This week on Beyond, we unpack the long-rumored official reveal of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which might cost a few extra bucks, but seems to actually have more going for it than good looks. The roguelike “No Return” mode looks like a blast for anyone who enjoys the tense brutal combat, while the new guitar free play mode will likely be fun for, well, people who liked playing guitar in the PS4 version. Meanwhile, getting developer commentary on cut content and lost levels is a neat peek behind the curtain, and over on the Spider-Man 2 front, Tony Todd continues to make public statements that may or may not tease what Insomniac has planned. Anyway, the real meat of this episode is our first annual Beyond Game Of The Year Awards That Nobody Else Is Doing, AKA “The Beyondcés” (unless that’s a legal minefield in which case we’re sorry.)

Like all awards shows, this is all completely meaningless and made-up, but in this case, especially so - but, it’s an excuse to reflect back on some of the little details from our favorite games of the year, and some general absurdity from 2023’s big wet blue greasy smorgasbord of video games, many of which had sand in them. Like all good awards shows, Baldur’s Gate 3 is nominated for almost every category, but we’re also taking time to celebrate Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 for reasons the fighting game community couldn’t care less about and reflect on whether or not Spider-Man 2’s slime made up for its lackluster puddle graphics last gen? Is Gollum’s hair a liquid? Is grease a liquid? And hey, how about those Star Wars Jedi Survivor chickens? We go into all of this, and more, but we’d love your input as well, dear listener/viewer/reader! Hop on over to our poll and make your voice heard. If our nominations suck, throw some of your own into the proverbial hat and we’ll announce the winners next week.

Cast your vote with this legally binding Google Form!

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