31/12/24 - vivi's favourite things of 2024

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what a crazy year!

meowdy folks! vivi here again! it's been some time since the last post but not too long. i've decided that i'll try to do a blog post once per month, since then i can compress my monthly thoughts into one big soup, sorta like a magazine! anywho, the last post was in november and the end of the year is super close for me! to celebrate the new year coming up, i took some inspiration from jacob geller to recount my favourite things of the year! this was a massive year for cool stuff, espically stuff related to my interests. i've always enjoyed spreading stuff i like to others, so i hope you can get a kick out of some of this or maybe be encouraged to revisit something you already enjoy!

also, before we start i want to mention that this list isn't only the best things that released this year (although that does make up a good chunk of it!) but also the coolest things i checked out this year! with all that aside, let's get into it!

#5 - webfishing

back in 2022 i somewhat remember playing a small prototype for a game where you play as a cat and did some fishing with other folks online or by yourself. i had some fun but then mostly forgot about it. well that was until this year when webfishing came out as a full game on steam for a pretty low price. and it's a pretty rad little game!

much like the prototype, webfishing is a online game about fishing which doesn't sound like too fun but this game manages to pull off something very special. not only is catching fish fun as you have to do a little mini-game but also webfishing is fun because it's also a great tool for hanging out with people. i've only ever played webfishing with friends and whenever i would we would all end up having fun just relaxing, throwing on some music and chatting about random things. i've had these type of chill interactions in other games and i feel those are some of my favourite moments i've had playing games especially since i don't have the ability to hang out with my pals in real life, so to have a game that is just chilling and hanging out is something right up my alley.

besides being a great way to chill with pals over the web, it's also got a very nice visual style, some chill tunes, and fun customization! you should give it a try if you haven't.

#4 - you are peter shorts

[itch.io][steam]

you are peter shorts is a small but delightful game. you play as peter shorts who gets captured and cloned for a secret government program, so you must round up all the peter clones and defeat the evil scientist who made all the peter clones in the first place. if you don't then peter can't get back to what he loves doing: grilling! the game is a combination of a metroidvania and a platformer fighter. even though i haven't played a lot of metroidvanias and i'm not the best at platform fighters, i still found peter shorts super fun! it's combat has depth but also isn't too hard to understand. and that is probably because the smart usage of limited buttons. you can play this on a famicom controller if you wanna! the game is also packed with tons of extra content such as a versus mode, endless mode and even more plus a good sense of charm! i would tell you more but i want to leave some of it to be discovered by you.

if you want a silly little game that will give you give you a unique exprience and won't take you too long to fully complete, then give peter shorts a try! also i've been checking out one of ondydev's other games, tres-bashers, and i've been having an equally good time with it! if you end up liking peter shorts, you'll also like tres-bashers as well!!

#3 - hypnospace outlaw

[itch.io][steam][gog][also on all major consoles]

although it released many years ago, hypnospace became one of my favourite things of this year. hypnospace follows the plot of the player being a sort of internet moderator during an alternative history 1999 where people surf the net in their dreams through the usage of a headband. the player's mission is to take down any rule breaking content, but also that isn't the only thing you do. a good chunk of hypnospace is just browsing around the internet reading pages and learning about the users of the hypnospace web. to some that may not sound interesting, but as someone who enjoys reading the subtext and lore of little worlds, i heavily enjoyed the exprience of browsing a fake oldweb. but also the game rewards you for reading the little details as they might have the solutions for puzzles or take you on little side adventures where you could find really interesting stuff such as programs, music or on-going story lines you'll get to follow over the course the game.

if you like me love oldweb stuff and want to jump into a fun game with a very real feeling 90s world wide web, then check out hypnospace! and if you have played it before 2020/saw someone play it in a video made befoer 2020 then i still recommend you check it out as the hypnospace+ update added tons of new content. even besides the new content, it's a wonderful game that gave me a lot i loved but also gave me a lot to think about after i beat it. also keep an eye out for dreamsettler and new active object which are coming out later on, as they're made by the same folks and are similar. if you can't wait then you can also check out the new active object album that the upcoming game turns into a little interactive visualizer.

#2 - dr. robotnik's ring racers

if you've known me then you would know i love this dang game! i love it so much that i already talked about it before, so i'll try not to go on for too long and repeat myself but ring racers is a packed product and a very creative one at that. ring racers takes the kart racing genre which is usually known for its simplistic gameplay and turns that aspect on its head. most elements of luck and chance have been replaced by demanding skill based mechanics inspired by the tech of fighting games. even though it may hard to pick up, give ring racers the proper time to grow on you and you'll probably have tons of fun! even if the skillful play isn't your thing, you can still get a kick out of how massive the game is, both in terms of content and quality. it's great if you want an 100% completion you can sink a long time into.

as i said before in my video title, ring racers is quite rad! and ring racers is something that could only come from the creative minds of fans making a tribute to a franchise they love. i really enjoyed playing it and i think its made me grow more love for games that are above my own skill level. so if you're looking for a challenge or just something really cool, pick up ring racers!

#1 - ANTONBLAST

[steam][switch]

if you've been following indie games this year, you most likely knew this was going to be the top pick. ANTONBLAST is one of the most fun and creative games i've played ever and is easily amongst my other favourite games. everything in the game is brimming with personality and energy, even the plot is about the devil himself stealing dynamite anton's booze because anton's skin is more red than his. ANTONBLAST is a tight and tough (but never unforgiving) 2d platformer with heavy wario land and crash bandicoot influence. even though the game wears its influence on its sleeve it still manages to be its own special exprience. as someone who watched over the game's developement i was very glad to see how it came out since ANTONBLAST gave me everything i could of wanted and even more!

i would love to talk more about it but i think i would like to save it for a later on video so i can get the full chance to talk about how much it rocks and i don't want to spoil too much of it. but what i will say is that ANTONBLAST is loud, proud, messy (in a good way!), and most importantly, it's a BLAST!!

extra mentions!

before we wrap up this blog post, i want to go over some extra things that i think are rad, but sadly didn't reach the top five or ones i didn't have a lot to say about.

and that's all the rad stuff i have to show to you! thank you so much for reading! i hope you discovered something neat in this long wall of text. also, happy new year everybody!! this year has been amazing and i think next year will bring more great things. so i'll see then! until next time, stay silly, stay safe, and stay strong!

finished writing 31/12/24 7:41PM | go back to blog directory | go to top