The State of the Art: Games 2025

In years past, I've often thought of myself as on a diverging path when it came to what the best games of the year are. Not that I thought the crowd had bad taste or anything; it's just that I always preferred whatever weird little indie I had discovered to any of the big releases everyone else was obsessed with. In 2025, however, the wisdom of crowds certainly asserted itself. While there were certainly still a couple of buried gems, I tended to enjoy what everyone else was playing, too. This year also had a lot of remakes, sequels, and spiritual successors, which makes it tough to categorize what constitutes a "new" game. Luckily, it's my list, so I can handle the taxonomy however I want. Yay! 

To that end, I've done splits in a couple of different ways before. I've done the favorite-released-this-year paired with favorite-played-this-year, and left-brained favorite paired with right-brained favorite. I can actually do both simultaneously this year. When it comes to right-brained favorite game released this year, it's got to be the runaway hit that took everyone by surprise.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shares a lot of gameplay DNA with JRPGs, but its French style, along with its impeccably-voiced characters, gave it a really fresh take. Fun and gorgeous, with an Act I reveal that left my jaw on the ground, it far and away deserved all the accolades it's won. 

As awesome as Clair Obscur was, however, it was nowhere near the most fun I had this year. That honor goes to a left-brained game that I've already played. Two years ago, I mentioned The Roottrees Are Dead, a free-to-play browser game that I became obsessed with. It gained enough popularity for the creator to update it for release on Steam, with professional art instead of AI, actual voice-over, and tweaks to some of the story clues to make it more intuitive. Since I had such a great time with the original, I happily handed over my money to play the new version, and was delighted to discover that they've actually added content; the most welcome surprise of the year was diving into that sequel mystery.

Both of these games had stiff competition. Ghost of Yotei was a terrific sequel to Ghost of Tsushima that gave Clair Obscur a run for its money, and Unheard - Voices of Crime was neck-and-neck with The Roottrees Are Dead as my favorite mystery game. Any and all of these games would get a strong recommend from me. I also had a good time with some new tabletop games -- Earthborne Rangers and Here to Slay in particular -- but as for video games, let's get to the loosely-ranked list!

The Roottrees Are Dead (updated)
Unheard - Voices of Crime
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Ghost of Yotei
Blue Prince
Botany Manor
Dispatch
The Lamplighters League
The Case of the Golden Idol
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Age of Wonders 4
Date Everything!
Robocop: Rogue City
Indika
Vampire Therapist
The Outer Worlds 2
Type Help
Open Roads
Little Problems: A Cozy Detective Game
Tactical Breach Wizards
Wanderstop
Avowed
Medium
Viewfinder
As Dusk Falls
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Welcome to Goodland

The State of the Art: Books 2025

As a year, holistically, 2025 has been terrible. For society, that is. I can't claim a lot of personal tragedy, but I'm certainly attuned to how bad things are in general. Normally, when things are dour like this, I turn to bright, cheery music or upbeat movies. Books, however, are where I go to wallow. Nothing enhances a bad mood like a grim or pensive book. As always, I looked over the year's offerings to see if I could identify a "theme": 

2019: "Anywhere But Here"
2020: "Dealing with Loss"
2021: "What We Owe to Each Other"
2022: "Look Behind the Curtain"
2023: "Stay In Your Lane"
2024: "The Ones Who Are Overlooked"

In 2025, to my initial point, it appears that I'm embracing this downbeat year with a theme of "The End". Whether it's suicide, pending apocalypse, an apocalypse that has already happened, war, revolution, or murder, the books I read this year tended to focus on humanity reaching the end of the road, in one way or another.

I didn't read as much as I'd have liked in 2025, but the good news is that I achieved my evergreen resolution to make sure that I'm reading books by authors from a wide spectrum of races, genders, sexual orientations, and nationalities. That's always something to celebrate. There was a lot of genre-hopping, too. From sci-fi to mystery to non-fiction to fantasy, I had a little of everything this year. So what earned the top spot? Let's get to the list!

