As a concept, Balatro is the modern day equivalent of Tetris. With all the caveats of added complexity and randomisation thrown in, it is the modern day Universal Puzzle Sensation. That's all that needs to be said on the matter.
You know, that one never clicked for me! I spent so much time in Fallout 3 that I just wasn't ready for another adventure at the time, and never gave it a fair shake.
Man, you're missing out on the number of player choices, and freedom of gameplay will let you kill everyone, even an important NPC that will change how the rest of the game plays out. Not to mention, the dialog with just random NPC is like an acid trip in some of the craziest conversations I've ever had in a game.
I sunk a fair amount into 3 and NV that by the time 4 came out I might’ve burnt myself out a little that it took me a couple years before I could really get into 4. That being said, 4 definitely has some neat customization that would be neat to have in 3 and NV. Not the biggest fan of the base building personally, but I get the appeal to some people. More a fan of it in multiplayer games.
Im sure MANY will disagree, but Pal word, 30 million copies, second highest concurrent players in history, all 4 of my kids from 17-6 sunk 40-60 hours in. Sorry but that was the most ridiculously good indie game ever created, even if it was snubbed for "early access".
@@robertwendal5894 they literally showed nintendo what they SHOULD have done with pokemon instead of treading water. Probably why nintendo got biiiiig mad about it
Bill, I love you for not taking the bait and avoiding anything that could be taken even remotely as a spoiler for ff7 rebirth, I am one of those that is waiting for it to come to PC and I its really really hard so I appreciate this being a safe zone.
I really like these conversations. Interesting topics with excellent panelists. Also, as Russ mentioned in the Stalker segment, these videos help me with the language since I am a spanish speaker ahahah. Keep going guys! Greetings from 🇨🇱
I forget which video it was, but Jon (ex-Nintendo Life) once covered the Gameboy iteration of Donkey Kong and its hidden "second game." Fun fact: It gets a special treatment on the Super Gameboy! Animated bezel art, a more 16-bitlike color palette, aaand IIRC improved music. Be sure to check out that SGB version!
The chase for blockbusters or the "Nicklebacks" is less about swinging big and having big expectations... and more about reducing risk. The bigger investments lead to less tolerance to risk.
I feel completely disconnected from The Keighleys. I'm a bit baffled by the tribalism that emerges from it (I don't mean the Nerd Nest guys). I feel like every single outlet doing a GOTY (sometimes multiple full days of coverage) has completely burned me out on the concept. It has lost all meaning to me. The Keighleys is just one among many, except it has massive corporate backing.
I only played a little of the original Stalker, but I love the film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky and even more so the book that inspired it, Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. So, I can tell you the bolt throwing is a nod to Tarkovsky’s Stalker, which admittedly is a painfully slow and largely magical realist and barely even scifi film, but still… that’s what that is! 🤓
As for the Game Awards, I played a lot more Balatro, but-even tho I just played the demo-I voted for Metaphor most often, since I’m confident it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d adore… when it goes on sale! 🤑
Bill literally described Mario versus donkey Kong by its mechanics, that's interesting, they must have taken those mechanics and added them as an addition to the game he was referring. I'm also a large donkey Kong fan because I played the games with my grandmother, I hope I can find this game!
20:10 the reason Metro series felt similar was because it was made largely by the same guys who made the first Stalker game. In 2006 they left GSC and founded 4A Games. Also, in Metro 2033 it's military grade ammo that's used for currency, not bolts.
I've been playing Balatro and Dave the diver simultaneously, and imagine my surprise when I came across Jimbos game in the sea people village and did a clean sweep perfect run against the poor unsuspecting aquatic village 😆
I remember playing the original STALKER back when it came out and coming across a game breaking instance where the quest giver was sniped by another NPC who was far off. Like, I was talking to the quest giver and then saw him get headshot and I had to reload my game. Cool, I just lost over an hour of gameplay. I love the series, though, bugs and all.
Balatro is GOTY from the nominations. My personal GOTY is Pacific Drive. DLC needs it's own category. It's not GOTY. FF7Remake and FF7Rebirth are standalone games. You can buy and play them without owning the other.
I don’t like having DLC’s in categories that aren’t specifically for them. I also don’t agree with having Manor Lords (game deserves attention) here either because it’s Early Access. Where’s Hades 2 then? Remasters like Silent Hill 2? Separate category for Remasters. If you’re a non-gamer and you watched the Game Awards, you’d think only 6 games released this year. Every big category reads the same!
