TOP 10 GAMES OF 2024

 

 

This site frequently harps on about old-school games, but this is the time of year where I get to give my thoughts on new ones. If you ask me, 2024 hasn't been as great a year as last years. There were less  depth in the larger games and less invention in the smaller ones. And my most anticipated games - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and Spider-Man 2 are locked out for me and other PC-users until the end of January (soon!). But that's not to say I didn't have fun with interactive media these past twelve months. Read on to find out what I think was the best of it.

So, 2024 hasn't been quite as good a year as previous ones. That could be my personal life colouring my opinion (it's been a tough one) but when you read about massive layoffs and multiple studio closures I don't think that's the case. The most surprising one for me was Microsoft's shuttering of Tango Gameworks which from an outside perspective was a bizarre choice. The Japanese developer had a lot of talent working for it, producing the highest rated X-Box (temporary) exclusive of 2023 - Hi-Fi Rush (their game was truly upped this year). Strategically, it was also their only tie to Japan, the home of video games so it being unceremoniously discarded was all the more baffling. Thankfully, South Korean publishers Krafton revived the name, but who knows what internal damage has been done.

Microsoft's questionable decision making continues with its insistence to sabotage its own name and go multi-platform. In a way, I can understand where they're going with this. Their Game Pass service is a popular one, but I don't know how viable it is long term. Releasing big-name games on competitor hardware even if at a later date could recoup some of the large development costs. Indiana Jones will come to PS5 soon, and talks of Halo appearing on the Switch 2 seems legit. I'm not sure how well it will fare for Microsoft or the X-Box brand, but as leaps in gaming generations become less noticeable the need for competitive gaming consoles might go along with it. I can see a future where the PC is the VCR of video games.

As for Nintendo, their output has been largely lacklustre as they reach the end of the Switch's life span. They've mostly been committed to easy remakes of older game and charging full-price for them, yet  the ever-talked about Zelda HD collection porting Wind Waker and Twilight Princess from the Wii-U is nowhere to be seen. At least we got Echoes of Wisdom to keep us busy.

Sony has done well with the unexpected success of Astro Bot. I'd have to wait for the PC port before I play it but it does look like fun. Not sure about Game of the Year though. I am curious to see how they fare going forward with the PS5 Pro, a system that will likely cost an arm and a leg. The console was the first ever to actually go up in price during its lifespan, and the threat of the Trump tariffs have lead some to speculate it could cost Americans over $1,000. And if it does, the company might raise the price across the board so as not to alienate their biggest market even further. Needless to say, the future might be a little chaotic in the coming years.

But we're not in the future yet. Let's look at the past and discuss my personal Top 10 games (that I've played) of 2024.

10

Final Fantasy XVI (★★★★☆) finally came to PCs in September and I can confirm that it is a return to form for the numbered entries. I would say it's the best the main series has been since the PS2 days which is quite the statement. There is a medieval War of the Roses vibe going on as rival nations prepare for battle. Lead character Clive, the son of the King of Rosaria, is passed over as next in line as his poorly younger brother Joshua becomes the "Dominant of the Phoenix" that ordains each ruler. It's a magical ability that gives him fire and healing abilities as well as a summoning spell. If you've played a Final Fantasy game before, this "dominance" is essentially the control of a god-like Eikon and we soon discover that Clive has the angry Ifrit on his side. The characters are well realised and surrounded by a gripping conflict that makes it one of the best stories to come from the series for a while. The action may become repetitive as purists mourn the further erosion of turn-based combat, but like any great RPG it's the compelling story that'll keep you with it, and Final Fantasy XVI has it in spades.

9

Of late, I've been getting a kick out of MetroidVanias. These explorative platformers are hard to balance. Many I've played have focussed on complex combat over exploration and puzzle solving making them tough to get into. Turbo Kid (★★★★☆) gets the balance right, and adds a bit of mountain biking seen in games like Excitebike or Trials Evolution for good measure. Based on the hyper-violent post-apocalyptic movie from 2015, the inviting pixel art, impressive animation and exceptional world building makes it one of the better movie-to-game adaptations in a while.

8

Even though I hold the simplicity of Myst in higher regard, I'll always have a soft spot for Cyan World's Riven (★★★★☆). Following on from 2021's remake of the original, this follow up is a bigger and more expansive game. And that is the reason why this game benefits from the new upgrades more so than the first. The islands you travel to all look beautiful. Each of the static screens that made up the first game have been fully transposed to a 3D engine allowing you to directly explore in real time. The only downside to this is that you can more easily miss the small things. Buttons on pillars or ladders hidden off to the side can pass you by in real time, while the static screen the game's design was made for points to the areas of interest. When you interact with a puzzle, control moves away from real-time and into a mouse interface which is very clunky when using a controller (I quickly switched to mouse and keyboard). But when you really get into the game and its brain-bending esoteric puzzles, it absorbs you like no other. Also kudos for packing in VR support for the standard release. Other titles (like Colossal Cave) make you buy it again at launch.