Sea of Tranquility (Emily St. John Mandel) (2022) (A)

Lincoln in the Bardo (George Saunders) (2017) (A-)

Cuba: An American History (Ada Ferrer) (2021) (A-)

She Who Became the Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan) (2021) (A-)

Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths (Natalie Haynes) (2020) (B+)

The House in the Cerulean Sea (TJ Klune) (2020) (B+)

When the Moon Hits Your Eye (John Scalzi) (2025) (B+)

Landline (Rainbow Rowell) (2014) (B+)

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires (Grady Hendrix) (2020) (B+)

Starling House (Alix E. Harrow) (2023) (B+)

Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) (Steven Erikson) (1999) (B)

The Restaurant of Lost Recipes (Hisashi Kashiwai) (2014, translated 2024) (B)

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands (Sarah Brooks) (2024) (B)

Someday, Maybe (Onyi Nwabineli) (2022) (B)

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (Benjamin Stevenson) (2022) (B)

The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand (edited by Christopher Golden, Brian Keene) (2025) (B)

We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer) (2024) (B)

What If It's Us (Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera) (2018) (B-)

They All Fall Down (Rachel Howzell Hall) (2019) (C-)

The City We Became (N.K. Jemisin) (2020) (abandoned)

The State of the Art: Television 2024

Playing catch-up with TV has never been more complex. Attempting to keep pace with currently-airing shows, while simultaneously trying to find time for shows from the past that I haven't been able to get to yet would be challenging enough, but then you also have to consider that there are shows I watch by myself, shows I watch with my husband, and shows I watch with my friends, which all have to be watched at particular times. I've officially given up on trying to get to everything, and sadly, there are tons of critically-acclaimed or friend-approved shows that'll just never get a slot on the packed schedule.

Fortunately, several of the shows I did make time for this year were terrific. In fact, everything that got a grade in the A range is a 2024 show. Also, a lot of the shows I watched flipped the script in interesting ways. A sitcom that's actually a tense drama. A murder mystery that's actually a comedy. A cartoon with extremely adult themes. A story about the frustrations with bureaucracy that's absurd and surreal. And sitting atop the pile, a show that managed to be heartfelt, funny, cute, serious, had unsurpassed world-building, and also...made me hungry.  

I don't watch a lot of anime, so Delicious in Dungeon came out of nowhere. Ostensibly, it's about a very RPG-ish party that explores a local dungeon in the usual hopes of treasure. Their motives change when one of their members gets taken by a dragon, and the rest have to (literally) dig deeper to get her back. Along the way, they meet a new member who introduces the concept of staving off hunger by eating the monsters they defeat. Half D&D, half Julia Child, it's really surprising that a show that can often be so silly is also really great at telling stories and building characters. 

Let's get to the year's full list!

Delicious in Dungeon (Season 1) (2024) (A)

X-Men '97 (Season 1) (2024) (A-) 

Agatha All Along (Season 1) (2024) (A-)

Fantasmas (Season 1) (2024) (A-)

The Afterparty (Season 2) (2023) (B+)
Kevin Can F**k Himself (Seasons 1-2) (2021-2022) (B+)
What We Do in the Shadows (Seasons 5-6) (2023) (B+) 
Minx (Season 2) (2023) (B+)
Dead Boy Detectives (Season 1) (2024) (B+)

Girls5Eva (Season 3) (2024) (B)

Harriet the Spy (Season 2) (2023) (B)

Severance (Season 1) (2022) (B)

The Franchise (Season 1) (2024) (B)

Abbott Elementary (Season 3) (2024) (B)
Only Murders in the Building (Season 4) (2024) (B)

The Great British Baking Show (Season 15) (2024) (B)
The Big Door Prize (Season 2) (2024) (B)

The Boyfriend (Season 1) (2024) (B)

Extraordinary (Season 2) (2024) (B)

Party Down (Season 3) (2023) (B)

