We’re about to attract the pall over 2024 – a complicated 12 months that gave us great games, but which I think might be remembered by the entire industry as “troubling.” We’ve had over 14,000 layoffs, a weakening market for three aging consoles, rising subscription costs, and the (partial) decline of the live services genre. But we have the first few weeks of January 2025 to praise the events of this 12 months. Instead, this moment has come: time to speak about our favourite games that we enjoyed the most this 12 months.
Dean has already revealed his favorite games for this 12 months… so now it’s my turn. To be clear, these are the games I personally enjoyed the most and overall provided me with the most sublime experiences. I’m hoping to build a longer list at some point in 2025 – my list of games played in 2024 is not so long as it was last 12 months (though in related news, I’m higher rested than I used to be a 12 months ago), but for now, here are my top 5 games of the 12 months.
5. Lorelei and the laser eyes
Every 12 months on these lists, I like to incorporate at least one game that qualifies as a dark horse in my top five – a smaller title that only I’m joyful with. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes may have come out so early in the 12 months that it was later overshadowed, but I never forgot about it. The surreal, stylized art design can be enough to stay in my mind, but Lorelei is ultimately much greater than that.
Lorelei is a type of game that challenges the player. The entire time you are playing, you are feeling like the game has engaged you in a battle of wits, and while it provides all the pieces you should solve its plethora of puzzles, it won’t hold your hand. Even the game’s diegetic interface and so-called “hint” systems seem more aimed at putting the player on the back foot quite than helping them. And combining cleverness with gameplay is probably not to everyone’s taste – it is not all the time my cup of tea either – but sometimes that is what I want, and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes does it so well.
All things considered, 2024 was a decent 12 months for RPGs – Baldur’s Gate 3 is a tough 12 months to follow. But we had a surprisingly full 12 months. And one RPG rose to the top because of 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 a part of the world around me, and the world of Metaphor, while unpleasant, nasty, and full of unfair social systems, felt real – the struggles of its inhabitants were palpable.
Metaphor: ReFantazio manages to avoid many of the pacing pitfalls that have plagued other RPGs this 12 months (not naming any names, but IYKYK) by keeping you tethered to an in-game calendar counting all the way down to a major world event – an improvement on the company’s core product Atlus time management mechanics. In fact, almost every element of Metaphor looks like a more convincing version of something Atlus has done before, from the graphic design to the turn-based combat. Although the story is a bit more sober and serious, it is told with such conviction and such a strong message that it never once becomes boring.
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 12 months and has climbed 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 I’ve played not only in 2024, but in the last five years. Troy Baker’s performance as Doc Jones goes so far beyond mere facial expressions that it puts the entire game in my top three.
Great Circle almost perfectly captures the charm of the original movies (note that I say “original” with specific intentions), while also paying homage to the classic point-and-click adventures that preceded it. MachineGames has managed to capture the series’ humor and swashbuckling fun, the feeling of not taking itself too seriously, and the satisfaction of taking down Nazis (a topic they ought to 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 someone who plays games professionally, it’s sometimes tempting to over-explain or over-complicate my very own opinion. So while I could give a long, drawn-out explanation of why the Astro Bot platformer is so satisfying, or how its story is engaging despite its simplistic nature… let me put it in fewer words: Astro Bot is on this list because… It’s fun and engaging, well made and gives the player exactly what they expect.
OK, I’ll add a little more complexity to my opinion: Astro Bot is a diamond-polished platformer with heart and a sense of humor. The variety of gameplay keeps it fresh, and the game doesn’t wear out its welcome by overstretching the levels or overusing any tricks. It’s also just the right length so that PlayStation doesn’t look too much like an commercial (although it admittedly got here close once or twice). There are many games that I play and love as an adult player – just a few of them are ones that I play and know I might have loved as a child.
1. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Honestly, my best game this 12 months surprised even me. Up until the last moment I wrote this, I used to be going to present it to Astro Bot. But then I seriously looked at the dozens of games I’ve played so far this 12 months and thought about which game actually gave me the most happiness while playing. Perhaps enough time has passed – almost a 12 months – that my memory has turned rosy, but I remember my playthrough of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown with a warmth that I have never felt in anything this 12 months.
The Lost Crown has all the pieces I need from a game: solid gameplay that evolves as the game progresses, excellent pacing, a variety of platforming, a story and visuals that pay homage to real-world history and mythology while mixing with fantasy, diverse and an interesting solid of characters and so many that just playing the game sometimes takes my breath away. So many games have been made between its January release and now, and yet it managed to stay with me until the end of the 12 months.