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The 5 games I played in 2024 that stayed with me.
It´s that time of year again folks! The time when you reminisce a bit on the old year before moving on to the new. For me, that included going over the games I played. A fun trip down memory lane of not just the games but my reviews of them. Of the work I put into them. And, of course, when you embark on such an endeavour writing down a list of the most memorable games of the year is only a hop and a skip away.
So, without further ado, let's get this train rolling and talk about the games I enjoyed the most in 2024.
But first, as always, a quick note: these are just my own personal opinions, thoughts and feelings on these titles. If you want to know more, and get a more objective and detailed opinion on each title, you can read my review of each title by clicking their purple header.
Honourable mentions
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom & Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered
Once again we're starting with some honourable mentions. Games that for a variety of reasons didn't make the top 5 but I still want to highlight.
The only 2024 release that I put some good time into is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. A brand new top-down Zelda game in which Princess Zelda herself is the hero with a gameplay twist? Yeah, I got that on day one. It's a good game that I'm enjoying very much but I don't think that, even if I had finished it on time, would be top contender.
Echoes is a title full of waiting and menus. You have a gazillion different echoes at your disposal to solve all the puzzles and problems the game throws. Thinking of your own solution is fun but having to spit through all of them in a single file menu isn´t. The same goes for the combat. If you don't use the sword fighter form, whose energy gauge is a lot more lenient than I thought going in that's true, the only way to hurt enemies is by throwing rocks or playing the waiting game with summons.
The game is fun but tedious and while it could pick up now that I'm at the start of the 2nd act of the game, for now, Echoes of Wisdom is not a high flyer for me.
The 2nd I want to quickly mention is Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered. A game that I actually wanted to become a reality. I enjoy Horizon very much, it's my favourite Sony IP at the moment. Yet, I didn't play the original all that much in the grand scheme of things.
There was so much I didn't do, from the Hunter's Lodge to visiting that oil drinking Banuk Shaman. Learning about all of that stuff during Forbidden West made me want to go back and experience it for myself but I never could pull the trigger with so many games in the old backlog.
But, a better looking, polished up version of HZD would allowed me to justify a replay to myself: I could review it. Having played a bit of it now I'm having just as much fun, perhaps a bit more even, back when I first played it. Since it's just a remaster though, of a game I've already played no less, I don't feel putting it into the top 5 would be fair.
All right, onto the actual top 5!
Gris
I've gone on record saying that I'm not an 'Indie guy'. I tend to gravitate towards more mainstream releases and physical copies. What Indie games I know about are the stuff that is either so big everybody talks about it, like Stardew Valley, or that trickles down to me through SommecallmeJohnny and the like.
That changed just a tad this year, thanks to the 3DS Eshop closure and the firesale that preceded it in 2023. I picked up a bunch of games I either already knew or were cheap enough to impulse buy. One of those games is further down the last but that's for then.
Right now, this is all just set up to explain how I got to Gris. Playing 3DS Indie titles didn't suddenly turn me into an Indie-nut, but it did made me more willing to give them a shot. So, when I clocked Neva again during that 2-for-1 Nintendo Direct, I was reminded of its predecessor, Gris, and went browsing the online shops. Lo and behold it was 2.99 on the PS5 and went for it.
And I liked it enough to give it the bottom spot on this list. I didn't know much about it when going in and that was a boon. It helped me experience this game 'fresh' and let its themes and atmosphere work their magic on me unhindered by any biases. Those themes about loss and grief stuck with me thanks to the wonderfully low-key way the 'story' is told and this beautiful, painter's style, world and excellent soundtrack.
For about a week it was the game I played. The game that put my heart in my throat (you know the feeling) in a good way. That I kept mulling over in the back of my head all day because I wanted to know where it would all lead.
So yeah, Gris is one experience of 2024 that was one hell of a good purchase.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Continuing in what is really a bit of a trend this year with my top games, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is a very different game from Gris. Yet, when you blink, the reason its on the list is similair. Not that Uncharted 4, or any of these games for that matter, are anything but great but what has really made them stick is what surrounds them.
For A Thief's End, that is the situation with my right eye. It was while playing this game that it really started to sting. The morning after that, the eye stopped moving. This game will always be connected to that unfortunate experience.
That made finishing this title a challenge. You don't realize how much that 2nd eye brings to the table until it's gone. While my left eye was adjusting to doing all the work it tired out quickly and it didn't take a lot to overstimulate it. Still, I managed to find Avery's treasure and even with my right eye back in business, my hand-eye coordination is better off for it.
But of course, I would not have made it to the end if not for how much of a thrilling ride Nate's last hoora is. Like I only just wrote down in my ranking of (nearly) all the Uncharted games, this outing has arguably the most in-depth narrative of all the games. That got my attention, as it is perfectly on-brand for me. That I'm not totally on board with (what I think is) Neil Druckmanns direction is small fries compared to how fun and well-told the narrative is.
The rest of the game is great too of course. Thanks to the more powerful PS4, the game is the biggest and most ambitious Uncharted game yet, with a sense of scale and freedom Naughty Dogy just couldn't achieve before. You don't have to look further than the large open plain of Madagascar and the subsequent action sequence for an example. The longest and most ambitious action piece in the series.