You guys need to check out the Pac-Man episode that secret level is releasing is gonna blow your mind. I saw the trailers at New York comic con a few months ago.
I'd love some recommendations from Russ! I know tastes differ, but a just like a 'hey, I listened to this and this, and I think it's great, check it out ', from a person I already trust with stuff might help me get unstuck from my 7 albums played on repeat for decades.
Here's a summer playlist I put together a few months ago! I'm about to share my fall playlist too, it should be a community post in the next couple days: ruclips.net/user/postUgkxbfzC8ASWLQ31orLhPTd58b8RP45zg-jU
Donkey Kong on the gameboy is super good. Almost feels unreal how good it is tbh. But I am always in a weird spot for game of the year as I never really play new games until long after on sale.
Donkey Kong Classic has super gameboy functionality, with the picked out pallets for colorization. Mario gets an amazing move set, between picking up enemies and items a la Mario 2, a handstand you can use defensively, or jump out of for a high jump, spinning on ropes, etc. then there are the puzzle aspects to the levels. Really peak game design. Mario Vs Donkey Kong, while fun, is nowhere near as good as far as level design. The
While I agree Balatro is an amazing game that had great success and sure it was well deserved… the only problem I have with the indie scene in general is how easy it is for incredible games to go unnoticed while others just blow up like Balatro. For example one of my favourite indie games this year is intravenous 2… incredible game that most just don’t even know exist, mainstream publications didn’t cover it, had they it might have been right there alongside Balatro or even in its place. It’s sad that’s just one of many that just go unnoticed but it’s a fine example of how amazing the indie scene is in general today.
I think it would be interesting to hear all of your opinions about this in another episode, but I heard Kresh on the My Xbox and Me podcast mention putting games with big DLC expansions into the best ongoing game category. As soon as he mentioned that I was floored- how is this not a bigger part of the conversation! That would be my preferred placement for DLCs and the like. Interested to hear all of your thoughts!
Base building in Starfield better than Fallout 4? STRONG DISAGREE. I love the base building in Fallout 4. It's clunky, but far more open, and the settlement systems are far more interesting than what Starfield has been left with. It also spawned the single greated mod series of all time. Sim Settlements is so astoundingly good. I like Starfield a lot, too, despite it's shortcomings, but I think a base building system that felt boring - less lived in - was my biggest disappointment with the game. I do get why it wasn't taken as a bigger feature, given the disdain for Fallout 4's settlement system, though.
Remakes count to me especially when it's rebuilt from the ground up. Excluding a remake like that is like saying the new Dune movies don't deserve consideration for movie of the year because there is a 1984 version. DLC should have its own category because it's like sneaking in through the backdoor to get game of the year. "Oh nuts we didn't get it last year? Well let's hope this new story dlc is well received even though it's the same game."
@robskitlz4391 Looking ahead games that didn't win it one year can win it another. This year it's still a bad practice; the same game could possibly win game of the year multiple times.
Animal Well would be my pick for best Indie, I really fell in love with it. But Balatro has to win by default - it can’t be the only indie nominated for game of the year and then not win best indie, that would make no sense!
I had Rich's experience with Fallout 3 exactly. I played for a while and enjoyed it, but the world just felt so oppressive compared to Oblivon that I never got the same zen vibe to keep me coming back. Objectively great game, but I guess I'm just a fantasy guy at heart haha
I respect Russ's opinion and I think that it is an interesting viewpoint, but Animal Well feels like a real gamey game to me, I know that sounds stupid, but the game doesn't hold your hand, it's not on rails like crazy and has none of the yellow paint syndrome that we see in so many games nowadays. It was a true rush to get to figure out the puzzles (without the game solving them for you if it took too long kinda vibe.) I understand how that is not everyone's vibe & Balatro is a great pick up and play game. I think I relate more to Carrie's take, but I understand how that is not everyone.
I do think Balatro is good but overrated. My reason I’d never elevate it to GOTY status is that it’s mostly a compulsion reward game. It’s just pulling an RNG lever over and over hoping for good combos. And because I’m not someone who gets a thrill from gambling, Balatro only lasted about 12 hours for me before it felt very repetitive.
Best indie game: Tainted Grail: Avalon, but because it's early access, Dread Delusion. These are easy picks. Game of the Year: Vision of Mana. Another easy pick this year.