Bob's Burgers (Season 14) (2023) (B)
Exploding Kittens (Season 1) (2024) (B)

Modern Family (Season 1) (2009) (B)

The Bear (Season 2) (2023) (B)

Ted Lasso (Season 2) (2021) (B-)

One Punch Man (Season 1) (2015) (B-)

Mob Psycho 100 (Season 1) (2016) (B-)

Modern Family (Season 2) (2010) (B-)

Sunny (Season 1) (2024) (C) 

Death and Other Details (Season 1) (2024) (C)

The State of the Art: Movies 2024

When I started putting together my final ranking for this year's movies, I became a bit alarmed. While I definitely saw some highly-entertaining films this year, on the whole, the movies of 2024 can be summed up as "Yeah, not bad." There was (almost) nothing as thoughtful and interesting as a Past Lives I feel the need to spread the word about, and definitely not an Everything Everywhere All At Once to light my heart aflame. Part of the reason seems to be me. I've only seen 14 new movies this year, and I still haven't gotten to a couple that have gotten very good word-of-mouth. But part of the reason seems to be Hollywood. The Golden Globes nominations are incredibly dull, and when it comes down to it, I seriously doubt future generations will be heralding 2024 as an incredible year for movies.

That doesn't mean there weren't good movies, though, and the top of my list is a thriller that actually thrilled.

Blink Twice is pretty amazing, especially given that it's Zoë Kravitz' directorial debut. When cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) gets herself noticed by tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) at a party she's working at, he invites her and her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) to his private island. King has been recently publicly disgraced, and is attempting to work his way back into the public's good graces. The privacy of his island affords him and his guests an opportunity to cut loose, with endless days and nights of incredible meals, and booze- and drug-fueled partying. Frida and Jess are having the time of their lives, but eventually begin to notice that not all is as it appears. And things...devolve. Rapidly.

There are countless thrillers - not to mention the recent spate of social message movies - about how douchey and awful the American upper class is, and it can be really easy for these movies to fall into the trap of being too predictable, too on-the-nose, too hamfisted, and entirely too pleased with themselves. Blink Twice expertly sidesteps those traps, making Frida's plight gripping and tense. I should also make special mention of Adria Arjona, who gives an amazing performance as Sarah, a intimidating fellow guest that Frida clashes with.

Let's get to the full 2024 list!

Blink Twice (B+)

Wicked (B+)

The Fall Guy (B+)

Hundreds of Beavers (2022, 2024) (B+)

Inside Out 2 (B+)

Carry-On (B+)

Babes (B)

Dune: Part Two (B)

I Saw the TV Glow (B)

Welcome Home Franklin (B)

Challengers (B-)

Night Swim (B-)

Tarot (C)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (C-)

Of course, the majority of the year was spent catching up on movies from the past, so for the pre-2024 ranking:

The Apartment (1960) (A)

American Fiction (2023) (A)

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022) (A)

River (2023) (A-)

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2021) (B+)

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) (B+)

Godzilla Minus One (2023) (B+)

Problemista (2023) (B+)

Hot Fuzz (2007) (B+)

The Holdovers (2023) (B)

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (2021) (B)

Perfect Days (2023) (B)

Under the Shadow (2016) (B)

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023) (B)

Hit Man (2023) (B)

Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) (B)

Saltburn (2023) (B-)
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001) (B-)

Dream Scenario (2023) (B-)

Being There (1979) (B-)
The Boy and the Heron (2023) (B-)

Drinking Buddies (2013) (B-)

27 Dresses (2008) (B-)

Shrek Forever After (2010) (B-)

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) (B-)

Zone of Interest (2023) (C+)

All of Us Strangers (2023) (C+)

Cry Wolf (1947) (C+)
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) (C+)

Anyone But You (2023) (C+)

Puss in Boots (1988) (C+)

Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998) (C+)

7 Women and a Murder (2021) (C+)

Stay Tuned (1992) (C)

Waiting (2005) (C-)

Speed 2 (1997) (D)

