by Filippo Dinolfo
In terms of years in gaming, 2024 has been great for some, but paltry for others. I am in that latter camp, as my tastes have changed over time. The flashy, high-budget titles major publishers produce, have, barring a handful of exceptions, fallen out of favour with me.
Despite that, there have been a number of good games to release this year that I genuinely appreciated, and it’s time to go through and give them their due.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Nintendo Switch
I’ll be one of the contrarians to say that I just don’t like 3D open-world Zelda games. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom may be great games for some, but to me, they’re just tedious. Echoes of Wisdom feels so much more enjoyable to me. Not just because of Zelda starring as the main character for the first time, (no, those CD-I games didn’t happen. You can’t convince me they exist, they were a bad fever dream.) but the Echoes, Bind, and Automaton systems all mesh for a really unique and interesting game. The whimsical art style also gives the game a much more fun aesthetic than the big mainline games.
9. DOOM 1 & 2 Remastered – Multiplatform
The DOOM games are quickly becoming gaming’s version of The White Album, released on every new platform that comes out in some form or other. This year, at Quakecon, Bethesda and id Software released a combo pack of DOOM 1 & 2, along with a brand new episode to go along with it. Running on Night Dive Studios’ Kex engine, this port is the best and most authentic way to play the first two games available right now. While it initially had a few rough edges, most of these have been smoothed out, now. So, if your intent is to play through the campaigns, or experience some of the more famous mods the community has to offer, this is a good place to start. What’s even better is that if you had previously purchased the Doom games that were released a few years ago, you’ll simply have this new game in your library.
8. WWE 2K24 – Multiplatform
WWE games may be one of the few exceptions to AAA games that keep drawing me in. Sports Entertainment is something I enjoy a lot, and it’s great to be able to play games that not only play well, capture the atmosphere beautifully. With a ludicrous amount of customization options to make the game play how you want, and a creation suite with a vibrant community creating and uploading content, it’s really hard to get bored of this game, especially if you have some friends on the couch with you. Forget online play, organize a game night, get some snacks, drinks, and have fun. Trust me, the experience is not the same at all.
7. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Multiplatform
I picked this game up on sale for the Switch, and I am very glad I did. This action/Metroidvania style game suits the Prince of Persia IP really well, and the execution is excellent. I love the accessibility settings included in the game, too, as it put some sections of the game in my reach that otherwise wouldn’t have been. While a game’s challenge level and developer intent do matter, if you have the resources to open it up to a wider audience, then why not? I certainly appreciated the effort, and I hope to see more from this IP I have always been a PoP fan since the Apple II days.
6. Metaphor: ReFantazio – Multiplatform
Stylish. That is the one word that best describes Metaphor. Studio Zero had a vision, and the executed on it to perfection. Metaphor: ReFantazio backs up that style with a lot of substance. There is a good reason it was nominated for and won several awards this year. A vibrant aesthetic, exceptional audio, a great narrative, and great mechanics. In a world where publishers keep claiming JRPGs are dead, Metaphor is here to say “Hell No they aren’t. You just suck at making them!”
5. LlamaSoft: The Jeff Minter Story – Multiplatform
Digital Eclipse’s second in their Gold Master series of Doculections, this one focuses on Jeff Minter and Llama soft. One of gaming’s visionaries, this collection takes you through the timeline of LlamaSoft and lets you play several iconic titles, like Tempest 2000, Gridrunner and Llamatron 2112, as well as earlier titles for the older british 8-bit micros. There’s also a new Remastered version of Gridrunner on this collection. In total, there’s 42 games to explore, all accompanied by artwork and video interviews with Minter and those around him.
4. Tetris Forever – Multiplatform
Another Digital Eclipse Gold Master series release, this one revolves around Tetris, and Alexey Pajitnov and Hank Rogers specifically. Compared to the other entries in this series, there are fewer titles to play, but it is a nice sampling of the history of Tetris. Unfortunately the iconic NES Nintendo and Tengen versions are not on this collection, neither is the Game Boy version. These are a big part of the Tetris story, and it is a shame they couldn’t be included due to licensing issues. For me, the big draw to this collection was the documentary material, including Hank Rogers’ own video footage of his trip to Russia to secure the Tetris rights. If you have a passing interest in Tetris, play this collection.
3. Astro Bot – PlayStation 5
I don’t have a PlayStation 5. But this game almost got me to buy one. Fortunately, I was able to get one on loan for a week to play the game. This game is absolutely delightful and charming. Everything about it is so colorful and full of life. The way the developers also incorporated homages to various other IPs was a really nice touch, too. Mostly, though, the game was just a lot of fun to play. It can be challenging, but not to the point of wanting to put the controller down (I’m not a controller throwing kind of guy) and walking away. If/when it releases on PC, I will absolutely be buying it.
2. Balatro – Multiplatform
Balatro was brought to my attention by a friend of mine. I watched the trailer for the game and thought it looked really interesting. It had a certain charm to it that just spoke to me. It has a pleasing aesthetic, wonderful visual touches, and excellent sound design, including a wonderful soundtrack. It’s a rogue-like deckbuilding game where you use poker hands to meet score targets. Seems simple enough …
1. Balatro – Multiplatform
700+ hours later, I see no end in sight to me playing Balatro. When I wrote my review of the game, I had barely scratch the surface of the game’s depth and intricacy. Balatro gives you a single tutorial at the beginning, and then just lets you go about your business. It doesn’t hold your hand. It just respects your intelligence and ability to put pieces together. Once you start figuring it out, there is no turning back. Over the course of the year, several updates have been released to add fun cosmetic cards, as well as one balance update. LocalThunk, the game’s developer doesn’t believe in DLC or Microtransactions, A private, indie dev from Canada, he is now a multi-millionaire thanks to creating a game he wanted to play. I would have loved it if Balatro had won Game of the Year at The Game Awards, but the fact it was featured on such a grand stage should tell us something. Great games do not need bloated production budgets.
I have no idea what 2025 is going to hold. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the Trails in the Sky remake, for one, but will I have time to play that once the Balatro expansion is released? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. WWE 2K25 is going to be good fun when it comes out on the road to WrestleMania next year, and I’m sure another Gold Master or two will show up for me to dive into. There’s still great stuff out there, and I look forward to playing it, even if that great stuff isn’t the same as what the majority of people like.