Glen-i Posted December 24, 2024 Posted December 24, 2024 (edited) Aw yeah! With Christmas right around the corner, it's time to bust out this thing again. A thing that's totally my idea, and definitely nothing to do with @Jonnas, NOTHING! What were your favourite games released in 2024? What yearly GOTY discussions usually talk about, what were the best 2024 games for you? What were your favourite games played in 2024? Once you include older games you played this year for the first time, what are your favourites? Do they surpass this year's releases? Feel free to include replays and such, it's your opinion. Any 2024 release that you wish you had played? I mean, surely we didn't buy every new game, right? Any game(s) you feel like you missed out on? Answer all of them, or one of them, or none of them and just waste valuable internet space adding nothing of note to the topic! Guess I should go first. Glen's Best 2024 Games 9. Balatro A game that will make you addicted to Poker, according to PEGI, at least. Well, I can't wait to use my newly acquired Poker knowledge to win big with 5 holographic King of Spades! Beautifully simple to learn, yet surprisingly complex to master. Sign of any good game really. Just don't spend too long on the toilet. 8. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes I'm still thinking about this game, you know? It's made quite an impact on me. If I had to describe it, it would be "Resident Evil, but with almost none of the survival horror" (Shout out to @Julius, for no particular reason) Just a ridiculous avalanche of puzzles set in a hotel that has far too many locked doors to be sensible. It's brilliant! Be warned, though, it is a demanding game. Get that notepad and pen ready, you'll need it. 7. Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island A game that actively hates you! Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but there's something satisfying about overcoming such ridiculous odds. It definitely scratches that itch that Pokémon Mystery Dungeon has left behind. For real, though, Spike Chunsoft, release a PMD entry in the first 2 years of Switch 2, and you'll sell a bajillion copies! 6. Super Mario Party Jamboree Quite possibly, one of the finest entries in Mario Party history, and there's still 2 boards I haven't played yet. And you know that's possible because Boo is there, attached to skis... somehow. That's the true essence of Mario Party! My only criticism would be that the pace is a tad slower then the other Switch entries, but it's worth it when we've got very cool boards, and by far, the best side modes ever. Koopathalon and Bowser Kaboom Squad are loads of fun, and it runs like a dream online! I can't believe the 20 player minigames run so well! So you know, if any of you have this, do hit me up. Always up for a game. 5. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake OK Japan, I get it. I get why this game was such a huge deal in the late 80's. This game is so influential, even Zelda ripped it off! It's definitely simplistic these days, even by Dragon Quest standards. But well, it's Dragon Quest! Simple is the whole point of it! Sometimes you just need a good, straightforward, traditional RPG. And sometimes that good, straightforward, traditional RPG needs to be given a gorgeous HD-2D makeover. Take notes, Final Fantasy, this is how you do a Pixel Remaster. 4. Mario & Luigi: Brothership Lunging in the other direction as far as visual styles go, the new Mario & Luigi (Which is surreal to be typing in 2024) foregoes pixel art, for full 3D models, and it nails the landing impeccably. Right up there with Wonder Boy and PMD as one of the best looking games on Switch. I'd write more, but I'm waiting for my N-E review to go up. 3. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Sometimes you can tell when a game is a major passion project. Arzette proves that, yes, the Zelda CD-i games could've been great! It fixes the jank and frustrating level design of the Unholy Triforce, and makes a tight, enjoyable 2D romp. All while preserving the... "style" that the CD-i games are well known for. It's a game that manages to laugh with, and not at, it's source material. Highly recommended, it's better then Echoes of Wisdom. And I'm not even joking! 2. 1000XResist Criminally overlooked. That's the best way to describe this game. OK, the gameplay is admittedly light, but if you're looking for excellent narratives in your video game, then you owe it to yourself to give this a go. Games can be art, and 1000XResist is excellent proof of that. 1. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Hey look, another criminally overloooked game. Funny that. Almost like you shouldn't take some awards seriously. It was a long time coming, and it was certainly a bumpy road travelled. But the wait was so worth it! This nails pretty much everything I consider a good RPG. It looks gorgeous, the characters are varied and fun, the music is excellent, and the battle system is expertly crafted! There's no such thing as a perfect RPG for me, but this game comes damn near close! Also, you can recreate Romeo and Juliet with a horce racing commentator, a feral dragon, and a Kangaroo with a thick Aussie accent (And he's the best actor!). If that doesn't convince you, nothing will! Honourable Mentions: Some games that I thought were good, but not good enough to be highlighted above are The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, a Zelda game that managed to not put me to sleep, and Princess Peach: Showtime, a decent, if breezy game with a lot of cool ideas. Gonna have to leave it there for now, but I will be back with the games from previous years that I only got around to playing in 2024. Edited December 24, 2024 by Glen-i 2 2
Cube Posted December 24, 2024 Posted December 24, 2024 The 2024 games that I've played: er.... nothing yet. New to me games that I've loved: Getter Love: Panda Love Unit, Hey You Pikachu, Beetle Adventure Racing, Quake II 64, Shadow Man, Destruction Derby 64, Glover 2, Rayman 2, NBA Courtside 2, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, Custom Robo, Virtual Pro Wrestling 2, Excitebike 64, ISS 2000, Mario Artist Polygon Studio, Pokémon Puzzle League, Custom Robo V2, Mega Man 64, Dinosaur Planet, Bomberman 64 (Japan), Luigi's Mansion, NHL Hitz 2002, Pro Skater 3, SSX Tricky, Dark Summit, Lost Kingdoms and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. 2024 games that are highest on my list of what I want to play are Echoes of Wisdom, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Dragon Age Veilguard and Sonic X Shadow Generations. 1
Jonnas Posted December 31, 2024 Posted December 31, 2024 So, this was an enriching year when it comes to videogames. I feel like I delved into my backlog like never before. I explored the NSO like never before, I got around to clearing a bunch of unfinished games from my backlog (more than half), managed to get back into RPGs, discovered the Shmup genre, somehow included a bunch of unexpected Arcade games, and managed to make a 10-game pledge really fun to plan for. In a nutshell, each choice here represented something I wanted to do this year. BDII and Three Hopes were unfinished physical games on my Switch (whoopsie), Bloodstained was a Halloween game that was also a physical cart (a silent reminder that those other two games should be finished by then. Whoopsie again), Final Fantasy II was a promise to drop Fire Emblem Heroes (success), Phantasy Star was a short RPG that felt accessible (excellent choice), Baba is You represented my desire to get into programming (as of yet, an ongoing success), and the remaining four were key NSO picks: Kid Icarus as a reminder to keep my mind open, Starfox for the shmup journey, Comix Zone to stop being so lazy about games I wanted to play anyway, and Banjo-Kazooie to remind me that this is also about classics that passed me by. In the end, some of these choices ended up being joined with several other titles. I played 4 other games in preparation for Three Hopes. Kid Icarus is the reason I also reexplored other NES classics. Comix Zone lead me to the other Beat'em ups I played this year. And so on. I didn't complete the pledge, but it was never about that. The mere fact that I was able to pick myself up and finish Worms Armageddon (unfinished for the past 20 years or so!) was a feat, and it somehow all ties back to me putting together that simple image above. Somehow, all of these vague goals really turned into an unpredictable adventure. So, thank you very much, @Julius, for introducing me to this idea in the first place. It really spiced up what was already a very transformative year for me. What were your favourite games released in 2024? The Switch version of Freedom Planet 2! It was the only 2024 release I played this year, and it was a damn good one. What were your favourite games played in 2024? I'll answer this one down below. Any 2024 release that you wish you had played? So many! Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Marvel vs Capcom Collection, Little Big Adventure remake, Dragon Quest 3 HD... This was a year that I simply didn't dedicate to new releases. As for the games I actually played in 2024, here's my Top 10, from 10th best to bestest: 10 - Coffee Talk: A relaxing time, and a lovely game to sleep to. It's nice, finding out specific niches for games, and I'm really lucky to have found one for this title; 9 - Enemy Mind: Revisiting unfinished games can sometimes face you with a surprise. Who knew this was actually the best shmup ever? What a true hidden gem; 8 - Kirby's Adventure: It's a good thing I'm keeping an open mind about the games I play on NSO, because I was ready to write this one off as just "neat". Instead, I managed to truly enjoy this game for what it is, and appreciate it immensely; 7 - Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master: In the same vein, it's nice to experience games that wouldn't be my cup of tea as a kid, but really make me giddy as an adult. Such a cool game, top to bottom; 6 - Starfox 64: Speaking of games that I didn't use to like, here's one that finally managed to win me over. What a delightfully simple, but well designed, game; 5 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Return of the king, this brought everything an Igavania needed to succeed. There were bumps in the landing, but it's incredible that it flew as far as it did; 4 - Solomon's Key 2 (Fire 'n Ice) : The biggest hidden gem of the NSO so far. Delightful puzzle game for all ages, not as common as you think; 3 - Baba is You: This one is more of a big boy puzzle game. It gets complex, it gets genuinely mind-bending, and I am thoroughly impressed; 2 - Phantasy Star: The one RPG I finished this year was a heck of a good one. It felt genuinely fresh despite aping Star Wars a lot, and I really delved into it. Super happy to have played it; 1 - Freedom Planet 2: I should've put this one somewhere on the pledge. Incredible game, I still think about it often. Deserves so much more recognition than it gets. So there you have it! 2 1
Dcubed Posted January 1 Posted January 1 (edited) Well it's now 2025, so it's too late for me to add anything more to this list (sorry Mouthwashing). Quote What were your favourite games released in 2024? What yearly GOTY discussions usually talk about, what were the best 2024 games for you? 8. Penny's Big Breakaway While I haven't finished the game, I have certainly enjoyed my time with it so far (playing the Steam PC version). The control mechanics are great, with a really nice sense of momentum, and the gameplay is really quite novel. 3D platformers in general are a rarity, let alone a good one, and this certainly is a good one. I do have to say though, that the game is let down by its rather samey looking and feeling environments; and its levels do tend to drag on for too long. So this is a game that I enjoy more in short bursts, as it can get rather repetitive after a while. Still, an excellent first effort from Evening Star and well worth playing; just don't try ploughing through it in one go, or else you may end up feeling burnt out. 7. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore This was a delightful little gem that came as if from nowhere. A love letter to the Unholy Triforce that turned out far better a game than it had any right to be. While it won't knock your socks off with incredibly novel or amazing unique gameplay mechanics, it's simple a solid little sidescrolling action platformer that takes a very rough set of games and manages to pull something good out of them. While it's not the utter miracle that Haunted Castle Revisited was, Arzette was a joy to play as someone who always saw potential in the CDI Zelda games, and you can feel the love poured into the game from every corner. It also helps to satiate the hunger for Shantae Advance quite nicely, being a similar style of game. Solid game, made with a lot of love. What's not to like? 6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown I haven't finished this one either (do need to get back to it at some point), but this is a rather delightful metroidvania take on the classic 2D sidescrolling PoP gameplay from what I've played so far. The obvious point of inspiration here is Metroid Dread. It's very very obvious that the team at Ubisoft Montpellier were massive fans of Metroid Dread in particular... I mean... I can't really blame them really, because Metroid Dread is incredibly fucking good; as the inspiration shows in every aspect of the game's presentation, movement mechanics, bosses and overall game design. I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with it so far, despite not really caring a lick for the story or characters at all (though the option for Farsi dialogue is pretty cool, I have to admit). They did a great job of making Sargon just feel good to move around, this is a game with very good game feel. While I gather that the game goes on for a bit longer than it really should, this is a really solid tribute to both classic 2D Prince of Persia, as well as Metroid Dread. It also looks pretty swanky in stereoscopic 3D to boot! Well worth a play, and certainly one of the most criminally overlooked games of 2024. 5. Haunted Castle: Revisited Probably the single most impressive game of 2024, purely for how they managed to create something out of nothing. It cannot be overstated how incredibly awful the original Haunted Castle is, so to get a brand new Castlevania game that somehow manages to weave gold from pure shit is nothing but the finest of alchemy. Bravo M2! 4. Emio: The Smiling Man This is one of only two 1st party Nintendo titles from 2024 that I actually played this year (I mean... it's hard to make a fully 2D point n' click adventure run badly really), but I made a damn good choice to pick this one; because it's a cracker of a case. It's certainly not for everyone, as it requires a bit of patience for some intentionally obtuse progression and a rather slow start to the story, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. The ending is every bit as hype inducing as Sakamoto was playing it up to be, and also every bit as controversial. A genuine bit of Nintendo history made right before your eyes with this one. 3. 1000XResist The single best narrative in video gaming throughout 2024. Easily. (not even Mouthwashing comes close, and I like Mouthwashing!) 