Nothing But Trouble (1991) (D)

Madea's Big Happy Family (2011) (D-)

The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020) (F)

The State of the Art: Games 2024

It's become clear that I'm going to be chasing the gaming high from 2022 for many years to come. That was an outstanding game year, but I shouldn't expect that I'm going to have such a wealth of favorites all the time. And I don't. 2024 was a perfectly cromulent year for games, but there were only a few that I'm super-excited about, and even of those, most weren't released this year. That's not to say there wasn't plenty of fun stuff to immerse myself in, but if I'm picking a favorite game played this year, rather than released this year, the choice becomes pretty obvious.

Ghost of Tsushima was originally released in 2020, and then on the PS5 in 2021, but I only just played it this year. Such a shame that I waited so long, because it is one of the most gorgeous games I've ever played. Some of the Assassin's Creed games were great, but none of their settings come close to the visual splendor of Japan during the first Mongol invasion. If it were only pretty, though, it wouldn't be top of the list. It's also really, really fun. This style of game can sometimes fall into the trap of having too much going on. The map becomes overwhelmingly littered with icons of people to talk to or pieces of parchment to find or whatever. Ghost of Tsushima keeps it to a perfect, manageable size, and goes a step further of doing the outstanding job of weaving directions and side content in organically. No need for a pop-up message telling you where to go next if a gentle gust of wind does it. You can bet that I won't be so slow to play Ghost of Yotei when it comes out next year.

If we're sticking to games released in 2024, just like last year, I won't be wandering off from the crowd. My choice, like so many others', is Astro Bot.

I used to really get into platformers such as Spyro the Dragon, but there hasn't been one that's grabbed my attention in a long time. It's almost confusing why something like Astro Bot hasn't come along, because its concept is simple: Go to various worlds, rescue your bot friends, and pick up some loot along the way. Of course, it helps that the visuals are terrific, and the music is the most joyous score I've heard in years (I actually often put it on my headphones to listen to while I'm working). This style of game also means they can add additional worlds, so I can see myself enjoying this one for a long time to come.

There were some other standouts as well this year, from the mystery solving hotel maid in This Bed We Made, to the cheeky British humor of Thank Goodness You're Here! to the soothing zen of PowerWash Simulator. There's even a late entry that I just started called Rolling Hills - Make Sushi, Make Friends, which is so right up my alley, I'm surprised the idea wasn't taken straight from my dreams.

And let's not forget tabletop gaming, either. We're still going strong with the Arkham Horror card game, but as far as new games, we had a lot of fun with Aeon's End and Dominion. But for video games, let's get to the loosely-ranked list!

Ghost of Tsushima

Astro Bot
PowerWash Simulator

Rolling Hills - Make Sushi, Make Friends
This Bed We Made

Thank Goodness You're Here!
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Riley & Rochelle
Miles Morales

The Thaumaturge
Coral Island

Lake
Alone in the Dark

428: Shibuya Scramble

Marvel Rivals

Balatro

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
Scene Investigators

Coffee Talk

Immortals of Aveum

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Frog Detective
Murderous Muses

Book of Hours

The State of the Art: Books 2024

When I kicked off list-making season this year, I got an unfortunate sense of ennui while I was looking over all the cultural offerings I consumed. Usually, there's something in every category that I get really excited about, but in 2024, even the titles that took the top spot sometimes only got a "Eh, it was pretty good," out of me. Happily, I don't have to say that for the book category, because I had a handful of really great reads this year. As ever, I looked over the list to see if I could pick out a "theme":

2019: "Anywhere But Here"
2020: "Dealing with Loss"
2021: "What We Owe to Each Other"
2022: "Look Behind the Curtain"
2023: "Stay In Your Lane"

For 2024, it appears that the starkest theme I can see is "The Ones Who Are Overlooked". Whether it's because of their gender, nationality, sexual orientation, physical appearance, or... you know, because they've been cursed by a literal demon, the characters in the books I read this year aren't given the attention and credibility they deserve. 

