Digital Foundry Games of 2024: The John Linneman Collection!

[@_mew]

I’d just like to say that I’m so grateful that DF allows everyone to have creativity and their own voice when it comes to their content. Merry Christmas everyone!

[@DoctorCyrax]

😂😂😂😂

[@stoob2157]

@@DoctorCyrax What's so funny bud?

[@xndrwolf]

I was thinking the same thing while watching this. That I actually value the list’s recommendations because I’m familiar enough John’s POV and taste level. He sold me on a couple games that I wasn’t even familiar with…yet!

[@sanityormadness]

@@stoob2157 It's a reference to how G/O Media killed Kotaku's staff GotY posts because they didn't want the individual writers to build a following.

[@Stardust51]

John flexing his Japanese skills on us

[@homer1273]

Its annoying

[@REALsandwitchlotter]

Fammy-khom

[@TheZaius]

Showing off for a bit too long, I think...

[@Timeforceletsgo]

Cry baby replies. Keep flexing John. These people will never understand how to relate to someone from another country, I’m sure the Japanese audience very much appreciates it.

[@hgaleano96galeano52]

It was a really nice gesture, respect to them and their game that he appreciates so much❤

[@IAmLiquidViper]

I absolutely love seeing John’s Game of the Year videos every year. He’s passionate in everything he does and he’s even better when he’s talking about the games he loves

[@xndrwolf]

I think so too. I would seek out his content/journalism wherever life takes him in the future.

[@pathogeneration5138]

​@@xndrwolf Too bad the fantasy that Astro Clone is GoTY is a widespread delusion. How low does critique have to get, to insist the "best" thing all year, is 98% derivatives.

[@dadounet91]

John picks always have so much diversity, I always end up discovering some game ! Thanks John !

[@dr_diddy]

A true gamer through and through.

[@darksunwithin]

VARIETY* (diversity🤢)

[@THU31]

The Parking Garage racing game is actually something I'd play. Probably the first time I discovered something interesting in John's list, our tastes are very different. 😄

[@RokkieSparrow]

@@darksunwithin🥸

[@darksunwithin]

@@RokkieSparrow 🥸👃? ..😂

[@islaymmm]

Being a Japanese viewer, that was a nice touch.

[@luganox2844]

As a brazilian who self-taught english playing games, it both awes and envy me that John speaks Japanese so well. I myself know a little bit of japanese, but the kanji is the bane of my existence. It seems impossible, although I never really gave it a honest try. It just looks too crazy, and in my heart of hearts, I know I'll never learn it as well as I did english. Congrats though John, the most passionate person in all of gaming media. The main reason I follow DF.

[@llmosll]

途中、日本語字幕を読まなくてもジョンさんが話してることが理解できて嬉しいw 日本語とても良かったです

[@dark1x]

良かったね！動画を見てくれてありがとうございます！

[@ScyrousFX]

@@dark1x You did great! Very impressive

[@D3athW1ng]

僕もびっくり！

[@Dirty_Daddy84]

Crazy people are complaining about John speaking Japanese. Fuck that shit, keep it up man, very impressive.

[@edwinpena6157]

I’m more upset I had his GOTY guess wrong. For a good sec I really thought he’d select Sonic x Shadow Generations. While having his personal opinions be this influential to my gaming budget since there are some titles in his list I want now, I do appreciate his technical descriptions for the media he covers, which is why I love DF to begin with.

[@DownUnder43]

It was all over his review of Astro Bot dude. Anyone could guess that 😂

[@nathang4682]

Who is complaining about that? Maybe like 1 person whose comment got down voted into oblivion

[@JasonEvangelho]

Crazy people, indeed.

[@gilbertoarellano8525]

Who’s complaining? I’ve seen nothing but love for it.

[@mathdeep]

The Japanese bit was an awesome touch.

[@ThwipThwipBoom]

It was cringe

[@hgaleano96galeano52]

I agree what a nice gesture

[@cryptocsguy9282]

Weeb simping lol

[@peterkilian9100]

@@cryptocsguy9282 Do you even know what simping is? And how does this make him a weeb???

