The Many A True Nerd 2024 Awards - The Version Where Jon Is Overwhelmed By The Spirit Of Christmas

[@ManyATrueNerd]

This is the original version of this video which contains a small audio error.

[@windows95leon]

Can I just say I really apreciate this staying as just unlisted because It means I don't need to go insane trying to work out what went missing from my watch later list like I normally do when a video is removed.

[@TheSoleDweller]

MATN deserves the best list of games of the year awards award.

[@ManyATrueNerd]

Fun fact - I made this list before playing Silent Hill 2. Had it been the other way round, it almost certainly would have been on this list, if only for the incredible sound design, though I haven't played enough to say precisely where I would place it.

[@tite93]

Man, that would've made for a great series I think. Been a while since we've had a horror game

[@METALFREAK03]

Probably the only 2024 game I played (well a remake allbeit) and Oddsparks haha. According to my steam I was in the mid range of 5 years to 7 years ago.

[@EddieDean1961]

I'd of loved to see that as a series i havent played it yet but the original is one of my favourite games

[@cheetarah9199]

@@ManyATrueNerd probably at the bottom of a large pit, so you never have to think about it again 🤣

[@donovanberkeypile9319]

You really should try Stellar Blade it’s my personal game of the year and a really fun game to play. Great list by the way. It gives me some great games to try out that I normally wouldn’t play.

[@Xecryo]

Jon here one you might want to try that I’ve become addicted to, I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse.

[@fischyfischy7532]

good video

[@craigwck7626]

Nice to see Space Marine 2 getting some love.

[@imbenarion8579]

Editing is a bit off here 15:30 not sure how much I care just thought I should mention it

[@spooky_basil202]

I thought it was my phone, so went back and then realised it was the video 😂

[@PoisonInc]

Crime Scene Cleaner was this year?! God, this was a long year...

[@rcm616-j5t]

Nice to see an Indy game win

[@Matthaagmusic]

Read comments before I finished the video. You got me.

[@Her_Imperious_Condescension]

You had me going.

[@Orvieta]

10 out of 10, comment of the year.

[@jchart]

@@Matthaagmusic Me too lol

[@dem0nfr0g39]

I believe the FOLON crew said that they were opening their own studio. Excited to see what they can do completely on their own

[@Hoppelite]

You mean they’re gonna make a new IP? Not more mods? If so, good for them. I remember there was a huge Skyrim mod that came out (Forbidden City I believe? Could be wrong.) and after the mod they formed their own studio and remade the mod in its own unique universe with a similar story and themes. I love seeing Modders do their own thing.

[@dem0nfr0g39]

@@Hoppelite They said that is the plan once FOLON launched and was successful. Whether or not it actually comes to pass is yet to see.

[@spare7230]

​@@Hoppelite The Forgotten City! Genuinely fantastic game that anyone who enjoys mysteries and/or science/speculative fiction should check out.

[@taka2721]

​@@dem0nfr0g39 They confirmed that they are planning to make their own game on their own engine few days ago. Before that they will also make Fallout London DLC so I'm excited for that

[@Sletchman]

That's great news - whenever I hear people like Jon say "I hope Bethesda hires them" I can't help but hope the exact opposite. Look at the modders they hired for Starfield - they took one of the best set dressers and house designers on the Nexus and turned their work into generic copypasta, completely killing the creativity. All I can see is Bethesda's increasingly shitty game direction doing the same to these (and Sim Settlement's) amazing teams. I'd love to see what they make without restriction, and it can still be "Fallout" - just look at Atom RPG, or Atomfall, or Wasteland (yes I know it was first). Doesn't need to be "Fallout" for them to express similar creative ideas.

[@greenerion]

Finally the REAL game awards are out

[@jukingkoolthefirst]

Interested where thronefall would have landed. Picked it up after your video and I’m some 200+ hours into it

[@TheSpanishInquisition87]

Merry Christmas

[@gileswhitaker9656]

What a great year for MATN! I have had a lot of great laughs while watching your content this year, so thanks, and Happy New Year!

[@tver3407]

Merry Christmas!

[@spooky_basil202]

Merry Christmas!