7

If there was one out-there indie game that made its mark this year it was Indika (★★★★☆). Set in an alternate 19th century Russia, you play as the titular nun earnestly trying to make her place in a nunnery high up in the mountains. The other reasons you aren't quite privy to at first, the other nuns shun you, forcing you to do menial tasks that aren't shy about making the player experience every boring moment of. But Indika is not alone. She has a voice inside of her; the Devil himself. Be it a mental illness or a literal devil, she hallucinates during the Eucharist causing her to knock over the priest and disrupt the whole proceedings. So, to get her out of the way, she is ordered to deliver a letter to the father of a nearby monastery and the show-covered road to get there isn't an easy one.

The themes of religious morality and mental illness are expertly done, and further developed in gameplay decisions as well. Those long jobs at the beginning let us experience her borderline indentured servitude, and later on her visions cause the environment to shift a twist to solve navigation puzzles in much the same was as Soul Reaver. The plot wouldn't be out of place for an arthouse foreign-language film, but developers at Odd Meter use interactivity to great effect, furthering the narratives themes and inventing some memorable puzzle moments and set pieces. If you can get past the deliberately dull opening act, the rest of this adventure zips past at great speed. One of the most inventive marriages between storytelling and gameplay I've seen. Excellent.

6

I'm curious to see what non-Brits think of Thank Goodness You're Here! (★★★★☆). This comedy adventure (or "slapformer" as it would like to be known) is filled with a barely decipherable Yorkshire accents and in-jokes that may not translate to other countries. For me, it hit a funny bone that hasn't been touched in years. You are a tiny little human sent on a trip to Barnsworth by your boss to interview the Lord Mayor for the paper. He's scarpered off somewhere, so you can explore the town solving small problems the crazy townsfolk have got themselves in. Predicaments like an arm stuck in a drain or missing sausages are solved with a good slap. Other than jump, whacking everything is how you interact and it uncovers some hilarious out-there skits all fully-voiced with aplomb (including the incomparable Matt Berry in one small role). If you're ever down in t'dumps, pop this on for a laff!

5

Finally, Zelda has her very own game in the series that holds her namesake. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (★★★★☆) is a mix between the use-anything approach of Tears of the Kingdom and the top-down puzzle-fest of the Link's Awakening remake. Here, the princess cannot wield a sword or directly attack anyone, instead relying on her copy ability to unleash enemy doppelgangers at her foes. She can also copy mundane objects and use them in inventive ways to solve puzzles or get around faster. Ultimately, the mechanic is incredibly unwieldly, particularly in the second half of the game as you scroll through seemingly hundreds of collected objects to find the right one. There is no way to organise them yourself, only resorting to pre-determined sorting categories which convinces me to take off a star in an otherwise exceptional game. You know the quality of the Zelda series by now, but I do worry that this could be the first step (albeit a tiny one) in Nintendo taking it down the wrong direction. Still loved it though.

4

I couldn't be more happy that the traditional survival horror is back, and it is in a big way with two high-end remakes from important and long-dormant franchises. Many would've thought Alone in the Dark (★★★★☆) had had its day. Atari has mismanaged the series for a while now (anyone dare to remember Illumination from 2015?), and THQ Nordic's acquisition of the series in 2018 could've gone either way. While obviously a lower budget affair than the other game I'm going to talk about, the Alone in the Dark remake truly puts the name behind the birth of the survival horror back on the map. 

While not exactly a direct remake, the more-or-less original story told here turns the haunted mansion of Derceto Manor into a working insane asylum on the precipice of hell. As either Emily Hartwood (Jodie Comer) or her hired private investigator Edward Carnby (David Harbour) you are to explore the grounds in an attempt to find Hartwood's missing uncle. There is much more focus on the story than in the original which goes to some intriguing places, but the game itself is an easy though still engrossing playthrough. Rather disappointingly, outside of one scene in the latter half of the game, there is little to incentivise you into playing the other character on a second run. I began as Emily, and my interest was piqued imagining what Edward was going through in my absence. Alas, when I began a second playthrough as him I quickly noticed it was the exact same - right down to the puzzles. As a result, the intriguing gaps in the timelines remain untold. A budgetary issue, perhaps, but it keeps it from being a five-star classic in my book. Hopefully, it did well enough to earn a much deserved sequel that would build upon the success of this solid foundation.

There was one five-star survival revival this year; Silent Hill 2 (★★★★★). And no-one was expecting it to be this good. If you've played The Medium, Layers of Fear or The Blair Witch, you'll know that Bloober Team certainly have the chops to make a terrifying and successful title, but few could've predicted how much they've upped their already impressive game. Silent Hill 2 was such a revered entry whose dark themes still shock and resonate to this day. The weird, dreamlike vibes remain intact with the characters keeping their deliberately stilted delivery while the town of Silent Hill itself has been embiggened with extra detail and locations. Levels have also been expanded yet not to the point of exhaustion and puzzles have been tweaked, often times improving on the past by becoming more complex, more involved and more overtly tied to the overall themes. 

Some have bemoaned the combat, and to be frank it's no God of War, but the over-the-shoulder viewpoint alludes to it being, like the newer Resident Evil remakes, more of a distance shooter than close-quarters brawler. To be fair, gunplay is still present, and constant melee attacks isn't exactly the point of the game. But each swing swing of a bat or wail of a lead pipe is made to make James Sunderland look panicked and exhausted. The combat here is no power fantasy like what is found in Capcom's classics. It works for the type of esoteric and genuinely unsettling game Silent Hill is trying to be. I look forward to the next game in the series to get its remake if this is the quality we can expect.

