The Game Awards Predictions 2024 - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Summary of "The Game Awards Predictions 2024 - Kinda Funny Gamescast"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Kinda Funny Gamescast: Video Game Podcast
• Host/Authors: Tim Geddes, Greg “GameOverGreggy” Miller, Blessing Adeoye, and Andy Cortez
• Episode: The Game Awards Predictions 2024
• Release Date: November 18, 2024

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Introduction

In this highly anticipated episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast, hosts Tim Geddes, Greg Miller, Blessing Adeoye, and Andy Cortez delve into their predictions for the winners of various categories at the Game Awards 2024. Departing from previous episodes, this session focuses solely on forecasting the nominees across all recognized categories, excluding predictions for announcements or trailers.

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Methodology

The team utilizes a comprehensive spreadsheet containing every Game Award category and its respective nominees. Each host individually selects their predicted winner for each category, discussing their reasoning and insights before locking in their choices. Notably, six categories—Best Esports Event, Best Esports Coach, Best Esports Team, Best Esports Athlete, Best Esports Game, and Content Creator of the Year—are initially set aside due to the hosts feeling unequipped to make informed predictions in these areas.

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Category Predictions

1. Best Esports Event

   • Nominees: Triskets Bowl, League of Legends, Fortnite Championships, Overwatch League, etc.
   • Predictions:
     • Greg Miller: Triskets Bowl
     • Andy Cortez: Chicago Fire (humorously)
     • Tim Geddes & Angie Hicks: Miscellaneous mentions without firm predictions
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The hosts joke about the unpredictability of esports events and express skepticism about their personal expertise in this category.

2. Best Esports Team

   • Nominees: Gen G, NAVI, Counter-Strike T1, Team Liquid, Dota 2, etc.
   • Predictions:
     • Greg Miller: Chicago Fire
     • Andy Cortez, Tim Geddes, Angie Hicks: No strong consensus; playful banter ensues.
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The choice of Chicago Fire is made in jest, reflecting the casual approach to some categories.

3. Content Creator of the Year

   • Nominees: Alana Pierce, Ky, Jelly, etc.
   • Predictions:
     • Greg Miller: Alana Pierce
     • Angie Hicks: Expresses confusion over nominees
     • Andy Cortez: Skeptical about content creator nominees
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The hosts express uncertainty regarding the nominees' alignment with gaming content, questioning their relevance.

4. Most Anticipated Game

   • Nominees: Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yote, Grand Theft Auto 6, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, Monster Hunter Wild
   • Predictions:
     • All Hosts: Predominantly favor Grand Theft Auto 6
     • Greg Miller: Slight preference for Monster Hunter Wilds
     • Angie Hicks: Close interest in Death Stranding 2
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The consensus leans heavily towards GTA 6, with discussions on its longstanding popularity and excitement surrounding its release.

5. Best Adaptation

   • Nominees: Arcane, Fallout, Knuckles Like a Dragon, Yakuza, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
   • Predictions:
     • Tim Geddes: Fallout
     • Greg Miller: Fallout
     • Angie Hicks: Arcane
     • Andy Cortez: Fallout
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The hosts debate the merits of Arcane versus Fallout, ultimately leaning towards Fallout for its successful translation from game to mainstream media.

6. Best Multiplayer

   • Nominees: Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Hell Divers 2, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Tekken 8, Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2
   • Predictions:
     • All Hosts: Majority favor Hell Divers 2
   • Notable Discussion:
     • Despite acknowledging the popularity of Call of Duty, the hosts praise Hell Divers 2 for its unique gameplay and community engagement.

7. Best Sports/Racing Game

   • Nominees: F1 24, EA Sports FC 25, NBA 2K25, Top Spin 2K25, WWE 2K24
   • Predictions:
     • Tim Geddes, Andy Cortez, Greg Miller: EA Sports FC
     • Angie Hicks: EA Sports FC
     • Barrett Courtney: Confusion over Top Spin's reception
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The hosts express surprise over the nomination of Top Spin, discussing its mixed reception and the dominance of EA Sports FC in this category.

8. Best Simulation/Strategy Game

   • Nominees: Age of Mythology, Path of the Goddess, Manor Lords, Unicorn Overlord, Frostpunk 2
   • Predictions:
     • Tim Geddes: Unicorn Overlord
     • Greg Miller: Frostpunk 2
     • Angie Hicks & Andy Cortez: Manor Lords
   • Notable Discussion:
     • The debate centers around the innovative aspects of these titles, with Manor Lords gaining favor for its strategic depth and community engagement.

9. Best Family Game

   • Nominees: Astrobot, Princess Peach Showtime, Super Mario Party Jamboree, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, The Plucky Squire
   • Predictions:
     • All Hosts: Favor Astrobot
   • Notable Discussion:
     • Astrobot is lauded for its polished gameplay and appeal across age groups, making it a unanimous favorite.

10. Best Fighting Game

    • Nominees: Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Grand Blue Fantasy Versus Rising, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection, Arcade Classics, Multiverses, Tekken 8
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Tekken 8
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Despite recognizing the popularity of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Tekken 8 wins out due to its refined mechanics and competitive scene.

11. Best RPG

    • Nominees: Dragon's Dogma 2, Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor, Infinite Wealth, Metaphor Refantasio
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Lean towards Metaphor
      • Andy Cortez: Toggles between Final Fantasy Rebirth and Metaphor
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Metaphor is highlighted for its narrative depth and innovative gameplay mechanics, positioning it as a strong contender.

12. Best Action Adventure

    • Nominees: Astrobot, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Silent Hill 2, Star Wars Outlaws, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Split between Astrobot and Silent Hill 2
      • Greg Miller: Slight preference for Silent Hill 2
    • Notable Discussion:
      • The hosts discuss the diverse range of nominees, ultimately favoring either Astrobot for its creative direction or Silent Hill 2 for its storytelling.

13. Best Action Game

    • Nominees: Black Myth, Wukong, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Hell Divers 2, Stellar Blade, Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2
    • Predictions:
      • Andy Cortez: Hell Divers 2
      • Greg Miller: Call of Duty
      • Tim Geddes: Black Myth
      • Angie Hicks: Black Myth
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Black Myth garners attention for its stunning visuals and engaging cutscenes, while Hell Divers 2 is recognized for its dynamic gameplay.

14. Best VR/Augmented Reality Sunshine Remake

    • Nominees: Asgard's Wrath, Batman Arkham Shadow Metal, Hellsinger VR, Metro Awakening, Metal Hellsinger VR
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Split between Asgard's Wrath and Batman Arkham Shadow Metal
    • Notable Discussion:
      • The distinction between premiere VR titles is debated, with Asgard's Wrath being praised for its immersive experience and Batman Arkham Shadow Metal for its integration of iconic characters.

15. Best Mobile Game

    • Nominees: AFK Journey, Balatro, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pocket Withering Waves, Zenless Zone 0
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Balatro
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Balatro is highlighted for its innovative gameplay and widespread appeal, solidifying its position as the leading mobile game.

16. Best Debut Indie Game

    • Nominees: Animal Well, Balatro, Pacific Drive, The Plucky Squire, Animal Bilatro Showdown
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: unanimously choose Balatro
    • Notable Discussion:
      • The game is praised for making a significant impact within its release timeframe, capturing the attention of both players and critics alike.

17. Best Independent Game

    • Nominees: Animal Well, Balatro, Lorelai and the Laser Eyes, UFO 50
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Lean towards Balatro
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Balatro continues to receive acclaim for its artistic direction and gameplay innovation, securing its position as a top indie contender.

18. Best Community Support

    • Nominees: Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy 14, Fortnite, Helldivers 2
    • Predictions:
      • Andy Cortez & Greg Miller: Favor Helldivers 2
      • Tim Geddes & Angie Hicks: Favor Helldivers 2
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Helldivers 2 is celebrated for its robust community engagement and ongoing content updates, making it the preferred choice for community support.

19. Best Ongoing

    • Nominees: Destiny 2, Diablo 4, Final Fantasy 14, Fortnite, Helldivers 2
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Helldivers 2
    • Notable Discussion:
      • The continuous updates and evolving content of Helldivers 2 are cited as key factors in its prediction as Best Ongoing Game.

20. Games for Impact

    • Nominees: Closer the Distance, Indica Neva, Life is Strange, Double Exposure, Never Senua Saga, Hellblade 2, Tales of Kinzaro Zao
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Tend towards Never Senua Saga
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Never Senua Saga is recognized for its thought-provoking themes and social impact, aligning with the category's emphasis on pro-social messages.

21. Innovation and Accessibility

    • Nominees: Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Diablo 4, Dragon Age: The Veil Guard, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, The Legend of Zelda: The Lost Crown, Star Wars Outlaws
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Dragon Age
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Dragon Age is commended for its comprehensive accessibility features and innovative game design, making it the leading contender in this category.

22. Best Performance

    • Nominees: Brianna White as Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Hannah Tell from Life is Strange, Double Exposure, Aubrey Gonzalez from Star Wars Outlaws, Silent Hill 2, Luke Roberts and Molina Juergens in Hellblade 2
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Brianna White as Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Brianna White's portrayal of Aerith is lauded for its emotional depth and exceptional voice acting, positioning her performance as the top choice.

23. Best Audio Design

    • Nominees: Astrobot, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Senua Saga, Hellblade 2, Silent Hill 2
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Astrobot
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Astrobot receives high praise for its intricate soundscapes and auditory immersion, making it the preferred pick for Best Audio Design.

24. Best Score and Music

    • Nominees: Astrobot, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor, Refantasio, Silent Hill 2, Stellar Blade
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
    • Notable Discussion:
      • The game’s soundtrack is celebrated for its blend of iconic themes and new compositions, earning it the unanimous vote for Best Score and Music.

25. Best Art Direction

    • Nominees: Astrobot, Black Myth, Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor, Refantasio, Neva
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Black Myth
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Black Myth stands out for its visually stunning environments and creative character designs, securing its position as the top choice for Best Art Direction.

26. Best Narrative

    • Nominees: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, Metaphor, Refantasio, Senua Saga, Hellblade 2, Silent Hill 2
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Favor Metaphor
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Metaphor is praised for its compelling storytelling and deep character development, making it the leading prediction for Best Narrative.

27. Best Game Direction

    • Nominees: Astrobot, Balatro, Black Myth, Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor, Refantasio
    • Predictions:
      • Greg Miller & Angie Hicks: Favor Astrobot
      • Tim Geddes: Leans towards Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
    • Notable Discussion:
      • Astrobot's innovative level design and cohesive game direction earn it strong support, while Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is recognized for its definitive direction and ambitious scope.

28. Game of the Year

    • Nominees: Astrobot, Balatro, Black Myth, Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor, Refantasio
    • Predictions:
      • All Hosts: Split between Astrobot and Metaphor
      • Greg Miller: Favors Metaphor
      • Angie Hicks & Tim Geddes: Lean towards Astrobot
      • Andy Cortez: Prefers Metaphor
    • Notable Discussion:
      • The final category showcases a close race between Astrobot for its widespread love and innovation, and Metaphor for its storytelling and gameplay excellence. The hosts acknowledge the difficulty in predicting due to the strong performances of both titles.

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Conclusion

The Kinda Funny Gamescast hosts present a comprehensive and spirited set of predictions for the Game Awards 2024, highlighting standout titles across various categories. While Astrobot and Metaphor emerge as frontrunners for Game of the Year, the discussions reflect the diverse strengths and innovations presented by each nominee. The episode underscores the dynamic nature of the gaming industry, celebrating both mainstream blockbusters and indie gems.

Notable Quotes:

• Tim Geddes (04:26): "We're going category by category and each one of us is going to predict and lock in who we think is going to win and then we'll see who was right."
• Andy Cortez (07:42): "I really wish we stuck with it. We got really into Counter Track 2 for at least a week and a half."
• Greg Miller (14:18): "For me, the winner, the one I put Grand Theft Auto. Of course personally I'd still go Grand Theft Auto because it's Grand Theft Auto."
• Angie Hicks (25:22): "Mark me down for Astrobot."
• Andy Cortez (35:14): "I'm going Helldivers just because it is different and I think people are going to want to give that credit."
• Tim Geddes (52:56): "They've turned community support into something different. Like it's a storytelling aspect of the game as well."
• Greg Miller (61:52): "I'm going with Dragon Age, but yeah."
• Angie Hicks (65:58): "I kind of want to say Metaphor, though. Even though I just shat on some of it. I still think a lot of it is incredible looking."

