Your favourite stuff of 2024

[Raid]

I think in past years we've done a top games list that we voted for. I'm not convinced there are enough of us here these days to really warrant voting systems and building lists, so how about we do a freeform list of our favourite (and least favourite) stuff from the last year? I'm going to post my own list, but that's not meant as indicative of what to include, feel free to make up your own categories.

Favourite game: I'm writing this as the game I've played in the last 12 months that I've had the most enjoyment out of, it's not something that released last year. It's Warhammer: Darktide - I went over what I thought of it in the Currently Playing thread a week or two back, but the jist is that it's an extremely well-tuned multiplayer stress-fest that usually just rides the crest of the wave of difficulty and intensity. Those of us who play on the forum Discord shout at each other when playing, there's swearing involved, we apologise afterwards, but we keep coming back for more because the level of satisfaction you get from a good game of this is second to none.

Honourable mentions:
- Jedi: Survivor: it's probably the reason I got into Elden Ring immediately afterwards - it's relatively easy compared to the Soulsbourne games, but it grabbed me with a genuinely good story in a setting I'm intimately familiar with.
- Elden Ring: I'm in two minds as to whether this is a better game than the above; it's certainly more challenging, more refined, and it's vastly bigger in scope. I played this from start to finish in 2024, and played a decent chunk of Shadow of the Erd Tree, but I think 6-8 weeks of playing it non-stop was enough. I'll go back to it at some point, but I don't think the expansion was very well tuned in terms of difficulty, with all but the bosses being a bit too easy, and most of the bosses being far too difficult.

Favourite TV: Probably Arcane, but more as a feast for the eyes than a comment on its story-telling which was unfortunately massively rushed. It'll be a bit of a running theme for me, but I'm really bowled over these days by impressive visual design - undoubtedly a result of me studying it these last few years in the (currently postponed) desire to become an artist, but there's just been *so much* good looking animation in recent years and it's a damned shame that it doesn't get the recognition I think it deserves.

Honourable mention:
- Formula 1; people that turned off after an absolute rout by Verstappen in 2023 will see that he's champion again and assume it was more of the same, but this has been the most competitive year of the sport since 2007 when I started watching religiously. Yes, Max did take the drivers' trophy, but we had seven drivers who won more than one Grand Prix, including two new winners - that's unheard of when I've been watching, and the constructors' championship went down to the wire. It did still feature what was undoubtedly the worst race I've ever watched (Monaco, where everyone made their compulsory pitstops under a red flag leading to basically no overtaking at all), but it never really felt like one team was just running away with it.

Favourite Movie: Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse: Another staggeringly good looking animation, but unlike Arcane, this got absolutely everything perfect. The story was heart-warming, and remarkably cohesive for a multi-verse plot, the voice acting was magnificent, and it had so much style with the visuals that I'm staggered this isn't more peoples' favourite film of all time. It certainly became mine.

I'll probably post a bunch more as it comes to mind.

[Animalmother]

Favorite Game:
This is hard for me as I didn't play that many games that came out in 2024 or if I did I just can't remember them. The best I can think of, even though I'm slightly jaded with it at the moment, is Stalker 2. It is very well made and fun to play and the sheer fact it ever got released is amazing. I had great fun with Darktide as well and also started replaying Battlefield V again for a bit which I really enjoyed.

TV Show:
Again this is hard but simply because there was some absolute crackers out this year. It's a toss up between The Penguin, Fallout, Silo and Shogun. If I had to pick just one it would probably be Shogun.
Honourable mention goes to Squid Game S2 and my watching the entirety of Stargate SG1 and Atlantis.

Film:
I seemed to have missed most of the big ones from 2024. I only went to the cinema a handful of times this year. Probably the best would be Dune 2. I did get to see Interstellar in Imax a few months ago which was glorious.

[Hatredsheart]

Fav. Game - Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree

Fav. TV - Shogun

Fav. Movie - Dune Part 2

[eny]

Fav Game: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

Everything we have been pining for all these years, familiar haunts and game devices almost identical to the originals, even down to favourite stashes. Considering the challenges GSC has provided something quite remarkable. When the mod SDK is released, all the old familiar QoL mods will be sprouting like grass after the Summer rains, such an incredible and massive, seamless game. Brilliant.


Fav T.V.: Yellowstone

The end to the final series was an extra 6 episodes and it wrapped up brilliantly. This show has been exceptional at shining light on the core beliefs of America and which drive progress throughout it's history, good or bad, or plain deluded, it is an honest reflection. The inclusion of the working aspect and insight into the relationships, skill and vigour required for cowboying — people and horses both — has been very authentic, honouring the unsung heroes that keep rural communities going and the craftsmen that supply a deep need for just that little bit extra in everyday tools. Last but not least, the ending was as perfect as the story could lead it to be, fulfilling the "7 generations" prophecy in a satisfying way. The show and its offshoots have been exceptional, with a wise production team that put certain values centreplace.


Fav Film: Dune Part. 2 / Killers of the Flower Moon.

