2024 was a particularly bumpy year.

From effectively losing half the MobileSyrup team and then changing parent companies soon thereafter to seeing continued mass layoffs in the gaming industry (not to mention in other sectors) amid a global rise in fascism, the headlines have often been depressing, to say the least.

And yet, that’s all the more reason why I found so many things to love this year. Escapism certainly has its merits, but the pieces of art that really stuck with me this year were the ones that thoughtfully reflected the times while getting deeply introspective. On top of that, 2024 allowed me to broaden my horizons by meeting great new people and visiting wonderful new places — opportunities I’m always grateful to get through this job.

To that point, it’s always a delight to put together these annual “Favourite Things” pieces on MobileSyrup. Beyond refreshingly getting to write a bit about topics outside of tech, it’s just a much-needed reminder to look back on the good parts of our lives, no matter how big or small. 2024, in particular, had some of my absolute favourite things of the past several years, so without further ado, let’s dive into ’em.

Favourite game: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Nostalgia is a tricky thing. On the one hand, it can be a much-needed source of comfort in these increasingly dark times we find ourselves in, transporting you back to a simpler, warmer period in your life. But on the other, it can be the nadir of creativity, keeping you stubbornly stuck in the past and refusing to accept any new ideas.

Of the many, many reasons why I love Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it’s the game’s thoughtful handling of nostalgia that makes it so impactful to me. The easy thing to do would have been to give us Final Fantasy VII again with little to no changes, but instead, Rebirth, in picking up from the impressive groundwork by Final Fantasy VII Remake, offers a profound examination of everything that’s made VII so beloved for nearly 30 years. Some have criticized Rebirth for its lack of narrative momentum, especially as the middle chapter of a trilogy, but that’s precisely what makes it so effective for me. The game is far less concerned with the larger end-of-the-world stakes than it is the intricate and nuanced character dynamics of its cast. A starry moonlit rooftop conversation between childhood friends Cloud and Tifa about their shared PTSD. Barret letting his fierce exterior down to confront an old friend haunted by the collective sins of their past. A lengthy section in which you guide each character through the most traumatic experiences of their lives. Entire “hangout” chapters dedicated to the party attempting, against all odds, to find some measure of peace at a luxury resort and high-tech amusement park. I could go on.

I have held dear the cast of Final Fantasy VII for more than half my life, and Rebirth, through its masterful blend of both jovial and heart-wrenching moments, gave me an even greater love and understanding of them than I could ever have imagined. It’s like spending time with some of your oldest friends, but with the benefit of all the maturity and life experience you’ve developed in the many years since. And because Square Enix so wisely leaned into around our knowledge of Aerith’s iconic death in the original game, Rebirth is able to actively interrogate our feelings towards that central narrative beat which has haunted many of us to this day. Regardless of her fate this time around, Rebirth challenges us to unpack trauma, in all of its messiness and confusion, and, more importantly, discover how we can try to move forward in the face of it. Is Rebirth nostalgic? Certainly. But it also has real, genuine narrative weight that in many ways exceeds the already impressive highs of the original game upon which it’s based.

If Rebirth were just about those deeply emotional character beats, it would still be my favourite game of the year, and that’s before you consider the thrilling and strategic real-time combat, clever approach to smaller, more geographically diverse open-world regions, the absolutely god-tier soundtrack and the GOATed minigame that is Queen’s Blood. I truly cannot wait to see what Square Enix does with the third and final Remake game.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is now available on PS5 and will launch on PC on January 23rd, 2024.

Honourable mentions: Metaphor: ReFantazio, 1000xResist, Astro Bot, Neva

Favourite movie: Dìdi

I watched more movies in 2024 than any other, with many of them being my favourites in recent years, and yet, the one I’ve kept coming back to for months is Dìdi. That’s because Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical feature directorial debut is so unflinchingly raw and earnest in its portrayal of late 2000s adolescence that it ended up hitting so much closer to home than I anticipated. At surface value, that connection comes from our lead character, Chris (a magnificently understated Izaac Wang), being a painfully awkward 13-year-old in 2008 who hides behind the comforts of his computer screen while his father isn’t really around. (He really is just like me fr fr.)

