I love year-end awards. I love ranking stuff. I love finding ways to honor the video games that I loved the most this year. My actual 2024 awards will feature top 10s for multiple categories that will allow games that even I may have forgotten about in stretches to be honored.
Yet THAT STILL ISN’T ENOUGH FOR ME! So this year, we have a new addition to my year-end honors. Welcome to the 2024 Nerdys! This is my way to honor video games in some weirder and silly ways. It is also my way to take one last shot at a few video games that annoyed me in various capacities.
The good, the bad, the stupid, the random, it will all be honored here. Admittedly, I threw this together last second, so this is a bit of a trial run. Perhaps I will have more extensive rankings on some of these next year, which is true sicko shit, but I am absolutely a sicko. With that, let’s get to the awards!
Dumbest Design Decision Of The Year
Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes- The Running Animation
There’s always a lot of stuff I could pick in this one. I could talk about the lack of maps on launch in Black Myth: Wukong and 1000xResist. I could talk about the handholding in The Plucky Squire. But there is one thing that has stuck with me all year.
I just don’t understand what the fuck was going on when Bear and Rabbit Studios decided to make this running animation. They literally just make the characters go super speed in a ridiculous way. It made me laugh and cringe almost every time I saw it. They would have been better off just having them always move at normal speed. I really need more info on the thought process here, as this was beyond bizarre.
Worst Performance Of The Year
Nezar Alderazi as Adam in Stellar Blade
I still can’t believe how bad this performance was. We usually don’t get performances this poor from AAA dubs these days.
Adam is probably the character with the second most dialogue in Stellar Blade, and every time he speaks, I literally found myself thinking “what the fuck?”.
Everything he says is monotone, including the jokes. There is awkward spacing between his lines. He just sounds dead inside pretty much the entire time. It’s inexplicable because while I wouldn’t say any of the voice acting in Stellar Blade is awesome, no one is even close to this bad.
Adam has one big speech near the end of the game that was so bad that I was literally laughing. So, I guess in that way, I’m almost grateful for his performance, as it gave me something to remember about a pretty mediocre story overall.
Worst Complete Snub at The Game Awards
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
I could put plenty of indie games here, but I get it. As much as I love a game like Dungeons of Hinterberg, I understand why it doesn’t get any mention at this show. But it’s crazy that Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden seems unable to break through at all as a AA game, especially when the Life is Strange series is somehow able to get traction at this show. This is a game that very easily could have been in the “Best Narrative category.” It almost certainly could have gotten a “best performance” nomination for either of its leads. And at the very least, it seemed like the perfect game for the “Games For Impact” category, which is also a bit of a throwaway category for narrative games. Banishers has flaws, but it executes at a very high level for what it does well. It deserved SOMETHING.
Most 7/10 Game Of The Year
Little Kitty, Big City
I love to tell the story about how I ended up booting up Little Kitty, Big City.
It was immediately after I finished Hellblade 2. That game is incredibly intense. When it finished, I remember staring at the credits and taking a big breath. I thought about what to play next, and I had no idea what to do, as I just experienced something pretty heavy.
Finally, I decided I needed something light. So I booted up Little Kittle, Big City. A stark difference from Hellblade 2, and it ended up being the perfect decision.
Little Kitty, Big City isn’t perfect by any means. There are some awkward elements, especially with the platforming. But there is some fun exploration, and the game is incredibly cute and pretty funny. It only took about 2 hours to beat. Basically, it’s literally my ideal 7/10 game. It brings something fun to the table and also gets in and gets out fast.
Most 8/10 Game Of The Year
Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade is just a rock solid action game. Both the parry and dodge are really satisfying to use, the animations are great, and it gives you a decent amount of tools to fight enemies. I had fun playing it. But it is also held back by very boring open areas, a lackluster story, some bad English voice acting, and while the action is solid, it can feel a bit rigid at times. I spent a lot of time just waiting for the next enemy attack, as parrying is usually the most effective way to win fights.