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This episode serves as an engaging and thorough exploration of the potential winners at the Game Awards 2024, providing listeners with insightful discussions and a clear sense of each host's gaming preferences and reasoning.

Transcript

[Angie Hicks]

Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. One thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. And for decades, Angie's helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter. Get all your jobs done [e-mail].

[Tim Geddes]

What'S up and welcome back to the Kind of Funny Games Cast live for Monday, November 18, 2024. Of course, I am your host, Tim Geddes. I'm joined today by BL at AOYA Junior.

[Angie Hicks]

Good day, Tim.

[Tim Geddes]

Andy Cortez. Hello. And Greg Miller.

[Greg Miller]

Hello, Timothy.

[Tim Geddes]

Hello to you all as well. We're about to have an amazing episode here. One of my favorites of the year each and every time. It is our Game Awards predictions. This is going to be our predictions for the winners of the different categories for games that have been nominated for Game Awards 2024. This is not going to be our predictions for announcements that will be made trailers we might see any of that stuff. That'll be a different episode of Gamescast. This is just us going through all the different categories and predict our winners. Remember, this is the kind of Funny Games cast. Each and every weekday we get together to talk about video games. Talk about the reviews, the previews, the big topics. Everything that you need to talk about under the video game son. What's going on, Greg?

[Greg Miller]

I redeemed a code on Steam for like a, you know, a game we're gonna do some stuff with. And then I also saw that nitro rifle was in yellow so I just clicked on him and I sent him a message and then it did the noise and popped up over here.

[Andy Cortez]

Just pause and I see poopy.

[Tim Geddes]

It's a Monday, everybody. For a chance to be part of this show, please submit your thoughts and opinions as YouTube super chats as we go. We would really appreciate that. And also you can be a Kind of Funny member. You get the shows ad free. You can watch us record them live as we record them and you get a daily exclusive. Greg Way a little housekeeping. Did you know that we also have a highlights channel? Roger has been working hard bringing you the best of Kind of Funny in shorter, easier to binge chunks. This entire week is Reaction week. You can can go relive some of our favorite E3 and press conference reactions [e-mail] kind of funny. This is really cool. He's been. So we have the. The first one Here is the PS5 initial reveal reactions and Raj is going in and trying to find our actual reaction to the things and then later in the episode when we like break down our thoughts on it and like combining them into one piece, it's pretty cool. He's gonna be doing that for a bunch of older game announcements, so I'm excited to relive some of that. Remember, we are an 11 person business all about live talk shows today. You already got Games Daily. That was Bless and Mike live reacting to the nominees for the game awards. So if you want some more discussion about this stuff, you should definitely check out that awesome episode. After this it's going to be Mike continuing Kingdom Hearts 2 on the stream. If you're a kind of funny member, you can get today's Greg Mouse. Bless.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm familiar.

[Tim Geddes]

Was he doing this performance right there?

[Andy Cortez]

He's doing Will Smith in.

[Angie Hicks]

Mickey Mouse is Bane as Barack Obama. Can you do that for me?

[Greg Miller]

So Mickey Mouse doing Bane.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Doing Barack Obama.

[Andy Cortez]

I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't.

[Greg Miller]

We're too many. We're too many removed.

[Tim Geddes]

You can also get the Fire Rises. You can get the the kind of funny podcast. You can watch it live later this afternoon if you're a kind of funny member.

[Greg Miller]

Right, I got it.

[Tim Geddes]

It's gonna be a great episode. It's gonna be all about me, Andy and Mike's trip to Las Vegas. So you're definitely. And Roger as well. But Roger won't be on the episode. But we're going to let Greg and or we're going to let Greg know all the, the adventures that we had and there was shenanigans that ensued so it should be a good one. Thank you to our Patreon producers Delaney Twining and Carl Jacobs. Today we're brought to you by Sonic the Hedgehog at topgolf. Aura frames and visual triangle merch. But we'll tell you all about that later. We got to get into it. The topic of the show, game awards predictions, 2024. We're going to do this exactly like we did it last year and to refresh people's memories in case they forgot. We have every single category of the Game Awards on a spreadsheet. We're going to go catego by category and each one of us is going to predict and lock in who we think is going to win and then we'll see who was right.

[Greg Miller]

So as always, this isn't who we would vote for. Yes, this is what we think is going to win.

[Tim Geddes]

Predicting the winners and of course we can have conversations throughout of what we would vote for and all of that. It's part of the fun of the content. But we're going to start at the bot. We're going to work backwards through the list of all the different categories, starting with the best esports event. Going all the way to game of the year, which is the final one. We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 categories that we will not be predicting because we are not equipped enough to have an understanding of it. That is esports event, coach, team, athlete, game, and then content creator of the year. We can look, we could talk about them.

[Greg Miller]

Best event, the Triskets Bowl. League of legends. Best esports Coach, Tim Buck 2. Best esports team, the fucking Chicago Fire.

[Tim Geddes]

Razor. Rob.

[Greg Miller]

Ronnie. Ronnie McJab. Best Eastworth game, League of legends. Content creator of the year. Alana Pierce.

[Tim Geddes]

Love it. But that's not what it is.

[Greg Miller]

Just saying. That's what it is. Lock it in.

[Angie Hicks]

Lock it in, everyone, for content creator of the year. What do you think about that, Greg Miller?

[Greg Miller]

You know, I. Since I've heard the name Ky, a lot like that makes sense. I understand. I'm like, oh, that is. That is weird.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

It's crazy because when you get there.

[Greg Miller]

And it is just, here's jelly. Jelly burger. And that's what it reads.

[Angie Hicks]

Greg.

[Greg Miller]

Hey. No, that was it, man. Thank God. We snuck in when we snuck in, you know what I mean? Granted, a whole bunch of people then had to ruin my award, you know, assignment, like the last man standing that wasn't a horrible person or whatever, but like, then content creator of the year. God damn, you look at this thing. You're just like, wow, I don't know what these kids are watching every day.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. So let's. Let's get into it then. Let's start off here just with the discussion of best esports event to look at this and see if we have any thoughts to even put out there. But like I was saying, we are not going to.

[Greg Miller]

Don't even bother. I was just making bits. I was just making some bits and bobs out here.

[Tim Geddes]

Oh, no, but we always do this.

[Greg Miller]

Tris, Gizzle, Razor.

[Tim Geddes]

Rob, Raise.

[Greg Miller]

Rob. The best part is next year none of these people will still be doing it.

[Angie Hicks]

That's how it is every time.

[Greg Miller]

This person. This person has 6 million fucking toots on tout. Next year, they're fucking off the face of the earth.

[Tim Geddes]

Barrett, can you pull this up?

[Barrett Courtney]

Which one?

[Tim Geddes]

The best esports team. So just start working from the bottom up.

[Angie Hicks]

Right now. I have it as bottom to top. There's no way this is real here.

[Tim Geddes]

We got it.

[Angie Hicks]

Billy. Billy Gaming.

[Tim Geddes]

We got Billy. Billy Gaming for League of Legends. We got Gen G, League of Legends, navi, Counter Strike T1, League of Legends, Team Liquid Dota 2. Anybody have any thoughts on this? I doubt it, but no.

[Andy Cortez]

I have no thought.

[Angie Hicks]

Shout out League of Legends.

[Tim Geddes]

Then let's move on to sports athlete.

[Angie Hicks]

I like Billy Billy because I like their name.

[Andy Cortez]

Faker's gonna win. Come on.

[Tim Geddes]

So we got 33, Alexi B Chovy, Faker, Zywoo and ZMJ. JK.

[Angie Hicks]

Where's the guy that did the splits while playing? Where was Street Fighter 3?

[Andy Cortez]

That's a great call.

[Angie Hicks]

He should have been nominated, man.

[Andy Cortez]

That's a great call. Faker is going to win because Faker won the most recent Legends or Worlds thing. Mike made a great recommendation of who should have been nominated. Provolone, Tony. Who is part of the Costco crew. Costco guys.

[Tim Geddes]

Dude, I learned so much this weekend.

[Angie Hicks]

I didn't know Provolone. Wait, Mike is Provolone Tony, the main guy?

[Andy Cortez]

No, that's AJ and then there's Big Son. But then he mentioned one of the son's name is Tony. And he shows everybody like Provolone and I said Provoloney Tony. Mike just let out the longest wheeze laugh ever at the airport.

[Greg Miller]

Stories. The Instagram stories of Tim learning about the Costco cinematic universe was so good.

[Angie Hicks]

I didn't know there was more of them.

[Tim Geddes]

That's my thing. I knew this and I knew that. I didn't know not know. They're connected. I did not know how deep this all goes.

[Andy Cortez]

In five years, we're going to be like, I don't care about Pro Looney. And it's going to be like us talking about I don't care about the Guardians of the Galaxy and then they make a movie. You're like, oh, I do care about.

[Angie Hicks]

The main ones now.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

That's crazy.

[Andy Cortez]

Who would have thought?

[Tim Geddes]

Next up, we have a best esports game if you want to go to that. We got Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Mobile Legends, Bang Bang.

[Angie Hicks]

We're making these up.

[Tim Geddes]

And Valerint. Andy, I know you're. You're a big Valerant guy. Any thoughts here? I know going up against the big.

[Andy Cortez]

Dogs, league always wins. I feel like league's probably going to win again. I'm a big valorant guy though. Played last night, had a fantastic game. Destroyed this team. A lot of shit talking from the other team. Tim the jet was like, why are y'all. Y'all camping so much lmao. And I just. I was just like lmao. Like who cares? Shut up. And we were just talking. Teabagging him 1136 or something destroyed these fools.

[Tim Geddes]

Hell yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

13 year olds.

[Greg Miller]

This is another one where it's like. I like. I like to imagine that Jeff and the team get to have a little bit of fun so they just throw a made up game in there to see if any. It's just like how you guys called out on games daily. Like the voting panel. It includes Game Informer and what's good games. Like wait, wait a second.

[Angie Hicks]

Wait a second, wait.

[Tim Geddes]

This is.

[Andy Cortez]

This is Roger.

[Tim Geddes]

That was last year's though, right? I don't think that they've put out this year's.

[Greg Miller]

I mean they went through the site.

[Barrett Courtney]

I mean that's what's on the site currently. But I don't know if it's been refreshed for this year or if that's just from the rest over from last year. It doesn't really say on the.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, I've seen conversation that they have not announced the panel for this year yet. So I imagine that is old.

[Andy Cortez]

This is Rogers just doing a game showdown bid right here. Mobile game. Mobile Legends Bang Bang.

[Angie Hicks]

This is like one of those ones that I would fuck up on. Game showdown of like trying to create a fake game and I accidentally write down Mobile Legends Bang Bang and I get called out by the audience and.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm like I didn't actually real.

[Andy Cortez]

It's actually real legitimately have never heard of that game. But I, you know there's tons of stuff. Never heard of them.

[Tim Geddes]

Andy, what are your thoughts on Counter Strike two?

[Andy Cortez]

Man?

[Tim Geddes]

Why are you not into it?

[Andy Cortez]

I really wish we stuck with it. We got really into Counter Track 2 for at least a week and a half. Had a great time with it. It's a great visual upgrade. You know we got Nick into it as Me, Mike and Nick and then I don't know what just took us away or we just got maybe there was like a three day stretch where we were too busy and then that's all it takes for us to fall off of a game, you know.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

But I really, really enjoyed it.

[Angie Hicks]

Do you think they call it Mobile Legends for short or Bang Bang for short?

[Greg Miller]

Bang Bang.

[Angie Hicks]

Like look at your homie is like yo, Bang bang tonight.

[Tim Geddes]

Are you trying to bang tonight?

[Angie Hicks]

You doing some bang bang tonight?

[Greg Miller]

Bang Banging tonight. I love Bang Bang Niner gang.

[Tim Geddes]

The next up we got content creator of the. Here we have Queso Alo Juan Techo. Gamers, Typical gamer. And Usada Pakora.

