The GOTY review of 2024 (updated)

[CriticalGaming]

Well I'm bored and we are hitting that halfway point through the year, so I thought it was time to look at the year so far and what's ahead to try and determine where this year is going to sit.

And 2024 was really front loaded with all the hyped releases happening by March. With a few other really nice surprises.

Unicorn Overlord was one of the shocking games for me. I normally hate tactical games like fire emblem and whatnot. But UO stood out by having all the battles happen automatically and the tactics boil down to unit and gear choices. Basically a tactics game a dummy like me can play.

Another game that came out of nowhere for me was Eyudien Chronicles Hundred Heroes. A masterfully traditional JRPG with a huge cast in the vein of Suikeden games but managed to have amazing writing to make all the characters fun to recruit, though you won't use the vast majority of them in combat.

However every year there are disappointments and for me the one disappointment so far is Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth. Functionally the game is great with lots of cool side content to do. However it has the weakest story in any Yakuza game thus far, I even think the story is worse than Yakuza 3 which is usually agreed on as the worst in the series. I just couldn't connect with any aspect of the motivations for this plot and I dont think it worked as a good continuation for Ichiban.

Stellar Blade was the definition of mid imo. A horrible story, horrible level design, horrible platforming, horrible voice acting. But the combat is okay and the main character has a nice ass so goty I guess.

I didnt like Wo Long the last game from the Nioh ninjas over there at Team Ninja, and I was not sold on Rise of The Ronin initially because it really seemed like they were trying to speedrun Fromsofts claim to fame. Souls games being aped by Nioh, sekiro aped by Wo Long, and now Elden Ring. But Ronin is more akin to the Rog AC games over a Fromsoft affair. Namely in that it is fairly easy. The story is bad but gameplay wise it's a nice little roam around collectathon game.

Finally GOTY is, for me, Rebirth. It is the perfect video game that also happens to be Final Fantasy 7 flavored. Unless the showcases in the next few weeks reveal some crazy mindblowing shit, I don't see how anything can come close to the quality and quantity of content that Rebirth had.

What have been yalls highlights of 2024? What is coming later on you have hypes for.

 

[BrawlMan]

My biggest highlights of 2024 are Hi-Fi Rush on PS5, Missile Dancer II (an excellent After Burner style game that came out this year) playing Redout II (a game from 2022, but I got two days ago), and Mario Wonder (came out in late 2023). I am still waiting on Shadow of The Ninja Reborn (comes out this August), Night Slashers Remake, and Vengeance Hunters. For now, either Missile Dancer II or Shadow of The Ninja Reborn will be my GOTY. I have a big feeling it's going to be the latter when it comes out.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've only played 5 games released this year.

Ultros: A metroidvania from Hotline Miami's El Huervo, set in a space station that looks like a trippy album cover from the 60s and structured around a series of timeloops that have you "losing progress" while also managing the stuff that does stick (and change) across cycles. It's not very welcoming and was a bit rough around the edges near launch and if you just want Metroid or Castlevania or Hollow Knight this is not for you. As a lover of offbeat metroidvanias and increasingly into gameplay that evolves with perspective rather than ability gating, I had a blast playing Ultros. It's also some of the most fun I've ever had exploring in an MV.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown: Ubisoft's perfectly serviceable send-up to metroidvanias, with all of the QoL upgrades you expect from AAA. The controls are tight, animation flows beautifully and it's a pleasure to chain movements as you make your way through a fight or a platforming section (some being genuinely challenging). It's just that it has this veneer of blandness about it that speaks to being designed by commitee and being aggressively unmemorable in everything from the story and characters to the atmosphere (music, ambience, aesthetic). The kind of stuff from 2003's Sands of Time that plays rent-free in my head to this day.

Braid: Anniversary Edition: Late to the party, but I really enjoyed finally playing this. There's a case of "been there, done that" in terms of finally playing something that's been so massively influential in so many other games I've played since its release, but nothing to really blot the staying power of Braid.

