I understand the world's a shitshow, and this year's set to be especially draining. That said, I'm disappointed that both of your reactions to a creatively bereft and brazenly plagiaristic game being rewarded with hundreds of millions of dollars is indifference.
This is goofy fun and all, but I'd really love to see a series of Bakalar seriously trying to finish Odama. It's such a weird and unique game that does so many cool things that almost nobody has seen because so few people actually sit down with it. For example, did you know there's a level where each side of a mountain is effectively its own table?
The Old Games bit baffles me. I thought that category represented older games brought back into discussion through either rereleases or site content during the year. Did I miss some recent news, vids, or podcasts about Bloodborne, Hitman, or Titanfall 2? Their nominations felt like they came out of nowhere to me.
EDIT: Regarding TotK and BG3 on ideas: In BG3, everything seems possible until it suddenly isn't. Sending a familiar down a small hole? Not allowed. Knocking enemies unconscious so you can remove their cursed masks and save them? Doing that immediately kills them despite what the curse's tooltip says. Throwing a water jug in combat to put out a fire? Sorry, the game bugged out and ate your action after selecting but before throwing.
BG3 juggles a lot of plates, but it drops several, and it does a lousy job of communicating cohesive game logic. In TotK, however, everything it made me think I could do worked, and it worked everytime.
I'm gonna stick up for Bakalar here (and hope I don't regret it). I've totally eaten watermelons with strands in them. They aren't enough to put me off of them, but the strands are real.
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