3

I'm still playing through Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (★★★★★), and even at the stage that I'm at I'm in love with it. Arriving at the tail end of the year, its arrival surprised many in how bloody good it actually was. Playing as Dr. Jones himself in the first person, we begin the game in the Vatican circa 1937 during which it is being controlled by Mussolini's Blackshirts. This location is large and jam-packed with so many secrets it's perhaps one of the best designed game areas I've seen in some time. You will be investigating ancient tombs, sneaking past guards and scaling all over the rooftops, contextually shifting to the third-person as he grabs onto ledges or swing with his whip.

While both Shanghai and Thailand await, I'm currently exploring the more world area of Egypt. As you might expect for such a tomb-raiding adventure, the exact area is around the Pyramids of Giza and the infamous Great Sphinx. Nazis have formed multiple dig sites as they search for the mystical McGuffin that ties in with the game's title; magical artefacts found at certain locations that, when view on a map, form a perfect circle. The controversy of its release date has meant that it was unfairly overlooked at the Game Awards mid-December (making the ceremony's Christmas advertising block look a little redundant), but its exceptional quality has meant that for many Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is easily Game of the Year.

2

While you could say that Hellblade II: Senua's Saga (★★★★★) is a bit of a disappointment when compared to the first, when viewed as a piece of interactive art it's second to none. Orcadian warrior Senua has been captured by Viking slavers along with many others from the Orkney Islands. They are transported to Iceland where the ship is destroyed in a thunderstorm. Freed from her potential servitude and devastated by her lost kin, she vows to kill her revenge on her captors. But, in doing so, she finds the humanity of the civilian life, each of whom are plagued by a terrifying mythical giant. As she defeats these beasts, Senua's legend rises across the land, but how does this all affect her already fragile psyche?

Hellblade II is perhaps the most beautiful game I've ever laid eyes upon. And it's well optimised too. Even on my machine at full settings it rarely chugged. It helps that the somewhat linear design can allow the developers to focus their efforts on areas the player can actually see, but with the entire game told in a single unbroken shot, its never less than incredible.

Now, I tend to hold storytelling in higher regard to actual gameplay. Those who don't have been left disappointed and I can understand. The combat, while visually impressive and impactful, isn't particularly deep or complex. It's a series of timed parries and attacks that play more like quick-time events than the more traditional third-person melee featured in the first game. The world may be beautiful enough to keep me satisfied, and the storied narration that takes place as you walk is captivating to me, but each are is almost empty of anything to actually do. There are some puzzles here and there, which are welcome when they actually appear, but I would've liked a lot more of them. Even so, the game's affecting plot and compact run time mean I will likely come back to it time and again.

1

Since I purchased it a few months after its release in February, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (★★★★★) has remained in my mind as the best game of 2024. Developed by Don't Nod in their biggest attempt at going AAA, it married the slightly open-world action-adventure formula of God of War with their own well written and emotionally impactful storytelling of Life is Strange and the moral decisions of Bioshock. You play as both Antea Duarte and Ruaidhrigh "Red" MacRaith, two ghost hunters known as Banishers who have been hired by the founders of a new settlement in America in 1695. The burgeoning village has been beset by a curse causing the deaths of many residents, and you are to not only resolve the issue but usher the restless spirits of the dead into the afterlife.

But when tragedy strikes, and Antea succumbs to her wounds, her spirit remains retaining. Just because she's a ghost, doesn't mean she isn't useful. You can switch to her spirit form at any time which will give you access to special abilities or spectral powers such as the ability to see residues of the past as well as some cool combat combos. While the action is no Arkham Asylum in entertainment value or Elden Ring in complexity, it is still satisfying. Your enemies will consist solely of the wraiths and angry spirits resurrected to cause havoc, but for some a health bar means only how animated he will be. In such instances, you will have to build up your energy and hit them with you spiritual dagger to destroy their spirit once and for all.

Behind all of this is an incredibly well told and often emotional story. Each of the lost souls have an impactful back story, such as a couple of hunters who get lost in the woods after an injury and starve to death, or the missing wife murdered by her abusive husband; it goes to some dark places. But when you resolve their unfinished business you have to choose what to do with them. Do you send them peacefully to the afterlife, obliviate their souls to nothing or absorb them so that Antea - the love of your life - may live again. Every choice has a consequence that effects how people act towards you and leads to different ending. An exceptional and criminally overlooked gem and without a doubt my favourite game of the year.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Another Code: Recollection / Luigi's Mansion 2 HD / Mario vs Donkey Kong / Paper Merio: The Thousand Year Door - Remastered

In what is likely their final year solely focussed on the Switch, Nintendo delved into their back catalogue with a constant stream of remakes and remasters. Arc System Works' Another Code: Recollection (★★★★☆) collects the DS original and its Wii sequel and updates them spectacularly. The first game's update is more pronounced, shifting the low-poly overhead viewpoint into a more freeform third-person adventure game. The result is undoubtedly the best way to play these exceptional games, and for our American friends, the only official way to play the sequel which was region locked to Japan and Europe.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - Remastered (★★★★★) is a perfect little role playing game, and this reissue does little to dispel that notion. For a fully-priced product, however, there's not much here to justify the upgrade. This seems to be a theme for much of Nintendo's remasters and remakes which carries over to Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (★★★★☆). Again charging a high price, this direct port and barely touched upscale of the 3DS game highlights how lazy the company can be sometimes. 