2. Super Mario Party Jamboree Returning to the traditional formula, Jamboree is just simply a top-shelf Mario Party title through and through. While I haven't had as much time to play it as I have wanted to, I've loved every moment I've spent with this game. Excellent board designs with plenty of interesting gimmicks and options for strategic plays, a well balanced and nuanced set of items, and just an excellent set of minigames and side modes. It's simply just a full and complete package. You won't be pining for DLC here, it is so utterly packed with brilliant stuff that you'll be playing it with your friends for years. The online support is also top-shelf, as is the presentation (honestly, it puts basically every other game released on Switch this year to absolute shame. And it does so at a full 1080p/60FPS without needing new hardware, it's simply just one of the best looking and running games on the platform). The Buddy system is also kind of brilliant, allowing for some utterly ridiculous plays; such as potentially buying 2-4 stars in one turn! The only real complaint I have to make is that the Jamboree Buddy minigames can make matches go on for quite a while, with even 15 turn matches often clocking in at almost 2 hours; it's a bit of a time committment to make for group sessions, even by series standards. It's just so much fun that the time will just fly by, but it does mean that longer matches are usually out of the question; which is a bit of a shame, as some board events and items don't really come into play unless you play longer turn games, so you will miss out on some of the intended strategic gameplay unless your group can really commit to longer play sessions. Still, that's really it. Outside of that one issue, the game is everything a Mario Party fan could really ask for. It's a brilliant continuation of a superb multiplayer series, and a very worth sequel to Mario Party Superstars/Super Mario Party. There's just a whole lot to love here, and as a long-time fan of the series? I'm massively pleased with what Nintendo Cube have pulled off here. Finally, I just want to give a special shoutout to one minigame in particular... and that is Slappy Go Round, which might well be the single greatest Duel Minigame in the series' entire 25 year history. It's so simple and so utterly brilliant! A pure social mindgame nightmare! This single minigame is worth the price of entry alone 1. Balatro Kings go brrr... Kings go brrr Overall? A year very much dominated by narrative-driven games and some surprise out-of-nowhere hits. Not many new good multiplayer games this year to choose from, but we did get some fantastic NSO re-releases with newly added online play (especially Perfect Dark and Four Swords); so combined with Jamboree? Not a terrible year overall for multiplayer fun. Quote What were your favourite games played in 2024? Once you include older games you played this year for the first time, what are your favourites? Do they surpass this year's releases? Feel free to include replays and such, it's your opinion. I'm not gonna include replays, but I will include games that I played that either came out in English in 2024 for the first time; or ones that I played for the first time this year... 8. Lunar: The Silver Star I haven't finished this game yet, but I did start playing it this year. It's a game that is surprisingly ahead of its time in many ways, from its surprisingly good voice acting and (mostly) quality localisation, to the way in which sprites show visible equipment changes and the way in which NPC can give multiple lines of dialogue when spoken to multiple times. The music is nice and the battles are quick & snappy. While I wouldn't say that there's anything really revolutionary for the time with its gameplay, it's just a well made RPG with likable characters and a good-enough story. Certainly one of the better RPGs of its era, though it's not really a patch on the best that the SNES had to offer. 7. Pang! 3 A great game with an awkward title. I've been playing this one quite a bit at the Heart of Gaming arcade, and while I had played some of the Pang! games before? I hadn't played this one. This is a great little action puzzle title that expands on the formula of popping bubbles with your gun/lasso thingy. Featuring a strange mexican/fine arts mashup theme and some high energy music and sound effects/voices, this is some of the best arcade action puzzle gameplay you're gonna find. 6. Virtua Cop 3 An excellent 2003 follow-up to SEGA's seminal light gun shooter series. Its new bullet-time mechanics would actually go on to directly inspire 2006's Afterburner Climax. Otherwise? It's a stoic game that focuses on the simple joy of shooting baddies as a copper from the future. If all cops are bastards? Then this is a bastard of a good game. Hopefully it gets a decent home port one day. 5. Tetris Battle Gaiden What if Tetris and Puyo Puyo had a baby... no, not that one, or that one either, but rather this 1995 Japanese-only SNES game. Released here in the west for the first time as part of the Tetris Forever collection, Tetris Battle Gaiden is a falling block puzzle game of the VS variety. Unlike your usual Tetris game, this one is focused squarely on VS gameplay against either the CPU or another player. While very clearly inspired by the massive success of Puyo Puyo and its sequel (fair's fair right?), what makes this game unique is the cast of characters with unique powers that can be used to hinder your opponent. Of course, Halloween is the best character, and not just because he flips the bird at his opponents, but because his level 4 power can be used to double the power of your attacks, and that's stupid awesome! Great game, damn shame it took so long to come out over here though. BTW, while I don't include collections in game rankings as a general rule, I just wanted to take the opportunity to point out how great Tetris Forever is as a package. The interviews are really great, and the supplementary material is just fantastic. Even if you already own every game in the collection, it's well worth checking out for the excellent non-game material! Anyway, if Single player puzzlers give you Zs, and you love giving your opponents an L? Tetris Battle Gaiden will fit your tastes to a T. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Fuck you Shaman! 4. F-Zero Climax This 2004 Japanese exclusive GBA game was the last game in the series up until F-Zero 99 came out last year. Like its GBA predecessor, GP Legend, this game was developed by Suzak and is based on the F-Zero anime series. While I have my issues with GP Legend (in particular, its tracks feel like they were designed by a five year old, and the physics feel floaty and off), Climax is a surprisingly big improvement in just about every area. While it looks very similar on the surface, mechanically it actually plays quite differently, with a much greater sense of speed and a number of new control and boost mechanics. The most notably one is perhaps the Boost Fire move, which seeks to combine the boost mechanics of both 2D and 3D F-zero into something ridiculous. BOOST FIRE!!!!!!!!!!! The track design has also been significantly improved from its predecessor, now featuring sensible layouts! But they do also include plenty of opportunities for crazy and risky shortcuts. I really like the tracks on offer here, but if that's not enough? You even have a track editor, so you can make the five-year-old designed monstrosities of your best nightmares! While I need to spend more time playing it still, I'm really impressed with Climax so far. It's much better than GP Legend, and it's a shame that we never got it originally. 3. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles As I previously mentioned in my Gaming Diary writeup for The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, it isn't really a sequel, but rather the second part of one big game. As such, I am grouping the two releases together as one title; same as with Golden Sun/TLA and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. And while I do have some issues with the game as a whole, most notably with the game's pacing (the first half honestly feeling like a bit of a slog, until the second half starts popping off), I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game as a whole. Just be prepared to sink some serious hours into it in order to see the story through to its conclusion (took me about 75 hours in all, which is about as long as the first four Ace Attorney games combined with some yen and shillings left over). 2. Sonic Superstars I played the Steam version and had a fantastic time with this rather lovely return to form for the blue blur. Spot on physics combined with good level design and some fun new gimmicks make for a pretty great little modern take on the classic MD Sonic gameplay formula. Just don't bother with the rather crappy online multiplayer battle mode. 1. Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit This would probably be tied for GOTY alongside Balatro if they were in the same list, I can't really decide between the two. Funnily enough, this is also how I probably would've felt if the game actually got released back in 2011 like it was originally supposed to (as it would've been tied with Skyward Sword for my GOTY in 2011). I've already waxed enough poetic about this game elsewhere, but long story short? This is the best game in the entire Ace Attorney series, and every bit worth the 13 year wait it took to get localised. Quote Any 2024 release that you wish you had played? I mean, surely we didn't buy every new game, right? Any game(s) you feel like you missed out on? I missed out on almost every Nintendo first party release this year, since I'm now waiting to play them in better form on Switch 2. I'd love to play the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for instance, but with that game running at only half the framerate of the GCN original? (30FPS vs the original GCN game's 60FPS), I really can't justify the purchase right now. I'm really hoping that TTYD gets its 60FPS back when played on Switch 2, as the gameplay really suffers from the worse performance (particularily with the Superguard mechanic). Same goes for the likes of TLOZ: Echoes of Wisdom. As excited as I am to play a brand new 2D Zelda game that actually appears to be a real Zelda game, and not open world rubbish fake Zelda? I can't bring myself to play it right now when it runs so badly on the current Switch model; especially when I know that Switch 2 is only just around the corner. Even though most of Nintendo's output this year were remakes and remasters? I'd still like to play them, but there's not much point in doing so right now when they're all probably gonna play quite a bit better in a few more months. So that leaves this rather large list of 1st party 2024 titles below... Quote Another Code: Recollection Mario vs. Donkey Kong Princess Peach: Showtime! Endless Ocean Luminous Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Mario & Luigi: Brothership Outside of Nintendo's first party releases? I wish I had a chance to play Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, it looks right up my alley; but I just haven't been able to dedicate the time due to competing priorities. Same goes for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake (hopefully in decent form on Switch 2, because it runs like shit on the current Switch and I'd like to play it on a Nintendo system) and Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island. I also want to play UFO 50, Antonblast, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (hey! That's coming out on PC this month!) and Astro Bot (PC port plz). I also still need to get the Jackbox Naughty Pack and Jackbox Survey Scramble, as well as Peglin, Visions of Mana, Unicorn Overlord and The Plucky Squire. So there's plenty of 2024 games that remain in my backlog (Not Mouthwashing though, I've played that one now). Edited January 1 by Dcubed 2
Ashley Posted January 1 Posted January 1 1 hour ago, Dcubed said: Well it's now 2025, so it's too late for me to add anything more to this list (sorry Mouthwashing). What were your favourite games released in 2024? What yearly GOTY discussions usually talk about, what were the best 2024 games for you? What were your favourite games played in 2024? Once you include older games you played this year for the first time, what are your favourites? Do they surpass this year's releases? Feel free to include replays and such, it's your opinion. Any 2024 release that you wish you had played? I mean, surely we didn't buy every new game, right? Any game(s) you feel like you missed out on? I know you and @Glen-i are related but I didn't realise you were twins 2
Dcubed Posted January 1 Posted January 1 Just now, Ashley said: I know you and @Glen-i are related but I didn't realise you were twins Patience! The whole post isn't done yet... I just accidentally hit the submit button a bit too early
Hero-of-Time Posted January 1 Posted January 1 On 12/24/2024 at 11:53 AM, Glen-i said: Answer all of them, or one of them, or none of them and just waste valuable internet space adding nothing of note to the topic! I just assumed @Dcubedwas going with this option. 4
Julius Posted January 1 Posted January 1 8 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: I just assumed @Dcubedwas going with this option. Bit late for a Christmas roast H-o-T, damn... 1
Glen-i Posted January 2 Author Posted January 2 A bit later then I would've liked, but time to carry on with my lists. Glen's Best Non-2024 Games of 2024 8. Spyro the Dragon (Reignited version) Every year, I like to point out a game that outright surprised me with how good it was. Spyro the Dragon surprised me with how not awful it was. A Playstation era 3D platform game that seems to at least understand what makes a 3D platformer work. Admittedly, the work done on the Reignited version is exemplary, and it's hard for me to determine how much Toys for Bob are carrying it. But it's working, I'm looking forward to playing the sequels this year. 7. Densetsu no Stafy 3 I played all three GBA Legend of Starfy games this year, but the third game is the one that stands out to me. A very interesting take on 2D platformers where being underwater is far more preferable. It's also just really solid. No Japanese knowledge required for this one. I highly recommend it. Even if it does get surprisingly tough as nails if you go for 100%. 6. Shantae and the Seven Sirens It's Shantae, always a good time. Nope, that's it. That's all I'm saying. 5. Sonic Superstars It's a Sonic game where Sonic is the worst character to play as by far, so you know it's on the right track. It's weird though, it's a good Sonic game, and Vector the Crocodile isn't in it... I'm gonna assume he doesn't want to go anywhere near 2D platformers, which is fair given his track record there. What was I talking about? Oh right! Games! Sonic Superstars seems to show that the right lessons have been learned from Sonic Mania. This game just feels right, you know? Super Mario Bros. Wonder may have been the technically better platformer from last year, but I had more fun with this. And that's what matters most, as far as I'm concerned. 4. Star Ocean: Second Story R Lately, we've been getting more and more old pixel games getting a lovely HD-2D style makeover. This is totally fine by me, because it's thanks to that that I discovered this little gem of a game. It's one of those RPG's where a bit of experimentation can utterly destroy the difficulty, and it doesn't even attempt to dissuade you from exploiting this. It's why Bravely Default is so much fun! 3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Aria of Sorrow may have been my first proper foray into Castlevania, but the sequel is a lot more polished, and the better game for it. A man with impeccable jogging posture goes into an evil castle and proceeds to murder everything inside. Fun times for all! Looking back, I've been on a bit of an older game binge, but my top 2 games in this list aren't old, relatively speaking. I'm also really struggling with what to put on top. So I'm afraid I'm gonna have to cop out here. Joint 1st. Chained Echoes When I think about it, it's kinda weird that I rate this game so highly, I've played better RPG's, even this year. But there's something, I dunno, earnest about this game? Once I learned that the majority of it was made by one person, it's shortcomings seemed more reasonable. Lovely little game. Absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes turn-based RPG's, and not just because it has a playable lizard in it. Although that always helps. Speaking of great turn-based RPG's... Joint 1st. Sea of Stars Sea of Stars is a different kind of indie RPG, a lot more polished then Chained Echoes, but with a heavy inspiration from quite a few 90's classics. That's what makes me struggle with where to put this. I wouldn't go so far as to say derivative, because it has it's own ideas in there. And it is really good. Also absolutely recommend this game. Funnily enough, both of these games are getting some significant DLC in 2025, so I'll likely be returning to them this year. Any 2024 release that you wish you had played? Hmmmm... Not really. At least not as much as last year. Baldur's Gate 3 is naturally still there until it gets a Switch 2 port. However, Astro Bot is the one game that springs to mind, I hope that gets a PC port eventually, I guess it depends on how integral the PS5 controller is. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has kinda fallen off of my "Must-play" list due to it being more open-worldy then Remake, but with that getting a PC port soon, I'll no doubt try it. 2 2
