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It's that time of the year again! Game of the Year (But not really because it's DLC): MORE Elden Ring, that's all I wanted, all I needed, all I could ever ask for, and it delivered. Found some of my favourite weapons and armour in this DLC, the bosses were pretty cool for the most part, the soundtrack was amazing. A most excellent addition to an already awesome game. Game of the Year (this time's for real): The Emperor is pleased. First one was fun, but with some issues, this sequel improves on pretty much every aspect while still keeping what made the original so fun to play. Tons of enemies, lots of cool weapons to fight said enemies with, customization, co-op, everything is here! The story is pretty decent, and all I could ask for in a game like this "here's a cool/badass reason for you to go somewhere and kick ass".

Honorable Mentions: Shadow of the Erdtree. I'm not skipping it because it's DLC. Like, the amount of content in it puts a lot of "full" games to shame. If it hadn't been for Elden Ring itself being absolutely huge, FROM could've released Shadow as a full price standalone game and no one would've complained lol. But it was "just" more Elden Ring. Which, don't get me wrong, it was great and I loved it. But it didn't exactly blow my mind or anything. It was just really, really good. Same goes for Metaphor: ReFantazio. I'm honestly a little surprised by all the GOTY love this one got. Not because I don't think it deserves it but rather because Atlus games typically don't seem to get any. I guess Persona 5 might have? Much like Shadow of the Erdtree, Metaphor was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it but at the end of the day it was "just" another ATLUS JRPG. It really didn't break the mold as much as I expected it to. Which is fine. It's just not my game of the year. Speaking of which... Game(s) of the Year 2024: That's right, I'm calling it a tie! They were definitely my two favorite games this year. Hard to say which one gets the edge, honestly. The answer could change depending on which day you asked me. Silent Hill 2 wasn't just a fantastic remake, it was possibly the best horror game I've ever played. And Indy came out of nowhere with a surprise immersive sim based on one of my favorite movie franchises. I was actually nervous about how both of these. Both games had me thinking "Please don't suck!" ahead of launch, so it was a very pleasant surprise that they both turned out so freaking good.

Game of the Year: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth What can I say? It's the next epic installment in the FF7R series. It's got a little bit of open world busy-work, but overall it's a lot of fun, the characters are great, the adaptation is fantastic, it's everything I could have wanted. Runner-Up: Astro Bot Asobi did it again, with a full-sized 3D platformer good enough to challenge Mario. This game is such a delight, I'm sure I had a stupid grin on my face like 90% of the time I was playing it. Everything about it, from the way movement feels, to the visual style, to the love of Playstation's history, it's just such a delight. Honorable Mention: Helldivers II Like Sea of Stars last year, this game was totally not on my radar, and I don't generally go into multiplayer games, but this one is fun enough that it actually pulled me away from Persona 3 Reload, and I spent basically the entire month of February playing it. The only thing that broke its spell was the release of Rebirth.

Game of the Year Yeah it might be DLC but this expansion is bigger than most full priced games so sorry not sorry, I easily spent more time this year playing Elden Ring again than anything else. With this much content, including the new weapon classes, it's more than worth the $40 asking price. Runner-up Admittedly, this game went through a rough patch and a few controversies, but it eventually landed in a pretty good state. This is one of the most fun multiplayer games I've played with friends in years, to the point where sometimes even dying can be fun when everything is so over the top and covered in explosions. This is one of those multiplayer games where you make your own stories by taking part in some truly insane battles full of setpiece moments that you yourself orchestrate. Throw in the fact that the monetization is usually pretty reasonable and it's hard to go wrong with Helldivers 2.