I just finished Alan Wake 2 and figured I'd come back to mention that I loved it start to finish. I listened to this episode before I played Alan Wake 2, and was worried based on Jeremy and Jesse's opinions that I wouldn't like it too, but I ended up loving it anyway, and figure there may someday be someone else in the same shoes listening to this while contemplating trying AW2 themselves, so my message is that it's still worth a try! I love both Jeremy and Jesse and respect the things they had to say about the game, even if my experience was different. This GOTY series was a blast and will be looking forward to it next year. If the timeline and video pipeline is clear enough in late 2024 you all should consider doing a video component next time for the final results w/ a fake ceremony or something, because I appreciated the unique list and categories you guys bring and it deserves a bigger spotlight than just the podcast IMO. Would have never played typecast if it weren't for this series. Looking forward to future episodes of the podcast!
A natural 20 in baldurs gate 3 is also called a "Critical Success" which i think would have been a good name for the award. Not only does a critical success very rare, it sometimes allow you to achieve something that would otherwise be impossible. It's also gets a bit of pun factor for being a huge critical success and sweeping the game awards. You might also argue that its success is critical in allowing larian to keep expanding and doing what they're doing, and maybe holding the door open for more big budget CRPGs.
Midnight Suns is such an underrated game, hands down one of my favourites of the last year. It's a real shame it didn't sell well and will likely never get a sequel.
1000% . After finishing it earlier this year, I was immediately sad, knowing that it was a commercial flop. Yet, it is easily in my top 5 of the last 5-10 years
jesse and jeremy NEED to play Alan Wake 2's New Game Plus. it was released 2 weeks after the game and is called "The Final Draft" which heavily insinuates all the bad writing in the main game was in fact a rough or first draft of the story and all the things that feel like plot threads left open for a sequel weren't for a sequel but for said Final Draft (NG+)
I understand where the criticism of Alan Wake 2 is coming from, but I think you cant look at it as ONE GAME that will give you the conclusions you want. There already is the Final Draft (NG+), there will be DLCs, there will be stuff in Control 2 and I also expect an Alan Wake 3 that will conclude the Alan Wake story. You could say that is just a cop out of the fans, but just look at any good TV shows, movies or book series. There never is a complete conclusion somewhere in the middle. I might just try to explains things away here, but you also need to keep in mind that some of the stuff is written by Scratch, which explains the "bad" writing to me. Also, I just love to look at the theorizing outside of the game. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and thanks for the always great content!
Fun discussion. The only issue I have with the immersive sim award is that a real immersive sim came out this year and it’s great, so I think the real immsim award actually belongs to the System Shock remake.
I literally love BG3 because it reminds me so much of deus ex. So much freedom, so many choices. Like just the goblin camp. I know there aren't unlimited ways to do it, but it feels like there are
I understand the criticism of Alan Wake 2 but I dont know. I for one didn't have those problems, I think everything was interesting from the beggining to end. Also I didn't see AW2 as a singular game but part of a whole and I understood this not only as an Alan Wake story but as a setting stage for more conectivity. I'm interested in seeing what they think about Final Draft NG+ At least in term of story and payoff. And eventually the DLC. The game has a lot of bold design choices and like Frank said I rather have a lot more games like this.
With Alan Wake it felt like Jeremy and Jesse were saying it _created_ an expectation that it then failed to live up to, but Danny didn't get that the expectation was created by the game. Alternative award name ideas... Midnight suns: Mechanical Marvel - since you'd managed to agree on liking the mechanics... Or wait a little longer and use 2024s award for 2023s best game of 2022 For BG3 (on the nat20 idea) Critical Hit/Critical Success... ...or just Sexiest Bear.
Typecast - call it the "Keyboard Warrior" award Marvel Midnight Suns - call it the "Past Midnight" because it was from 2022 Bauldur's Gate 3 - call it the "Critical Success" award
Wildcard Award makes sense for That marvel card game thing as in a Tournament a wildcard is someone that doesn't technically qualify for the tournament but gets to compete anyway. That ties in with this game not being from 2023 and therefore not technically eligible. And the double meaning of being a card based battler.
Not sure if you guys end up getting there, still got 40 minutes to watch, but "Strong(est) Suit Award" for Midnight Suns would have worked to talk about the strong card mechanics and superhero theming. Edit: nvm Marvel vs. XCOM is way better. 😂
This feels like a silly thing to pitch here, but I'll go for it. If anyone else feels like Jesse and hates D&D combat, there are hundreds of fantastic indie tabletop rpgs that offer a better experience than D&D and let you just "play the game" like Frank said. In a lot of games I've run and played in, combat has lasted just 10 or 20 minutes total while still feeling more narratively and tactically interesting. Just in case anyone is interested in the tabletop experience.
the Phrase for poker you are looking for is a "bad beat". when the odds were in your favour but you lost anyway. Odds were that you were not going to like that game but you lost that bet anyway
I also think that Catholic Guilty Treasure is better than Catholic Guilty Pleasure as its so close that it unavoidably envokes "guilty pleasure" anyway. So is an amalgamation of Catjolic Guilt and Guilty Pleasure thats more accurate for an indy game award than just literally combining those two phrases.
