My Favourite Things of 2024: Films, TV, & Games.

Favourite First Watches:

Notes on Films:

• Moving by Shinji Somai stands out as a clear frontrunner for my favourite film I've watched this year. Such compelling, simple, and unostentatious filmmaking. Emotionally devastating.
  
  



• Watching Paranoia Agent was a longtime coming.
  
   In an era where adults spend their days harassing people online over Star Wars or every waking moment steeped in fandom, this series is all the more unsettling. Kon is an incredibly prescient director and, though this series is bleak, it is also extremely human. It opens with a cacophony of unnamed characters making excuses into their phones which serves as a mission statement for the entire series. Through technology and popular culture, we distance ourselves from the difficulty of existing with each other in the world and, as we do, we feel we owe each other less and less. These characters don't want to be responsible for their actions; they always have their excuses. They long to escape - be it through animated mascots, the internet, or self-harm. They are delusional in their pursuits but the show never feels cruel or judgemental; it understands the allure of escaping. By the end, the Hello Kitty adjacent mascot Maromi occupies the same cultural space as the bat wielding menace Shonen Bat. They are both escape hatches that provides simplified narratives to create meaning through in a disorganized and chaotic world. It is a distinctly post-modern and secular work that holds pop culture in an almost religious regard.
• Sirocco is beautiful to behold. It's so matter of fact in its psychedelic fantasy in a way I found inspiring. On reflection, its story may be a bit slight, but I imagine I'll revisit this regardless. I wish I didn't miss out on the artbook!

Video Games/Boardgames:

Honestly, I've played so few that writing about my favourite video games feels a bit disingenuous. I've played only two video games this year and only one to completion! Life is weird. As I age, time feels different. Spending hours on end in front of my computer or TV has felt worse; I get restless and find myself turning off the TV and just staring at the wall instead. Not exactly useful but, for whatever reason, it feels like the correct use of my time during this phase. I think about gaming a lot - in particular card and board games - but I didn't spend much time playing much of anything this year.

Despite the fact I don't normally gell with side-scrolling platformers, there was something about the puzzles of Animal Well that really pulled me in. A chill and engaging little puzzler that I opted out of trying to entirely complete. It's a game for the freaks and I am sadly unwilling to dive that deep into the well. I hit credits and that was enough for me!

The only other game I played this year is Dragon Age: Veilguard. Inquisition was huge for me back in 2013 so I spent this past decade eagerly anticipating a sequel. I've been enjoying my time with it but not enough that I've really made time to dig in. I understand the mixed reaction to this game but the longer I play the more I enjoy it. I'll continue playing in the new year but, for now, it feels there are other things worth doing in my free-time.

In terms of board games, I only recently finally got my hands on a copy of Arcs. I was a huge fan of Leder Games previous endeavor Oath. The base game of Arcs is much more game-y than Oath (which is a strange, expansive, and often baffling narratively focussed experience - all positives in my book). Arcs shares a lot of these qualities, but has a level of strategy that, while elusive at first, invites mastery. You have so much control over the flow of your game that I found myself quite lost at first but each session I end having learned a lot and being inspired to try new things in future games. Each time i've played it my group has spent ages dissecting the game after; we always end itching to play again.

That's all for now! I'll have another post soon about the books I read this year. I read A LOT this year.

All the best,

Adam