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@peterkilian9100 I do , ppl who learn Japanese are stereotyped as being video game and anime obsessed enough actually bother learning Japanese just to play Japanese video games and watch Japanese cartoons therefore making him a weeb aka Japanopile and simp is someone who puts attractive women on a pedestal in this context the meaning is putting Japanese culture on a pedestal , anyway don't get your knickers in a twist over my joke of a comment , most of us here like Japanese video games and anime/manga is cool too and nothing wrong with learning a foreign language

[@steviewonder0850]

Always find it amusing how John works for a channel which primarily concentrates on cutting edge graphics and fidelity yet his GOTY lists are always mostly filled with games that look like they'd run on the PS1 😂

[@alandiegovillalobos]

And that he prefers to play on a CRT! 😅

[@cryengine_x]

He did say Uncharted on PS4 looks better than space marine 2 the other day., I know it was because of his huge sony bias and the former being ps exclusive, but realistically he should have been fired from a channel that focuses on visuals on the spot.

[@steviewonder0850]

@@cryengine_x I never played it on PS4, but on PC at least Uncharted 4 very much holds up to almost anything out today (including SM2) with very few exceptions, same goes for RDR2.

[@geminijinxies7258]

That's what happens when one puts gameplay and fun before ray tracing. The list is legit!

[@BlackParade01]

​@@cryengine_xUncharted 4 objectively looks better than Space Marine. Uncharted 4 looks better than most games that are released today. It's a Naughty Dog game, man.

[@brandon_png9743]

I get that he probably does DF full time but I wish John had his own channel to talk about whatever he wants

[@seangalvin4582]

They might have some agreement not to do that. The cast have all gained enough of an individual following to, probably, be able to start there own things that they each themselves own and do as well financially or better than they do now.

[@jayg339]

I would say John gets a pretty good degree of freedom to do what he wants on DF. Each of the guys kind of do their own thing together, which is what makes it great. If for some reason John ever left DF, then yeah, I’d like to see him start his own channel.

[@AlexanTheMan]

I'm happy enough with his current output, plus this kind of videos from him take quite a bit of time to make.

[@hansolo6831]

He does have his own channel.

[@Evilkevin3]

He makes his retro videos

[@권용대-b5v]

Always appreciate John’s passionate voice. This year it’s especially pleasant to finally see a game from my country (Korea) getting into his GOTY list.

[@speedracer2please]

I've been more excited about the growing Korean game industry lately than anywhere else! I can't wait for Stellar Blade to reach PC, too

[@DearFreja]

Just adding my voice to how much I appreciate John. He's really the reason I watch DF as I'm not a PC/Graphics person really. Always seeing rude people and want to add how much I value his videos.

[@ambro2786]

Thank you for saying this❤

[@princepeachfuzz]

listening to John speak for tens of hours and then hearing him speak Japanese was a real "check this out" moment, it was awesome, congrats on getting to THIS level❤

[@ARIXANDRE]

John, ever since you awarded Ace Combat as your 2019 GOTY, your list has become my most anticipated!

[@MagnetonJjungle]

Johns collection never disappoints. I‘m glad he is a big part of DF - absolute quality.

[@dark1x]

For those asking about the song used during the introduction segment it's from Ai wo Shizumeteru / 愛を沈めてる - I discovered this on Psychic Force 2 Extra Song Tracks+ album. Vocals by Anza Ohyama

[@Malinkadink]

Thanks, hate when they don't mention those details in the description.

[@balazstoth7061]

thank you king

[@Harry_iwnt]

What’s the song when you introduce TEKKEN 8? Guessing it’s on the OST but having some trouble finding it :)

[@richardwilliams877]

Thanks for this. I was about to endlessly harass John on Bluesky/Twitter until he responded 🤣

[@williambarter245]

Cool vid, but i checked your list against mine and its not a 100% match so sadly im gonna have to send you a death threat :(

[@flannelsykes0]

Legit 😂

[@Demmrir]

Too real. :(

[@davinhunt7558]

rolled outta my chair

[@souljastation5463]

I hate when it happens, oh well, off to Word.

[@ambro2786]

Bro😂😂😂

[@Grief111]

I always love everyone's individual personalities in these videos. Thanks John.

