ohanditdidntgo#GAOTOTY Day 7 - Biggest Surprise - Awarded to the game that came out of nowhere and won my heart.
And the Winner is: Minishoot' Adventures
Zelda Meets Ikaruga, 'nuff said.
#GAOTOTY DAY 6 - #BestMoment
I struggled with this one for a lil' bit but my favourite gaming moment of the year goes to......
**Entering Gravesite Plain for the first time in #eldenringshadowoftheerdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree was the first time I'd played a #Fromsoft game at launch, and whilst I didn't end up enjoying the game as much as I did some of their other titles, the sheer sense of anticipation and excitement that greeted me when first walking out of that cave was something else.
You walk into this vast open space with incredible visuals and this ghostly mist covering everywhere the eye can see. In the background you've got castles and the tree itself and in the foreground you can make out a Furnace Golem and a few other ridiculously difficult enemies.
Honestly, it's a super low-key moment. There's no emotional character death or ludacris moment of skill involved, it's just beauty and excitement and a promise of what's to come.
What's your #BestMoment in #Videogames from 2024?
#GAOTOTY Day 5(?) - **The Award for Game I wanted to play, but didn't.**
This could go to a few different games. Namely #Helldivers2, #LuigisMansion2HD and that new #CallOfDuty..... however there was one standout.
**Astro Bot**
Having previously loved both entries into the series so far (Playroom and Rescue Mission on PSVR), it's safe to say we're a fully commited Astro-Household.
That said, I didn't play the most recent (and beloved) entry in the series. Why? Because I'm a good dad? My kids getting it for Xmas; kinda ruins the illusion of she see's Mummy and Daddy playing it doesn't it?
There's a solid chance it'd make my top five list, but alas it wasn't to be, and so the award for 'Game I wanted to play, but didn't' goes to #AstroBot.
#GAOTOTY Day 4: Bestest New Character
And the winner is......
The Guy Who's Living Room You Keep Covering in Soot in 'Thank Goodness You're Here'.
Yeah. This Hero deserves some recognition, and I mean to be the one who gives him it.
What a legend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orp2Hw8alvU
(Link to the relevant scenes from the game)
Thank Goodness You're Here - ALL CHIMNEY SWEEP SCENES
#GAOTOTY Day 3 - Best Bluey Episode
Right so yeah. I think it's fair to say that 'The Sign' is up there as one of my favourite episodes of TV ever created, and I mean that with total sincerity.
It's a 25 minute long mega-episode of #Bluey with all your favourite members of the clan and a good chunk of the much loved side characters.
The Sign is the best of Bluey. It's damn good fun for the kids and the adults both, and yet there's an understanding that parents are watching these two kids (Bluey and Bingo) and seeing their own children in them.
They see themselves in Bandit and Chilli and Uncle Stripe and Aunt Trixie and the hordes of background characters that make the show work so damn well.
It's emotional, it's joyous and it's incredibly heartfelt. And long after my own children have stopped watching Bluey, this animated kids tv show, and this episode specifically will hold a special place in my heart.
#GAOTOTY Day 2 - **The Best Book I Read (for the first time) In 2024**
Right. I've read 12 books in 2024. 5 of those are first reads. I think given the nature of these awards, the award should go to a book I've read for the first time.....
And that goes to: #TheWager by David Grann.
I like stories about ships, I like them even more when the events onboard the ships go bad. And oh boy did this go bad. Multiple ways, and on multiple different continents.
So yeah. My Favourite new book is The Wager. Go read it.
Right. #GAOTOTY time (Games and other things of the year). I need to start this sooner rather than later, so I might as well do it right now. Starting with this:
*Favourite New Podcast Series*
I listened to this one over a week or two back in September. It wasn't a story I was overly familiar with, although I was aware of it through, you know, osmosis.
That said, the podcast kept me gripped from moment one. It's well produced, well written and both informative and 'entertaining' (if a show about this subject matter could ever be entertaining).
I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone interested in #UKPolitics #UKHistory or just general #Podcasts tbh.