But beyond that, I found myself resonating with Chris’ struggles on a deeper level. There’s a potent specificity through which Wang explores the subtleties of everyday racism, especially through such backhanded character comments as “you’re pretty cute for an Asian.” This, in turn, leads Chris to deal with internalized racism and only feel further isolated from everyone. As I saw Chris go through all of this, I found myself reflecting on my own childhood as a biracial person whose identity was also routinely interrogated. (“When even is your background???” people would ask as they scrutinized me, when I was keen to talk about anything but that.) As kids, none of us are equipped to really process any of this at the time, but looking back on it years later, as Wang himself is doing in this film through Chris, I see how that sort of treatment, no matter how harmless the intentions may have been, only made me more aware of how I didn’t quite fit in. No doubt this created my own sense of internalized racism and personal inadequacy — things I admittedly still struggle with. In other words, watching Dìdi proved to be immensely cathartic.

None of that is to say that Dìdi is overly angsty, though — far from it. To his immense credit, Wang juggles these mature ruminations on his cultural upbringing with a great deal of wit, particularly when it comes to the endearing level of cringe to be found in Chris’ day-to-day activities, like clumsily trying to flirt with a crush through MySpace, telling grand stories of his friend group’s mischievous deeds or bickering with his older sister before she goes off to college. Funny, heartfelt and oh-so introspective, Dìdi is a brilliant coming-of-age film and one I’ll be revisiting for years to come.

Stream Dìdi on Prime Video.

Honourable mentions: The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, Juror #2, Anora

Favourite TV series: Shōgun

This is one of those series that just came out of nowhere for me as someone who wasn’t familiar with either the original 1975 James Clavell or the 1980 miniseries inspired by it. I’m also someone who doesn’t watch a whole lot of TV (outside of games, film is by far my preferred art form), so I really only went into FX’s Shōgun off the strong word of mouth and my general love for historical Japanese fiction.

I’m so glad I did, though, as I found Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks’ adaptation absolutely riveting. While I dig the political intrigue of something like Game of Thrones, I tend to prefer stories centred around decidedly smaller casts, and Shōgun, while certainly having a compelling larger ensemble, never loses focus from its fascinating lead trio: Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), Pilot Major John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai). If anything, it’s the ways in which Shōgun shuffles those key pieces around the board that prove to be so riveting, with the beautifully tragic arc of Mariko, so magnificently portrayed by Sawai, ultimately serving as the series’ beating heart. Throw in some absolutely sumptuous cinematography (shoutout to the ever-beautiful B.C.) and immaculate production design and you have a series that is equal parts style and substance. An instant classic.

Stream Shōgun on Disney+.

Honourable mentions: The Penguin, Fallout (Season 1), X-Men ’97, Batman: Caped Crusader

Favourite podcast: Virtual Economy

There are so many podcasts featuring everyone and their mother talking about their thoughts on games themselves, but what makes Virtual Economy stand out is that it’s refreshingly focused on the business surrounding games. Hosted by former business journalists, authors, game producers and real-life couple Amanda Farough and Mike Futter, Virtual Economy provides extremely valuable insight into the many inner workings of the gaming industry. And thanks to their wonderfully endearing chemistry, the pair actually makes business fun, breaking down what could have been really dry news stories with a welcome degree of wit and approachability. All the while, they don’t shy away from the ever-growing challenges within the gaming industry, especially with respect to the simply awful number of layoffs we’ve had since 2022. (Heartbreakingly, some 34,000.)

