The 50 best games of 2024, ranked

From Animal Well to Zelda.

What a year, huh?

2024 has been brutal for video games, a medium which has taken a bludgeoning from seemingly all angles.

A red stage curtain, drawn, with a circular spotlight shining on the middle of it.

This has been a year of survival, but also a year of total, out-of-nowhere hits.

Well done on making it through this year.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

On the desktop, the Plucky Squire walks up a passageway made from a set of paints

And kindly enjoy this list of wonderful games - the reason we’re all here in the first place.

Here are the 50 best games of 2024, ranked.

In a video game, even after two dozen times, the concept never quite gets old.

Ian Higton’s face superimposed on a muscular, leotard wearing male character from Infinite Wealth. The character has their hands behind their head and is, um, thrusting. Two dogs are dancing by their side. It’s all totally normal.

Read more in ourThe Plucky Squire review

49.

This is Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, though.

There are no other games like this, and they must be treasured.

Screenshot from 1000xRESIST showing Watcher entering a red-lit room with futuristic decor

-Tom Orry

Read more in ourLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealth review

48.

1000x Resist

Platforms:PC

The pandemic.

Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution.

The player holds a pair of shears in front of “a normal garden gnome” in Grunn

-Katharine Castle

47.

It’s wonderfully creepy, and a real grower.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourGrunn Wishlisted feature

46.

CoD Black Ops 6 screenshot showing you playing cards in the casino

Still, BLOPS 6 has the best campaign in a Call of Duty since 2016’s Infinite Warfare.

There, I’ve said it.

It’s a banger.

Jeff Minter wearing a jumper and talking to the camera in Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story.

Here’s to terrible campaigns for the next eight years!

-Tom Orry

Read more in ourCall of Duty: Black Ops 6 review

45.

A collection and a story all at once.

A woman in a pink coat sits next to a two-headed blue demon in a car in Sorry We’re Closed.

This focuses on all of his earlier stuff, but don’t let that put you off.

This is video game heritage.

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourLlamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story review

44.

Children of the Sun screenshot showing a gas station lit up with neon lights against a pinkish sky.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourSorry We’re Closed review

43.

Homeworld 3

Ah, the weight of expectation.

-Katharine Castle

40.

homeworld 3 key art showing the mothership in a tunnel in a megalithic structure

Fear the Spotlight

Vibes, the video game.

It’s a game split into two parts, parallel stories that follow on from a disastrous seance.

Scarier than part one, this story leans more into Japanese horror like Ringu and Ju-On: The Curse.

A picnic is set up in the grounds of Botany Manor

-Tom Orry

Read more in ourFear the Spotlight review

37.

Batman: Arkham Shadow

Platforms:Meta Quest 3/3S (VR)

Look up.

This is the slogan DC is using for its new Super Man movie.

MechWarrior 5: Clans official screenshot showing an enemy mech through your own visor being shot with a green laser

Never before, even in the Rocksteady games, has this feeling been truer.

-Tom Orry

Read more in ourBatman: Arkham Shadow review

36.

One of the best examples this year is PS1-era throwback horror, Crow Country.

Jemma navigates a snakelike pass in Arranger.

Oh, and it’s funny, too, which is something games often fail miserably at.

-Tom Orry

35.

There are still outlandish god powers to throw around - now with cooldown timers (how modern!)

A young girl looks over her shoulder to shine a torch on a broken mirror, which hides a hidden pathway behind the wall, in Fear the Spotlight.

rather than a single use - and still the faintly ridiculous physics to go with it.

Seeing colossi and giants boinged up in the air by a meteor will never get old.

Nor will a good old-fashioned comp stomp with friends against the improved AI.

Batman fighting enemies from a first-person perspective in the VR game Arkham Shadow.

-Chris Tapsell

34.

Pacific Drive

Platforms:PC, PS5

Pacific Drive isn’t the most cooperative of games.

And then the next dozen or so hours will, well, probably also be spent doing that.

Mara speaks to a crow statue in a house in Crow Country

-Chris Tapsell

33.

Stellar Blade

Platforms:PS5

I’m torn on Stellar Blade.

It’s not souls-like, but it’s not a completely different beast to those games either.

Age of Mythology: Retold official screenshot showing two Greek armies facing off amongst god powers and burning buildings

I won’t sugarcoat it, though: I’m not a fan of the frankly quite ridiculous costumes.