[@lazydaze3134]

Merry Christmas Jon 🎅 🎄

[@skorpion7132]

Highlights for me: Indy, Tiny Glade, Crime Scene Cleaner, Still Wakes the Deep.

[@andy2172]

Merry Christmas, Jon (and Claire). Thanks for all of the laughs and introducing me to games I hadn't considered before. All the best for 2025.

[@nagi603]

Milenia is like the rougelike of Civilization games

[@ndroo1019]

Merry Christmas Jon, love your videos and hope you have some time off.

[@opallise]

Merry Christmas, John.🎄

[@TheBeardsShow]

Jon, you say this every year

[@cheetarah9199]

Merry Christmas all ❤️

[@torgranael]

Merry Christmas Cheet :)

[@cheetarah9199]

@torgranael ❤️

[@LlywMiner]

Merry Christmas, Cheet!

[@spooky_basil202]

Merry Christmas 😁

[@fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Was Pacific Drive not quite mean enough to get a "My Stalker Car" joke?

[@acrefray]

There are so many great games that came out this year, and some haven't been played on this channel as well!

[@irecordwithaphone1856]

Very glad to see Dragons Dogma 2 get a mention, my favorite of the year

[@XDieKillDieX]

Too bad he hardly played it. Played Mage for a couple of hours and hardly made it past the starting area. I feel like if he put a bit more time into it it would have been higher on the list.

[@Gehenna515]

I really didn't get on with it. Is there anything that you could tell me that maybe I'm missing? I found the combat to drag and the rewards felt unrewarding because they almost all said that they were "upgrade materials" but didn't say what for, so it was basically saying "this is a thing".

[@XDieKillDieX]

@Gehenna515 Try different Vocations. Unlock and try different skills for the vocations you like. Once you hit level 10-15 or so the regular combat shouldn't drag much at all unless you come across a boss monster or something. The game rewards exploration more so than just completing quests a lot of the time. A lot of the good gear can be found hidden in chests. Use the gold you get from quests to keep you supplied with healing stuff or save up and get a weapon or armour for a vocation you're enjoying, if you can't find it in chests. The upgrade materials are for upgrading weapons and armour at a smith in one of the cities. Or just to sell if you don't need them. You'll never need more than like 30 of any upgrade material at most so just sell the excess. Goblin horns are one you'll get a bunch of and sell for a nice amount. Idk how far you are in, but if you haven't made it to the main city yet make sure to explore it when you get there. Rooftops and side rooms etc. Lots of gear you can find that's better than the starting stuff.

[@Uebelkraehe]

@@Gehenna515 The combat "drags"?! No, there's really no helping you with this game.

[@phatpolofish]

Happy Christmas, thanks for all the work you do to keep us entertained. Can't wait to see what you bring us in 2025.

[@Thumper8544]

thee AAA market has canabalised itself and made way for Indie games

[@mattshallenberger9676]

And funny enough, the best AAA game of the year is also an Indy game! /rimshot

[@funsamgaming]

To be honest I am more excited for Indy games than AAA or AAAA (haha skull and bones) these days. Last 10 years likes of Rimworld, Planet Crafter, Project Zomboid, No Man Sky, Kenshi and lately game like Forever Skies, Astrometica, Sunkenland, Terminus, Into The Dead, Heat Death not only great gameplay from these but graphic better than what most big studios doing.

[@Mr_Ronny_Z]

Merry Christmas mate, great list, love your work bro!

[@StudlySoldier]

My pick that you missed this year is called Zero Sievert. Whit if escape from tarkov, but single player and pixel art. Small indie game that didn't make many waves, but is well put together and atmospheric.

[@janthomassen9577]

Love Zero but, it has been around for quite some time as an excellent non 1.0 version. Then again, he rated Hades 2, so there is is that...

[@danielmcdonagh1693]

Given your fondness for Fallout: London as a mod that plays entirely standalone and is as good as an actual game release, I'd really recommend you check out Enderal for Skyrim, I think it'd make a great series if you ever feel like doing a Skyrim series on the channel again.

[@feldamar2]

Ooh! Good point.

