PC Gamer's Game of the Year Awards 2024

[Zloth]

Balatro keeps getting mentioned by the PC Gamer staff. The simple truth is: a lot of them really love this game. If it hadn't won game of the year, they would have made up a new category for it to win. (Maybe PEGI-18 Game of the Year?)

Big surprise to me was that it counts as a Rogue-like game. Huh? A card game??

P.S. I asked Copilot what games PC Gamer has given GOTY in the past:

Well, a few of them are correct.

 

[Pifanjr]

Game of the Year 2024: Balatro

Hands down the best game of the year.

www.pcgamer.com

I forgot Balatro was this year. The commenters at PC Gamer have lost their minds over this. They are definitely not impressed with the pick. Can't say I'm too impressed either.

This is like giving a commercial jingle the Grammy Award for song of the year. It sure is catchy to listen to, but song of the year? It's a bit insulting to all the other games.

Balatro is one of the highest rated games on Steam and currently has one of the highest number of concurrent players of all games released in 2024. It isn't from a well-known developer, it isn't from a well-known series and it was spread almost exclusively through word of mouth, all of its success is based on how good of a game it is.

In fact, I think only Black Myth: Wukong has both a similarly high rating and a higher number of concurrent users, but PCGamer reviewed it at 87, 4 points below Balatro's 91.

In fact, their awards seem to be mostly based on their own review scores, but they decided to put Balatro on top:

PC Gamer's highest review scores of 2024

Two games received rare 95% scores, and another came in at 94% in what was a pretty fantastic year for new games.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[isleepinabed]

From Wiki:

PC Gamer​

Year	Game	Genre	Developer(s)
2011	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[415]	Action role-playing	Bethesda Game Studios
2012	Mass Effect 3[416]	Action role-playing	BioWare
2013	Spelunky[417]	Platform	Mossmouth, LLC
2014	Alien: Isolation[418]	Survival horror	Creative Assembly
2015	Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain[419]	Action-adventure	Kojima Productions
2016	Dishonored 2[420]	Action-adventure	Arkane Lyon
2017	Divinity: Original Sin II[421]	Role-playing	Larian Studios
2018	Into the Breach[422]	Turn-based strategy	Subset Games
2019	Disco Elysium[423]	Role-playing	ZA/UM
2020	Death Stranding[424]	Action	Kojima Productions
2021	Valheim[425]	Sandbox, Survival	Iron Gate Studio
2022	Elden Ring[426]	Action role-playing	FromSoftware
2023	Baldur's Gate 3[427]	Role-playing	Larian Studios
2024	Balatro[428]	Roguelike deck-building	LocalThunk

Interesting list... Not that it means much apart from a line on the sales blurb but some don't feel today like fitting in the GOTY-tier.

 

[Zloth]

Microsoft will be contacting you about this "Wiki" algorithm you've developed that appears to be making a mockery of their flagship AI product, @isleepinabed.

In fact, I think only Black Myth: Wukong has both a similarly high rating and a higher number of concurrent users, but PCGamer reviewed it at 87, 4 points below Balatro's 91.

Gotta watch that. Review scores are from one person at PC Gamer (or maybe even a freelancer). GotY comes from all of them. Dragon Age 2 got a really high review score, but it didn't make GotY.

P.S. It's 2025 and Valheim is STILL IN EARLY ACCESS!!

 

[Colif]

P.S. It's 2025 and Valheim is STILL IN EARLY ACCESS!!

Meanwhile Star Citizen is trying to beat DNF for longest time in production. Kick Starter 2012, still coming.... true believers might die of old age waiting, as intended.

 

[Zloth]

Meanwhile Star Citizen is trying to beat DNF for longest time in production. Kick Starter 2012, still coming.... true believers might die of old age waiting, as intended.

Yeah, but that didn't get GotY.