2 outstanding films for very different reasons, but both greats!

[Raid]

It's funny, considering how much of a Denis Villeneuve fan I am, I just did not enjoy Dune Part 2 at all. I couldn't tell you what it was about it that I didn't like, to the point where it's entirely possible I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to enjoy it and it wasn't to do with the film itself. The only real change between Part 1 and 2 is that I'd finally gotten around to reading the book after Part 1 so I knew what was coming. I definitely prefer the opening half of the book to the second half, but that's not enough to explain my love for the first and dislike of the second film.

I definitely have a choice for Least favourite game; Planet Coaster 2. I can't remember the last time I had such a visceral hatred of a game that I'd actually been fairly excited for, but the pathing tool in this entirely killed my enthusiasm for it. I must have spent about 5 hours trying to do some of the most basic landscaping and path creation (namely an opening plaza with a pond), and it's just inexplicably irritating. I don't think I ever got to the point where I wanted to place a ride, I kept plugging away at this plaza idea, thinking "oh, eventually I'll work it out" despite my getting genuinely angry at it, until I realised quite how much time I'd wasted getting absolutely nowhere. Knowing I'd long-passed the Steam refund window, I did ask for my money back anyway, but it was denied, so I've got a forty-quid lump of coal stuck in my games library for all eternity.

[Rusty]

Fav. Game - Looking at my steam list I played Magicraft way too much. You build your own wands as you progress until you sometimes get absolute screen melting ones, sometimes you have to limp through with stuff. It's great for pick up and play.
Stalker 2. Natch.
SPT - Single player, Escape from Tarkov. Basically all the good bits with no toxic online bits (there's even a co-op version) plus some great QoL mods.

Fav. TV - Whitehouse and Mortimer go fishing. So gentle. So beautiful. Sometimes funny.

Fav. Movie - Dune Part 2.

[Snowy]

I have been meaning to post a similar thread, and am now doing so while completely rat-arsed so apologies in advance for the typos that miss the filter.

Favourite game: Helldivers 2

This has had some really close competition in the form of Warhammer 40k: Darktide which is one of the best co-op titles ever, bar none, thanks to the equally capitalised Raid, El Gaucho, Prey/Lenny/Stuff and LongPlod/ManBearSquid. Stalker 2 for being Stalker 2, and Ghost of Tsushima for being great. But Helldivers is just the most fun gameplay loop and one that I have not grown tired of, even if others have.

Favourite TV should be Shogun but is probably Silo even though it should be Fallout. Silo is like fallout where they don't leave, and is more interesting for it, so that gets the vote.

Film-wise I don't watch many, so Dune 2 gets the nod from me.

Album of the year is really hard, but Iotunn - Kinship wins the day by a whisker, with Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere coming in a whisker behind.

[Wrathbone]

Favourite game - FF7 Rebirth. I enjoyed it so much that I’ll be buying it again on PC this month to play it with the graphical settings it deserves.

Favourite film - Civil War. I went into this one blind, expecting little more than a silly action film. What I got was a surprisingly powerful photojournalism drama that is excellently presented and acted (with the exception of one character, from what I recall). Absolutely worth a watch.

Favourite TV - I watched very little new TV last year, focusing mainly on films, but Fallout stands out as the series that surpassed my expectations and did the franchise proud. Looking forward to season 2.

[Sly Boots]

Probably close to 90% of the gaming I do these days is for the channel, so my list of favourites is probably close to this:



But of the games I played just for myself, I think it would have to be Stalker 2, even though after playing for around 50 hours I needed a bit of a break and haven't yet taken it up once again.

Very rarely go to the cinema these days, and when I do it's mostly to go with the kids rather than because it's something I'm dying to see, but of the few films I did go to, it would probably be Dune 2, even though I enjoyed the first film more.

TV would probably be Fallout if we're talking new shows, although I am enjoying the new Dexter as well as Star Wars Skeleton Crew.

There's probably a lot of recency bias in these choices as honestly I struggle to remember much from a month or two ago

[Raid]

Favourite game - FF7 Rebirth. I enjoyed it so much that I’ll be buying it again on PC this month to play it with the graphical settings it deserves.

Favourite film - Civil War. I went into this one blind, expecting little more than a silly action film. What I got was a surprisingly powerful photojournalism drama that is excellently presented and acted (with the exception of one character, from what I recall). Absolutely worth a watch.

Favourite TV - I watched very little new TV last year, focusing mainly on films, but Fallout stands out as the series that surpassed my expectations and did the franchise proud. Looking forward to season 2.

I started replaying FF7 Remake on PC to have a save file to take into Rebirth when it releases in a few weeks (buying both parts as one pack wasn't extortionate, and I never got to play the Intergrade stuff on my original game as it hadn't been released), though I've just learned that this doesn't actually happen and all it gets you is a couple of extra summon materia rather than bringing any levelling progress over which is disappointing. Do you just get a boatload of weapon level points to spend and maxed out materia, or do you have to start over with everything?

