Justin’s villain arc of casting the deciding top 5 vote for Metaphor ReFantazio to then almost kicking it out in exchange for AstroBot was diabolical. I’m amazed at Plante’s restraint in responding to this truly unhinged move.
Maybe there should be a patreon bracket episode of “Besties Game of the Year #1 picks,” could be a fun look back at some games ya’ll hadn’t thought about in a minute!
Honestly a lot of my favorite games this year were from listening to the podcast.
While all the well known games like BG3 / Balatro / Animal Well / Lethal Company really stood out with playtime this year, I always like to recognize my top games I wouldn't have played in 2024 without hearing about them from the Besties.
1. Core Keeper
2. Diceomancer
3. 1000 x Resist
4. Halls of Torment
5. Stacklands
Thanks for always talking about and spotlighting these kinds of games!
Its a bit late, but a game that was in the works for 15 years just came out, "Caves of Qud". Came out of nowhere for me but has made my top 5 really quickly. In short its a open world rouge like. Recommend checking it out!
I really want to spend more time with at least some of the top 5. Which leads me to a general question for the besties:
could you walk us through a day in your lives? When exactly are you logging game hours? Are you staying up until 2 AM frequently? I’ve heard you talk about squeezing little bits in while a kid is otherwise occupied etc but that can’t be it.
If Justin ever plays a Mario game or Smash Bros game and doesn't talk about them being commercials then his commercial arguments for Astro Bot are totally void, it is only as much as a commercial as things Nintendo gets away with every day
Justin historically also hates Mario kart and Smash bros so he’s decently consistent on this. Also the man hosts a podcast within a podcast on brand eating so he’s plenty aware of his hypocrisy lol
I love that Plante put that there was a fair catch free kick in the newsletter. Nice to know there are a few of us who are both video game nerds and sports fans
This was an unhinged episode (in a good way, if you know what I mean). I can't believe how invested I was in this back and forth even though only one of your top five tickled my fancy. Just as an example, Balatro seems like a nightmare come to life for me personally, my dislike of card games and deck builders in one and my fear of getting addicted. Would love to try out the long form commercial someday, but no access to a PS for now. Infinite wealth is a weird one for me. I liked parts of it but got soo sooo bored with the cut scenes. Thinking about it now I loved the main characters vibe and Dondoku Island. After being done with that I stopped playing and never picked it up again.
I played Tactical breach wizards after learning about it in this podcast, which was a joy. So anyway, thanks for this lovely podcast and the chaotic energy.
Aside from some next fest demos, I think I only played 3 new games this year and I would rank them:
1. Animal Well
2. Tactical Breach Wizards
3. Balatro
(I don’t have a high performance pc currently)
But even before listening to the first goty episode my list of games to play eventually was LaD: IW, Metaphor, & UFO50.
I also played demos for Bloodless, Pinball Spire, and Toads of the Bayou which were fun and did come out this year but I never pulled the trigger on the full game.
This was a very fun GOTY episode because I was not expecting this at all and it was so wonderfully contentious. Glad the final 5 were ultimately a good mix of everyone's tastes and maybe one day i'll pick up Yakuza! My top games in no particular order (also the only games i really played this year) are Veilguard, Tears of the Kingdom, Fortnite, and Baldur's Gate 3 :)
My GotY is Another Crab’s Treasure, followed closely by Animal Well.
I got frustrated with UFO 50 but I feel like I’m gonna come back to it hard like Griffin did one of these days. I’ve been meaning to try Tactical Breach Wizards, Crow Country, and Fields of Mistria.
I pick away at Yakuza: Like A Dragon on Game Pass from time to time. Maybe I’d like Infinite Wealth better. Balatro is fun, but “number go up” has never done much for me; Metaphor I’m certain is not for me. I can’t afford a PS5 to play Astro Bot.
As for honorable mentions, I recently played Open Roads with my fiancé and I enjoyed it much more than I expected. It’s a smart iteration on Gone Home.
P.S. What happened to the superlative awards y’all mentioned in last week’s episode?
I don't think I even played 5 games that came out this year. But my personal top 5 of games I played this year, many for the first time (in no particular order)
-Baldur's Gate 3
-Nier Automata (Plante agreed years ago to be my friend if I played this so friendship secure I guess)
Justin’s villain arc of casting the deciding top 5 vote for Metaphor ReFantazio to then almost kicking it out in exchange for AstroBot was diabolical. I’m amazed at Plante’s restraint in responding to this truly unhinged move.
Maybe there should be a patreon bracket episode of “Besties Game of the Year #1 picks,” could be a fun look back at some games ya’ll hadn’t thought about in a minute!
