Top 5 Games of 2024
2025/01/072024 was a big year for me personally as I got married! Between wedding planning and general life demands I still found plenty of time for gaming, so once again here are my top picks from the year just passed.
5. Angel Pop (Playdate)
One of my favourite things about indie games is finding unique passion projects from individual developers and the Playdate attracts more than its fair share. Angel Pop is up there with the very best of them, a dreamy mixed-media shmup with unparalleled aesthetic from the multi-talented Japan based developer Nnnn. The visuals establish a strong identity from the outset, blending one bit dithered photography with cutesy hand pixelled sprite work and a retro arcade style HUD. Most striking however is the busyness of the on screen action with hundreds of bullets spiralling in complex patterns across every stage. The music is more than a match for the visuals, perfectly complementing the frenetic gameplay with catchy loops and a dynamic energy. Angel Pop is an artistic tour de force and one worth playing for the audio-visual experience alone but the gameplay also delivers. Shmups aren't my preferred genre and I struggled with Angel Pop's genre-typical difficulty but it's testament to the design (and checkpointing) that I played until completion. My perseverance was rewarded with some unexpected structural shifts in the later game that reaffirmed quite why I love indie gaming in general.
4. Helldivers 2 (PS5)
Helldivers 2 launched to great success in 2024 and my friends and I dived right in to help spread managed democracy across the galaxy (and to stress test the servers). I was already a fan of the first game and this sequel sets itself apart by shifting genres from twin stick to third person shooter. It nails the landing, retaining the panic inducing against the odds co-op chaos that made the original such a hit. The jingoistic satire and community wide meta-progression is also present and correct. In the end I think I prefer the first game for offering local co-op, keeping all players together on the same screen, and its binary standing or prone positioning leading to more elegant coordination (and funnier miscommunications). Even so I appreciate Helldivers 2 more because it does something different, and undoubtedly the change in perspective did its part in increasing the game's mainstream appeal.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch)
It's been over a decade since the last new 2D Zelda, and longer still since the last that wasn't a pseudo-sequel with a reused world. With 3D Zelda taking an open world sandbox turn I was hoping that Echoes of Wisdom would fill the gap of the classic games, and it decidedly doesn't. Echoes of Wisdom is pretty much the third game in the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom lineage. It's also, despite the perspective, far from 2D, with a strong focus on traversal on all three axes. It's not then what I wanted (and still want), but what it is is still very good. Finally playing as Princess Zelda herself offers a welcome new perspective and melds with the new gameplay direction of summoning echoes for combat, traversal and puzzle solving. Very quickly the game offers up multiple overpowered and game breaking options and it's left to the player to decide against falling into a familiar rut and to instead constantly experiment and play with the multitude of approaches clever use of different echoes can provide. The classic Zelda dungeon formula is here but made weaker by the increase in player freedom, and while some of the dungeons adapt well to multi-ended solutions, others lack identity and feel less rewarding, especially given the number of chests within containing nothing of note. Despite espousing the joy of experimentation and variety, I actually had the most fun with my second playthrough, a self-imposed challenge to complete the game with as few echoes as possible (I ended on 11) along with the more usual 3 hearts and no smoothies or sidequests. I was forced to come up with some inventive solutions to what should have been simple problems and it felt similar to my no power run of Dishonored in that respect, marred only by frequent interruptions of slowly delivered narrative. Echoes of Wisdom is a great new entry in a series I love that I appreciate for its innovation, but I'm definitely now ready for a return to the classic style that we've been without for far too long!