Balatro: An increasingly addictive roguelike about gaming the system by discovering and honing different synergies between active and passive buffs. It's the fun part of a roguelike, distilled into its most basic, most addictive form. Such is its grip I don't even miss basic stuff like having a more varied OST than a single looping elevator medley.

Foamstars: It sucks.

It's hard to pick a GOTY between these. But if we're counting games I played this year but came out earlier, the undisputed GOTY would be Tunic.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Foamstars: It sucks.

'Nough said. Lol

 

[Gergar12]

Wuthering Waves has great gameplay, and a better world than Genshin, but a Tower of Fantasy tier beginning story, also it gets better towards the end. I am biased since I got great rolls on the gacha without spending a dime. I have a Sephiroth-like character, the main banner character twice so I have him plus his first set of skill upgrades/constellations, and soon I will have the best character in the game who is both a healer and damage buffer due to a 80 pull five start select of which I am 40 pulls in. Even the 'bad' characters of which I have a few are pretty fun to play.

In Honkai Star Rail, I got Jingliu, and Topaz alongside a pretty strong roster... by spending five dollars.

In Genshin my rolls suck I missed the strongest character in the game, but the next one I get will be a niche French dualist so that's cool.

I can't wait to finish a campaign in Three Kingdoms I have trouble setting up mods for more numerous unit sizes.

I have all the endgame guns from the first weapon list on Helldivers.

I suck at Battlefield 2042, and BattleBits since they are multiplayer.

For some reason, despite only doing login rewards I have most of the Tower of Fantasy Wafius. They are getting stale tho every single character is a female-looking character in hot clothing and long hair.

Edit: In Skyrim SE I am up to 1170 mods with 254 large ones, and the rest being smaller mods. I have also been modding Fallout 4.

Edit 2: I have not gotten my mod setup to work on Skyrim SE because the Pandora engine I use doesn't have a paired animation capability.

 

[meiam]

Unicorn Overlord was one of the shocking games for me. I normally hate tactical games like fire emblem and whatnot. But UO stood out by having all the battles happen automatically and the tactics boil down to unit and gear choices. Basically a tactics game a dummy like me can play.

Another game that came out of nowhere for me was Eyudien Chronicles Hundred Heroes. A masterfully traditional JRPG with a huge cast in the vein of Suikeden games but managed to have amazing writing to make all the characters fun to recruit, though you won't use the vast majority of them in combat.

Suikoden and tactics ogre are just over there, just saying.

I don't think I played any 2024 game in 2024...

I guess my standout stuff that I did play this year would be:

Crystal project, FF5, minus story but with open world and lots of exploration/metroidvania.

Pseudo regalia, N64 ish 3D metroidvania. Great exploration, and nice bit size length.

Settlement survivor, banished 2.0 essentially.

 

[BrawlMan]

Suikoden and tactics ogre are just over there, just saying.

I don't think I played any 2024 game in 2024...

I guess my standout stuff that I did play this year would be:

Crystal project, FF5, minus story but with open world and lots of exploration/metroidvania.

Pseudo regalia, N64 ish 3D metroidvania. Great exploration, and nice bit size length.

Settlement survivor, banished 2.0 essentially.

@CriticalGaming too, I've been playing more games from 15-20+ years than 2024 earlier this year. I did do Double Dragon Gaiden again with the update a month ago. I'll do so more sessions later. I played Final Vendetta on Steam, because of a deep sale.

• Crisis Beat
• Dino Crisis 2
• Panzer Bandit
• Battletoads & Double Dragon
• The Rushing Beat Trilogy
• Final Fight 2 Modded/Adjusted
• Final Fight GBA
• Strider 2
• Gekido
• Prodeus on PS5
• Supplice

 

[Phoenixmgs]

No Little Kitty, Big City...

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Literally nothing has come out yet this year that interests me.

I mean, Rebirth, but I'm waiting until all 3 games are out so I can get them all as a single trilogy.