Julius Posted 2 hours ago Posted 2 hours ago (edited) Bit late to the party, but this thread needs more posts. After much deliberation, it's time to throw my hat in the ring. Shoutouts! Let's start things off with shouting out some of my highlights of the year which maybe don't fit into the typical GOTY categories we do here, be it multiplayer games (which I generally avoid considering for GOTY, especially if there's a heavy single player component), certain replays, or games I dropped for whatever reason. I kicked off the year with some replays, starting off with Chrono Trigger, which remains one of the all-time greats, and followed it up with revisiting The Last of Us Part II for the first time with its Remastered re-release. It's a game I greatly enjoyed back at launch in 2020, but wouldn't say I truly loved. While after this replay I'd actually double down on what I perceive to be its greatest flaws - namely some weird pacing which I purposely leaned into when structuring my playthrough, as well as trusting players too much at times while too little at others - this replay was worthwhile because it cemented Part II as one of my favourite experiences in gaming, because in spite of all of those flaws, it swings for the fences in ways it easily could've avoided. It's scratching at the seams of what a video game story can achieve. What's more, it's genuinely a brilliant playing game, with what is probably my favourite modern take on stealth-action - also, notably, probably one of the only interesting modern AAA takes on stealth-action, in my opinion - some beautiful visuals, excellent writing and some great character moments. I loved it so much that, retroactively, it's taken the crown as my 2020 GOTY (sorry to Final Fantasy VII Remake). Let's shout out some multiplayer hijinks while we're here, because me and my friends spent 104½ hours together across the latter months of 2023 and early months of 2024 completing Baldur's Gate III together. It was a frustrating cacophony of scheduling nightmares at times, and the entire ending sequence makes me want to scream at every person in the world that the ending needs to be experienced solo first because it falls so incredibly flat in a multiplayer playthrough because of how it awkwardly wraps things up, but damn, despite all that, I still loved it. I'm the RPG guy in my group - regardless of what PlayStation Wrap-Up wanting to suggest otherwise - and I've also listened to a number of D&D podcasts in the past, so it was a great way, weirdly, to introduce my friends to the world of the turn-based RPG. I'll be honest, for my own sanity and to know where I truly stand on it I need to play it a second time all the way through by myself at some point - which I've tried a few times at this point, and we've also dabbled with some 20+ hours of another co-op playthrough or two since our first playthrough ended - but I'm not in any particular rush to do that, as the story and its characters still feel so fresh and familiar at the time of writing. And yeah, in case you're worrying, I'm still gutted there isn't a height slider which meant I couldn't be the dwarf-sized Dragonborn bard I wanted to be. Elsewhere me and my friends threw time into PowerWash Simulator together - a great way to just chill and chat - and there was some Ghost Recon: Wildlands stupidity too, as well as 30 hours more put into Monster Hunter World via a fresh save file which ultimately fell down the pecking order and unfortunately put of our weekly rotation of games; at this point I'm 45 hours into Monster Hunter World across two saves and still have no idea where I stand on it, so if and when I get to Wilds, I'm adamant that I'll be doing so solo. Gran Turismo 7, meanwhile, managed to keep me somewhat sane during even the trickier times of the year, which I'm very grateful for. Some games I wish I put more time into this year would be Helldivers II - which I picked up at launch but only put an hour or two into, but an awesome and fun two hours at that! There's also Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which I actually got early having backed the game on Kickstarter given my love for Suikoden and Suikoden II, enjoyed the early going of immensely, but just played at the wrong place and time this year, through no fault of the game. Maybe it's one I get back to this year? I'm in no rush, but when the mood strikes, I'm glad it's on my shelf and ready to go. I've also got to shout-out Persona 3 Reload, which felt like a huge gaming lesson in and of itself to me, as it's the first game I've pumped a serious amount of hours into - over 35 hours, to be more precise - and subsequently dropped in a very, very long time, and I was probably around the halfway mark before my interest just tailed off. As much as I loved the game's sense of style, music, and snappy combat - with the integration of so many wonderful systems which stack on top of each other, such as Shuffle Time and Theurgy - it just did so little to make me care about and connect with these characters in the way that Persona 5 did. While it's true that comparison is the thief of joy, I realised that the only thing being stolen here was my gaming time given that I wasn't all-in on the game and would often find my mind drifting to the idea of what I wanted to play next. It's a game I'd love to return to in the right mood and see through to the end, but when I feel like Persona 5 did a much better job of getting me into the swing of things and keeping me in that place, it felt important to realise that I was forcing myself through a game which I owed nothing. In the Year of JRPGs that was 2024, this was the only turn-based JRPG I put any time into, and I think that hurts a bit given how much more excitement I had for some of the other turn-based JRPGs released throughout the year. Lastly, I know this is a positive thread with a focus on favourites, but I've got a call-out rather than a shout-out to round this section off with: screw Star Wars Outlaws. That is all. 2024 releases I wish I made time for Easy section, really, and I touched on it before: I am a TOTAL FRAUD, as I didn't complete a single turn-based JRPG in 2024. More seriously though, I'm not going to be too harsh on myself about the games I didn't get to in 2024, but yeah, it's true, this list consists of mostly turn-based RPGs, some of which I feel like I've been waiting on forever. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Dragon Quest III HD-2D, Metaphor: ReFantazio, the Switch release of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, obviously I mentioned Eiyuden Chronicle before which I think probably belongs here too, simply because I only got a couple of hours in and will likely restart it if and when I get back to it. As for other games? It's more RPGs, but this time with action! Granblue Fantasy Relink and Black Myth: Wukong are two action-RPGs I followed for ages ahead of their respective releases and have been so excited to get to and see how they've turned out, but I just didn't find the time for them in 2024. Wukong is getting DLC now in 2025 so I'll probably wait for news of that to drop before I take the plunge, whereas Relink doesn't sound like it would be the craziest time investment in the world because of what I know about its structure and length, and so maybe that's one I'll find time for sooner rather than later. Dragon's Dogma II also seems like somehting I'd be really keen to try, given the time, but the vibe and response to that game following launch was so strange that it quickly fell to the wayside for me - the character creator looked insane, though, so there's that. Also wish I got to the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection. I'm not going to get as in-depth as I did last year on the particulars of why certain indie games were on my radar and open that whole can of worms - because, come on, 2024 was the Year of JRPGs and Indies and I didn't really get to much of either, so that list would be LONG, as you'd probably figure from my non-exhaustive list of indies I wish I got to last year in the 2023 edition of the Favourite Games thread - but there are quite a few where I want to get around to them and see what the fuss is all about, the biggest ones of all being Arco, Balatro, UFO 50, and Animal Well. Some others worth shouting out would be Anomaly Agent, Loco Motive, Tcatical Breach Wizards, Thank Goodness You're Here!, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip, Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, Indika, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, Minishoot' Adventures, New Star GP, Until Then, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Crypt Custodian, Shogun Showdown, Shadows of Doubt, Parking Garage Rally Circuit, Last Time I Saw You, Neva, Caves of Qud...the list goes on and on, but I'll stop myself there. I think in 2025 one of my aims is to get to indie games as and when I'm interested in them/they release, because they quickly fall down the pecking order when bigger games are easier to structure my time around. There's also one more big release I have some interest in playing at some point, but this was one I avoided more because I'm still weighing up if I'd want to play the remake or original first, and also just because I need to be in a good and strong place mentally before taking the plunge, I'm aware, and that is Silent Hill 2. Not much to say about it, but glad to see it be successful and glad that I've managed to avoid having anything spoiled despite it finding success. Between all of the games I've listed - and the many I haven't - as well as the games included in my 2024 GOTY rundown a bit further on, I'm aghast at the narrative I heard time and again throughout last year and the start of this one that 2024 was a bad year for new games. To anyone who remotely thinks that: you're clearly playing the wrong games, or looking in the wrong places for new games. 2023 and 2024 back-to-back is easily the best back-to-back set of years for new releases, we've had, I'd very strongly argue, since 2017 and 2018. Favourite New-to-Me Games of 2024 (games released prior to 2024) Well then, it's time to get down to business, isn't it? This year I'll be starting out with my favourite games which were new to me and released prior to 2024. Honourable Mentions A bit of an awkward one for me this year, where I was planning to narrow down my Favourite New-To-Me Games down to 5, but I simply couldn't decide on a 5th, and I had some trouble even trying to rank these games in the first place, so stretching it out to a Top 8 for the sake of doing so seemed a bit disingenuous for my rundown. So, my honourable mentions for NTM 2024 titles are: The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening (2019) | Deceptively vibrant with its colour palette, I completed my first 2D Zelda game this year and it was a blast. Some great dungeons, fun bosses, memorable and hilarious NPCs, Grezzo knocked it out of the park with this remake and its visual style, though perhaps some technical hiccups still linger and I'd really have loved for this game (and, I mean, just in general more Nintendo games) to come with a greater list of accessibility options, because not being able to control the depth of field which is probably a bit too strong is just straight up weird. Going to find it very hard to go back to the original purely because of the QoL changes this remake brought about, namely how easy it was to manage inventory, but I have no doubt I'll find myself back there at some point, if nothing else just out of sheer curiosity! Lost Judgment (2022) | Look, it's another RGG game, and if that's not for you then that's fine...but this game tackles a bunch of important topics like bullying and how rigid school systems can get in the way of actually helping someone in need, and the inevitable results of an extreme mix of both. It also has one of the best action combat systems in an RGG game that I've played, obviously substories are great and so are the side activities as always, and that cast is excellent too. I think right now it would round out my Top 5 of Yakuza/Judgment titles. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) | This is one of those games I've meant to get to for such a long time, and weirdly enough, Baldur's Gate III serving as an intro to more in-depth Western RPGs was the gateway game to me getting here. It's aged a bit roughly and might be a bit archaic in a few ways today - its visual, its maps, the UI can be a bit clunky at the best of times and so can the combat - but the core story and themes, the characters and writing, the emphasis on puzzles at times, the music, they're just all great and still hold up. Also, Pazaak is a simple and wonderful in-game card game which has been something of a gateway into me enjoying them more in other games. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017) | This is probably my second favourite Uncharted game at the time of writing, albeit some 7 or 8 years now removed from my most recent playthrough of the original trilogy. The writing is super tight, Chloe and Nadine are excellent leads and have great banter, the puzzles are fun, its open world section is handled delicately but is such an interesting approach to an open world section in a game made by some of the strongest linear level designers in the industry right now, the twists and turns along the way are great too, as is the action and chaos that ensues. One of those shorter games which has you scratching your head and wondering why we can't see way more of these on a AAA level than we do. #4 | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) Despite an incredibly frustrating and confusing post-game experience to unlock the game's true ending, Peace Walker feels like a pretty dazzling follow-up to what is, in my eyes, pretty comfortably the best game in the series (that I've played so far) in MGS3: Snake Eater. It feels like such an interesting cocktail of the simplicity of the first Metal Gear Solid combined with the concepts of Snake Eater with a base-building experience tacked on for good - initially portable - measure, featuring Monster Hunter-style boss fights, because why not? Its cutscenes are wonderfully handled too, with its Shinkawa graphic novel style, but what really blew me away was just how emotive the game was despite its technical limitations; playing the HD version of the game on PS3 it felt like a side step from Snake Eater rather than a true step behind, and then its soundtrack is just there to blow you away at the best of times, in classic Kojima fashion. This time around it was with Heavens Divide and the game's main theme. #3 | Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) Let's get this out of the way: Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a brilliant game and is the only game I would personally vouch for on my New-to-Me list - yes, even including the two games I placed above it - as being a 10/10. It builds on the foundational excellence of the first Galaxy game and then kind of just throws a kitchen sink of fresh ideas and concepts at the game's mechanics, and they all kind of just work perfectly. Easily the best soundtrack of the New-to-Me titles for me this year, so you're probably wondering why this is only coming in at third? The answer is simply that the two games I've placed above it have seriously burrowed their way into my head in a way that Galaxy 2 hasn't, perhaps owed a little bit to it being a sequel to what is functionally and