The 2024 Player 2 Game Awards - Biggest Surprise
It’s that time of year folks, time for the P2 crew to put together the definitive GOTY list. As always we can never agree on anything so it is just easier to let everyone have their own choice.
First award: The Biggest Surprise of the Year.
Matt Hewson - Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty is good again. That’s it. That’s the surprise. I thought I was long done with the venerable franchise but Raven turned up and delivered a genuine banger of a single-player campaign, while Treyarch played the greatest hits when it came to Zombies and multiplayer. It was exactly what the franchise needed and the perfect way to get the jaded and tired (like me) back into the action. I never saw it coming so I am more than happy to give COD BLOPS 6 the trophy.
Jess Zammit - 1000xRESIST
As much as I love narrative adventure games, I probably would have never touched 1000xRESIST had I not been lucky enough to get a key as part of LudoNarraCon this year. Honestly, I nearly gave up on this post-apocalyptic, hard-hitting fever dream about two hours in. But something kept me going. It’s a game about so many things – identity, community, culture, choice and consequence, power dynamics, rebellion – and it takes a little while before it becomes clear just how well it’s tackling most of them. I was confused for half the game and absolutely astounded for the rest, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I played it back in May. It’s masterful in the way it drip feeds context, and then just when you think you’re starting to get it figured out, it turns everything you think it’s been building towards on its head. I can’t imagine someone playing it and it not leaving an impression – and I almost missed out on it completely.
Rob Caporetto - Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Remake
Remakes and Remasters have proven to be divisive this year. Whether it’s because they miss the nuances of their sources, or the team handling the job just didn’t appreciate how a game is a sum of all its parts.
Thankfully in the hands of Digital Eclipse, the remake of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord does not disappoint. It all starts by taking the code of the original 1981 Apple II game and driving everything from that. So every trick, trap and surprise from the original is perfectly intact.
From there, they’ve gone all out on making this iconic RPG approachable for new players. From integrating auto-mapping removing the need for pens and graph paper, or letting you start with a pre-generated party instead of stumbling about rolling your own. All of this helps keep newbies from getting lost as they take to the titular Proving Grounds so they can see for themselves how important a piece of history Wizardry is, and that’s just as important as being able to enjoy it for those wizened veterans of it too.
Stephen del Prado - Metaphor: ReFantazio
Metaphor was easily the game I stayed most sceptical about in 2024, memories of the extensive, overindulgent length of Persona 5 haunting me in the lead-up. I was certainly shocked to find instead a game that successfully altered the Persona formula enough to present a fresh and interesting world that didn’t require me to hang around high-school pals and take on part time jobs while juggling exams. That’s not to say I dislike Persona, but I’ve been there, done that a number of times now – Metaphor was such a refreshing experience with a storyline that deals with mature themes and overarching ideas that I hope Studio Zero get more chances to see how far they can stretch themselves again soon.
Jason Hawkins - Helldivers 2
I’ve always loved the original Helldivers, so when they announced a sequel (even with a perspective change), I was on board. What I didn’t expect though is just how much this absolutely took over the zeitgeist of gaming discussion, let alone the sheer player numbers. For almost 3-4 months, I couldn’t look at my friends list and not see a handful of players playing it. People who weren’t super into games were talking about it. News outlets, and social media, it was everywhere. Then it had a fall off as players got mad at different things like balance issues and it all went away. Thankfully, seems like they even turned that around and have ended the year on a positive note.
Shaun Nicholls - Star Wars: Outlaws
I have been a big fan of Star Wars games and these games generally come in one of two categories; ship battles or Jedi/Sith shenanigans. Now granted, sometimes we see both, but what is very rare is a game where both the protagonist and the story have nothing to do with the Jedi, the Sith or the Force at all. Jumping into the machinations of the seedy underworld of the cartels, Kay Vess and her pet/companion Nix journey through different worlds, playing the cartels off against each other and the Empire while trying to take down a big score of her own. Despite a few rough bits, I had a blast playing Outlaws and I hope we get to see another story, if not continuing on the journey of Kay Vess, then one that continues to explore the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars universe.
Paul James - The Depths Of Stupidity Gamers Are Willing To Go To
We’ll complain about flies crawling up a wall at this point now, won’t we? In 2024 the DEI backlash amplified, Sweet Baby Inc. became a touchy subject, and in general, vocal sections of the gaming audience revolted. Both sides of any argument were as vocal as one another though, and what was lost along the way? The games of course! Now I’m not saying that some of the conversations we have had as an industry throughout 2024 haven’t been worthwhile. Still, it’s been saddening to see the levels that people are willing to go to to take down those who oppose their views, and all the while, the thing that once brought us all together – the games – are being forgotten. Can we all just get back to enjoying them, please?
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