Thankfully, last year was so packed that I'll probably be spending 2 years getting through just the game of the year contenders from 2023. I'm still working on BG3, and I still want to play FF16, which combined have like 300-400 hours of content so I'm set for a while, and the Elden Ring DLC is just around the corner.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

2024 is a year that will be defined by the undefinable. It is a transition period. Since 2023 was such a monster with all the post-pandemic spew of dozens of critically acclaimed games, we knew this would be a small year, but then all the industry cataclysms add to that.

For me, this is the year I mostly disengage with the BIG games- finishing stuff is really important to me.
The only BIG game I played so far in 2024 is Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and the only other BIG game I see myself playing later in the year will be AssCreed: Japan.
I enjoyed Rebirth mostly but also found a lot of it to be stupid and pointless.

So far this has been the year of the metroidvania, a genre I don't play that much of because I get frustrated by the backtracking and the big beloved ones have been accompanied with Dark Souls poison (e.g., Hollow Knight). But we got some babbie metroidvanias I liked:
- Ultros
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Tales of Kenzara: Zau

All pretty good, none that I'm gonna ever put on any GOAT lists.

And my only platinum trophy of the year so far with Another Crab's Treasure as my epilogic farewell to the soulslike genre.

 

[BrawlMan]

• Silent Hill 2 Remake
• Sonic X Shadow: Generations
• Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered
• Marvel vs. Capcom Collection - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter I gave the most playtime.
• Dynamite Cop, Asian Dynamite, and Powerstone

 

[FakeSympathy]

As with every year, I am giving best, okay, and bad game award.

Best:

GOW:R PC Port
A little late to the party, but I decided to wait for the PC port instead of shilling out the big bucks for the PS5. And holy shit, my patience was rewarded! It is so fucking awesome. The individual character growth of Kratos and Atreus, as well as their relationship were some top-notch writing. The new spear was fun to play with. I loved visiting all nine realms, although Jotunheim was a bit of a letdown after generating so much hype in the first game. Hell, even the main villains, Odin, Thor, and Heimdall were such complex and well-written villains.

And the Valhalla DLC....wow. Kratos finally getting a closure that he needed after all these years was nice to see

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2
I missed this type of gameplay. A linear shooter with awesome action sequences, killing off horde after horde of enemies and bathing in their guts and blood. And a multiplayer where you get to earn and freely customize your character without all the live-service store bullcrap. Granted there were some very annoying parts in the main campaign and the wonky difficulty spikes, as well as dumb companion AI when trying to solo, but I had a blast playing this game.

Helldivers 2
Speaking of horde after horde of enemies and bathing in their guts and blood, HD2 was also very fun to play. Granted I have came to play less of it, but playing this game with friends and trying to survive together was a very fun experience.

Animal Well
Probably one of the best metroidvania games I've played in recent years

Black Myth: Wukong
It doesn't feel as polished as soulsborne games, but I'd say this is an amazing attempt. We don't get too many games based on Chinese mythology, nevermind ones specifically around Journey to the west, and the game did a fantastic job of re-imagining the world from the classic novel. The spells were super fun to experiment with, and the attack animations were fucking amazing as well.

Okay:

Dragon's Dogma 2
The world-building and the setting of this game is actually really cool, as well as having one of the more complex character creations. Killing monsters in this game, especially the big ones, is really fun as well! Unfortunately, the game also features bland characters, baffling game mechanics, class system that is either a hit or miss, and fast-travel mechanics that feels counterintuitive. Nothing wrong with having limited fast-travel points, but the game makes walking from one city to another an absolute chore!

Stormgate
This was a kickstarter project from the original creators of the classic RTS game, Starcraft. And it certainly as its dna written all over. However, it dones't have any of its charm. I am not gonna complain about the polish since it's still in early-access, but the art style, character, and the unit designs feel lackluster.

