Should I write an intro? Maybe. But you already know what this is. The only thing I’ll add is that platforms in parentheses indicate where I played a game, not necessarily the only place(s) it’s available. And if something says PC, it’s a damn good bet most of that was played on my Steam Deck. Here’s the list!
Honorable Mentions: Cyber Knights: Flashpoint and TCG Shop Simulator (PC)
These both make my honorable mentions list by virtue of still being in Early Access on Steam. It’s a little unfair to Cyber Knights, because they’ve put out more releases with bug fixes and new content and tutorials and system overhauls than some live service games. It’s already an incredibly fun, flavorful, challenging, well-realized tactical strategy game. TCG Simulator is a less intense game that does exactly what it says on the tin: set up your shop, order and sell inventory, create a play space, and maybe crack some of that inventory yourself and sell off the expensive singles. It’s not as far along as Cyber Knights nor as ambitious, but it does make me frequently think “what if I quit my job and opened up a card game store?” so props for that.
Number 12: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Xbox Series X)
This may be surprising but I don’t have a huge reverence for Indiana Jones. I like Raiders but don’t think I’ve ever seen Last Crusade all the way through, so I wasn’t super excited for this beyond wanting to see what Machine Games were up to or not making a third game in their most recent Wolfenstein series. I was not expecting a stealth/action immersive sim with as much freedom as this has given me. It’s not higher on the list because it came out in December and I need to play more, but I feel like every generic enemy being labeled “fascist” is going to compel me to do just that.
Number 11: MLB The Show 24 (PlayStation 5)
I played a few hundred hours of it this year like I do every year while listening to podcasts. The Ultimate Team mode, Diamond Dynasty isn’t nearly as predatory as EA’s Ultimate Team modes. It’s essentially an obligatory inclusion on my list each ear due to volume of play time alone. Also, it was about the only way I could see anyone in Nats uniforms play well this year.
Number 10: Baldur’s Gate 3 (PC and PS5)
Isn’t this game over a year old and wasn’t it on last year’s list? Yes, yes, and also shut up. It’s still amazing game with more updates planned and I could play different characters for the rest of my life and still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. It could be number 1 any year from hear on out.
Number 9: Capes (PC and PS5)
Capes is an Xcom-like tactical strategy game (our second on this list) with a coat of superhero paint over it. Truth be told as long as it hit a baseline of technical competence that wa all it needed to do to make this list. The game’s fun and if that first sentence didn’t hook you, we don’t have the same taste in games.
Number 8: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Xbox)
First, just “Veilguard” would have been a better subtitle so that’s what I’ll call it. This had the unfortunate luck to end up in right wing chuds’ crosshairs for…I don’t know, really. Daring to have Black people, women, and non-cis queer people in it? Whatever, fuck the chuds. There was a depth to combat I didn’t expect although it’s not quite as meaty as Dragon Age: Origins. The writing, quest design, and world are all uneven with some really great highs and some disappointing lows. It’s hard to explain but chunks of dialogue come off as a mix of 90s Disney cartoons and Whedon-lite quips that just don’t always land. It’s also a very long game, and could have benefited from being just a bit more focused. Still fun, very enjoyable, and hopefully a good omen for when BioWare returns to Mass Effect, just not a no-doubter grand slam. A solid run scoring double.
Number 7: UFO 50 (PC)
A collection of 50 games from independent designers that tell the story of a fictional software company from the 80s and 90s. There’s something here for everyone: platformers, adventure games, RPGs, strategy games, you name it. Calling them “mini games” does a disservice to the depth and craft in display here. Well worth the investment and I promise you’ll find something you love.
Number 6: Astrobot (PS5)
Thoroughly charming 3D platformer that’s become Sony’s mascot answer to Mario or Sonic. Inventive, bite-sized levels with mechanics that can challenge without frustrating and don’t wear
out their welcome. Forced to pick out only two words for this, there’s no question they’d be “simply delightful.”
Number 5: Star Wars Outlaws/Star Wars Unlimited (Xbox Series X/Tabletop)
Star Wars Outlaws suffered a similar fate to Veilguard being a target of losers, and unfortunately also launched with some clear technical issues and mechanics that were half-baked. The technical and mechanical issues were ironed out while the MAGA grifter chuds are still losers. Outlaws follows the Ubisoft open world template but with Star Wars flavoring and that’s enough to break the monotony. Playing sabbac is fun, smuggling contraband for various factions and then double crossing them is fun. But I want to talk about a different card game.
This was also the year I got back into collective car games like Magic The Gathering thanks to Star Wars Unlimited. Star Wars Unlimited is an amazingly designed game, trading actions while using Star Wars characters and flavored events. This game has me collecting full playsets of each series of cards, plus card sleeves, playmats, and deck boxes to use at my local game stores during tournaments. If this wasn’t a video game list, Star Wars Unlimited would be my Game of the Year.
Number 4: Tetris Forever (PS5)
As a Tetris game, Tetris Forever is quantity over quality. There are a number of varieties of Tetris from various time periods and originating from different hardware sources. That all plays in to where this excels: as a museum piece. There are videos, interviews, and documentation from Tetris’s history telling the story of the game mode accurately than the still entertaining movie “Tetris.” Digital Foundry has made these types of retrospectives their bread and butter, and Tetris deserves this treatment more than any other game.
Number 3: Balatro (PC)
The phrase “poker rogulite” seems like a fever dream, and maybe Balatro is just that. The concept is straightforward enough: make poker hands and have them scored, with modifiers being applied based on “joker” cards played between rounds. Meet score thresholds to continue. It’s simple, it’s addictive, it’s devilish, it’s fantastic. Balatro and our next two games all could have been anywhere between 1 and 3 on this list.
Number 2: Metaphor: ReFantazio (PC)
What if the people behind the Persona series created a fantasy-themed game and used it to ask questions about political power and structures? Yeah, catnip for me. Mechanically solid, fun character builds, plenty of melodramatic storytelling - just a hell of a game.
Number 1: Tactical Breach Wizards (PC)
Is this the second or third tactical strategy game on this list? Look, I know what I like and I like what I like. What makes this stand out? Flavor. The mix of a modern setting with fantasy tropes like the “traffic warlock” are the tip of the sword for really fun, clever, genuinely funny writing. That’s so rare in games. Add in challenging but forgiving tactical combat with an in-universe reason to have a redo button and you’ve got a winner. Did I mention there’s a heavy emphasis on pushing enemies out of windows? There is. That’s what pushes this other of my 2024 Game of the Year list.