few moments, as one savours the final breath before a plunge. The journey to find the tower has been long, as long as a lifetime, it seems. I can scarcely even remember my life before this journey began. And yet I know in my heart that the real journey is only just the beginning. My heart aflame, I"
Thank you!
I keep forgetting the reycon ads have lore lol
@@NickyShadow99They have lore????
Any context?
knowing Arlo/his editor, this sounds Elden Ring inspired lol
My personal GotY was Prince of Persia: The lost crown. Which was an incredible Metroidvania by the Rayman Origins/Legends devs. It’s such a great, fast paced game with some of the tightest and most satisfying platforming mechanics I’ve played and incredible combat that feels like they took a smash bros moveset, and put it in a platformer.
Don’t let the Ubisoft name deter you from it, it’s an incredible game, with none of the Ubisoft slop like XP boosters, season passes and stuff like that. It’s the best thing they’ve made in a decade
Lost crown appreciation is awesome did you try the dlc it’s fantastic for the price
I agree.. it’s my second favorite of 2024 but it’s an absolute amazing metroidvania
@@doolenny9458 yeah. I got it day 1, I was really hyped for it, and it was excellent
@ metroidvania fans were winning this year
Was soured for me by a few game breaking bugs, right by the end of two separate playthroughs so I never got to finish it
Animal well is truly one of the greatest experiences I’ve had in video games, it’s become one of my all time favorites.
The atmosphere, the gameplay, the secrets, the compactness, the puzzles, this game really establishes a system and goes so far with it.
I got pretty far but never finished it. Now I'm itching to get back into it.
I really loved Animal Well. The ending of the first layer was a bit anticlimactic, but that just kinda makes me want to get through the others if I can. Normally I don't go for all the secrets but this game is just so pretty I don't mind spending a few extra hours looking at it.
Lies of P rules. It's so, so, so good. The Sekiro/Jedi parrying combined with more traditional Souls combat is amazing, the weapons are cool, and the vibes are immaculate.
This was the year I finally got around to playing zelda the windwaker, twlight princess, and skyward sword. Took me a LONG time to beat them all but it was so much fun!
Two of those probably will get a re release soon. Still good choice.
Snow outside, hot tea, warm bed, and an Arlo video
Does it get better than this?
Yeah probably but you know it's still a solid time
What is this snow you're talking abount? I heard rumors...
No David, your life peaks here. You'll go through the rest of life wishing it were as good as you have it now. This is it!
Hot as shit tonight got the aircon cranking and a beer in hand with an Arlo video on the tv 🤤
Sorry David, you hit your peak. Only downhill from here.
I get that sudden sudoku obsession thing. A few years back I did so many sudokus and was watching tons of Cracking the Cryptic videos
The year isn’t over until Arlo tells us his favorite games
2025 ended early this year
Animal Well is also probably my own personal pick for my GOTY, for all those reasons you already mentioned. The game meant so much to me, and figuring out one of the hardest puzzles in the game on my own felt so rewarding!
Gotta say this last year for me was a big change, finally graduating college, figuring out where I wanna go and what I wanna do, all that. As I hunt for jobs I've needed games that just keep me busy and occupied, and as a result I've been getting really into grindy games. For me, my GOTY is probably hyrule warriors DE, I mean it's pure zelda fanfare to the nth degree, so much to do, so much of a sense of progression, and best of all... IT HAS 2 MIDNAS!!!
Congrats on graduating! I know it can feel like a slog in that last year lol, but you're now a "Proper Adult"(TM), great job! And best of luck with the job hunting mate
Suika Game is definitely one where you go “wait, this *isn’t* nearly as old as Tetris??”
Echoes of Wisdom is honestly my GOTY. Yes it's really easy to focus on how inexcusably horrendous all the UI and QoL stuff is, but just past that is hands-down the best Zelda sidequests and NPCs since Majora's Mask and some of the best top-down Zelda gameplay ever
It's my game of the year as well. I love the echoes and bind mechanics and how much they encourage experimentation and a slower, more methodical approach. I played the game almost entirely without using the sword because I enjoyed experimenting using echoes and bind that much.