It's really hard for me to vote for GOTY because i always play old games. If i could vote an older game for my own GOTY then it'd be Persona 3 Portable. I realise could say Persona 3 Reload as it did release this year but I haven't played it
judging by russ' great taste in band tees, i would love album reviews or a podcast about music from him!!! if he made a second channel for that, I would be the first to subscribe
I really enjoyed Balatro, but man Astro Bot was still sooo fun, I genuinely hope it wins. I would be fine if Balatro wins as long as Wukong and Elden Rin don't win.
Its in the title: GAME of the year. I cant watch the awards, learn about it, and go just buy and play Shadow of the Erdtree, as you would with a game. Not saying its a bad dlc. But its not a game. Bill seems to echo my own opinions on it, more or less. Edit: respectfully, regarding what Russ said about "gameplay experience of the year" and "its the definition GAME of the year that people get hung up about"; if it were gameplay experience of the year then i would agree. But it isnt. It is GAME of the year. We cant just rename categories in our heads to suit our needs, cause then whats the point of categories at all? To his point, I think gameplay experience of the year would be a great category to include though.
Man, so sad to hear blood omen 2 getting bad press... I thoroughly enjoyed the whole legacy of kain series . And also another great podcast. Would love love love to see Kyle back one day 😢
I just want to throw out there if a remake is just an upgraded experience it shouldn’t be considered for goty. If it is nearly a completely different experience like ffvii then it’s a new game. I can barely even compare the og to the new games. Even storywise they added so much.
We haven't recorded in a LONG time, we have enough songs for another EP but just can't manage our schedules to record them. Here is our first (and only) recording: ohthepossibilities.bandcamp.com/album/the-estate-tapes-ep Fun fact, my wife was our drummer back then!
The point I was making was not that we can't use definitions. But definitions aren't a concrete wall with no room for movement and fluidity. Definitions, and language, are extremely porous. To simplify my stance - I'm much more of a "spirit of the law" than "letter of the law" kinda guy. So if an Early Access game like Hades II happens to be my favorite gaming experience of the year, I don't see why it shouldn't be considered in the GOTY conversation.
Balatro doesn't deserve to win anything, lol I also don't believe a traditional remake shouldn't be included to a game of the year, but it's hard to call FF7 Rebirth a remake. There is so much different including story and playstyle that its not just a prettier version of the original.
I would make a lot of enemies, but when I thinks of a "game of the years" I ask myself what should be a game of the year... and at the heart... it's just the game that I loved the most this year... nothing else, so... even Warcraft 3 (original) could be the game of the year if it's the game that people loved the most in 2024, in the same idea, if people loved the most this year 'candy crush' then why not, it's still a game. by this standard, DLC should not be game of the years, it's not a game... but if it's make elden ring even better and people loved to play this dlc... then why not elden ring game of the year again? yes I know, everyone will hate me now... ^^
Okay, so, a history lesson on the bolts thing! Back in the early 70s, the Strugatsky Brothers wrote a book called Roadside Picnic. The core of it is *very visibly* what would later become STALKER, but with one major difference -- rather than being the result of a nuclear incident, The Zone is the result of alien contact. The title of the book is a reference to the notion that the aliens stopped on our planet for a "Roadside Picnic" on their way somewhere else, and the artifacts and anomalies are literally the ultra-advanced technology of these aliens... that they discarded as rubbish. A lot of the anomalies in the games are directly lifted from the book, especially the Meatgrinder. The Stalkers in the book used nuts or bolts to test for the nearly invisible meatgrinders, especially, because, well, they earned their name. They will kill you. You throw a bolt to trigger one and reveal it. 4A, the team behind Metro, started off as some ex-devs from STALKER, and there was so much back and forth between them and the writer of the Metro books that they actually shaped the future of the series, and each book roughly translates to one of the games, so that's why Metro has the bolts thing -- same devs, influenced by the same works. And if you want to see a great movie that really shows off the horrifying beauty we can see in the games, Tarkovsky's Stalker is fantastic -- though it's worth noting that both the book and the film don't have Chernobyl as "The Zone" because it hadn't happened yet.
@@RetroGameCorps It's a super weird pathway to the game overall so it's easy to miss if you're not intentionally working backward. The book provides a lot of the lore, while the movie provides a lot of the aesthetics and vibe.
How is Astrobot in any way innovative when it's just more of the pack in game from the PS5? Belatro being indy is fine but I don't think a gambling card game belongs in Game of the Year. I also don't think remakes or DLC belong in GOTY either. ...and WTF is 'Nickelback'? My favorite games this year Echoes of Wisdom, Cult of the Lamb and Animal Well.