visually a very similar game, but it needs to be said that I've never felt the way I have playing a platformer before Galaxy 2 - which is something I won't be taking for granted. It's pretty comfortably my favourite of the Mario games I've played so far, and was an awesome next step on my 3D Mario adventure. #2 | Resident Evil (2002) If you told me that this game would be my second favourite New-to-Me title of 2024 after an incredibly frustrating second session which had me questioning seeing the game through to the end, I would have laughed you out of the building. But my goodness am I glad I stuck with it, because oh boy does it deliver one hell of an experience once it clicks! From the inventory management which forces your hand at every turn to treat the game and mansion like a puzzle in its most basic combat encounters to S-tier puzzles to some corny dialogue to an incredibly oppressive and dense atmosphere and one of the best combinations of level and world design besides perhaps Dark Souls, for me - yeah, this is one hell of a game. While a frustrating introduction at times to Resident Evil, I haven't felt this challenged to get to grips with a game since Demon's Souls back at the end of 2020, so let's see if this series sticks for me in a similar way in 2025 when getting to later games in the franchise, shall we? #1: My New-to-Me Game of the Year | Katamari Damacy (2004) There aren't just few experiences in gaming like that which is presented to players in Katamari Damacy, there are few experiences in life I could earnestly say are similar. It takes a while to get grips with rolling this ball around picking up a random assortment of increasingly large objects and beings - heck, just writing that, I say that like you can fully get to grips with this game's controls, but the fact that you can't in a short playthrough adds this level of chaos and expression which few games can. The game's final level - and the escalation throughout - is Tetris levels of "oh, wow, how far can this go?" levels of perfection, and I have thought about the game at least once every couple of days since I rolled credits on it back at the end of August - it is one of those experience which immediately sticks with you. It is deliberate in its silly and wacky tone and nature, and yet when the simple (on paper) action of rolling a ball around is combined with this particular colour flat palette in a 3D space, and that wonderfully and weirdly emotive and varied soundtrack kicks in, for me the highlight of which is Cherry Blossoms...this is one of those new examples I will point to that transcends the medium of video games: this is art. Katamari Damacy is something anyone and everyone should experience, I think, purely for how grounding it is in how it so effectively and simply relays this undeniable, underlying connectivity we all have to what surrounds us in our day-to-day lives, and how easily rolled up in the chaos of life we can so easily become. This game was so much more than I thought it would be, one of those rare "more than the sum of its parts" games, and it's for these reasons why it is my New-to-Me GOTY of 2024. Favourite Releases of 2024 We're about to add deliberations on some of the biggest heavy hitters of the year to this page, as the next three games are the reason I'm coming to you with this post at the start of February and not much sooner, because these are my three favourite games I played in 2024, and they're just so difficult to compare purely because of how varied and different they are, be it in style, tone, or gameplay. On any given day I thought I could choose a different one of these to be my personal GOTY, and could absolutely justify whatever choice I made, and while there's an argument that one or two games on the list of games I didn't get to this year could break into the Top 3, I feel so strongly about these games that I'd be pleasantly shocked if they do; at this moment in time, and over the last few weeks, what has compounded is a sense of certainty when it comes to my favourite new title of 2024. With that preamble out of the way: let's mosey, shall we? #3 | Astro Bot Team Asobi built on the incredibly fun and interactive Astro's Playroom here with a Mario Galaxy-styled game which delivers on just about every front: incredibly charming and witty with no spoken dialogue throughout the entire game, down to the toddler/cat-like nature of Astro and friends, I had an absolutely amazing time blasting through this game over the course of its release weekend. It does what very few games aspire to do outside of Nintendo, these days, I think, in how it implements the controller as an element of gameplay and reaction to the game world, but also just narrowly focuses so much on that feeling of delivering a sense of joy. It so smartly pokes fun at PlayStation's history and catalogue of first-party and associated third-party IPs across the platform's 30-year history, but it is clear that it is all done in good fun, and some of these levels will convince you that Asobi perhaps understand PlayStation's strengths and weaknesses perhaps better than any other team under the platform's umbrella today, because some of these levels deliver on an absolutely fundamental understanding of certain gameplay elements and tropes which I think get lost in the shuffle so easily in the wider AAA landscape of today that them being folded into and incorporated in a 3D platformer is such an excellent way to highlight that, no, these games are different, play differently, and deliver totally different and varied experiences, while also serving to further highlight the obvious gap outside of Nintendo when it comes to AAA 3D platformers. It even comes with the strange lack of accessibility options most of those Nintendo games do, too. A lot has been said about the game playing on nostalgia, and while that's obvious with the VIP Bots you're saving in some levels, it's such a flawed criticism from my perspective: the game is strengthened by its celebration of PlayStation's 30-year history, and not at all weakened because of it. It is the only standalone title of 2024 I can say I'd score a 10/10 - and yes, you're right with what you're probably thinking at this point, this was a HELL OF A YEAR for me and 3D platformers, between this and Galaxy 2. Astro Bot was a worthy winner at the 2024 TGAs and, as I've noted elsewhere, I hope forces PlayStation's hands for the first time in a while to focus on delivering more games which put that pure sense of joy and fun ahead of story or plain attempts at trying to deliver a Fortnite-level GAAS success. I will be waiting with baited breath for whatever Nicolas Doucet and Asobi have in store for us next, because I have no doubt that they will once again deliver. #2 | Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree While I will continue defend my stance that Shadow of the Erdtree shouldn't have been considered for GOTY at as major an event for the casual-facing side of the gaming community as The Game Awards - which, I'd argue, is the de facto GOTY decider for any given year at this point - given just how strong a year 2024 was for new releases and how Elden Ring absolutely doesn't want for more lip service, something really strange has happened over the course of the last few weeks and months when it comes to even people's personal GOTYs, perhaps overcorrecting for the release getting a TGAs GOTY nomination, where it's being considered "just" more Elden Ring. You know -- "just" more of what is widely considered one of the best games of the last decade? For my own personal GOTY deliberations, I am considering anything which was newly released as being a "game" - the question I'm asking myself is "this year, what was the best gaming experience I had?", and with no such large casual audience to consider when constructing my own personal list, newly released DLC is absolutely something I'm going to consider. Hell, there's precedent for me doing this: Ghost of Tsushima's Iki Island expansion was my 2021 GOTY. This is all to say that, oh boy, Shadow of the Erdtree is certainly more Elden Ring -- and