Elden Ring DLC:
I love ER, and mostly loved my experience with the DLC. as well. However, there's a difference between gameplay being challenging and a chore to play through, and sadly the DLC falls in the latter. I mean some bosses were ridiculous to fight through and I only felt exhaustion instead of satisfaction after I had beaten them. The nagivation was really annoying, and the #1 cause of all my deaths in the overworld was probably falling to death

I am gonna say it; It's a good DLC, but it's the worst one that fromsoftware has put out.

Bad:

Suicide Squad
It's an insult to even be considered as a follow-up to Arkham series. Even made worse by the fact that this is the last time we get to hear the late Kevin Conroy's performance of Batman in gaming.

Concord
Do I even need to go on?

Star Wars Outlaws
Even if the main character was better designed, with Ubisoft's crappy stale gameplay designs this game was bound to fail

Dragon Age Veilguard
The future of this franchise is dead.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Concord
Do I even need to go on?

Concord sure didn't! (insert rimshot here)

 

[CriticalGaming]

I was gonna do a new thread for the final GOTY 2024. But since people are already posting their results here I suppose I will follow suit. You guys are never gonna guess what's on my list.

I'm gonna start with the bad first because I think I just wanna be done with these forever and never think about them again.

BAD:

Concord: I mean....duh.

Dragonage Veilguard: This is the worst game of the year for me hands down, because it's so bad on every level that I can't fathom how the people behind it are even going to be allowed to make another game. Mass Effect Resurrection or whatever they call it is going to be a fucking dumpster fire mark my words. DA:V is so poorly written it actually recons and fucks up a ton of the DA lore set up from the previous games. There are video essays about this already and it has nothing to do with hating on any of the progressive content in the game, it is simply so lazily written and so toxically positive that it ruins every sense of world building DA ever had. And the combat is stupid too.

Star Wars Outlaws: I mean everything Star Wars touches these days turns to shit, so why should this be any different. Just because you can slap Star Wars on something doesn't mean you can fart out a lazy, half-assed game with basic ***** level mechanics. You still have to try....a little.

Dragons Dogma 2: I mean they slapped a new coat of paint onto Dragons Dogma Dark Arisen, didn't fix the janky combat, didn't add any enemy variety, and included a bunch of player unfriendly systems that just make this a huge waste of time that isn't even satisfying to play thanks to the fucking stupid controls and braindead companion AI.

Hellblade 2: Well now isn't this pretty, what else you got? Nothing? What did you do for all these years of development, does it take that long to render every grain in a turd?

Final Fantasy 14 DawnTrail: This one hurts. I love stupid MMO's and FF14 is one of the best MMO's out there. Endwalker was the big ending to a crazy saga that left us open to explore completely new things and begin to build up to a totally new saga with new characters and new worlds. Instead the story focuses on a stupid ass NPC and takes all sense of adventure away from the player, leaving us to follow this hopeless dipshit, and fails to provide our character with anything cool to do. I mean the game itself is still fine but fuck me, was the MSQ fucking disappointing this time. I unsubbed, fuck it, give me a call in tow years for the next one.

BESTEST BESTIE BEST:

Black Myth Wukong: Personally a fucking hate this game. I think it's quite bad. However I also think Breath of the Wild is a shit game. I can also recognize that the game is actually very well made and put together and it a remarkable experience for those who click with it. So....yeah my opinion is wrong, it's good enough to deserve to be here.

Yakuza 8 Infinite Wealth: While I think the story for Infinite Wealth will be remembered as a low point for the series much like Yakuza 3, the moment to moment gameplay and wealth (no pun intended) of side content available makes this a roaring good time. I was hooked enough to make this my first platinum trophy of the year and it was even worth the deluxe edition to get the extra DLC. Ichiban remains a fun and genuine protagonist that is worthy of taking the mantle from Kiryu even though it does change the tone of the series overall.

Tekken 8: Tekken is my favorite fighting game series despite me still not liking fighting games that much. There is something nice about being able to kungfu the fuck outta people without a bunch of meters or super powers to worry about. The combo system is far too complicated for me, but there is enough ease of use that even a scrub like me can piece together movesets and combos given enough time with a character. This was my second platinum of the year.