The point is, this is a great video game, but never one I felt was even close to being in my top 10. While I know some people are higher on it, I also think it would be tough to put much lower than this rating if you like action games at all. It’s a dang near perfect 8 for me.
Most 9/10 Game Of The Year
Balatro
Balatro is such an achievement in so many ways. Mostly, it happens to be the most accessible card roguelike I have ever played. From the second I booted this game up for the first time, I was rolling and playing at a decently high level. This just isn’t possible with most games like this. The poker elements make this easy to play right away, but then the joker cards and other elements add just enough depth to make things interesting. I logged something like 40 hours into the game originally, and recently got it on my phone, and I have already put another 4-5 hours in.
As great as it is that Balatro is so easy to pick up and play, that is also kind of its one long-term weakness for me. There just wasn’t the level of strategic depth for me to be quite as engaged and interested as I have been with some other deckbuilders over the years. That is why it was always a very solid 9 in my book, and it would be almost impossible for me to upgrade it or downgrade it from there.
Most Overrated Game By Fans
Black Myth Wukong
Every year, there seems to be one game that gets nominated for Game of the Year that I strongly disagree with. I was absolutely baffled a few years ago when Stray managed to get a Game of the Year nomination in particular.
But the difference there was, I didn’t see a bunch of Stray fans acting like that game was robbed when it didn’t win. I think even the biggest fans knew that it was a bit lucky to be there.
This is not the case with Black Myth Wukong. The game is one of the lowest rated games to ever score a nomination, and there are people still unhappy about it not winning!
That’s not to say that it’s a bad game at all. I’m currently in the middle of it and am having fun with it. The combat is solid, I’m enjoying the skill tree, and I like that the game is forgiving when it comes to accumulated experience. But the game also has some of the least impactful sound design of any major action game in the last few years, and the lack of a map of any sort on launch was a massive oversight. It’s a good time, but every time I look at Game of the Year nominees, it stands out like a sore thumb, and it’s been wild that we have to pretend like it doesn’t.
Most Overrated Game By Critics
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
As a first-timer, I enjoyed The Thousand Year Door a fair bit. I gave it an 8/10. But this game sits at an 89 on OpenCritic. That would imply that it is one of the best video games of the year. And I think that probably would have been the case the year it came out.
But in 2024, the amount of filler that is here is just unacceptable. Every chapter is clearly extended an hour or more with annoying backtracking. The fast travel system is also convoluted and silly (though from what I hear, this is actually an upgrade from the original). The battle system is rock solid, and it does have its charm, but I feel very good about my rating, and I don’t really see the logic for much more outside of nostalgia.
Funniest Game of the Year
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
This is a tough category for me, as I’m notoriously “not fun.” That’s why I now have this category to prove that I can be fun.
But then, I struggled really hard with it. I can’t say that any game I played this year was extremely funny. But I’ll give Infinite Wealth the nod. Infinite Wealth puts you in one ridiculous situation after another. It does get a bit old after a while, but the overall goofiness and earnestness of Kasuga managed to make me laugh multiple times. And look, adults with diaper kinks DO make me laugh, OK? As much as I hate to kink shame, it gets me every time.
The Game That Surprised Me The Most
Silent Hill 2 Remake
I was completely ready to ignore this game. I never played the original, so I had no attachment to it, and the early trailers looked rough from a gameplay perspective. I also really didn’t enjoy The Medium, so I did not have a positive perception of Bloober Team. I do enjoy survival horror games, though, so when the reviews were stellar, I knew I had to try it.
But I still felt kind of reluctant, and the first few hours had moments that were as rough as I feared. The story doesn’t have much going on, and the gameplay is entirely melee focused, which gets repetitive fast.