I didn't have any issues with the ui tbh
16:22 hah 5 year old nephew doing the speed running levels flawlessly proud uncle arlo moment for sure
I don't think I could do things like that when I was 5, idk what's normal for a 5 year old but I feel like his skill is pretty impressive
We are the exact same gamer man.. its so weird
A wild Shesez appears!!!
Aaaaaand kickle cubicle is stuck in my head suddenly
All I'm saying is you never see BoundaryBreak and Arlo in the same room together. 👀
genuinely SHOCKED you weren't able to finish TTYD. Hope you get more time to finish it!!
Another video where Arlo proves to me that he should play Outer Wilds lol
Are you skill up on an alt? 🤔
Wait has Arlo _not_ played OW?!?! I kinda assumed he had given it seems like a game he'd really appreciate... That's wild (pun intended) lol
Everyone should play outer wilds.
Literally have just been thinking about this, given I just played it for the first time.
Life changing, and he will not regret it.
Both Outer Wilds and Tunic I’m sure Arlo would absolutely ADOREE
1:07 you uh...you good dude?
someone comment with the meaning of that weird text pls
@@andrewstoner2032 you can use < > to scrub frame by frame
@@andrewstoner2032 tryin to summon Nyarlathotep from the looks of it. Hopefully just a creative writing exercise
@@andrewstoner2032It's been in a few of his videos, it's a quote from a book, no explanation yet.
ENORMOUS STATUES DEPICTING CREATURES I HAVE NEVER LAID EYES UPON NOR EVEN IMAGINED. THESE STATUES ARE ENORMOUS, STRETCHING HIGH UP INTO THE AIR...YET THEY ARE BUT BLADES OF GRASS TO THE MOON, FOR BEYOND THEM I SEE A GREAT GATE CLOSED, AS TALL AS A MOUNTAIN AND TALLER. THIS GATE IS SET WITHIN...NO. DIFFICULT TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE IT. MY BREATH CATCHES IN MY THROAT. THIS IS NO DREAM, NO VISION, NO BEGUILING ILLUSION MEANT TO LEAD ME ASTRAY FROM MY THE TOWER. THE TOWER. I SEE THE TOWER BEFORE ME NOW, AS PLAIN AS DAY THO NOW IT SEEMS LESS LIKE A TOWER AND MORE LIKE A WALL; IT STRETCHES OUT SHT TO MY SIDES, OBSCURED BY STATUE AND STONE, SO VAST IS ITS GIRTH. AND ITS HEIGHT... HOW CAN I DESCRIBE? IT NEARLY FILLS UP THE SKY, RISES HIGHER THAN I CAN EVEN SEE, WITH ONLY THE BAREST STRIPS OF YELLOW SKY VISIBLE ON EITHER SIDE. IT IS SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I CAN BEGIN INCHING MY WAY TO THE GATE. I AM DRUNK WITH THE SIGHT OF THIS THING YET I STEEL MYSELF, QUICKENING MY STRIDE WITH ANY STRENGTH I CAN MUSTER. I AM STARTLED ANEW WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE, SHOCKED TO FIND THE GATE GROWING LARGER AND LARGER IN MY VISION, MY DESTINATION DRAWING NEARER SO GRADUALLY. IT IS HOURS BEFORE I AM AT THE DOORS, AND NOW THEY TOO STRETCH HIGHER THAN I CAN MAKE OUT. FORTUNATELY I KNOW WITH CERTAINTY THAT MY WAY TO THE TOWER HAS BEEN PAID, AND THE JET BLACK OBSIDIAN DOORS OPEN GRADUALLY AS I APPROACH. THEY OPEN NOT A SOUL HAS EVER SET FOOT WITHIN THESE WALLS, YET THERE ARE NO ADORNMENTS, NO MARKINGS, NO COLOR, NO SIGNS OF LIFE. A VAST SET OF STAIRS LEAD UP TO A LANDING WITH EERIE SILENCE, AND FINISH MOVING JUST AS I ARRIVE. INSIDE I SEE NOTHING BUT PURE BLACK, YET I DO NOT HESITATE. THERE IS NO DARK SO DEEP, NO OBSTACLE SO TREACHEROUS, NO GUARDIAN SO VISCIOUS AS TO CAUSE ME EVEN A MOMENT'S PAUSE. ENTER THE BLACK. I DO NOT HEAR THE GATE CLOSING BEHIND ME YET SUDDENLY IT IS CLOSED. I STAND IN