Balatro may have swept the awards this year – including securing a place on our 50 best games of 2024 list and that of Eurogamer readers – but developer LocalThunk has taken time to recommend other indie games that caught his eye in 2024.
Taking to X, LocalThunk listed his “very prestigious Golden Thunk Awards”, awarding top prize to the “engrossing experience” of Animal Well.
“My very prestigious Golden Thunk award for Game of the Year 2024 goes to Animal Well!” he wrote.
“Animal Well was an engrossing experience. Dripping with style, secrets, and making me feel like an imposter in this industry as a dev, Billy Basso created a true masterpiece.”
My very prestigious Golden Thunk award for Game of the Year 2024 goes to Animal Well! 🏆
Animal Well was an engrossing experience. Dripping with style, secrets, and making me feel like an imposter in this industry as a dev, Billy Basso created a true masterpiece pic.twitter.com/a9g13HN69s
— localthunk (@LocalThunk) January 3, 2025
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Runners up were Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers – described as a “beautifully synergistic and strategic deckbuilder”, LocalThunk said “people mistakenly wrote this off as a Balatro clone, but this was announced before my game ever was” – Arco, Nova Drift, Ballionaire, and Wrong Organ’s exceptional Mouthwashing.