[@HyperboreanStruggler]

That Goemon segment is pure soul. John always delivers.👍

[@piousp]

John flexing his 日本語

[@jerm5466]

Honestly surprised listening to this

[@elzolubbers]

Your list always brings games to my attention that I have never even heard of. It's a wonderful list of inspiration (even if not all of them are right for me). And yes, Astro Bot is just the best

[@HiCZoK]

Stellar blade looks SO CLEAN in pro mode in ps5 pro, it's a game changer

[@hilldill8]

Ayyy love the section of John reviewing in his stilted Japanese. Was very charming and heartwarming.

[@Marceles45]

8:30 "LOOOOOOL why is John playing Granblue in Japanese? Does he even know what he's doing??? LULLLLLZZZZ" 33:48 ".....oh."

[@USM-Valor]

Was thinking, "Where are the subtitles?" Then, yep, fair enough!

[@Kratos1829]

John should be reviewing games. I hardly ever feel like I should play a game after watching reviews. Yet, you just made me want to play all the games i haven't played from this list.

[@zhivkogalchev4306]

I hate him - it seems I am buyng 3 more games... :D!

[@happyspaceinvader508]

Same… it’s become an annual tradition for me: wait for John’s collection of best games and add those he’s never mentioned before to my post-Xmas shopping list.

[@AndyLikesPie]

Major props to you John. I'm a beginner in learning Japanese right now and its no easy feat to learn this language. Hopefully I can enjoy native Japanese games like you someday!

[@DeVstatrOmga]

Merry Christmas everyone.

[@thewinkingsamurai]

My favorite DF upload of the year! I always appreciate John's taste in games and I always discover something I'd never seen before.

[@AZZOMY2010]

I always respect John Linneman's taste in games My GOTY of 2024 is ASTRO BOT 💙

[@Gurenn83]

Same here. At first I wondered why this game won GotY. But after trying and playing it, I can confirm that this is my GotY as well. #2 would be Stellar Blade for me.

[@AZZOMY2010]

@Gurenn83 I can't wait to play Stellar blade on PC

[@Gurenn83]

@@AZZOMY2010 I am guessing it will be available on PC by 2025 hopefully. I played 3 playthroughs on PS5 bcoz of how good it is and to get Platinum. Technically you can do it in two runs but one of her outfits require a 3rd playthrough.

[@DoinThatRag]

Astro Bot was just a ridiculously well made and most importantly - fun game to play and at a very reasonable price. It reminded me why I've been playing video games for 40 years now, which was important because recently I've felt like the magic of new games and new consoles was gone. My entire family had a blast with this one. Still waiting on Knack 3 Sony!

[@Fulthrotle73]

Merry Christmas and thank you for the content John.

[@BlakeRosss]

John, keep highlighting game music in your videos. I love it.

[@lesserlogic9977]

I'm playing Stellar Blade right now. The gameplay is well designed

[@Simte]

One of my favourite times of the year for this very reason. Thanks you DF for everything as always.

[@bepkororoti8019]

I dont know why I watch these, I have almost zero overlap in game taste with Jon, I think I like to hear him be giddy about stuff he likes

[@speedracer2please]

haha same, it's just fun to hear about different games sometimes, instead of the same handful everyone else nominated

[@diegofranco7500]

Stellar Blade is awesome. Great list, John!

[@izuthree]

Parking Garage Rally making the list makes me happy, it's a really fun little game that just nails everything it sets out to do. List once again is probably the most aligned to my tastes out there, lots of great games in there. Also props for the Japanese segment, the work you've put in learning it really paid off.

[@jim378]

Look forward to your lists every year John! Great stuff!

[@tinypinata505]

Stellar Blade is my GOTY. The combat, art direction, voice acting and the MUSIC. Holy heck. Stellar stuff 😺

[@Dezzyyx]

the whole package for sure, playing right now early stage

[@thesunkendream]

Thank you for reminding me about Astro Bot, I just played the Christmas update and it's perfect

[@chris42069]

Merry Christmas John! ❤

[@ofoofo]

As usual with John's selection it's part games I had on my radar or played and liked, plus some very interesting games I never heard any mention of before. Thanks, it's always a great watch every year !

[@KenH-fs4zf]

John, if it weren't for you I'd have stopped watching DF videos a long time ago. Keep up the great work!

[@VideoAL935]

Steller Blade is my favorite game this year. Maybe in my all time top 5. I love DMC and elden ring...so it its got those elements.

[@AntiRiku]

Agreed! It's such an amazing game. It's just a shame that the discourse around it was so dumb.