You could maybe argue that Balatro is derivative of Luck be a Landlord but, statistically speaking, it's unlikely you've played that game so I don't think you're comparing it to LbaL when you're implying that it's not original. LbaL excluded, I've never ever ever played a game like Balatro. I like the comparison to Binding of Isaac that @TNTITAN made but I would say that Balatro gave me the same feelings that BoI or Spelunky each gave me the first time I played them. Every time you think you have Balatro figured out, you learn something new. It takes incredibly simple rules and ideas and combines them in ways that I personally have never seen. If you think Balatro is not new original or innovative, what games have you played that you would say are similar?
@@FanTheDeck its a basic deck builder with its own rules by this standard than any doom clone could be game of the year jokes aside its poker with a rogue like elements from my perspective its just adds its own rules to a deck builder strategy card game my argument is an industry wide problem that many games aren't even worthy of the award my games of the year for ex astro bot and silent hill 2 remake both are phenomenal but neither do anything in particular that hasnt been done before before anyone accuses me of only liking AAA my 2nd favorite game of all time is what remains of edith finch and the only other game that i can think of thats done anything out of the ordinary is the stanley parable
Help Please. I got a white steam deck oled . And it's controllers didn't work right out of the box I've tried a few things I saw on reddit but it just won't recognize the cintrollers
This episode was a ton of fun
This fun was a ton of episode
I didn’t think of this when I first saw your fitness tracker ring vid, but you’ve been going on your own Ring Fit Adventure! 😝
Almost every episode is fun! What do you mean
FUN the deck! 🤘🏼😜
@@luca7x689 😅😅
Be sure to watch and support the first Indie Game Awards happening in December.
As a concept, Balatro is the modern day equivalent of Tetris. With all the caveats of added complexity and randomisation thrown in, it is the modern day Universal Puzzle Sensation.
That's all that needs to be said on the matter.
"That's all that needs to be said on the matter." 😏
If you liked Donkey Kong on the Gameboy, I recommend Mole Mania (another Miyamoto-produced puzzler on GB).
Mole Mania is great!
55:50 please do, Russ! Lots of us would be interested
Balatro was probably the best game of the year for me as well...
Did we have a 10-minute conversation about fallout, and absolutely no one brought up Fallout: New Vegas 🤔?
I own New Vegas, but I never put enough time into it to speak about it with any base of knowledge.
You know, that one never clicked for me! I spent so much time in Fallout 3 that I just wasn't ready for another adventure at the time, and never gave it a fair shake.
Man, you're missing out on the number of player choices, and freedom of gameplay will let you kill everyone, even an important NPC that will change how the rest of the game plays out. Not to mention, the dialog with just random NPC is like an acid trip in some of the craziest conversations I've ever had in a game.
@@NerdNestYou should really fix that. Come on.
I sunk a fair amount into 3 and NV that by the time 4 came out I might’ve burnt myself out a little that it took me a couple years before I could really get into 4. That being said, 4 definitely has some neat customization that would be neat to have in 3 and NV. Not the biggest fan of the base building personally, but I get the appeal to some people. More a fan of it in multiplayer games.
I hope Astro Bot wins, the game single handedly made me like platformers again after almost 20 years
@@GustavoFil350 I miss little big planet
At this point "indie games category" shouldn't exist anymore. They must compete head to head with "AA" or "AAA" games.
Im sure MANY will disagree, but Pal word, 30 million copies, second highest concurrent players in history, all 4 of my kids from 17-6 sunk 40-60 hours in. Sorry but that was the most ridiculously good indie game ever created, even if it was snubbed for "early access".
@@robertwendal5894 they literally showed nintendo what they SHOULD have done with pokemon instead of treading water. Probably why nintendo got biiiiig mad about it
Bill, I love you for not taking the bait and avoiding anything that could be taken even remotely as a spoiler for ff7 rebirth, I am one of those that is waiting for it to come to PC and I its really really hard so I appreciate this being a safe zone.
I really like these conversations. Interesting topics with excellent panelists. Also, as Russ mentioned in the Stalker segment, these videos help me with the language since I am a spanish speaker ahahah. Keep going guys! Greetings from 🇨🇱
I forget which video it was, but Jon (ex-Nintendo Life) once covered the Gameboy iteration of Donkey Kong and its hidden "second game."
