It looks like no one has taken up the mantle of creating a ‘2024 Game of the Year’ thread. In some years (like last year) we have had a forum poll. I don’t have the time to create or oversee a poll, but I would like to have a thread to discuss our personal GOTY’s.
So I invite you to post your own GOTY list. Perhaps leave a top five, or whatever number you want. I like lists, both reading them and making them.
Although I’m curious to read everyone’s GOTY for 2024 releases, I also would like to see your personal GOTY that you played during 2024, regardless of when it was released. So feel free to make two lists if you’d’ like. Also, if you feel so inclined, tell us what you liked about the games on your list and why they resonated with you. Although if you want to just list the games with no other discussion then that’s okay too. I know some of us are more verbose than others. There’s no particular rules. 😄
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
And… that’s the only 2024 release I played this year, so it’s an easy win. 😂
Still, I think it’s a worthy GOTY. It really is a balanced and addictive game that scratches that itch that you didn’t know you had. There’s a surprising amount of strategy involved in the gameplay, and yet, it’s quite simple and has the RNG anticipatory excitement mixed in to make every run feel fresh. I haven’t played it in several weeks, but it’s a game I expect to pick up and play from time to time in the future, perhaps for years to come. Perfect companion for the Portal while mindlessly watching TV simultaneously.
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My favorite games I played in 2024, all included:
1) Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
No surprise there for anyone who’s seen my multitude of posts about the game over the last 6 months. I’ve said enough about the game over the 125 hours I spent with it, so suffice it to say that it’s another enthralling entry into the popular series. It actually has novel elements and mechanics that I really appreciated over the previous entry. I hope to get to DS3 in 2025.
2) Spider-Man 2
I had a great time with the game. It’s closely iterated from the first game, sure. But there’s enough new game components and storylines that it still was a really fun time for me.
Many people complained that the game was just “more of the same” and I guess that’s partly true. But I wonder how many of those same people who complained that it feels “too similar” to the other 30-40 hours of SM1 and Miles Morales a couple years ago are yet somehow fine playing hour number 100 of one game, like Witcher 3, Baldur’s Gate, Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, Assassin’s Creed, Fortnite, COD, FIFA, etc.
Between the 3 Insomniac Spidey games, it’s about a 60 hour thrill ride, still shorter and less repetitive than many of those long games, imho.
3) Inscryption
A really strange game, this one. But it spurred a true appreciation of deck building card games; I ended up playing two others this year and previously had no interest in the genre.
The card game was my favorite aspect of Inscryption, but there’s a lot more to it. Just a really unique experience all around.
4) Final Fantasy XVI
I actually started this game in late 2023, but didn’t finish it until March of 2024, I’ll count it as having been played this year.
The switch to full action combat was criticized by many, but it felt fun to play and the boss battles, music, character development and performances, and overall art and graphical design were top notch.
5) A Plague Tale: Requiem
I think this series is under appreciated. This sequel was a step up in gameplay and presentation and all around even better than the first game, imo. Both are great games though and could hold you over ‘til The Last of Us Part 3 if you really need a dark action-stealth companion narrative adventure.
Honorable Mentions — Life is Strange: True Colors, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Immortals of Aveum
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Nice thread, I do like to see GotY threads which include games from other years.
Platinum.
Resident Evil 4 VR. Wow this was just a fantastic game in VR, gone is the intended Resident Evil control troubles and in with the dual wielding ninja. Only negatives is Mercs and Separate ways don’t support VR, normally I don’t enjoy Mercenaries but it wasn’t too difficult here which is good as it makes the platinum easier to obtain.
Gold
Kingdom Come Deliverance. Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would especially after the difficulty at the beginning.
Silver
Yakuza like a dragon. Finally finished a Yakuza game, it just took them a completely new approach to enable me to do it.
Bronze.
GT7 VR. Wow amazing, really should be joint platinum with RE4 but at the end of the day it is GT so we all know what it will be like. Haven’t really been a GT fan since GT3 but VR brought me back in.
I like the precious-metal rating that @CaptD done, so I’ll copy that ☺️ and include the best games I’ve personally played this year… not necessarily games that have released this year as per @Th3solution’s selections:
Platinum: The Saboteur - pretty much my perfect kinda game. Great open-world, lots of things to do in addition to the main campaign, that can be tackled as and when you like and just artistically beautiful in pretty much everything that it does. Amazing game!