[Greg Miller]

Back to it, you know, God bless them all. Congratulations on the nominee, but shout out and I'll cast my vote for Case O, who looks like he accidentally took a photo. I'm sure it's this whole bid or whatever outside of a Waffle House, but it looks like he front flipped the camera and snapped like.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, shock to no. Kai.

[Andy Cortez]

Um, yeah, I, I feel like it's a different kind of, you know, even though you're on Twitch that like I don't know what these people's content are. I, I feel like Kai playing Elden Ring and like doing that bloodborne thing should be maybe should be enough to categorize yourself as like a gaming type person. That's where I'm at most of his stuff is also just a lot of irl, so I kind of understand it on that point. But still, like you put on an Elden Ring marathon thing and had, you know, 150 people, 150,000 people watching you, you know.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, I'm shocked that he's not here as well. I get it to some point. But also I feel like like most of these things, award shows, whatever categories, it's kind of just like there's some weird parameters and people vote for shit. So it's like somebody might look at it and be like, oh well he's technically not gaming and not vote for him for whatever reason. Even though it doesn't say anything about that in the description here. Queso is the only one I even have heard of. Yes, people, but that's how this works. Then moving on to the first one. We're actually going to predict ourselves. Most anticipated game.

[Greg Miller]

Oh.

[Tim Geddes]

Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yote, Grand Theft Auto 6, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, and Monster Hunter Wild.

[Angie Hicks]

Are there ever any stakes for our predictions?

[Tim Geddes]

No.

[Angie Hicks]

We ever like, you know, put anything on the table. We should like bet something.

[Tim Geddes]

Like I don't like a pizza or something.

[Angie Hicks]

There's so many people. Like a burrito.

[Tim Geddes]

It's a burrito bed everybody. Thank you very much. God, it's so good.

[Angie Hicks]

So Michael, can we punish last place somehow?

[Tim Geddes]

Just last? But you don't want the winner to get anything. Yeah. You just want the loser.

[Angie Hicks]

I feel like, you know, I feel like there's not enough risk involved in this.

[Greg Miller]

Okay, so. So what do you want? It seems to be like fantasy football, right? Where, you know, what do you want? You want somebody walking around a sign or some shit?

[Andy Cortez]

Biggest Loser.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, maybe like a sign that says Biggest Loser. Get to rare to run your nectar in a games cast or something.

[Greg Miller]

I like that.

[Angie Hicks]

Person who comes in.

[Tim Geddes]

Everybody chat. You'll need to remind us of that most anticipated game. Yeah. So for this one I want us to predict who we what we think is going to win and then if our answer differs, if the thing that we're most anticipated for differs, I'm gonna lock in grab the dot or six of course.

[Greg Miller]

Anybody against that?

[Andy Cortez]

There's no question there.

[Tim Geddes]

Now let me ask is, is GTA 6 everyone's personal answer for this?

[Andy Cortez]

I would say yeah, I guess.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Like yote would be there as maybe a close second. Wild is a close third. I mean I guess I'm kind of excited for all of these. I, I'm less excited for Metroid Prime 4. I'm more excited for the industry to be excited for it and the lead up to it. But I'd say that's the one that I would put last on my list.

[Angie Hicks]

I might be maybe more death straining two on the beach for my most anticipated. Just because like when it comes to gta I'm such a San Andreas, like that side of the world person. Vice City isn't as much like my jam. Even though I know when I get to it I'm gonna fucking love it. But destroy any two, I'm like on the edge of my seat for like I cannot wait to play this game.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, I think GTA 6 is my answer too, which is surprising over Prime 4. But there's just something about Prime 4 that like I, it needs to convince me that it's got the stuff. I know it's going to be good, but I need it to be stunning and amazing and that's a tall order for a Metroid prime game this late in the game. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

For me, the winner, the one I put Grand Theft Auto. Of course personally I'd still go Grand Theft Auto because it's Grand Theft Auto. We know nothing about the one trailer.

[Tim Geddes]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

It's Rockstar. It's been jesting forever, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But it's really, really close with Monster Hunter Wilds. Like Monster Hunter Wilds. I would put it 1.5. I mean I think like in terms of me sitting there and being like, I can't wait to play it's a monster Hunter. Can't wait to see Grand Theft Auto. I can't wait to see what this game is, how big it is, what the story is, yada yada. But then my order would go Grand Theft Auto, personal Grand Theft Auto, but by a hair. Monster Hunter, Wilds Ghost Death Stranding, Metroid Prime. Just because I've never been a Metroid guy.

[Tim Geddes]

Moving on to best Adaptation.

[Greg Miller]

Moving on. Rascal Flats.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, yeah. I didn't know that.

[Angie Hicks]

I didn't either.

[Tim Geddes]

So we have.

[Greg Miller]

I'm moving on. That's the song.

[Tim Geddes]

Keeps Going Arcane. Fallout, Knuckles Like a Dragon, Yakuza and Tomb Raider. The Legend of Lara Croft.

[Andy Cortez]

How's Arcane here?

[Angie Hicks]

See? Okay, that's what I was asking.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. It's weird, right? I mean, like, it's here because people didn't fucking read the rules.

[Angie Hicks]

Act three of season two comes out on Friday.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Angie Hicks]

So, like, season two is in the process of happening right now.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm going Fallout.

[Greg Miller]

Fallout.

[Tim Geddes]

Even though Arcane, like, everybody loves it. Like, I think that it not being fully out is going to hinder it to some extent. But I think the bigger thing is Fallout was a breakout, mainstream, successful hit for. For translating a game people love into a show that people love. And, like, speaking for myself, like, I. My entrance into the Fallout universe was the show and I loved it. So I feel like it's gonna have that type of appeal. Whereas Arcane, like, it's won before. Right. 29.

[Angie Hicks]

Was this the reason why they added the category? Because the category is only a couple years old.

[Andy Cortez]

I thought it was the last of.

[Tim Geddes]

Us won last year. But was Arcane last year, though. I think.

[Angie Hicks]

I think Arcane. I think what happened was Arcane came out posted the end of the previous year.

[Tim Geddes]

Got it.

[Angie Hicks]

So I think it got lumped in with the first time they did Best Adaptation.

[Barrett Courtney]

I'm between Follow from the theme at the Game Awards.

[Andy Cortez]

Remember that?

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, yeah. Imagine Dragons.

[Tim Geddes]

Blessing.

[Angie Hicks]

Andy wouldn't do the. I guess. Yeah. I don't know when the votes get submitted, because if the votes get submitted after Friday, which I imagine have to be the case. Right.

[Andy Cortez]

I think Fallout wins. I'm gonna go with Fallout.

[Greg Miller]

Fallout.

[Angie Hicks]

God, I'm gonna end up with the sign. The sign around my neck. I'm gonna go Arcane.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Be different.

[Andy Cortez]

Blast.

[Tim Geddes]

Let's do it this early in the game, switching it up. I love it. All right, moving on to best multiplayer.

[Greg Miller]

Was Knuckles good?

[Tim Geddes]

You know what, Greg?

[Andy Cortez]

Tim watched it on a plane, and Roger watched Tim watching it on a plane with no audio.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. I mean, I'd say definitively, like, so far my least favorite of the live action sonic stuff, but, like, way better than it has any rights.

[Greg Miller]

Really.

[Tim Geddes]

Oh, yeah. I mean, dude, it's just.

[Greg Miller]

How have you not watched this bus.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, I heard it was bad.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. No, did you hear it's bad or you just hear there's not much knuckles in it? Because that's all I heard. I think I heard.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't like. I don't like that as a sentence. I don't know why. It's not a whole. There's not enough knuckles.

[Angie Hicks]

Knuckles. Get more knuckles in there.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. All right, so moving on to best multiplayer. We got Call of Duty, Black Ops 6, Hell Divers 2, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Tekken 8, and Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2.

[Andy Cortez]

If Helldivers 2 came out in August or September, it would own every category it was in.

[Angie Hicks]

I agree.

[Andy Cortez]

It had enough time for the hype to die down.

[Tim Geddes]

I still feel like I go for it, though.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

It's between that and Call of Duty.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. I'm going with Helldivers just because it is different and I think people are going to want to give that credit. Even though I know that everyone loved Call of Duty, myself included. On the single player side, at least.

[Andy Cortez]

Tekken 8 is one. I would not be surprised if it won, though.

[Tim Geddes]

I would.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

I'd be a little bit surprised.

[Greg Miller]

I'd be very surprised. Yeah. Fighting games so small, those. It's such a niche thing.

[Angie Hicks]

I mean, Tekken, you know.

[Greg Miller]

I know, but I still. I mean, honestly, I just think it's something that works against it. Like, honestly, if I'm being honest, because I'm going to say honest again, honestly, I would say, honestly, it could be down to Helldivers and Space Marine. I think Space Marine was one of those that like a whole bunch of people were playing and really enjoying together. Similar to that outriders business, you know what I mean? Where it's got more of a. It broke through genres a bit. Not in terms of like quality or whatever, but it just like every day a great time with this game. And this was fun multiplayer.

[Tim Geddes]

This is a weird thing, but I feel like people think of it more as a single player game, though, even if they're playing co op. I feel like best multiplayer game. To me, that doesn't read inherently co op. I think it is a bit more like, you know. Yeah. And also bang, bang.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Warhammer also never hit the heights of Helldivers, nor did it have those heights as long as it did. Then held that Helldivers, did I.

[Angie Hicks]

Space Marine. I put it in, like, to Greg's point about tech, and I put Space Marine in that same conversation. As far as it being more like Tekken, I would say is More popular than Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2. People in chat can correct me if I'm wrong about that. But like, I don't know. I think Call of Duty and Helldivers two are called duty, obviously, because it's cod, you know, breaks out just naturally because of what it is. And the Helldivers 2 has that conversation around and had that conversation around it back in February when it came out.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

They kind of put it on that mainstream level.

[Andy Cortez]

It had a chokehold.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And they fucked it up with the PSN stuff on PC.

[Andy Cortez]

And then it still found a way back after that. You know, like that's. I'm going to give it to Helldivers too.

[Tim Geddes]

All right, so me and Andy are Hell Divers, too.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm also going to say Helldivers too.

[Andy Cortez]

It's in a weird spot because I also. This is as popular as Call of Duty is. This is also one of the better. Call of Duty has come out in a while.

[Greg Miller]

I'm saying Hell Divers too, as well.

[Tim Geddes]

There he goes. Next up, we have best sports slash racing game. F1 24, EA Sports, FC 25, NBA 2K 25, Top Spin 2K 25 and WWE 2K 24. You did it, Greg.

[Greg Miller]

Every fucking year. I nominate every. Not every time I nominate. We finally got one on the board there.

[Barrett Courtney]

What happened to college football, though, Greg?

[Greg Miller]

Great question. Who the fuck knows? Outrageous. Insane. This juggernaut of a game. Sales records out the wazoo. Like, I think it's crazy. But again, Top Spin.

[Tim Geddes]

Didn't people not like Topspin? Am I wrong about that?

[Greg Miller]

There was a discussion about this, but there was a misnomer on which one we played on stream as well. But I also.

[Angie Hicks]

We reviewed it though, right?

[Andy Cortez]

We played the Pickle Ball.

[Tim Geddes]

Oh my God.

[Greg Miller]

For a second on games, Daily Bear thought it was.

[Angie Hicks]

I do remember looking over my shoulder or something. Or maybe it was great. Unless it was the last year's topspin.

[Andy Cortez]

No, I was pretty sure it's this.

[Angie Hicks]

I watched y'all play Top Spin and not be glowing about it.

[Greg Miller]

I'm trying to get a Metacritic on Top Spin. Whoa there. It's coming from this one. 76.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, it must have been last year's Top Spin. Did I watch watch y'all?

[Greg Miller]

I don't recall.

[Barrett Courtney]

No. I think this year was the first year we ever covered Top Spin in any sort of.

[Angie Hicks]

Was it this year?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, it had to be this year because I remember watching Mike playing it at his desk.

[Tim Geddes]

Like NBA.

[Greg Miller]

This year they like NBA the same way they always like NBA.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, my God.

[Tim Geddes]

Was there anything, like horrible about it this year?

[Greg Miller]

Microtransactions.

[Angie Hicks]

Lock in EA Sports FC for me or. Sorry, Tim. Lock in BA Sports fc.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. Just for some context, you also said that last year and you did not win.