[@donnyrosen]

Have a merry Christmas, Jon! Thank you for another year of pure entertainment!

[@RichardM-kv4uu]

Was getting a bit worried that we were getting to the end of the video and my game of the year wasn't being mentioned, but very happy to see it at number one!

[@LikelyToBeEatenByAGrue]

I love your brain. Your interests are so incredibly varied. I don't know or care about half of these but the ones i do are genuinely good. your enthusiasm is great too.

[@CommissarMitch]

My personal number 1 was Balatro. It works really well, was made by one bloke, and just hits the right dopamine areas that Vampire Survivor does. It also had no microtransactions, free added content, and the creator is against gambling.

[@d3f3kt57]

Yeah, really odd that Jon decided to place it in 2nd. It has way more replay value than any of the other games in the list and it is much cheaper than number 1.

[@lukebradford]

Most overrated game of the year. It's popularity makes absolutely no sense. And yes, I have played it.

[@waldseeschloss6719]

Waited the whole year for this video, thank you Jon for this year full of entertainment!

[@IslarfPokemon]

I hope Pokemon Legends blows us out if the water next year to earn its place on this list

[@jemal999]

I used to consider myself a big gamer, but I have literally not played a single game on this list...

[@elkudos1]

It's funny how Jon hasn't played enough Stalker to realise that Pacific Drive is basically the Zone, but still placed them next to each other.

[@verminter]

The end of year lists are a good summary of why I love this channel; the enthusiasm combined with variety. Here's to many more years!

[@eddy1986]

Legacy of kain 1 and 2 has also been remade! I would loe to see you play this!

[@Noah-pc6wq]

Thanks for a great year Jon

[@michaeljohn1508]

Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 🎉

[@mountainmolly2726]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see Mouthwashing and Still Wakes the Deep on here. I found both of them to be deeply affecting and full on cried during both. All around a very solid list. The only game I would say is missing is Thank Goodness You're Here.

[@DavidEcclestonSmith]

Does Jon finish all the games he puts in these lists?

[@XDieKillDieX]

Hell no. He only put a couple of hours into some of them.

[@Ivanman4950]

I've been watching many a true nerds videos since 2019 his vids have helped me go threw my hardest and walk threw my easiest, I am so excited to watch you next year.

[@brianholmes1812]

My favourite aspect of Indy and the great ciricle is that it organically creates moments that would feel right at home in the films. The combat feels like you're barely getting by, flying by the seat of your pants. Getting caught when you're trying stealth feels like Indy messing up and having to fight his way out. Occasionally you'll round a corner, find a bunch of guards, and just slowly back away before running for your goddam life. It all feels like indiana jones. My number 1 for the record is tactical breech wizards. The gameplay is top notch, and honestly the writing is really underrated. Its just an incredibly fun time

[@robh678]

I hope you get a chance to replay RDR2 on your own time. It’s a very slow game that takes time to develop its characters and story and world that I think you’d really like

[@goffe2282]

Factorio Space Age is one of the bets games ever made. It's a full blown expansion to an already amazing game that is easily worth the asking price.

[@CommissarMitch]

Was stabbed by Seasonal Sadness and I needed this right now. Thank you.

[@cheetarah9199]

Much ❤️

[@limegreenelevator]

The non-speedy animations in the Balatro segment made my eye twitch

[@vulcorian2996]

Hate to bring it up on Christmas day but is there some awkward audio narration jumps during the Fallout London segment 15:33-15:38 for anyone else?

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

are you sure jon recency bias didnt play part in your rankings?

[@chrismeandyou]

Steamworld Heist 2 is indie of the year

[@Gehenna515]

great music in this one! :D

[@stamasd8500]

So... that means Indiana Jones is a guaranteed series now? :)

[@JohnBeeblebrox]

I was so addicted to FOLON. Looking forward to replaying fully modded at some future point (e.g. a DUST/FROST version)...