[@souljastation5463]

​@@AntiRikuIronically, the dumb discourse around it was started by Alex from this very channel.

[@AntiRiku]

@@souljastation5463 Partially. It would've occured either way. There are sadly too many pearl clutching tourists for it not to have.

[@AntiRiku]

Stellar Blade is my own personal GOTY for sure 🙏 Such a fun experience all-around!

[@futureskeletons66669]

Shame on you.

[@BengiOP]

Favorite video of the year

[@philipgiger9940]

Nice video! Stellar Blade is my number one, by the way...

[@esoteric_nebula]

John, don't tell any of the other DF guys, but you're lists are always the best

[@dwengs]

17:35 When John said "I get it, the look may not be for everyone" I felt old. Yes, I am old but man when I made my dad bought me a PS one back in the day, me and my little brother were in awe with this realistic quality graphics.

[@37654]

I always appreciate your videos and input

[@nhecos2998]

I always look forward for John's GOTY list for quirky games I may have missed.

[@imranakhtarsyed798]

Love your choices. Happy New Year!

[@HastyElderHaman]

It's nice to see some genuine comments but all the people coming to these videos to have their personal picks vindicated, just why? It's just bizarre. If you want to make your own top games of the year, go make that video, this is John's.

[@JeffZ1028]

Yeah, it is pretty weird but those are probably the same people who get angry when their favorite game doesn't win GOTY😅 I knew people liked Astro Bot but I'd guess the GOTY award made people champion the game 10X more than they would have otherwise🤷‍♂️ Could be wrong as platformers were never my thing but I would never say that's "wrong" considering this is a personal list.

[@jaspelino1963]

Yeah they’re children, or adults with the mental capacities of children. Not worth paying attention to.

[@ernstedl9665]

Thank you so much John for MiniShoot. Bought it the next second. Never had the feeling since Zelda 1 and Metroid 1. Groundbreaking Design!

[@justinvia7506]

I was hoping to see Prince of Persia get some love! Excellent list

[@MrStrangermoon]

ı was hoping outcast too.

[@D.u.d.e.r]

Thx John and DF for another great year!👏BTW an excellent Japanese commentary from Joh, Konnichiwa👍

[@Armataan]

People getting super mad at John because he hasn’t played some specific game they think of the best will never not be funny to me.

[@Iker5555]

They must think their opinion matter to anyone like johns does.

[@tazeem103]

he did say this year wasn’t huge for AAA games

[@tehCostHD]

@@tazeem103well i think it was pretty huge. There’s just certain ones he either hasn’t played or just aren’t his style as much as others. And that’s perfectly okay lol. There’s plenty of MASSIVE amazing triple A games not mentioned here. FF7R. Metaphor. Wukong. Elden Ring DLC (if he even considered it at all) space marine 2. I’m not sure if all of those are actually triple A or not but they are massive games.

[@xii_7-y7m]

Thanks John and DF. This is the video I needed to start the day. Cheers! And have a happy Xmas and fantastic 2025!!

[@tyo101]

The Linneman Collection delivers the goods once again!

[@grillmeisterkush6396]

Thanks for another year of great content John!! Happy holidays!

[@one-zf4hq]

日本人として、いきなりのジョンさんの日本語のうまさにびっくりした。

[@Appleloucious]

John, such a jolly fella! One Love! Always forward, never ever backward!! ☀️☀️☀️ 💚💛❤️ 🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼

[@xAfroMetalHead1990x]

John’s taste in games is fucking flawless

[@Jako101]

Refused to talk about the biggest game of the year last year due to personal grudges.

[@JeffZ1028]

@Jako101 Move on bro, nobody cares ab8ut that.

[@TheRealBOBlibob]

@@Jako101 What do you mean?

[@montanastranger]

​@@Jako101 idk. Idc.

[@Jako101]

@@xAfroMetalHead1990x refused to cover hogwarts legacy cause his “feelings” were but hurt over the creators beliefs 😂😂😂 quite unprofessional

[@kresimirmandic3807]

Enjoying this on Christmas is such a treat. Thank you John and DF.

[@chemergency]

I'm not even a big fan of Troy Baker but always thought he sounded vaguely like Harrison Ford so it was a natural fit.

