In terms of exciting new game releases, 2024 was quite the poor one. There was a whole bunch of games for me to wishlist but none of them really fit the spot of an undisputed game of the year. The Game Awards gave that title to Astro Bot, a PlayStation-exclusive third person action platformer of all things.
Global players' voice would give the title to Black Myth: Wukong. It would be interesting to see the number of copies sold after Chinese player base was removed from it. The Journey to the West mythos doesn't really interest me and I don't fancy playing a monkey man or any animal really -- the reason why I ended removing the recent Ratchet & Clank game from my wishlist too.
I suppose Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is hell of a cinematic spectacle, even if it's a simple and linear singleplayer campaign. Its co-op missions and PVP multiplayer do offer more longevity. It hurts, though, that the developer studio is Russian whom I don't really want to give any recognition. Saber Interactive is in American ownership, which kind of hides the fact how they have more than one studio in Eastern Europe, including this particular one located in St. Petersburg.
Late year release Indiana Jones and the Great Circle made for an entertaining viewing experience but I'm not certain if it would be that much fun to play myself. Troy Baker's role as Harrison Ford was worthy of high praise. I wonder though if it will still be remembered in The Game Awards next year when he's eligible.
Alone in the Dark, Outcast - A New Beginning, and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden did not turn out to be great hits. I guess I never expected them to truly be. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf... sorry, The Veilguard (gotta pull a barf) looks like something I might play only on EA Play at most. The game did get to the Bronze tier of Steam's bestsellers so maybe BioWare is not dead yet -- though for me they might as well be.
The games I play are rarely dependent on the current year's releases and I think I managed to break my record of games beaten. Almost a third of them were on Game Pass, off my wishlist, though, so my backlog shrunk only somewhat as it tends to get new games added throughout the year.
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| 11 more perfect games and +2% from last year |
That is still extraneous work of not great interest for many, and because the game was also free to claim, the added DLC achievements were some of the rarest on Steam for a while: they replaced each and every slot on my Rarest Achievement Showcase. More people have been unlocking them since then, making them more common, but two still remain among my Torment: Tides of Numenera and Sid Meier's Civilization V achievements. (The latter game I still have at mere 85% total completion -- the numerous scenario achievements are a pain.)
Once again, the games I finished this year are in alphabetical order within the tiers to avoid arbitrarily comparing games of different genres.
The games beaten this year
Great -- top tier fun; worthy of replays
Dead Space (2023) [post] Played on: EA Play (via Game Pass)
Third person scifi horror shooter remake. Excellent recreation on a fancier engine with (mostly) well thought-out changes and additions. Even better than the original.
Disco Elysium [post] Epic
Isometric detective roleplaying game in a mostly mundane yet fictional setting. An instantaneous classic. Rare few games can compete with the quality of this one's writing.
Lies of P [post] Game Pass
Third person soulslike action RPG inspired by Pinocchio. Neowiz clearly understood what makes the genre great. Possibly the herald of more upcoming great Korean singleplayer games.
Metro Exodus [post] Steam
Post-apocalyptic first person survival horror shooter in post-war Russia. Masterclass of an immersive trilogy finisher. Considerably improved game engine and mechanics.
Fine -- interesting or exciting enough for one thorough playthrough
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag [post] Ubisoft Connect
Third person action adventure game set in the Golden Age of Piracy. Wouldn't call it the best AC game but it is definitely entertaining. The ship combat not as novel of an experience after having already played AC Odyssey. Begging for a remaster to fix all the features affected by digital rot.
Assassin's Creed Liberation Remastered [post] Connect
Third person action adventure game set in Spanish-occupied New Orleans. Lower your expectations for a smaller scale AC game originally made for handheld devices and they will be more than met. A positive surprise for me.
Borderlands 3 [post] Steam
First person looter shooter. Easily the worst writing and characters in the series (so far) but gameplay and mechanics are from the better end.
Days Gone [post] Steam
Third person post-apocalyptic zombie shooter in Oregon, US. Its weakness is in writing but it is otherwise enjoyable. Could have embraced realism aspects more as well as reduced the repetitive back-and-forth driving.
Deathloop [post] Steam
First person stealth shooter action game. The premier Groundhog Day simulator. A stylish Arkane title but the timeloop aspect is inflexible. Prey's Mooncrash DLC did it better.
