The season of festivities has rolled around, and with it comes the usual slew of out-of-office notifications and holiday messages. Among those winding down for the year is Rock Paper Shotgun, a beloved source of gaming news, reviews, and related chuckles. As they shutter their virtual windows against the winter chill, the Rock Paper Shotgun team leaves behind a playful notice to their readers: the treehouse, their metaphorical abode for gaming camaraderie, is too cold for winter, and they won't be back until the new year flips its calendar to January 2nd, 2024.
Despite the team taking a well-deserved break, they reassured their readership – through a tone that's part jest and part sincerity – that the website won't be devoid of new reads. The team has prepped a series of posts that will automatically go live throughout the holiday period, a classic strategy to keep the site's heartbeat strong even as the staff recharge.
Foremost among the promise of scheduled content is the grand reveal of the Game Of The Year 2023, which will drop as part of their Advent Calendar finale. Rock Paper Shotgun's community, vivacious and opinionated on platforms like Discord, may already have its bets placed on which title will snag the site's top honors. Yet, the unveiling remains an end-of-year tradition that encourages playful speculation and debates.
For those whose favorites didn't make the Advent Calendar, the site unveils the 'RPS Selection Boxes' – a set of recommendations handpicked by staff members for games they believe deserve an honorable mention. It's a redressal of sorts, a shot at giving props to the underdogs and hidden gems of the year that might've skirted under the more mainstream radar.
In a reflective mood, the Rock Paper Shotgun team has also assembled a series of Year In Review roundups. These retrospectives serve as both a recap and a categorization of the year's gaming highlights through various lenses, whether vieweding the Bestest Best reviews or discerning the trends that shaped the past twelve months, as identified by the guides team.
For those readers who support the site, there's a treasure trove waiting to be unlocked as Supporter-funded posts become freely accessible to all. This includes a special tag, 'From The Archive', inviting users to delve deep into past content that's been dusted off for public enjoyment. It's a gesture of goodwill and an invitation to wander down memory lane, embracing nostalgia or discovering missed gems.
Adding a dash of humor to the proceedings, their annual Christmas Crackers promise daily deliveries of holiday jest. The team itself confesses to cringing at the caliber of the jokes this year – apparently, some are so terrible they're good. It's a sign of RPS's self-aware, tongue-in-cheek culture that endears them to their audience. They even tease a Star Trek-themed quip that's poised to split sides or possibly cause groans, depending on one's sense of humor.
As they sign off for the year, the team casts a brief glance backward, reflecting on the year gone by and pondering the future. They engage their readers with a call to share gaming resolutions for the upcoming 2024, sharing their own resolve to dive into more "weird stuff", a testament to their adventurous gaming spirit and never-ending quest for the unique and the unusual.
With heartfelt felicitations for whatever occasion their readers may be celebrating, the Rock Paper Shotgun team offers gratitude for the year's shared experiences and bids farewell until the new sun rises on 2024. In doing so, they set the stage for the new year with nostalgia, anticipation, and the promise of more gaming content and community spirit. And as their digital abode goes quiet, their commitment to gaming joy and quirky content remains ready to greet users come the second of January.
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