TechCrunch Favorite Things\u00a0list<\/a>.<\/p>\nEach year Team TechCrunch puts together a big list of the things that, when we look back over the last 12 months, stand out as being particularly great. As always, we don\u2019t really restrict the definition of \u201cthing\u201d; maybe it\u2019s a game that ate all your free time, or a gadget that helped you do your job, or a song that lived in your brain for weeks on end. Podcasts. People. Concepts. We\u2019re deliberately very flexible with it, and it tends to result in an eclectic list of very good stuff<\/em>.<\/p>\nWhy do we do it? I\u2019m\u2026 not sure! We started doing it one year and had fun, and it\u2019s sort of just become a tradition. And if we don\u2019t do it, people ask why. \u00af\\_(\u30c4)_\/\u00af<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019ll inspire some last-minute gift ideas; maybe you\u2019ll find something you want to look into for yourself. Whatever the case, enjoy!<\/p>\n
Greg Kumparak | Editor<\/h2>\nKirby and the Forgotten Land<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Image Credits:<\/strong> Nintendo<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhen my four-year-old expressed an interest in video games, I wanted his first game to be something we could actively play together. A friend recommended Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and it\u2019s honestly the perfect suggestion.<\/p>\n
It\u2019d be a fun enough game played solo \u2014 a solid, beautifully designed platformer. But for someone playing through with a kid, it\u2019s a masterpiece. Player 1 is Kirby, Player 2 is \u201cBandana Waddle Dee.\u201d My son always insists on being Kirby and\u2026 well, he\u2019s four, so he wins. Fortunately the Player 2 role I\u2019ve been perma-assigned never feels like a tacked-on sidekick; unlike Kirby, you can\u2019t gobble up enemies to take on their powers, but you can kick butt in your own right all while subtly playing guardian angel\/healer for Player 1 who doesn\u2019t agree they need a health item and maybe a nap.<\/p>\n
Despite playing for months now, we\u2019ve yet to beat the last few levels. We keep playing through our favorites from the first half, instead \u2014 he has no interest in the game being \u201cover,\u201d and, honestly, I\u2019m in no rush either.<\/p>\n
Kyle Wiggers | Senior Reporter<\/h2>\nSteam Deck<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Steam-Deck.png?w=680\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Valve<\/p>\n<\/div>\nValve\u2019s Steam Deck is less unobtainable than it once was, and thank the gaming gods for that. I picked one up a few months back and it\u2019s single-handedly gotten me back into gaming, absolutely no exaggeration.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve historically been a console guy for the ease and simplicity of the experience. I briefly went the PC gaming route and, while I\u2019ll admit that it has its appeal, I\u2019ve burned myself out spending hours reseating RAM, messing with drivers and trying to figure out which mods might be crashing my Skyrim install. The nice thing about the Steam Deck is, while it benefits from the wealth of PC gaming resources and tools out there \u2014 it\u2019s a Linux-running machine, after all \u2014 there\u2019s not much tinkering required to get it up and running out of the box. Sure, you can install mods, custom utilities and the like, but especially if most of your game library lives on Steam, the Deck will deftly handle the various necessary background management processes, delivering a flow that feels familiar to this longtime console gamers.<\/p>\n
My one nag is compatibility. The Steam Deck\u2019s compatibility layer for Windows games, Proton, does an exceptional job for the most part, but every so often I run into a fatal error that take eons to troubleshoot. (Recently, it was with Borderlands 3, which refused to launch despite my best efforts.) To Valve\u2019s credit, Proton receives regular updates and Steam has a generous refund policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrying in H Mart\u201d<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Crying-H-mart.png?w=247\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Knopf<\/p>\n<\/div>\nI\u2019m late to this, but I picked up Michelle Zauner\u2019s \u201cCrying in H Mart\u201d at a community bookstore in Boston recently and I\u2019m thoroughly enjoying it. To pile on the praise, Zauner\u2019s memoire is in equal parts wonderfully and tragically descriptive, relaying her experiences growing up as the daughter of a Korean immigrant mother who receives a terminal cancer diagnosis. Zauner walks us through life in small-town Eugene, Oregon, where her desire to escape from the isolating suburbs fueled her resentment and rebellion against her mother, and through young adulthood as Zauner tries to pick up the pieces before her mother passes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an emotional roller coaster to be sure, but I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t spotlight the ethereal-sounding dishes mentioned in each chapter. You see, Zauner and her mother were gastronomes \u2014 it\u2019s one of the few passions that they shared in common \u2014 and Zauner doesn\u2019t skimp on the depictions of Korean delicacies like jjamppong (spicy mixed-up seafood noodle soup), gyeranjjim (steamed eggs) and san-nakji (raw octopus). \u201cCrying in H Mart\u201d has inspired a few dinners in this household over the last several months, and I\u2019m sure it will continue to for many years to come.<\/p>\n
