I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into 2024. There were a few games I knew for sure that I was excited about: games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Persona 3 Reload, and, of course, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
I’ve always loved RPGs, so of course, I was going to play as many as I could when they were released. There were also remastered versions of games I’d always wanted to play that I was looking forward to trying for the first time. What I wasn’t expecting was for my love of the horror genre to be reignited and for me to become obsessed with games that I would’ve once scoffed at.
While I can’t really say if 2024 was my favorite year for gaming, it definitely had some titles that solidified their place on my list of all-time favorites. As such, putting together my favorite games this year was simultaneously really easy and really difficult.
Honorable Mentions
There were a few games in 2024 that didn’t quite make my top 10 favorites, either due to the fact I haven’t beaten them, haven’t started them, haven’t put enough hours into them, or because they are fundamentally not finished yet. For example, there’s Hades II. I loved a lot of the time I put into Hades II. The game is incredibly addicting, the characters are great, and the story is intriguing. That said, the game is still in early access, so it’s hard to judge it as a complete package yet.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a game I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced years ago. However, I haven’t had a chance to start it due to being out of the country for the last month. It’s a similar case to Sonic x Shadow Generations: while I love the time I’ve spent with the game so far, I haven’t yet finished it.
I need to put more time into multiplayer titles like Helldivers 2 or the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection before I decide if I want to play more. Lastly, there’s Antonblast. This is another great game that stuck out this year. It’s a fantastic platformer, inspired by the likes of Wario Land and Crash Bandicoot. The only reason it’s not on my list is because there were games released in 2024 that I liked far more. With all of that being said, here are my favorite games of 2024.
10. Balatro
I first heard about Balatro when it was nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024. I didn’t know much about it, only that it was a card game that featured similar rules to Poker. When it was available for a lower price during the Steam Autumn Sale, I bought it offhandedly, even though I knew absolutely nothing about Poker. This would prove to be a devastating mistake.
Believe what everyone has told you: Balatro is incredibly addicting. Even if you know nothing about Poker or even cards, the game will rope you in with a loop that is easy to understand and hard to master. The mix of strategy and luck will turn your brain to mush as you lose hours and hours with those infamous last words: “Just one more run!”
I have already completed a few runs of Balatro, and I want more. If you need a relaxing game while you’re traveling or you want to waste hours of your time trying to get the perfect deck of cards to win, then this is the game for you. Just don’t act surprised when you look at the clock and five hours have gone by.
9. Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
Epic Mickey: Rebrushed was one of many games released this year I was not expecting. For context, Epic Mickey was a personal favorite of mine when I first played it on the Wii in 2010. Unfortunately, though, I never had a chance to beat it, partly because of the game’s awful camera controls and partly because I sold my Wii U to buy the Nintendo Switch. So the announcement that it’s coming to modern consoles with improved graphics and several quality-of-life updates was one of the most exciting reveals of the year for me.
Rebrushed is a great remaster. It takes everything about the original game and improves it for modern audiences. The camera is fixed, there are no obnoxious motion controls, the graphics look beautiful, and everything runs as smooth as butter. Plus, all of the qualities that made the original great, such as the story, music, and atmosphere, are left intact.
If you’re a fan of Disney or 3D platformers, you’d love Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. The remastered version is the definitive way to play this cult classic, so hopefully, it gets more attention, and we can finally get that long-awaited sequel.
8. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Much like Epic Mickey, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was another game I’d been wanting to play for a while. I’d always admired the franchise from a distance due to its fun gameplay mechanics, interesting characters, and surprisingly compelling story. When most people talk about the best of the Paper Mario franchise, The Thousand-Year Door would usually come up. So, what better time to play the game for the first time than a remastered release?
While The Thousand-Year Door doesn’t add as many quality-of-life changes as Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, the base game is still fantastic. The story is great, far more than what you’d expect from the average Mario game. Further, the characters are so charming and loveable. Each of them have unique personalities, from the adventurous Goombella, to the shy Koops, to the adorable Vivian, and countless more. Plus, the RPG and gameplay mechanics are near-perfect.
