It’s been an interesting year for games and gamers.
This year a new debate, AI integration in games, gathered momentum. As some game studios look to AI as a potentially exciting tool for streamlining development processes and reducing costs and deadlines, others wonder at the cost vs benefit to artists, the medium itself, and even the planet. (In fact, the debate was so ubiquitous it was even humorously floated in Alan Wake 2’s final DLC, The Lake House earlier this year).
Elsewhere there were major challenges for AAA titles. Starfield and Redfall, 2 examples of major releases that bombed both critically and commercially, served to spotlight issues like player expectations and the complexities of modern game development.
As Bethesda subsidiaries Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games went bust amid struggles to balance innovation with financial viability, successes like Baldur’s Gate 3 demonstrated the market for high-quality, well-received games was still there if done right.
Meanwhile 2024 really was the year of the Indie Game. Titles such as Balatro, Still Wakes the Deep, Pacific Drive, and Harold Halibut found an audience thanks to crowdfunding initiatives and platforms like Steam, and for the most part offered fans deeply artistic and immersive worlds, creative gameplay mechanics, and unique narratives not found in other more expensive mainstream releases.
Finally, 2024 was the year diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) began to be discussed more seriously. While some progress has been made (with games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard allowing the player to choose gender and pronouns) renewed calls for more meaningful change across the industry will likely take center stage in 2025.
All that and the endless conversation around “Can a DLC or a remake truly be considered a worthy contender for Game of the Year?” made for some interesting online discussions over the last 12 months. (Our opinion on that score is yes it can — if it’s big enough, bold enough and long enough.)
It was with these conversations still fresh in our minds that we made the hellish decision to choose only 10 titles for our annual Top Games of the Year picks.
10. Helldivers 2
(PlayStation 5, Windows PC)
This at first unassuming third-person co-op title was PlayStation’s fastest selling title of all time, as well as Sony’s most successful Windows title to date.
Inspired by Starship Troopers, Arrowhead Game Studio’s surprise hit of the new year built on its predecessor’s legacy with a blend of bold strategy and frenetic action as teams of players took on the Automatons and Terminids in a battle for humanity itself.
Such was the game’s initial popularity that launch issues, including server instability and other glitches, marred initial perceptions. However for those who stuck with it (and those who are eagerly awaiting news on those tantalising blank sections of map) Helldivers 2 proved itself as one of 2024’s best multiplayer games.
9. Frostpunk 2
(Mac, Windows PC)
You’ll never be so worried about a weather forecast in your life! Frostpunk 2 is a delightfully fiendish post-apocalyptic city-building survival game that sees the player take on the role of Steward of New London. Your job is to keep everyone alive as global temperatures plummet. Hard calls have to be made when resources such as food, energy, and shelter are scarce, and there’s always a freak-level storm threatening to rip the first green shoots of civilized society from your frozen grasp.
Your citizens have the ability to shape policy, and will vote on proposals set out by you. Better get negotiating with local councils if you want to seize more power. And while you’re at it watch out for those radicals, and don’t forget to make good on your election promises, or your city will sink into chaos.
Frostpunk 2’s bleakly compelling style, coupled with existential choices not often seen in video games, makes this sequel a compelling and original challenge that explores the complexities of leadership under extreme conditions.
8. Alan Wake 2 – Night Springs
(Playstation 5, X-box Series X/S, Windows)
Alan Wake 2’s first DLC Night Springs is both a love letter to fans of Remedy Entertainment, and to the video game genre itself.
Presented in three acts (Number One Fan, North Star, and Time Breaker) these short chapters represent ‘what if’ style scenarios in which players are invited to imagine each as Alan’s previous written attempts to escape the Dark Place.
Night Springs was a hotly anticipated addition to the franchise for fans eagerly awaiting more from Remedy’s Connected Universe. Deeply imaginative, weird, wild, and wacky in all the right ways, this games studio expertly treads the line between giving the audience more of what it wants, and branching out in new and unexpected directions.
Read Our Full Review here.
7. Still Wakes the Deep
Fans of classic cult movie The Thing will definitely feel the inspiration behind this survival horror’s creeping sense of claustrophobia and the terrifying knowledge that the environment poses an equal threat to the creature oozing through the tight corridors and flickeringly lit rooms behind you.
As Caz, players are tasked with saving the lives of a sinking oil rig’s crew while battling a monstrous entity accidentally brought on board in the game’s opening moments. Despite the horror, Still Wakes the Deep’s story is woven from subtle observations on the human condition not directly addressed until the game’s final moments.