Gold: Nioh 2 - the best non-From souls-like that I’ve played. Genre-best combat, phenomenal boss fights and hhhuuuuggggeeee!
Silver: Spec Ops: The Line - enjoyed the hell out of this. Great narrative, super-dark themes that are explored better than most modern war movies manage to… and that sound track! Hearing Jimi Hendrix’s 1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) on completion just melted me 🫠. Plays well too!
Bronze: Helldivers - wanted to get the original done before taking on the sequel and glad that I did. Just so playable… I don’t think I’ve ever felt so in control of my character within a game.
Tin: Just Cause 4 - it might be worse that Just Cause 3… but it’s still frikkin’ Just Cause
Christmas Turkey: Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League - probably helps that I had such low expectations going in but I’m really quite enjoying it. I like fun traversal in my open-worlds (it’s why I like Just Cause so much) and this has that in four separate varieties (though I’m not a huge fan of Harley Quinn’s if I’m honest). Surprisingly decent!
In terms of 2024 releases... all of my "top 3" are multi-platform:
1) Balatro - just terrific. As a poker player IRL, my appreciation was even greater. So addictive.
2) Nine Sols - terrific "2D Sekiro".... reminds me of how Salt and Sanctuary is "2D Dark Souls"
3) Lorelei and The Laser Eyes - really scratched my P&C itch. An amazing cross between OG ResiEvil and Myst!
Honorable mentions:
4) PoP Lost Crown, 5) Erdtree, 6) Hades 2 (Early Access) 7) Blasphemous 2 DLC 8) Tekken 8, 9) Still Wakes The Deep 10) Animal Well
Honestly, the best game new experience I've had this year has been a game from last year.
Jusant it's just one of those games that let's you experience it and feel something. Very chill, quite a nice feel to play.
But there was also:
Dragon's Dogma 2 a game where you basically make your own fun by exploring. Criminally underrated, but definitely not technically perfect. The Pawn system was a joy to use, and by chance Tim Roth just became a thing that made my game very surreal, but also an added layer of fun for no real reason 😅
Astro Bot is Astro Bot, I don't really like platformers that much, but its definitely nice in short bursts. Everyone knows that it's a really well made game, and I mostly bought it to support there being more SIE AA games in future.
I'm probably saving Indiana Jones for a while, only did the opening sequence, but I may start it properly before the year is out. I'm such a crap gamer as i'll just flit around titles on a whim 😅
Crusader Kings 3 got some decent play time.
Hogwarts Legacy is Hogwarts Legacy It's a good game I just can't get round to finishing it.
I picked up an old Kingdom Come: Deliverance save recently, and that kind of makes me want to play that and nothing else tbh. And that instantly therfore qualifies as the best game I've actually played this year 😛
And, as always, every game I play is really a reprieve from playing EA Sports FC. The less I get tricked into playing that by people, the better.
Ooops I just posted mine the other day in the Unpopular Opinions thread cause I was wrestling with it a bit, but my pick is Zenless Zone Zero. And yes, for all the arguments why you may think that is a weird choice, I have probably already addressed it in the other thread, please be kind to me 😂
In terms of best game I’ve played this year that didn’t come out this year, that is a trickier one to answer. If I exclude replays of old games, and just focus on the stuff I’ve played for the first time, I’m kinda torn between Honkai Star Rail, P5 Royal and Xenoblade 3.
PC: World.of Warcraft: The War Within.
I have been away from WoW for many years but decided to come back. I really enjoyed the campaign in this one and enjoyed alot of the new areas particularly Hallowfell.
Xbox: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Everything is just great about this game and just nailed the feel of Indy. The gameplay is fantastic too and perfect for this game. I figured I would like this game cause I am a huge Indy fan but it's even better then I thought.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
My personal GOTY 2024 is Barbie : Project Friendship PS5.
This is the first Barbie game on PS5 with HD graphic and better gameplay from all Barbie games I knew.
Girlie games for kids are really rare on PlayStation machines but thanks to Microids and especially Outright Games as the publishers who provided the kids franchises on modern consoles.
@Th3solution I played Inscryption last year, and loved everything about it. Not to mention that the card/deck elements proved to be my gateway drug that lead me to -> Slay The Spire, which in turn pushed me towards -> Balatro.