And then there's Mario vs Donkey Kong (★★★★☆). The winning pixel art of the GameBoy Advance original has been redrawn for a more cartooney feel, but the still-great puzzle-platformer now looks like a flash game. I still liked it, and the slightly cheaper RRP does represent its pick-up-and-play handheld origins, but there's not nearly enough here to make it feel like anything more than a budget game.

Another Crab's Treasure

A totally unique Soulslike, Another Crab's Treasure (★★★★☆) is much easier than others in its namesake, but don't expect an easy ride. The peaceful existence of a little hermit crab named Kril - the player character - is shattered when he becomes the target of literal loan sharks. So much so, that he's told he owes a whopping amount of microplastics that form the currency of this world and that his shell is to be taken from him. Naked and exposed, you are to search the ocean for an alternative while collecting microplastics and avoid getting eaten by the other inhabitants. Pretty much anything of a certain size can be your shell, and what you use effects the abilities Kril can perform. Bright, colourful and surprisingly complex for what otherwise looks like a kids game, Another Crab's Treasure is pretty special.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - Reforged

You all know Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (★★★★★) is a good game, and the Reforged remake is a decent enough reissue. Alas, there really isn't anything grand enough to make it worth upgrading if you have the Director's Cut. There are some well thought out quality of life improvements making this the best option for those playing it for the first time, but the adventure purist in me prefers to play the original release on ScummVM in all its pixelated glory.

Carpathian Night starring Bela Lugosi / Castlevania: Dominus Collection / Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

In my blurb discussing my 9th favourite game of the year, I mentioned I went on something of a Metroidvania kick this year. This started in January when Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (★★★★☆) surprised everyone by actually being a good UbiSoft game (so good, they closed the studio - figures). After fifteen years, the prince is back not as an action-adventure like The Sands of Time but as a 2D side-scroller like the very first game. While some ties to the cinematic platforming remains, it is very much The Sands of Time as a platformer, with flashy visuals and an impressively fluid move set that makes exploring each stage a blast. I hope UbiSoft learn from the buzz that surrounded this at the beginning of the year, but going by their actions I doubt they will.

To further scratch that itch, Carpathian Night starring Bela Lugosi (★★★☆☆) arrived in March. Heavily inspired by Castlevania, the game creates its own lore in the Dracula mythos by casting you as either a warrior monk named Abbot Dorin or the vampiric ancestor to Prince Dracula Irina Dracul. Either way, you fight your way through hoards of the pixelated undead in a classic homage to the early Castlevania games.

If you want the real thing, there always Castlevania: The Dominus Collection (★★★★☆). This collects four classic games into one package but there is one caveat; three are based on the Nintendo DS trilogy. Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia are some of the best in the series, but some awkward touch controls prevent them from being remembered as such. Their transition to the PC still works, but only just. On original hardware, you would swipe shapes across the lower screen to cast spells that could help defeat opponents, aid in defending yourself or open up new areas. This means that the menu and map are constantly onscreen and swipe actions are clunkily performed with the right analogue stick or mouse depending on your control method. With a load of extras, including all localisations, a bunch of concept art and two other games - arcade game Haunted Castle and its newly rejigged update called Haunted Castle Revisited - it makes for quite the impressive package.

The Casting of Frank Stone / Until Dawn: Remake

The games from Supermassive Games aren't for everyone. Their horror focussed consequence-driven adventures are perhaps a bit too passive for some, but I've enjoyed pretty much everything they've put out. Alas, this year did see a dip in quality. While I enjoyed my time with The Casting of Frank Stone (★★★☆☆), the rigid adherence to the Dead by Daylight lore and setting didn't allow for much nuance in its plot. It begins well enough, with the birth of the legend that is Frank Stone in the 1960s. We then jump forward in time to the 1980s and again to 2024 where the boogeyman-with-a-crap-name keeps terrifying teenagers over and over again. Fun enough for a playthrough in October, but the company's other output is better.

That includes Until Dawn: Remake (★★★☆☆). The game that put them on the map - one that will see a feature film adaptation later in the year - is arguably their best, but this update doesn't quite do it justice. With the gameplay and story barely touched, it's the graphics that have seen the biggest overhaul and the already amazing-looking game looks incredible now. The change from a cinematic fixed camera perspective to an over-the-shoulder viewpoint does allow you to truly inspect the impressive locales, but it somewhat undermines the intense nature of the game. This changes unconsciously gives off the expectation that combat will somehow be involved like Silent Hill 2 or Resident Evil 4, perhaps disappointing those who don't know what they're getting going in. While it's nice to have the game on PC, with its clunkier controls and some bugs at launch, the decade-old original is still the best way to go if you have access to a PS4.