Fun fact: It gets a special treatment on the Super Gameboy! Animated bezel art, a more 16-bitlike color palette, aaand IIRC improved music. Be sure to check out that SGB version!
The chase for blockbusters or the "Nicklebacks" is less about swinging big and having big expectations... and more about reducing risk. The bigger investments lead to less tolerance to risk.
There is a flashlight in stalker 2, I used 5 hours in pitch black before finding out so there is no shame in that. :D
@@syrefaen if you middle click you can toggle it
Personally I think Metaphor is one of the best JRPG games since Golden Sun 1 & 2. It's so well done!
I feel completely disconnected from The Keighleys. I'm a bit baffled by the tribalism that emerges from it (I don't mean the Nerd Nest guys).
I feel like every single outlet doing a GOTY (sometimes multiple full days of coverage) has completely burned me out on the concept. It has lost all meaning to me. The Keighleys is just one among many, except it has massive corporate backing.
Hollow Knight is an indie game but included in Game of the Year award.
I only played a little of the original Stalker, but I love the film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky and even more so the book that inspired it, Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky.
So, I can tell you the bolt throwing is a nod to Tarkovsky’s Stalker, which admittedly is a painfully slow and largely magical realist and barely even scifi film, but still… that’s what that is! 🤓
As for the Game Awards, I played a lot more Balatro, but-even tho I just played the demo-I voted for Metaphor most often, since I’m confident it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d adore… when it goes on sale! 🤑
I’d like to play all of the Indie nominees with Neva being the highest priority of the bunch.
Cult of the Lamb is also on my list of games to get, and I also would’ve liked seeing that in the best ongoing game, but alas.
Bill literally described Mario versus donkey Kong by its mechanics, that's interesting, they must have taken those mechanics and added them as an addition to the game he was referring. I'm also a large donkey Kong fan because I played the games with my grandmother, I hope I can find this game!
Why is this setup (picture quality and delay) better than the mainstream news?
Because TV stations use satellite to relay things, it may not look / sound as good, but its more reliable than using internet.
20:10 the reason Metro series felt similar was because it was made largely by the same guys who made the first Stalker game. In 2006 they left GSC and founded 4A Games.
Also, in Metro 2033 it's military grade ammo that's used for currency, not bolts.
Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 was snubbed for sure
I've been playing Balatro and Dave the diver simultaneously, and imagine my surprise when I came across Jimbos game in the sea people village and did a clean sweep perfect run against the poor unsuspecting aquatic village 😆
I remember playing the original STALKER back when it came out and coming across a game breaking instance where the quest giver was sniped by another NPC who was far off. Like, I was talking to the quest giver and then saw him get headshot and I had to reload my game. Cool, I just lost over an hour of gameplay. I love the series, though, bugs and all.
Bill You can play Stalker 2 in GamePass on PC and Console.
Pac Man board game sounds like a Mandela Effect
I showed pictures of it didn’t I?
@NerdNest yeah lol it's just like a you'd have to see to believe kinda thing and even then you wonder if it's all part of the simulation lol
Balatro is GOTY from the nominations. My personal GOTY is Pacific Drive.
DLC needs it's own category. It's not GOTY.
FF7Remake and FF7Rebirth are standalone games. You can buy and play them without owning the other.
I don’t like having DLC’s in categories that aren’t specifically for them. I also don’t agree with having Manor Lords (game deserves attention) here either because it’s Early Access. Where’s Hades 2 then? Remasters like Silent Hill 2? Separate category for Remasters.
If you’re a non-gamer and you watched the Game Awards, you’d think only 6 games released this year. Every big category reads the same!
You fellas are sleeping on Metaphor. Plays great on the deck too.
I believe the word that Rich was looking for is, nomenclature
You guys need to check out the Pac-Man episode that secret level is releasing is gonna blow your mind.
I saw the trailers at New York comic con a few months ago.
No.menfion of fallout new vegas in the fallout discussion is honestly downright criminal
Bill please dress up as Santa for the Christmas episode
I'd love some recommendations from Russ! I know tastes differ, but a just like a 'hey, I listened to this and this, and I think it's great, check it out ', from a person I already trust with stuff might help me get unstuck from my 7 albums played on repeat for decades.
Here's a summer playlist I put together a few months ago! I'm about to share my fall playlist too, it should be a community post in the next couple days: ruclips.net/user/postUgkxbfzC8ASWLQ31orLhPTd58b8RP45zg-jU
@@RetroGameCorps thanks 🙂
Donkey Kong on the gameboy is super good.
