It seems like only yesterday that we were talking about the best games of 2024. Because that’s what we talked about yesterday. Why limit an awards show to one day? Now on to the big winners!
Readers’ Choice Award
1000XResist
Kristine E: The best science fiction always has a personal element to it. 1000XResist takes the context of a distant future with colony ships of clones escaping an alien apocalypse and uses that to explore the memories of a modern girl. Some may complain that this is a third-person visual novel, but I think the exploration aspects immerse the player better than a traditional 2D text-driven adventure. Looking back it’s definitely my favorite game of 2024 and I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest it to anyone.
Honorable Mention: Balatro
Best Indie Game
Balatro
Anna Bryniarski: Have you ever wanted to play poker? Have you ever wanted to play poker by yourself? Have you ever wanted to play poker by yourself while also playing a rogue like?
Great! Balatro exists!
Never played poker? Me either! This is the only way I’ve ever played, and joker cards power ups, tarot cards, planets, and booster packs of playing cards all seem like great editions to a game I did not know how to play.
The goal is to surpass the score set for you every round/blind. Every third round is a boss blind that presents you with a challenge ranging from inconvenient to near impossible. Once you beat the boss blind, the ante goes up. After beating eight antes, you win! For that specific deck! And that specific difficulty! There’s always more! You cannot escape!!!
Honorable Mention: 1000XResist
Best Mobile Game
Balatro
Myrtle T. Blinkin: Well Anna, I have played poker before. And I gotta tell ya, Balatro solves one of my key issues with poker: the fact that sometimes the Numbers Go Down. As a big proponent of Numbers Go Up in videogames, Balatro’s approach is extremely satisfying to me. Many mobile games in particular attempt to capitalize on the Gamer’s fascination with Numbers Go Up. However, these efforts are often diluted by placing attention on other competing priorities, such as Fake Money with inconsistent Real Money exchange rates or Anime Girls in Swimsuits. Balatro cuts to the chase by giving you only the tools necessary to achieve your Numbers Go Up dreams, without saddling you with unnecessary feelings like romantic attraction. Though, I suppose that is assuming a lot with regards to how people feel about the Jokers.
Honorable Mention: Infinity Nikki
Best Game of Ten Years Ago
Shovel Knight
James Pelster: I probably don’t need to tell you that Shovel Knight is a modern classic. What really sets it apart is how Yacht Club Games managed to reinvent it three more times to create new campaigns that still capture the fun of the original. And if I’m honest, my #1 reason for loving this game is its soundtrack: Jake “virt” Kaufman is a master of the NES/Famicom sound chip. From what I understand, he actually composed the music in such a way that you could play it on the real hardware! In addition to that, it’s got tight controls, detailed pixel art, and superb platforming action (or a tricky-to-master card game, if that’s your campaign of choice).
Honorable Mention: Tomodachi Life
GameCola’s 2014 Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Best Game of Twenty Years Ago
Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Diana Gray: I owned a good number of Nancy Drew games as a kid. Shadow Ranch, Secret of the Scarlet Hand, Danger by Design. But none left quite as much of an impression on me and my sisters as Curse of Blackmoor Manor. The creepy environment of the Manor you literally aren’t allowed to leave ever, the opening of the game where you’re being growled at by a large dog, the fact that being savagely devoured by a plant and feeding a parrot the wrong food can result in game overs—absolutely wild to a group of girls between four and nine years old. The mystery set up is legitimately an interesting one, the characters all have their own weird quirks that make everyone a suspect, and the puzzles were fairly challenging in and of themselves. I truly do think this is one the of best Nancy Drew games of all time. Oh and by the way, that nightmare sequence? Still scary 20 years later.
Honorable Mention: Cave Story
GameCola’s Best Game of Ten Years Ago, Ten Years Ago: Metroid: Zero Mission
GameCola’s 2004 Game of the Year: .hack//QUARANTINE: Part 4
Best Game of Thirty Years Ago
Final Fantasy VI
Alex Jedraszczak: If you’ve listened to “The GameCola Podcast” at all, you’ve likely heard me talk about my extensive history with Dragon Warrior, or my confusing obsession with The 7th Saga, or my annual pilgrimage through Crystalis. True GameColans, however, are likely familiar with the deep lore of my childhood journal and its mention of Finl Fanasee.
It’s funny that I talk about Final Fantasy III VI so rarely. It’s basically my desert island game—something I could play on repeat and never get bored. There’s so much right about the game, but just enough wrong about it to keep it interesting. The story has some depth to it, with replay value generated by a decent amount of customizability, ton of secrets and extras, and about a million documented bugs (this is stated as a positive).
1994 some saw tough competition in the videogame market, but for me, my takeaway will always be Final Fantasy VI.
Honorable Mention: Super Metroid
GameCola’s Best Game of Twenty Years Ago, Ten Years Ago: Super Metroid
GameCola’s Best Game of Ten Years Ago, Twenty Years Ago: Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Staff Member of the Year
John Rizzi
Alex Jedraszczak: This year saw a close race on the Staff Member of the Year ballot, but his fellow contributors have spoken: It’s John Rizzi’s time to shine. Frequent podcast guest, video guest, and real-life guest when he visited me this past year, it’s hard to find something from 2024 that John Rizzi didn’t participated in.
… Except for the annual Crystalis playthrough. Wait, is he allowed to win Staff Member of the Year if he never played Crystalis for six to ten hours straight?! You should go visit the GameCola Discord and wish him luck.
Honorable Mention: James Pelster
Game of the Year
Garbanzo Quest
Terrence Atkins: When is a bean not a bean? When it’s Garbanzo Quest. If you’re a fan of Super Mario and his Bro or even his World, that’s pretty cool I guess, I don’t know. This game is like if you took the good parts of Undertale and made it into Cave Story. There’s a lot of jumping onto stuff. My parents hate when I do that but I get to do it in this game as much as I want. That’s why I voted this game for Game of the Year and everyone else at GameCola also voted for it which is why it won.
Honorable Mention: Astro Bot
And the final award goes to you, the reader, for reading our articles, listening to our podcasts, watching our videos, and visiting our Discord channel. Wow! The winner of the Biggest Fan of 2024 award is here reading the 2024 GameCola Videogame Awards! You’re well on your way to being Biggest Fan of 2025 as well. Keep up the good work and we’ll see you again next year!