THE DARK FOR A LONG WHILE, LISTENING INTENTLY TO THE SILENCE. REFLECTIONS. EVERYTHING IS PRISTINE, IMMACULATELY CARVED AND KEPT, AS THOUGH THEN WITH A BLINK OF MY EYE THERE IS LIGHT. SOFT, GOLDEN LIGHT, SEEMING TO EMANATE FROM NOWHERE. I AM STANDING IN AN UNFATHOMABLY HUGE ROOM. HERE INSIDE THE TOWER THE STONE IS A LITTLE LIGHTER IN COLOR, WITH A SOFT TEXTURE TO DIFFUSE WHERE I CAN JUST MAKE OUT A GREAT MANY DOORS. I PONDER THEM FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AS ONE SAVOURS THE FINAL BREATH BEFORE A PLUNGE. THE JOURNEY TO FIND THE TOWER HAS BEEN LONG, AS LONG AS A LIFETIME, IT SEEMS. I CAN SCARCELY EVEN REMEMBER MY LIFE BEFORE THIS JOURNEY BEGAN. AND YET I KNOW IN MY HEART THAT THE REAL JOURNEY IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING. MY HEART AFLAME, I
If you like Sudoku, check out Picross. It is also a grid based number-puzzle which feels very similar with its brain-teaseryness but you get cool pictures at the end :D I absolutely love it
He’s mentioned that he loves the Picross 3D games (in the last e-shop closure video), but I’m not sure if he said anything about regular Picross.
Fyi for mobile players, check out Simon Tatham's Puzzle Collection. It's a massive collection of puzzle games, all are designed to be auto generated so it's got infinite replayability, you can customise how big/difficult/etc the puzzles are, and it's free and open source so there's no need to pay, no ads, no sending your data to weird companies, etc. It's such a simple app but it does what it does so well it's genuinely irreplaceable for me as a massive puzzle lover!
Edit: it also has sudoku and picross as two of the games in it, so your bases are covered there! (Admittedly the picross puzzles are auto generated so you won't get a picture of a boat or something by the end of it, just in case that's a deal breaker)
Lies of P is my favorite game of all time. I’m not a huge fan of souls likes, but this one really clicked for me. I also love gothic horror novels, and the inspiration for the story and references to other pieces of literature were inspired. I’m so glad to see it get some recognition!!!
16:16 it’s so cool to see high-quality games be the starting point for a new generation of gamers!
get your nephew on bloodborne right away
Based Bloodborne is so good
For a 5-YO? Dude absolutely not. Another Crabs Treasure, on the other hand...
After years of begging for Paper Mario TYD and saying nintendo was cruel for not remaking it, Arlo doesn't even finish it 😭😭😭
I actively cheered when I saw lies of P on this. I never would've expected you to like it.
Astro Bot was my Game of the Year simply because it brought me the most joy. It made me smile. It was adorable. It was a nice change of pace and I absolutely adored every second I played of it. I haven't felt that constant enjoyment in a game since Death Stranding. Truly an outstanding game.
The surprise of how good games were this year is what kept me going. This year my fiance left me and as horrible a feeling as that was, the realization of how much more difficult dating is now days considering my age, job, and situation made this year a constant depression. But astrobot, crow country Tekken 8 Lorelei and the laser eyes to name some of my favorites. This year, though full of major heart break, was also full of wonderful surprises. I'm so glad I chose this as my hobby.