Devin Coldewey | Science Editor<\/h2>\nElden Ring<\/h3>\n![\"Elden](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/elden-ring-2.jpeg?w=680\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> From Software<\/p>\n<\/div>\nNow that this game is comfortably seated among the all-time greats, it seems superfluous to sing its praises, but in a year full of great games this one truly stood out. Awe-inspiring and generous even with its faults, Elden Ring further cemented the potential for games to be truly original and inspired art.<\/p>\n
Warhammer 40K novels<\/h3>\n
Normally I affect the 19th-century western canon aspect, but for whatever reason this year (I was curious about the fan film \u201cAstartes,\u201d as I recall), I picked up a book from the Horus Heresy prequel series to the Warhammer 40K world, a fandom I\u2019ve always disdained. Like a fool! It\u2019s awesome and these books are awesome: tragic space operas with the confidence of decades of established lore. Impossible to find many in print but that\u2019s why I have\u2026<\/p>\n
Kobo Libra 2 (+ origami case)<\/h3>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2021-11-15-11.58.57.jpg?w=680\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Devin Coldewey \/ TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\nI have lots of e-readers but this one has become my standby for its great display, highly adjustable light, ease of customization and loading, and a clever folding case that does triple duty as protection, stand and ergonomic grip. I\u2019ve probably read like 8,000 pages on this thing.<\/p>\n
This specific weekly desk calendar<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/calendar.png?w=680\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Papersource<\/p>\n<\/div>\nI\u2019m really bad at tracking time and appointments and meetings, and I\u2019ve tried lots of stuff. I just forget everything. What actually ended up working for me is this weekly paper desk calendar. It\u2019s kind of prosaic, but it\u2019s exactly the size and style I want, and turns out what I needed to get more organized during a very busy year. Plus when I tear off the page I can use the paper for shopping lists and stuff \u2014 no need to keep a memo pad around! Apparently this is what I value in life.<\/span><\/p>\nPaul Sawers | Senior Reporter, U.K.<\/h2>\nGarmin Fenix 5 Plus<\/h3>\n![\"Garmin](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/fenix-5.jpg?w=258\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Garmin<\/p>\n<\/div>\nI was going to include the Kobo Libra 2 e-reader as my recommended piece of hardware, but alas my colleague Devin beat me to it \u2014 the Garmin Fenix 5 Plus was next on my list. I actually bought this during the initial lockdown as a replacement for a more basic Garmin watch, but I\u2019ve realized most of its value over the past 12 months as I\u2019ve started traveling again.<\/span><\/p>\nWhile my old entry-level Garmin Forerunner 35 was fine for tracking distance, pace and speed in my runs, the Garmin Fenix 5 Plus allows me to map out a route through the Garmin mobile app and send it to my watch, which then serves up turn-by-turn navigation to ensure I never get lost in unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n
On top of that, I can also download Spotify playlists to my wrist. This means I no longer have to carry a bulky smartphone around with me if I want to listen to podcasts or music. Garmin has a bunch of watches at various price-points with different features, but having directions, podcasts and music on my wrist has been a real game-changer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe Didn\u2019t Start the Fire\u201d (podcast)<\/span><\/h3>\nI\u2019m a big fan of history podcasts, and this was a phenomenal find for me this year.<\/p>\n
The \u201cWe Didn\u2019t Start the Fire\u201d podcast takes the lyrics from the 1989 Billy Joel chart-topper of the same name, and turns each of the 100-plus historical people and events mentioned in the song into an individual episode that explores the subject matter in detail.<\/p>\n
Sure, a history podcast beholden to the words of a single song written more than 30 years ago is somewhat arbitrary, but this is a good thing, as it leads us down paths that we otherwise might never venture down. It is incredibly varied, spanning everything from well-known public figures such as Richard Nixon and Joe DiMaggio, to movies, music, wars and even the polyester fibre known as Dacron.<\/p>\n
The presenters also manage to nab an interview with Billy Joel himself for one of the episodes, where they get him to explain why he chose to include certain historical people and events in the song. Although the podcast includes input from subject-matter experts, the dynamics and \u201cbanter\u201d between co-presenters Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce is what makes this all work. They\u2019re often tasked with discussing dense and obscure topics, and they bring it all to life.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucifer on the Sofa\u201d (Spoon album)<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-23-at-11.19.04-AM.png?w=310\")
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Spoon<\/p>\n<\/div>\nI find it hard to get into new music these days, pretty much always reverting to tunes roughly from the 1960s to early 2000s era. But Spoon rarely puts out a dud, and \u201cLucifer on the Sofa\u201d was another superb album from the Texas rockers, mixing amazing melodies and hooks to create a fresh, original classic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatermelon\u201d (song from Dinner in America)<\/h3>\n