We’re about to pull back the curtain on 2024 – a complicated year that gave us some great games but which I really hope will be remembered as “troubled” by the industry as a whole. We’ve had over 14,000 layoffs, a declining market for three aging consoles, skyrocketing subscription costs, and the (partial) collapse of the live service genre. But we have the first weeks of January 2025 to praise the events of the year. Instead, this is it: It’s time to talk about our favorite games that we enjoyed the most this year.
Dean has already been revealed his favorite games of the year…so now it’s my turn. Just to be clear, these games are the ones I personally enjoyed the most and found to be the most sublime overall experiences. I hope I can make a longer list at some point in 2025 – my list of games played in 2024 is not as long as it was last year (although on the same note, I’m better rested than a year ago), but for now, here are my top 5 games of this year.
5. Lorelei and the laser eyes
Every year on these lists, I like to include at least one game that qualifies as a dark horse in my Top 5 – a smaller title whose inclusion satisfies only me. Lorelei and the laser eyes it may have come out early enough in the year that it was then overshadowed, but I never forgot it. Its surreal and stylized artistic design would be enough to stick in my memory, but Lorelei is ultimately much more than that.
Lorelei is the kind of game that challenges the player. The entire time you play, it feels like the game is locking you into a battle of wits, and while it gives you everything you need to solve its multitude of puzzles, it won’t keep you no hand. Even the game’s diegetic interface and so-called “hint” systems seem more intended to put the player behind than to help them. And mind matching with a game may not be everyone’s cup of tea – it’s not always my cup either – but sometimes it’s what I need and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes do it so well.
2024 has been a decent year for RPGs, all things considered – Baldur’s Gate 3 is a tough act to follow. But we’ve had a surprisingly full year. And one RPG rose to the top thanks to its distinctive, serious story and fun, fast-paced gameplay: Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio. For me, RPGs live and die by how much they make me feel truly part of the world around me, and Metaphor’s world, nasty and nasty and laden with unjust social systems, felt real to me – the struggles of his people were felt important.
Metaphor: ReFantazio manages to avoid many of the pacing pitfalls that have befallen other RPGs this year (not naming names, but IYKYK) by keeping you tied to an in-game timeline heading towards a major world event – a refinement on the Atlus staple. time management mechanics. In fact, almost every element of Metaphor feels like a more compelling version of something Atlus has done before, from the art design to the turn-based combat. Even though the story is a little more sober and serious, it is told with such conviction and with such a strong message that you never get bored.
3. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Well, look who we have here. MachineGames’ licensed adventure game featuring everyone’s favorite whip-wielding archaeologist arrived in the last month of the year and shot almost to the top of the list. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the best adventure games – and, surprisingly, one of the best stealth games – that I’ve played not only in 2024, but in the last five years. Troy Baker’s performance as Dr. Jones goes so far beyond mere mimicry that it elevates the entire game into my Top 3.
Great Circle almost perfectly imitates the charm of the original Indiana Jones films (note that I say “original” with specific intentions) while paying homage to the classic point-and-click adventure games that preceded it. MachineGames managed to capture the humor and fun of the series, its sense of not taking itself too seriously, and the satisfaction of beating Nazis (a subject they should be very familiar with after the Wolfenstein titles). Plus, one of the villains is played by the late Tony Todd, and it’s just good to see him again.
2. AstroBot
As a professional gamer, it’s sometimes tempting to over-explain or over-complicate my own opinion. So while I could give a long, drawn out explanation of why Astro Bot’s platforming is so rewarding, or how its story is compelling despite its simplistic nature… let’s say it in fewer words : Astrobot is on this list because it’s amusing. It’s fun, entertaining and well done and gives the player exactly what they want.
Okay, to add a little more complexity in my opinion: Astro Bot is a platform game polished to a diamond shine with heart and a sense of humor. The variety of gameplay keeps it fresh, and the game doesn’t wear out its welcome by stretching its levels too thin or overplaying any of its gimmicks. It’s also just the right length to keep its PlayStation side from feeling too much like an advert (although it does come close once or twice). There are many games I play that I love as an adult gamer – few that I play that I know I would have loved as a kid.
1. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
To be honest, my best game this year even surprised me. Until the last moments of writing this, I was going to give it to Astro Bot. But then I seriously looked at the dozens of games I’ve played so far this year and thought about which game had brought me the most happiness while playing. And maybe it’s been quite a long time – almost a year now – that my memory has turned rosy, but I remember my game of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown with a warmth I’ve felt for nothing else this year.
The Lost Crown has everything I want in a game: it offers solid gameplay that evolves as the game progresses, excellent pacing, a variety of platforms, a story and art design that pays homage real world history and mythology while mixing in fantasy, an interesting diversity and cast of characters and so much more beauty that just playing it sometimes takes my breath away. There have been so many games between its launch in January and now, and yet it still managed to stay with me until the end of the year.