Glad to see tough critique for AWII. I went on the same journey with that game. It's ambitious, wild, impressive-and simultaneously frustrating, ill-designed, and dishwater dull.
I tried Midnight Suns based on the recommendation here. Granted I’m only 20 hours in, definitely enjoyable but to put it in the same conversation as BG3 and Alan Wake 2 is laughable.
Midnight Suns may not hit for everyone. But for me, It's easily in my top 5-10 games of the last decade. Yet opinions are opinions. They very nearly pulled Alan Wake 2 from the list with a couple people really not liking most of it. And Dave the Diver I just finished, and I wouldn't even put it on the list given everything after chapter 3. But again, some people like what Dave the Diver was doing, even in the second half. Opinions are opinions.
BG3 is very overrated for me, I sunk about 150 hours into it and my final feelings on the game as a whole were "meh". Combat way too long and tedious, bugs galore and a lackluster ending along with a host of other small problems made it at best an 8.5/10. One caveat is I beat the game a week after release and apparently they have fixed a lot of the above problems since.
At least you made it to the end. I ended up dropping the game in act 3. The story and writing really didn't captivate me at all. It lacks a lot of aesthetic cohesion and thematic focus. I found it very difficult to feel immersed and care about anything or any character. And they don't seem to have managed to use the world to enrich the narrative in any meaningful way. I thought I had a fuzzy memory, but I went back to Baldur's Gate 2 and the writing in that game makes 3 seem so withered and lifeless. Plus, it's a game that felt very familiar to me. With the exception of the increased verticality in exploration and a greater commitment to making each sidequest in the game well-designed, there is nothing that I haven't seen in other games of the genre. Often better. I don't deny the overall production quality of the game and I'll definitely give it another chance in the future (Especially with that Dark Urge thing), but for such a long game didn't think it was worth it. I definitely preferred Original Sin 2 over BG3.
Yea ok it was probably in the first 2 or 3 weeks, but the point was they hadn't patched the game yet. I didn't burn myself out because I enjoyed some parts (like the Hell boss fight for example) but there were just glaring problems that got worse and worse as the game went on. Also Act 3 was just lacking compared to the other 2.@@Nergal134
Doing any game of the year talk without spoilers is a waste of time. Trying to explain anything about the game while “being incredibly vague” sucks and isn’t good content.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I very much use their non spoiler discussions to find games I overlooked throughout the year without having them spoiled for me. Almost every game they discussed this year that I hadn't played already, I became interested in through their discussions. I do think it might be worth doing a spoiler free and a spoiler heavy discussion but these are like 3 hours long and also some of the cast haven't played/beaten all the games being discussed
I just finished Alan Wake 2 and figured I'd come back to mention that I loved it start to finish. I listened to this episode before I played Alan Wake 2, and was worried based on Jeremy and Jesse's opinions that I wouldn't like it too, but I ended up loving it anyway, and figure there may someday be someone else in the same shoes listening to this while contemplating trying AW2 themselves, so my message is that it's still worth a try! I love both Jeremy and Jesse and respect the things they had to say about the game, even if my experience was different.
This GOTY series was a blast and will be looking forward to it next year. If the timeline and video pipeline is clear enough in late 2024 you all should consider doing a video component next time for the final results w/ a fake ceremony or something, because I appreciated the unique list and categories you guys bring and it deserves a bigger spotlight than just the podcast IMO. Would have never played typecast if it weren't for this series.
Looking forward to future episodes of the podcast!
Oh, AW 2 has a very definitve and satisfying ending, it's just hidden in the NG+ mode.
A natural 20 in baldurs gate 3 is also called a "Critical Success" which i think would have been a good name for the award. Not only does a critical success very rare, it sometimes allow you to achieve something that would otherwise be impossible. It's also gets a bit of pun factor for being a huge critical success and sweeping the game awards. You might also argue that its success is critical in allowing larian to keep expanding and doing what they're doing, and maybe holding the door open for more big budget CRPGs.
I like it but I would have shortened it to crit success to make the double entender kind of less on the nose about it sweeping awards and so on
I’d shorten it to crit sess. Lol jp
Midnight Suns is such an underrated game, hands down one of my favourites of the last year. It's a real shame it didn't sell well and will likely never get a sequel.
That's what happens when they don't let romance and bang the heroes damn disney!.