I probably ought to have mentioned Fallout on my list too. I can't think of another production that's translated the visual style of a game into TV so completely. Usually these things give you a handful of accurate-looking props from whatever media they're based on, and then everything in the background is a mix of contemporary items that don't really belong (the first example that jumps to mind was the Netflix Cowboy Bebop adaptation where all the vehicles were 1950s and 60s American cars that had no resemblance to anything in the anime, nor did it make any sense for them to have been shipped from Earth which was essentially destroyed in a sudden cataclysm). Obviously it was a good TV show too, I was just surprised at how faithful it was to the source material. Bethesda need forgiving for a lot of gaming sins over the years, but shepherding this may have been the best thing they've ever done and makes up for a lot of it.

[Wrathbone]

I started replaying FF7 Remake on PC to have a save file to take into Rebirth when it releases in a few weeks (buying both parts as one pack wasn't extortionate, and I never got to play the Intergrade stuff on my original game as it hadn't been released), though I've just learned that this doesn't actually happen and all it gets you is a couple of extra summon materia rather than bringing any levelling progress over which is disappointing. Do you just get a boatload of weapon level points to spend and maxed out materia, or do you have to start over with everything?

From what I remember, you do get a moderate amount of points to distribute, though it's likely not close to where you'd be in a completionist run of Remake. Rebirth is one of those games where levelling does of course make a difference, but the majority of your combat success comes from learning how best to deploy the systems at your disposal. I found the combat engaging and rewarding, much more so than in Remake, even if the differences aren't vast.

The real triumph of the game is the world itself and the characters in your party, though. It's a constant delight.

[Alan]

Game
*sorts played steam library by year*
Puppet Master: The Game, Tekken 8, Balatro, Marvel Rivals and Caves Of Qud.

So I think Qud would have easily taken it had I the time to get into it and the right frame of mind. As I didnt fairly easy win for Tekken 8 I guess! It is a massively packed fighter with loads of content and solid gameplay. I have to give Puppet Master a shout, its shit but its a labour of love and even though it has about 4 concurrent players peak the guy (one guy I think) is still patching it!

Music
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of the Last Human Being
This would be the least surprising thing ever for me. My fav band reforms and releases their first new music in almost two decades? Fuck yeah! Also its a fantastic album but 100% not for most people. ¬_¬ I'm still mourning the Old Grey Heron.

Movie
The Substance
I love batshit body horror and this is that and more. Its not just body horror, it earns it. Great performances, great practical effects, loved it.
....its also nuts I was actually considering a Marvel movie for this, Deadpool, because its a fucking joy.

TV
Shogun
Even though there were things that annoyed me about it its far and away better than anything else I watched from this year. Bad Sisters S2 would get a close second.

Book
The Last Murder at the End of the World - Stuart Turton
A scifi, post apocalyptic Agatha Christie. Its a page turner that has a really good payoff at the end. Also the page edges of the book are sprayed and I'm a sucker for that.

[Animalmother]

On a slightly different note, my most disappointing tv show of the year was Masters of the Air. Apple trying to make what HBO were experts at, while it certainly wasn't bad I just found it dull and never finished it. The effects were surprisingly adequate for something made in 2024.

[Mantis]

Helldivers 2 takes the win for me too. Absolutely brilliant game that really recaptured my love for online co-op. It's an outstanding game even with randoms, but a full party of friends just elevates it to the next level. Such a well made game, and the way they've kept the online service element going with content updates that don't pressure you into buying limited time ripoff battle passes should be a lesson for all studios going forwards.

FF7 Rebirth a distant second because I burned out on all the side activities and mini games at Cosmo Canyon and haven't finished it yet. Likewise for Shadow of the Erd Tree, hit a wall with a boss on that and just couldn't be bothered to carry on, but the world design of the shadow lands map was brilliant up to that point. If only there was more interesting items in it!

For TV shows it'll be Arcane season 2. Quite simply one of the most beautiful animations I've ever seen. Fallout comes a distant second though that was excellent too.

I didn't watch many movies so Dune 2 seems the obvious candidate. I did see Zone of Interest at the cinema too, which I thought was excellent but maybe a bit too bleak to really be considered my favourite of the year.

[Raid]

I did love Helldivers 2 initially, it had a good sense of fun and challenge, and was a good laugh with friends. It made you simultaneously feel like a badass, yet vulnerable. But then a pattern started to emerge; they started to ruin the power fantasy, and it was all down to one particular enemy - the Charger. They're common and dangerous enough for me to have felt the need to build my loadout around the necessary anti-armour weaponry, and every time I found a new weapon that let me do that, the devs decided that it made killing Chargers too easy and they nerfed it. When they released the flamethrower-themed warbond *immediately* preceded (we're talking less than a week) by a nerf to all flamethrower weapons, that was the final straw for me. I'd kept playing for far too long just not enjoying myself, and it absolutely killed any remaining enthusiasm I had for it.

I think they've fixed a lot of my issues with the game now, but I just don't enjoy it any more.