[Angie Hicks]

I mean, what were the nominees last year?

[Tim Geddes]

Well, at Forza 1.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

So there's no forts on there.

[Greg Miller]

You're saying 24 is a slam dunk.

[Tim Geddes]

Let's see. Bless is locking in FC Sports.

[Angie Hicks]

That's my thing with this year too, is like there's no standout.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

It should have been college football.

[Greg Miller]

Toss up. Yeah. 100% outrageous. That didn't get well in the conversation.

[Angie Hicks]

We were having on. Yeah. We're talking about like the judges panel.

[Tim Geddes]

Right.

[Angie Hicks]

And so much of the judges panel is international. So when you're bringing in so many outlets from outside of the U.S. how many of those people care about football? But then how many care about college football? I'm pretty sure it's only people in the US that even give a fuck about college football.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Even though it's a lot here.

[Greg Miller]

No, I hear. Yeah, I hear you. I hear you.

[Tim Geddes]

Go for it.

[Andy Cortez]

Andy, mark me down. Never mind. I was going to say F1, but it's got a 72. Man, I don't know. This is an odd one.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm going FC just because to me, it's between that and NBA. And I just don't see people voting for NBA like that.

[Andy Cortez]

I kind of want to lock in FC as well. We all go down with the shift. You got to vote for wwe.

[Greg Miller]

Put me now for Listen, fc. I mean, yes, I know they're soccer fans in America, don't get me wrong. But you know, an international game more than that, right? NBA, a local domestic game here. Wwe, the thing that unites us all.

[Tim Geddes]

Oh, you're right.

[Greg Miller]

WWE games have never been better than where they are right now. World Wrestling Entertainment. All right.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

40 years of WrestleMania. 30 years of WrestleMania, whatever it was. I forget a lot of WrestleMania in there.

[Tim Geddes]

All right, cool. So there we go for that then. And now next up we have best sim slash strategy game, Age of Mythology.

[Greg Miller]

Spin the wheel, everybody.

[Tim Geddes]

Path of the Goddess. That will always make me think of blessing.

[Angie Hicks]

I didn't even play that game. You're the biggest fan. I previewed it. Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

Manor Lords and unicorn Overlord.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, this is a. Yeah. Spin the wheel. Like Greg just mentioned. Lock me in for Manor Lords.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah. Also lock me in for Manor Lords. That's the same one. I was gonna say Greg, do You.

[Barrett Courtney]

Want to phone a friend?

[Angie Hicks]

I can't be allowed.

[Barrett Courtney]

Your friend is Barrett Courtney.

[Tim Geddes]

Oh, hey.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, I'd like to ring Bear Courtney.

[Barrett Courtney]

You should lock in Frostpunk too, I think.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Why is Wine's very helping Greg and others.

[Tim Geddes]

I was gonna give it to you.

[Barrett Courtney]

Blood, but you're really quick on the draw there.

[Angie Hicks]

That's fair.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, yeah, I don't was on my fantasy critic, but Manor Lords had a really big kind of moment, even on Twitch. Like, a lot of every content creator was playing Manor Lords.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm going Unicorn Overlord.

[Greg Miller]

See, that's one thing where I'm on the fence about where Unicorn Overlord did outperform, and people were all about it at the time.

[Tim Geddes]

I've just seen that name come up so much more, not necessarily in the context of sim strategy, but, like, I.

[Angie Hicks]

The reason why I think it could. It really could be Unicorn Overlord is because there's a audience that is so passionate about that game that, like, I think is bummed out to not see it nominated for best rpg because the RPG category is so stacked.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

And I think when that audience for best sim slash strategy, which is like a genre that's not widely appealing to everybody, I could see a lot of the Unicorn Overlord people getting to best sim slash strategy, seeing Unicorn Overlord and going, oh, this is where I cast my vote for this, because this is the game that I played and loved.

[Greg Miller]

I want to put Unicorn Overlord down as well. And buried at Frostpunk 2 wins. I will buy you a lunch of your choice.

[Tim Geddes]

Wow.

[Angie Hicks]

Wow.

[Tim Geddes]

Lovely. Next up, we have best family game, Astrobot Princess Peach Showtime, Super Mario Party Jamboree, the Legend of Zelda, Echoes of Wisdom, and the Plucky Squire.

[Angie Hicks]

Mark me down for Astrobot.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, it's just. Come on, easy, right?

[Angie Hicks]

If there was a 3D Mario that came out this year, then we'd be like. Then we'd be cooking as far as, like, what that conversation would be.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

But Astrobotics is too polished.

[Andy Cortez]

Also, like, playing Mario Party with your family that, you know, that's tearing people apart. You don't want to have, you know, kids just leave the house and run away. I'm gonna go with Astrobot. Look at how cute all these video games are.

[Angie Hicks]

All colorful.

[Greg Miller]

So, yeah, I'll do Astrobot as well. I was on the fence with Mario Party, but I don't think we can argue how good Astro was.

[Tim Geddes]

And as this is one of those times where it's like, all right, well, Astrobots also For Game of the Year. Are they only going to vote it here there? I think it could be both, potentially. So I feel like Astrobot's the type of game that like, people aren't going to think too much about. They're just going to see it and vote for it because it's the right answer. Wow. Next up, best fighting game. Dragon ball sparking zero grand blue fantasy versus rising. Marvel versus Capcom fighting collection, arcade classics, multiverses. What? And Tekken 8. I think it's a little weird that Marvel versus Capcom arcade classics is here, but hey, people can vote for whatever they want. I think that's a good example of just like people willing things into it. But.

[Angie Hicks]

And I think that also comes down to just how few fighting games come out during a year where like the one that shocks me even more is Multiverses, because that wasn't a great time. And Rivals of Aether also came out as like a platform fighter and I think occupies the same space. And people actually love Rivals of Aether. The one other fighting game that I think has enough attention to it that could have made it in would have been the latest under night in Birth Game, but that didn't make it either. Lock me in for Tekken 8 though.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, I'm Tekken 8 for sure.

[Andy Cortez]

Tekken 8.

[Tim Geddes]

Reggie.

[Andy Cortez]

I think you go with Dragon Ball.

[Greg Miller]

I'm going to do a Dragon Ball.

[Tim Geddes]

Wow.

[Greg Miller]

I'm going to make some bold choices out here that'll end up with me not wearing a sign.

[Angie Hicks]

If Dragon Ball wins, I'm gonna be so mad. And I love Dragon Ball.

[Greg Miller]

It's another way. See, I. When I get down to these things, especially a category I have no real first hand knowledge of, for me it comes down to Tekken 8 was great. I know that. I'm not arguing, but I feel like Dragon Ball seemed to have this breakout moment and I. Granted it was us. I'm. I'm swayed by our own conversations at kind of funny, but it did seem that when this thing was dropping, everyone was talking about it in that way. Whereas Tekken dropped and I was like, oh, Tekken is great if you like fighting games.

[Andy Cortez]

Like, yeah, I think the parts of the industry that maybe are not so like, are at this point where me and Greg are at or like, man, where does this go? Because we don't really know much about this category. It just feels like Tekken 8, at the time that it was released, everybody was like, this is one of the best fighting games ever. And Dragon Ball Sparking zero, like we get into that Thing where, like, are we talking multiplayer for head to head combat? Are we talking just single player type stuff? Because if this was like, I think Dragon Ball Sparking zero made it huge with a lot of people in terms of, like, let's go through this campaign and experience this story. But Tekken 8 was like, that's the one that everybody said, holy. They really perfected this. This.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, that's where I'm coming is like, I think Tekken 8, to Greg's point, right? Like, I think looking back, it might feel like the conversation wasn't there as far as, like mainstream, you know, blowing up in the way that it feels like dragon ball sparking zero did. But I, for me, I remember Tekken 8 having a big. A big moment.

[Tim Geddes]

Right.

[Angie Hicks]

And I think it's also one of those ones where it's par for the course for Tekken to always, like, come through. Everybody's excited about it, but it's almost like a Call of Duty thing where we're also not always tuned into what's going on with Call of Duty, even though there's a sizable audience with it. For sure, the people that are playing Tekken are going to continue to play Tekken. And that's like 10 million people, right? 10 to 15 million people. When it's probably all said and done as far as the sales that this thing is going to hit, Dragon Ball Sparking zero, I think, belongs in this category, right? It's a fight. I'll make the argument that it is a fighting game.

[Greg Miller]

Here we go. We have a sifu argument.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, but this is an actual, you know, fighting game. Non traditional, but it's a fighting game. It does have issues, though. Like quite a few issues. It is a. I think it's a bad competitive game. I dropped off playing online, online after maybe like a week or so of playing it just due to bugs. But then also even after like, my bug got fixed of like, controls being whack, the competitive play is not good. The multiplayer game or multiplayer play is not good. What's good about it is the fan service stuff and like the visuals, the story mode, the hype, like all that stuff's there. Tekken 8 also has that stuff and has like the competitive aspect that is like, sure strong, you know, that's well put together and I think coming off of EVO as well. Right? Like bat. Tekken 8 was one of the games of EVO that was one of the hype ones. And I think when you're thinking about this category, you're thinking about competitive play. And like, what does the fighting game community push for?

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, I think Tekken 8 easily runs away with this one. Next up we have best RPG, Dragon's Dogma 2, Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7, Rebirth. Like a dragon, Infinite wealth and Metaphor. Refantasio. Metaphor is my choice.

[Angie Hicks]

Metaphor is also my choice.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, I don't want to keep on picking the same, but it's hard for me not to say metaphor.

[Angie Hicks]

Aren't you a dragon's dogma sicko though? You love that dragon's Dogma.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I love Elden Ring as well.

[Angie Hicks]

You know, I never heard that. I never heard you talk about Elden Ring.

[Greg Miller]

I think it's a toss up between metaphor and Elden Ring. That was. That's what makes this choice difficult. I would say metaphor. I think metaphor is going to be rewarded.

[Andy Cortez]

I'll go different here than everybody and I'll say like a dragon infinite world. Damn, I kind of want to. I'm gonna say Final Fantasy Rebirth.

[Angie Hicks]

Wow.

[Andy Cortez]

Metaphor just also had a massive breaking out of even that little niche that it's in. Right.

[Barrett Courtney]

Like very recently too people's minds.

[Tim Geddes]

Next up we have best action adventure. Astrobot, Prince of Persia, the Lost Crown, Silent Hill 2, Star Wars Outlaws, the Legend of Zelda, Echoes of Wisdom.

[Greg Miller]

Tough one.

[Tim Geddes]

Tough category.

[Barrett Courtney]

No, it's easy.

[Angie Hicks]

This is one where like Star Wars. I want to roll a four sided die. Gotta get Star Wars Outlaws out of here.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm gonna go with Astrobot.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yep.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, me too. I'm just saying a tough category in terms of like looking at these nominees. I'm like, these things just aren't like each other.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

Like, that's very silly. Yeah. I feel like Astrobot gets it.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

Let's let our boy just sweep, man.

[Angie Hicks]

The broken ass category. I'm gonna go Silent Hill 2.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Wow.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Mark me down for Silent Hill 2.

[Tim Geddes]

Andy, you're Astro, right?

[Andy Cortez]

Yes.

[Tim Geddes]

Cool.

[Greg Miller]

I'm between Astro and Silent Hill. I'm inclined to go Silent Hill because you're talking about best action adventure game combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Silent Hill 2.

[Tim Geddes]

This is the one for me where I'm like, it should be Prince. Like when you look at that definition.

[Andy Cortez]

It'S like, God damn, that's where my heart is.

[Greg Miller]

Listen to your heart.

[Tim Geddes]

Next up we have action game Black Myth, Wukong, Call of Duty, Black Ops 6, Hell Divers 2, Stellar Blade and Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2.

[Andy Cortez]

This is crazy good category. Well, Black man's gonna have the fan vote.

[Tim Geddes]

Where's gonna get split with Stellar Blade.

[Andy Cortez]

No, no.

[Angie Hicks]

Absolutely not.

[Andy Cortez]

No, no. I'm talking about, like, those day one sales and viewership on and concurrent players for Black Myth just blew everything else out of the water.

[Barrett Courtney]

Fan vote is, like, 10%.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I always thought it was a third, but maybe that's. Maybe that's a Nickelodeon choice.

