15 Games You May Have Missed in 2024

As if the last several years hadn’t been busy enough, 2024 has now almost run its course with one of the more jam-packed video game release schedules in recent memory. The year started strong with the remaster of The Last of Us Part 2 and then quickly followed up with two of the year’s most acclaimed games – Tekken 8 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. But January was also the month that brought us the criminally underrated Prince of Persia reboot in The Lost Crown, a Metroidvania so good that it begs the question of why more AAA developers don’t dabble in the space.

The prolific release schedule in January would only give way to a seemingly endless cadence of releases, making it virtually impossible to keep up with (much less play) every quality game released in 2024. As is traditionally the case, there are several lesser-known highlights from the 2024 release calendar that may have, for one reason or another, missed their target audience, waiting to be unearthed like buried treasure. Presented in alphabetical order, these games are all hidden gems that may have bigger waves with a less-packed year.

1000xResist

Check out 1000xResist on OpenCritic

Sunset Visitor’s 1000xResist is a captivating piece of science fiction that tackles some complex and challenging themes in its runtime, confronting issues related to the immigrant experience and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The game begins with a shocking murder and then puts players to task with unraveling the mystery behind that crime, uncovering unsettling truths along the way. Fans of adventure games, science fiction, and cerebral game narratives like those of Yoko Taro or Hideo Kojima should definitely give 1000xResist a shot, and it’s likely its narrative will stick with players long after they roll credits.

Arco

Check out Arco on OpenCritic

After a strong showing from its Steam Next Fest demo, real-time tactics game Arco was released earlier this year and quickly made headlines for how criminally underrated it was, despite its “Overwhelmingly Positive” Steam user rating. Contrary to most games in the turn-based tactics genre, every action in Arco plays out in real-time, requiring players to consider not just their moves but the moves of their opponents as well. It’s an innovative and unique approach to the genre that forces players to consider atypical strategies, and Arco only sweetens the deal by featuring an excellent narrative built around a heartbreaking tale of revenge.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Read Game Rant’s Banishers: Ghost of New Eden Review

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is the second consecutive departure for renowned studio Don’t Nod following last year’s meditative climbing simulator, Jusant. Banishers is a game that puts Don’t Nod’s penchant for strong writing and character development on full display, delivering one of the more emotional narratives of any game in 2024 alongside a very solid action RPG. The closest analog for its combat is Sony Santa Monica’s God of War reboot, and while that’s not a 1:1 comparison, Banisher s‘ polish and presentation stand toe-to-toe with the emotional weight of Kratos and Atreus’ journey.

Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus

Read Game Rant’s Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus Review

Squid Shock Studios’ Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus had the unfortunate luck of releasing just ahead of the closure of its publisher, with Humble Games’ layoffs and restructuring occurring just 6 days after the game’s launch. Thankfully, to its credit, Squid Shock has followed through on making sure the game received some critical updates and patches to ensure smooth performance on all platformers despite the closure, meaning more people can experience one of the year’s best Metroidvanias. While the first thing players will notice about Bō is its Japanese mythology-inspired setting and Okami-style visuals, the game’s smooth platforming and “pogo-ing” will feel right at home to fans of The Messenger‘s Cloudstep ability.

Crypt Custodian

Check out Crypt Custodian on OpenCritic

Indie developer Kyle Thompson followed up the also underrated Sheepo and Islets with one of the year’s strongest Metroidvania titles, Crypt Custodian. Like Thompson’s other games, Crypt Custodian is a visually distinctive and “chill” Metroidvania that incorporates a heartfelt, humorous narrative and an absolute earworm of a soundtrack thanks to his brother Eric Thompson’s original score. But unlike its spiritual predecessors, Crypt Custodian places a greater emphasis on direct storytelling and combat while also switching up the perspective, earning its place in the pantheon of similar indie “Zelda-vanias” such as Death’s Door or Hyper Light Drifter.

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Check out Dungeons of Hinterberg on OpenCritic

Speaking of Zelda, players would be hard-pressed to find a greater love letter to the “classic” era of 3D Zelda games than Microbird Games’ Dungeons of Hinterberg. Part action RPG dungeon-crawler and part slice-of-life narrative adventure game, Dungeons of Hinterberg is a charming title that deftly mixes its disparate gameplay halves to be one of the year’s more unique indies. Getting to know the residents of the snowy mountainside village at night after helping them solve their pesky monster problem during the day blends elements of Persona and Ocarina of Time, and it’s a mix that many players won’t want to be over by the time Dungeons of Hinterberg reaches its conclusion.