[@enya64]

My boy gave Gran Blue and Stellar Blade some love!!!

[@antoniotruong5647]

I was pleasantly surprise with the games on this list. Just when I thought I couldn't be anymore surprised the Japanese kicks in and had me in total shock LOL.

[@MikkoHiiri]

Excellent list John, full of joy of gaming!

[@BDreGaming]

Happy that you picked what is truly the best game of 2024! The joyful and brilliant Astro Bot! This game embodies everything that's happy and joyful about video games. Every moment is filled with a fun environment to interact with, a cool mechanic to enjoy. An absolutely brilliant game, that deserves all the accolades it's received!

[@MikeyStewart]

This is always my favourite DF video of the year, and once again it doesn't disappoint. Cheers John.

[@jdr297]

your list is a love letter to the videogame industry.

[@scottspiegel9078]

John is always so descriptive, painting such vivid pictures with his brilliant phraseology.

[@iROHxo]

your Japanese is F-ing great! good list.

[@anasshahid224]

Solid list John! 2024 was an amazing year for gaming, Astro Bot was a true classic, some of the most fun I have had in a game in a long time. Team Asobi created a true classic. 😊 Star Wars Outlaws was an amazing game too, Massive Entertainment absolutely nailed the look and feel of Star Wars, it personally captures the open world Star Wars fantasy perfectly. A great game. So much fun. Also super excited to play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in spring on PS5, the game looks to have captured the vibe and feel of the movies perfectly. 🤠

[@HighFiveLowFive]

PSA Devil Blade Reboot 0:57 Minisoft adventures 3:50 Stellar Blade 6:05 Granblue Fantasy 8:17 Antonblast 12:41 Parking Garage 15:46 Tekken 8 18:43 Indiana Jones 22:11 Silent hill 2 25:48 Pennys Big Breakaway 29:35 (Some Japanese title John wants to brag on) 33:47 Astro bot 36:31

[@crust5909]

its called Goemon.

[@rodmunch69]

It's literally in the description - and actually spelled correctly.

[@HighFiveLowFive]

@@rodmunch69 i didn't bother i was just skipping so I can build the list

[@dakkonfury]

My wife and I had so much fun watching my son play Astro Bot. This game was masterfully made and the nods to the other PlayStation franchises were hysterical. This felt like 3d mega man but with tools instead of a gun arm.

[@bazzlemedazzle1]

John consistently has the best year end list on yt

[@urazoktay7940]

Amazing video, thank you Digital Foundry and merry Christmas! :D

[@marsovac]

3:22 "take a listen" John are you alright? The nostalgia has taken you away from the present into the 90ties Japan :D

[@geoffreybassett6741]

A fantastic list that brings attention to games I and many others were not aware of. I always end up being shown something I had no idea about. Thanks John!

[@tyo101]

I'm surprised Prince of Perisa didn't make the cut for this year's Linneman Collection, but I respect that it has to be a finite summary!

[@godribbon]

"An earnest attempt at making a goshdarn great videogame" pretty much perfectly sums up why I love Stellar Blade. It may be derivative and Eve may be a fairly bland character, but the game feels so sincere and the fundamentals are all so good, I love it

[@scalliano]

Really glad that Devil Blade Reboot got a nod. That is actually my personal GOTY.

[@BeersYourFriend]

This list makes me want to boot up some retro games for a change. - Cheers, John!

[@rodmunch69]

My top 5... 1. Balatro 2. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake 3. Indiana Jones 4. BloodDome99 5. Utopia Must Fall

[@Sir_Redwood]

Fantastic roundup. It's a breath of fresh air to see a selection of picks that are specific to a player and not what will drive the most clicks... There's some great looking games in there that I've never heard of, and you betcha they're on my wishlist now. The Japanese section playing along with a pre-patch Goemon was a fantastic touch. Thanks, John! See you in the new year.

[@TommyBull2]

Astro bot was phenomenal Astro bot should have something like dreams but you can make your own stages and share them.

[@cryengine_x]

ahh dreams, another, long forgotten pushed on our throats sony exclusive, like journey, little big planet, so many in the graveyard, how many posts pushed dreams on us back in the day? had to be in the billions.