Thanks to Goodreads, I have some actual stats, and as a fellow with a pretty busy life, I'm satisfied with my total of 20 books (7008 pages). I've got a good range of authors from different backgrounds, too, which is an evergreen resolution of mine. Hopefully, I can keep up the pace next year. I constantly wrestle with the concept of "best" vs. "favorite". Sometimes, I can recognize that literarily, one book is superior to another, but I just happen to like the latter more, so I guess suck it, impeccably-written novel! Let's get to the list!

How to Be Eaten (Maria Adelmann) (2022) (A)

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (Shehan Karunatilaka) (2022) (A)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab) (2020) (A)

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears (Michael Schulman) (2023) (A-)

James (Percival Everett) (2024) (A-)

How to Sell a Haunted House (Grady Hendrix) (2023) (B+)

The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Hisashi Kashiwai) (2013, 2023) (B+)

The Memory Police (Yoko Ogawa) (1994, 2019) (B)

Stone Blind (Natalie Haynes) (2022) (B)

The Annotated Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen, David M. Shapard) (B) (1817, 2013)

Six Wakes (Mur Lafferty) (2017) (B)

Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir (Ai Weiwei) (2024) (B)

The Leavers (Lisa Ko) (2017) (B)

A Haunting on the Hill (Elizabeth Hand) (2023) (B)

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory (John Seabrook) (2015) (B)

The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner) (1996) (B-)

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality (Kate Khavari) (2023) (C+)

The First to Die at the End (Adam Silvera) (2022) (C+)
The Anti-Book (Raphael Simon) (2021) (C)

Wilder Girls (Rory Power) (2019) (C)

The State of the Art: Movies 2023

It's been an exciting year for movies! Sometimes, I feel like the types of movies I watch over the course of a year can get too similar to each other; lists in the past have had an overabundance of superhero movies, or light comedies, or historical dramas, or whatever. In 2023, though, the movies I saw were all over the map, and I always feel happier when I've sampled from a wider cultural range.

As ever, the grades I give here are about the quality of the movie and how well it did at accomplishing what it was trying to achieve. If I were grading these purely on the experience of watching them, something like getting together with friends to ingest illicit substances and mock a piece of crap like Queen of the Damned would get an A. Speaking of good grades, it's interesting to note that while this year had double the number of movies in the A range as last year, there were no A+ movies in 2023. That seems about right; an A+ should be extremely rare.

As to my favorite movie of the year, I waffled quite a bit. It took me a long time to reach a decision, but ultimately, I went with one that was not only well-acted and had a tight and suspenseful plot, but cleverly avoided all of the traps and pitfalls that usually afflict romance stories.

Past Lives is remarkable. In 99% of movies, the dramatic tension of the story of a woman (Nora) who immigrated to North America as a child, grew up to marry an American, then reconnects with her old crush from Korea (Hae Sung) would be about the will-they/won't-they of cheating on her husband. This movie is a lot smarter than that, and is more interested in exploring Nora's inner conflicts in reconciling the person she was then with the person she is now. The word "bittersweet" is overused, but definitely applies here. The care taken with these characters' reminiscing about their real emotional connection in the past, while still treating their relationships in the present with intelligence is like an oasis of fresh water after wandering through a desert of hackneyed tropes for decades. It's a beautiful movie that I'm still thinking about, months after seeing it.

Let's get to the full 2023 list!