it's even more than Elden Ring, at certain points. The entire concept of a shadow world is nothing new in games, but there's certainly an argument to be made that the Land of Shadow is home to one of the best examples of one. The unique approach to level-scaling in this new world which doesn't impact your journey through the Lands Between (besides basic levelling up through the use of runes, as wat the case in the base game) compels you to explore and find Scadutree Fragments rather than to grind endlessly when you meet an obstacle in order for your stats to improve, and there is a focus on vertical exploration where, rather than being met by a seemingly endless plain in the base game, you'll instead be met with a set of sheer cliffs to scale or a mountain to conquer, and the variety of ways in which the game lets you accomplish this is truly unique, whether it be carefully jumping from one spot to another on your trusty steed Torrent, exploring a nearby cave only to find there are layers upon layers of depths for you to overcome, or feeling like a legendary hero scaling a jagged mountain infested with dragons and circled by red skies under the constant threat of lightning strikes. The game feels like a saturation and maturation of the open world offered in the base game, with a smaller land mass to explore, fewer dungeons and fewers caves/catacombs/etc. to explore, but the upping the ante - and rightly so - by adding so much more depth, nuance and complexity to these places you find yourself exploring, and this is even true for NPC encounters, with so many more to be had a faster clip than in the 2022 release. There's an argument to be made for the Shadow Keep being the best dungeon in the entirety of Elden Ring and one of From Software's best and most memorable dungeons to date. The expansion's bosses are brilliant, though perhaps for the first time occasionally feel like a step too far when it comes to From's current camera approach, as larger enemies can dart around the screen and blast you with blinding lights which make it seriously difficulty to keep track of what's going on outside of raw instinct, which can feel a bit unfair at times. The last boss, while brilliant to overcome, was also a bit frustrating at times, and though SotE delivers tremendously on its promise of offering answers to those who seek them, the first time I've really really been able to blindly uncover so much lore while going along with one of these games at launch - in a myriad of ways, and some of which had me grinning with glee like a child, with one or two making me tear up for what it represented both in the game world and as a concept - the final cutscene does leave you going "uh, is that all?" and with some new pretty big questions to field. The game's soundtrack is also a good step up from the base game's, a return to form from my perspective with how forgettable so much of the base game's OST was outside of certain boss themes. As a 30+ hour experience, if released standalone, there's no doubt in my mind that Shadow of the Erdtree would be a serious contender for GOTY, and rightly so. For me, this matches Bloodborne's The Old Hunters as the best DLC I've ever played - this is a 10/10 expansion for how it builds off the base game, there is no question in my mind about that. It is absolutely at that GOTY-calibre level: if you've yet to play Elden Ring then there'll be even more to overcome when you do; and if you have, but haven't played Shadow of the Erdtree, I can definitively say that you're doing yourself a disservice and are missing out on one of From's greatest adventures yet. #1: My 2024 Game of the Year | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Make no mistake: I would say that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the most flawed game of the three I've deliberated over for my 2024 GOTY; in fact, it's the only one I wouldn't score a 10/10. There's arguably too much at times: the open world is too big to reasonably explore; there are too many mini-games of varying quality; there are too many weird ass things going on with this story. They didn't heed all of the feedback about the combat in Remake, whether it be being able to make Materia profiles to switch between, or the pain of losing an ATB charge or item to a phase transition you'd have no way of knowing was coming. The open world and so much of its contents feel almost entirely optional, like very, very expensive set dressing. But this game falling short in spots only happens because the game goes for broke with what it is trying to achieve, and is perhaps overly ambitious at times, missing the mark at points...but then blowing them away and then some at others. That the open world truly feels optional to engage with feels odd in an RPG such as this, but it also means that this is one of those rare few open world games where so much of the busywork associated with open worlds doesn't need to be touched if all you want to do is see the story through like I did, and so while it is very expensive set dressing, it is incredibly impressive set dressing which will constantly make your jaw drop at the sheer scale of it all and which doesn't actively detract from the gameplay experience in a way that many other open worlds in other games do; this is one of the rare few games we've since this generation which feels like it is pushing the hardware to the edge, and I'm so happy that they went all-out with this approach, because there are times where this game conveys the scale of the world in the same way the original did, and feels like a throwback to those Final Fantasy games with massive world to explore which you supposedly can't make at a AAA level today; this game proves that wrong. While the mini-games can be hit-and-miss, the best of them are easy to sink hours into: namely, there's Queen's Blood, a brilliant in-game card game which is simple to pick up but tough to master. The combat has so many new ways in which it is fleshed out and innovated over from Remake, and look, consider how big a fan I am of the combat and bosses in From Software games when I say this next part, to highlight that I don't say it lightly: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has my favourite bosses and combat of 2024 in, hands-down! Square Enix, you're sitting on a gold mine, I've said this elsewhere but they really need to use this Active ATB system in other new Final Fantasy games (perhaps exploring it in new ways when doing so) because it feels like a perfect combination of the series' legacy (in ATB) and their desire to have modern titles be these action games. And, if we want to talk about excess and ambition, there's that soundtrack, which is hundreds of tracks long and doesn't skip a beat for a moment; when all is said and done, this Remake project is surely going to be looked at as having one of the greatest soundtracks in gaming. It is ridiculous how they've managed to make it live up to the original, and in some tracks, even surpass it. While the story is messy when it comes to where it tries to differentiate itself from the original, it never got as crazy or messy as I was expecting going in? Maybe it's because Remake perhaps went a step too far with its ending to the point that I expected something entirely bonkers in Rebirth, only for it to be tame by comparison? The real highlight is so much of what they kept the same when it comes to the story, and the way in which characters are written, express themselves, and interact takes this already legendary cast and further cements them as one of the best parties in gaming. I genuinely miss these characters, and I cannot wait to see them again. For its combination of ways in which it emotionally resonates, a wonderfully realised cast, its optional approach to its open world, delivering best-in-class action RPG combat and pure drive and ambition in its soundtrack and what else it aims to deliver, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is my overall favourite game of 2024 and my 2024 Game of the Year. Edited 32 minutes ago by Julius 2
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