Astro Bot: I mean this is one of the best platformers ever made, if it was longer. Astro Bot is an amazing exercise in tight crisp level design that makes platforming truly great. The only negative I can really say about the game is that it's a bit too small in scope. If it had more levels and more collectible challenges it would be pretty much a perfect game, but I suppose there is only so much you can do milking the playstation brand for every last sperm in the testicle.

GOTY:

Stellar Blade: I mean what more can be said? Eve is everything a neckbeard gamer could want from a protagonist. She's hot, she doesn't talk much, she's a badass......

Oh fuck me, You know it's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there will not be a year that goes by in which a new Final Fantasy 7 game comes out that it wont be at the top of my fucking list. I'm a weak willed piece of shit and Square can have ever dime in my pocket so long as they keep parading Tifa in front of my face.

But frankly Rebirth is probably the best game I have EVER played, from a gameplay standpoint. I feel like it's particular combination of tactial action combat, blending real time action combat with that of the old school turn based ATB system is fucking flawless. You can play Rebirth anyway you like and no matter how you play you can find a way to break the game. From becoming a parrying god that no enemy can touch you, to abusing crazy overpowered materia combinations, or maybe you just want to manipulated the limit break system. However you wanna skull fuck the combat, you can. It's beautiful.

Top that off with a gigantic world to explore filled with a shitload of stuff to do, 34 fucking full on mini games, and a NG+ mode allowing you to have any party comp you want AND have Tifa in a Bikini the whole time INCLUDING CUTSCENES!!!!!! Fuck! This is 250 hours of incredible game. oh and that fucking SOUNDTRACK, jesus there isn't a game with a better musical score. Uematsu's legacy shines with the most memorable overall soundtrack ever made.

As a bonus it looks incredible on a Ps5 Pro. I've played Rebirth for over 500 hours this year! Fuck me.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've only played 5 games released this year.

Ultros: A metroidvania from Hotline Miami's El Huervo, set in a space station that looks like a trippy album cover from the 60s and structured around a series of timeloops that have you "losing progress" while also managing the stuff that does stick (and change) across cycles. It's not very welcoming and was a bit rough around the edges near launch and if you just want Metroid or Castlevania or Hollow Knight this is not for you. As a lover of offbeat metroidvanias and increasingly into gameplay that evolves with perspective rather than ability gating, I had a blast playing Ultros. It's also some of the most fun I've ever had exploring in an MV.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown: Ubisoft's perfectly serviceable send-up to metroidvanias, with all of the QoL upgrades you expect from AAA. The controls are tight, animation flows beautifully and it's a pleasure to chain movements as you make your way through a fight or a platforming section (some being genuinely challenging). It's just that it has this veneer of blandness about it that speaks to being designed by commitee and being aggressively unmemorable in everything from the story and characters to the atmosphere (music, ambience, aesthetic). The kind of stuff from 2003's Sands of Time that plays rent-free in my head to this day.

Braid: Anniversary Edition: Late to the party, but I really enjoyed finally playing this. There's a case of "been there, done that" in terms of finally playing something that's been so massively influential in so many other games I've played since its release, but nothing to really blot the staying power of Braid.

Balatro: An increasingly addictive roguelike about gaming the system by discovering and honing different synergies between active and passive buffs. It's the fun part of a roguelike, distilled into its most basic, most addictive form. Such is its grip I don't even miss basic stuff like having a more varied OST than a single looping elevator medley.

Foamstars: It sucks.

It's hard to pick a GOTY between these. But if we're counting games I played this year but came out earlier, the undisputed GOTY would be Tunic.

The only other new game I played this year, not counting the PlayStation release of Touhou Luna Nights, is Crypt Custodian. Looking forward to Nine Sols tomorrow though.

 

[CriticalGaming]

the only other BIG game I see myself playing later in the year will be AssCreed: Japan.

