You know all these games we're talking about have the potential to be that thing This year, Geoff Keighley is preparing to take the stage at The Game Awards with his best corporate forced smile on his face?
They can all do one thing.
Well, maybe except Balatro, because everyone loves Balatro.
But I digress, I’m not here to write about Balatero, no matter how much free time it robs us of. I'm here to write about my personal game this year. There were three of them, because I’m an indecisive bastard.
Like a dragon: unlimited wealth. Fallout: London. Thank God you are here.
All three games developed in very different ways and for different reasons.
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I will start with unlimited wealth, like 2024. When January (definitely the best month because it's the month I was born) dropped, Yakuza 8 faced a daunting task. It had to surpass its critically acclaimed predecessor Yakuza: Like a Dragon and somehow give iconic series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu a better ending than Yakuza Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name. You know, just a few months ago, this ending would have had all our gang bosses wailing like babies.
In my estimation, it does both better than it should. It's really two games. It's a love letter to how far the long-undefeated but mentally battered professional boxer has come before heading out for what he believes will likely be his last fight – in this one , timing the inevitable uppercut that will knock him to the ground. canvas through the gloves of his latest opponent. The other is the next chapter in a story about someone whose life is all about dealing with things in a way Kiryu never did – relying on others to fight for you.
You could argue that RGG hampered Kasuga Ichiban's story by bringing Kiryu back for his third attempt at a retirement tour (which should have allowed him to properly establish himself as the face of the franchise after a stellar debut) Just do it. To me, with Kiryu, you get a complete package that's more balanced in the story it's trying to tell. It’s “do it yourself” versus “do it with help,” and (spoiler alert) the guy who represents the former ends up accepting the help he needs.
At the same time, the story of “Fallout: London” takes place on the Island of Sorrow, where the environment is much worse than Hawaii. While Shadow of the Erdtree has us all debating whether DLC should qualify for GOTY consideration, I think Team FOLON's massive creation makes a good case: If the DLC allows it, the mod should too.
That a large volunteer-led project like this actually crossed the release finish line in a form as close to what it did is an incredible achievement in itself, when the initial release version ended up with so many bugs , which is a bit tragic. If you can get past that, this mod isn't just a nice little expansion for Fallout 4 – it's a broad and interesting attempt to take the Fallout series beyond its North American roots, and if I see Speaking professionally, I'd be impressed that the studio has considerable publisher support to deliver.
I'm not sure it would surpass New Vegas on my list of the best Fallout games, even with the fix, but as someone who didn't enjoy the first season of the Amazon Fallout TV show as much as others did, simply because it didn't make me really 's inability to deliver the kind of different, unique worldview I was looking for in a series, and I'm really glad London did that.
Finally, thankfully Coal Supper from indie studio Coal Supper is a game that once you show it to someone, you don't need to explain why you like it. I may be from somewhere far north in Yorkshire, but this picture of a quaint, quirky English town will have an impact on you no matter where you grew up in this rubbish country of ours, assuming you grew up in a place without Anything grew up in the house. Visited the butler and pony, both named Giles.
It’s a hilarious love letter to working-class people living working-class lives, in a year when our plates have been filled with more and more soulless crap, including social-clogging AI crap, Something simple and human deserves to be celebrated. .
Okay, you can now bring all your other games back.
