I couldn't decide which game was the best this year. So I didn't. There's a universe where every one of these is the game of the year.

Thanks to Cosmosis and AJ Fillari for being in this one!
Thanks to phloup_ for the cover of "I Will Protect You"
Find the written version of this video at https://MattHorton.live
Sudden Death on itch - https://dominoclub.itch.io/sudden-death

0:00 - The best game of 2024
0:16 - Mystery game
2:36 - Fishing game
5:25 - Fantasy game
9:16 - Spooky puzzle game
11:22 - The remake (w/ AJ)
11:30 - Tactics game
14:47 - Gay romance game
16:47 - Game from 2020
18:48 - Survival car game (w/ @Cosmosis )
20:11 - Card game
21:16 - Game about death
23:09 - Narrative game

We crave failure, or at least the chance of it. Why?

00:00 - You crave failure
01:39 - Citizen Sleeper’s ideas of failure
06:46 - We fear failure
09:29 - The Paradox of Failure
12:19 - The queer art of failure
14:48 - CW: Homophobia
17:22 - How Citizen Sleeper 2 uses failure
22:15 - Who gets to fail?
25:33 - The risk of making games
30:29 - Failing the contract in Citizen Sleeper 2
34:18 - Why we crave failure

Find links to everything I do online at MattHorton.live
Support the channel at ko-fi.com/matthorton and get access to the full interview with Gareth Damian Martin!

Wishlist Citizen Sleeper 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2442460/Citizen_Sleeper_2_Starward_Vector/
Subscribe to the Jump Over the Age substack - https://jumpovertheage.substack.com/

Research sources:
The Art of Failure, Juul - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262529952/the-art-of-failure/
The Queer Art of Failure, Halberstam - https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-queer-art-of-failure
Queer Games Studies, Ruberg and Shaw - https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517900373/queer-game-studies/
No Fun: The Queer Potential of Video Games that Annoy, Anger, Disappoint, Sadden, and Hurt, Ruberg - https://ourglasslake.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ruberg-No-Fun-QED.pdf

Music:
Signalchaser, Citizen Sleeper 2, Amos Roddy - https://youtu.be/M4BhsWWy4F0?si=D-djTl2B_-WJWk0P
Suncatchers, Citizen Sleeper 2, Amos Roddy - https://youtu.be/YL5LWm5Nk84?si=0vEwUiNKMRWV5HDI

Media sources:
Why do God of War's Characters Keep Spoiling Puzzles?, Game Maker's Toolkit - https://youtu.be/cZgjRcYGkY8?si=ynaXk8O8RP3eHzUb
In Defense of Dark Souls 2, hbomberguy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTfcMeqhig
Into the Aether's Pokémon Emerald Nuzlocke - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bYvqnTvUCg
Animal Crossing (Gamecube) with Stephen - https://youtu.be/_8e7wd6x9Ow?si=nS0VrrMR8xmnkP4P
Jesper Juul - Who cares if it's a Game? The uses and misuses of a dangerous word - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1RUiMY2MEs
The Cult of Microsoft by Ed Zitron - https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-cult-of-microsoft/
I made the worst ever 1-1 remake in Mario Maker 2 by YTSunny - https://youtu.be/eb60pnjABGg?si=ijyLAhsOxSFHGpcx
What is Super Mario Bros? by Into the Aether - https://youtu.be/ydoGs2Sflw4?si=cZPLJ3pXDw8rBOOc
Bo Ruberg: The Queer Games Avant-Garde - https://youtu.be/pc1az37mEvo?si=nUuxI9hQAmigJIE0
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Balloon Battle Gameplay - https://youtu.be/4xZ3TnVk9bQ?si=2hWRrtZfyhLhW9rs
Microsoft Closes Studios Behind Redfall, Hi-Fi Rush, And More To Prioritize 'High-Impact' Games, Kotaku - https://kotaku.com/xbox-closing-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-1851460685
Ubisoft to Shut Down ‘XDefiant,’ Nearly 300 Employees Laid Off as San Francisco and Osaka Game Studios Close, Variety - https://variety.com/2024/gaming/news/xdefiant-canceled-ubisoft-layoffs-1236235023/
Aaron Greenberg's tweet praising how well Hi-Fi Rush did across their measurements - https://x.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203