1000% . After finishing it earlier this year, I was immediately sad, knowing that it was a commercial flop. Yet, it is easily in my top 5 of the last 5-10 years
jesse and jeremy NEED to play Alan Wake 2's New Game Plus. it was released 2 weeks after the game and is called "The Final Draft" which heavily insinuates all the bad writing in the main game was in fact a rough or first draft of the story and all the things that feel like plot threads left open for a sequel weren't for a sequel but for said Final Draft (NG+)
I understand where the criticism of Alan Wake 2 is coming from, but I think you cant look at it as ONE GAME that will give you the conclusions you want. There already is the Final Draft (NG+), there will be DLCs, there will be stuff in Control 2 and I also expect an Alan Wake 3 that will conclude the Alan Wake story. You could say that is just a cop out of the fans, but just look at any good TV shows, movies or book series. There never is a complete conclusion somewhere in the middle. I might just try to explains things away here, but you also need to keep in mind that some of the stuff is written by Scratch, which explains the "bad" writing to me. Also, I just love to look at the theorizing outside of the game.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and thanks for the always great content!
If we're doing bad medical related names for Typecast - Keymotherapy (using your keyboard to blast away bad bits whilst losing your hair)
Thanks for another incredible year of content, lads! Happy Holidays to you all!
Oh shit here we go! Just what I needed on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas all.
This has quickly become one of my favorite GOTY discussions every year. Hope it keeps going for many more!
Jesse should be on every episode!
Tactile Shooter.
Keystrokes of Genius.
Those are my thoughts for that one.
Edit: oh my god Jesse got there!
Fun discussion. The only issue I have with the immersive sim award is that a real immersive sim came out this year and it’s great, so I think the real immsim award actually belongs to the System Shock remake.
For blasphemous it could be: Catholic Guilt Trip, a pun with trip as a journey
Thanks for the show guys!
I literally love BG3 because it reminds me so much of deus ex. So much freedom, so many choices.
Like just the goblin camp. I know there aren't unlimited ways to do it, but it feels like there are
I understand the criticism of Alan Wake 2 but I dont know. I for one didn't have those problems, I think everything was interesting from the beggining to end.
Also I didn't see AW2 as a singular game but part of a whole and I understood this not only as an Alan Wake story but as a setting stage for more conectivity.
I'm interested in seeing what they think about Final Draft NG+ At least in term of story and payoff. And eventually the DLC.
The game has a lot of bold design choices and like Frank said I rather have a lot more games like this.
BG3 should've gotten "Most Immensive Sim" or "You CAN Fuck that Bear" award.
1:53:18 wait what happened here? Was it about a spoiler or something?
Baldur's Gate - Echo chamber (everyone gets their own tailored experience separate from anyone else and everyone's talking about it)
NoClip GOTY discussions have become the highlight of the year when it comes to games discussion and celebrating the year!
Alan Wake 2 awards has to be a twin peaks reference.
It's so heavily twin peaks it's ridiculous.
With Alan Wake it felt like Jeremy and Jesse were saying it _created_ an expectation that it then failed to live up to, but Danny didn't get that the expectation was created by the game.
Alternative award name ideas...
Midnight suns: Mechanical Marvel - since you'd managed to agree on liking the mechanics... Or wait a little longer and use 2024s award for 2023s best game of 2022
For BG3 (on the nat20 idea) Critical Hit/Critical Success...
...or just Sexiest Bear.
My belated (likely bad) suggestions:
BG3: "Horniest BioWare Game"
Midnight Suns: "Marvel C(ard) Suite"
Also, gotta say, Mavis Beacon Teaches Shooting was damn good for Typecast.
Midnight Suns poker/card based names - Big Blind (essentially compelled to play in a great game people have missed), Suitability, Throwing hands
Typecast - call it the "Keyboard Warrior" award
Marvel Midnight Suns - call it the "Past Midnight" because it was from 2022
Bauldur's Gate 3 - call it the "Critical Success" award
Wildcard Award makes sense for That marvel card game thing as in a Tournament a wildcard is someone that doesn't technically qualify for the tournament but gets to compete anyway.
That ties in with this game not being from 2023 and therefore not technically eligible.
And the double meaning of being a card based battler.
For BG3 I’d suggest “Barely Scratched the Surface” in honor of the game’s depth and one very good boi.
Late to the party here but I'm going with 'Smite Knight' for Blasphemous 2 and 'Smallest Iceberg' for Alan Wake 2
when jesse brought up the word tactile, I thought of “tactile shooter” right away
this video isnt loading for me, weird
I feel lucky that i played Baldurs gate 3 in early access. I had already played act one so i could use more stamina in act 2 and 3
I thought Jeremy had a fuzzy microphone for a moment then i realized he did not lol
OH HEY I GOTS MORE OF THE BOÏS THIS WEEK ! Happy holidays gentlemen !
