Take my hand and get in this time machine with me, we’re going back to 2023. You see these The Game Awards nominations? You see how many excellent games were left out of awards discussions because there were just too many to compete with? That’s because – say it with me now – 2023 was an all-timer year for gaming.
It was also a much less interesting year at The Game Awards. Baldur’s Gate 3 swept a whole bunch of categories it was nominated in, Alan Wake 2 snatched up a couple for itself, and the rest wasn’t contentious enough to be that notable (apart from the classification of Dave the Diver as an independent game, which didn’t make a ton of sense, but whatever). Because Baldur’s Gate 3 was such a phenomenon and anybody who played it would likely tell you it’s one of the best games of the decade, there wasn’t all that much to discourse about.
2024, in comparison, doesn’t look nearly as impressive. As our Editor-in-Chief Stacey Henley wrote, the lack of standout, once-in-a-decade games this year will make for a far more interesting award show. The nominees will actually have to battle it out instead of capitulating at the sight of Sven Vincke’s plate of armor.
But that’s just looking at the TGA nominees, which are woefully narrowly focused pretty much every year. Balatro was the outlier, but most of the nominees in the major categories were flashy triple-A games of some sort. If we expand our horizons – and we should – to the games that were overlooked, there are plenty of games to while away our Christmas playing.
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Cryptmaster
I haven’t had a chance to finish Cryptmaster, but I’m fairly sure that it’ll end up in my GOTY list nonetheless. Its black and white aesthetic is visually arresting, its story surreal and bizarre, and its mechanics unique and excellently executed. Imagine an action-puzzle game, but you do everything by typing commands. It’s awesome.
Mouthwashing
This horror game has been lauded as one of the best of the year. It’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam. It’s got retro PS2 vibes and, according to everyone who’s played it, fantastic storytelling. I’ve only managed to get an hour in so far, but I’m already eager for a chance to get back to it. What’s better than curling up under a blanket over Christmas with a terrific, terrifying indie?
Star Wars Outlaws
I know this is controversial, but… I like Outlaws. A lot. It’s the kind of game you want to get lost in, looking at the details, taking your time exploring the wilderness. I do love a stealth game, too, and with the recent updates, I’m fairly sure it’ll be more compelling to play now than it was at launch. I didn’t manage to finish Outlaws in its release window, but I’ll sure as hell be trying to this Christmas.
The Thaumaturge
Publisher 11 bit studios has had a wild run this year. It released the excellent Frostpunk 2 (it would be on my backlog except I actually finished that one), the weird and wonderful nun simulator Indika (I also finished that one, please play it), and of course, The Thaumaturge, an isometric RPG where you whisper to spirits and hang out with Rasputin. I played a chunk of this earlier in the year, and it was pretty good.
Hades 2
I am bad at Hades 2, because I was bad at Hades. I haven’t been keeping up with its early access updates, but now is as good a time as ever to jump back in and look at some hot gods and goddesses.
Tactical Breach Wizards
I actually did finish this one – and in just a couple of days because it was so good I couldn’t stop – but I’ll probably go back and finish all the optional objectives just because the gameplay is so finely tuned and compelling. It’s going to ruin my sleep cycle, I’m pretty sure, because that’s what happened the first time I played it. Hell, it’s a short game, maybe I’ll just play the whole thing through again.
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