That is all on top of the series' familiar strengths, and weaknesses, of Uncharted that I won't go into here. Bring all of this together and while you don't get my favourite Uncharted, you do get one of my most memorable games of 2024.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
For the unexpected but delightful puzzle adventure spin-off of the salacious hack and slash Bayonetta I have less of a personal story to tell. It was a 2023 birthday gift that I really should've played a whole lot sooner. Come to think of it, it does fit in with another little trend: all the indies I played this year. No, I haven't forgotten that Bayonetta Origins is not even close to being an Indie, but it sure does play like one.
The entire fairytale picturebook presentation and the whole 'you control Cereza and Cheshire at once' thing both strike me as ideas you'd find an Indie developer tackle. That's not meant as a stab towards Platinum Games mind you, got to clarify that, just an observation. And a positive one since that is exactly why I like this game so much. It's all of that which caught my attention.
What kept me playing is everything beneath that presentation. The beauty of the hand-painted-like art, the whimsical soundtrack with a bit of an edge that perfectly matches the atmosphere. And, of course, the rather touching journey of Cereza and Cheshire through Avalon Forrest.
Plus: I like the gameplay here better than in the normal Bayonetta titles. While fun, I'm just not very good at hack-and-slashing. The unique dual-character gameplay takes some time to get used to and always remains clunky, but I really like the adventuring here. The puzzle-solving in the 'Tír na nÓg's' and the exploration of the winding paths of Avalon Forrest is just a lot of fun.
Also: this was not advertised but you can easily make this an excellent couch co-op experience. Just hand over one joy-con to a friend or a kid, each of you controlling one-half of our witch & demon duo. Have fun!
Severed
Here's that 3DS Indie title I teased earlier! Where Uncharted 4 is tied to my eye because, well, that's when it conked out, Severed is connected to it because it's a game about losing a body part.
This is a game all about the protagonist losing her arm, and having not just learned how to live life as an amputee but overcome great adversity in this demon realm she now finds herself on a quest to save her family. That, as you can imagine, struck a chord with me. The right game at the right time, if there ever was one.
Now that I have gone through all these games again for this list I know that both Severed and Gris have pain and grief as central themes. I guess that's an Indie winner for me.
Moving into the quality of the game itself, Severed hearkens back to the DS games from my childhood with its touchscreen-heavy controls. You fight by slashing off enemies' limbs and body parts using the stylus. Very Skyward Sword like, but better since the touchscreen is so much more precise than the Wii's motion controls.
That makes it a difficult game to bring over to other platforms, the Switch version for instance can only be played in handheld mode, but I digress. It's a standout aspect to me. That and the Metroidvania-like flourishes are also a part of the gameplay.
Yes, Severed is quite the remarkable title in my library for everything it does, and if you can get through its controls, I can wholeheartedly recommend you give it a shot. This is one of the few games I got the full 100% on just by playing to my heart’s content.
Octopath Traveller II
The number one game in 2024 for me should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. I don't have a concrete 'best games of all time' list, but when the conversation comes up I always answer the same way: Octopath Traveller is somewhere in the top 5.
Why is that? Because it's just a very good game that burrowed its way into my head and has refused to leave for these last 7 years. When I first saw it in a Nintendo Direct, I wasn't impressed in the slightest. I had that JRPG bias. And yet, for reasons I honestly can't remember, I gave the Demo a shot. It was an eye-opener. I figured out how the shield/break system worked, it all clicked into place.
Over the course of the fall, Octopath Traveller was the game I played, and when I wasn't playing it, thought about ala that ProZD video.
Octopath Traveller II is everything the first was but better. Team Asano took all the feedback and criticism that the first outing received and addressed every single one and more. For example, I didn't mind the rather basic and formulaic stories of each traveller in the first, but this was a stumbling block for many others. In the sequel, the narratives and characterization of each traveller are much more complex.
Each individual stories together too, though I have to admit that I don't care much for said overarching narrative. I think it's too... sombre. It suckerpunched me with many beloved side characters suddenly revealing themselves to be pure evil.
My favourite story is Castti's, by the way. When choosing my primary, it was between her and Hikari and I went with the latter. Now I wish that I had gone with her. Not just because of her story, but because she's such a good support unit she was virtually always in my party.
What this game also has is more depth and flexibility to the combat. There's one extra mechanic, a supermove you can build up unique to each traveller, and reclassing is no longer as limited. Combined with the even better looking, and trademark, HD-2D graphics and another beautiful soundtrack, you get one excellent classic JRPG that packs a punch in all areas. From narrative to gameplay, to looks.
While I will always place the original above it because of that first-time magic, Octopath Traveller II is an excellent game and a must-play if you're a JRPG fan or simply are interested in giving the genre a shot.
............
And that is the top 5 for 2024! A year in which I played a lot of retro and barely anything new but I won't dwell on that.
Looking at this list there are some themes running throughout. Indies and experience surrounding the games. Fun to see threads like these come to light now that I'm looking back at it all. That's the stuff that makes these lists fun, no? Plus, there are always my reviews that are very much focused on the game itself.
I don't really know how to end this one, so I'm just going to wish you all a happy gaming time in 2025 and remind you that you are more than welcome to put your 2024 top 5, 10 or whatever it is in the comments below.
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