It's the most wonderful time of the year. And I'm not just referring to the Christmas holiday season, even though that's nice too I suppose. No, I am of course referring to the end of 2024 which means it is time for another one of my Year in Review series of posts. All week this week, I'll be revealing my favorite games, TV shows, songs, and movies, as well as giving my general thoughts about the year as a whole. And like most years, I am kicking things off with my favorite games.
It feels like I need to give the same disclaimer every year, but the older I get, the more I find myself gravitating toward smaller, indie titles. Specifically, ones that successfully recapture the look and feel of the kind of games I enjoyed playing in my childhood. Nostalgia is a powerful drug as they say. So, with that said, don't expect to see too many triple-A titles like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth or the latest Call of Duty in my Top 10 Best Games of 2024. Got it? Cool. On with the list.
10. Bloomtown: A Different Story
From the moment I first laid eyes on the beautiful pixel art of Bloomtown: A Different Story, I could tell it would be another love letter to the classic RPGs of the 16-bit era. What I didn't expect was its heavy Persona influence, from its social gameplay elements to its turn-based combat and the catchy pop-rock songs that accompany those battles. And even though It is let down by clunky dialogue, I still had fun with its story, and its memorable cast of characters as they worked to unravel the dark secrets of their small suburban town.
9. Palworld
Few games were as ubiquitous as Palworld at the start of 2024. In fact, for a hot second back then, it seemed it was going to dominate the entire gaming landscape for the year with its Pokemon with Guns gimmick. Except that initial fire gradually sizzled out even as the game itself proved to have more to offer beyond invoking the wrath of Nintendo's lawyers, with deep survival gameplay centered around base building. Keep in mind that the game is still in early access, so we can expect another resurgence when it hits version 1.0.
8. Mario & Luigi: Brothership
The Mario & Luigi series finally made its console debut this year with the release of Mario & Luigi: Brothership. And like the other games in the RPG series, players control both brothers as they navigate their way through a colorful world filled with quirky characters. This time around, they must help out the denizens of the electricity-themed Concordia from their base on the aptly named Shipshape Island. The game boasts the same tight turn-based battles the series is known for, although it suffers from some egregious late-game padding that artificially inflated my overall playtime.
7. Thank Goodness You're Here!
From the same publishers that gave us the diabolical Untitled Goose Game comes the self-professed comedy slapformer, Thank Goodness You're Here! And from the get-go, the game hits you with its unique flavor of British absurdist humor. Its quirky hand-drawn visuals did take some getting used to, especially with all the size changes our nameless hero goes through over the course of his adventure. But it never overstays its welcome with its brisk yet satisfactory two-and-a-half hours worth of gameplay.
6. Animal Well
Animal Well is the debut indie game published by Bigmode, the game publishing company owned by Gaming YouTuber, Jason Gastrow aka. videogamedunkey. It is a Metroidvania that has players taking control of a blob as it makes its way through the titular Animal Well, a dreamlike subterranean world populated by various animals. It sports an 8-bit aesthetic that wouldn't feel out of place on the NES. But don't let that fool you because it also has some of the smoothest platforming seen this past year.
5. Selaco (Early Access)
Selaco is quite the looker, especially considering it is running on what is effectively decades-old tech. Built using GZDoom, the game takes the sprite-based visuals of early FPS games like Doom to the next level with modern lighting techniques and lush, detailed environments. Set inside the titular Selaco, a futuristic space station serving as a home for the remnants of the human race, you play as Dawn, a security officer who must fight back an invading force of hostile aliens. The game is still in early access but what we've gotten thus far points to what is sure to be an all-round fantastic FPS.
4. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Speaking of visual overhauls, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door finally received the much-requested remake/remaster fans of the series had been clamoring for. Originally released on the GameCube in 2004, the game had taken the Paper Mario series to what many still consider its pinnacle, showcasing a refined paper-themed art style along with the signature turn-based battles the series would stray away from its in subsequent entries. And all that remains true in the shiny new Switch version which is why it felt like a return to form.
3. Unicorn Overlord
I am not the biggest fan of strategy games if I'm being honest, which is why you would scarcely see any make one of my year-end lists. But all that changed in 2024 as I fell in love with Unicorn Overlord, the newest strategy RPG from Atlus and Vanillaware. What drew me in was its beautiful hand-drawn visuals that helped flesh out its fairly generic story but it was its addictive gameplay loop that had me coming back for more. It manages to blend both real-time and turn-based strategy elements in a package that it easily accessible yet packed with a wealth of permutations and options.
2. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
After the production troubles that effectively forced it to delay the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, Ubisoft decided to surprise fans of the series when it announced another Prince of Persia game would be coming out this year. Played from a 2.5D side-scrolling perspective, not unlike the earlier games in the series, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown sets itself apart from its predecessors with its tight, free-flowing controls and Metroidvania structure. It also doesn't hurt that it sports a vibrant art direction that looks great regardless of which platform you play it on.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
The Legend of Zelda fans have definitely been eating good these past two years. Despite only just receiving the exceptional Tears of the Kingdom last year, we were blessed with yet another entry in the form of Echoes of Wisdom this year. And for the first time in the mainline series, we got to play as Princess Zelda herself. This version of Hyrule should be instantly familiar to anyone who played the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening, as it dons the very same art style. But it is how the game manages to fit the open-ended style of gameplay from Breath of the Wild and its sequel into a more traditional Zelda mold that ultimately makes it nothing short of amazing.
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