Despite how much of the game’s age is still on display, I still adored my time with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It still holds up as one of Nintendo’s best RPGs and I can only hope it paves the way for the rest of the franchise to return to its roots.
7. Marvel Rivals
In a year where hero shooters are slowly becoming obsolete and where games like Concord are being shelved barely a few weeks after launch, Marvel Rivals stands out as one of the few games that can actually stand toe-to-toe with Overwatch 2. Rivals, like Overwatch and Concord, is a hero shooter. Unlike both, though, the characters are based on popular and obscure characters from the Marvel universe. You can pick from characters like Spider-Man, Squirrel Girl, Iron Fist, Cloak & Dagger, Moon Knight, Wolverine, and even Jeff the Land Shark.
Rivals is great fun. I fell in love with it when I first played the Closed Alpha, and I fell in love with it more when it was fully launched. All of the characters are fun to use, and all have some form of viability regardless of the situation. Even if you pick your mains purely off of which Marvel characters are your favorites, you’ll still be able to stand toe-to-toe with the rest of your teammates.
Additionally, thanks to the promise of more characters down the line, a pretty decent monetization scheme, a great gameplay loop, and the connection to the broader Marvel universe, Rivals will likely continue to be successful for many years to come. Now, if they can just add Daredevil, we’d have a perfect game.
6. Persona 3 Reload
Along with Epic Mickey and The Thousand-Year Door, Persona 3 was yet another game I’d wanted to try but was too intimidated by its age. When a full-scale remake was revealed, it quickly became one of my most anticipated games in 2024. I was prepared to buy it even before I found out it was coming to Game Pass, and I definitely don’t regret my decision.
Persona 3 Reload is great. I finally understand why friends of mine who were fans of the franchise had been telling me to play Persona 3. The story and characters are great, as both are treated with the right amount of respect, dignity, and care. Party members like Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori, and Fuuka Yamagishi stand alongside some of my favorite characters of all time from games such as Persona 5 Royal.
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the game’s DLC, the base Persona 3 Reload experience is absolutely fantastic. The gameplay modifications are perfect, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the narrative will continue to resonate with me even as time goes by. I can’t wait to eventually go back to the game for New Game Plus.
5. Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2
Warhammer is a franchise I’ve slowly been getting invested in over the past couple of years. It started with a fan-animated series called Astartes, then continued as I watched videos providing an overview of the lore. When I heard about all the rave reviews that Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 was getting, I knew I had to give it a shot. It did not disappoint.
Space Marine 2 is one of the most high-octane and intense action games I’ve played in my life. With every shot from your gun, every swipe of your chainsaw, and even the mere steps that the Space Marine takes, it feels like they have weight and power behind them. The gunplay and melee are addicting, and there is no greater feeling than mowing down waves of monsters. Space Marine 2 makes you feel like an immovable object in the face of bugs who are simply too weak to stand in your presence.
Even the story is compelling. The characters strike the right balance between being stoic and charming, and there are some pretty surprising twists and turns throughout. Plus, thanks to the fun multiplayer and a steady stream of free updates, Space Marine 2 is a game that will continue to be exciting, even years after release. I can’t wait to finally jump back in and live through the thrill of being one of the strongest creatures in the universe.
4. Astro Bot
Over the last few years, platformers have felt like a dying art. This feels especially true with Sony, as games like Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Spyro the Dragon, Sly Cooper, and Little Big Planet have slowly faded out of the limelight in favor of the new God of War games, Uncharted, The Last of Us, and the aforementioned Concord. Astro Bot feels like a statement that clearly states that these cartoon platformers still have a place in the industry.
Astro Bot is pure fun. The story isn’t complex, the gameplay doesn’t have a gimmick that changes the entire industry, and the protagonist doesn’t have a design that can match the iconography of a character like Mario. Yet, despite all that, it’s still a really fun game to play. There’s a clear charm and love put into the music, the visuals, the levels, the enemies, and, of course, the hundreds of bots you can collect based on popular IPs.
