As the year winds down, we look at the best video games to come out in 2024. Here are our picks for Game of the Year.
Honorable Mention: Castlevania Dominus Collection
One of the most unexpected treats this year was watching Konami acting more like a video game company than a pachinko machine maker. Not only did they release a beautiful remake of Silent Hill 2, they published a flawless collection of Nintendo DS Castlevania titles.
The Koji Igarashi era of Castlevania is widely regarded as the best, and for my money Portrait of Ruin is the pinnacle of the entire series. All three games play wonderfully on home consoles, though the dual screen adaptation does take some getting used to. Even the DS’s finicky touch controls worked perfectly on my PS5 touchscreen controller. We’re that much closer to finally having the entire library available in one place.
Animal Well
Speaking of Metroidvanias, Animal Well is one is the purest expression of video games as art since Shadow of the Colossus. With a minimalist story and a pixelated art style, the player explores a mysterious map using toys. This is a game that you should try for yourself without walkthroughs or guides at first, as half the joy is discovering the artistic and mechanical language of the game. There is barely a story, but a wealth of environmental aspects that hint at a remarkable lore. Watching players dissect the game through Reddit threads, working in common to solve its many mysteries, was almost as satisfying as playing the game itself.
Arranger
A “role-puzzle game,” Arranger can be learned in seconds and take hours to master. You play as Jemma, an outcast from her village who has the ability to shift the tiles of her world around as she moves. This gives her the ability to solve puzzles as well as combat the miasma of stagnation in her world. The art style is adorable and the script is surprisingly funny, but the best part is discovering your way through the various environmental riddles. It’s just fun to play while also handing the player a sweet story of finding your place.
Crypt Custodian
If Silksong had come out this year like it was supposed to, I probably wouldn’t have loved Crypt Custodian so much. Despite it’s isometric layout, it borrows heavily from Hollow Knight. You play a recently deceased cat named Pluto who is ordered to sweep up the afterlife for eternity. Instead, you reveal the sad truth of poisoning the great beyond.
Combat is relatively simple, though the boss fights do get very creative. My favorite thing is how the game hands you all the tools you’ll need for 100 percent completion very early, such as fast travel, map markers, and secret revealing items. It’s nice to have a Metroidvania that isn’t determined to make you remember a dozen unreachable areas in the first half of the game. Crypt Custodian respects a player’s time, and I appreciate that.
Still Wakes the Deep
Yes, Silent Hill 2 was amazing, but the best horror game of the year was the Chinese Room’s Lovecraftian oil rig adventure. The team that brought us Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and Dear Esther have put all they’ve learned into this stunning and beautiful title. The story itself is nothing special. Drillers in the North Sea unleash an eldritch horror that turns them into monsters.
Where it stands out is in the jaw-dropping graphics and the intense character work. The cast of the rig is fleshed out from top to bottom, enhancing the sense of realism. The rig itself warps and twists throughout the run, making the most of the assets the game has to make the horror unforgettable.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure
I cannot think of a single video game series that had a comeback as profound as Life is Strange did this year. After a decade of mostly mediocre follow-ups, Double Exposure returned the franchise to its weird roots.
Max’s story picks up in a neat place after the events of the first game. Her power have changed in a way that makes play dynamic and interesting. Developer Deck Nine finally figured out what worked and what needed to be left behind. Hopefully the next chapter will be even better.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The recreation of Final Fantasy VII continues to be something unique and amazing in the world of video games. I have some very strong thoughts on Rebirth‘s story choices and reliance on multiverse nonsense, but I can’t argue with the overall experience.
Rebirth‘s open world is a masterpiece of design. The combat is fluid and interesting. It’s story and voice acting are some of the best in the entire genre. Even the game’s failures are so epic and sweeping that it’s hard not to appreciate their grandeur. I knew from the moment it started it would be a Game of the Year.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