[Greg Miller]

The other biggest award show we know.

[Angie Hicks]

What'S funny is if I. If I were to personally vote, I'm voting for Stellar Blade out of these. But that's not my prediction. I don't think it'll get that.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, my personal would be Helldivers, too. Like, I. I played a decent amount of it, but I just feel like it was such a moment that kind of blew everybody away in the industry. I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna go with Helldivers 2.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm going with Black Myth.

[Tim Geddes]

All right. Helldivers 2 for Andy.

[Andy Cortez]

I can't bring myself to beat Black Myth. I'm just, like, so far removed from it.

[Angie Hicks]

To beat it.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. I'm like, right at the end.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, I thought you already finished it.

[Andy Cortez]

No, I'm, like, right at the end, and I can't. Like, I hopped in for a little while. I was like, man, I really don't love the combat.

[Angie Hicks]

And Black Myth is, for me, the one just for, like, international voting and how worldwide you have to be. Right. To, like, get a win here. Black Myth for me is like, the Mr. Worldwide here is Black and Call of Duty.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm going Stellar Blade.

[Andy Cortez]

Wow. Yeah, I like it.

[Angie Hicks]

All right.

[Tim Geddes]

Damn.

[Angie Hicks]

He's gonna have a sign around his neck. It's crazy.

[Barrett Courtney]

Ah.

[Andy Cortez]

Is Black Myth woocommerce combat bad?

[Greg Miller]

No, it's just not great. Let's get it spicy in this. And I'm gonna say Call of Duty.

[Tim Geddes]

Wow.

[Angie Hicks]

Waiting for it.

[Andy Cortez]

Holy cow.

[Greg Miller]

Everybody loves single player.

[Andy Cortez]

I love it. Yeah, that's. That multiplayer single player was really good.

[Tim Geddes]

All right. Best VR/Arizona Sunshine remake. Asgard's Wrath.

[Greg Miller]

Could not believe Asgard's Wrath 2 was this year.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Like, it was last year.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. But it was, like, after I. But I totally forgot about it. Even when I was. I think even when we were nominating things, I was like, oh, that was last year. I didn't think about it.

[Tim Geddes]

Batman, Arkham Shadow Metal, Hellsinger VR, and.

[Andy Cortez]

Metro Awakening, and they made a Metal Hellsinger VR. I had no idea.

[Angie Hicks]

Mark me down for Asgard's wrath, too.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. I think I'm there, too. Blessed.

[Angie Hicks]

Because I want to say Batman, Arkham Shadow.

[Greg Miller]

I know, right?

[Tim Geddes]

I still think enough people know it.

[Greg Miller]

That's the toss up.

[Andy Cortez]

I think at this point everybody goes, oh, well, I don't know, maybe we're just thinking in our bubble. Because for me, I know everybody in our bubble goes, oh, Asgard's Rat 2 is the one that got like a 10 out of 10 from IGN, which is like crazy for a VR game. But it was also just so long ago and now that the words Asgard Asgard's Wrath two kind of looks like mobile game. Bang bang.

[Angie Hicks]

I did have to think about it of like Asgard's wrath too. I know that from somewhere.

[Greg Miller]

I'm going to vote Batman. Arkham Shadow. I think it's got the recency behind it. I think it's, you know, there's that image they put out that has Barrett Courtney on it. Of course. Kind of funny, all the other nines and tens that got eights and stuff. Like I think where it's Batman. I think a lot of people are more interested in that. Some more people actually went out and played it or at least paid attention like, oh, they didn't fuck up. They didn't fuck it up. They didn't fuck up Batman.

[Andy Cortez]

I'll go with Batman.

[Angie Hicks]

Metro Awakening came out.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't know.

[Angie Hicks]

Great question. Am I crazy? That game playable?

[Tim Geddes]

Well, we're going to look into that while we take a quick break November 7th.

[Greg Miller]

November 7th.

[Tim Geddes]

Here's a word from our sponsors. This episode is brought to you by Sonic the Hedgehog at topgolf, y'all. When you take one good thing and you take another good thing and you mash them together, that is when magic happens. Kind of funny loves Sonic the Hedgehog. Kind of funny loves topgolf. So you know, kind of funny is hyped. For Sonic the Hedgehog and friends to arrive at Topgolf at supersonic speed on Friday, November 15th with the launch of the new Topgolf game Sonic the Hedgehog. Exclusively available for play at Topgolf venues across the United States. Created for players of all skill levels, which is great for me, topgolf meets the fast paced action of Sonic in this new in venue game where players go head to head in iconic virtual Sonic environments. Green Hill Zone and Sky Sanctuary, you can play as four iconic characters, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy to hit spring rings, collect rings and destroy Badniks. For players making the transition from a joystick to a club for the first time, topgolf has your back with its new club, the sure Thing. Designed to make golf less hard come Play around with your friends and family at a topgolf near you and try out the new Sonic the Hedgehog game. This episode is brought to you by Aura Frames. The holidays are all about connecting with loved ones, and there's no better way to do just that than with a digital picture frame from Aura. You could upload your favorite pics of the family to one frame and relive all those happy moments again. Or you could share big news like a new addition to the family. Most people at Kinda Funny have Aura Frames at their desks and it's always so fun to walk out in the studio and see what memories they have displayed. It's a great gift for your parents or grandparents and you could even surprise them with their gift being preset with your own pictures. And if that's not personal enough, you can even upload a video message to play on the frame as soon as they plug it in so the first thing they hear is your voice and how much you love them. For a limited time, visit auraframes.com and get 45 off Aura's best selling Carver Matte frames by using promo code Kind of funny at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code kind of Funny. This exclusive Black Friday Cyber Monday deal is their best of the year, so don't miss out. Terms and conditions apply. The year is 2024.

[Angie Hicks]

Lasers are a commonly used technology.

[Tim Geddes]

Snakes have been replaced by small robots and nobody noticed. The government tells us we must choose between resolution, frame rate and quality. We will not be lied to.

[Greg Miller]

For the first time in this long bloody war, the full power of the.

[Tim Geddes]

Visual triangle is ours. On sale [e-mail] store.com we're back with best mobile game here.

[Greg Miller]

Mobile game or bullshit?

[Tim Geddes]

AFK Journey, Balatro, Pokemon Trading Card Game, Pocket Withering Waves and Zenless Zone 0. It's a Balatro baby.

[Greg Miller]

I agree with you Tim.

[Angie Hicks]

Same Balatro.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yes, I think it's Pokemon.

[Andy Cortez]

Because I.

[Barrett Courtney]

Think other categories Balatro is going to probably sweep in and Pokemon's fresh off that mine.

[Greg Miller]

I still think though, even if you love Pokemon, I mean this is always the toss up and I'm not bringing the fan vote into it but with like the press, I feel like even if you love Pokemon and I'm not insulting it, it's a fun game. It's basic. I mean it's basic Blotcher, something new.

[Barrett Courtney]

It was liked enough to get nominated.

[Greg Miller]

I agree.

[Tim Geddes]

I feel like it deserves to be nominated.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. The fact that Balatra was Even nominated enough to get on the goatee list. Like, the big award, I think, shows that there's enough people there that.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And those people know this probably isn't going to win Game of the year 1000. Give it love everywhere.

[Angie Hicks]

Like, I think when you're talking about games, they get nominated, especially from, like, a lot of main press, you look at best mobile game and you're like, all right, what came out? Like, what's a mobile game that I played this year? And for a lot of us, I think it was Pokemon Trading, Trading Car game Pocket. But Balatra was the one that. That came out and also people loved. So I think that for me, that's the thing that edges it out. I will say Wuthering Waves, no pun intended, has made a lot of waves. Like, that's the one that people always compare to Genshin Impact. And they go, bless you would love this. And I'm like, please stop sending me these things. And then Zenless Zone 0 is the other one from Hoyoverse, Right. That, like, people like. But I. I didn't love that game. Like, that's one that I fell off of quickly. I'm sure on mobile, it's probably cool that you have a game that looks that good, that runs on mobile, but I think out of all of these, the fact that Bellacho got nominated for Game of the Year, I think speaks volumes as to, like, how much people want to push for it.

[Andy Cortez]

Apparently, they updated and changed the stuff that you and I didn't love about Zero. The little TV screen. Oh, really? Aspect of it that they kind of fully changed that in a way that makes the game a bit more interesting. But, yeah, I'll also deepen the combat.

[Angie Hicks]

I got bored of it.

[Tim Geddes]

Next up after Mobile Game, we have best debut indie game, Animal well, Balatro, Manor Lords, Pacific Drive, the Plucky Squire Animal, Bilatro Showdown.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, Balatro. Lock it in, Tim.

[Andy Cortez]

Balatro down. Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Belacho is also my pick.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, it's a tough one.

[Greg Miller]

Sorry, Roger. Hit the bricks. Yeah, he loved Animal well, remember.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

I don't think Animal well had the numbers.

[Greg Miller]

I know. No, I know.

[Angie Hicks]

Going on, like, he really loved it. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, you're right, Tim. I don't. Yeah, I don't think he did either.

[Greg Miller]

Balacho was a moment in time and.

[Andy Cortez]

Bacho is still being fresh on people's minds because I think.

[Tim Geddes]

Still a moment.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

The amount of people I saw playing Balatro in Vegas was stifling.

[Greg Miller]

No, Tim, those. Those weren't Balatra tables.

[Angie Hicks]

They're playing it physically.

[Andy Cortez]

They put them all over the place.

[Angie Hicks]

They're like all the hotels.

[Tim Geddes]

It's crazy.

[Andy Cortez]

It's a weird activation everywhere.

[Tim Geddes]

God, I can't wait to talk to you guys about the weird ass Vegas slot machines. Like why is there so many themed things?

[Andy Cortez]

What, what was the one like hot Chicana Chica bonita.

[Angie Hicks]

Wait, you've been to Vegas before, right?

[Tim Geddes]

Oh, yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, okay.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Houston up there.

[Tim Geddes]

Moving on to best independent game. Oh, man. Okay, cool. Yeah. I thought I didn't refresh, but I did. Animal. Well, Balatro, Lorelai and the laser eyes never. And UFO 50.

[Angie Hicks]

Man.

[Tim Geddes]

Dang, man, dang.

[Andy Cortez]

Every time I try to overthink and do the. Well, people are going to give it love here, so that means they won't give it love anywhere else. That's never true. So I'm going to go.

[Angie Hicks]

For me, it's the equivalent of like I don't know the answer. So I'm just going to do C. Yeah. And like, statistically that should get me a, you know, decent amount is going to win one of these.

[Tim Geddes]

Shout out to Neva for sure. Really, really love that Never is going.

[Andy Cortez]

To be so high on my contender.

[Angie Hicks]

Shout out to all of these. Like UFO 50, of course is an insane one. And then also lower line, the laser eyes is when I keep starting and going. This is way too hardcore for me. I'll come back to this later. But like, it's one that I have a lot of respect for.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. Then next up we got best community support. Baldur's Gate 3 Final Fantasy 14 Fortnite Helldivers 2.

[Angie Hicks]

No, Man's sky might be down for Helldivers too.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm gonna go with Baldur's Gate 3.

[Tim Geddes]

Which won last year for community support.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, no, Man's sky has won as well, right? Or are we thinking ongoing game? Because that's always a. Yeah, that's different.

[Tim Geddes]

Right?

[Andy Cortez]

Kind of similar.

[Angie Hicks]

I think. No, Man's sky one ongoing the first year was nominated.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

My heart is saying Helldivers 2 here, but it was so long ago. I'm going Hell Divers. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And then like the PlayStation thing didn't help out either. But do people even think about that?

[Angie Hicks]

That's my thing is like I know hell I was two hasn't been perfect, but like, do people remember the missteps? Because all I remember, all I remember as someone who didn't play much Hell Divers is like all the good thing we. Good things we talk about as far as like them doing the stories in real time and like doing the activations and get people to come in and fight for the planet.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, that's all. That's. That's a great call. The social media type. Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Like, that's immediately what I think about when I think about the community support of Helldivers too. Like, they compared to the other games on this list, like, they've turned community support into something different. Like it's a storytelling aspect of the game as well.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, that is a really good call.

