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Animal Well wins Balatro dev LocalThunk's Golden Thunk GOTY 2024 award

LocalThunk also provided a list of runners up that he wants people to check out.
Donovan Erskine
Donovan Erskine
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With 2024 coming to a close, everyone has been discussing their favorite games of the year and naming the titles that stood above the rest. This includes LocalThunk, the solo developer behind indie hit Balatro. LocalThunk has announced that his personal Game of the Year for 2024 was another indie sensation, Animal Well.

LocalThunk announced Animal Well as their Game of the Year in a post on X last Friday. “Animal Well was an engrossing experience,” they wrote. “Dripping with style, secrets, and making me feel like an imposter in this industry as a dev, Billy Basso created a true masterpiece.” In his response, Basso named LocalThunk the “Nicest Most Humble Dev of the Year.”

A character wrapped in bandages staring into the camera. The words "warning and "emergency" are on a red screen in the background.
Mouthwashing was named a runner up for LocalThunk's Game of the Year.
Source: CRITICAL REFLEX

In subsequent posts, LocalThunk provided a list of runners up titles that he highly recommends. The list includes Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers, a roguelike deck-builder that has drawn comparisons to LocalThunk’s own game, but as the dev clarifies in this post, was actually announced before Balatro. Other listed games include Arco, Nova Drift, Ballionaire, and Mouthwashing.

Balatro enchanted the gaming industry in 2024 and was named Shacknews’ Game of the Year. With all the newfound attention, LocalThunk is hoping that these shoutouts will put some extra eyeballs on other great indies from last year.

News Editor
News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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