Past Lives (A)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (A)

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (A-)

Totally Killer (A-)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (B+)

Barbie (B+)

Poor Things (B+)
M3GAN (B+)
Asteroid City (B+)

No One Will Save You (B+)

Joy Ride (B+)

Polite Society (B+)

Roald Dahl shorts (The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, The Rat Catcher, The Swan, Poison) (B+)
One More Time (B+)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 (B)
Theater Camp (B)

No Hard Feelings (B)

May December (B)

Wonka (B)
One-of-a-Kind Marcie (B)

Elemental (B-)

A Haunting in Venice (C+)

Leave the World Behind (C+)
Magic Mike's Last Dance (C+)
Slotherhouse (C+)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (C)

And for the pre-2023 movies:

The Shining (1980) (A-)
Tár (2022) (A-)

Theater of Blood (1973) (B+)

RRR (2022) (B+)

Sea Beast (2022) (B+)

The House (2022) (B+)

Triangle of Sadness (2022) (B)
Swiss Army Man (2016) (B)
Matilda the Musical (2022) (B)

Come From Away (2021) (B)

Shiva Baby (2020) (B)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) (B)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) (B-)

Gremlins (1984) (B-)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) (B-)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) (B-)
The Producers (2005) (B-)
7 Days in Hell (2015) (B-)
The Brave Little Toaster (1987) (B-)

Bros (2022) (C+)
Unicorn Store (2017) (C+)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) (C+)

Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (1998) (C+)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) (C+)
Barbarella (1968) (C)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) (C)

Critters (1986) (C)
Twilight* (2008) (C)

Forbidden Planet (1956) (C)

D.E.B.S. (2004) (C-)
Vibes (1988) (C-)

Critters 3 (1991) (C-)

Critters 2 (1988) (C-)

Queen of the Damned (2002) (C-)

Arena (1989) (C-)

Hansel & Gretel (2002) (D+)

Blackenstein (1973) (D)

Critters 4 (1992) (D)

*We watched the Rifftrax version of this to make it palatable - grade reflects the actual movie

The State of the Art: Television 2023

It seems that television and books have swapped places this year. In 2022, there were several books that I loved, but on the whole, TV was entertaining, but not terribly exciting. This year, it was tough to find a book that grabbed my attention (though fortunately it happened), but TV was terrific. If there's an overarching theme to my experiences with television this year, it's that there's just no way to stay current, and I'll always be playing catch-up, even with shows I love. I'll absolutely get to the current seasons of Minx, The Bear, Julia, What We Do in the Shadows, Severance, Somebody Somewhere, etc. But there was absolutely no way to squeeze it all in.

Picking a favorite show is actually pretty agonizing this year. I could make an argument for any of a handful of shows taking the top spot, but ultimately I had to pick one. If you're looking for recommendations, though, there are plenty to choose from here. When picking a favorite, I took a few aspects into account: Obviously, it had to be a show that I loved, but there was only one show that I couldn't stop myself from bingeing. It stars actors I love in other properties. It has a sense of mystery and wonder without jumping up its own ass. I also like highlighting a show that didn't get a lot of attention, so my favorite television show of 2023 has to be:

The Big Door Prize. Never heard of it? You're not alone. I think I first heard this mentioned as a throwaway "here's what I've been watching" kind of comment on one of the podcasts I listen to, and it sounded intriguing enough to check out. Thank goodness I did, because this show is utterly fascinating.

If you've ever read the Machine of Death books (which are great, by the way), you're familiar with the concept of a mysterious machine that shows up without explanation and dispenses information that fundamentally changes people. Instead of informing the townsfolk of how they're going to die, though, the machine in The Big Door Prize gives them a word or phrase that promises to encapsulate their true potential. That sounds less dramatic than mode of death, but upon reading what the universe has decided you can be if you applied yourself, what sort of changes would you make in your life? What if the card is confusing? What if it's upsetting? What if it indicates you'll never be anything more than what you are right now, despite your ambitions? What if embracing your potential means you'll be forced to give up something that you love in the present?

I love a good dose of magical realism when it's done well, and this show does it beautifully. It's acted impeccably, it packs an emotional wallop while still being funny, weaves together a terrific overall story told from multiple points of view, and it spurs a lot of self-reflection about the kinds of people we are and who we want to be. I'm thrilled that it's been renewed for a Season 2.

While we wait for that, though, let's get to the year's full list!

