2024 was a relatively quiet year for video games. This year’s ‘best of’ offering is less about finding the perfect games and more about finding rewarding experiences, even among the setbacks. With 2024 coming to an end, let’s go over the top 10 Video Games of this year.
Starting at 10, Helldivers 2.
a cooperative third-person shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios broke records—and servers. Helldivers 2 became Playstation’s fastest selling title of all time, and within a week of its February release, the servers couldn’t handle all of the new players.
At number 9, we have Lego Horizon Adventures!
Horizon has quickly become one of PlayStation’s most popular IPs since releasing in 2017, and the chance to explore that world through the lighthearted lens of Lego felt like an automatic win. The game offers a fun and worthwhile experience, especially for those who play alongside younger gamers, or young gamers adventuring on their own.
Number 8, Star wars outlaws
Outlaws offers a wholly new experience in the Star Wars Universe, Whether players choose to gun blasters blazing or employ stealth tactics, Outlaws rewards their play style, offering blaster and gear upgrades that work best with their choices. There’s also plenty to explore, from seeing a few familiar faces to finding parts to upgrade Kay’s ship, speeder, and blaster. The varied nature of gameplay gives back what you put into it.
7. Black Myth: Wukong
Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong made history as the first AAA (major studio release with a lot of money behind it) game in the Chinese video game industry, which has historically developed mobile games instead of console games. Earning rave reviews, Black Myth: Wukong is inspired by Wu Cheng’en’s novel Journey to the West. Gamers play as The Destined One, an anthropomorphic monkey believed to be a reincarnation of Sun Wukong, The Monkey King, as he travels to the mountains to fulfill his destiny, facing a myriad of Chinese spirits and mythological beings along the way.
6. Alan Wake 2: Night Springs and The Lake House
Night Springs and The Lake House, totaling around four hours of new gameplay. Remedy Entertainment’s first DLC release, Night Springs, contains three self-contained episodic narratives that exist within the fictional Twilight Zone-inspired series. Both DLCs offer up the same kind of cold dread that Alan Wake 2 offered and continue to showcase game creator and director Sam Lake’s exploration of what video games are capable of narratively and how far players are willing to follow him down the rabbit hole.
5. Neva
When it came to indie games this year, Nomada Studio and publisher Devolver Digital made quite an impact with their beautifully rendered side-scroller, Neva. Simple combat and puzzle-solving take on a new sense of grandeur through Neva’s animated visuals, inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke (1997). A side-scroller hasn’t felt this fresh in a long while. The game Neva feels closest to in terms of emotional reward. Keep the tissues handy.
4. Silent Hill 2 (My personal favorite)
“In my restless dreams, I see that town.” This was a remake of one of the already greatest horror games. Silent Hill 2 was one of the year’s biggest surprises, managing to stay true to the same haunting atmosphere of the original while updating the gameplay for a generation of horror gamers more familiar with the current Resident Evil remakes and contemporary entries than the fixed-camera of Silent Hill’s past iterations. Silent Hill 2 is a perfect showcase of respect for the past through the capabilities of the current generation of gaming systems.
3. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Much like Remake and the ’97 original, there’s a lot of lore involved in the narrative, and while the combat is fast-paced and responsive in a nice switch-up from command inputs of the original game, Rebirth does require patience. Newcomers to the franchise may be surprised by the number of cutscenes and dialogue-heavy encounters but they all serve to make the world richer. Not bad for a remake of a game already considered one the greatest triumphs in video game history.
2. Astro Bot
Hands down, the most fun gaming experience of the year is Astro Bot. Team Asobi puts PlayStation’s mascot, Astro Bot, who gamers could previously play as in Astro Bot Rescue Mission, and Astro’s Playroom, into a full-length game. A number of the worlds in the game are inspired by classic video games and iconic PlayStation titles like Uncharted, God of War, and Horizon, with plenty of Easter eggs and nods to PlayStation’s history scattered across the worlds.
At number 1 we have Dragon Age: The Veilguard!
Between Elder Scrolls and Baldur’s Gate 3, there’s been no shortage of great high-fantasy RPGs to play. First, hats off to what has to be the most advanced character creation system ever brought to video games. It’s possible to spend hours just fine-tuning the look of your character as everything from bone structure to tissue placement is considered from every angle. The character creator is also fully inclusive, not only in terms of race but also gender in its inclusion of nonbinary pronouns and flexibility with physical characteristics like hairstyles. Before the game even begins, there’s an effort to make The Veilguard feel personal and truly put the gamer behind the character.Players will quickly find themselves impressed by the combat and traversal features, which are best seen in the Dragon Age games. The same goes for the impressive details that create a sense of awe and feel visually distinct in an era where gamers have their pick of visually impressive fantasy games. The Veilguard feels like a refreshing addition to the series that’s still heavy on lore but doesn’t feel too dense to distract from the pure pleasure of killing demons.