CLeM / Harold Halibut / The Night is Grey

Long-time readers know that I'm a point-and-click adventure fanatic, and while we're still waiting on Old Skies from the current Kings of the genre - Wadget Eye - these three games are still excellent examples of what the medium can offer. CLeM (★★★★☆) is a cute if short puzzler that has a slightly creepy underbelly hiding behind its cartoon graphics. It's actually the fourth game in Mango Protocol's Psychotic Adventures franchise but you don't need to have played any of them to get into CLeM. In fact, given its obviously higher budget and wider release on platforms like GOG or all of the current home consoles, it's obvious that they're gunning for an indie hit here. And they achieve it too. Directly controlled via a joypad or keyboard (so no pointing or clicking despite firmly being in that genre) you play as an ambulatory ragdoll who has a voice telling him to being it beauty. You will soon pick up a book with lots of information held within; star signs, constellations - that sort of thing. These help you solve the well designed puzzles that did stump me on quite a few occasions, but I must admit I really missed being able to use the mouse.

Harold Halibut (★★★★☆) was perhaps the most high profile out of the three, coming to Game Pass the day of release. Like Trüberbrook before it (a bloody good game which GOG briefly gave away for free earlier in the year, but still goes for dirt cheap now in case you missed it), it is entirely animated through stop motion. However, the techniques used are a little more complex here and there's some great YouTube documentaries that go into the kind of detail I can't here. Again directly controlled with a joypad, Harold makes for an interesting if lackadaisical hero. He's a downtrodden and somewhat depressed janitor who has grown up on an explorative space ship stuck on a far flung water planet, but the new civilization the populace have resigned to hide some bubbling resentments and worrying conspiracies. It is incredibly well acted and beautiful to look at, but I did find the pacing to be a little too slow and monotonous at times. 

The Night is Grey (★★★★☆) is the most traditional of the three. Actually using the mouse to solve puzzles by pointing and clicking, it captured the old-school feel I'm consistently craving for. The story is a dark one though. As a man named Graham, lost in the woods after being chased by wolves, you stumble across a seemingly abandoned house, but the only residence is a little disarmingly upbeat and self-assured girl named Hannah. Graham takes it upon himself to take care of the girl, and the two travel through the woods, mining tunnels and construction yards to find safety. There's a lot more going on with the main characters that makes the game a deeper and more sombre experience, but they're not voice acted all. The puzzles are on the more difficult side, particularly with the single-screen conundrums that require some note-taking skills, but they sometimes sit uneasily within the otherwise well realised surroundings. Nevertheless, it's its an affecting game that will surely stick with you long after the end screen has been reached.

Clock Tower: Rewind / Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked Collection / Tomba: Special Edition

Limited Run Games continue to make good use of their Carbon Engine as they re-issue some absolute classics that a lot of people may have missed first time round. The very first Clock Tower only came out in Japan on the Super Nintendo, PlayStation and Windows PCs, but fan translations were available for years if you wanted to emulate them. Clock Tower: Rewind (★★★★☆) has a brand new translation as well as an animated intro cinematic. However, it's the quality of life improvements to the gameplay that make it worth it. The aging gameplay of the original console point-and-click adventure has been improved with a rewind feature, the ability to save anywhere and mouse support for PC while difficulty has been tweaked for the better. If you're not into emulation, this is the way to go.

Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked Collection (★★★★☆) collects the three games for the 16-bit generation into one package. The original is one of the best games on the Mega Drive and its sequel is pretty good too. The consensus of the Super Nintendo version of Sparkster is that it's the lesser of the three, but being the one I played as a kid I have an immense soft spot for it.

As Tomba: Special Edition (★★★★☆) contains only the first game, it is perhaps the least featureful of the three. The game itself, which originally came out on the PlayStation in 1997, is an absolute classic that was massively overlooked back in the day. I own the original European version and its sequel, known as Tombi over here, as well as the digital versions on PS3 so it wasn't quite worth it for me, but if you haven't even heard of it, it's one of the best platform RPGs out there.

Crow Country

Looking straight from the PlayStation era, indie survival horror game Crow Country (★★★★☆) hides a beautifully pixelated scare-fest that fans of early Resident Evil will love. The abandoned theme park that makes up the setting of the game looks like a series of pre-rendered CGI backgrounds compressed to fit the resolution of Sony's little grey box, but these assets are all in real time. You can move the angled camera freely and smoothly which, despite its lower graphical fidelity, kinda wowed me. Right down to the tank controls, Crow Country firmly refuses to take any drastic detours from the past which at times is to the game's detriment. Sure, you can get a hang of the lost art of turning on the spot, but combat is frustratingly lacklustre to the point where it's impossible to take groups of foes down in the small spaces it forces you in. Ammo is also alarmingly rare, while enemies are such bullet sponges it passes the terrifying encounters it aims for into sheer annoyance. There is an easy mode called Exploration Mode which removes all enemies and essentially becomes an adventure game, but I want to kill some zombies goddammit! I would've perhaps liked an easier option under the Survival Horror setting for those of us who just want a more casual playthrough without any features removed. This is why I put the game down before I really wanted to, but there's enough good here that I'll most definitely come back to it later.