[Tim Geddes]

So we have Andy with Baldur's Gate, me and Bless with Helldivers, Greggy.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, man. It's like Baldur's Gate one last time. Sure. But is Baldur's Gate, like, do you look when people are voting, are they gonna look at this and go, baldur's Gate. But, like, what is Baldur's Gate done? That they would say that, right?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

So then that's where I'm at.

[Andy Cortez]

I was confusing this with Best ongoing.

[Greg Miller]

Game as a Hell Divers fan. Like, I think it had great community support. I think it did a lot of stuff. Yeah, they fucked this up. But I. Whatever. But then no Man's sky is the fucking everlasting gobstopper that continues to put out new shit. It got more. It just put out a big update again that was timed with the pro. Right. So that people were playing it and knew that and that was resurfaced. And I'm going to say no Man's Sky.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, this could just end up being Final Fantasy 14, really.

[Greg Miller]

But it could be that every year.

[Barrett Courtney]

But Don Trail, like, people thought Don Trail was fine. I feel like that's where.

[Angie Hicks]

That's why I didn't go. Go with it is like, I feel like if Final Fantasy 14 was having a crazy year, then I would hear Michael, I am in his room more, being like, let's go. Like, I've not heard that as much this year.

[Tim Geddes]

Next up, we got best ongoing Destiny 2, Diablo 4, Final Fantasy 14, Fortnite, or Hell Divers 2. Andy, are you going to jump to this with your Support of Destiny 2?

[Andy Cortez]

No. No, I will not. I think it was also just way too late. And then they've done enough to kind of sour a lot of people since then. There's been enough. Like, when I see Paul Tassie tweeting out, what the fuck are we doing right now? Like, that's a sign that things. And that was several months ago. But I feel like whenever the Final Shape came out, that was at its fever pitch. If the Final Shape came out two weeks ago, a Month ago. I think I'd feel a lot more strongly about it.

[Angie Hicks]

Do you think that when people vote, are they going to remember Lego Fortnite and the whole like the rhythm thing that they added rocket racing? That was like December.

[Tim Geddes]

Holy.

[Greg Miller]

I would say no, they're not and it's not. But again, not because they'll actually forget that.

[Angie Hicks]

Just because it did come. Come and go for a lot of that stuff.

[Tim Geddes]

Sure.

[Greg Miller]

But also Fortnite does the extraordinary every time. So that just makes it ordinary. Like I would go. I mean, I would say Hell Divers too. This is a longer games cast, but I think we could. I would go to the mat of like, Fortnite should win community support and best ongoing.

[Tim Geddes]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

Like it's the game that just does. I think about how many updates, big updates, changes. Radical. We're doing the island. We're the OG Islands back. Like they are doing stuff all the time. But you just go, it's Fortnite is what Fortnite does. So I think that eliminates it.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm between Fortnite and Diablo here.

[Greg Miller]

Final Fantasy is the same thing. Like, yeah, here's this game that's still going on. That's amazing. And doing this thing. Sure. I think Destiny's out of the picture, as Andy said. So then it's Diablo or Helldivers. I think Diablo and this. I'm a fan of both these games. Super fan even. Some would say maybe for Diablo. Helldivers I haven't touched in a while. But like Diablo had the big ticket expansion. Right. Like, hey, we are dropping Vessel of Hatred. It has a new class. That's awesome. That's cool. They have had great battle passes. They have had a whole, you know, season of loot where they went through. And the stuff they were planning, this might hurt them actually in this conversation. But the stuff they were planning to put into the expansion. Right. They started putting out early where they literally were like, why make people wait for the good stuff? Like, we're going to put these things out so it'll be this. And that would fall into ongoing Hell Divers. I think again, had that giant initial run and then had the fun stuff on Twitter and this. Are they doing that? Are they. I've talked myself into Diablo. I'm gonna say Diablo.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm going Helldivers too.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm going Hell Divers too.

[Greg Miller]

You'll get caught up in the Hell Divers.

[Angie Hicks]

I kind of want to say Destiny because of what was the expansion that came out back in June.

[Andy Cortez]

Final Shape.

[Angie Hicks]

Final Shape, Yeah. I was talking about it on some KFC or something last week. Right. And like people had to correct me like, oh no, it was great people. I think it was with Greg.

[Greg Miller]

Actually.

[Angie Hicks]

Greg called up Jericho and Jerrica told us that that was actually fantastic.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, dude. The final shape might make my top 10 of the year. Like it was a 10 hour. You know what Master class.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm going to stick to Hell. First person mark C on everything I.

[Tim Geddes]

Need a second because I'm between Diablo and Hell Divers. But awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time. There's something about the end of that sentence that I. I'm going Hell Divers two. It just feels. It was fresh, it was different. And I think people are going to remember that part. So yeah, Hell Divers too.

[Andy Cortez]

And then the, you know, the new planets and the all of. Basically this is why I always kind of get this mixed up with community support. Because I feel like all that kind of goes. Yeah, hand in hand, a little too much.

[Tim Geddes]

Next up, we have Games for Impact. For a thought provoking game with a pro social meaning or message. Closer the Distance, Indica Neva, Life is Strange, Double Exposure Never senua Saga, Hellblade 2 and Tales of Kinzaro Zao.

[Barrett Courtney]

I have a question for Tim and Andy. What is the pro social message or meaning in Neva?

[Tim Geddes]

Don't get us a mole. Environmental shit. And yeah, don't get it done. But it's like, you know, treat the planet better or else it's gonna eventually.

[Andy Cortez]

Attack everything, turn into goop.

[Angie Hicks]

We gotta put Final Fantasy Sun Rebirth in there then straight up.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

Being here is fucking insane.

[Greg Miller]

Criminally underplayed, right?

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

I forget who it was on one. No, I do remember.

[Angie Hicks]

See, I was thinking about going to. Going tails to. I'm going to go tails because I think people are going to want to fight back against the haters out there.

[Andy Cortez]

Tails is a really good call because.

[Angie Hicks]

Like I go through. I could also see Hellblade too maybe, but I feel like Hellblade already got his flowers with Hellblade 1 for the stuff that it did. Live streams, double exposure. I couldn't even tell you what the pro social message is in there. Don't fuck with time, yo.

[Greg Miller]

Support your friends and their crazy abilities.

[Angie Hicks]

Make a diverse friend group, I guess. You know, I never. Maybe I could see, but I wonder how many people played it to even get there. Indica. I'll need to call up Roger, be like, yo, remind me what the fuck happened in this again?

[Greg Miller]

Because I do not remember Horror game.

[Angie Hicks]

And then closer the distance, I'm hurt. I'm hearing about for the first time.

[Greg Miller]

All right.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, yeah. I played a bit of it. I've not played all of it, but it's a grief game and with that kind of thing.

[Angie Hicks]

Okay.

[Greg Miller]

It's a great game.

[Barrett Courtney]

So I go popularity here, I think.

[Greg Miller]

What are you picking?

[Barrett Courtney]

I think it's either between Hellblade or Life is Strange.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, really? See, I think it's Tails. I think it's Tails of Kinsera.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm going to say my official vote. I'm going to say Tails as well.

[Tim Geddes]

Across the board.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I think. I think Abu being on stage last year helps out a lot with.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, you think there's some insider trading there? You think that was part of.

[Andy Cortez]

No, I'm saying. I think you're saying.

[Greg Miller]

You're saying publicly right now that you say that he said he'd come on the stage for Jeff Keeley's thing if he won next year. And Jeff said, yes, sir.

[Andy Cortez]

That's exactly what I'm saying. I was going to say no, but you know what?

[Tim Geddes]

Next up, we have innovation and accessibility. Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Diablo 4, Dragon Age, the Veil Guard, Prince of Persia, the Lost Crown or Star Wars Outlaws.

[Greg Miller]

Organizing software and or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience. Woof.

[Tim Geddes]

I mean, going through these, like, just from experience, from our side of it, like, for me, I can speak on Prince of Persia, I was blown away by the amount of options you have. Like, within each difficulty, being able to tweak everything, every setting of that difficulty, being able to completely skip platforming challenges if you want. Like the end the feature me and Andy talk about so much, but, like, being able to like, screenshot, like a picture of, like, puzzles you can't figure out. So you can remember, oh, I need to come back here so you remember where it is. Like, that stuff, I think, goes a very long way and it's like, really great.

[Angie Hicks]

I think Ubisoft is like, underrated when it comes to accessibility stuff. They got two nominees here.

[Tim Geddes]

But I mean, like, for the other games that y'all are a little bit more dialed into, like, did Dragon Age.

[Andy Cortez]

Velgard does a decent amount of what Lost Crown does, but a lot of it, I would say is more along the lines of, like, you could customize your hud and the visuals, a lot of. And the visual feedback, making sure every enemy doesn't have a health bar. You could turn all that stuff down, but it does have the difficulty stuff where you have four levels of difficulty, including a customized one. Where is what I ran with. Where I ran with one of the harder difficulties, but then I made the enemy's health be lower. So I'm not just, you know, bullet sponging enemies for hours on hours. So I don't think it did anything along the lines of what we've seen a lot of Naughty Dog studios do in the past. You know, with all. You know, they always show, like, the people with vision problems will see, like, you know, the enemies are all.

[Greg Miller]

We can go grayscale and make them green and blue and all the stuff.

[Andy Cortez]

There was nothing like that. I. I kind of want to go with Outlaws because I think Outlaws had a lot more like that. Bless you.

[Tim Geddes]

Bless you.

[Angie Hicks]

Thank you.

[Greg Miller]

This is a tough one because I do feel like. And this is privilege because I feel like neat. Of these five games, I don't remember any of them having the big. Here's what we've done for accessibility. And so then it is like, I mean, I've touched Prince of Persia, so if you want to include it, I've played the. The last four games and none of them stood out to me of like, oh, this is this accessibility thing. I think the most I heard anybody toot the horn was Dragon Age. And I do feel that this is Dragon Age's only nomination here. So I feel like that might be. It's something that would pop here and stay. I'm gonna say Dragon Age, but yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

In terms of popularity, I feel like Dragon Age, like without even playing, without even knowing what they have. I feel like that I'm leaning towards that just because it sounds the most right. When you look at these, you've convinced.

[Andy Cortez]

Me I'm going Dragon Age.

[Tim Geddes]

But I would.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm going Dragon Age just because you guys are going Dragon Age. That way it's safe. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

You're trying to not get that sign. Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

I don't know. Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

I would vote for Prince, though. I think they did a great job. Next up, we got best performance. Brianna White as Aerith in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Hannah Tell from Lice's Life is Strange Double Exposure. Aubrey Gonzalez from Star Wars Outlaws, Silent Hill Twos, Luke Roberts and molina juergens in Hellblade 2 was Hannah Tell.

[Angie Hicks]

Was that Max? He Max.

[Andy Cortez]

I guess I'm gonna go. Brianna White in five seven Rebirth.

[Tim Geddes]

Me too.

[Greg Miller]

Huh?

[Angie Hicks]

Is strange.

[Barrett Courtney]

No one from metaphor being here is insane. It's insane.

[Andy Cortez]

Bless it.

[Angie Hicks]

Is insane. I agree yeah, she's Maxine Caulfield.

[Tim Geddes]

Is there someone in metaphors specifically you would name Hulkenberg?

[Barrett Courtney]

Heisman.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, specifically Iceman. For sure. Heisman. He's essentially like the Sid. Yeah. Of metaphor and.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, God. I'm tossing Molina. That's mine.

[Angie Hicks]

Can you bring it up again? I'm going. Luke Roberts from Silent Hill, too.

[Barrett Courtney]

It's a handsome man.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. That's a real actor who came down to our level. His eyes are primordial.

[Angie Hicks]

Ooze Gonzalez, but not played that game. I just seen like a lot of her getting shout out.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, she's great. I mean, I like her a lot.

[Andy Cortez]

I love. I loved her performance.

[Angie Hicks]

I feel like out of. Out of this list of people, I feel like she's the most, I guess, prominent. When you talk about performances this year.

[Tim Geddes]

I think the Breanna White, like Final Fantasy 7, Rebirth being so aerith forward, you know, I feel like if she's ever going to get the shine and I think she's fantastic.

[Barrett Courtney]

Did she remake 2020? I feel like someone was nominated in 2020 from remakes.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah. I don't think she won, though. Yeah. If you could look that up, that'd be great. But I do think that Rebirth, like, if she was ever going to get an award for this, I feel like it's this game at this time, and I think she.

