Gaming

My 2024 in Games

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I appreciate games as works of audiovisual art. They are an amazing way to challenge your thinking and how you approach problem-solving. I often think games influence the playful nature of my cooking.

It’s no wonder (haha), that I surround myself with game culture by making the menu at Wonderville, a Brooklyn indie arcade bar.

Here’s my 2024 in video games, tabletop RPGS, board games, and card games:

Highly recommended video games…

  • Inscryption - Do not Google anything about it! You pick up a card game in the middle of an already in-progress game save. It blew my mind when the host told me I could stand up from the table. Inscryption also had a cult-following ARG that I wish I had caught when it first came out.

  • What Became of Edith Finch - A rich, mysterious narrative point-and-click adventure through a weird old house. If you love looking through people’s stuff (heyyy, remember Gone Home?) and hearing family stories, this is a delight.

  • Fallout: New Vegas - Finally got around to playing this! The hype around the story is real. My only gripe is the clunky VATs system, which is much improved in Fallout 4. It was truly strange to traipse around the Mojave Desert in a game because my family lives there and I recognized bits of it.

  • Hoverburger - Developed by Nick Santaniello, Hoverburger has a unique spin-dial control and weekly updating maps. You play as a pilot in a burger-shaped ship trying to outrun the devourer of worlds, the space ram.

  • Speglar - A really fun 4-way battle where you use mirror reflectors to ricochet and hit your opponents. I can’t help but scream while playing this game.

Nice video games…

  • Samorost 3 - Gorgeous style and I love the soundtrack. However, the puzzles are not intuitive to solve.

  • ART SQOOL - An indie game designed by 3-D artist Julian Glander, creator of the film Boys Go to Jupiter. I kept falling down into the ether.

  • Baldur’s Gate 3 - I’m still attempting to play couch co-op, which is very slow-moving. I’m playing as a Drow druid named Ivi.

Tabletop RPGs I played…

  • Something is Wrong with the Chickens - I picked up a simple pamphlet at the Many Sided Media booth at PaxU. You play as Eldritch chickens who want to overthrow a corporation.

  • Blister Critters - The setting is a Saturday morning cartoon show where you play as critters who survive the poof, where humans disappear from Earth; leaving behind all of their stuff. I played a game on the podcast Why We Roll.

  • DIE RPG - For my second DIE mini-series, I took on the role of the emotion knight for the Twice Rolled Tales actual play show DIECHOTOMY. If you missed the first game, I recorded a podcast series with Dead Ghost Productions called REPLAY.

  • The 7-Part Pact - The 7 most powerful wizards try to hold the world together. I was fortunate to play a multi-day playtest of this elaborate game! I took on the role of the Mariner, which felt overwhelming at first, but my logistical skills as a caterer kicked in.

  • Danse Macabre - My partner’s debut game! You are supplicants during a time when death stops happening. You return hours later each time you die with a new trait or “malaficia.”

  • Succulent Sorcerers - The houseplants are alive! And they are wizards!

Board Games & Card Games I Enjoyed…

  • Hoddog - A card game where you race to build the longest hot dog.

  • Sosig - The fun sister-game to Hoddog, where you build sausages, or sosigs in this game, to order.

  • Pickleball Blast! - When I looked at the box, I thought it was a pickleball set. But when I opened it, it’s a surprisingly fun physical board game. You set up a pickleball net and your ping pong a spinning pickle attached with a wire. It’s so silly, but so enjoyable.

You can follow me on Itch and Twitch to see what games I play throughout the year.

Hold Up! Stay Humble with Humble Bundle Games - AD

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This is a sponsored post. TL:DR I’m working with Humble Bundle and receive commissions when you purchase through the links in this post.

In addition to cooking, I also love to play games when I have downtime. From tabletop RPGs to indie titles and expansive open worlds, it’s fun to get out of the kitchen and immerse myself elsewhere. What if playing games could help the environment and other causes I believe in, too?

Humble Bundle started as a limited time pay what you wish package of 3 to 5 indie games. During that period, you could gain bonuses like extra games or soundtracks (which were always good!). You could choose how much of that purchase went to charity.

Nowadays, Humble Bundle is an alternative storefront for games against corporate enterprises which are riddled with bureaucracy and long approvals. It’s a cool, new way to support independent creators while spreading the wealth to worthy causes.

What is in my Humble Library?

I gravitate toward narrative adventures, though below you will also see some puzzle and platform games. I periodically stream gameplay live on my Twitch Channel.

Here’s a peek at some of the games in my Humble library:

  • Broken Age - An epic adventure from Double Fine. You play as two characters: Vella, who has been volunteered for a maiden sacrifice, and Shay, a lonely boy who lives on a spaceship.

  • Dave the Diver - A big diving hole in the ocean provides fish for your new sushi restaurant. Other folks from the community ask you to find stuff down there, too.

  • Gone Home - Explore your childhood home during a rainstorm. Recommended if you love going through people’s stuff and cassette tapes.

  • Inscryption - A surprising card game that reveals itself to be much more than it seems as you progress.

  • Kentucky Route Zero - Gorgeous, musical, and trippy story.

  • Machinarium - You play as a little tin dude who solves puzzles in a steampunk world.

  • Night in the Woods - A college dropout heads home and unravels a local conspiracy.

  • Samorost 3 - Point-and-click exploration game from the same studio as Machinarium.

  • Stacking - You play as the smallest Matryoshka doll who can jump into bigger dolls. You solve puzzles by stacking dolls with different skills to save your family from an evil baron.

  • Sword & Sworcery - I won’t spoil it, but it’s beautiful and mystical with some real-world bleed. The soundtrack by Jim Guthrie is incredible, too, I have it on cassette!

What if I don’t know much about games? Where do I start?

That’s okay! If the store is overwhelming, you can also try out Humble Choice, a flexible membership with a curated mix of games. On the first Tuesday morning of every month, the games are revealed and you can choose between a monthly membership or an annual subscription. You’ll be presented with various game genres from RPGs to strategy to shooters and indies. The current price is $11.99 USD per month, though you might want to check the Humble Choice Hub for the latest updates. And guess what? 5% of your payments will always go to charity.

What charities does Humble Bundle support?

Charity giving is a huge part of Humble Bundle and they are transparent about how much money goes to each organization. Every month, they feature a new charity and send 5% of all Humble Choice membership fees to the nonprofit. In 2024, they donated $253,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation! Other organizations they support are Coral Guardian; Trees, Water, & People; Cool Effect, Kiss the Ground, One Tree Planted, The Trevor Project, It Gets Better, Malala Project, Girls Who Code, and many more.

FAQ

What is Humble Bundle?

Humble Bundle sells games, ebooks, software, and other digital content. Their mission is to support charity while providing awesome content to customers at great prices. They launched in 2010 with a single two-week Humble Indie Bundle, but have humbly grown into a store full of games and bundles, a gaming membership service, a game publisher, and more.

What is your relationship with Humble Bundle?

I am an affiliate partner of Humble Bundle. That means I earn a commission when you use my links to purchase from the store or join their paid membership programs.