Disney's Epic Mickey: Rebrushed

I've covered a lot of remastered re-issues in this rundown. There's been a hell of a lot of them, but I reckon the one that's the clearest upgrade to the original is Disney's Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (★★★★☆).. I played and liked it back on the Wii, when I got it the year of release for Christmas instead of the sold-out Donkey Kong Country Returns. I am something of a Disney-phile after all and the nostalgia overload of the series very much appealed to me. Alas, the controls let the game down. This "rebrushed" update fixes all of that, despite removing the Wii's motion controls (which quite frankly would make it worthwhile in and of itself). The graphics have been improved, though only in touched-up form, and great pains have been made to fix camera controls and make Mickey's movements much more fluid. So, despite being no more than a remaster on the surface, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed has a lot more care given to it than you might've thought.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

There's been something of a dichotomy with the reception of BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard (★★★★☆).  Critics loved it, often claiming it to be one of the best games of the year, which players trashed it to the point where it failed financially. I err towards that of the critic, though I understand at least some of the ire from users (though not the anti-trans sentiment that's come out in its wake). Unlike the choice-driven RPGs of the previous games, The Veilguard is much more of an action-adventure in design. A good one that contains a great story and compelling characters, but a stark difference from what fan may have been expecting. Some of the dialogue is clunky, but in the many hours I've spent on it I can say that most are not. It doesn't help that that scene carries some of the worst dialogue in the game despite being a pretty worthwhile subplot overall. It's not as if those character attributes haven't been touched upon in previous games, however briefly.

My biggest gripe with it is not any of this, but another game I played this year that seem to share a lot of DNA; another EA game from 2023 called Immortals of Aveum (★★★★★). This first-person action-adventure is set in a bright fantasy realm that is being blighted by a corruption brought upon by misuse of magic. The Veilguard is set in a bright fantasy realm that is being blighted by a corruption brought upon by the inner machinations of gods. Both use portals to travel around the nicely realised yet enclosed locations and boast a welcome lack of micro-transactions from a company notorious for ruining games with them. They are so similar that I often confuse the two in my mind, despite some obvious difference. In my opinion, Immortals of Aveum is the better game telling the better story and would've featured in my Top 10 list of 2023 had I played it in time, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not slouch either. Both are worthy to be in anyone's gaming library, and the negativity of naysayers is just noise.

Dustborn

Talking of naysayers and noise, Dustborn (★★★☆☆) got a lot of it this year too. I keep having discussions with my right-wing friend about it (both sides are capable of getting along), and his main argument is that trans-identity issues shouldn't be in a game marketed at a wide audience if they want it to be successful. According to him, such games aren't made for them so why alienate everyone else. I completely disagree believing deep connections to a character totally different to oneself can be made if you have enough empathy for it. I feel his argument really goes out of the window when discussing Dustborn. This small indie adventure wasn't made for the masses like Dragon Age was, and its story featuring a cast of gender non-conforming LGBTQ+ personalities being discriminated against at the highest level due to some special abilities is a direct and specific metaphor for the queer experience. This is a game that was made for them. Yet, the we saw same vitriol. 

My take on Dustborn, a consequence-driven adventure from the mind of Dreamfall creator Ragnar Tørnquist, is that the interesting premise does suffer from a rather sloppy design that has you watch more than you play. While the main character is an interesting one - her power to push emotional states on others makes her wary of her own inner turmoil - some of her needy and neuro-divergent best friends and ex-lovers are incredibly annoying as written and performed. The contrast between what is good and what is bad is vast, and the overall game (which includes a number of rhythm arcade sequences to decent original music constructed on the fly) is somewhat unfocussed compared to the tighter entries of Tørnquist's The Longest Journey trilogy or his previous horror-themed walking simulator Draugen. Still, if you like adventure games and are either queer or of a tolerant mindset, Dutborn isn't remotely barren of entertainment.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut / God of War: Ragnarok / Horizon: Forbidden West / Horizon: Zero Dawn - Remastered

Sony's back catalogue coming to the PC is a great idea. Now everyone can play these absolute classic games - in my opinion some of the best ever. Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut (★★★★★) is such an absolute blast that it featured in my Top 10 of 2021. God of War: Ragnarok (★★★★★) is arguably better, topping my list when it hit the PlayStation 4 in 2022. The Horizon series isn't as perfect but a good time nonetheless. Sequel Horizon: Forbidden West (★★★★☆) is still worth your time, but bringing us Horizon: Zero Dawn - Remastered (★★★★☆) screams of a cash grab, delisting the fairly recent (and cheap) PC port of the original to charge full price for this. Still good, but totally unnecessary. As for the recently released LEGO Horizon Adventures, I've chosen to wait until the price inevitably goes down before I buy it so I've not played it quite just yet. Looks fun though.

The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered / Star Wars: Dark Forces - Remastered / The Thing Remastered / Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered

Yet more remasters! This lot are more basic updates of their classic originals that are only really worth it if you've not played the original, or consider them to be among your favourites. I'm a sucker for retro titles, so I gave each of them a whirl. The best of them is Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered (★★★★★) which does next to nothing to update the precise control methods or level design of Lara Croft's first three gaming blockbusters. That's probably a good thing as the two are so intertwined that any changes to Ms. Croft's control scheme would mean completely re-designing the stages themselves in much the same way as Anniversary did in 2007. This compilation allows you to save anywhere (a godsend) and substantially improves the graphics which can be switched back to the low-poly old style at the push of a button. These are classic games, but I'm looking forward to the recently announced remaster of the next trilogy. The broken-at-launch sixth game in particular needs a lot of work to fix the notoriously buggy game which I hope they solve.