But as you get more weapons, the flow of melee and ranged combat starts to work pretty nicely. Level design can be a bit annoying, but exploration is also very fun thanks to scarce resources in classic survival horror style. The biggest surprise is that I ended up VERY into the story. If I don’t count The Last of Us as a “survival horror” when it comes to story, this is probably my favorite story ever for that genre. The last few hours of the game hit you with one insane cutscene after another, and the ending I got had me close to tearing up. While this will be just short of my top 10 thanks to some annoying level design and repetitive enemies, this was still an incredible experience that I’m so glad I played.
The Game That Disappointed Me The Most
Dragon Quest 3 Remake
I love JRPGs, but I guess Dragon Quest 3 Remake reminded me that I love the genre more for what it has evolved into over what it was.
I was quite excited for this one when I saw the initial trailers. Classic Dragon Quest gameplay with Octopath Traveler style visuals looked awesome. But Octopath Traveler also has a really cool battle system that keeps you tactically engaged with every encounter.
Dragon Quest 3 does have a deep class system that allows for strategy, but in the end, there’s a lot of random encounters here where you spam the attack button. I really prefer the way newer JRPGs try harder to make every battle somewhat engaging in different ways. The lack of story also keeps me from pushing forward. That is, of course, common for that era, but it still is tough to play a JRPG with absolutely no story hooks in 2024. I put it down after about 5 hours. I might try again once I’m finished with some other games, but this one really bummed me out. I guess it’s more on me than the game itself, but it still disappointed me.
The Game I Keep Forgetting That I Played
Europa
Europa is a very pretty game with nice music and a light story. It was a very pleasant and relaxing experience for a few hours.
The only problem is, when I think about the year, I totally forget that I played it. There is almost nothing from that game that sticks with me. Every time I scroll through my reviews for the year, I kind of stop for a second when I see that I beat it. And that was only about a month and a half ago! I still think that Europa is a nice game, but it is extremely forgettable as well.
Most Embarrassing Game To Play With My Wife Around
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth
There was some competition here. My initial lean was Stellar Blade. There is almost no escaping the fan service around Eve. BUT, there are at least a few outfits in the game that actually cover her up for the most part. I didn’t actually use those outfits, but there is a path to play Stellar Blade without the wife roasting the game for being ridiculous.
I also thought about Unicorn Overlord. Some of the character designs might have had my wife wondering if I had some kinks that I hadn’t told her about. Luckily, this is mostly only in the cutscenes and the battle animations. And I mostly skipped the battle animations. So, there were a lot of opportunities for me to play this game without being embarrassed.
Rebirth was a funny one for me because my wife actually watched me play it more than she watches most games. She found the big story sequences to be really entertaining. But of course, she made a comment pretty much every time she saw Tifa. Yes, she is a little outlandish. And yes, she did happen to be watching during the bikini sequence. Alas, I still carried on and defended the game, but it wasn’t always easy.
Game I Most Enjoyed That I Would Never Play Again
Animal Well
By my count, Animal Well is probably my #17 or #18 game of the year. It will be on my honorable mentions list, as I gave it an 8.5/10. I was really struck by how cool and intuitive the puzzle solving in the game was. But I also feel like playing it again would kill a lot of the magic, as a lot of the “aha!” moments would be gone. I also really hated the lack of fast travel, so going through that again doesn’t sound great to me. I really enjoyed my time with Animal Well, but when I finished, I was absolutely done and had no desire to explore for more secrets. I’ll definitely never pick it up again, but that’s OK!
My Non-2024 Game Of The Year
Death Stranding
I don’t play a lot of games outside of the year I am in. It’s just how I operate. But I played a surprising number of non-2024 bangers this year. I played Nier: Automata (which I abandoned), FF7 Remake, Case of the Golden Idol, and Gris. All great games. But one stands above all. This would probably be my #2 game of 2024 if it was released this year.
Death Stranding is a game I still think about. The gameplay loop was so different and so satisfying once you truly “get it.” The story is one of the best in gaming history, and it delivers some absolutely incredible moments and characters. As a father in particular, this game hits you in all the right spots. I’m so glad I played this before the sequel comes out next year. That game has a real shot at my 2025 Game of the Year.
Big Nerd Gaming 
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