Almost feels unreal how good it is tbh.
But I am always in a weird spot for game of the year as I never really play new games until long after on sale.
Balatro is my #1 game this year
Another great show, loving the tangents!! Is the Donkey Kong you guys were talking about the one known as Donkey Kong 94?
Donkey Kong Classic has super gameboy functionality, with the picked out pallets for colorization. Mario gets an amazing move set, between picking up enemies and items a la Mario 2, a handstand you can use defensively, or jump out of for a high jump, spinning on ropes, etc. then there are the puzzle aspects to the levels. Really peak game design. Mario Vs Donkey Kong, while fun, is nowhere near as good as far as level design. The
Idk how no one even made the "I've neva played neva" joke because I'm over here pulling my hair bro lmao
Low hanging fruit
I think there should be a category for dlc and remakes, but I also want to clarify that you can get to the Elden Ring dlc within an hour if you want.
While I agree Balatro is an amazing game that had great success and sure it was well deserved… the only problem I have with the indie scene in general is how easy it is for incredible games to go unnoticed while others just blow up like Balatro.
For example one of my favourite indie games this year is intravenous 2… incredible game that most just don’t even know exist, mainstream publications didn’t cover it, had they it might have been right there alongside Balatro or even in its place. It’s sad that’s just one of many that just go unnoticed but it’s a fine example of how amazing the indie scene is in general today.
I think it would be interesting to hear all of your opinions about this in another episode, but I heard Kresh on the My Xbox and Me podcast mention putting games with big DLC expansions into the best ongoing game category. As soon as he mentioned that I was floored- how is this not a bigger part of the conversation! That would be my preferred placement for DLCs and the like. Interested to hear all of your thoughts!
Stalker 2 is hard, but the *big* thing is that it rewards preparation over action. Add a few mods on PC, and it's a very straightforward game.
Base building in Starfield better than Fallout 4? STRONG DISAGREE. I love the base building in Fallout 4. It's clunky, but far more open, and the settlement systems are far more interesting than what Starfield has been left with. It also spawned the single greated mod series of all time. Sim Settlements is so astoundingly good.
I like Starfield a lot, too, despite it's shortcomings, but I think a base building system that felt boring - less lived in - was my biggest disappointment with the game. I do get why it wasn't taken as a bigger feature, given the disdain for Fallout 4's settlement system, though.
Remakes count to me especially when it's rebuilt from the ground up. Excluding a remake like that is like saying the new Dune movies don't deserve consideration for movie of the year because there is a 1984 version. DLC should have its own category because it's like sneaking in through the backdoor to get game of the year. "Oh nuts we didn't get it last year? Well let's hope this new story dlc is well received even though it's the same game."
Does that even count with Elden Ring? Since it was GOTY.. It didn't sneak.
@robskitlz4391 Looking ahead games that didn't win it one year can win it another. This year it's still a bad practice; the same game could possibly win game of the year multiple times.
Honestly, New Vegas was the best fallout.
Animal Well would be my pick for best Indie, I really fell in love with it. But Balatro has to win by default - it can’t be the only indie nominated for game of the year and then not win best indie, that would make no sense!
I had Rich's experience with Fallout 3 exactly. I played for a while and enjoyed it, but the world just felt so oppressive compared to Oblivon that I never got the same zen vibe to keep me coming back. Objectively great game, but I guess I'm just a fantasy guy at heart haha
Kerry was fire from the jump.
I respect Russ's opinion and I think that it is an interesting viewpoint, but Animal Well feels like a real gamey game to me, I know that sounds stupid, but the game doesn't hold your hand, it's not on rails like crazy and has none of the yellow paint syndrome that we see in so many games nowadays. It was a true rush to get to figure out the puzzles (without the game solving them for you if it took too long kinda vibe.) I understand how that is not everyone's vibe & Balatro is a great pick up and play game. I think I relate more to Carrie's take, but I understand how that is not everyone.
I bought Ballatro over the weekend to see the hype. As well as messing with port master...
Woah.
My time is toast
I do think Balatro is good but overrated. My reason I’d never elevate it to GOTY status is that it’s mostly a compulsion reward game. It’s just pulling an RNG lever over and over hoping for good combos. And because I’m not someone who gets a thrill from gambling, Balatro only lasted about 12 hours for me before it felt very repetitive.
Best indie game: Tainted Grail: Avalon, but because it's early access, Dread Delusion. These are easy picks.
