Game Of The Year Editor’s Pick, 2024

It’s that time of year when everyone at TheGamer is trying their hardest to convince, bribe, and threaten their colleagues into playing their favourite games of the past 12 months. Okay, maybe we don’t do bribes or threaten, but we’ll definitely pester each other with recommendations.

No recommendation is complete without our very own Game of the Year list though, so here’s mine. Every member of the editorial team will be doing their own list, so you can check out everyone’s top games of 2024, but clearly, mine is the only one that matters. Right? Right.

Planet Coaster 2

I’ve got a soft spot for business sim games. It’s the one in my sofa that was created by the hours upon hours I’ve spent sitting and building theme parks, zoos, and hospitals when scratching that sim itch. Planet Coaster 2 is the latest game to meet that need.

Easy to pick up and play for as little or as long as you want, Planet Coaster 2 is an expanded and much improved version of the original, adding in even more customisation options so you can obsess over creating the perfect theme park into the early hours of the morning. Or spend those hours screaming into the void that you can’t create a rollercoaster that doesn’t scare your visitors to death.

Phoenix Springs

Proof that the point and click genre is alive and well in 2024, Phoenix Springs offers a sleek, modern mystery for puzzle fans to sink their teeth into. The neo-noir style with hand drawn art and animations is simply gorgeous, and the reimagined take on the genre’s inventory system where instead you pair together thoughts and clues in your mind is particularly clever. It’s a must-play for puzzle fans.

Balatro

I was super late to join the Balatro hype train. In fact, I thought I would probably be immune to its allure as I’m not overly fond of card games and know nothing of Poker. However, fast forward to November, I bought it on Steam and played it non-stop for a whole day. Then the next day, I bought it again for mobile, just so I can play it wherever I go. I think it’s safe to say it deserves a spot on this list.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Despite being a massive Dragon Age fan, I was so up and down about how I felt about The Veilguard before launch, unsure whether it would live up to expectations. Now after playing, I know it certainly doesn’t meet my expectations, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just different.

While the combat, companions, and world mechanics aren’t what we’re used to, it still delivers a great new chapter to the Dragon Age world, giving us new lore, uncovering past secrets, and giving us some fresh companions to thirst over.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess

Despite being a Capcom game rather than an overlooked indie, I feel like Kunitsu-Gami has flown under the radar this year. Maybe that’s because it’s so hard to define. It’s a mix of action, strategy, and tower defense, and yet that alone doesn’t do it proper justice or explain how enjoyable it is, even for someone like me who doesn’t tend to play strategy games.

As beautiful as it is enjoyable, it’s heavily inspired by Japanese mythology and culture, and this can be seen from every small detail to every large, horrendously ugly boss that’s lunging right at you.

H3: Honourable Mentions

Astro Bot

My days of platform gaming are largely left back in the ‘90s, generally because there are so many other genres I prefer to play these days, but every now and then a stonking new platformer will come along that even I can’t resist. Astro Bot was that platformer in 2024.

Could it be partly because it had Like a Dragon’s Kiryu as a VIP Bot in it? Maybe. But it’s also a thoroughly enjoyable game that felt like the best of what a modern platformer could offer while offering homage to PlayStation’s history and making us all feel a little nostalgic.

Dragon’s Dogma 2

Sometimes it can be all too easy to forget the games that launched all the way back at the start of the year, but months later, I still haven’t forgotten the many hours I spent enjoying the hilarious adventures in Dragon’s Dogma 2.

The Pawn system alone makes this worthy of being on this list. The silly moments of them falling off cliffs, catching you mid-battle, snarky comments… oh, and slaughtering a whole village when they fall victim to Dragonsplague. Good times.

Broken Sword – Shadow Of The Templars: Reforged

Actual image of me trying to convince anyone I meet to play Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged on whatever platform they own. (You can read my full review here to be convinced properly.)

Metaphor was the second game I’ve ever given a perfect score to, so you can read my full review here, and read why it should win GOTY, and then you can read this:

Metaphor is an absolutely banging JRPG. Make time for it. Sure, you might need to set aside close to 100 hours, but it’s worth it.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

The only thing capable of beating the second game I’ve ever given a perfect score to is the first game I gave a perfect score to, as you can read here. Can’t be bothered to click but still curious why you should play Infinite Wealth? In short, it has Majima in it.

The longer version is that it’s a heartfelt love letter to the series and a bittersweet passing of the torch between protagonists Kiryu and Kasuga. It manages to balance Kiryu’s past and pays homage to everything that came before throughout the Yakuza series, while also embracing the future of Kasuga and crew, and all while setting a new standard for every game to come after. Plus it has Majima in it.