Pyrian on 23/12/2024 at 09:05

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https://i.imgur.com/68VlmGA.gif

...I think 'Koob's Just Crow Things is the only thing that came out this year that I played. Definitely #1, lol! :joke:

Kamlorn on 23/12/2024 at 17:44

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Felvidek

Unusual soundtrack and artwork. Reminds me old soviet cartoons from 70-s. But it's done on RPG Maker which is a bad decision for such a short and swift story.

Jason Moyer on 25/12/2024 at 01:40

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For some reason I don't like brawlers unless they have some sort of silly license, like the old Simpsons or TMNT arcade games. Double Dragon and Renegade and whatever have always bored the hell out of me. So I was somewhat surprised that Digital Eclipse's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind, a game in a genre I don't like with a license I don't care about, is probably the best new game I've played this year. I haven't spent much time with it, or anything that came out in 2024, but from the short bursts I've played so far it has probably the tightest and least cheap feeling combat I've experienced in this type of game. So that's probably my GotY so far.

Some other potential contenders once I get to spend some more time with them are things I picked up to play handheld since I finally have a Switch: Tetris Forever, Raiden NOVA, Epic Mickey Rebrushed, Shredder's Revenge, BG&E 30th Anniversary, and PoP The Lost Crown. I think the only 2024 PC releases I've touched have been Top Spin 2k25, which people seem disappointed with because it's basically Top Spin 4 with a fresh coat of paint (I'm ok with this because I could never find a copy for my PS3) and WRC 2024, which is DLC for a 2023 game that I didn't bother with because it seemed meh but now that I've done a few stages just seems like Dirt Rally 2.0 with a WRC license, so not Richard Burns Rally or even WRC 10 driving-wise but still ok if you like rallying. I've always found the DR games enjoyable enough, although I thought they peaked with the beta physics of DR1 which seemed less floaty. Especially now that I drive a 300hp turbo AWD car like an idiot on uneven asphalt and gravel a fair amount, I think RBR is still king with WRC10 being the peak of the last gen and WRC24 feeling the best of the modern Codemasters games, with the caveat that I think the original physics from the beta of Dirt Rally were better. But anyway, it's not bad or anything.

2024 games that I don't own but will at some point: GI Joe Wrath Of Cobra, M&L Brothership, LoZ Echoes Of Wisdom, and the Thousand Year Door remake. And Princess Peach Showtime because YOLO. So all stuff I want to play handheld. PC was a big miss for me this year I think, like most years without a big Arkane or Obsidian release. Oh yeah, the Robocop game was this year IIRC, and while I've only played the demo I have the full release now and will be getting into it at some point soon. (Nope, it was last year. So I guess there weren't any PC games I care about this year? Weird.) I'll probably play Indy when it's hit $5-10 during a black friday sale in a few years.

I missed the biggest Switch release of 2024, i.e. Stilt Fella, but that was from the heady days of pre-covid when stilts and fellas weren't old hat.

Malf on 26/12/2024 at 11:52

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You know, I haven't actually played that many games from this year looking back on it.
The ones I actually played through to completion were even fewer.
So this isn't really a "Best of" for me, more a "Wot I have actually played this year"

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Started out really strong, and is Machinegames doing what they do best, with their almost-but-not-quite Imm Sim form of game design.
People are comparing it to Assassin's Creed and other such games, but as previously noted, I find it most heavily resembles earlier Starbreeze games; the Riddick ones in particular.
However, it does outstay its welcome, and in all honesty, could have done with being a little more linear.
But it could serve as an excellent template for other similar games exploring aging IPs with aging (or even dead) stars; it's a much better Indiana Jones story then either of the last two movies.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 3
It didn't set my world alight, but it was a great game to play over the course of a weekend, and a good follow up to the original. It feels weighty and looks spectacular, and the swarm technology is incredible.
I'm just fed up with 40K games that start with Space Marines vs. Xenos, which then pull the curtain back to reveal it was Chaos all along!
I've always been more of an Ork fan, and we don't get enough videogames from their PoV.
I'm also aware that this was designed with the single-player being little more than an extended tutorial, with the main meat being 3-player co-op, but none of the usual TTLG crew are playing it.

Similarly...
Helldivers 2
The big success of the year, which is doing a lot of interesting things with Games Master driven gameplay.
I picked it up and played a few missions single-player, but again, this is really meant to be played in a group, and I think only one other person from here is playing it (faetal maybe?)
So it's just sat there languishing in my pile of shame.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Despite seemingly the entire Internet hating this game (thanks to Neanderthalian GG2.0 clickbait shenanigans), this really impressed me, and I had a grand old time with it. Not one of the best games ever, to be sure, but still a good Bioware game, and a satisfying conclusion to one of the main story threads in Thedas.
I hope they continue to make games in the series. Dragon Age took a while to grow on me; I can't stand Origins gameplay and graphics, although the story's pretty good, and I skipped 2 entirely.
But with Inquisition and this, I feel it finally began to feel like an established world, and them getting back to a more Mass Effect style of gameplay made me realise that that's the kind of game they really feel comfortable with.

Dragon's Dogma 2
Another one that starts strong, but unfortunately loses focus incredibly quickly, with the latter half becoming a mess story wise, and repetitive with not enough monster variety.
A massive shame, as the bones of a stupidly fantastic game are there. The "Endgame" is also a real slog; it's an interesting idea, but just a chore to play through.
It really needs a Dark Arisen-style expansion, and to be honest, should have had that monster variety from the very start.
It's also incredibly easy to become stupidly overpowered after a while, where nothing presents a challenge any more, which isn't helped by monsters in NG+ being exactly the same strength they were during your first playthrough.
Very pretty and fun before the novelty wears off mind you.

Guild Wars 2
The game got a new expansion in August, Janthir Wilds, which started strong, but has rapidly dipped in quaiity. Their new way of releasing new content really isn't landing well with the players, and class balance is continuously jumping around like Zebedee on crystal meth. Story has also dipped massively in quality, despite the initial two maps being some of the best they've made in years.
Thankfully, this dip in quality has served to sever the game's current grip on my attention, so there is that.
MMOs are incredibly needy, greedy games, demanding ALL of the players' time.

Thank Goodness You're Here!
Very funny love-letter to the North of England, with some fatastically abstract humour and great jokes with very long tails. But it's a once-and-it's-done kind of experience and more like a traditional point-and-click, which isn't really my cup of tea these days.
Good for the laughs though.

Game I loved but that isn't finished yet:
Gloomwood
Excellent stuff, and managed to draw me in a lot more than games with a lot more visual fidelity. A great reminder of how to do interesting things with limited assets and a strong core design. The most Thiefy thing since Thief 2.

Game that isn't from this year but that I still played massive amounts of:
The eternal Dwarf Fortress
DF is the game I return to over and over, and is simply one of my favourites of all time. The simulation is so deep and surprising, and designing & refining working industries, machines and defense systems never ceases to entertain me. For emergent gameplay, it's probably the best game out there.

Games on Steam Deck that are keeping me sane during the Christmas period at the Parents':
Untitled Goose Game
Charming, funny, short and sweet.
Doesn't outstay its welcome, and is obviously created with love. The goose itself is perfectly designed, with phenomenal animation and character. And much like "Thank Goodness You're Here!", very British. But also like TGYH!, it's a one-shot, and there's very little reason to replay it.
But the experience of being an avatar of chaos is delicious.

En Garde!
Just started and gotten up to where the demo finished, and it's outstandingly pretty and charming. Drains the Deck's battery worryingly quickly though.

Malf on 26/12/2024 at 13:29

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That's the thing though; there are no difficulty settings in the second game.