What this on YouTube at https://youtu.be/wGwtEtuuChM
Read more from Matt at matthorton.live
Support Flow State at ko-fi.com/matthorton

“Is Persona Gay?” by GarfieldKermit - https://youtu.be/37LacI2erq8?si=rEMKHsbLvATmSGRk
Gameplay footage provided by Faz
Read Brendon Bigley's review at Wavelengths - https://wavelengths.online/posts/persona-3-reload-a-review
"Katsura Hashino, directing Persona 5" by Archipel - https://youtu.be/jGb3BNgU7SE?si=O3V4WbM4nu7AchMu
"You should play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim" by me! - https://youtu.be/O7EhtgGg4pc?si=_ng5V8GvgBWX_Tcw

0:00 - Persona has a problem
0:50 - Love things and critique them
2:05 - Persona 3 Reload is a masterpiece
5:27 - What is Persona 3 Reload?
7:46 - The best parts of Persona 3 Reload
15:02 - Critiquing what I love
24:45 - I want a Persona 6 without problems
28:54 - I recommend Persona 3 Reload (with caveats)

Listen to Flow State on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get podcasts

Support my work at Ko-Fi.com/matthorton

My writing - MattHorton.live
My podcast - cantletitgo.gay
Kim's video game podcast - dotzip.online
Kim's frod podcast - frogpod.online

1000xRESIST by Sunset Visitor - sunsetvisitor.studio
Gameplay footage by @samussonic-plays
Check out the dotzip 1000xRESIST spoilercast at https://share.transistor.fm/s/9180106a

1000xRESIST is not only a game about remembering. It is a game about we carry forward and what we must choose to forget. Holding onto every memory from every person on the entire planet is both impossible and dangerous. Some things just don't fit in the backpack.

Chapters
0:00 - Spoiler Warning
0:29 - Sometimes you just don’t fit in the backpack
3:07 - Making 1000xRESIST
5:02 - Watcher
8:03 - Iris
19:35 - Youngest
23:09 - The Occupants
27:47 - Blue
38:51 - Watcher
42:31 - Iris & Clara
48:20 - Principal
52:39 - Secretary
59:49 - What do we carry forward?

It turns out that it's easier and more enjoyable to get things done when you're nicer to yourself.

Text version at https://MattHorton.live
Listen to our podcast, Can't Let It Go, at https://cantletitgo.gay

The IGN review of Animal Well - https://www.ign.com/articles/animal-well-review
My short blog about Animal Well - https://matthorton.live/2024/05/11/animal-well-isnt-tunic/

0:00 - Something is wrong with me
3:50 - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
7:55 - Tearing down the Wall of Awful
8:31 - Animal Well
14:45 - Making things easier
15:45 - Elden Ring

Citizen Sleeper changed my life. Did it make it any better?

Citizen Sleeper: How to Escape Dystopia - https://youtu.be/Eiyf-4FhdFs

0:00 - Citizen Sleeper changed my life
1:17 - Did it help?

Get Balatro running on iOS - https://old.reddit.com/r/iosgaming/comments/1bnf0zy/tutorial_run_balatro_on_your_ios_device/

Read more at https://MattHorton.live

0:00 - X-Men '97 rules (no spoilers)
1:10 - It's not just X-Men

I swear you don't need to watch all of X-Men the Animated Series to start X-Men '97. And you don't need to catch up. I swear.

Stop doing homework just to have fun. Just enjoy things!

0:00 - Yakuza: Like A Dragon is good
1:06 - Why I played it
1:33 - Why I enjoyed it

More writing at https://MattHorton.live

I'll spoil the point up front for you. Yakuza: Like A Dragon rules. It's a great game, and I regret not playing a game in this series until now.

You know what I usually hate? Long, overly complex games, over the top, macho violence, and turn based combat. So why did I start Like A Dragon?

Because Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth features a famous Hawaiian t-shirt shop that was also featured in the now defunct reality Netflix show Terrace House.

That's truly it. Just imagining the vibe of watching Terrace House Aloha State and playing Infinite Wealth at the same time sounded so fun.