I was there at The Game Awards 2024, on the ground in Los Angeles. I don’t know how it all felt and played out online, how the onslaught of ads, Muppet Interludes, and occasionally rushed awards categories worked online – but in the room, my first time experiencing that way, it totally just works. Witnessing it that way left me with only one predominant thought: god, 2024 was a pretty great year for video games.