2:11:05 Jesse calling out noclip name.
Would "Biggest Butterfly Effect Award" work for BG3?
Not sure if you guys end up getting there, still got 40 minutes to watch, but "Strong(est) Suit Award" for Midnight Suns would have worked to talk about the strong card mechanics and superhero theming.
Edit: nvm Marvel vs. XCOM is way better. 😂
midnight suns should be "best blade game of 2022"
Right on time for humble choice ;)
This feels like a silly thing to pitch here, but I'll go for it. If anyone else feels like Jesse and hates D&D combat, there are hundreds of fantastic indie tabletop rpgs that offer a better experience than D&D and let you just "play the game" like Frank said. In a lot of games I've run and played in, combat has lasted just 10 or 20 minutes total while still feeling more narratively and tactically interesting.
Just in case anyone is interested in the tabletop experience.
Marvels Midnight Suns.
The 'Misconceptions Assemble' Award: 2023
the Phrase for poker you are looking for is a "bad beat". when the odds were in your favour but you lost anyway.
Odds were that you were not going to like that game but you lost that bet anyway
Baldur's Gate 3: The Dark Urge to Replay Award
I also think that Catholic Guilty Treasure is better than Catholic Guilty Pleasure as its so close that it unavoidably envokes "guilty pleasure" anyway. So is an amalgamation of Catjolic Guilt and Guilty Pleasure thats more accurate for an indy game award than just literally combining those two phrases.
Late submission for Midnight Suns: "Uncanny xcom"
I'm not through the episode yet, but if you didn't go XCom Genre's Unknown, I'm upset.
Midnight suns marvelous suprose award
Super suit
BG3 = Best Girl 3 Award
Glad to see tough critique for AWII. I went on the same journey with that game. It's ambitious, wild, impressive-and simultaneously frustrating, ill-designed, and dishwater dull.
x-complicated
I tried Midnight Suns based on the recommendation here. Granted I’m only 20 hours in, definitely enjoyable but to put it in the same conversation as BG3 and Alan Wake 2 is laughable.
Midnight Suns may not hit for everyone. But for me, It's easily in my top 5-10 games of the last decade. Yet opinions are opinions. They very nearly pulled Alan Wake 2 from the list with a couple people really not liking most of it. And Dave the Diver I just finished, and I wouldn't even put it on the list given everything after chapter 3. But again, some people like what Dave the Diver was doing, even in the second half. Opinions are opinions.
BG3 is very overrated for me, I sunk about 150 hours into it and my final feelings on the game as a whole were "meh". Combat way too long and tedious, bugs galore and a lackluster ending along with a host of other small problems made it at best an 8.5/10. One caveat is I beat the game a week after release and apparently they have fixed a lot of the above problems since.
It also sounds like you burned yourself out if you put in 150 hours in one week when there's only 168 hours in a week.
At least you made it to the end. I ended up dropping the game in act 3.
The story and writing really didn't captivate me at all. It lacks a lot of aesthetic cohesion and thematic focus.
I found it very difficult to feel immersed and care about anything or any character.
And they don't seem to have managed to use the world to enrich the narrative in any meaningful way.
I thought I had a fuzzy memory, but I went back to Baldur's Gate 2 and the writing in that game makes 3 seem so withered and lifeless.
Plus, it's a game that felt very familiar to me. With the exception of the increased verticality in exploration and a greater commitment to making each sidequest in the game well-designed, there is nothing that I haven't seen in other games of the genre. Often better.
I don't deny the overall production quality of the game and I'll definitely give it another chance in the future (Especially with that Dark Urge thing), but for such a long game didn't think it was worth it.
I definitely preferred Original Sin 2 over BG3.
Yea ok it was probably in the first 2 or 3 weeks, but the point was they hadn't patched the game yet. I didn't burn myself out because I enjoyed some parts (like the Hell boss fight for example) but there were just glaring problems that got worse and worse as the game went on. Also Act 3 was just lacking compared to the other 2.@@Nergal134
BG2 was definitely a better written game, the depth of the writing and characters in that game was insane.@@PHBA-v4i
@@ggscvthat's still more than 40 hours a week of one game
Doing any game of the year talk without spoilers is a waste of time.
Trying to explain anything about the game while “being incredibly vague” sucks and isn’t good content.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I very much use their non spoiler discussions to find games I overlooked throughout the year without having them spoiled for me. Almost every game they discussed this year that I hadn't played already, I became interested in through their discussions.
I do think it might be worth doing a spoiler free and a spoiler heavy discussion but these are like 3 hours long and also some of the cast haven't played/beaten all the games being discussed
hated the story of alan wake 2. im with you!