Looking back at 2024, I played a lot of games, collected a lot of new games for my collection, as well as additional hardware. And I also started buying more physical books, CDs and DVDs.

The games I played in 2024

I did my best to “play more in 2024”. It’s not only about the number of games I played, but also about the hours spent. And there were a couple of games that required a lot of time, like Planescape: Torment, Horizon Forbidden West and Final Fantasy VI. Other notable games I played are:

• Lykia was a fun game for the C64.
• I enjoyed playing the classic Planescape: Torment for the most part, apart from the bug at the end.
• The Art of Rally made me want to hone my skills, a rare occurrance for me.
• Pode filled that couch-coöp itch. A little bit too frustrating (abstract) at times however.
• Not every game I abandon has the power to make me want to try again, but The Outer Worlds has. I would probably want to play the sequel.
• Horizon Forbidden West was not as refreshing for me as the first game, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
• Goodboy Galaxy and Big2Small were the standout titles for me on the Evercade. Although I haven’t finished neither one of them yet.
• Planetfall was my Infocom game in 2024. Very nice, but my favorite so far remains Wishbringer for it’s quirkyness.
• Final Fantasy VI was the GOTY for me in 2024. My first Final Fantasy game ever and certainly not the last. The music has been in my head for months now.
• Kingdom of the Seven Stones, another fun game for the C64.
• Hot Wheels Unleashed was the most played game together with my son, who is still into real Hot Wheels at the moment. We’re almost finished with this one and we’ll probably move on to the sequel next.
• I just started with Cyberpunk 2077. Not much to say about this yet. It feels like GTA V in the future.

Games I abandoned were few: God of War Ragnarok and Baldur’s Gate 3 are the most notable. Both PS5 games. God of War I probably won’t get back into. It’s too action oriented for me, and although I like the setting and the characters, some elements feel too immersion breaking for me, like the corridor progression and the chests and the bell-puzzles. Baldur’s Gate 3 came simply at the wrong time and that one I will return to in 2025.

Other games on my backlog for 2025 are Trinity from Infocom, Broken Sword 2 and/or 5, Nox Archaist, an rpg like Octopath Traveller II, Pillars of Eternity or Final Fantasy VII, and any of the point-and-click adventure games released in the last couple of years. And maybe Dragon Age: The Veilguard,

Additions to the collection in 2024

2024 was a good year for my collection. I added 92 games, almost as much as the 93 in 2023. That’s counting the recent additions that I haven’t had time to post about yet, like the collector’s edition of Gothic 3, the Evercade cart with Legacy of Kain that’s still in the mail, the big box edition of Dark Sun Shattered Lands, and the PS4 release of Thomas Was Alone.
8 of the 2024 additions are Amiga games, 14 C64 games, 17 Evercade carts, 19 PC games, 17 PS4 games, and 4 Wii U games, and the rest for other platforms.

The best additions are:

• Still sealed copies of Seastalker and Bureaucracy. So satisfying to open them up.
• Baldur’s Gate 3 big box.
• Dune Sandworm edition
• Return to Monkey Island
• Night Mission Pinball, the first computer pinball game I played.
• Nox Archaist
• The Incredible Machine

Hardware additions in 2024

On the hardware front, there were some excellent additions in 2024:

• My first HiFi system that I got as a kid. Then I was amazed at the sound quality of CDs. Now I’m amazed at the poor sound quality the thing produces.
• The ATLANTIS enclosure for MiSTer
• an Atari Lynx 2, so I can play Lynx games again, because my KM-I is still broken.
• a Yamaha RX-X450 receiver with matching S550 dvd player. The set I had when I first had some money to buy a home cinema set.
• the Evercade Alpha. Had some fun with it already.
• A Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones. No more annoyances on the commute.
• The Retro Fuzion C64 breadbin enclosure

Other items on the hardware front that may follow in 2025 are:

• a 8BitDo C64 style keyboard.
• a Google TV Streamer to replace the aging Chromecast and smart tv.
• C64 keyboard and keycaps for the new breadbin enclosure.
• A new Amiga 500 enclosure and keycaps

Physical media

Besides games, I’ve started buying more physical media, like books, CDs and DVDs. I bought some more Discworld pockets and own now well over half of the total books that were published in that series again. I also bought a few books of classics that I wanted to own again, like Dune and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

I bought DVDs and CDs, which are only one or two euros in local second-hand stores. Movies like The Matrix and CDs from Elton John and Eurythmics are nice additions. Buying these gives me a nice goal when visiting places.