The Big Door Prize (Season 1) (2023) (A)
Schmigadoon! (Season 2) (2023) (A)
Only Murders in the Building (Season 3) (2023) (A)
Poker Face (Season 1) (2023) (A)

The Other Two (Season 3) (2023) (A-)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Season 1) (2023) (A-)

A Black Lady Sketch Show (Season 4) (2023) (A-) 

Never Have I Ever (Season 3) (2022) (A-)

The Afterparty (Season 1) (2022) (A-)

Harley Quinn (Season 4) (2023) (B+)

Never Have I Ever (Season 4) (2023) (B+)
Survival of the Thickest (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Bodies (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Extraordinary (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Abbott Elementary (Season 2) (2023) (B+)
Schmigadoon! (Season 1) (2021) (B+)
Fright Krewe (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Julia (Season 1) (2022) (B+)

Insecure (Season 1) (2016) (B+)

Somebody Somewhere (Season 1) (2022) (B+) 
Girls5Eva (Seasons 1-2) (2021-2022) (B+)

Jury Duty (Season 1) (2023) (B+)

Ted Lasso (Season 1) (2020) (B)

Harriet the Spy (Season 1) (2021) (B)

Cunk on Earth (Season 1) (2023) (B)
Bob's Burgers (Season 14) (2023) (B) [still airing]

Bob's Burgers (Season 13) (2023) (B)

Black Mirror (Season 6) (2023) (B)

Beef (Season 1) (2023) (B)

Central Park (Season 1) (2020) (B) 
The Great British Baking Show (Season 14) (B)
Unicorn: Eternal Warriors (Season 1) (2023) (B)

Futurama (Season 11) (2023) (B-)

Clone High (Season 2) (2023) (B-)
Indian Matchmaking (Season 3) (2023) (B-)

Fired on Mars (Season 1) (2023) (B-)

The Changeling (Season 1) (2023) (C+)

And Just Like That (Season 1) (2021) (C+)

Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Season 1) (2023) (C+)

Up Here (Season 1) (2023) (C)

The State of the Art: Games 2023

Let's be real: There was no way that this year of gaming would ever be able to match 2022, which was probably the best single year for video games I've ever experienced. That said, there was still a lot to enjoy this year from all over the gaming spectrum! One thing I did for the first time last year was to pick a favorite "left-brained" game, and a favorite "right-brained" game, which I think worked out really well, and that I'll carry forward. Normally, I'd say I'm more of a left-brained person in general, but last year, the right-brained choice took top spot, as it does again this year, because how could I pick anything other than Baldur's Gate 3?

It's exceedingly rare for me to pick a AAA game as my favorite. I tend to like smaller, indie games. Also, I played this game in early access, and wasn't impressed. At the time, I thought that the exponentially-cheaper Solasta had a better user interface than this extremely-hyped, massive game, and I sensed disaster in the offing when this went live. Never have I been happier to be wrong. I don't believe I've ever played a game where there are so many different possible outcomes to your choices. Everyone else I talked to who played this (which was basically everyone who games) conducted themselves in slightly different ways, which led to totally different results. NPCs I became friends with were dead in their games, and vice versa. NPCs who treated my character like dirt were sweet as pie to theirs. 

The attention to detail didn't stop there, as every single NPC (and there are hundreds of them) can be approached and talked to. Even if they don't have full conversation trees, they all have something different to say, making the world feel very lived-in. The graphics are top-notch, it's acted well, and it has an intuitive control system. If you can't play tabletop D&D, this is far and away the next best choice.

As to my favorite left-brained game of the year, it came to me by way of a friend who said "I looked into this game, and it seemed totally annoying to me. It's right up your alley." Boy, was he right. And on top of that, it's free! If logical analysis and late '90s internet research is your thing, be sure you try The Roottrees Are Dead.

It's the late '90s, and Carl Roottree, the billionaire candy company magnate, has just died in a plane crash, along with his wife and three daughters. The inheritance will be a knotty matter, and your mysterious benefactor has charged you with filling in the entire Roottree family tree, based on magazine articles, internet searches, and library books.