I hope this year is better for you! Sending ❤
man learning arlo didnt even finish the thousand year door remake rattles my whole world view
Shocked you didn't finished TTYD Remake yet. For a game you truly cherish, you sure didn't take your time to finish it. But I get it. You played it many timea on the Gamecube and you know it's still the same game you loved with many QOL improvements it did. I get that. But still. I completed the game twice and I 100% both on my files too. Great times. But TTYD Remake, Dragon Quest 3 2D-HD Remake & Astro Bot are hands down my 2024 GotY.
"Lies of P is the worst name for a game" i see you too have forgotten about ARMS
His comment about this confused me, as he didn’t say why the name sucks. I like the name! What is wrong with it?
16:21 I am genuinely in awe from seeing the progress he's made. I can't help but give an applause to him!
Metaphor, shadow generations, helldivers 2, Mario and Luigi brother ship, and soon echoes of wisdom, there were a lot of amazing games that came out last year. I’m still trying to keep up with them all, but I’m really enjoying the ones I’ve gotten so so far
I think we all just need to admit mario & luigi was kinda garbage and IGN was right.
@@awildmoose6541 it wasn't
@KevZ7. Oh yeah it was. Theres a reason nobody finished that slog game
@@awildmoose6541 except a lot of people actually finished it
And anyone who played it can see it has a lot of qualities and IGN review was being very unfair rating it as a 5. Just as an example, the game got the best combat gameplay in the series since Superstar Saga and everyone praised this aspect of the game
@KevZ7. They didnt, you didnt finish it, i didnt finish it, arlo didnt finish it and no one else did. Its a bloated mess of a game, its slop and soulless. The game sucks and ign is right. The combat has been dumbed down to something so brainless that its easily the worst a mario rpg has had.
Another crab’s treasure was the only game I played this past summer. It’s getting an update for new game plus sometime this year, and the anticipation is killing me. 🦀🐚
i spent all of 2024 playing through the " trails" series by falcom. and also the Y's series. (trails from zero to trails of cold steel 4, Y's 1, 2 origins, felghana, celceta)
it has been a monstrous effort. but they all went so hard. y's really impressed me.
i honestly do not even remember playing anything but those games.
turns out i even played the trails in the sky trilogy last year too. the mana series, blasphemous and turok.
I've been playing a lot of Ys games as well. I already played Ys 8 a few years back, and this year I played Origin, 9, Memories of Celceta, and 10 (I was very upset to learn that Falcom has already announced an upgraded version of Ys 10). I recently got Felghana, but I haven't started playing it yet.
@@matthewmuir8884 yeah, the y's x situation is a bit shitty. but i guess it has been out in japan for 2 years. maybe it will just be dlc. who really knows.
This ended up being a games-lite years for me too. Echoes of Wisdom, PM:TtYD, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX, and a little Legends Arceus replay were about it. Echoes definitely scratched the itch I did not know I needed scratched. That was just SO fun. Oktorok firing squads for the win!
it’s a bit funny that nintendo’s output this year was so poor that even on arlo’s list, their only spot was a game that he didn’t finish.
If you want to take your Sudoku to the next level: Variant Sudoku. There’s so much complexity and varieties of variant mechanics, the depth just blows regular Sudoku out of the water. And because it’s almost entirely handcrafted puzzles, you can really appreciate the thought process that went into the puzzle logic, as opposed to most regular Sudoku apps where the algorithm randomly generates puzzles.
(Taking a small stab in the dark but) greetings fellow Cracking the Cryptic fan 😉
@ That’s three in the corner…
i know what it’s like to try all the manifestation tips you see online and still feel stuck. that was me, too. nothing worked until i found Vibrations of Manifestation by Alex Lane. there’s something about the way it explains energy that makes it all so clear. when i read chapter 3, everything fell into place-it’s like the missing piece i didn’t know i needed.
