Last year was quite the year of gaming. Some might say it was a rather bland year but others, such as myself, would tell you that I could find several games I thoroughly enjoyed. This list may not necessarily agree with your list but that’s the best part about this list is that it’s mine. I played way more games from 2024 than just five but these are the five games that stuck with me. I didn’t beat all five of these games, mind you, but these were the best of the best and they are in no particular order. So, with that being said let’s get into it.
Astro Bot
Some have said that this game shouldn’t have won Game of the Year at The Game Awards because it is, in their opinion, a mere Mario clone. While I vehemently disagree with that, this game does things that I’ve yet to see any other platformer do and especially do exceptionally well with a controller the likes of the PlayStation 5 Dual-Sense controller. This game has such a charm about it not only because it is a celebration of the past 30 years of the PlayStation brand as a whole, but because of the worlds and how the game introduces you to every single new mechanic. The game is quite challenging when it comes to certain levels in which they require you to beat them without taking a single hit but outside of that I found Astro Bot to be more engaging than any other game I played last year.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
So this is a game I’ve yet to complete because this game just has so much content in it. The Yakuza franchise is one that I played entirely throughout the year 2023 as I wanted to catch up to get to this game. I’ve always been a huge fan of RPGs and this game serves up so much more of that and then some. If you’ve never played a Yakuza game you need to do yourself a favor and check them out and I recommend doing so from the very beginning of the series so you can catch all of the little references to the other games before it. Infinite Wealth brings back Ichiban Kasuga and this time pairs him up with franchise lead Kazama Kiryu in a story that will have you laughing as well as caring about every single character. This is one game you certainly will not want to miss and one I’m still enjoying even into 2025.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The Final Fantasy series has been a very beloved franchise for many decades and one of my favorite franchises to play throughout my many decades of being a gamer. Rebirth is Part 2 of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy and it builds so much upon the first game. One of my favorite parts within this game is a card game called Queen’s Blood which had its hooks in me from the start. I have always enjoyed the side quests and mini-games such as Blitzball in Final Fantasy X and here Queen’s Blood is one that had me collecting every single card and finishing up its massive storyline. Outside of that, I finished every quest in Rebirth and cannot wait to see how it all ends.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
I’ve had my time spent in several of Atlus’ other games such as the Shin Megami Tensei games, especially the Persona titles, but the thing is that I’ve yet to finish any of those games. The thing that has me so intrigued about Metaphor and sets it apart from those games is its story about what it takes to be a leader and in this game to be a King or a Queen and how one should lead the people. Metaphor has an amazing cast of characters and is a game that I feel has resonated with more of my kind of play style versus the previous games I mentioned which are also great in their own right. I cannot wait to see how this game ends and how the cast changes because of it and it’s a game that I’m sure will keep me coming back for more.
Balatro
I love playing card games and roguelike games are also some of my favorite types of games. When I was introduced to Balatro, I found myself having an extremely hard time putting this game down. It’s easy to learn, but tough to master and isn’t merely just “some card game” as most tend to call it. It’s much more than that as this game does require some skill as well as some difficult choices to make along the way. It essentially requires you to score chips using Poker hands but the cards themselves can change throughout the game based on other cards you can use such as Joker cards. This adds so many fun layers to the game that it almost reminds me in a way of the card game Fluxx if you’ve ever played that and enjoy Poker, this is the game for you.
So there you have it. These are, in my opinion, the best games I enjoyed from 2024. I cannot wait to see what 2025 has in store for us and I wonder if any of my games made your list.