The game offers a richly detailed world, top-notch acting, and a satisfying horror story that will linger long after the credits roll.
Read Our Full Review here.
6. Dragon Age: The Veilguard
(PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X)
This Bioware RPG is a joy to play, stuffed as it is with finely drawn characters, hefty combat, a beautifully realized world, and the ability to finely tune your avatar, Rook.
The game sees our protagonist setting out to stop Solas, the elven trickster god Fen’Harel, from destroying the Veil that imprisons amoral elven gods. However when two of the gods are accidentally freed, Rook, aided by a cast of colorful companions, sets out to stop them.
We forgive less meaty aspects such as the story’s themes and character dynamics in the earlier sections of the game because The Veilguard really gets its sh*t together in the final act.
5. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
(PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Elden Ring’s universe just got a little bigger. Shiny new expansion Shadow of the Erdtree offers fans 20-25 generous hours of new and foreboding adventure filled with trademark creepy landscapes, mysterious dungeons, and gameplay that’s just as demanding as ever.
The DLC introduces new gameplay mechanics which keeps things feeling fresh. Both Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ash serve to enhance progression despite putting some fans on the fence about their effect on the game’s difficulty balance. FromSoftware subsequently softened the difficulty level in a “calibration update” patch, increasing the value of the blessings for the first half of players’ progress, in order to allow players to feel more powerful in the DLC’s earlier stages, and showing the studio really does listen to its fans.
New weapons, spells, and armor are a treat. Boss fights are likewise artistically and creatively as awesome as anything from the base game, and things just feel freer.
Even if the finale felt lacking to some, the expansion’s narrative, challenges, and discoveries more than make up for lesser issues. Erdtree does the impossible, offering more of the same, but different. For dedicated players this DLC is a must-have addition.
4. Black Myth: Wukong
(Playstation 5, Windows)
From developers Game Science, this action RPG inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, follows Sun Wukong, an anthropomorphic monkey based on the character of the same name from the novel.
Wukong’s environments are varied and truly stunning, placing the player in a lush and dense forest one moment, a snow-topped mountain, or a heat-soaked desert the next.
Soulslike combat blends strategic dodges, powerful spells, and transformative abilities to create engaging and unforgettable encounters, especially boss battles, steeped as they are in mythological lore.
With stunning good looks, creative characters, rich Chinese culture, and dramatic and spectacular boss fights, it’s not surprising Wukong smashed Steam records as the most-wishlisted game since May 2024, and the game with the highest number of concurrent players of all time.
3. Silent Hill 2 Remake
(Playstation 5, Windows)
A faithful and conscientious remake of the 2001 original, updated for modern audiences, Silent Hill 2 is all a psychological horror ought to be. Follow James Sunderland on a quest to find his missing wife through the streets, apartments and local landmarks of the town of Silent Hill. Prepare to face unthinkable horrors as James’ journey begins to mirror his own dangerous and deteriorated mental state.
Read Our Full Review here.
2. Balatro
(Android, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
This surprise indie hit from solo developer LocalThunk is a roguelike deckbuilder that seamlessly blends poker-esque mechanics with unpredictable twists.
Those mechanics may be simple (players are invited to play poker hands to score points and defeat blinds) but the rogue-like element elevates this game with new levels of innovation and strategy. For example, Joker cards have a variety of effects, such as offering additional chips or even changing how certain poker hands can be played.
Balatro feels like something truly new, even if it is based loosely on a popular card game. Innovative, often strategically deep, and endlessly replayable, this deckbuilder leaves players feeling a sense of achievement and fun even if they’ve never played a hand of poker in their lives.
1. Astrobot
(PlayStation 5)
If we could sum Astro Bot up with one word, that word would be joy.
This utterly charming 3D platformer was released in celebration of Playstation’s 30th anniversary, and sees players control the game’s adorable titular character as he jumps, hovers, punches, and spin-attacks his way through the galaxy. Astro Bot’s goal is to find his missing bot companions (scattered over 90 levels, which in turn are split across six galaxies and 60 planets!) and reassemble his ship so that everyone can return home. Aw!
Levels are pitched in difficulty from “playful” to “complex” and Astro can rescue and recruit a number of VIP Playstation game characters to help along the way (look out for Nathan Drake from Uncharted, Kratos and Atreus from God of War, and Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn among others.)
Clever mechanics, innovative use of the Playstation 5’s DualSense controller, stunning visuals, and joyful spirit make Astro Bot a game that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