As someone who doesn’t have a PS5 but loves 3D platformers hearing about how good Astro Bot supposedly is almost feels painful knowing I can’t play it
Same! I wish it wasn't $500.
I own a ps5, but it's too expensive for how short it is. Might pick it up on sale though
You've had 4+ years mate. Save up them pennies
I'm not getting the overpriced Bluray player for 1 game if I have a good PC and a Switch and there is little to nothing that'll change my mind on that.
@CyranoForever101 nobody knew that in 4 years a great game would finally show up on Ps5
We're glad you're still here, Arlo!
It's also good to hear how close you are to your nephew. It's super sweet.
Even though Arlo literally said in one of his topic Arlo’s what his game of the year would be, I was genuinely shocked to see Animal Well at the top. But given what kind of game Arlo likes, I definitely shouldn’t be surprised.
That game’s secrets go deeper and deeper and deeper. My main gripe with the game was how item heavy it was in terms of discovering those secrets, but it was still an absolute joy to go through.
Animal Well was the most immersed i've ever felt in a game. Completed it in one 8h long sitting, then proceeded to 100% it the following two days. It's ofc my GOTY and it really do deserves more recogniztion outside of youtube. Only game that is competing with being goty would be Nine Sols, but there's def a gap. Animal Well was everything I wanted it to be and sooo much more.
The fact that you did not finish TTYD after clamoring for a remake is insane!
With the soulslike and metroidvania love, I feel like Hollow Knight might genuinely be an all time favorite game for Arlo if he gave it another try in 2025
I think he tried it years ago and got stuck at an early boss, but that was before the FromSoft obsession
I can't believe Mr. Paper Mario TTYD didn't even finish Paper Mario TTYD 😭😭😭😭
11:24 end of the mobile games segment.
I didn’t play many games that came out this year, so here’s my top 5 games I played in 2024 since he asked us
5. Animal Well (Fun and good, but I didn’t have as big of feelings for it as others.
4. Pokemon Black 2 (Doing a Pokemon marathon this year and BW 1 & 2 were easily the best games. 2 I just think has better gameplay.
3. Paper Mario TTYD (In only a few days I completed it. It’s so fun and addicting. Looks gorgeous too.
2. Persona 3 Reload (I love the modern persona trilogy and this game was really good. Just barely my least favorite of the trilogy. But the story and characters are great as usual and the gameplay is really good)
1. In Stars and Time (This game has one of the best stories and characters giving me big Omori vibes. This game has a few flaws. But man, the character arc of siffrin and everything revolving why everything is happening was so good and has such an amazing climax(s). Play this game please)
Hi Arlo, just want to say that I'm going through a really tough time in my life and love having these videos to alleviate my thoughts for a couple of minutes. Thank you so much ❤️
It makes me so happy that animal well was your number one game. I would’ve never played it if I didn’t see your video on it. It is genuinely a masterpiece.
4:47 Beethoven symphony No. 9 in the back ground? As I music nerd, I approve of this choice!
(RACHMANINOFF FOREVER!!!)
Animal Well is phenomenal. Glad you enjoyed it the same way I did. I was shocked that it wasn't nominated for Game of the Year!
My top games this year are definitely in no particular order: Astro bot, halo infinite(I just got into it), LOZ EOW, Indiana jones game, NieR: Automata. Also I played even more TOTK but that came out 2023.
15:54 the same thing happened in my own family, I have two little cousins under 10, and there is something about Astro Bot that just draws them, it's addictive. This damn robot is LSD for six-year olds.
24:10 OH THAT'S HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT
>Makes Nintendo remake thousand year door
>Plays 2 chapters
>Puts the game down
So cool of you to not focus on the fact that videogamedunkey published the game Animal Well! Most youtubers say that dunkey made the game when he really just published it and I’m glad you gave the developer the credit he deserves! (He even made the game engine)!
I also just recently played dark souls 3 for the first time, it’s awesome, it gets better later on, especially the dlc
i realize that subconsciously ive stopped noticing/appreciating the puppetry that goes into these videos and just accepted that this is a furry blue creature that records himself talking about nintendo like thats a normal thing
Gotta say, I'm digging this blue fuzzy creature. It's good to see creators stepping out of their comfort zone and trying new things.
