My favorite games of 2024

As another year draws to a close, it is time for the annual tradition of rambling about some of my favorite game experiences this year.

As always, there may be one from the year before depending on where you are and when I played it, but these are the games that I have enjoyed in this calendar year. Not just the ones released this year.

Since this is my list, it doesn't need to operate in a tradition 'top ten countdown' style. More, this is a list of the games I thought were awesome for different reasons from different genres, from AAA to indie. 

So what is on the list this year? Let's take a look

 

The Stop Motion Beauty

I adored the style of this one. It was one I practically destined to have a soft spot for.

Harold Halibut is a very unique creation. It's gameplay DNA comes from old point and click style adventures of the Lucasart era, but, it is rendered in a gorgeous, handmade, style that makes it look and feel like a stop motion Laika movie.

 

They accomplished this look by literally handmaking the puppets and world and scanning it into the game engine. Astounding stuff.  A solid story and fun characters meant it offered a fun experience to match it's wonderful visuals.

 

The Surprise Survival Roguelike

I say surprise, because I usually struggle to attach to either survival games or roguelikes. Pacific Drive however managed to be a bit of both, but also offer an interesting fusion of the genres wrapped up in a compelling and very atmospheric atmosphere. 

 

 

That it does so generally without you seeing another character (your communication and exposition done through radio conversations). This could have felt like a cheap compromise for a small development team in the wrong hands, but the inspired choice of building the core loop around your characters car, rather than your character itself.

Taking mood and atmosphere cues from the likes of Stranger Things, both in terms of it being set in a specific time period (in this case 1998) and the 'there is something strange going on' mystery for you to unravel.

The One with the Wisecracking Wizards

This was another one I was always likely to love. Every game that Tom Francis has made has grabbed me in one way or another, his previous efforts Gunpoint and Heat Signature both having made appearances on these end of year lists of mine. 

So I was completely unsurprised when Tactical Breach Wizards came along and I instantly fell for it's X-Com inspired charms.

The bite sized missions reminded me of Into the Breach a tad more than actual X-Com as they present more as tactical puzzles waiting to be solved rather than an open ended tactical strategy game. 

 

It is also very funny. At least to my sense of humor. Probably the best compliment I can play it is that it felt like a part Blackadder and a part Red Dwarf (so very British humour, you have been warned!)

The cool interactive 'Investigation Board' interludes will also inspire quite a few UI designs over the coming years I think.


The Scary Scottish Seas

The latest offering from The Chinese Room, of Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture fame, feels like a genuine interactive horror movie. 

Still Wakes the Deep find you on an oil rig in the north sea, when things start to go wrong.

What I loved was the writing and performances in this one. While the game does a suitable job of ratcheting up the tension as you progress, it could have felt like a very linear, simple, experience. What elevates it is the character performances. In fact, I'd argue the entire experience hinges on them. 

These folk just feel real. It probably helps in my case that it is very true to it's Scottish characters, and I could understand them (It is complete with subtitles for those to whom that isn't a good thing!). The voice acting was so authentic it lends itself to an immersive experience you don't find that often in games.

This is easily one of the best written and performed games I have ever played. 

The Nostalgia Overload

UFO 50 was a lovely surprise for me.

I had not heard about it prior to it's release, not knew much about it going in. I could probably have played it more. I felt like I barely scratched the surface of the thing, even if I worked my way through and tried all the little mini-games it has on offer. (Saying 'mini-game' does actually do a disservice to some of them!)

It presents you with a series of 8-bit inspired 'cartridge' games to unlock and explore. Each feeling like they wouldn't have been out of place in the era that has inspired them. (So, fair warning, some are frustratingly difficult as games of that era were want to be!)

 

    

As a child of that ear, the nostlagia was so strong with this one that I could not resist it's lure. Not all of the games were memorable, but most made me smile as I played (or struggled!) through, and some of them had that genuine sense of 'one more go' that all the best games of the era evoked.

 

The Usual Suspects

Ok, this category is for those games that I am still playing well after their release. I won't say too much more here, as I have written about all of these games in previous years, but this year I have still been playing a lot of No Man's Sky and Marvel Snap, with a few visits back to Azeroth for some World of Warcraft. 

While the rest of the experience didn't grab me, the zombie mode in this year's Call of Duty did have me playing solidly for a few weeks.

Overwatch also got me back for a bit with their Transformers crossover and the OG mode they ran for a little.

 

The Big Budget Duo

In most other years either of these two would have easily been my favorite of the year. As it is they are right up there. 

 

Both Star Wars Outlaws and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are fantastic versions of the core fantasies of their respective IPs.

For me at least, Star Wars has never had a good scoundrel simulator in game form. A lot of the focus has tended to be on Jedi, lightsabers and the Sith. This one was different. It is the closest we have ever gotten to living the Han Solo fantasy. 

It also made me care about an eating street food mini-game. Which is not a sentence I ever expected to type. 

It was clearly made with a lot of passion for the Star Wars universe, and it perfectly captured the feeling of the Star Wars Universe. Yes, there were a few gameplay niggles for sure, but they didn't detract from the experience for me in any real way.

Likewise, the new Indiana Jones game also doesn't really stretch game-play wise, but the overall experience far outweighs the sum of it's parts.

 

It feels like a move we didn't get between Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade.

Even if the mechanics aren't original, the maps are well designed, and the experience of playing through them puts you right in the shoes of the adventurous archeologist.  

The central performance from Troy Baker is exceptional. He is instantly Indy without falling into the trap of it sounding like an imitation of Harrison Ford.

As someone who was a kid in the 80s, these two IPs will always resonate strongly with me, so it was a great year when we got two brilliant games that allowed us to escape into these universes.

The Possibility Space

The last game on the list. Is it my game of the year? Might just be? It is definitely the game I have played the most.

Balatro feels like a generational game. Those that don't come around all that often, and that we'll still be speaking out in a decade or so.

A simple idea. Fusing scoring poker hands with random multipliers, with some roguelike mechanics layered on top. It is the depth of options that takes that simple idea and super charges it. The potential of each run often feels like an irresistible temptation, in particular once you start to understand what is possible.

It is that possibility space that gives this game it's heart. There is always the chance that some crazy combo will reveal itself. Yes, it is most often just beyond your reach, but that's not the point, it is the possibility that drives the ultimate 'Oh, one more run!' motivations. Each subsequent run might be The One. 

It is also brilliantly designed. There are lots of little design touches that reveal themselves as you play, and all contribute to an experience that just keeps on giving. The challenge modes are fun, the different stakes test your mastery of the games concepts better than most roguelikes. 

 I suspect this one will hold up over the long term.

Wrap Up

Overall I think it's actually been a pretty good year for the games themselves. Alas it was also another pretty lousy year for folks working in the industry. I hope things can improve there in 2025. In the meantime I want to still keep on enjoying the games that do get made, and commending the best of them.