-Tom Orry

32.

And, okay, it is sort of that but wait, come back a sec and just listen.

Pacific Drive screenshot showing a distant pillar of yellow light form inside the car, in a rainy forest

It’s also just a fantastic card battler.

And yes, the artwork really is quite lovely.

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourPokemon TCG Pocket review

31.

Eve’s Symbol of Legacy outfit while Tachy Mode is activated in Stellar Blade.

Stalker 2 proves that.

It’s got more rough spots than Sony’s entire first-party output this entire generation.

-Tom Orry

Read more in ourStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review

30.

A close-up screenshot of a player’s hand in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourDungeons of Hinterberg review

29.

There’s richness and texture here, condensed and refined into something compact yet powerful.

-Chris Tapsell

28.

A patrol of Noontide soldiers passes another of their group who is resting on a crate in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Caves of Qud

Caves of Qud is a forever game.

Everywhere you look there’s something special.

Who do they become?

In a dungeon in Dungeons of Hinterberg, the player stands on a rotating platform above a lake.

What path do they take?

How many limbs and fingers do they want to replace with laser cannons?

These are all excellent questions for a game to ask.

The Monk Village in Arco, spread out up the side of a twisting hill.

Somewhere in amidst all this stuff is a game that tugs at a concealed theme of 2024 in games.

It’s that good.

He’s sunk hours into Super Mario Bros., Excitebike, and Metroid.

The world map for Caves of Qud.

That’s the power of Nintendo.

-Tom Orry

Read more in ourNintendo World Championships: NES Edition feature

26.

Timemelters

Timemelters is the work of some of the people behind Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves.

Cover image for YouTube video

That was a distinct blend of strategy and tower defence that had an enviable sense of its own identity.

That’s a compliment.

The stroke of genius that brings it all into focus is this: you only have one hit point.

Nikki in front of Emabul in Infinity Nikki.

And it’s brilliant fun too.- Christian Donlan

24.

It’s masterfully executed, and a must-play for all budding detective heads.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourNo Case Should Remain Unsolved feature

23.

Teagan stands in front of a stone circle with glowing marks on the stones in this scene from Timemelters.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown review

22.

only with less of the camp and much more angst.

-Chris Tapsell

21.

For one, I’m pretty sure we had that same conversation some time around 2013.

But more than that, I’m also just not entirely sure it’s true.

I have to emphasise: that is intended as a very big compliment.

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown official screenshot showing Sargon battling a winged monster boss, using a super attack in a flashy cutscene animation against a black and purple background.

And it’s also thoroughly, utterly committed to the bit.

This is an exceptionally 40k game, rich with little details - lore for the lore gods!

and ripe with gothic, dark future atmosphere.

I Am Your Beast official image showing a clustery of enemy soldiers in snowy woods

The second best game about getting together with pals and shooting hundreds of xeno scum to bits this year.

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 review

20.

Think deeply thoughtful character animations - Indika chews her nails and looks around skittishly when left to idle.

A screenshot of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, showing Titus looking out at a Hive City’s gothic rooftops, with swarms of airbone Tyranids fluttering between the spires.

Think bicycle sprints and thorny takes on religion and oppression.

-Chris Tapsell

19.

to shunt and blast enemies around the arena as you go.

Indika screenshot showing her navigate high walkways in a room of giant hanging fish

As Matt Wales put it in his excellent review, “Tactical Breach Wizards is absolutelyobsessedwith defenestration”.

This is the stuff of tactical dreams.

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourTactical Breach Wizards review

18.

Tactical Breach Wizards screenshot showing a complex, two-floor pair of rooms with grid layout, curved windows and soft neon lighting. Lots of tactical UI elements overlap it.

The second takes things further: difficult decisions are even more difficult.

It’s one of the best strategy games in some time.

-Chris Tapsell

17.

A murder scene at sunset by a highway in Rise of the Golden Idol

It’s smartly done, and one of the most satisfying mystery games of 2024.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourThe Rise of the Golden Idol review

16.

A truly wild ride from start to finish.

Woodcutters and archers gather to defeat a giant demon in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourKunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess review

15.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

You should always make time for a Simogo game.