Make no mistake, Astro Bot more than deserved the Game of the Year win. In a time where a lot of games are more focused on delivering cinematic experiences instead of being a fun time, I can only hope that Astro Bot reminds developers that at the end of the day, all players want is a game that is pure fun.
3. Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 was definitely one of the biggest surprises this year. I had a lot of the same concerns that other fans of the franchise had: I wasn’t sure how Konami and Bloober Team would be able to handle one of the best horror games of all time with the same respect as the original. Even then, I didn’t feel like I would care either way since I wasn’t a fan of the series. On a whim, I opted to give the remake a shot not long after it was released, and I was not disappointed.
Even after almost twenty-five years, Silent Hill 2 is still one of the best horror games of all time. The atmosphere and narrative are impeccable, and there were countless moments where I could feel my heart beat out of my skin due to the absolutely terrifying monsters that would creep behind every corner. Further, thanks to the gameplay modifications, the remake strikes the right balance between being both suspenseful and fun.
Since I rolled the credits for the first time, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Silent Hill 2. Even now, I still feel this great urge to go back and replay it again. Much like the game’s characters feel called to the town called Silent Hill, I feel like it’s my duty to go back and grab all the endings I missed.
2. Mouthwashing
Mouthwashing blew my mind. I knew nothing about this game when I first played it; all I knew was the PlayStation 1-inspired style. I went into it expecting a survival horror game on the same level as Signalis. Instead, I was left with one of the most compelling experiences I’ve ever had in a video game and one that has been stuck in my head every day since I first played it a few months ago.
There are no zombies, no demonic creatures, no world-ending stakes. You don’t even get a gun till the last act of the game. All you’re left with is a spaceship, adrift in the middle of nowhere due to a fateful crash, with five passengers. Instead of a cosmic horror that slowly drives the inhabitants mad, you’re left with a story of normal people forced to deal with the actions of one deluded man who refuses to take responsibility and another who gave that man a platform to do his horrific actions.
Mouthwashing is a deeply upsetting game that’ll leave you with a mix of shock, horror, and rage. It’s one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever witnessed, despite the fact that there’s not a single jumpscare. After just a few months, Mouthwashing has already gone viral, and for good reason. There is nothing more I can say about this game: buy it, play it, and realize that it’s one of the greatest indie games released in the past few years.
1. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Ever since 2021, I’ve been invested in the world of Final Fantasy VII, thanks to playing Sephiroth in Smash Bros., playing the original release on the Nintendo Switch, and then playing the Remake on the PlayStation 5. When the trilogy was officially announced, with the next entry confirmed to be titled Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I was ready. I knew what to expect, I could guess what areas would be adapted, and I was more than happy to be a part of Square Enix’s wild ride.
What else can I say about Rebirth that hasn’t been said already? It’s quickly become one of my favorite RPGs of all time. The gameplay is immaculate: every single party member is fun to control and has a wide variety of different attacks that make the already addicting loop of Remake far more fun. The music is brilliant: I’ve already spent hours listening to every single track on the album, spreading them throughout all my albums. The visuals are stunning, the voice acting is incredible, and the areas are all superb.
Then there’s the story. Going into Rebirth, I was prepared for things to differ drastically from the original release, but the way the writers executed each story beat, adding new layers of suspense to a narrative that has been spoiled into oblivion, was far beyond anything I could’ve expected. I am more than invested to see how the story continues into the future.
Persona 5 has always stood as my favorite game of all time. Now though? I know in my heart that when the Remake trilogy is all said and done, this franchise will hold the title of being my all-time favorite. Final Fantasy VII has changed my life, my perception of the world, and brought me a greater appreciation of everything in it. The final part of Final Fantasy VII is now my most anticipated game, and I can’t wait to see how this trilogy comes to an end. For now, though, I am more than happy to call Final Fantasy VII Rebirth my 2024 game of the year.