All joking aside, hope you're genuinely feeling better Arlo.
Lies of P spoilers:
The name is weird, but after beating it you question who P is the title refers to. Seems to actually refer to Paracelsus.
I looked up a name and learned stuff today! Thanks for that 🫡
Love you too, Arlo!
0:24 I got THREE RUclips VIDEOS today with THE EXACT SAME SPONSOR TODAY💀
It's a shame none of these content creators seem to have ears... Don't listen to the product placement!!
FINALLY SOME SUKU WATERMELON LOVE!! the kids i work with introduced me to it and it's actually a really quality title - it's 2048 meets Tetris
You have so much potential. Keep it up!
I completely relate to the sudoku obssession. When im bored on the train I start and just, keep doing puzzles until i get there. Excellent time saver
Whats up with the weird message at 1:06 ?
Hopefully a creative writing exercise by the editor or arlo lol. Feels like an incantation to summon Nyarlathotep
ENORMOUS STATUES DEPICTING CREATURES I HAVE NEVER LAID EYES UPON NOR EVEN IMAGINED. THESE STATUES ARE ENORMOUS, STRETCHING HIGH UP INTO THE AIR... YET THEY ARE BUT BLADES OF GRASS TO THE MOON, FOR BEYOND THEM I SEE A GREAT GATE CLOSED, AS TALL AS A MOUNTAIN AND TALLER. THIS GATE IS SET WITHIN...NO. U DIFFICULT TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE IT. MY BREATH CATCHES IN MY THROAT. YE DREAM, NO VISION, NO BEGUILING ILLUSION MEANT TO LEAD ME ASTRAY FRON UHE TOWER. THE TOWER. I SEE THE TOWER BEFORE ME NOW, AS PLAIN AS DA NOW IT SEEMS LESS LIKE A TOWER AND MORE LIKE A WALL; IT STRETCHES OUT MY SIDES, OBSCURED BY STATUE AND STONE, SO VAST IS ITS GIRTH. AND ITS HEIGHT... HOW CANT DESCRIBERTNEAKLY PILLS UP THE SAY, RISES HIGHEK THAN CAN EVEN SEE, WITH ONLY THE BAREST STRIPS OF YELLOW SKY VISIBLE ON EITHER SIDE. IT IS SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I CAN BEGIN INCHING MY WAY TO THE GATE. I AM DRUNK WITH THE SIGHT OF THIS HING YETUSTEEL MYSELF, QUICKENING MY SURIDE WITH ANY STRENGTH I CAN MUSTER.I AM STARTLED ANEW WITH EVERY STEP I TAKE, SHOCKED TO FIND THE GATE GROWING LARGER AND LARGER IN MY VISION, MY DESTINATION DRAWING NEARER SO GRADUALLY. IT S HOURS BEFORE I AM AT THE DOORS, AND NOW THEY TOO SURETCH HIGHER THAN ICAN MAKE OUT. FORTUNATELY I KNOW WITH CERTAINTY THAT MY WAY TO THE TOWER HAS BEEN PAID, AND THE JET BLACK OBSIDIAN DOORS OPEN GRADUALLY AS I APPROACH. THEY OPEN WITH EERIE SILENCE, AND FINISH MOVING JUST AS TARRIVE. INSIDE I SEE NOTHING BUT PURE BLACK, YET I DO NOT HESITATE. THERE IS NO DARK SO DEEP, NO OBSTACLE SO TREACHEROUS, NO GUARDIAN SO VISCIOUS AS TO CAUSE ME EVEN A MOMENT'S PAUSE. I ENTER THE BLACK. DO NOT HEAR THE GATE CLOSING BEHIND ME YET SUDDENLY WIS CLOSED. I STAND IN THE DARK FOR A LONG WHILE, LISTENING INTENTLY TO THE SILENCE.