[@Gehenna515]

My top 3 for games that came out this year. 3. Sulfur. An FPS dungeon crawler roguelike with incredibly satisfying gun play and wacky weapon mods and buffs that can be used on any weapon. I gave a mod that gives a weapon 3x bullets to a triple barrel shotgun which essentially filled the screen with pellets when I fired it XD 2. Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. A DLC that is bigger and more competently put together than almost anything that came out this year. I especially loved how they have upgraded their world design, you are constantly asking yourself, "wait, how do I get down there? How do I get to that? How do I get in there?!" Phenomenal exploration. 1. Cross Blitz. A roguelike deck builder, one of my favorite genres and this may be my absolute favorite of them all. 10 different characters to play, with many more to come, each of which have really interesting deck archetypes to build around, my favorite being Dragonbrand, the skeleton dragon pirate! who's deck is all about creatures who's ability triggers when they die, with the end game goal of summoning Dragonbrand who will resummon two of your killed creatures each turn. Technically however I actually include every game that I played for the first time in a year in my list, but these are the three that made my top 10 that actually did come out this year XD (10. South Of The Circle. 9. Baldurs Gate 3. 8. Elderborn. 7. Snowrunner: The Glades. 6. Citizen Sleeper. 5. Sulfur. 4. Bloodwest. 3. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters. 2. Elden Ring: Shadow. 1. Cross Blitz)

[@RaimundCosplay]

In my Top 5 would definetly be Helldivers 2 as well. Loved the first installment and the gameplay is just silly fun. Looks amazing and works really well

[@charcoalcharizd]

balatro is goty

[@lukebradford]

Most overrated game of the year. It's popularity makes absolutely no sense.

[@charcoalcharizd]

@lukebradford uncultured hater

[@lukebradford]

@@charcoalcharizd Sheep.

[@charcoalcharizd]

@lukebradford i paid for the game and i love it, ive got over 25 hours in it and its been well worth the money

[@lukebradford]

@@charcoalcharizd As I said, sheep.

[@Jolafer37]

Quibbles & kudos - I salute your refining a list,. but don't know it was any great year, for games. Cheers & Happy New Year.

[@toakongu1]

Surprised you didn't give Buckshot Roulette, God of Weapons, or Wizard with a Gun an honorable mention. Buckshot is on my Wishlist bc of your video on it, and I picked up God of Weapons and Wizard with a Gun after watching you spotlight videos of the games

[@atlvol]

LOL not really surprised by your list! MATN is as MATN does! Love you guys and Merry Christmas!

[@janthomassen9577]

Haven't played Indy but Fallout London and Still wakes are definitely near the top

[@mikedanilov8978]

Quite surprised frostpunk 2 didn't make it to the list. Obviously, as Jon repeatedly stated, very subjective list, but to my mind it's a better game than the first one and he seemed to have liked that one a lot.

[@tv_tim]

I think I've only actually played 2 games that came out this year (Helldivers 2 and Once Human) and everything else I've put time into is multiple years old.

[@funsamgaming]

Surprise Indy was choose, but not disappoint a fantastic game. Glad Millenia made list, had some good twists to an establish game design.

[@spooky_basil202]

I bought Balatro, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring with my Christmas money. Gunna keep me busy for a while 😊

[@Osma777]

I missed the Halloween special (and don't enjoy horror games) so I didn't have a clue Mouthwashing even existed until this weekend when my daughter begged me to buy it for her. Now I'm seeing it on top 20 games of the year? Amazing.

[@willrun4fun]

Indy took my top spot as well. The 10 year old me who watched these in the 80s was showing.

[@saag024]

Sorry but little kitty should have been number one because all of the different hats!

[@jchart]

Jon! Your terrible terrible wrong opinions have personally offended me and my family! How dare you!

[@MTGeomancer]

I hope 2025 is a better year for gaming, have to say, 2024 was pretty meh. Balatro and Crime Scene Cleaner were great though. Wouldn't mind seeing another Balatro video, I know it's not series material, but it's fun all the same.

[@jessie699]

Day 338/1230 of requesting Jon play a game nobody will remember, like Majesty: A Fantasy Kingdom Sim.

[@Castlemight]

Day 211 of requesting Jon play Okami HD

[@MrGhosta5]

Beautiful game made by the same guy that made the first DMC games, Viewtifull Joe, and Bayonetta.