I only recently started listening to this podcast after having the pleasure of meeting Amanda (a fellow Canadian!) at IndieDevDay in Barcelona where she was giving a crucial talk on game preservation, and I’m so glad I did. I’ve also gone back and listened to older Virtual Economy episodes, such as their coverage of Microsoft’s long-running efforts to acquire Activision Blizzard, and am routinely impressed by their level of analysis. Anyone can talk about what they like or don’t like about games, but few can draw from many years of experience — both on the journalistic and development sides — to unpack the innate messiness of the business, all while making you smile and laugh along the way.

Listen to Virtual Economy on Spotify and Apple.

(Also, Amanda and Mike are working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, the first-ever turn-based TMNT game, which is beyond awesome and you should absolutely wishlist it on Steam. I love seeing cool people do cool things!)

Honourable mentions: My Perfect Console, Play, Watch, Listen, Smartless, Script Apart

Favourite activity: Travel

As mentioned at the start, the number one thing I’m grateful for with this job, outside of simply getting to, you know, professionally write about video games, is the ability to fly around the world. This year, that started with a two-week vacation to Japan (paid for, in no small part, with points accrued by work travel) with my close friend (and MobileSyrup contributor) Andrew Mohan. We got to stay with our good friend Richard, who’s currently living out his childhood dream in Kyoto through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program, and we couldn’t be prouder of him. This was our second trip to Japan together, after a somewhat rushed first outing before COVID, so we got to spend more time seeing specific parts of the ever-gorgeous country, with my personal highlights being Niji Castle (the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the real shōgun who inspired Hiroyuki Sanada’s Toranaga from the FX series) and the recently opened Ghibli Park in Nagakute.

But beyond that, I had some incredible work trips, too. As mentioned, I got to go to Barcelona (fulfilling foiled high school plans) and see some of the incredibly talented European indie developers and some of the city’s majestic architecture. As someone who is incredibly socially awkward, it was also wonderful to meet both Amanda (whose kindness and mentorship over just those few days meant a great deal) and Baldur’s Gate 3 composer Borislav Slavov (whose outstanding compositions would help get me through some tough times last year). I was fortunate to travel to the Grand Canyon for Microsoft Flight Simulator and explore the iconic landmark in both the game and IRL thanks to jaw-dropping jeep and plane tours — a humbling experience that made me appreciate the splendor of our planet just a bit more.

I had the honour of interviewing Yoshinori Kitase & Naoki Hamaguchi, the directors of FFVII & FFVII Rebirth.
The impact VII has had on me cannot be understated, so I am beyond grateful.
(Hamaguchi-san also crushed me in Chocobo racing.🤣)

More to come on @MobileSyrup!#FF7R pic.twitter.com/MClLNduM9f

— Brad Shankar (@bradshankar) December 13, 2024

And earlier this month, I got to attend the 10th annual Game Awards in LA as a voting jury member and, among other things, interview Yoshinori Kitase (the original director of FFVII and producer on the Remake trilogy) and Naoki Hamaguchi (co-director of the Remake trilogy). To get to speak to Kitase, the driving force behind my all-time favourite game that quite literally changed my life (not to mention gems like FFVI, FFX and Chrono Trigger), as well as Hamaguchi, who’s done such a stellar job spearheading this grand reimagining of said art, was truly an honour. I also got to speak to them informally outside of the interview for a bit and even race Hamaguchi in Rebirth‘s Chocobo Racing! I’ll forever cherish the entire experience.

Of course, there were many other trips I was fortunate to have, and this piece would be even longer if I got to them all, but suffice it to say I’m grateful for every opportunity that comes my way.

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As always, nothing but my sincerest thanks to the many people who have always supported me and my work. It’s always deeply appreciated, especially as our team has gotten smaller in recent months. I wouldn’t be here without you. Special shoutout as well to the developers who continue to put out great art, even in particularly trying times. Nowhere is that truer than among Canadian creators who always punch above their weight to deliver some of the most biggest, best and most unique experience ever year.

Happy New Year, all!

Image credit: FX/Square Enix/Focus Features