2024 has been a year of great, possibly irreversible change for the gaming industry. The games media field, which has employed me for over ten years, has fallen on the hardest times I have ever seen.
You simply couldn't be in/around the industry without layoffs, studio closings, website shutters, and game cancellations somehow affecting your psyche or your gaming habits. And while I know I've played fewer games in 2024 than I probably have in recent memory, I still enjoyed quite a few, and I want some of the things which I prefer to highlight here.
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Hopefully you're familiar with the VG247 format by now, but if this is somehow the only GOTY piece you're reading from the site (or the first?), I'm going to talk about three games that I consider to be so high. 2024 points. Only one of them is the last Game of the Year, whatever its value may be.
No rest for the wicked
It's actually surprising that I haven't seen much talk about it No rest for the wicked in the end of the year conversation. It is not named for any Keighley's, and it almost feels as if many of us do not know it exists. Contemplating his studio alone, that it is quite amazing.
No Rest for the Wicked is the new release from Moon Studios Ori games, and it's easily the team's most advanced work ever. This is a game that flirts with different genres and does the work to make each of them work within the context of its world. It's part ARPG, isometric action game with Soulslike elements, light city management sim, survival/crafting game, and even had room for a loot element. Somehow, it also manages to deliver some of the strongest character work of 2024 with ease.
Although things have improved since then, there was a scattering of opinions at the first release, many of which could not find harmony in the (apparently difficult) genre that Moon is going for.. This is an early access release, so some of that is expected. But no matter how unsuccessful some of these ideas were, you came to No Rest for the Wicked to immerse yourself in its gloriously grim art, feeling like one of the most satisfying combat systems in any game, and be immersed in what happened. of the inhabitants of your city between the gates of the pit.
No Rest for the Wicked is a game that's hard to pin down on someone quickly, no matter how long that elevator ride is. If you haven't heard/seen much of it, it's better to go into it blind, because you will be amazed by the depth and the crazy variety of species. I can tell you this, though, it might not be what you think.
Dogma dragons 2
If I were going to be a horrible games media asshole, I'd probably make a big announcement that the feeling is Game dragons 2 new It is going, above all else, to be a reflection of the invisible frustrations of the real world. I've already written that one of the most attractive things about it is how little it cares about creating a “video game-y” experience, in the traditional sense. – so you could say I already am!
Dragon's Dogma 2 is not a game that is willing to meet you halfway. It is a game that wants to deliver a special kind of unforgiving experience, both in its challenging combat as well as the oodles of content that its world loses. It is so eager to abandon many conventional video game conventions in pursuit of a really special knowledge.
If you played the first game, the sequel is almost exactly the same game. In fact, the '2' in the title won't appear until you're in the game after the game. It's almost an admission from Capcom that there may be nowhere else to go, no other limits to push. I wish other 2024 releases – and real life BS – didn't make me fall, but I'll always love how it made me feel as I played it, and long after I was done crawling up on big fellas to scatter away at their big health bars.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2
In a year so full of layoffs and unprecedented uncertainty about job security, is it any wonder that a simple game from the past was the kind of thing that stood out to me the most in 2024? Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2 It really is a unique game and the whole schtick can be summed up in one sentence, and everyone reading that would know just what kind of experience that they have It is called the best Xbox 360 game of 2024 for a reason.
Space Marine 2 is obviously more than a lost record from the past; it's a confident, highly capable game that doesn't promise much, but delivers on its premise as often as you'd expect, and like it. There is a good balance between normal shooting and melee combat. It's done so well, in fact, you'd have to wonder if more games should be copied. The campaign is short enough that, on first playthrough, you may not notice any of its shortcomings. There's just enough panache and production value to draw you in. Multiplayer recaps the simplicity of those multiplayer modes that the many, many Xbox 360 games lost that didn't need them, but had them anyway. And co-op, well, it's there as a very strong reason to explore an aspect of the narrative that the main campaign doesn't cover.
As with many games from that era, however, there is much to criticize here as well. The narrative is completely straightforward, and he has no interest in challenging the fascist underpinnings of his fiction in any way. In fact, anyone unfamiliar with the source material would correctly assume that Space Marines are the heroes of this story, due to the way they are portrayed. Even aside from its narrative challenges, the Space Marine 2 gameplay series is often very safe, with little in the way of meeting design or mechanical innovation. There is a good variety, but again, you would wish just a little more.
Although that is consistent with its character as an “old game”, it leaves a lot of room for experimentation. More than anything, it makes me look forward to the inevitable sequel even more. Think of all the growth! I just hope it doesn't take 13 years to come out!