I've never played anything quite like Inscryption, and it is such a difficult game to recommend to others - especially as to describe it in full is to compromise the enjoyment of the recipient, via spoilers etc!
I have a recommendation for you, which is maybe the closest thing I've found to Inscryption - in terms of meta-ish gameplay and genre-mixing... "There is No Game: Wrong Dimension" - plays like a mix of puzzle/RPG and 90's P&C. Similar in length to Inscryption, maybe shorter, but it is kind of along a similar lens. Give it a try
NB. Nice to see some love for DS2 as well. Whilst I wouldn't put it too highly in my personal From rankings, I still think it is an absolutely serviceable entry in the series... and a higher mark of quality vs 3rd party imitators. I look forward to your thoughts on DS3 though, which for me is the pinnacle of the trilogy
@Th3solution I have only beaten three games in 2024, and my favourite was Elden Ring, the others, which were still enjoyable, were Demon's Souls, a close runner-up, and Rise of the Ronin, which was good as well, but the journey through the Lands Between, as well as creating a Greatsword build that was op for most of the game's myriad of bosses, along with my trust Mimic Tear+7, was extremely satisfying. I had to summon help for the final two bosses. But getting the final hit in on the final boss was definitely the cherry on top.🤺
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
My personal game of the year is The Last of Us Part II Remastered which is also probably the best game I’ve ever played. It does feel a little dumb to choose a remastered game as my goty so in tied place I’ll put Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. I had so much fun with that game. Runner-up is Dragon’s Dogma 2. It was so fun running around with my pawns.
For best older game I’ve played this year, it’s probably a tie between Sekiro and Resident Evil: Village. I’m currently playing Death Stranding which may overtake them.
@PorkChopExpress Oh yeah, I didn't notice that until you mentioned it.
Good shout out to Still Wakes the Deep! I've also played it and it was a great walking sim/horror experience. Probably my favourite walking sim game due to the great pacing and variety of things you could do in the game despite it being a walking sim.
it's the most wonderful time on Push Square... Good to read everyone's personal faves from the year so I thought I'd add my list...
March: Inscryption. Played through with game club and remember every page just seemed to read like a classified redacted document. Basically mentioning anything about the game is moving into spoiler territory. If you know, you know. It was exactly the game I needed at the time I played it and an enjoyable challenge trying to overcome the insane Kaycees mod at the end.
April: Marvels Midnight Suns. I, like many others, had become bored of the relentless Marvel everywhere all of the time but still enjoyed the tactical combat of the game and the way it encouraged me to try out all of the roster, hang out with the guys, explore every part of the Abbey. Another card game in some senses but very different from the first.
May: Dave the Diver. Knew I would love this the first time I saw a trailer for it. I did. Despite the introduction of new mechanics almost every day or so which probably became a bit too much in my opinion. The main gameplay loop is just so engaging.
October: Dead Space. The remake I never knew I needed to play. Easily my favourite from my spooky month playlist. Oh how I love that Plasma Cutter. Even enjoyed the impossible mode run I had to do for the platinum.
December: Vampire Survivors. Took me about 5 mins of playing to know I'd abandon everything else for this, easy to see why it's so addictive and surprising that nobody had created this genre beforehand... Well I like twin stick shooters but wish I didn't have to do the shooting!... The best game I've ever bought for £3.19. Currently wondering how long before I install the PS4 version and do it all again.
Nice list @sorteddan
Dead Space is splendid, shame we don’t seem to be getting DS2.
I also enjoyed Marvels Midnight Suns despite thinking it might not be my bag and that I suppose is the beauty of subscription services.
I’m waiting for the PlayStation Blog game of the year list, where they usually ask various Sony Studios. I wonder if any will choose Concord, Shirley Hermen has got to.
This is the first year where I can't decide on my GOTY, nothing completely blew me away. Being a Suikoden fan, I enjoyed Eiyuden Chronicle, but I'm not blind to its faults. Astro Bot was great but didn't surprise me as much as Playroom. Animal Well was hauntingly atmospheric and fun.
Yet none of them feel like my game of the year. But that's fine. If pressed I would probably say Erdtree but it feels weird giving it to a DLC. It was huge though.
My favourite game I've played this year that wasn't released in 2024 would probably be Firewatch. It struck a chord, and then some.
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