[@BlackParade01]

​​@@cryengine_xJourney is one of the best games ever made, what are you yapping about No one has forgotten it

[@cryengine_x]

@@BlackParade01 only sony fanboys havent

[@cryengine_x]

@@WUKONGSerieS10GBofRAM thats ok we know goty is rigged. trust me astro bot has no interest to me. hey if you like it cool. it looks so boring to me.

[@cryengine_x]

@@WUKONGSerieS10GBofRAM what are you talking about. there are no xbox fanboys. look at your damn username. just another in the sea of ps fanboys attacking xbox instead of gaming

[@mhjmstultiens]

Another awesome list. You always radiate passion when talking about games, it's so obvious and yet remains so enjoyable to watch. Never let that gaming magic go, John! :)

[@BbBb-n9t]

Astro Bot is a masterpiece.

[@happyspaceinvader508]

Definitely… I’m into that very specific genre* of platform game and this is the best I’ve played. Just pure joy oozing out of every pixel, and the soundtrack is incredible (particularly on a 7.1 home theatre system). * by which I mean games with that toy-like feel, levels that eschew realism for fever dream wackiness and funky joyous music. The original Sonic games had it… Sonic Adventure onwards didn’t. Mario had it, but lost it in some of Odyssey’s levels (humans? Yuk!).

[@P-_-S]

Completing the "Grand Master Challenge" level at the very end of Astro Bot was easily my highest gaming achievement of the year. Dumped several hours into that last level and when I got across the finish line, I was elated! I was punching the sky and trying not to yell out because it was some obscene hour in the middle of the night. My winning run was damn near perfect, non-stop run with only one jump slightly missed (but thankfully saved with a ledge catch). That level was right up there with the last level in Super Mario 3D World in terms of difficulty, satisfaction upon completion, and the sheer brutality of the people who designed them.

[@birdman4birdlegs]

Just thought about this. With The great circle, Machine Games might be one of the few studios to be both a juggernaut AAA studio and a respected Indy developer at the same time.

[@RealJeffTidwell]

This comment belongs in a museum

[@TechMetalRules]

Finally! Someone giving Antonblast some well deserved love!

[@theinvisibleman-e8v]

John such a DF Legend!

[@astrea555]

happy xmas John and DFbros

[@mercurymachines4311]

I’m not really a DF kinda person best this video is the best GOTY video I’ve ever seen. This is exactly what a GOTY video should be, you can feel the passion for every single game. Fantastic job 👏🏻

[@roberthubbard2173]

John knocking out his own banger swan song for 2024! The bearded King still hold’s the DF Crown. Throwing the gauntlet down amongst his colleagues while flexing those edits, great writing, and new game content! Dude you’re fucking untouchable at this point! A Japanese speaking mic drop of an episode. Take your bow good sir!!!!!!!

[@walter_the_wobot2349]

My personal game of the year is Arkham Shadow. As a Batman fan that game is joy to play. Best VR game since Alyx imho.

[@SimplexPL]

Mine too. I had a sliver of hope it will be on the list.

[@happyspaceinvader508]

And yet again, John’s games of 2024 becomes my games of 2025. Like me, he’s focused on gameplay and enjoyment, rather than obsessing over the graphics. I only wish he did regular reviews of his favourite games, so I could buy them a little closer to launch 😏

[@abeidiot]

I think DF should do something similar to direct weekly where they just discuss games, not tech, just games

[@InternetListener]

It won't work as you'll have to LOL at everytime a big budget game is awful to play and only apparently good looking. While other funny or massively played will have a lot of screen time. Not making money for YT the marketing departments and the funding investors supporting benchmarketing teleshopping Infomercial Channels like this or reviewers in general... Euro Truck Simulator or Farm Simulator are massive games compared with a dozen of StarWhatever and Final Fantasy Unreal 5 Whatever together. No need for product placement. Like the PS5 Pro and PS5...

[@souljastation5463]

​@@InternetListenerBeam NG is also massive, one of the best car experiences, only on PC through.

[@InternetListener]

@@souljastation5463 and very CPU intensive, so that I can't understand why is not anywhere being tested... somebody need to put together some arcade-ish game with MudRunner terrain and BeamMG car physics... How could 1nsane run on cpus under 500 MHz and "gpus" under 1 GFLOP?

[@JeffVoss]

I always enjoy your lists, John. Some real gems I haven't considered! Thanks!