December 2024’s TA Playlist Game Revealed

We hope you had the chance to dive into the sands of Dubai with us for November’s TA Playlist feature, Spec Ops: The Line. As the month draws to a close, it’s time to reveal the winner of the December 2024 TA Playlist poll.

In December, we revisited all the games featured in the 2024 Playlists. Each team member chose one or two titles they believed deserved another chance to shine. ManicMetalhead picked two standout games: the 2017 run-and-gun platformer Cuphead and the open-world “ShARk-PG” Maneater. BetaSigX20 chose the 2023 survival horror sequel Alan Wake 2, while ChewieOnIce championed the 2021 action-adventure gem, Psychonauts 2. It was a close call, right down to the last minute, but the game that ultimately secured its place as the final TA Playlist choice for 2024 is… Psychonauts 2!

Developed by Double Fine and released by Xbox Game Studios in 2021, Psychonauts 2 makes its comeback 16 years after the original hit the scene back in 2005.

In this thrilling sequel, Razputin “Raz” Aquato—a skilled acrobat with remarkable psychic abilities—fulfills his dream of joining the international psychic espionage group, the Psychonauts. But not everything is as it seems. The organization is in turmoil: their leader is acting strangely ever since his rescue from a kidnapping, and there’s a traitor hiding in their midst. As you guide Raz through the minds of both friends and adversaries, you’ll encounter peril, comedy, and the ultimate challenge of stopping a devious psychic villain.

The TA Community has applauded Psychonauts 2 with an impressive 4.48 out of 5 stars. Out of nearly 178,000 gamers who’ve given it a go, about 9% (just over 16,000 players) have mastered every aspect of the game. Completing all 57 achievements is estimated to take around 25-30 hours, although CitrineWorm138’s detailed walkthrough could trim those hours down a bit. You can dive into Psychonauts 2 anytime, as it’s available on all Xbox Game Pass tiers.

From the outset, the poll this time was one of the most fiercely contested in recent memory. Alan Wake 2 and Psychonauts 2 were neck and neck for the majority of the voting period, continually swapping places but never pulling ahead by more than a vote. Meanwhile, Maneater and Cuphead held steady in third and fourth places, respectively, without ever really challenging the top two contenders.

To earn your TA Playlist badge this December, simply unlock any achievement in Psychonauts 2 or engage in meaningful discussion in either the Spoiler or Spoiler-Free threads set to open on December 1.

On that note, we’ve tweaked our forum participation badge process. Previously, badges were awarded automatically at regular intervals, which didn’t give moderators enough time to filter out non-meaningful “badge only” posts. Going forward, this will be done manually after irrelevant posts have been removed. This means if you’re contributing through forum comments, your badge might take a bit longer to appear. Rest assured, if your post meets the substance requirement, you’ll receive the badge within a day or two.

Since clamping down on those “badge only” contributions, their numbers have dropped significantly. Thank you to everyone who goes the extra mile by offering valuable insights and comments about the monthly game. Remember, TA Playlist is all about celebrating and discussing these fantastic games, and we appreciate you being part of it each month!