That didn't age well, lmao.

 

[BrawlMan]

Excellent:

• Silent Hill 2 Remake - Some of the areas didn't need to be expanded, but otherwise is an excellent game, art, and everything done with the respect it deserves.
• Shadow Generations - This is the best Shadow has ever been. The controls, combat, and his side story are peak now.
• Marvel vs. Capcom Collection - The best fighting game port ever made!
• Tekken 8 - Great story mode and new characters!
• Haunted Castle Revisited - It's now on my top 5 Castlevania games.

Great:

• Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is a great port overall, and fixes the lack of bonuses and NG+ the original lacked.

Improved:

• Gungrave GORE was already majorly updated last year, but it got one last update in May that makes the game just as almost as good as the original, and doesn't have the problems of Overdose. Rocket Billy is back as DLC, but he's worth it.

Good:

• Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn - Good remake, but I still need to finish it. I would like it more, but it's has bad design decisions holding back. I don't know why Natusme/Tengo Project keeps doing this with the remakes of games.

Still need to play Vengeance Hunters. I'll try to knock that out before the year ends.

 

[Dreiko]

This year has been insane, outside of all the games mentioned in the OP, I'm gonna add: (gonna do my best to go chronologically)

-Persona 3 R

The most faithful remake, the ideal of what remakes should be. They renewed the combat system and graphics, while keeping the original Japanese script 99% intact, and making a new English translation that more closely matches it, as opposed to the one from back in 06. If this game had come out in a different year it'd be my GOTY.


-Dragons' Dogma 2

The most "pure fun" game of the year for me, you just set out to the wilderness to adventure and fight everything in your path, the quests are flexible and emergent enough to fit whatever you feel like doing, and there's a ton of situational gameplay tricks you can pull off where each fight feels unique. You can not beat timing a charged attack against a charging minotaur perfectly and knocking him down while chopping off his horn. Immense satisfaction.

-Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance

So this is actually 2 games. The original smt5 that came out for the switch a few years back (albeit with the new gameplay improvements applied to it too) and the Canon of Vengeance storyline. Basically right as you start the game you make a choice and then the story unfolds totally differently depending on which choice you make. And the new story is really badass and adds a new very important char to the party while giving room to shine to a pre-existing char. If you never played the original like me, this is 2 games in 1, since each storyline is 100~ hours long and they diverge pretty early on. Combat feels really satisfying and the new story gives your protagonist a new transformation and moveset and it allows you to mix and match moves from both forms. And of course, there's dozens and dozens of new demons!

-Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak

This game is technically 3+ years old, but it took em a while to translate it, and I think part of it also was that they wanted to finish releasing the remastered Crossbell arc which had been JP only up until 2 years ago. To the uninitiated, the trails series is an interconnected, continuity-heavy Jrpg series where every game happens in the same world but in different areas. It has a lot of magical politics involved. The setting is that of a world which roughly 80 years ago was an anime medieval society, but which, through technological advances jumped to the post-industrial era. So you have a world with cars and airships and trains that is still culturally a medieval setting, which of course means war, lots and lots of war.

Each game has one throughline which is established in the first game, trails in the sky. There is this group called the Bracers, it's kinda like the UN if it wasn't gay and toothless. They have the authority to act independently of governments if they deem that the safety of the public is at risk. You start out as a group of bracer initiates and see the world through their eyes in the first trilogy of trails games, then you move on to the crossbell duology (yes, those were the second part but we only just got them in america a couple years ago cause by the time they would originally be translated in English they'd need to release psp games in 2015 by which time the psp was long dead so the original publisher just punted on them) which has a police force that is corrupt, so you have a young group form a special branch of police which is actually more like Bracers in their functionality, and they try to basically rid the corruption and the power-brokers from their small country that is between titan nations that fight for its rich mineral deposits.

