Exactly one year ago, it felt like we knew what most of 2024’s best games would be. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Tekken 8, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth all had the markings of reliable, big-budget sequels that would rack up awards come December. A lot of big-budget IP games were on the horizon too, like Star Wars Outlaws and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which one could assume would dominate the back half of the year. It felt like you could already guess most of what would be nominated for Game of the Year without even knowing what most of 2024’s release calendar looked like.
Yet, as I look at my own personal list of my favorite 2024 games, it’s anything but predictable. Half of it is filled with independent games that I didn’t even know existed heading into 2024. The big-budget half of my list is even more surprising, as its loaded with the kind of left-field swings from major publishers that I could never have seen coming. All of that made 2024 one of my favorite years for gaming in recent memory — but one that looked dire at a surface view.
You’ll never see it coming
If you’re the kind of gamer who only plays AAA games from established franchises or tentpole console exclusives, I can understand how 2024 could be viewed as an off year. The past 12 months were full of disappointments that made it seem like the industry was flailing. That began when Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launched in February, which was the first of many big-budget flops this year.
Despite starting the year strong with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ubisoft struck out multiple times with Skull & Bones, Star Wars Outlaws, and XDefiant. A last-minute delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows pushed what was poised to be the holiday’s biggest mainstream hit to 2025. Even games that players anticipated could be Game of the Year contenders, like Hellblade 2 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, received softer receptions than anticipated.
Then there was Concord, a shooter that was meant to usher in a new live-service era for Sony. Instead, it was shut down weeks after its release. When looking to major publishers, there was bad news everywhere you turned. It was easy for players to fall into doom and gloom — and many no doubt did, echoing complaints about a year full of “slop.”
That ennui comes from a narrow viewpoint, though. Look under 2024’s surface and you’ll find a vibrant year that was full of surprises. Sony may failed with Concord, but it delivered two of the best PS5 games of this generation with Helldivers 2 and Astro Bot. The former entered 2024 with a quiet marketing campaign but left the year as a certified multiplayer hit. Astro Bot, on the other hand, was a shocker. It’s been a long time since Sony embraced younger audiences, but its return to the 3D platformer space gave the company a Game of the Year win. Stellar Blade was a similar surprise success story, creating a hit action game from an entirely new IP from a Korean studio. None of these games were cut from the same cloth as predictable PS5 greats like God of War Ragnarok and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Publishers were at their best, or at least most interesting, this year when they were taking risks. Capcom created an incredibly inventive new IP in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Nintendo reheated niche franchises throughout the year, giving us the excellent Emio — The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. The best licensed game of the year was the one that got mocked when it was revealed: Camoflaj’s fantastic VR exclusive, Batman: Arkham Shadow. Even Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was a bit of a risk for Ubisoft, trading in its usual open-world mega-game for a more niche 2D Metroidvania.
When I reflect on the best games of 2024, though, it’s the smaller surprises that standout. That list is topped by Balatro, the poker roguelike that became a sensation this year. I, and I imagine many more like me, had never heard of the game until its launch. It was a small indie project by a solo developer, after all. It ended the year as a Game of the Year nominee, shutting out franchise behemoths like Silent Hill 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
The list of games like it goes on and on. Animal Well is another solo development effort that exploded in 2024, delivering 2024’s best 2D platformer. UFO 50 wowed players with what might be the most ambitious game of the year — and that’s saying a lot. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, 1000xResist, Arco, Mouthwashing, and more loaded year-end lists up with instant classic indies that seemingly came out of nowhere.
When looking at the video game industry, it’s easy to only look at the big picture. Flops will always stand out because they make for juicy discourse in Facebook groups and Reddit threads. And when you’re only looking at the biggest games, naturally you’re not going to see as much innovation or creativity on display. Of course a Ubisoft open-world game based on a bankable IP isn’t going to upend the video game industry; its goal is to make a lot of money.
You need to look beyond a handful of heavily marketed mega-games to get a true picture of the current gaming landscape. There, you’ll find an medium full of experimentation and risk-taking at every level — I mean, who could have predicted that we’d get a new Endless Ocean game in 2024? Even if you can’t find many new ideas in AAA games, you never have to look very far to see them in a creatively thriving indie scene that helped make 2024 one of the best years for gaming in recent memories.
Here’s my prescription to your gaming malaise. If you’re the kind of person who only plays the year’s biggest tentpole games, go to Metacritic’s list of the best-reviewed games of 2024. Pick something you’ve never heard of from the first three pages, whether it be Shogun Showdown, Mullet Madjack, or Tactical Breach Wizards. Give it a play and then come back and tell me if you think video games have gotten too boring. If your answer is still yes, that might be a “you problem.”