This game drew me in like a magnet. I literally put off social plans, because I was thisclose to cracking the information I needed to fill in a branch of this fictional genealogy chart. This is a real if-you-know-you-know type of game, but to the group of folks who are into this type of thing, this is an enthralling experience.

There were certainly other games that are worth your time that I discovered in 2023, from the musical mythological murder mystery Stray Gods, to censoring the news reports in Not For Broadcast, to the battles between rival steampunk carnival troupes in Circus Electrique. There were a lot of fun tabletop gaming experiences this year, too. Standouts include Descent: Legends of the Dark, Cthulhu: Death May Die, and the tabletop version of Fallout. But for the video games, let's get to the loosely-ranked list!

Circus Electrique

Stray Gods

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express

Final Fantasy XVI

Lord Winklebottom Investigates

The Past Within

Chants of Sennaar

South of the Circle

Venba

Forspoken

Not For Broadcast

The Room

Deathloop

Beacon Pines

Saltsea Chronicles

The Isle Tide Hotel

Dave the Diver

Memoranda

Underdog Detective

Deliver Us the Moon

Vampire - The Masquerade: Swansong

Harvestella

In the past handful of years, gaming has been getting better and better at conveying a rich cultural experience. I certainly never thought that a simple game like South of the Circle, in which you do little more than choose which emotion to express in conversations, could rival prestige television and movies in the ability to tell a compelling story, but with each passing year, video games are starting to overtake their respectable older siblings more and more. I can't wait to see what 2024 brings.

The State of the Art: Books 2023

As I read The Night Circus for the dozenth time (I only allow myself to read it in winter), I'm painfully reminded that for some reason, books seem to have a higher bar than other media to clear in order for me to give them a good grade. 2023, especially, had a few bright spots, but the reading year in general was kind of a shrug. I always like to look over the books I read over the course of a year to see if I can assign a "theme":

2019: "Anywhere But Here"
2020: "Dealing with Loss"
2021: "What We Owe to Each Other"
2022: "Look Behind the Curtain"

For 2023, I'd have to say the theme was "Stay In Your Lane". From unnecessary sequels to disappointing reimaginings of classic characters, this year was rife with books that failed to freshen up old ideas. For the first time in a long time, reading was kind of a chore, leading to a smaller list than in other years. You'll note that I put Louise Fitzhugh in quotes below, because Sport was published by her estate after her death, which goes a long way towards explaining why it's so awful. It wasn't all bad news, though. A few books managed to grip my attention, and happily, they came from different genres, from horror to non-fiction to a cheerful dystopian novel about the strength of community across multiple nations. Hopefully, next year will bring with it a better batch (I'm always open to recommendations). In the meantime, let's get to the list!

The Hacienda (2022) (Isabel Cañas) (A)

Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 (2003) (Stephen Puleo) (A-)

Scattered All Over the Earth (2018) (Yoko Tawada) (A-)

The Candy House (2022) (Jennifer Egan) (B+)

The Devil and the Dark Water (2020) (Stuart Turton) (B+)

Food Fights & Culture Wars (Tom Nealon) (2017) (B)
What is Not Yours is Not Yours (2016) (Helen Oyeyemi) (B)

Emily of New Moon (1923) (L.M. Montgomery) (B)

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries (2022) (Various) (B)

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons (Kate Khavari) (2022) (B)

Exile From Eden (Andrew Smith) (2019) (B)

You Think It, I'll Say It (Curtis Sittenfeld) (2018) (B)

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century (2022) (Kim Fu) (B-)

The Chinese Groove (Kathryn Ma) (2023) (B-)

The Other Black Girl (2021) (Zakiya Dalila Harris) (B-)

After the People Lights Have Gone Off (2014) (Stephen Graham Jones) (C+)

The Gone World (Tom Sweterlitsch) (2018) (C)

Mycroft Holmes (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse) (2015) (C)

Sport ("Louise Fitzhugh") (1979) (C-)

Kismet (2018) (Luke Tredget) (D)