Here. We. Go.

It’s time to decide the TCGS Game of the Year for 2024.

Strap in.

Games discussed: Animal Well, Astro Bot, Balatro, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Harold Halibut, Helldivers 2, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Neva, Nintendo Alarmo, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Silent Hill 2, Star Wars: Outlaws, Thank Goodness You’re Here, UFO 50, Ultros.

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It’s time for the first of our two Game of the Year-themed episodes, starting with the Game of the Year Draft!

Also this week: Deck Nine announces more layoffs, XDefiant is dead, Ubisoft reportedly discussing buyout options with Tencent, EA makes more accessibility patents free, and info about the follow-up to It Takes Two is leaked.

Plus: Best Man speech advice, musical tastes, warm cereal and more.

Games discussed: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Balatro, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Blade & Sorcery Nomad, Behemoth, Walkabout Mini Golf, Indika, Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

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This week: Xbox says it’s still blocked from selling and launching games from its Android app but Google says it isn’t, Shuhei Yoshida is retiring, the Nintendo Switch eShop is closing 2026 in China, Xbox shuts down Avatar Editor app, and Elon Musk wants to ‘make games great again’ with AI studio.

Also: Boring cereal, Pokémon types, Chocobo services, James as Santa and more. 

Games discussed: Earth Defense Force 5, Nine Sols, Antstream Arcade, Balatro, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Microsoft Flight Sim 2024, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, The Rise of the Golden Idol.

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This week: A report into GAME reveals that nothing’s changed in years; cloud streaming beta launches on PS Portal via PlayStation Plus, and Sony’s allegedly planning a new PlayStation handheld; Xbox Cloud Gaming to finally support titles from players' game libraries, and FromSoftware parent Kadokawa confirms Sony has sent it a ‘letter of intent’ to acquire it.

Also: Christmas reading, “console loading chambers”, Switch 2 re-releases, best multiplayer maps and more!

Games discussed: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, The Rise of the Golden Idol, Life is Strange: Double Exposure episode one, Flight Simulator 2024, Dynasty Warriors Origins demo, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Astrobot, Antstream Arcade: Zombies at my neighbours, Football Champ.

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This week: WASD cancelled, Valve accused of "allowing the proliferation of hate" on Steam, Half-Life 2: Episode 3 footage revealed, Microsoft wants to buy more companies while also telling us what an Xbox is.

Also: Books, more parenting, more questions that we absolutely need to answer, celebrity hosts, and more!

Games discussed: Lego Horizon Adventures, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Walkabout Minigolf, Astrobot, Antstream Arcade.

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This week: Nintendo confirms backwards compatibility on Switch 2, Nintendo sues streamer who said he could broadcast its pirated games "all day", PS5 Pro price has not had a "negative impact" on sales, Trump tariffs will make video game consoles up to 40% more expensive, and a Mass Effect TV series is in development at Amazon.

Also: questions we’ve always wanted answered, NQ64, making money in games, "fiscosophical" questions, WOTY 2024, and more.

Games discussed: Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

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• Music by Nick Parton

This week: Listeners' kids flying the nest, Sony closing studios, Dave's got some thoughts on the Nintendo Music app, and Ubisoft's NFT game isn't working out very well, which nobody saw coming at all.

Also: Jobs we wanted when we were kids, and Olympic sports we wish we were good at now.

Games discussed: Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Pokemon TCG Pocket, Monster Hunter Wilds beta, Silent Hill 2, Walkabout Minigolf, PowerWash Simulator.

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• Music by Nick Parton

This week: Ubisoft disbands the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing chief calls out Ubisoft's 'broken strategy': Microsoft CEO's pay rises 63% to $79m, Xbox reaffirms commitment to "bringing great games to more people on more devices", and Valve rejects "yearly cadence" of Steam Deck hardware releases to be "fair" to gamers.

Also: GOTY recommendations, musical instruments, dodgy Lego streams, and more!

Games discussed: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Dark Souls III

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This week: Everything announced in Microsoft's October Xbox Partner Preview, the details of Nintendo's mysterious Switch Online playtest have leaked already, 700+ Ubisoft France staff walk out on a three-day strike in dispute over home working and pay, Shawn Layden says things, Hazelight is teasing their new co-op game, and there’s a new £25 print gaming periodical to buy.

Also: Will James ever finish Dark Souls 3? Will we do spoilercasts for the new Life is Strange game? Will we create YouTube Shorts? And do we like short games?

Games discussed: Neva, Meta Quest 3s - Walkabout Mini Golf, Vegas Infinite, Crisis Brigade 2, Undisputed, Steam Next Fest demos, Citizen Sleeper 2, 30 Birds, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, Keep Driving, Knights in Tight Spaces.

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This week: Game Freak had a data breach, Nintendo announces an alarm clock (and separately working on mystery Nintendo Switch Online features), there’s now 203 Disco Elysium spin-offs in the works, NetEase finally lifts the lid on the Destiny f2p game, Xbox Cloud Gaming will let players stream any game in their library from November, there’s a Xbox Partner Preview showcase this week, EA is adding an open world to EAFC and more. 

Also: Surviving apocalypses, KurosawaGate strikes again, new pocket ideas, best holidays, new food and drink-themed streams, and more!

Games discussed: Silent Hill 2, Neva, Balatro, God of War, Tiny Glade, Echoes of Wisdom, PowerWash Simulator, Metaphor: ReFantazio.

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• Music by Nick Parton