Welcome to the Jordies! The annual award given to my favourite book, game, movie, and TV show that I read, played, and watched this year!
Absolution
Book
While nothing will ever compare to Annihilation and while it plays with a particular scifi theme I don’t particularly enjoy (no spoilies), Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer is an absolute banger that instills a sense of curiosity and dread that you won’t soon forget. If you enjoy cosmic horror, or scifi with an ecological theme, you should absolutely read this series (or anything by Jeff VanderMeer).
Astro Bot
Game
Astro Bot is pure joy. Everything about this game is fun and my only wish is that there was more of it to enjoy (and maybe a little bit more in the way of hidden collectibles and challenges). I also love that the game acts, like its predecessor Astro’s Playroom, as a visual and interactive library of PlayStation through the generations. Building the PS5, collecting IP Bots and peripherals could easily feel like corporate propaganda, but it doesn’t. It feels like a celebration of what makes video games so special.
Dune: Part Two
Movie
I love Dune. I love the books, I love the world. I think the films by Villeneuve are one of the best book adaptations ever made. The visual storytelling is incredible and I am so glad I got to experience it. It’s the only movie I’ve ever seen twice in the theatre and after I watched it I thought to myself: I’ll never make anything this good in my life.
Fallout
TV
As a casual Fallout series enjoyer, I didn’t have any expectations around this show, but they did a fantastic job. In turns serious and funny, the cast is amazing and the set and costume design is perfect. I love how the power armour of the Brotherhood of Steel is simultaneously a great power fantasy and an absolute joke (I especially loved how it was used in a particular at the end of Season 1, which seemed very real as a use-case to me). Ella Purnell is incredible as the lead. The show has made me much more interested in Fallout universe than ever before and I have high hopes for Season 2.
Jordan Galbraith 