by Danreb Victorio
2024 ended up being one of the worst years of my life, and somehow video games contributed to the year being horrible while also making it more bearable.
At the end of last year, there were over 10,000 reported lost jobs in gaming. This year alone, 15,000 more jobs were confirmed lost. As I suffered through my imposter syndrome last year, I eventually lost my job at EA in February after suffering through my second bout with COVID, turning my world upside down. Despite my seven years as a community manager and over 20 years as a writer with sites like SmashPad, I had a terrible time finding employment anywhere.
I applied at thousands of places and interviewed for roles with over 30 companies in and out of gaming. While it seemed like an eternity, I fortunately landed back on my feet after six months of unemployment. I make considerably less than what I did in February, but a job is a job and it’s with a gaming-centric non-profit with a mission I believe in.
I don’t know what the industry has to do or is going to do to fix itself, but it needs to happen. Good games exist because of good developers, and while every job comes with stress, I’m sure the stress of losing your job can’t help when it comes to making something you’re actually proud of. As someone that has personally experienced this difficulty and got myself out of it, I believe the best I can do is be there for people. That’s what I do on LinkedIn as a Resumé Reviewer for Amir Satvat’s Video Game Community. Yep, the same Amir Satvat that won this year’s Trailblazer award from The Game Awards. I’m both thankful and fortunate to have met him before my layoff, and it’s something I have a lot of pride in.
That’s enough about that for now. My layoff was the main reason why 2024 was the worst year of my life, but as I mentioned, gaming also helped make it more bearable. 2024 was certainly the year of the JRPG, with half my Top 10 Games of 2024 being JRPGs. So let’s begin!
10. Persona 3 Reload – Multiplatform
Despite being a self-proclaimed Persona junkie, I’ve only dabbled with both Persona 3 and 4, so when I saw that they were giving Persona 3 a remake in the style of P5, I was all-in. While I took a break from this big RPG to play yet another big RPG, I had some fun times platinuming Persona 3 Reload on my first try, and it was a great precursor to what ended up being my runner-up for game of the year.
9. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Multiplatform
So last year at this slot, I had Octopath Traveller II, and it’s much of the same story. I’m not even going to change a whole lot of the copy I had last year, so here’s what I had to say and what I have to say:
I’m not gonna lie. I’ve only played like an hour of this game, but it’s not because I didn’t want to, and it’s not even because I haven’t made the time to. My brother is currently playing the game, and I don’t want to interrupt his flow. I just didn’t have a whole lot of time because I was waiting for it to drop in price because that’s just what Ubisoft does, but I’m still going to give it its flowers. I’m just sad that I know it could’ve been higher than this. The best Metroidvania I played this year was Tales of Kenzera: Zau, but in the little bit I’ve played of The Lost Crown, I immediately knew it was special.
8. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – PC, XSX, PS5
Capcom has simply been on a tear, and while Kunitsu-Gami probably wasn’t considered a success, this is an example of why developers should just be left alone to cook. I’m not a tower defense guy. I hardly consider myself a strategy guy, and I also tend to avoid difficult action games. Kunitsu-Gami does all of that with a flow that just feels special. It’s Capcom at their best, and if you ever want to try something both different and awesome, it’s an easy recommendation.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Switch
Echoes of Wisdom was easily one of the biggest surprises of the year. Coming out just over a year after Tears of the Kingdom, it’s something nobody asked for but very much appreciated. It has its pain points, namely with a clunky UI, but the freedom you have both in puzzle-solving and combat shows that Zelda (both the series and the character) are in good hands with Grezzo.
6. Until Then – PC, PS5, Switch
For me, I don’t think releases get any more important than Until Then. Yeah, my Filipino-American heritage puts some bias into this thought, but the game is special to me. It’s as good a slice-of-life narrative as you’ll get in the business, combined with a beautiful pixel art style, and a fun parody of Metro Manila and Philippine provinces to boot. Its NieR: Automata / Doki Doki Literature Club-like twist also makes it one of the best Groundhog Day-esque experiences I’ve ever been put through in modern media, and Polychroma Games should definitely pat themselves on the back for the way it executed.
5. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – PS5
The main thing you’ll hear out of me regarding Rebirth is that it’s not the Game of the Year. That said, that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. My issues are mainly with the fact that I personally didn’t feel like the game respected my time. Aside from that, it’s tremendous. It has an incredible open world that I didn’t think would be anywhere near the scope it was. A lot of the extra stuff, while annoying here and there, was well done. Chocobo racing? Awesome. Queen’s Blood? Even better. Let’s not forget the piano minigame either! There’s a lot of game here well worth the $70 asking price, easily making it one of the best 10 games of the year for anybody.
4. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth – PC, PS5, XSX
I’m one of those people who became a fan of Like a Dragon playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and as soon as I saw it would primarily take place in Hawaii, it became my most anticipated game of the year, and it was well worth the wait. All this said, the game didn’t do a whole lot of things different from its predecessor. It was just both fun and wholesome, and putting that together with some of the themes and using Hawaii as the setting was enough to put it at #4 for me. In fact, it was actually my GOTY for most of the year.
3. Metaphor: ReFantazio – PC, XSX, PS5
It’s absolutely wild to me that a non-Final Fantasy RPG could be hyped as much as Metaphor: ReFantazio was, and quite frankly it was worth every bit of hype it got. At the same time, it also left a bit to be desired coming off of Persona. At the end of the day, the political intrigue was what got me in, made even better by both the voice acting Shoji Meguro soundtrack–things that Persona are the more used to. I know we’re still getting Persona 6 some day, but Metaphor more than scratched that itch.
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak – PC, PS5, PS4, Switch
Am I a homer for this? How was Metaphor not my favorite RPG of the year?
Trails through Daybreak is that rare Trails game you can start off with first, and it was both different and familiar enough to cater to both new and old fans alike. That hybrid battle system that people love from Metaphor? It was done in Daybreak first. It also features probably the best series protagonist since Estelle in Trails in the Sky, and overall I just had a more enjoyable time with Daybreak than I did with any RPG this year, and it really took something special to come out on top of it.
1. Astro Bot – PS5
My favorite game in 2013 was Super Mario 3D World, over another one of my favorite games of all-time in The Last of Us. The reason? Much like me choosing Daybreak over every other RPG, it was just more fun, and that’s why Astro Bot is my Game of the Year.
The only negative thought I had when playing Astro Bot was when I was going through its challenging final level, and that’s something you earn. You can argue that devoting a lot of its charm to PlayStation and gaming nostalgia is cheap, but it’s also something that celebrates the industry. At a time where we’re seeing studios lay off or close left and right while their AAA $70 products fail, we’re seeing a studio much in the same vain as the now defunct Sony Japan Studio release a $60 product that’ll make long-time fans and new players alike feel joy. That, to me, is special. Especially with the year that I’ve had as someone the industry threw away for six months.
Astro Bot represented hope, joy, and appreciation in a year that I needed it.
What’s next?
A lot of people thought this year was light as far as quality titles. That couldn’t be further from the truth, especially if you’re an RPG fan. Again, the five JRPGs on my list more than prove that, but there were handfuls of other quality releases that barely missed the cut. Those included Ys X: Nordics (another JRPG), Pepper Grinder, EA SPORTS College Football 25, and just too many others to mention.
The Game Awards left a lot to be excited for, in addition to a bunch of announcements and trailers released over the last few weeks. A lot of people are hyped for Grand Theft Auto VI (which I guarantee won’t happen), but Monster Hunter Wilds also looks like an early winner. We’re also getting the latest from Josuf Fares early in the year with Split Fiction!
Despite that, with all this stuff to look forward to, I just hope we see the industry heal as far as employment. I didn’t get the fortune of leaving my AAA job voluntarily, and as hard as it is to crack your way into the industry, that just shouldn’t happen.
Here’s to hopefully a brighter future!