Then we move to the cold steel tetralogy which takes place in the nation that up till that point was "the bad guys", you have a group of military school students that are part of an experimental new course, that is, you guessed it, modeled after the Bracers. This is risky business cause by that time Bracers are banned in erebonia, but the prince of the country is actually an old friend so he manages to set things up for you. Also there's ancient mechs now, and you're a samurai demon posesseed harem king. Cold Steel is where this series finally hit its stride in the west, mainly becuse the games stopped looking like psp games and instead begun looking like very pretty early gen ps3/vita games, and partly because it was (falsely) thought of as a good jumping in point for people who hadn't played the 5 older games (2 of which were JP exclusive at the time). But it sold good enough that the 50-odd man studio from Japan pulled its head out of its ass and decided to try to speed up the localization some (we went from 7 year waits to 3, still not quite ideal) and actually bothered releasing the crossbell games too which by the time they finally got them out were super sought after and significantly over-performed expectations.

Then there's reverie which is like the Avengers game, it brings EVERYONE from all of the above together in a big finale-ish conclusion. Talking about a 50+ character party member here, each with unique moves and supers and everything. It ties up loose ends from all of the above interconnected games that all took place in the same world, it has every char manifested with ps4 graphics, half of whom still were locked looking like 16 bit psp sprites, lots of em are grown up too cause from Sky to Reverie it's been like 8 years or so, it's great.


You still here? Right, this is where Daybreak comes, it's the first of a new trilogy, taking place like 5 years after the last game, in the nation that was the other titan crushing Crossbell, the other bad guy on the scene. You play as bounty hunter who does odd jobs, he's badass and he doesn't like being thought of as a bracer, but he's a good guy too. This game lets you make choices a bit more freely in how you solve situations, which actually affects which party members join you. Also my favorite character from the sky trilogy who was absent from all the rest of the games is finally back. Daybreak is another one such "good jump-in point" trails games. The entire main party is all new people, and the enemies too. But it also is the 11th game in this big world, a world who likes bringing back old protagonists left and right to show you their growth. I'm not gonna tell you that you absolutely have to go play the other ten 80-150 hour jrpgs (this is why it took em so long to translate these games, they have like 20 books of text each) before playing Daybreak. But I would say it's my game of the year.

Oh also, in Japan the entire Daybreak trilogy has already been released, and these games do NASTY cliffhangers between parts of a single story arc, the second part of daybreak won't be out until early next year and we don't know when the third part is gonna come out west-side. So you do have like a year or two to catch up to trails before jumping into the Daybreak trilogy so you won't have to wait a year + on a severe cliffhanger until the next game comes out. Also, they're releasing remakes of the sky trilogy, so that's a great jumping in point since you won't have to play the story with psp graphics. I think the first part of the remakes is coming out late next year.

This ended up as a huge writeup but yeah basically I have realized over time that trails has become my favorite game series of all time, and I think of all of them as a single package. Over 1000 hours of continuity and storytelling. You can't really beat that. So when one of them comes out it kinda ends up being my fav game of that year by default.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

That didn't age well, lmao.

*shrug*
I ain't complaining. Originally it was supposed to have released this month and since I just finished Veilguard and the holidays coming up and new job, I wouldn't have been able to play it anyways.

So are we turning this into the full-on personal GOTY thread? (can you change the title u/CriticalGaming)?

I'm gonna wait until i finished playing Neva before I lay down my list because so far it's for sure a GOTY contender.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Thanks for updating the title just in time for me to add my top 5s because I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna play any more 2024 games until after the new year.

And I think I may have done this last year but I like to make two lists: one is my personal subjective favorite games, the ones I just had the most fun with, and the other my attempt at being "objective," the games that felt "important."

Personal faves:

1. Minishoot Adventures
Rare does a new game come out that makes me actually not want to stop playing, and wish I was playing when I wasn't playing. That all-consuming feeling I had as a child where I would burn though a game way too quickly. Minishoot offered that experience, as I wizzed around in my little spaceship... thing... blasting away at everything and solving little puzzles, all in just two days.