Game of the Year: Vision of Mana. Another easy pick this year.
Enjoyed this episode. Really good when arguments get heated 😆
Bill play black myth surprisingly so good
Command and Conquer x Need for Speed - make this happen EA!! 😂
It's really hard for me to vote for GOTY because i always play old games. If i could vote an older game for my own GOTY then it'd be Persona 3 Portable. I realise could say Persona 3 Reload as it did release this year but I haven't played it
1:05:15 "Parry this ya filthy casual."
judging by russ' great taste in band tees, i would love album reviews or a podcast about music from him!!! if he made a second channel for that, I would be the first to subscribe
I really enjoyed Balatro, but man Astro Bot was still sooo fun, I genuinely hope it wins. I would be fine if Balatro wins as long as Wukong and Elden Rin don't win.
I got that XIII game for free on GOG. Don't really remember why, but they were giving it away at one point.
Its in the title: GAME of the year. I cant watch the awards, learn about it, and go just buy and play Shadow of the Erdtree, as you would with a game. Not saying its a bad dlc. But its not a game.
Bill seems to echo my own opinions on it, more or less.
Edit: respectfully, regarding what Russ said about "gameplay experience of the year" and "its the definition GAME of the year that people get hung up about"; if it were gameplay experience of the year then i would agree. But it isnt. It is GAME of the year. We cant just rename categories in our heads to suit our needs, cause then whats the point of categories at all? To his point, I think gameplay experience of the year would be a great category to include though.
Russ is love to get a music podcast from you! I’m sure I’m not the only one
How the f is no one talking about Silent Hill 2
Man, so sad to hear blood omen 2 getting bad press... I thoroughly enjoyed the whole legacy of kain series . And also another great podcast. Would love love love to see Kyle back one day 😢
I just want to throw out there if a remake is just an upgraded experience it shouldn’t be considered for goty. If it is nearly a completely different experience like ffvii then it’s a new game. I can barely even compare the og to the new games. Even storywise they added so much.
Metro have a ammunition not a bolts as a currency
Ah - you're right!
You guys are really missing out on Metaphor. Can't reccomend it enough
I hope it wins GoTY, but I think Balatro will win game direction
YES, you cannot have a DLC for a game nominated for GOTY!
So.. Is pac-man a game about eating tangents ?
I have to go back and play balatro I went in expecting blackjack and only lasted 10min before I gave up.
Just wanted to say that I love this show. You guys are great!!
They have a version of that game that they sell, we have it and my kid loves it
I wish ufo50 is on switch. Preferably a physical ver
boomer comparison, people don't hate nickelback anymore.
Please share Russ' band. I also love music and would like to see what Russ is doing!
We haven't recorded in a LONG time, we have enough songs for another EP but just can't manage our schedules to record them. Here is our first (and only) recording: ohthepossibilities.bandcamp.com/album/the-estate-tapes-ep
Fun fact, my wife was our drummer back then!
What's the point of having definitions if we don't use them??
The point I was making was not that we can't use definitions. But definitions aren't a concrete wall with no room for movement and fluidity. Definitions, and language, are extremely porous. To simplify my stance - I'm much more of a "spirit of the law" than "letter of the law" kinda guy. So if an Early Access game like Hades II happens to be my favorite gaming experience of the year, I don't see why it shouldn't be considered in the GOTY conversation.
Dig the new intro music- stretch it out a bit
Balatro doesn't deserve to win anything, lol I also don't believe a traditional remake shouldn't be included to a game of the year, but it's hard to call FF7 Rebirth a remake. There is so much different including story and playstyle that its not just a prettier version of the original.
What is this amazing intro music?! 🎵
I would make a lot of enemies, but when I thinks of a "game of the years" I ask myself what should be a game of the year... and at the heart... it's just the game that I loved the most this year... nothing else, so... even Warcraft 3 (original) could be the game of the year if it's the game that people loved the most in 2024, in the same idea, if people loved the most this year 'candy crush' then why not, it's still a game.
by this standard, DLC should not be game of the years, it's not a game... but if it's make elden ring even better and people loved to play this dlc... then why not elden ring game of the year again?
yes I know, everyone will hate me now... ^^
Sonic X Shadow Generations for GotY!
Great show guys.
Nine souls, all in gonna say
Okay, so, a history lesson on the bolts thing!