THEN WITH A BLINK OF MY EYE THERE IS LIGHT. SOFT, GOLDEN LIGHT, SEEMING TO EMANATE FROM NOWHERE. I AM STANDING IN AN UNFATHOMABLY HUGE ROOM. HERE INSIDE THE TOWER THE STONE IS A LITTLE LIGHTER IN COLOR, WITH A SOFT TEXTURE TO DIFFUSE
REFLECTIONS. EVERT THING IS FRISTINE, IMMACULATELY CARVED AND NEF, AS THOUGH NOT A SOUL HAS EVER SET FOOT WITHIN THESE WALLS, YET THERE ARE NO ADORNMENTS, NO MARKINGS, NO COLOR, NO SIGNS OF LIFE. A VAST SET OF STAIRS LEAD UP TO A LANDING WHERE I CAN JUS I MANE OUT A GREAT MANY DOORS. FONDER THEM FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AS ONE SAVOURS THE FINAL BREATH BEFORE A PLUNGE. THE JOURNEY TO FIND THE TOWER HAS BEEN LONG, AS LONG AS A LIFETIME, IT SEEMS. I CAN SCARCELY EVEN REMEMBER MY LIFE BEFORE THIS JOURNEY BEGAN. AND YELUKNOW IN MY HEART THAT THE REAL JOURNEY IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING.
Text got kinda misspelled when copying and pasting from the screenshot I took
@@SamuelKathman plus "vicious" was misspelled "viscious" in the text on screen anyway lol
Animal Well is my game of the year, too. I actually believe it was your review that convinced me to pick it up, and thank you so much for that.
I play very few new releases, but other 2024 games I tremensely enjoyed was Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, Echoes of Wisdom, and Rise of the Golden Idol.
Love the list! I have one shout out. Dave the Diver. That game is so much fun. The fishing and sushi resteraunt mechanic. The boss fights. The mini games. I loved it all. The vibes of the cutscenes. I'm glad it's getting a sequel but definitely try it out if you have the chance!
5:20 Arlo is a homeowner? In this economy? Nice job
Also try "Killer Sudoku" i like it better than the normal version
I had the exact same experience with Vampire Survivors... Skepticism, then bemusement, followed by taking over my spare time for a solid two weeks before I had to quit cold turkey 😂
Okay but Arlo, if Lies of P wasn’t called that we wouldn’t have Lies of Penguin
Animal Well was the first game I played after my wife and I got married. It was my first experience with playing a single player game while someone was watching, and we had a blast. The atmosphere is so moody, the music is calming and atmospheric, and the puzzles are crazy. We loved it, and I couldn't have asked for a better wedding gift from Dunkey
Really hope you like the rest of Dark Souls 3! I'm not sure if its just because it was my first souls game, but I LOVE everything about that game. It really truly has some of my favorite parts out of all the fromsoft games.
I was obsessed with Suika game for a good amount of time last year. I don’t think I can touch it again at this point
Animal Well was already in my radar on the visuals alone...
It being a metroidvania already sold me when I got my hands on the game...
but what I like most is that it's one of THOSE games with super cool secrets woven into it.
I did not expect another FEZ or TUNIC to just appear out of nowhere and that really elevated my opinion of this game.
Love you too Arlo :) 💛
9:34 i was listening to this on headphones away from my phone for a sec, and right when you said “you know how they make you play those games during ads?” i had an immediate heart attack cause i INSTANTLY knew it was fruit merge 🤧🤧🤧 i had the same story and got my sister and her bf HOOKED
Arlo you are just the best. I LOVE your videos! Thank you for bringing so many people so much joy. And I’m so glad you’re feeling better!
2024 was a solid year for remakes/compilations giving me the big happies. I’ve had a great time with Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection, Sonic x Shadow Generations, Epic Mickey Rebrushed, and Another Code Recollection (I wish more people were on board with that last one - it does a great job of reimagining those original games).