2. Crypty Custodian
The last thing that offered this combination of "I'm a cute little critter solving the world's problems with my silly little weapon" fun vibe was Death's Door. While not quite as good- as DD's visuals were far superior- the way that combat, puzzle solving and character design worked together was captivating and just a real pleasure.

3. Neva
Recency bias perhaps but I just had the biggest smile on my face every time I hopped along some gap and pressed the 'Y' button to call my doggy friend, or fell through to a whole other level that shifted into another color scheme.

4. Tales of Kenzara: Zau
A game that was received a bit lukewarm as the simplistic combat and not-as-metroidvania-as-some-had-hoped level design felt more underwhelming than the gorgeous art and strong theming, but those latter two were enough to win my over. I actually really enjoyed the combat, the charaters, and the personal story.

5. UFO: 50
I mean... it's 50 games, lol. Granted I only did a cursory tour of them, but that experience alone was the single most exhilarating one of the year for me.

My attempt at being unrealistic objective games journalist/critic type and list the most important games of the year:

1. Balatro
Solo dev break-out hit that is nominated for GOTY at TGA, already made its way to mobile successfully, is described as addictive, and represents the final-form mainstreaming of the whole "rogue-li*e" mechanic (which is also what prevents me from getting into it). I even showed this game to my dad who was tickled pink by it. Appeals to hardcore gamers and casuals. From a game design perspective grabs the brass ring- conveys such a simple clever idea, one of those "oh man why I didn't I think of this!" and, importantly, actually executes it well.

2. UFO 50
A game for the gamers and one that will deliver surprises and secrets for years. I suspect that folks will go back into this treasure trove of nostalgia-covered experimentation during quieter gaming periods and discover new and interesting things.

3. Helldivers 2 / Concord
The best and worst of live service, in the year with the greatest skepticism towards live service I've seen since Overwatch came out. And even the good one stumbled. Is it considered a success now? If not, then what are these games even lol. The way Helldivers 2 captured the zeitgeist and let it go is almost as interesting and possibly important as how Concord is arguably the single greatest entertainment project failure of all time. Video games, what a trip.

4. Black Myth Wukong
It remains to be seen how important it is that China got its big AAA console style game, but it feels important, right? It's a big freakin' deal, right? Well, I think so.

5. Manor Lords
Ok maybe I'm going out on a limb with this one but the insanely positive reception this got suggests a potential major boost to the whole tactical/city-building style of game. I know it has its fans and a strong niche audience but it is niche, and this could help push into a major genre. It's really impressive to do that.

Some games I didn't put on and why:

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, Astrobot, and Dragon Age: Veilgard
I played and enjoyed them and they are good but they were all just kind of "more of stuff I did before." FF7 is part 2 of a remake, no matter how good and pretty and BIG, it's not particularly interesting so it's not an "objective" GOTY and while I did enjoy it I also got frustrated and bored sometimes so didn't make my personal top 5.
Astrobot was lovely but it's basically a Mario let's be honest, and Dragon Age was a game that came and went and nobody cares any more.

Metaphor: ReFantazio, Animal Well, that VR Batman thing
Metaphor is just Persona 6 basically- yes I am stupidly oversimplifying but painting in broad strokes is what end of year lists are for. Animal Well I almost but in objective top 5 but the genius solo dev spot was given to Balatro. I respect that game a lot though so I had to mention it somewhere. Same with Batman VR- it's cool that VR got a for-real story game. I just still don't think VR matters, at all, in the greater scheme of things.

The Only Good Game That Is Good And If You Don't Love It You're A Dumb Piece of Shit: DLC of the Expansion
In fact, the most emotionally satisfying gaming experience of the year for me was that the Elden Ring expansion came out, I got over my pissy rage quitting of the entire souls-like genre, and replayed all of ER including the expansion while mostly stomping through everything with a smashy bunga build. But I still think the final boss fight was horseshit (and I did rage quit that) and I'm sick of everybody blowing smoke up one game's ass so I'm not putting it on any dang list.