2. Astro Bot (PS5)
In this era of games as a service drudgery and marginally improved remakes, a new singleplayer mascot platformer feels less like a retro throwback and more like a breath of fresh air. Astro Bot is probably one of my favourite 3D platformers ever. It has all of the charm and polish of Nintendo's finest, and while the pure platforming gamefeel doesn't reach the lofty heights of Super Mario Odyssey the level design makes for a much more favourable comparison. Astro Bot's levels are mostly linear obstacle courses that rarely stray into more open areas, with collectibles hidden to varying degrees just off from the golden path. The end of world levels change things up more substantially, based as they are on other PlayStation franchises, and these are particular highlights. The game is notable of course for being a love letter to games of PlayStation past and the various picks from right across the catalogue are a constant delight (Jak and Daxter! Klonoa! Gravity Rush!) but the nostalgia is never used as a crutch. Yes the celebration of all things PlayStation certainly elevates Astro Bot, but make no mistake that this would be a top tier platformer even with all the references removed. Astro Bot is also a properly next gen feeling game, the unique properties of the DualSense providing a wonderful tactility and a whole new layer of texture on top of the on-brand shiny Sony visuals and earworming music and sound. From the PS5's launch Astro's Playroom showed what next gen could really deliver and it's something of a travesty that we've had to wait four years for a sequel by the same team to follow that up, but none of that should belittle what a standout title Astro Bot really was in 2024.
1. Dragon's Dogma 2 (PS5)
Dragon's Dogma 2 probably shouldn't exist. It's a sequel to a two generations old game with a cult following and middling wider recognition. It's a distinctly Japanese take on the modern western RPG (the original very specifically being largely inspired by Skyrim) out of step with the rest of the gaming world and its common conventions. The combat borrows heavily from Monster Hunter and more than a little from Shadow of the Colossus. The fully integrated online pawn system is equal parts insane and inspired. The entire game is brilliantly obtuse, with a partially-obscured and deliberately hard to understand web of systems and a whole host of easily missable quests and encounters. It feels like it came out of a parallel universe where Dark Souls doesn't exist and Capcom made something coincidentally a little like it, equally worthy of being sub-genre defining but never breaking into the mainstream in quite the same way. If all of that sounds weird and confusing, you're correct. Dragon's Dogma 2 is weird and confusing and fantastic, just like the first game, and it's surely one of the best RPGs ever made. I love it and I think you should play it, and I'm going to tell you I think you should play it at every opportunity that presents itself, appropriate or not. Go play Dragon's Dogma 2!
Honourable Mentions
The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PS5)
Last year I sang the praises of Hitman's Freelancer update and looked forward to the similarly roguelite No Return mode that would arrive as part of The Last of Us Part II Remastered. I was not to be disappointed. No Return expertly repackages the excellent mechanics of the base game into a no filler gauntlet of combat encounters. The run based mode is easy to start and hard to master with plenty of content and unlockables that kept me playing for an additional twenty hours, it alone well worth the £10 asking price for the generational upgrade. Strict time limits forced me into a much faster and more aggressive gameplay style than when playing through the story, the resulting flavour of fast and lethal stealth where the combat really excels. No Return delivers everything I wanted from a roguelite The Last of Us, giving me plenty of replayability and an ease of dipping back in without asking me to sit through the frequent downtime for exploration and narrative that comes with replaying the story. If only the cancelled multiplayer mode had also been included, I'd probably still be playing!
Chained Together (PC)
Chained Together is best summarised as a cooperative take on Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. There are a few multiplayer options but I played exclusively in two player local co-op. The premise is simple, both players tasked with climbing up and out of hell while physically chained together. As you might imagine this leads to frequent miscommunications and, like with Getting Over It, one small mistake can send you both plummeting down to platforms far below, undoing many minutes of progress in mere seconds. It's equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, frustrating and fun. Despite our best efforts we never reached the end, which actually for a game about the futility of trying to escape hell seems all the more fitting!
Zero Zero: Perfect Stop (Playdate)
I have no interest in train sims, and while the Densha de Go! series is an interesting curio I will never be persuaded to fork out for its (admittedly cool) custom controllers just to play the one game. Enter the Playdate with its built-in crank and famed developer Hunter Bridges. Zero Zero: Perfect Stop is one of those rare titles that could convince you the console was designed for the game rather than the game for the console. The crank as throttle is the most natural fit imaginable while the actually clever use of FMV to achieve some of the best visuals on the Playdate seems incredibly obvious in retrospect. Zero Zero: Perfect Stop might be deceptively simple but it is not an easy game, and my main fault would be in the initially brutal learning curve. Thankfully I pushed on through and ended up an unlikely convert to a whole new genre.
Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection (PS5)
The original Star Wars Battlefront II is one of my favourite games of all time so any excuse to revisit it is more than welcome. I've played this new collection for near to one hundred hours, claiming its platinum trophy and continuing to find my own fun, especially in Galactic Conquest. Unfortunately as a remaster this is a barebones effort that launched with some egregious bugs and with an online that never recovered from a host of networking issues. That makes it a hard game to judge, as on the one hand I adore the game that is still all here and with some appreciated added extras, but on the other hand it is a completely fumbled opportunity to make the truly definitive version of Star Wars Battlefront. That's before even getting to the omission of Renegade Squadron and Elite Squadron, the two other classic titles on the PSP that have been all but forgotten despite including some excellent innovations on the formula.
From The Backlog
Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix (PSP)
The two Tony Hawk's games I've played a lot of are Pro Skater 3 and Underground 2, and both are excellent. I had always assumed Underground 2: Remix to be a pared back port of its home console counterpart, as was often the case with handheld ports, and I was partly correct - the visuals are obviously downgraded and the excellent park creator is omitted entirely. Despite this Remix might actually be the better version of the game. Far from the main game being cut down for PSP, Remix actually boasts four new and exclusive levels on top of all of those from the original. It's a significant amount of extra content and crucially it's all a match in quality. Replaying Underground 2 so many years after the original my assessment of it, if anything, is improved. It's a brilliantly polished game with an overabundance of content and a timeless soundtrack. They really don't make them like they used to!
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 (Switch)
In my 2022 "From The Backlog" I gave special mention to the anthropomorphic animal World War II era tactical RPG Fuga: Melodies of Steel, and so two years later I do the same for its sequel. As you might hope, Melodies of Steel 2 is bigger, better and more refined. An iterative sequel, it builds on all of the existing mechanics of the original in a satisfying manner, offering more of what made the first game great. As with two years ago I am looking forward to the next (and final) game in the planned trilogy!
Hitman Go (Vita)
I'm sure I've made clear my love for the Hitman World of Assassination trilogy and Hitman Go pleasantly surprised me with how well the series fundamentals translate to a pure puzzle game. A minimalist board game aesthetic complements the puzzling perfectly and there's plenty of content to think through. I'm late to the party for sure, but I'm glad I played Hitman Go when I did - it now has a special place in my heart as the game I played on my honeymoon. Plus it proved there's life in my Vita yet!
John Wick Hex (Switch)
There's a trend of tactics games in these backlog picks and John Wick Hex is another standout. It's certainly not the first kind of game that springs to mind for a John Wick adaptation but it really works, capturing the character probably more effectively than any real time shooter could. At times it feels like a tactical Hotline Miami, and I particularly enjoyed the completely unnecessary (and optional) real time replays of the action on each level completion.
Metal Gear Acid (PSP)
A final tactics pick, Metal Gear Acid is a game I've been meaning to play for a long time. I was unconvinced by the game's elevator pitch and the mixed reception I'd seen had me wary but I ended up really enjoying the card game adaptation of one of my favourite series, even if I didn't gel with its stealth mechanics and instead took a fast and lethal approach. I hear the sequel is significantly improved and hope to track down a physical copy!
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (PSP)
Will 2025 finally be the year of GTA VI? I wouldn't bet on it, but one thing I would be on is it not being as good as Chinatown Wars. Despite some awareness of it being critically well received at the time this DS-turned-PSP game completely passed me by at original release. What I didn't know was that alongside the usual GTA mission structure and throwback perspective, Chinatown Wars also features an excellent drug dealing sandbox mode that plays out in parallel with the story. It cleverly contextualises everything that makes GTA great. Driving around the city gains purpose as you ferry drugs around for profit, while police chases gain stakes when all your money has been converted into cocaine and you know being busted means losing everything. It's elegant, emergent gameplay, the kind the modern series seems to have little interest in pursuing.
From The Devlog
Lolife (Playdate)
A new feature for my yearly round up, I wanted to give a shout out to my latest game dev project called Lolife, a retro open world action RPG coming soon to Playdate. Drawing inspiration from several games, most notably Hydlide, Lolife casts the player as a sword wielding warrior on a path to revenge against the local castle lord. I'm packing the game with content and secrets with a preference for density over run length, and multiple approaches to progress should provide plenty of replayability. I'll hopefully have more to share soon!