Game Of The Year Editor’s Pick, 2024

With fewer heavy hitters demanding all of my time in 2024, I’ve enjoyed the quiet lulls to dig into the smaller games. In the indie scene, we’ve had everything from the most stylish boomer shooter in years to horror masterpieces that harken back to the genre’s golden era. It’s been tough narrowing down a list of just ten, but let’s give it a go.

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10. The Casting Of Frank Stone

I love horror movies (slashers especially), so I’ve always enjoyed Supermassive’s take on the genre in its more interactive games. But nothing in the last decade has captured the magic of Until Dawn quite like The Casting of Frank Stone, a Dead by Daylight spin-off that sets up its twisted game of cat and mouse brilliantly.

It’s a tight, three-pronged mystery bridging three distinct eras of horror: the ‘60s, ‘80s, and 21st century. Bouncing between them as you puzzle together Frank Stone’s resurrection and the cryptic cult pulling the strings is thrilling, with a truly memorable cast and a breadth of choices with actual weight behind them.

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9. Helldivers 2

Launching a live-service game against the likes of Fortnite and Destiny 2 is like blowing up a balloon and immediately sticking a pin in it… if that balloon cost $200 million and took ten years to inflate. It’s a hugely risky endeavour, and very few have what it takes to make it. But Helldivers 2 defied the odds and cemented itself as one of the genre’s best.

With a Dungeons & Dragons-style game master pulling the strings of its Galactic War, it inspires a kindred spirit like I’ve never seen in an online game. It’s not about grinding out the next battle pass or tuning in for every event, it’s about the community banding together to push forward one big campaign, a herculean feat that Arrowhead somehow pulled off.

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8. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

I was hesitant going into Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — another Kiryu send-off, really? But with one of the most poignant stories in the series, bringing the Dragon of Dojima back for another round was worth the risk. Not only is this one of the best Yakuza games to date, but it easily stands tall as one of the best RPGs in recent memory.

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7. Crow Country

Crow Country takes us back to the PS2 era of survival horror with a modern lick of paint. The unsettling atmosphere is oddly made all the more creepy by its chibi, mascot-like style, with fixed camera perspective and tank controls bringing to life the voyeuristic, unnerving atmosphere in a way that you just can’t replicate with newer methods.

Capturing what made the classics so special while also modernising the genre is an impressive feat, making Crow Country an immediate indie horror classic.

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6. Mullet MadJack

Mullet MadJack is the most stylish game of the year, oozing a grimy, ‘80s anime aesthetic with its garish, neon, cyberpunk setting. It’s worth playing for the vibes alone, but the hook of a boomer shooter where your health bar is a timer that can only be replenished by killing enemies takes it to a whole other level. Forcing you to speedrun through fast-paced zones in a roguelite loop for power-ups made it incredibly hard to put this game down.

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5. Silent Hill 2 Remake

I’m a little wary about including remakes on GOTY lists like this, but Bloober Team took a game I didn’t think could ever be remade and not only pulled it off, but managed to stand tall alongside the original.

Silent Hill 2 captures what made James Sunderland’s story so special all those years ago, while pushing it even further forward. I’ll revere Bloober’s efforts for years to come, just as much as I did Team Silent’s.

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4. Astro Bot

A feel-good platformer with some of the tightest movement in the genre, tied together by a celebratory, uplifting loop of saving iconic gaming mascots? The passion and adoration Team Asobi has for the genre — and for gaming as a whole — is infectious, and they’ve brought back the simple, pure joy of games in a way few others can match. Astro Bot going toe to toe with Mario is no small thing.

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3. Thank Goodness You’re Here

There aren’t many games I can say I find funny. I love Borderlands, but it’s mostly grating — I’m there for the looting and shooting. Saints Row has made me chuckle a couple of times, but I prefer the original, more grounded entries.

Nothing really sticks out, but I was in tears by the end of Thank Goodness You’re Here, sending clips to my friends, even replaying it with a few. It’s a simple game at its core, but the way it perfectly distills northern wit into its sitcom-like presentation is something we don’t see enough of in games.

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2. Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown

Prince of Persia was left to the wayside when Assassin’s Creed picked up steam, and I never thought we’d see the series return, let alone with such fervor.

The Lost Crown forgoes the 3D platformer, hack ‘n slash hybrid of the original Ubisoft games in favour of a unique metroidvania rich with style. It stands tall with the best of the genre, and it’s a crying shame the studio has been disbanded — they had something truly special on their hands here.

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1. Mouthwashing

It’s been a great year for horror, and nothing sums that up quite like Mouthwashing. Set on a space freighter that’s transporting — you guessed it — mouthwash, we see a crew unravel as they find themselves trapped in the void without a future to come home to. There’s no alien or supernatural monster, just the horrors of losing hope while trapped in a tin box to wear everyone down until each crew members’ darker side spills out.

It’s a short experience, but it’s easily one of the most heartbreaking, thrilling stories in all of psychological horror.

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