Through Caz's eyes, the player experiences a horror of underwater creatures and gore, armed with little more than a flashlight and sometimes a hammer. — The Chinese Room
Last year was particularly strong for the video game industry. Several major releases found critical and commercial success, including Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, while smaller indie puzzlers like Chants of Sennaar also delighted audiences.
This year, the environment has not been nearly as kind. The rising cost of game development has hurt the bottom line for many studios. Thousands lost their jobs as executives attempted to streamline operations. Despite those challenges, there were many new games filled with creative vision and thought-provoking stories.
Here, in alphabetical order, are some of the best releases of 2024.
Animal Well
A single play-through of Animal Well is enjoyable enough. The game presents itself as a pixelated throwback to Metroidvania puzzlers, where players traverse a complicated labyrinth of rooms in search of power-ups that will open new paths and secrets. But in Animal Well there are secrets beyond those secrets. Players needed to convene in online forums and YouTube comment sections to figure them all out.
In Animal Well there are secrets beyond those secrets. Players needed to convene in online forums and YouTube comment sections to figure them all out. — Bigmode
That kind of social experiment made a splash when Animal Well was first released, but even a later play-through can rekindle the joy of a game that is constantly – and at just the right moments – revealing that it has more tricks up its sleeves. (PC, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox Series X|S)
Astro Bot
Sony executives have never committed to a single mascot for their PlayStation brand. They flirted with characters like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon through the early 2000s before adopting grittier personas in the 2010s like Kratos from the God of War series and Aloy from the Horizon franchise.
Astro Bot, the protagonist of several tech demos, barely registered until the 2020 release of Astro’s Playroom, a free game packaged with PlayStation 5 consoles. — Team Asobi
Astro Bot, the protagonist of several tech demos, barely registered until the 2020 release of Astro’s Playroom, a free game packaged with PlayStation 5 consoles. It became so popular that developers at Team Asobi created a full platformer that gives the little blue robot planets to explore and coins to collect in a celebration of Sony’s history. The result is a quirky and lighthearted adventure that feels like a spiritual successor to Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy games. (PS5)
Balatro
Nobody could have expected in the year 2024 that one of the most addicting games in recent memory would be a card game that turns poker on its head. But Balatro has sold more than 2 million copies with joker cards that allow players to bend the game’s rules in their favor. Their random distribution makes for addicting play-throughs.
Balatro has sold more than 2 million copies with joker cards that allow players to bend the game’s rules in their favor. — LocalThunk
A recent port of the game to Android and iOS devices means you may be seeing commuters playing Balatro for years to come. It’s a testament to the anonymous developer behind the project, LocalThunk, who was inspired by playing the Cantonese card game big two with co-workers. (Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
A return to the Lands Between in the expansion Shadow of the Erdtree proved that the formula refined by Hidetaka Miyazaki remained a powerful draw. — FromSoftware
Had players experienced a collective delusion in 2022 when Elden Ring was released to rave reviews despite its sadistic difficulty and arcane rules? Not at all. A return to the Lands Between in the expansion Shadow of the Erdtree proved that the formula refined by Hidetaka Miyazaki remained a powerful draw. Vertical level design and seemingly impossible boss fights reminded players that victory feels even sweeter after being crushed by an enemy 10 – or 100 – times. (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Nostalgia is a powerful drug – and a moneymaker, if the many remakes and sequels coming from the entertainment industry are any indication. But there is something special about Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth that remains with you, even months after playing it.
There is something special about Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth that remains with you, even months after playing it. — Square Enix
Some players say it is overstuffed with optional side quests; others are unhappy about an ending that seems needlessly designed to keep the death of a main character ambiguous. But these complaints feel minor for a game with sweeping narrative moments about a beautiful world headed toward environmental collapse. It helps that the gameplay remains one of the best compromises between classic turn-based strategy games and modern button-mashing action games. (PS5)
Helldivers 2
A smart design has gamers from around the world cooperating in missions that often scale to the limit of a user’s ability, leading to breathless battles and shootouts with acid-spitting insects and terminator machines.— Arrowhead Game Studios
More than 12 million players have battled against hordes of alien bugs and robot soldiers across the galaxy of Helldivers 2. A smart design has gamers from around the world cooperating in missions that often scale to the limit of a user’s ability, leading to breathless battles and shootouts with acid-spitting insects and terminator machines. Although Helldivers 2 takes inspiration from past sci-fi creations, including “Starship Troopers,” it refines the gameplay loop into a chaotic battlefield of crossfire and ambushes. (PC, PS5)
Metaphor: ReFantazio
With enemies lifted from Hieronymus Bosch paintings and a narrative that takes a Dickensian twist on political powerlessness, Metaphor: ReFantazio constantly surprises. The world feels alive in the magical Kingdom of Euchronia, where your protagonist attempts to find a cure for a dying prince. But reality bleeds into this fantasy world as you live each day, completing basic tasks and forming bonds with other characters in a system inspired by another Atlus franchise, Persona.
The world feels alive in the magical Kingdom of Euchronia, where your protagonist attempts to find a cure for a dying prince. — Atlus
During a period when many Hollywood films seem politically gutless, it’s surprising to find a game that deals frankly with issues like racism and caste, asking players to think about their image of a utopian society. It helps that the gameplay is incredibly smooth and that its turn-based combat has strategic depth. (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
One of the most overlooked games of the year, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a superb addition to the long-running series, which has struggled to regain its footing since the 2000s. The main character, Sargon, explores a labyrinthine sacred city where time seems to have no meaning – or at least a different meaning for his companions.
This is a special game with fluid action and difficult puzzles that make you feel like a genius for solving. — Ubisoft Montpellier
This is a special game with fluid action and difficult puzzles that make you feel like a genius for solving. It’s a shame that it might be the only game like it in the series – after poor sales, the game’s publisher, Ubisoft, announced that it had rejected a planned sequel and disbanded the development team. (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Silent Hill 2
When the original Silent Hill 2 released in 2001, it was immediately recognised for a psychologically thrilling story that had more to say about humanity than many of the zombie-slasher games from that period. It starred a flawed protagonist named James Sunderland, a widower lost in a foggy town whose rooms seem to bend around his memories.
This year’s remake is a meticulous refinement of what made the original so impressive. — Bloober Team SA
This year’s remake is a meticulous refinement of what made the original so impressive. The attention to detail can be seen in how the voice actors deliver their lines and how Sunderland’s attitude and physicality shifts as he discovers dark truths about himself. (PC, PS5)
Still Wakes the Deep
This poor electrician named Caz is stranded on a perilous ocean oil rig that is collapsing off the Scottish coast. Through his eyes, the player experiences a horror of underwater creatures and gore, armed with little more than a flashlight and sometimes a hammer.
Through Caz's eyes, the player experiences a horror of underwater creatures and gore, armed with little more than a flashlight and sometimes a hammer. — The Chinese Room
But it’s a small design decision that really gets under your skin. Designers at the Chinese Room pulled the camera back just far enough in this first-person game to see Caz’s flailing arms. You watch them shake with fright and shiver with cold. It makes him feel all the more human as he attempts to escape the burning rig. (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) – ©2024 The New York Times Company
