Wow, how are we halfway through 2024 already?! No need to point out that we're actually closer to 60% of the way through the year by the time this episode is released; better late than never! Yep, it's time for our GOTFHOTY nominations, also known as Games Of The First Half Of The Year, but Rebecca is very proud of having potentially originated an acronym that could totally enter common parlance if people were just willing to give it a chance.

Not quite as formal as our totally scientific Christmas GOTY list, GOTFHOTYs are when we name a bunch of games we can see ending up making our respective top fives depending on what happens between July and December. Rachel's been playing a bunch of great indies and so has already got a few good ideas as to what her end-of-year-list will look like, suggesting that Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, 1000xRESIST, Animal Well, and the newly-released Dungeons of Hinterberg are all up there at the moment. Liam gives nods to Balatro and Crow Country, of course, but Minishoot' Adventures makes for a surprise new frontrunner for him. Rebecca's had a much slower start to her year in terms of GOTY candidates, but has so far been most impressed by Little Kitty, Big City and Cryptmaster.

We couldn't very well call it a proper mid-year check-in if we didn't also look forward to what the Q3/Q4 release schedule is looking like, and so in this episode's second half we collectively rattle off a few games we're excited to hopefully play before the year's out. We can't say for sure yet how we'll feel about the full games, of course, and who knows what surprise releases will turn our heads this autumn? But as it stands, we reckon that Flock, Cataclismo, The Crush House, Demonschool, Phoenix Springs, The Rise of the Golden Idol, Sorry We're Closed, and Dreamsettler have the best odds of upsetting the current rankings.

Much like the midpoint of the year, hyperfixations roll round much quicker than you'd expect. Bafflingly, Rachel has never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer before, but now she's bingeing the show for the first time, which allows Liam and Rebecca to conduct some fascinating research on the only remaining millennial geek not to know this franchise inside-out. Liam has been watching Couples Therapy, a TV documentary series that is decidedly not a reality TV show, thank goodness. Rebecca's been swept up by her day-job hype for Zenless Zone Zero, but was also very excited for the new Hildegard von Blingin' song that dropped just a few hours before recording. Somehow, this turns into a friendly disagreement between her and Liam about whether Fall Out Boy's 2023 modernised cover of We Didn't Start the Fire was good or cringe. (But since Rebecca writes the episode descriptions, allow me to abuse my privilege to set the record straight: it's both. We're both right.)

Finally, for all you folks who love a full and proper account of every game we mention in an episode even when it's not connected to the main topic, know that our GOTFHOTY discussion and mid-year check-in also wanders into the territories of Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, Baldur's Gate 3, Boyfriend Dungeon, Harold Halibut, The Last of Us Parts I&II, Loco Motive, Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, Steamworld Heist 2, Thank Goodness You're Here!, and Tiny Life.

Our music was written and performed by Ollie Newbury! Find him on Instagram at @newbsmusic. Meanwhile, you can support the podcast by leaving us a 'like' and nice review on your podcast platform of choice, follow us on Twitter @indieventurepod, and visiting our website: indieventurepodcast.co.uk.