[Greg Miller]

I feel like even though Molina's won before, I think they're finally back. And again, my issues aside, it weren't with the performances.

[Tim Geddes]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

And it is such a entire. This isn't just your voice. And I'm not taking away. I know Humberly did Mocap too. I'm sure the others did as well. But I mean, I don't know. It's. That was like a performance for Molina. I feel like from the core, I was wrong.

[Angie Hicks]

No.

[Barrett Courtney]

No nomination from anybody from remake. And best performances aren't good.

[Angie Hicks]

That's good. Well, the performances are great.

[Andy Cortez]

But I think Molina won already. Right. Yeah. That's why I'm kind of like not leaning towards it.

[Angie Hicks]

Rebirth came out the same year as last was and goes to Tsushima and other guys.

[Barrett Courtney]

All acting game, though.

[Tim Geddes]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

But it was competition that year.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, definitely.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah. My thing with Luke Roberts is that I'm. I've for somebody who I. I don't look into Silent Hill 2 like that. I've not played it yet. I want to now after seeing the reviews are good or whatever. I've seen quite a few people talk about Luke Roberts, like talk about his performance in that game, which is, like, enough for me to be like, oh, there's something here that I got to see.

[Andy Cortez]

And this is some of the, you know, like, Silent Hill 2. This is maybe the only spot it's nominated in. Or was it an actual adventure? It was an action adventure, you're right.

[Tim Geddes]

So, yeah, we're all down there. Next up, we have Best Audio Design, Astrobot, Call of Duty, Black Ops 6, Final Fantasy 7, Rebirth, Senua Saga, Hellblade 2, and Silent Hill 2.

[Andy Cortez]

Veil Guard. Not being here is crazy.

[Angie Hicks]

Hellblade 2 for me.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah, I think that that's. It goes back to the. They present it that way.

[Greg Miller]

They talk about that stuff mattering 100 Hellboy.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm gonna go crazy here.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, he's going crazy.

[Andy Cortez]

Going crazy. I'm gonna say Astrobot.

[Tim Geddes]

I mean, Astrobots is fantastic.

[Angie Hicks]

It's all the little guys, you know, talking at the same time.

[Andy Cortez]

The controller, speaker, all that cute.

[Angie Hicks]

Can we get new items?

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, but when you do stagger an enemy. And Rebirth, though, I mean, what a good.

[Tim Geddes]

I mean, dude, Rebirth is fantastic as well.

[Andy Cortez]

So these are all.

[Tim Geddes]

We got good options here. Then. Next up, we got best score and music. Astrobot, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor Refantasio, Silent Hill 2, and Stellar Blade.

[Greg Miller]

Hold on one second. Set me up again about dragon age.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, dragon age. Not being here is crazy.

[Greg Miller]

Go Woke. No votes. No, it's a crime. It's a crime.

[Tim Geddes]

Fantasy7reBirth. I. I feel like it very, very much deserves it. Astrobot, to me, is like a banger soundtrack front to back. And there's so many damn tracks that are great. Metaphor Fantasio. I love so much music. In fact, I only started playing the game because of the battle theme. And I think that. That it's great, but I think in terms of quantity and quality and just the quality of the recording of the performances and everything, too. It's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, man. Like.

[Greg Miller]

Like, I agree.

[Tim Geddes]

Not only taking, like, iconic tracks from the past, but the amount of new songs. The Queen's Blood theme song gets stuck in my head.

[Barrett Courtney]

It's Rebirth's category to lose.

[Andy Cortez]

Mount Corel is the best song I've ever heard in my life. So I'm going to go with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

[Greg Miller]

Have you heard Mambo number five?

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, five. Number two. Oh, the bow wow song.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

God, what a bop.

[Angie Hicks]

I want so badly to say put me down for Stellar Blade, because I think for me, Cellar Blade might be my favorite of the year, but it's also like, hey, here's More Nier Automata for the soundtrack. Nier Automata, top three soundtrack of all time.

[Andy Cortez]

And it also just has like, crazy, like, dubstep.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, I was listening to it. I was listening to last night because I forgot about Stellar Blade when I was like going through the categories myself and I put on some Stellar Blade music and I was like, fuck, I forgot. Shit's incredible.

[Tim Geddes]

You know what deserves a shout out here? The Tekken 8. Oh, PS5. Like, menu theme. Like, just when you played over to it, like, if you see Tekken 8, the fucking shit that hits, you're like, oh, my God.

[Angie Hicks]

Goodness. That in like the menu theme of off of Tekken 8 is incredible. Oh, man, I want to say it so bad. I want to say it. Say it. I want to ask. But I also don't want that sign around my neck. I'm going to say Final Fantasy.

[Andy Cortez]

I feel like I'm going to be the one who loses. It's all good. If we.

[Angie Hicks]

If I didn't add the sign, if I didn't add the consequences, I would say seller Blade. But now I have to be smart.

[Tim Geddes]

You gotta will it in.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Tim Geddes]

Best art direction. Astrobot, Black Myth, Wukong, Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree. Metaphor. Refantasio and Neva Neva.

[Angie Hicks]

I think Blackmouth should win.

[Andy Cortez]

This lucky squire was robbed.

[Barrett Courtney]

Over metaphor.

[Angie Hicks]

Bless. Well, I didn't like how many particle effects were in metaphor. Like, that was like a key issue for me while playing that game.

[Andy Cortez]

Metaphor just looks ugly.

[Angie Hicks]

All the magla.

[Andy Cortez]

Like, it's got good art direction, but it's ugly.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm with you.

[Angie Hicks]

So, yeah, I also. I tend to agree with that. Honestly, That's.

[Greg Miller]

That's.

[Andy Cortez]

I. I think it gets votes because of its influences, but it's. It's the influences part of the art direction. And it looks bad a lot of the time.

[Angie Hicks]

You can be stylized and still have bad. Like, just because you do something doesn't mean that thing you did is good.

[Greg Miller]

You know, Tim tells me that all the time.

[Angie Hicks]

Just because you go for it, you're.

[Andy Cortez]

Going in the right direction, I think. Oh, man. Never blew my brain apart in so many movies.

[Greg Miller]

Do you think enough people played it? That's where I'm hung up on, too.

[Andy Cortez]

No, not at all enough to get nominated. But I am going to go with Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree.

[Greg Miller]

Wow. There it is.

[Barrett Courtney]

No destiny here. Andy, how do you feel?

[Andy Cortez]

That's crazy.

[Greg Miller]

Old game is old.

[Angie Hicks]

I do maybe want to say metaphor, though. Even though I just shat on some of it. I still think a lot of it is incredible looking. Don't get me wrong. I like the art character key art. I'm gonna actually go Black Myth Wukong. I think those end of chapter cutscenes are really cool. And like, the actual cinematic cutscenes look insane in that game.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. For me, the, like, metaphors strongest points are the ui, obviously.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

But everything outside of that is insane.

[Angie Hicks]

UI in that game.

[Andy Cortez]

I didn't love it.

[Tim Geddes]

This is the first category that I'm like. I am very much just at a loss. Like, I don't think any of these, from what I know of them are like, oh, clearly that's the winner. Like, I feel like a couple of them. All right, I see where you're going.

[Greg Miller]

But let's roll those dice. And I'm saying never.

[Tim Geddes]

Never. All right, let's see. Where am I locking in our direction?

[Angie Hicks]

You like how those astrobot characters look?

[Andy Cortez]

Black Myth could win.

[Tim Geddes]

I. I'm leaning towards Black Myth at this points, mainly because of, like, how pretty that game is.

[Andy Cortez]

Very pretty.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm going Black Myth.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm shocked that I thought. I think Hellblade was maybe one of my nominations. Hellblade just looks unbelievable. Yeah. Black Man's got great character designs. It sure does. Has awesome cutscenes.

[Angie Hicks]

Even though I don't tend to love, like, the, like the animal bosses. Like, they still look like Conker's bad fur day in Unreal Engine 5.

[Andy Cortez]

Tony the Tiger.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, Tony the Tiger.

[Tim Geddes]

So funny. Next up, we have best narrative Tony. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Like a dragon, Infinite Wealth Metaphor, Refantagio, senua Saga, Hellblade 2 and Silent Hill 2.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm going to go with metaphor, you fantasy.

[Tim Geddes]

I am too.

[Greg Miller]

Me 3.

[Andy Cortez]

Bless. Doesn't want the sign be different.

[Tim Geddes]

Plus do it.

[Greg Miller]

Does that lead to the sign?

[Andy Cortez]

Do you go with like a dragon? Because that's the thing.

[Barrett Courtney]

I feel like y'all got to wear.

[Angie Hicks]

The sign if I talk through it.

[Barrett Courtney]

Right at the same time.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah, of course it's not going to be like a dragon. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, I think has, like, character moments that are incredible and like pieces of narrative within the game that are awesome. But I don't love like the overall through line like I. The when you get to the ending, I don't like how where shit goes. It's also very. It also suffers from being a middle chapter in a story. And so, like, in the overall arc of it, not much happens, or at least not as much happens as I would like to. But there are a lot of Good pieces in writing in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. And also it being Final Fantasy 7, people automatically are like, are in the camp of it.

[Andy Cortez]

Magic's really crazy, huh?

[Angie Hicks]

Silent Hill 2 I've heard really good things about. Like, I wish I've had this game played by here by now because I feel like it'd be better to be informed about this one because I feel like a lot of people are going for it. I'm going to go metaphor. I'm going to be safe.

[Tim Geddes]

Out of four across the board. Next up, our second to last, we have Best Game Direction. We have Astrobot, Balatro, Black Myth, Wukong, Elden Ring, Shadow of the erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Metaphor, Refantasio.

[Angie Hicks]

I'm going Astrobot.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, me too. I think when you. It's the innovation, right? Like, I think we had Astrobot before, but remember how many of these levels do we say holy shit, they made. They did this one mechanic for this one thing and it never came back.

[Angie Hicks]

Right. It's like, like it's such an excellently designed game. And I think part of game direction too is that people think about is like, you know, can I even like think about who the director is for this thing or who the studio is for this thing? Right. I feel like that comes into play and like, I feel like across the other ones you get to Black Myth Wukong, and it's almost like a veil of mystery of like, who's making this game. I don't know anybody that's actually touching this thing. But Astrobot, I think, you know, you hear about Team Asobi, you hear about like how they made this game and you know, a lesser or a smaller time cycle than you get out of a lot of AAA video games. The fact that they're able to frame it as a smaller thing and put that out as a PlayStation first party thing, I think that's a. That's something that a lot of people want and like. And I think that stands out about it. And it's a game that I feel like captures that Nintendo sense of like game design magic that you usually don't get outside of Nintendo.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm going Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I feel like the direction of the game, like it was very definitive and might not not every choice was everyone's cup of tea, but I feel like it, it delivered from a direction standpoint of like what it was trying to do. How open it all is, was like mind blowing. This is a tough one though. I can see it being split, but I'm locking in Final Fantasy.

[Angie Hicks]

Like, I kind of wanted to go to Final Fantasy, but I also have.

[Andy Cortez]

The tough thing of the segues and the mini games.

[Angie Hicks]

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth sometimes feels like, oh, man, that team played a lot of Ubisoft games and they're like, how do we make one of these? And so a lot of the open world design, I think, think halfway through I was like, I gotta just stop trying 100% this. Because I don't. For me, it got a bit tedious. A bit. A bit further in.

[Andy Cortez]

Let's see here. Blotch is just like poker at. Or some shit.

[Greg Miller]

Tim thought fucking blackjack was blow in Vegas.

[Andy Cortez]

Idiot.

[Angie Hicks]

Blacho could actually take it.

[Andy Cortez]

Fuck. I'm gonna say Astro Bomb.

[Tim Geddes]

Next up we have Game of the Year Blackmail.

[Andy Cortez]

Being there was kind of crazy to me.

[Tim Geddes]

Astrobot Balatro. Black Myth. Wukong Elden Ring. Shadow of the erdtree. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Metaphor. Refantagio.

[Greg Miller]

What a fucking toss up.

[Tim Geddes]

What a world we're living in that a 3D platformer is going to win game of the year, baby. Astrobot to the top. I love it here.