The Legacy of Kain 1 & 2 Remastered (★★★★★) is also another great remaster, and proves why Crystal Dynamics were given the reigns to Lara after Core dropped the ball with Angel of Darkness. The gothic architecture and otherworldly feel remain, and the world shifting mechanics remain an impressive gimmick that allows for memorable puzzle design. The sequel isn't quite as good, but the updated graphics and small but welcome quality of life improvements make both of them great fun to revisit.

NightDive Studios are perhaps the king of the remaster, often giving new life to games that would otherwise be abandoned or ignored by their owners. The Thing Remastered (★★★★☆) - which was once on this site - is a competent if bare bones update to a cult classic of a game. Nothing much has been altered to the point where even its graphical enhancements are minimal, but it's always good to have an official way to play such a niche title. The improvements to Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster (★★★★☆) are a little more obvious, but not by much. The upgraded graphics are deliberately designed to keep the pixelated aesthetic to the original - there are no new bells and whistles here, just improvements to assets that were already there. The gameplay of this aging Doom clone remains, which includes overly maze-like maps and frustratingly obtuse puzzles, but like any game NightDive chooses to work on, it's still a worthwhile entry.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership / Princess Peach: Showdown!

Nintendo's non-remake output was a little lacklustre. Mario & Luigi: Brothershop (★★★☆☆) is the first big-screen outing for the once handheld RPG series, and I can't help but there's something missing now that the unfairly shuttered AlphaDream isn't on development duties. The world feels sparse and undetailed, while Luigi is once again reduced to being a sidekick with mechanics that remove control from the player. The story is simple and cluttered, with overlong expositional cutscenes to explain both the world and gameplay in the dullest way possible. Okay for a young person's first foray into role playing, but long time fans are left wanting.

Princess Peach: Showdown (★★★☆☆) fares a little better, but still manages to be strangely disposably for an in-house Nintendo game. Peach has taken Mario to the theatre, and in doing so gets magically sucked into the stage of a multitude of different plays by the evil Madame Grape and her minions  that sport the chucklesome name of  "The Sour Bunch". So, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom dons different costumes to unlock different abilities so that sparkle - a literal collectable item - can return to the theatre. This is essentially an excuse to play dress-up in a series of levels that are half platformer, half brawler, but wholly easy. Clearly aimed at young girls, it still retains a Nintendo charm, but unlike the other Nintendo Princess's first starring role this year (The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom in case you forgot) I doubt this will garner much of a following to see Peach return in a sequel.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus / Metaphor: ReFantazio

For some reason, the older I get the less I like the generic Manga anime style in games. Too many of them look the same and star identical stereotypical personas that I can't differentiate between the likes of Sword Art Online or the Tales series at first glance (don't hate me fans!). That being said, there's something that hooked me in when I saw these two games. Spike Chunsoft's Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus (★★★★☆) is a fun and involving adventure game set in the Danganropa universe. in the same vein as the Phoenix Wright games. You are a master detective who, on their way to the train station, is knocked out and dumped in a supply closet. This is where you wake up with complete amnesia and the ability to see a mischievous demon who will forever remain by your side. A quick look around will tell you that you're due to board a closed-off train to the city, so you head on over to step on just in time. The other passengers consist of other famous master detectives but before you can get a good rapport with any of them, they one-by-one turn up dead leaving you as the only suspect. Can you figure it out? This is just the opening case which leads to a much larger and interconnected adventure that is very much worth it. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio (★★★★★) is developed by the renowned Atlas, the same folk who gave us Persona and Shin Megami Tensei so there's a lot of expectation for it before release. Personally, its visual style passed me by but when I saw it garner great reviews, winning game of the year at several publications I had to check it out. I'm glad I did as this is an almost perfect RPG which marries real-time and turn-based combat expertly without either becoming too worn out. I've barely touched the surface of it so I couldn't in good conscience place this among my Top 10, but I'm loving it so much so far that by the time I reach the end it might knock Final Fantasy XVI out of it. 

Planet Coaster 2

I loved the first Planet Coaster, buying it in early access so I could get to it much earlier than anyone else. I spent countless hours in that game building theme parks, tweaking structures and designing dark rides. If you've seen videos on my YouTube channel (which I sadly no longer have the time to keep going with it), the intro castle is taken directly from it. While Planet Coaster 2 (★★★★☆) will likely steal more hours from me, there isn't really enough here to warrant a sequel. The terrain brushes and new water park management features are all good editions, but none of it feels like anything more than an addon to a game that's nearing a decade old. While the management side of things have also seen many improvements, with individual guest needs and troublesome weather, the sandbox mode is just more of the same. The graphics, which still use Frontier's in-house Cobra engine, are basically identical too, with any differences barely noticeable. That being said, without Planet Coaster 1, I'd regard this as a perfect game and will likely abandon the original for this one.

