2024 is done - and you have made your choices.
“Grinding has never been so relaxing.”
“Great new characters, funny, and a presentation that looks just like you remembered it.
“A perfect game.”
“Hats off to Grinding Gear Games.”
“A beautiful Zelda-lite.”
World building and variety was on point.”
Botany Manor
“Probably the cosiest game this year,” wrote Malek86.
And each vista is better than the previous."
“Beautiful and haunting,” TheBigBiscuit77 added.
“And short.”
Mouthwashing
“Alien if the Xenomorph was Capitalism, Sort Of”, wrote one reader who remained anonymous.
Short but indelible."
4-6 Remastered will no doubt make me sob with joy too."
“A remaster done right,” wrote UrineTrouble.
And the character rendering is just astoundingly good.
Hades 2 early access
“How does Super Giant do it?”
And what a game.
Satisfactory
“Conveyor belts go whrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Makes me feel good,” wrote MrTomFTW.
Nine Sols
“What ifHollow Knightbut Sekiro,” wrote eze2g.
Added jwt: “Beautiful, and cats.”
“The art direction of this game is a standout for 2024.
),” wrote itsgood2slide.
“Original while remaining faithful to its pioneering predecessor.”
“It feels like perfection of the formula.
The only thing that stops it from being higher in my list is how short it is.”
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
As previously stated, onlygamesare eligible forGameof the Year voting.
Of course, this did not stop some of you writing ineligble suggestions anyway.
“Hopefully like in UK general elections there will be a spoiled ballot count at least.”
Added Evariest: “The best single player FPS campaign sinceTitanfall 2.”
1000xResist
“Best narrative of the year, hands down,” wrote play.nice.kids.
- finding visual clues in the environments being one of the most satisfying part of the series.
Which cable has been cut?
Who has the spotty blankets?
who has clearly been crying?
Wildly inventive in its story and characters - and yes - the process of word elimination is also addictive.
Desperate for this to really take off as a genre."
Deserved every success it had."
“Ended up terribly, horribly addicted.
Still not that good at it, though.”
The detailed and stunning environmental design, combined with the fantastic audio, transport you to another world."
The battle system shows the persona series at its finest, a must play for any SMT fans!"
“Really just a phenomenal audio-visual experience, putting you in Senua’s head,” added britesparc.
“Also IMO the best ‘photo-real’ graphics we’ve ever seen.”
“Excellent layered strategy that just gets deeper as you play,” added The_Weird.
“While it has ideas taken from other titles, the whole feels fresh and original.
Beautiful art style too.”
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
“It was just fun,” wrote Citizensiege.
All two of them."
Added Mallow_the_destroyer: “It’s the Gears of War sequel I didn’t know I wanted!”
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
“An exceptional game that holds nothing back,” wrote StormbringerN.
“Hard to the core and with the design and gameplay to back it.
Stalker places complete trust on the player to find their way.
We need more of these!”
Added Moxyz1: “My most played, favourite series of all time.”
“A fantastic tactical game with a wonderful cast of brilliantly written and charming characters.
If you like tactical games this is a must.
If you like fun games, this is also a must.”
I am that sicko," wrote maccydee.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
“It’s a goofy-arse fantasy sandbox with entertaining combat shenanigans,” wrote apocra.
I don’t know if I’ve ever played a game that’s felt like that before."
“The bargain of the year,” wrote retr0gamer.
“Weeks later and I’ve still not explored this collection of games fully.
It’s constantly surprising and the quality of the games remains consistently high.”
Said erwie: “Party House alone would already be #1 of 2024.”
Then this is the game for you."
“Top-tier platforming, combat, boss fights and time bending powers.”
“It’s peak Metroidvania, and what a thing to behold.
VERETHRAGNA indeed,” said TC.
Meanwhile, KarlosCV added: “One of the best Metroidvanias ever.”
“Also, you’re able to play as Zelda.
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
“It was also the source of my most memorable and absurd gaming moments of the year.
A quote my 10-year-old and I have shared regularly since playing.
It’s an utter joy.”
“Some of the funniest few hours of gaming of my life,” said Omgokami.
“I still don’t miss Yorkshire but it stayed with me.”
It’s just reet good.”
Stellar Blade
“Biggest surprise of the year and probably the most fun game,” wrote Col_McCafferty.
“Excellent combat, intriguing story and brilliant soundtrack.
Shift Up have done a fantastic job especially considering this is its first single-player title on console.”
Arguably the most actual fun I’ve had playing a game in years.
And its had nowhere near enough recognition as a new IP either."
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
“The final act is excellent,” wrote Boooo_urns.
“It has issues, but in the main the gameplay is fun and story is engaging.”
Said pierrot: “Really responsive and expressive action combat and some beautiful maps to navigate.”
That is some quality design."
“I was shocked when they far surpassed it.
When I finished I said I wouldn’t forget it, or play it again, in a hurry.
A week later, I’d finished it again.”
Golazodave said: “No one can forget being chased by that ghost dog for the first time.”
“There might be better Metroidvania games,” Ross Farrey wrote.
“There might well be subjectively or even objectively better games from 2024.
But Animal well drew me down a rabbit hole like few games ever have.
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth
“Remake didn’t sit well with me,” Slowdog76 wrote.
“The changes still felt weird and unnecessary.
Rebirth started to make those changes make sense, though, and even appreciated.
I love this game.
Almost as much as the original.
There is not one area it failed to delight.”
“Ultimately I’m glad they changed things up,” added Wrathbone.
The whole thing is a massive, sprawling joy to experience.”
“Had a superb time with it.
(Didn’t half look pretty, too!
And the soundtrack!)
“Atlus always produce such polished games, everything is perfect, everything fits,” fragglerocks added.
Said another reader: “Persona in a fantasy setting?
A plot that’s disturbingly timely?
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
“I’m 48.
“The icing on this tasty cake is the superb story, visuals and music.
“The atmosphere and details are spot on, it is so good that it could (should?)
have been the fourth Indiana Jones movie.”
“Every decision you have to make is a meaningful one.
It helps that the music is so memorably repetitive and the art so instantly iconic.”
“More addictive than crack,” declared Bushmonkey.
“At least I imagine it is.
I can’t think how anything could be more addictive than Balatro.”
“I bought Balatro seven times this year, five of which were for friends,” admitted Tomo.
“I am a digital croupier, firing out the most amazing deck-building game since Slay the Spire.
I hear the music in my sleep.”
Astro Bot
“Tactile and joyous,” wrote jonappetit.
“A complete delight from start to finish.
“Maximum Possible Game,” wrote Anslant.
He said he prefers the term ‘Maximum Possible Game’.
Team Asobi embodied this adage with Astro Bot.
“One of the most amazing gaming experiences of my life.”
“This made me feel like that child again.”