[@cheetarah9199]

Not sure if I want him to play okami. There is much to love, but that little bastard will annoy the hell out of him 😆 But okami 2. Maybe you will get your wish.... Fingers crossed

[@JamieM20001996]

Day 438 of requesting these desperate comments give it a rest already.

[@hipsnowsis7374]

the red dead redemption port may not have been eligible for your GotY list, but it was nominated for steam's "2024 best original soundtrack" award and as much as I love RDR let me tell you that was a slap in the face. it's 17 fucking years old. find new music guys.

[@lukebradford]

The Steam Awards nominations are voted for by users. You have the public to blame for that.

[@supr3m3panda]

My "Pick that Jon missed" would have to be HoloCure. Basically, Vampire Survivors as a fan made game of one of the major Vtuber groups, where every update, the creator accidentally adds an entire new game in. I'd also add the Shadow Generations half of Sonic X Shadow Generations in somewhere.

[@TenebrousFilms]

So, not a fan of the Indiana Jones franchise, just the original trilogy... and who can blame you.

[@gaspump]

What do you mean? There is only the trilogy. No no... I'm sorry, I won't hear another word about it. Only 3 movies. Yes. Absolutely nothing else was ever released after 1989 in theaters. (I vaguely recall the Young Indiana Jones TV series circa 92 being alright back in the day but it's been too long)

[@XDieKillDieX]

Ok but like, even Temple of Doom wasn't even that good tbh. And the first movie is only pretty good. It's only really the Last Crusade that's actually great. Overall the Indiana Jones franchise isn't very good. :P

[@JeffKelly03]

I always enjoy this end of year video, though I have to admit I had spent the last hour getting hyped about a new episode of the Indy play-through. Glad to see how much Jon has enjoyed it, though!

[@mookrules5087]

At game #2 I called #1. Like a genius over here. I was thinking maybe you had not plsyed it yet, and i was trying to figure out what could it be..... I still have not played it, and i am buying it the second I get home from Christmas. I was gun shy after buying Dragon Age for full price, thought I should knock out some games that have been calling for months now. This was another slap on the back of the head to just buy it and play nothing else for the entire rest of my time off from work. Hope you enjoyed my life story. Thanks for the nudge.

[@SpecShadow]

I was pleasantly surprised by cool dialogues in Tactical Breach Wizards - didn't expect that for sure before playing. Still waiting for Stalker2 to be fixed even more - also because I need free space for it.

[@Castlemight]

My number 1 game this year was Neva and honestly I think it would be in this video if Jon had played it because it just seems right up Jon's alley!

[@SuperRedNovaDragon]

Personally for me, my top 2, its Shadow of the erdtree, or POE2. The only two games that arent gatcha games i played this year and loved... top 3, wuthering waves if i include gatcha games. I havent had a lot of time to play games lately so i never got to play helldivers 2, wukong or dragons dogma 2(cause im still working on beating DD1)

[@Bobsikus]

Fallout London, really great mod, lot of us alway have asked, what have been happenning in rest of the world during that apocalypse, Fallout London filled the gaps a bit and I hope it will be muse for others to fill, especially China could be very interesting

[@lonewanderer2774]

damn what a terrible year, glad about my 400+ games backlog

[@threerings13]

Can't help feeling like Jon did Mouthwashing a huge disservice based on the fact he hasn't actually played it in full and experience the narrative. If he didn't do more than what he did on camera, then he didn't get any of the big reveals. For me that was fully the most incredible narrative of the year and one that I think is going down in history as one of the most affecting of all time.

[@threerings13]

That being said, my game of the year is Metaphor: Refantazio.

[@bjiornbjiorn]

I'm very sad for the lack of Helldivers 2 in this video. Obviously not every game is for everyone but, given the buzz surrounding it I'd have thought it might merit a mention if not a place on the list. If however, by some miracle, it has completely passed you by this year I'd highly recommend giving it a go, especially considering how highly you rated Space Marine 2.

[@XDieKillDieX]

He didn't play it. He didn't play Palworld either.

[@alexisauld7781]

My 'pick that you missed' for this year was Kira Kira Magical Stars. It's a cute little top down shooter/platformer involving magical girls that harkens back to the late 90s with its visual and sound design. It may or may not be to your taste, but it's worth a look!