Still Wakes the Deep

The Chinese Room, who basically kickstarted the walking simulator with 2012's Dear Esther a year before Gone Home popularised it, returns with the equally impressive Still Wakes the Deep (★★★★☆). Set on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland in the mid-70's, you play as a worker desperately trying to survive as an unexpected disaster causes massive destruction to the work place. It soon becomes clear that what caused this havoc is otherworldly, so tread lightly whenever you encounter these pitch-black monstrosities. Much more action-packed than your average walking simulator, the tension gets cranked up to almost unbearable levels at times making it one of the best games in the Brighton based envious catalogue. 

Tekken 8

It's been a good while since I played a fighting game. Back in the PlayStation era, Tekken was my jam. So much in fact, that I was pretty skilled at the third entry as well as the PS2's Tag Tournament. By the time the numbered entries returned, the series had lost its lustre with me as it became less mechanical and more fluid. To many, that's a good thing, but I found the learned tactics that had been ingrained in me - particularly in my go-to characters of Hwoarang and Xiaoyu - didn't work as they used to. Tekken 8 (★★★★☆) doesn't return to this, but it elevates the genre by adding spectacular combat and involved story modes that really sucked me in. My aging reflexes mean I probably can't get as good as I was as a teenager, but going in as a more casual player Tekken 8 provides a lot more the previous entries.

I don't always play enough bad games to make a worst of list, but boy did a good bunch disappoint me this year. Some a from big developers with their money-grabbing tactics ruining what could've been good while I'm sad to say a few low-budget independent ones deserve my scorn (though I still commend them greatly for trying). Here's my pick for the worst games of 2024.

WORST 5 OF 2024

5

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, FATHER?

There's something impressive in how What Have You Done, Father? (★★☆☆☆) was mostly created by a single person; Romanian 3D artist George Remus Poiana who formed development company Darkania Works as a passion project. So, I feel a little bad dunking on this short adventure. You play as a Father Mathias Marton who, after a one night stand, wakes to find her lover vanished and signs of foul play are everywhere. A murder mystery is afoot! But who could've done it? Is it one of the few characters staying at the priory or is the devil himself at play? Despite the incredibly well realised locations and intriguing setup, the story is childish and flippant, and the erotic thriller elements laughable instead of sexy; who wants to see a Priest wanking? While not explicit, it's certainly jarring which undermines the psychoanalytical nature it's trying to go with. Only a couple of hours long at most, and correctly priced to reflect that, it won't take up too much of your time but I wanted more from the intriguing premise. Still, there's definite talent behind the scenes. Just pay attention to the writing.

4

SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY

I really liked the first two South Park RPGs, but South Park: Snow Day (★★☆☆☆) seems to have forgotten what made them great. First and foremost was the idea that you are literally playing the show. A screenshot from those games could easily have been confused with the latest episode. Second is the use of familiar RPG topes and mechanics. The Stick of Truth was essentially an adult rated Paper Mario with its turn-based combat while The Fractured But Whole was inspired by the grid-based strategy RPGs like Tactics Ogre. Snow Day is Fortnite mixed with a card battler rendered in full 3D. And, with the implementation of micro-transactions, it suffers greatly because of it. Avoid.

3

ARIO

Another low budget indie game that left a bad taste in my mouse was Ario (★☆☆☆☆) which I bought on a whim after playing and enjoying Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It looks like that game too, but this platformer is incredibly bland and janky as all hell. With unresponsive controls and bizarrely implemented puzzles, the game comes off as unfinished. Even if it did have a few extra months of polish, I doubt that the £10.99 price point would be worth it. 

2

SKULL & BONES

If there is one thing that's borderline killing the gaming industry, it's micro-transactions. They only really work in certain types of games; the kind that will keep you with it year upon year. But now that everyone who's interested has chosen their loyalty to the Fortnites or Minecrafts or World of Warcrafts of the world, there isn't much space in the market for anything else. But boy do these companies try - and fail - to get a piece of that pie. While Sony's Conchord may have been the biggest loser, UbiSoft's Skull & Bones (★☆☆☆☆) didn't wow gamers either. It seems like this poor-man's Sea of Thieves was put to market for contractual reasons as the Government of Singapore helped finance it. If this wasn't the case, I would've hoped that some of the higher ups would've seen the writing on the wall and call it quits during the prolonged 11-year development time. Thankfully, I didn't pay for it, but a friend of mine did. He still has buyers remorse.

1

SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

I got Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (★☆☆☆☆) for free thanks to my Amazon Prime membership. If I'm honest with you, I was tempted to hand over the cash if it reached a low enough price point solely out of curiosity and respect for Rocksteady and their Arkham games. I'm glad I didn't. Suicide Squad is not an Arkham game, but another looter shooter gunning for a piece of that Fortnite pie. A bizarre direction as I can imagine fans of their exceptional Batman trilogy really don't want that. They want a proper single-player action adventure that expands on what has come before. What's even more annoying is that the story and set up could've been used to make such a game, but the higher ups at Warner Bros - who are making all sorts of wrong decisions in every department - forced this on them to the point where there's no going back. Microtransactions are the devil in this industry and do nothing but ruin a game, and most likely the company strong armed into making them. As a result, one of my most anticipated games of 2024 takes its crown as the worst game of the year by far.

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