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourLorelei and the Laser Eyes review

14.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes abstract image of woman walking through pink maze like a shattered mirror

UFO 50

Real talk: it’s overwhelming at first.

All of UFO 50’s games are complete experiences and they’re all unlocked from the off.

That means when you load the game up for the first time you have a daunting decision to make.

Party guests who are available for purchasing in the game UFO 50.

Over time I suspect every game will have its moment.

50 games, weird interconnected lore, different art styles and a gorgeous approach to pseudo-history.

Here’s hoping it’s not another 30 years until Zelda gets to reprise her stunning debut role here.

Princess Zelda swims up a column of water in a jungle scene in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom review

12.

-Katharine Castle

11.

Wholly inadequate for modern challenges.

A shop it Balatro, with various cards on sale.

And so Dragon’s Dogma wasn’t quite the game that had been envisioned.

The business, alas, remained unfinished.

A beast race to rival the world of men.

Screenshot from Dragon’s Dogma 2 showing an anthropomorphic lion character in armour. He has a sword over his back

Richly drawn NPCs and better quests.

As long as you had a VRR TV.

Look, shut up.

metaphor refantazio regalith grand cathedral zorba on rooftop with sceptre

It’s the decade-long chasing of that vision which impresses the most.

But there is beauty in the inhospitable.

Grand vistas, forests as dense as real life.

Thank Goodness You’re Here! screenshot showing a load of townsfolk in the square and one man lying down with his arm stuck in a drain.

Unconcerned about spoiling your view, infinite draw distance be damned.

There are mountains and you will look at them.

In the time between Dragon’s Dogma and its sequel, the RPG landscape has undergone several game-changing revolutions.

A man named Jimmy talks to the player outside the cockpit entrance in Mouthwashing.

The cultural dominance of Soulslikes mercifully peaked and waned.

But for Dragon’s Dogma 2, all that might as well have never happened.

-Jim Trinca, Destroyer of Word Limits

Read more in ourDragon’s Dogma 2 review

10.

ff7 rebirth cloud and aerith skywheel date

Above all, it’s a damn fine RPG in its own right.

-Ed Nightingale

Read more in ourMetaphor: ReFantazio review

9.

Thank Goodness You’re Here!

dragon age the veilguard screenshot rt

Platforms:PC, PS4, PS5, Switch

When I first played Thank Goodness You’re Here!

And yes he is also in it).

-Chris Tapsell

Read more in ourThank Goodness You’re Here!

A shrine shows two dogs reaching for a ring in Animal Well.

review

8.

There’s simply nothing else quite like Mouthwashing out there right now, and it’s downright refreshing.

-Katharine Castle

7.

Silent Hill 2 Remake’s reimagined James

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

What is the purpose of a remake?

How do you balance old and new, while preserving the thrill of the original game?

While some of its narrative changes have appeared convoluted, they’ve certainly got players talking.

Helldivers 2 player with a clenched fist in front of explosions and fire in the vein of “this is fine”

Square Enix went with a maximalist and flamboyant approach to gaming remakes, which certainly worked in its favour.

-Ed Nightingale

Read more in ourFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth review

6.

Animal Well

Animal Well is the kind of game you dream about.

astro bot next to bot tower

It encourages you to work out how it thinks.

And yet on the simplest level it’s pretty straightforward.

Clever as this stuff is, when it slowly fades from memory, what remains is pure atmosphere.

Indiana Jones blows air at a scorpion as he hangs from a ledge in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

What a beautiful thing this is.- Christian Donlan

4.

It’s a remake of incredible balance, fiercely reverent to the original but unafraid to be bold.

But more than anything, it plays beautifully.

-Matt Wales

Read more in ourSilent Hill 2 Remake review

3.

The result is a kind of grand, divine comedy playing out across battlefields, regions, and planets.

Nor does ‘accidentally’ landing my drop pod right on a mouthy teammate’s head.

-Chris Tapsell

2.

Astro Bot

I’ve described Astro Bot as “mid-tier Mario”.

Being popular does matter, but sentiment counts for something too when you’re building a brand.

With Astro Bot Sony has made people feel good about the PlayStation.

Not just in the current moment, but over their lives with the console.

It’s fun to play video games.

I didn’t think I needed to be reminded of that, but I guess I did.

-Tom Orry

1.

-Katharine Castle

Read more in ourIndiana Jones and the Great Circle review

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