[Barrett Courtney]

Oh, I love the delusion, Tim.

[Andy Cortez]

I love the delusion. Great call.

[Angie Hicks]

That's a good shot.

[Tim Geddes]

I. I think it's a lot.

[Andy Cortez]

I think it's. It.

[Barrett Courtney]

I think it's one of the top three for sure. I think it's real close, though.

[Tim Geddes]

Between what?

[Barrett Courtney]

Astro bot, Final Fantasy 7 and metaphor.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, you just. You left out Elden Ring there. I did. You think a game with where that has Elden Ring in the title doesn't have a very strong shot?

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, I think it had like a strong shot of being nominated.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm with Barrett on this.

[Greg Miller]

I agree with Barrett. Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Really?

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

Rude awakening. You guys gotta have a rude awakening. But put me down for metaphor.

[Greg Miller]

I'm gonna go with Tim. I'm putting Astrobot.

[Angie Hicks]

I do think it's between Astrobot and Metaphor.

[Tim Geddes]

Me too.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm putting. I'm gonna put myself down for metaphor.

[Barrett Courtney]

I would love it if they took it home. So, like all the years of Persona and what they've built and have it crescendo.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, my God. For sure.

[Angie Hicks]

That would be.

[Barrett Courtney]

What a fucking story that they've had over the last, like 30 years. But the reason I think it's close between that, like, obviously Astrobot, like had a really big moment. But also Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I feel like that's another one where remake came out the same year as Last of Us Part two. So I feel like people want to give that game its Flowers. Rebirth. Its flowers. More so because of remake and less because of Rebirth. But I don't know. That's just the vibe I'm feeling common.

[Andy Cortez]

In the YouTube chat whose name already went by. But I had the same thought. If it takes two can win. See, I was thinking anything can kind of win. Like I. We shouldn't be shocked by genre or that's anything like that.

[Tim Geddes]

I'm not.

[Barrett Courtney]

I wouldn't be. I don't think Astrobot is a runaway. Obviously the winner here.

[Greg Miller]

I feel like it's one where the votes split so much, right? Where there's just so many things where Astrobot and Balatro are games that like, are universally loved and they were short so more people play them.

[Tim Geddes]

I look at this though, and I feel like, oh, most the others are going to split it away. But I think Astrobot, the people that are voting for that, there's no split. It's like they already have their minds made up. Whereas I feel like metaphor Final fantasy.

[Barrett Courtney]

Like there's a lot of crossover between Astrobot and Black myth Wukong Tim, have you ever thought about that?

[Greg Miller]

Think about it.

[Angie Hicks]

I mean, hey, man, PlayStation.

[Tim Geddes]

It's gonna be crazy.

[Andy Cortez]

I. I'm shocked that Blackmith Wukong is on there, which.

[Angie Hicks]

Oh, man. Is black with Wukong gonna win this thing? Think about it. Bring up the judges again, Barrett. Let me see what countries are.

[Andy Cortez]

Was that out?

[Tim Geddes]

Well, the judges are different, so it's like that's true.

[Angie Hicks]

But most of them are going to be the same, you imagine?

[Tim Geddes]

I mean, we already know that half of them don't exist anymore.

[Greg Miller]

So earlier in the chat, Will Broke went by and said, what a surprise. Greg picks the PlayStation game. I'd like to point out three of these are PlayStation games. Fucking call Phil Spencer and tell him to make a game.

[Andy Cortez]

What do you want from him? Will Broke.

[Angie Hicks]

Just scroll past US and UK for me real quick. I just want to see how long that goes for.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, it's a good call. It's a good call because like, how.

[Angie Hicks]

Many of these people give a fuck about Astrobot?

[Andy Cortez]

I think a lot of people do. I mean, PlayStation lineage, you know, how.

[Angie Hicks]

Many of them are going to play Black Myth and be like, this is a fucking. This is cinema.

[Barrett Courtney]

Also, this list is definitely different than earlier because earlier I think China had like five different spots.

[Greg Miller]

Wait, it's like, is gaming daily? Yes, go back up. Is gaming former Selling Canada only had two.

[Angie Hicks]

I didn't see. I didn't see what's good.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, they updated.

[Tim Geddes]

Okay.

[Angie Hicks]

I feel like this happened to me twice in the last few days where I quote, tweeted the game awards bot account on Blue sky. And then very shortly after that account got deleted and suspended. And now, you know, I talk about on games Daily. It's gone. So Jeff Keighley is keeping tabs.

[Greg Miller]

Thank you for watching, Jeff. We love it.

[Andy Cortez]

I will say that Black Myth will not win. I'm shocked that it even got nominated. I think it does amazing in terms of all the optional that I love. It's just like playing it is not the most fun thing. I wish it had stellar blades combat. I wish it had Elden rings combat. I wish I had any other games combat. I just don't think it was just whacking that stick against a stone enemy was just so bad feeling to me.

[Tim Geddes]

Gonna be an interesting time, everybody. We got a lot of super chats. I would like to to get to some of these before we head out of the show. Prairie writes in saying, here's my birthday tax. Appreciate you guys. I listen every day at work. Beyond Beyond.

[Andy Cortez]

Thanks for watching.

[Tim Geddes]

And Chocolate Fox says how awesome would it be if they used the main battle theme and metaphor for the Game of the Year orchestra performance? Maybe I can help with the chance. Yo, I think shit's about to pop.

[Angie Hicks]

I don't know what other thing they use for metaphor.

[Tim Geddes]

That would be amazing. I mean, we're about to get such. We got Astro. I mean, we got Final Fantasy. We got metaphor. Come on, man.

[Angie Hicks]

Here.

[Barrett Courtney]

Here's my thing is like, it's got to be that one. But also God of War Ragnar. When that got nominated, there was like a new definitive theme for Ragnarok. But then they just used the 2018 theme again, which I think was a mistake, but.

[Angie Hicks]

They do, they do color your night from Persona 3.

[Tim Geddes]

We got claw Master coming in here with with some sports nerd saying. Just saying. Pacora was part of the Dodgers Hollow live event when they were losing in the game. But afterwards the Dodgers won and proceeded to win the World Series. So just saying, the second person that's.

[Angie Hicks]

Written about Pocoro today, people love Poro.

[Andy Cortez]

What is that?

[Tim Geddes]

I have no idea.

[Angie Hicks]

Vtuber from Best Content Creator.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Tim Geddes]

Johnny boy says with over 300 hours in Bellacho, it's my personal game of the year. But does it really have the stuff to beat out the likes of Fallen Fantasy or Erdtree? I don't think it does. That would be freaking crazy and awesome if it won though, right? And to Andy's point, like, It Takes Two proves, like, things can happen But I just don't see that happen in this year.

[Angie Hicks]

Which you up against. Let me look this up.

[Andy Cortez]

Look it up, look it up. 2021.

[Barrett Courtney]

There's no way else that was 2021.

[Angie Hicks]

No way.

[Greg Miller]

Really?

[Barrett Courtney]

Because that was like the weird year for us as well.

[Andy Cortez]

That. Yeah, me and. Me and Nick played through that on.

[Angie Hicks]

That floop that year.

[Andy Cortez]

Good Time.

[Barrett Courtney]

That was like Ratchet and Clank. That was so.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah. The Game of the year nominees for 2021 were Deathly Loop, It Takes Two, Metroid Dread Psychonauts 2, Ratchet & Clank, Ripped Apart, and Resident Evil Village. You know, little. Little.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, it was a weird year.

[Angie Hicks]

A little weird year.

[Tim Geddes]

Zach Johnson says. How long have the TGA categories been the same? I'm begging Jeff to add new ones. Best DLC Slash Expansion. Best Remaster Slash Remake. Best supporting Performance. Yeah, I definitely think there is room for some. Some change up there.

[Angie Hicks]

I'd love to just be hired just to do some cleanup as a consultant.

[Tim Geddes]

Just so that you can come up with things that everyone else hates too.

[Angie Hicks]

Yes.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Angie Hicks]

But like Tim, you can't look at me and tell me that best action, best action adventure and best RPG makes sense.

[Tim Geddes]

I mean, I think it makes as much sense as to the amount of people that coming up with other genres would like. Awards simply do not work because I feel like you're never going to please people because they only work if you just ask someone, hey, what do you think wins? And that's the what determines what the winner is. Because everyone just wants their own shit.

[Andy Cortez]

You're gonna have the Martian comedy, you.

[Tim Geddes]

Know, but I'm with you. I mean, it's silly. It's stupid.

[Angie Hicks]

I am not saying that I'll. That I can come up with something perfect or that anybody can come come up with something perfect. I am saying these categories could be better.

[Tim Geddes]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

All right, so you don't you want to do a games. You're going to do a games cast. Tell us what it is. Sure, I'll be booking you. Well, I mean for all of us. We'll do our own. If we could. If we redid it. How about the day before Wednesday the 11th?

[Tim Geddes]

Works for me.

[Greg Miller]

All right, it's on. I'm adding to the calendar. I'm going to call it fixing.

[Andy Cortez]

Speaking of the day before, where is that on the list?

[Greg Miller]

The game?

[Andy Cortez]

Is that the name of the game?

[Angie Hicks]

Unreleased.

[Tim Geddes]

Zach Brown says to actually you all but Provolone Tony is actually cousin Angelo who's who is often seen with a tube of Provolone.

[Andy Cortez]

So Mike just said Tony, then I just called him Tony.

[Tim Geddes]

CJ splits on says, can we talk about no God of War Valhalla being nominated? I think that's a big problem of just how game awards timing works.

[Angie Hicks]

Where would you put it? Also, though, action. Action adventure over the stuff that's there.

[Tim Geddes]

I would. For some of them, at least. Instant messenger. Sama says, funny how no other DLC got nominated. Like, Jeff doesn't choose these. I don't like, I need people to understand that. Yeah, like people. A group of people vote for the.

[Greg Miller]

I also don't. I mean, like, what a. With all due respect, I'm sure you're a smart person. What a stupid sentence of like, oh, man. Shocking Northern 3D platformers got nominated. Well, that was the best one. That wasn't. That was a breakout. This one was amazing. And so, yeah, the one that got all this juice. Why are we mad at that?

[Barrett Courtney]

It's the only dlc, so it must be a conspiracy, everybody.

[Angie Hicks]

It must be.

[Tim Geddes]

But I do wish that in terms of DLC expansion stuff, I wish we saw some Ragnarok.

[Angie Hicks]

I think it could be fun to do a category that is like, best expansion slash dlc.

[Tim Geddes]

Totally. Just because then that way at least, like, that gets people, like, shouting out, like, again, being nominated, I think is a big win for all this stuff. So that's why having a category like Fighting, even though it's pretty niche and like, sports slash racing, like, the fact they have to even combine it, it's like. Yeah, it's just an excuse to, like, shout more games out.

[Andy Cortez]

Just know that Best Art Direction at the Smiley Awards. Oh, will have Destiny.

[Angie Hicks]

Damn.

[Barrett Courtney]

Just as a reminder, like, Phantom Liberty did get nominated for best acting and.

[Angie Hicks]

Then maybe best Action, Best narrative or something.

[Barrett Courtney]

And I think if last year was like a lesser year in terms of how many fucking crazy amazing games came out, it probably would have been nominated for Game of the Year as well. It was just such a. I think.

[Angie Hicks]

You rolled the dice differently in that game for sure. Gets nominated for Game of the Year last year. Exactly.

[Barrett Courtney]

So people are just mad because it's Elden Ring.

[Greg Miller]

That's one of the reasons I'm upset. People forgetting about House of Arun. Shattered Space, motherfuckers.

[Tim Geddes]

Let us know in the comments below who you predict is going to win the big one.

[Greg Miller]

Hire people. You know what I mean? We don't want to give any respect there.

[Andy Cortez]

Come on. Game Purple disrespecting the culture of the Varun.

[Tim Geddes]

We're about to play a snow bike. Mike's Game of the year 2024 Kingdom Hearts 2 on our Twitch TV kind of funny games and YouTube.com kind of funny games stream. So go hang out there and if you are a Kind of funny member, later today we're doing the Kind of Funny podcast. It's going to be a great time. Until next time. Love you all. Goodbye.

[Andy Cortez]

I love Craig's love of mid game.