Elderborn [post] Steam
First person hack and slash game. Simple, short, and straightforward fun.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn [post] Game Pass
Third person soulslike action RPG. At least an increase in mechanical depth over A44's first game, Ashen, if nothing else. The added depth came with few odd features that don't work so well in this genre.
Metro 2033 Redux [post] Epic
Post-apocalyptic first person survival horror shooter in Moscow's Metro. A skillful adaptation of Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel of the same name.
Metro: Last Light Redux [post] GOG
Post-apocalyptic first person survival horror shooter, still in Moscow's Metro. A safe sequel with a handful of improvements.
The Callisto Protocol [post] Game Pass
Third person scifi horror action game set on the titular Jovian moon. Dead Space nostalgia sure was carrying the marketing for this but the product itself was a pale imitation. Barely entertaining enough to enjoy for one full run.
Mediocre -- generally entertaining but has something that hampers the overall experience; average
Assassin's Creed Rogue [post] Connect
Third person action adventure game. A heavily iterative follow-up to Black Flag. Has an interesting plot premise but the story is short and doesn't go that far.
Gotham Knights [post] Game Pass
Third person co-op action RPG as Batman's sidekicks. Can be fun but gets tedious in the long run as features start revealing their flaws. The post-launch content is insanely repetitive.
Hellpoint [post] GOG
Third person scifi cosmic horror soulslike action RPG. Janky and amazingly obscure at times. Does have its moments.
Horizon Zero Dawn [post] Steam
Third person action RPG set in a world where robot animals roam the wilds. A big disappointment for me after a years-long wait. Boring story and arduous to play.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [post] Steam
Third person fantasy action RPG re-released. Very much the same game; hadn't become great all of a sudden.
Lords of the Fallen (2023) [post] Game Pass
Third person soulslike action RPG. A soft reboot of the 2014 title. The parallel worlds feature is neat but also tiresome for a completionist. The game unnecessarily obfuscates its quests.
Othercide [post] Steam
Isometric tactical RPG with light roguelike elements. Stylish noir visuals. Punishes heavily for mistakes and gets repetitive. Story too abstract for one to care.
STAR WARS: The Force Unleashed [post] Steam
Third person hack and slash game. Lightsaber action backed up by (somewhat touched) John Williams's score.
STAR WARS: The Force Unleashed II [post] Steam
Third person hack and slash game. Twice the sabers.
Bad -- games I would have been better off without playing; not a good time
Amnesia: Rebirth [post] Epic
First person horror walking simulator in an African desert and other places. It ain't Soma, that much is certain.
Ashen [post] Epic
Third person soulslike ARPG. Mechanically shallow and simple. Long and dark dungeon dives without checkpoints.
Assassin's Creed III Remastered [post] Connect
Third person action adventure game set in Colonial America. A huge step down from the Ezio trilogy. Unlikeable protagonist, unexciting setting, and time wasting game mechanics.
Assassin's Creed Unity [post] Connect
Third person action adventure game set in the French Revolution. New iteration of the engine creates photorealistic scenes. Not as much of a buggy mess as was at release but still has plenty of issues. Feels like a scuffed version of AC Syndicate after having played that first.
Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand [post] Game Pass
Third person action RPG with sand surfing. Seems like great fun on paper but somehow the execution was immensely dull.
Evil West [post] Game Pass
First person weird west action game. Fun is gone when the power fantasy disappears with the sturdy enemies. Sweaty even on Normal difficulty. And oddly clunky.
Maid of Sker [post] Steam
First person horror walking simulator. Short and basic Welsh folklore inspired experience.
Still Wakes the Deep [post] Game Pass
First person horror walking simulator set on an oilrig in the North Sea. Doesn't have anything to give besides Scottish voice acting. And an amazing title.
Upcoming games of 2025 include:
- The Outer Worlds 2 plus delayed Avowed (in February) from Obsidian Entertainment. I expect offensive mediocrity.
- Also delayed (yet again) Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 from The Chinese Room
- And likewise delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows from Ubisoft Quebec in February. Things are looking pretty dicey for Ubisoft these days. Will be interesting to see if this one will save them.
- Eternal Strands from Yellow Brick Games at the end of January
- WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers from Leenzee
- Atomfall from Rebellion at the end of March
- DOOM: The Dark Ages from id Software
- Steel Seed from Storm in a Teacup
- The First Berserker: Khazan from Neople at the end of March
- Cronos: The New Dawn from Bloober Team
- Hell is Us from Rogue Factor
- Crimson Desert from Pearl Abyss
- And a few others with more vague release dates
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