Back in the early 70s, the Strugatsky Brothers wrote a book called Roadside Picnic. The core of it is *very visibly* what would later become STALKER, but with one major difference -- rather than being the result of a nuclear incident, The Zone is the result of alien contact. The title of the book is a reference to the notion that the aliens stopped on our planet for a "Roadside Picnic" on their way somewhere else, and the artifacts and anomalies are literally the ultra-advanced technology of these aliens... that they discarded as rubbish.
A lot of the anomalies in the games are directly lifted from the book, especially the Meatgrinder. The Stalkers in the book used nuts or bolts to test for the nearly invisible meatgrinders, especially, because, well, they earned their name. They will kill you. You throw a bolt to trigger one and reveal it.
4A, the team behind Metro, started off as some ex-devs from STALKER, and there was so much back and forth between them and the writer of the Metro books that they actually shaped the future of the series, and each book roughly translates to one of the games, so that's why Metro has the bolts thing -- same devs, influenced by the same works.
And if you want to see a great movie that really shows off the horrifying beauty we can see in the games, Tarkovsky's Stalker is fantastic -- though it's worth noting that both the book and the film don't have Chernobyl as "The Zone" because it hadn't happened yet.
Thanks for the background! I've watched Tarkovsky's Stalker and never put the two together until now :D
@@RetroGameCorps It's a super weird pathway to the game overall so it's easy to miss if you're not intentionally working backward. The book provides a lot of the lore, while the movie provides a lot of the aesthetics and vibe.
Warframe is consistently missing in the best ongoing game when the game's last two years were full of bangers. It's ridiculous.
Good episode!
How is Astrobot in any way innovative when it's just more of the pack in game from the PS5? Belatro being indy is fine but I don't think a gambling card game belongs in Game of the Year. I also don't think remakes or DLC belong in GOTY either. ...and WTF is 'Nickelback'? My favorite games this year Echoes of Wisdom, Cult of the Lamb and Animal Well.
Best
Opening
Ever
what does balatro do thats new original or innovative
It generally the wildcards that can theoretically give you Isaac level breaking runs in a poker card game.
You could maybe argue that Balatro is derivative of Luck be a Landlord but, statistically speaking, it's unlikely you've played that game so I don't think you're comparing it to LbaL when you're implying that it's not original.
LbaL excluded, I've never ever ever played a game like Balatro. I like the comparison to Binding of Isaac that @TNTITAN made but I would say that Balatro gave me the same feelings that BoI or Spelunky each gave me the first time I played them. Every time you think you have Balatro figured out, you learn something new. It takes incredibly simple rules and ideas and combines them in ways that I personally have never seen.
If you think Balatro is not new original or innovative, what games have you played that you would say are similar?
@@FanTheDeck its a basic deck builder with its own rules by this standard than any doom clone could be game of the year
jokes aside its poker with a rogue like elements from my perspective its just adds its own rules to a deck builder strategy card game
my argument is an industry wide problem that many games aren't even worthy of the award
my games of the year for ex astro bot and silent hill 2 remake both are phenomenal but neither do anything in particular that hasnt been done before
before anyone accuses me of only liking AAA my 2nd favorite game of all time is what remains of edith finch and the only other game that i can think of thats done anything out of the ordinary is the stanley parable
I think you brought up Luck be a Landlord on Episode 1 of the podcast Rich!!! Back when I called you Russ haha
@@NerdNest I 100% did 🙂 That game is special and it inspired Balatro!
I'm tired of these huge games that try and make the one game for everyone looking at you, ubisoft 😴. It just ends up being bland and stale.
It's simply not for you. Why are you tired? Why not just play indie games and stop complaining?
Dude that game Xlll remake is good now, when it launch it was bad, since then its better now
Good to know!
@NerdNest you know how these games work nowadays lmao 😒
Put me on the list that wants to hear Russ’s band! I need a link, pls!
Just meke indie games a segment
They are
I see you like tangents. May I interest you in a tangent?
1:28:22 CAT!! :D
One fluff?!?
It doesn't belong because it's a mediocre indie game. It's fine, it's ok. A cool little thingy.
Russ looks tired
I have an autoimmune disease, I have looked tired for the past 20 years :D
Help Please. I got a white steam deck oled . And it's controllers didn't work right out of the box I've tried a few things I saw on reddit but it just won't recognize the cintrollers
Sell it and buy a switch 😅 or go RMA. Basically, just contact Valve if other methods have failed.
@1lubo1 yeah I have . Just bad experience for being my fist deck . 😅