Slow year? You’ve been looking in the wrong places, friend. As well as a handful of triple-A bangers, I’ve rarely felt so inundated with innovative indies than in 2024. In fact, 80 percent of this Game of the Year list is independent. That’s not an intentional decision, I’m not trying to say I’m better than you (although…), it merely speaks to the strength of this industry’s independent scene.
In a period when the biggest studios have little thought for the developers who make their profits, indies show there’s hope for the industry yet. If I had it my way, TheGamer’s Game of the Year 2024 would go to an indie title, a spectacular piece of art that I haven’t stopped thinking about since I played it. But instead of just bowing to the whims of the site’s best editor, we engage in a democratic practice of allowing every editor on the site to write their own list.
When they’re all handed in like a school test, our Editor-in-Chief tots up the scores (one point for tenth place, ten points for first place, etc.) and we have our site’s overall Game of the Year. You can check out everyone else’s lists here, but they won’t be as good as this one.
Games I Didn’t Get To Play This Year But Wanted To
10
Thank Goodness You’re Here
Thank Goodness You’re Here is one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. Not just breathe-air-out-of-your-nose funny, proper giggling funny. It helps that its silly northern humour riffs on the part of the world I call home (generally speaking), but this slapstick story brought a smile to my face whenever I loaded it up.
9
Mouthwashing
If you’ve read any of my articles, I’ve probably mentioned that I don’t like horror. Horror films can go either way, but games? Nope. Mouthwashing, and on a wider scale publisher Critical Reflex, changed that this year. Mouthwashing isn’t just about jumpscares, it’s an unsettling non-linear narrative that critiques our capitalist systems at the same time as scaring the poop out of you. More of this please.
8
Harold Halibut
The “interactive Wes Anderson” shouts that myself and the rest of the world made when Harold Halibut released are on the money. Beautiful stop-motion animation, a heartwarming tale of friendship, and some killer montages secure Harold a spot on my list.
7
The Thaumaturge
Speaking of games designed for me in particular, an RPG in the vein of Disco Elysium and Baldur’s Gate 3 but set in turn-of-the-20th-century Poland is practically written for me. From the detective work, to the demonic salutors, to the fact you can properly roleplay and get endings to suit, The Thaumaturge ticked all my boxes.
6
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
And the award for Surprise of the Year goes to… I expected Indiana Jones to be a fun, Uncharted-style romp, an interactive adventure movie. In actuality, Dr. Jones is more Corvo Attano than Nathan Drake, and I’m far more involved in the stealth gameplay than I ever thought I’d be.
If this had been released more than two weeks before my list was due in, it could have climbed even higher. I’m certain there are more secrets to uncover in each of these painstakingly-designed levels. 2024 truly was the year of the Indy game.
5
Mexico 1921, A Deep Slumber
Another one that hit the right spots for me, Mexico 1921 puts you in the shoes of a photojournalist during the country’s revolution. The camera mechanics are tactile and satisfying, the art direction is beautiful, and there are even cameos from the likes of Diego Rivera and Carmen Mondragón. Hideo Kojima could never.
4
Dragon’s Dogma 2
I’ve been a bit burned out on triple-A recently, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 did everything right. The emergent storytelling in Vermund and Battahl is on a par with Breath of the Wild, and I have countless stories from these travels that few other games can match. Climbing on the back of a griffin to execute the killing blow is cool, but that griffin taking flight and landing on the other side of the map, where you’re vastly underlevelled and have no means of fast travelling home? Unrivalled. And that’s before you get to the ending. No, the other one.
Honourable Mentions
3
Neva
Neva is the most beautiful game I played this year. On top of the perfect art direction is satisfying platforming, a tale of unconditional love, and a particularly stellar mirrored combat sequence. The resulting game is a joyous, emotional five hours. There’s a reason I gave out my second ever perfect review score to this game.
2
Balatro
Balatro has taken over my life since it was released in February, and the mobile port only sent me into a further spiral. I spend late nights working out the perfect plays. I try Flush runs, Pair runs, Four of a Kind runs. I see Jokers in my sleep. Jimbo haunts me. If you haven’t played Balatro yet, it’s not too late.
1
1000xResist
For the majority of this year, I thought Balatro would be my Game of the Year. But when I was prepping my list, I jumped back into 1000xResist for the first time since finishing it and reminded myself that it’s something truly special.
A 3D interactive novel, 1000xResist asks the important questions: what if the saviour of humanity was a teenage girl? And what if she was insufferable? I’m purposefully underselling it, but some of the writing in this game caught me so off guard I had to stand up and walk away for a minute. Some lines of dialogue will stick with me forever. A prescient narrative with clear real-world inspiration, a heartbreaking story beautifully written, a force for change. 1000xResist has it all.
Next
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