Game Of The Year Editor’s Pick, 2024

For various work-related reasons, I’ve played more games to completion in 2024 than any year in recent memory. That may also be down to spending less time with EA Sports FC than I normally do.

After hundreds of hours with games I hadn’t heard of until the week of their release and the launch of new games in series that returned to their glory days, my top ten games of the year were tough to narrow down. You can check out every editor’s Game of the Year list here.

10

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

Making a very late entry into my top ten, Machine Games’ Indiana Jones adventure perfectly captures the vibe of the classic movies. Through intricately designed puzzles, great performances, and impressive set-pieces, it’s a brilliant action-adventure at times.

It’d be even higher up the rankings if the three open sections didn’t put too much emphasis on what The Great Circle doesn’t do as well. The combat is clumsy and out of place, only getting more frustrating as the story progresses. Thankfully, that doesn’t detract from what is Indy’s best outing since The Last Crusade.

9

Cat Quest 3

From time to time, I love diving into a simple action RPG – one that’s fun and only lasts a few hours. Cat Quest 3 scratched that itch perfectly. The mix of a gorgeous open-world map you explore by ship and more platform-focused dungeons to run around on foot works well.

The combat is pretty simple, but it feels great to take out pi-rats and work to upgrade your gear. It’s a lovely experience, even if the barrage of cat and pirate-themed puns began to wear thin after a while.

8

Thank Goodness You’re Here

Thank Goodness You’re Here isn’t for everyone. Beyond only being 90 minutes long and lacking gameplay depth, the humour is a very specific brand of strange.

If you’re not from a very specific band of northern England, many of the jokes will fly over your head. However, the absurdist slapstick comedy had me pausing the action to regain my composure at regular intervals. It’s ridiculous, incredibly original, and the funniest game I’ve played in a long, long time. Just set the dialogue as local dialect and see what happens.

7

Call Of Duty Black Ops 6

Warzone was my social life during lockdown, seeing me put over 1000 hours into the battle royale over just a couple of years. But, in recent years, none of the premium Call of Duty games grabbed my attention.

However, Black Ops 6 is a different story. Not only is the campaign the best the series has had for a long time, but the multiplayer is fast-paced and fun to a level previous releases have missed the mark on. Vitally, the guns feel nice to shoot. You feel in control, agile, and powerful. My non-gamer friends find it hard to put down too, so the squad is finally back together.

6

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

As someone who has never played the original Final Fantasy 7 – blasphemy, I know – I found FF7 Remake’s story far more engaging than I expected. Cloud is a bit pathetic, but the game’s central crew of characters is excellent otherwise.

That continued into Rebirth, which provides even more time to spend with the characters as their relationships blossom further. The interesting open-world segments are easy to get lost in and the set-piece heavy linear moments are spectacular. In terms of storytelling, not much trumps Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in 2024.

5

Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown

Metroidvania games tend to be hit or miss for me. They need to have fast-paced gameplay that keeps evolving as you progress and carefully straddle that line between challenging and too difficult.

Kicking life back into the Prince of Persia series, The Lost Crown does just that. I found the story pretty throwaway, but the labyrinth of interesting locations and secrets is incredibly well-designed. As I unlocked more skills, I was drawn to explore every inch of the world and take on every enemy. For a game with such a recognisable name, it has been criminally ignored.

4

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard came at a perfect time for me. Arriving when I suddenly had more time on my hands, I was in the mood for a story-driven RPG to lose myself in.

I expected to enjoy spending time with the gang, members both new and returning, but I didn’t expect to love the combat to such a degree. Quick and tactical, every single fight was a great mix of companion instructions, dramatic Abilities, and doing everything I could to Stagger every foe in sight. Even more than my crew’s central adventure, the combat kept me coming back.

3

Hades 2

In all the right ways, Hades 2 is just more Hades. New boons to test, new bosses to beat, and new weapons to master, diving into the underworld is better than it has ever been.

For a game that is still in early access, Hades 2 is extremely deep and full of content. With two different paths to take, a new cast of characters to fall in love with (innocently, of course), and some of the best action gameplay around, it can’t be ignored, even if there’s still more to come.

2

Astro Bot

Having played the brilliant Astro Bot: Rescue Mission on PlayStation VR, I was expecting Astro Bot to be phenomenal. For it to still blow me away with its ingenuity is staggering. The variety in its clever gameplay mechanics makes every level feel fresh, perfectly complementing the cute animations and intricate level design.

Beyond the standard levels, it’s the themed levels at the end of each world that put Astro Bot among the best platformers of all time. How Team Asobi has been able to add the personality of Uncharted, the atmosphere of God of War, and the smart design of LocoRoco to the cute platformer is genius.

1

Balatro

Until the day it came out, I had no idea what Balatro was. An odd-looking, poker-themed, roguelike deckbuilder? That’s not usually in my wheelhouse. A hundred hours later on PS5, and countless more on mobile, and Balatro is my favourite game of 2024.

The design is smart and deep, grabbing you from the first round you play. Learning the mechanics, picking your favourite strategies, and trying to get the highest score you can is consistently enjoyable, beyond what you might expect for such a simple-looking game. The way Balatro expands what’s possible with different decks and modifiers keeps the fun going, so I can see myself spending a lot more time trying to finally get the massive scores I’ve seen all over my social media feeds. I wish I was as good at the game as some other people are, but that drive to improve (and play just one more round) is what kept me coming back to Balatro all year.