[@dustyb58]

next year: hitman: world of assassination: year 2? lol

[@Chephadrom]

About to throw hands over the marvel rivals ranking, but the likening to early Overwatch is a great point

[@redcatjack]

:D

[@chillpumkin]

:D

[@hopin8krzys]

UwU

[@librarianseth5572]

Day 281 of requesting Age of Mythology. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and thanks for another awesome year of stuff!

[@JamieM20001996]

Day 438 of requesting these derivative comments would give it up.

[@generrosity]

Agreed. He openly regretted doing it. It's para social. It's a bit of a middle finger to both the voting system and the Patreon benefits too

[@XDieKillDieX]

​@@JamieM20001996It's not derivative if it's the original person doing it. :P

[@XDieKillDieX]

​@@generrosityWhere did he say that he regretted it? He actively encouraged it in the Zoo Tycoon video.

[@randomjay3633]

Sim Settlements 2 > Fallout London

[@elkudos1]

Har-hard no. In one you can't even hit on Jake's ex-wife. In the other you can ask to taste the tart.

[@gragvar]

I hate the first Nigel Westdickins mission, cannot do it and cannot skip it to progress the game. Love the game just wish it had a skip feature for that mission.

[@Mathmachine]

I'm one of those weird people that I never had an issue with Erdtree being on best game of the year lists. I grew up in the era where expansion packs were basically new games in all but name, and to me if you are big enough to have been a standalone game and are still good, then I don't see the issue with you being on lists or getting nominations. Now I understand why other people would object to that, but personally I don't have a problem with it.

[@cheetarah9199]

I would normally agree with this, but Jon said himself, it's not standalone. You *have* to have played x hours of the base game to even access the dlc. It's not an expansion, it's dlc for that reason alone. It deserves so many awards etc, but it cannot be considered a stand alone game. It's dlc done right

[@Mathmachine]

@cheetarah9199 That's the main reason why I understand people not thinking they should be nominated, it not being standalone. My example to counter that is Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal. It was a continuation of the base game and you needed to have played to the end of the original game to get to this expansion, but it was still widely considered (and nominated) either the best RPG or best PC game of the year it came out. Erdtree kind of reminds me of Throne of Bhaal, both in size and execution, so I think that's why I lean more towards saying it should be considered.

[@torgranael]

@@cheetarah9199 Minor quibble: It's definitely an expansion. Before the term pretty much died, it referred to what we now call large DLCs. They expanded upon the base game. Funnily enough, the DLCs of the 2000s onward would be considered paid mods by todays standards. Hell, with Fallout: London proving large scale mod can work, I expect another shift in language in the next few years.

[@cheetarah9199]

@@torgranael dlc or expansion, I get get that's a quibble over semantics I would say a game that requires you to play x amount of a different game, is not standalone. Maybe they need a new category for it. To give it, and other great dlcs some love And great mods. They need love too

[@cheetarah9199]

@@Mathmachine I think there is a lot to dig into, about what games are nominated and why. But if even TGAs don't care about who is nominated and who wins, why should we?

[@Ellanion]

Balatro

[@theDuke0001]

i have to say this was a really weak year

[@SomeRandomHobo0]

2024 a really good year for indie and some triple aaa games

[@BlockheadJiujitsu]

Only Ubisoft could make a triple, triple A game. The 9A game, if you will.

[@insanejughead]

​@@BlockheadJiujitsu A rubix cube game dev, haha. 3³?

[@BlockheadJiujitsu]

@@insanejughead that's the future of gaming. Now I think about it, that's what Star Citizen is. An extremely premium product 😆

[@Safetytrousers]

The way Jon talks about the Marvel game is what Concord was like.

[@trautsj]

An early access title and a mod and ALMOST a DLC along with many, many town builder/civ like games lol

[@CH-ml4rz]

“I watched the video”

[@Ceractucus]

Hello Many A True Nerd. Love your content and watch all the time. Would have been very nice is the top 20 were typed out in the description rather that having to rewatch the video, or try to find them in the transcript. Peace.