Games of the Year: 2024
I don't usually do a dedicated GOTY blog, mostly because I've usually already said my piece in any given review for a game. But hell, let's look back before everything goes to shit next year; The "End of 2025" review probably won't look so rosy.
First, some ground rules. None of these games are particularly "better" than any of the others: I've designated one of them my GOTY, but you could probably make a case for any of them and I wouldn't push back on you too much. Second, I'm only considering games that were released this year. Does it really matter if I didn't play it until this year? No, not at all. But I am trying to be at least a little timely with this, and including "that game from 2019 that I should have played years ago and only now got around to" doesn't seem very helpful. All good? Let's get started.
Honorable Mention: Lies of P
The winner of the prestigious "Game from last year that would have been on the list if I had gotten around to it" award. Of the three(?) games I played this year inspired by FromSoft's catalog, Lies of P is the most blatant of the bunch, and also the best. Jedi Fallen Order's aspects feel tacked on, and Nine Sols does very well with its chosen source material, but Sekiro was never really my thing. Bloodborne, though? Now you're talking my language. It's fast, fun, and brutal, a touch easier than Bloodborne proper (a good thing, imo), and I desperately need them to steal the weapon crafting for the next proper souls game. It's apparently slated for DLC early next year and a sequel at some point, both of which I am very happy about.
Honorable Mention: Ys X - Nordics
And the sister award to the above, the "Game that probably would have been on this year's list but I ran out of time to play it" award. This year has had a real bounty crop of RPGs...most of which I didn't actually play or bounced off of. Just the last three months of the year hit us with Ys X, Trails Through Daybreak, Dragon Age, Metaphor, and Fantasian...to say nothing of the heavyweights from earlier in the year like FF7 Rebirth and Persona 3 Reload. Ys, Trails, and Fantasian are all on my short list for the beginning of next year, but Ys is the one that I'm most excited to return to - it's definitely the one whose demo I enjoyed the most, and I've always had a soft spot for Falcom's flagship series. Or at least, I did before they announced a Royal version of Ys X a month after the game came out in the US. Cut that shit out, Falcom.
#5: 1000xRESIST
Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about 1000xRESIST both because I wouldn't want to spoil it for you, and also just because it's a really fucking weird game? Mechanically, sure, it's a walking sim, but what makes it special is mostly tied up in its story and presentation which are...unconventional, let's say. It is absolutely worth playing, especially in today's political climate, and it employs the best kind of science fiction writing, so give it a shot. Hekki Grace, friends.
#4: Rise of the Golden Idol
It is, perhaps, a little unfair to hold it against Rise for failing to meet my expectations. Case of the Golden Idol is a hell of a first game to try and measure up to, and there's no shame in coming up short. Hell, most of the things I dislike about it in comparison to the first game are personal preference - objectively, it does about as good of a job following up as you can, given the gameplay mechanics. And frankly, it's still a really good game! A friend of mine does some work for IGN, and said that one of their coworkers has played a bunch of Idol-likes, and none of them compare to the originals, a claim that I absolutely believe. Just writing a compelling mystery is hard enough; combining that with making a fun detective game on top of that sounds like a nightmare.
#3: Prince of Persia - The Lost Crown
Taken just as a search action game, The Lost Crown is...fine. It's a bit basic, if we're being honest - the list of power-ups is fairly short, and the teleport is really the only curveball that the game has for you. We've all played Super Metroid, no one is impressed with a double jump and a grapple hook. Where Prince of Persia excels is execution; every power-up feels just right, the movement is smooth as butter, and even the combat is way deeper than it has any right to be. On the whole, the bosses aren't very good, which is a shame, but it's the only real blemish on what is otherwise an excellent package. I haven't played the DLC, but I've heard it's really difficult, which is kind of a shame? The base game is definitely difficult in places, but it rarely tips over into "bullshit" aside from a small handful of challenge rooms.
#2: Famicom Detective Club - Emio, the Smiling Man
I still can't believe this game actually exists. I'm glad it does, though, because it's one of the wildest games Nintendo has ever made. For as wonky as the ending is, the bulk of the playtime is a well-done murder mystery, and while I would have preferred that they had done a little more to modernize the input system, they do a decent enough job providing hints that you rarely get stuck. Otherwise, there isn't really a lot to say about it that isn't obvious just by looking at it. If you play the demo and like it, the full game is 8-10 hours of that, and if you dislike it, nothing in the full game will change your mind. I genuinely hope it's successful enough that we get more of these games, because they're a lot of fun!
#1: Tsukihime - A piece of blue glass moon
We all know what it means to call a game "AAA", but what does that mean when it's applied to a visual novel? Whatever metric you want to use to determine a game's budget, Tsukihime has it in spades: beautiful, high-definition sprites, a ton of unique backgrounds, full voice acting, a fantastic soundtrack, and more words than anyone knows what to do with. The two (and a half...ish) routes contained in APoBGM are, by themselves, about as long as the entire original game, and the actual stories told within them are really well done. There's a little bit of oddness early on; lines and scenes go by that are clearly foreshadowing for the other three routes, and there are several unanswered questions about the mansion's inhabitants, but the stuff that is there is so good, I'm happy to consider Red Garden a sequel of sorts whenever that finally comes out. It may only be "half a game", but by god, it is one of the prettiest halves of a game you've ever seen.