I Am Your Beast

Check out I Am Your Beast on OpenCritic

Strange Scaffold continues to establish itself as one of the more unique and promising indie developers working today, following up surprise hits like El Paso, Elsewhere and Clickolding with this year’s I Am Your Beast. A twitch-FPS that requires lightning-fast reflexes and practically begs for players to repeat levels to shave precious seconds off their time, I Am Your Beast is what would happen if one were to take Neon White and blend it with the spy thriller action and cel-shaded art style of classic first-person shooter: XIII. I Am Your Beast is fast, frenetic, and funny, and each individual “murder maze” is almost endlessly replayable.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

Read Game Rant’s Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Review

Capcom surprised players this year with the completely left-field Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. The game’s initial reveal caused many to stand up and take note due to the title’s arresting visuals and incorporation of Japanese mythology, but Kunitsu-Gami‘s tower defense gameplay seemed to have turned some off expecting a third-person character action game. Missing out on Kunitsu-Gami due to thinking it’s a run-of-the-mill tower defense title would be a shame, though, as Capcom found a way to strike a balance between third-person hack-and-slash action and a strategically deep tower defense game that future genre entries should take note of. Ultimately, Kunitsu-Gami‘s singular creative vision is on full display, and it’s one of 2024’s best hidden gems.

Mullet Madjack

Check out Mullet Madjack on OpenCritic

Both roguelikes and boomer shooters are fairly prolific genres in the indie development scene, so it was only a matter of time before more developers came along and began to combine the two. One of the more noteworthy and completely off-the-wall is this year’s Mullet Madjack, which is apparently what would happen when a mad scientist combines 90s anime, Hotline Miami, Ultrakill, and Johnny Mnemonic into a sense-assaulting concoction. Like the best action roguelikes, Mullet Madjack nails the power creep resulting from both power-ups within runs and meaningful meta-progression, and its visuals, music, and aesthetic are somehow reminiscent of Toonami, Quake, and Doom.

Pacific Drive

Check out Pacific Drive on OpenCritic

The survival genre is one that, understandably, turns many players away due to the often steep learning curve involved. What makes Ironwood Studios’ Pacific Drive a unique game within the genre is the way that it smooths out that curve, allowing players who have little or no experience with survival games the chance to enjoy an incredibly atmospheric title with some light survival horror elements. It might seem strange to declare a game about keeping a deteriorating car functional one of the year’s most stressful titles, but anyone who has barely made it from one checkpoint to the next in Pacific Drive can attest to its white-knuckle tension.

The Rogue Prince of Persia

Check out The Rogue Prince of Persia on OpenCritic

Just a few months after surprising players with the first new Prince of Persia game in years, Ubisoft published a second Prince of Persia title with the Early Access launch of The Rogue Prince of Persia. Rogue comes from the talented developers at Evil Empire, who spent the last several years supporting Dead Cells after original developer Motion Twin stepped away to work on its latest project, Windblown. Evil Empire has a strong track record with side-scrolling 2D action roguelikes, and it brings all of that experience and more to The Rogue Prince of Persia, which more than earns its place in the library of anyone who is a fan of the genre. Like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, The Rogue Prince of Persia stands firm on twin pillars of smooth platforming and satisfying combat, but it was arguably overshadowed by its PoP predecessor and overwhelmed by the busy year.

Sumerian Six

Check out Sumerian Six on OpenCritic

Sumerian Six is a top-down stealth title in which players control an entire squad of heroes at once, strategically planning their attacks and watching them all play out like a murderous Rube Goldberg machine. While Sumerian Six does share a lot of DNA with titles from Mimimi Games, its unique alternate history World War II setting and supernatural lean help set it apart from the titles that inspired it.

Tactical Breach Wizards

Check out Tactical Breach Wizards on OpenCritic

Tactical Breach Wizards takes the “breach and clear” gameplay of similar titles like No Plan B or the classic entries in the Rainbow Six franchise and incorporates magic into the proceedings, which significantly opens up players’ strategic options for clearing levels. On top of that, TBT features some excellent writing and dry wit that inject plenty of humor into what could have otherwise been a dour and self-serious affair. As a result, Tactical Breach Wizards only takes itself seriously when it comes to its tactical gameplay, which features one of the better difficulty on-ramps in the genre to gradually introduce increasingly complex mechanics without ever overwhelming the player.

The Thaumaturge

Read Game Rant’s The Thaumaturge Review

Fool’s Theory’s The Thaumaturge was an earlier release in 2024 that captured a lot of players’ attention thanks to its real-world historical setting and alternate-history take on the political intrigue of early 20th-century Poland. That, and it happens to feature some incredibly cool-looking demons that players control like Lovecraftian Pokemon. While The Thaumaturge might have suffered from some technical hiccups at launch, the game now finds itself in a much better technical state, just in time for it to arrive on consoles as one of the year’s more unique role-playing games. Fans of Persona, The Witcher, and point-and-click adventure games with detective elements should give The Thaumaturge a shot.

Vampire Therapist

Check out Vampire Therapist on OpenCritic

Vampires endure as one of the most popular and appealing fictional archetypes thanks to centuries of popular media painting them as effortlessly cool immortals, but Vampire Therapist peels back the veneer to showcase what centuries of living would do to a person as they live through multiple lifetimes of trauma, failed relationships, and loss. Rather than play its humorous premise (with players being exactly what it says on the tin) for cheap laughs, Vampire Therapist treats both players and the titular protagonist’s patients with the respect they deserve, dishing out comforting advice that could very well help someone struggling with similar issues.