Honestly a lot of my favorite games this year were from listening to the podcast.
While all the well known games like BG3 / Balatro / Animal Well / Lethal Company really stood out with playtime this year, I always like to recognize my top games I wouldn't have played in 2024 without hearing about them from the Besties.
1. Core Keeper
2. Diceomancer
3. 1000 x Resist
4. Halls of Torment
5. Stacklands
Thanks for always talking about and spotlighting these kinds of games!
Can y'all post your top 10s so that I can ranked choice them and solve this besties game of the year thing WITH MATH
Its a bit late, but a game that was in the works for 15 years just came out, "Caves of Qud". Came out of nowhere for me but has made my top 5 really quickly. In short its a open world rouge like. Recommend checking it out!
Yes, this game rules!
I really want to spend more time with at least some of the top 5. Which leads me to a general question for the besties:
could you walk us through a day in your lives? When exactly are you logging game hours? Are you staying up until 2 AM frequently? I’ve heard you talk about squeezing little bits in while a kid is otherwise occupied etc but that can’t be it.
If Justin ever plays a Mario game or Smash Bros game and doesn't talk about them being commercials then his commercial arguments for Astro Bot are totally void, it is only as much as a commercial as things Nintendo gets away with every day
Justin historically also hates Mario kart and Smash bros so he’s decently consistent on this. Also the man hosts a podcast within a podcast on brand eating so he’s plenty aware of his hypocrisy lol
The best game of the year and best rpg of the generation.
I love that Plante put that there was a fair catch free kick in the newsletter. Nice to know there are a few of us who are both video game nerds and sports fans
Love that, too, and what a WILD play. Could't believe that was even a rule. so cool.
This was an unhinged episode (in a good way, if you know what I mean). I can't believe how invested I was in this back and forth even though only one of your top five tickled my fancy. Just as an example, Balatro seems like a nightmare come to life for me personally, my dislike of card games and deck builders in one and my fear of getting addicted. Would love to try out the long form commercial someday, but no access to a PS for now. Infinite wealth is a weird one for me. I liked parts of it but got soo sooo bored with the cut scenes. Thinking about it now I loved the main characters vibe and Dondoku Island. After being done with that I stopped playing and never picked it up again.
I played Tactical breach wizards after learning about it in this podcast, which was a joy. So anyway, thanks for this lovely podcast and the chaotic energy.
All new Playstation games come to PC eventually! So you should be able to play it this year, hopefully
Aside from some next fest demos, I think I only played 3 new games this year and I would rank them:
1. Animal Well
2. Tactical Breach Wizards
3. Balatro
(I don’t have a high performance pc currently)
But even before listening to the first goty episode my list of games to play eventually was LaD: IW, Metaphor, & UFO50.
I also played demos for Bloodless, Pinball Spire, and Toads of the Bayou which were fun and did come out this year but I never pulled the trigger on the full game.
Regardless of everything and the opinions slewn about this episode I think that might be my cold open of the year 😂
I think Russ saying he dislikes Kiryu and thinks he's a sad emo man is the most shocking opinion in this episode.
This was a very fun GOTY episode because I was not expecting this at all and it was so wonderfully contentious. Glad the final 5 were ultimately a good mix of everyone's tastes and maybe one day i'll pick up Yakuza! My top games in no particular order (also the only games i really played this year) are Veilguard, Tears of the Kingdom, Fortnite, and Baldur's Gate 3 :)
My GotY is Another Crab’s Treasure, followed closely by Animal Well.
I got frustrated with UFO 50 but I feel like I’m gonna come back to it hard like Griffin did one of these days. I’ve been meaning to try Tactical Breach Wizards, Crow Country, and Fields of Mistria.
I pick away at Yakuza: Like A Dragon on Game Pass from time to time. Maybe I’d like Infinite Wealth better. Balatro is fun, but “number go up” has never done much for me; Metaphor I’m certain is not for me. I can’t afford a PS5 to play Astro Bot.
As for honorable mentions, I recently played Open Roads with my fiancé and I enjoyed it much more than I expected. It’s a smart iteration on Gone Home.
P.S. What happened to the superlative awards y’all mentioned in last week’s episode?
Good question! It will be the final Resties of the year over at Patreon -- due to lack of time in this week's episode.
I don't think I even played 5 games that came out this year. But my personal top 5 of games I played this year, many for the first time (in no particular order)
-Baldur's Gate 3
-Nier Automata (Plante agreed years ago to be my friend if I played this so friendship secure I guess)
-Metaphor ReFantazio
-Return of the Obra Dinn
-Balatro
This is a ridiculously good collection of video games
I had a really fun year!