Aside from that, as a big fan of his comics, I really love Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. It’s not a perfect experience, and is prone to crashing, but I’ve never played a comicbook video game that feels so much like the comics it’s based on. The graphics look like Mike Mignola’s art come to life. The late, great Lance Riddick gives Ron Perlman a run for his money as Hellboy. And the art book included with the physical copy that released last year is a joy to peruse.
I played Timberborn the most last year. I also played Palworld, Zootrs, Fallout 4, Fallout London, Fallout 3, Hades, Dungeon Clawler, Elden Ring, TF2, Neon Abyss, Brotato, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, The Binding of Isaac Repentance, Zelda: Echos of Wisdom, Ballionaire, and a few more games I know I am forgetting.
2:55 more family friendly? Oooh, I see you didn't get to the Eel boss in Another Crab's Treasure 😅
Sssshhh don't tell him
I am right with you about Animal Well. Didn’t think video games could make me feel like that anymore.
A really appreciate seeing noble games being talked about. Because my best gaming moments of 2024 was finally playing through all the cut the rope games, where’s my water 1&2. And playing a couple cooking mama apps. And sonic dream team
Bigmode actually has another game "releasing" soon called Star of Providence. Would highly recommend.
I say "releasing" in quotes because the game was out before, but is now getting a massive update and re-release under Bigmode. It's also coming out on Switch
I think my personal game of the year has to be Kitten Burst, it's made by one guy as well, It's a very unorthadox and niche game, you play as a cat in which you are in a cyberpunk early 2000s web internet type environment doing races and collecting data nodes. All the characters are so loveable, the environments are just beautiful with the early 2000s aesthetics and the story was just fantastic. The music as well, the amount of amazing electronic tracks are insane, It's a game that will stick with me for a long time, and is my favourite game of all time.
I cannot highly enough recommend finishing Dark Souls 3 and its DLC. Elden Ring was my first ever FromSoftware game, and DS3 was my 2nd. It's VASTLY different from ER, but (mostly) no less fun!
I feel its fair because its the most linear Dark Souls game, DS1 was very open ended and DS2 was a bit too but then DS3 took all the dungeon crawling focus out of the game. It feels rather out of place next to both Demon's Souls and DS1-2.
@@LZ02-OVERTURE It's certainly more linear, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of it one bit. I recently played Demon's Souls Remake, my first time through DS. It looked and sounded beautiful, but it somehow felt even more constricted than DS3 and I was especially disappointed with most of the boss fights. Not all were bad, but the best was only OK.
5:05 - Same Arlo, Same. I will go HAM playing board after board for like a week...then it just sits on my phone gathring digital dust 😂
these categories are so me. Like I start so many games I run out of time to finish. I randomly become obsessed with mobile games for a week at a time❤ realistic 2024 games lists I need more of them
I can relate to your feelings on Dark Souls 3. After finishing a bunch of Soulsborne games, it wasn't quite gelling, but after finishing a significant portion, it started to click with me and now it's my favorite in the Dark Souls series.
Also, Lies of P is awesome but so difficult when trying to use pure skill.
My top three games from the year were Shadow Generations, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection and Echoes of Wisdom.
It was just so incredible that after 13 years we finally got the second Investigations game, and another 2D Zelda after over ten years.
10:00 The official mobile version of Suika game has 4/5 stars now, so it seems most problems are solved! =)
Lies of Peak
Is animal well an “outer wilds like”? The way Arlo talks about it reminds me of my first playthrough, I gotta try animal well
It's so good. It's the type of game that surprises you over and over again
Gameplay-wise it's quite different, but there's definitely a lot of similarities to Outer Wilds in the ways it rewards exploration and paying attention to details that help you unravel mysteries, so I'd highly recommend it if you like Outer Wilds. Check out Tunic, too, if you haven't -- that game also has some of the most satisfying puzzles and discoveries of any game I've ever played.
I tried to combine two watermelons in Suica game. It happened twice actually. And both times... nothing happened. All I had was two watermelons, sitting in there awkwardly together.