Wow, was 2024 a wild ride for my career. I went from unemployed, to doing contract work, to finally making the jump from QA to design. And all the while, I still managed to get a bunch of gaming in. So with that in mind, let's take a look at some of the games I played last year that stood out the most. And as usual, this can be any game I played for the first time in 2024, so it doesn't have to have released that year.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake
How could this not make the list? I've said this before on many occasions, but Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of, if not my favorite video game ever made. The world is vibrant and exciting, the characters are iconic and memorable, the gameplay is super fun and lends itself to the theme of paper, and the art has aged immaculately. Thankfully, the remake kept the spirit of the original entirely, and with a few small updates to fast travel and writing, the game somehow got even better than it already was.
Lil' Gator Game
I pretty much bought this game on a whim when I came across it on Steam. It had the same cozy charm of A Short Hike, and with how much I liked that game, I thought it would be pretty solid, but I never expected to like this game even more. Lil' Gator Game isn't trying to doing anything super innovative, and it doesn't have to; it's just a fun relaxing game about exploring an island, collecting building materials, and getting as many of your friends together for the ultimate afternoon of fun.
But what really got me was the narrative; the game that your working to set up was created by the main character's older sister when they were little kids. Now that they're older though, it seems like all she has time for is her college assignment. Throughout the game, we get to explore their memories of having fun, growing up, and drifting apart, and somehow, I felt instantly relateable to both of them in a way that really tugged on my heartstrings. So with a combination of cozy gameplay, exploration, and heartfelt narrative, Lil' Gator Game made for a classic that I'll remember for years to come.
Steamworld Dig 2
A bit of a late entry, Steamworld Dig 2 made a big splash. One of the many games I've bought during a Steam sale and waited to play, I got so addicted when I finally booted it up. When you think about it, a mining Metroidvania makes so much sense; Metroidvanias are all about exploring a giant map to find your objectives, while mining for resources has exploration written all over it. It's basically a recipe that tickles every point of curiosity in my brain, and on top of that, the traversal mechanics are super fun to use. It's definitely made me want to play the first game when I can, and is easily now on my list of favorite Metroidvanias.
High On Life
Aside from the fact that I now work at the company that made this game, High On Life was a blast! I went into the game knowing that there was gonna be a lot of emphasis on comedy in the narrative, but I was also greeted by cool worldbuilding, Metroidvania elements, and epic boss fights. (SPOILER ALERT) The fact that before you fight Douglas, you could kill him in the pipes, and then have the boss fight be his corpse in the suit was something I never saw coming, and loved every second of. And then when I got to the DLC, we got to focus way more of Knifey, who was easily one of my favorite characters in the game. I'll be remembering High On Life for a long time, and still think it's wild that I now get to work with so many awesome people that helped create it.
Last Train Outta' Wormtown
This game is just great silly fun with friends. While browsing Steam, I just happened to stumble on Last Train Outta' Wormtown; a game that not even everyone needed to own in order to try. As long as one person has the full game, anyone can download the demo and join in on the fun. I often describe it as a comedic-style Dead By Daylight where a group of Pardners work to complete objectives and get their train up and running so they can esape another player playing as a giant sandworm trying to eat them. As simple as it is, the game has so much potential for new content as well; new maps, objectives, and of course, cosmetics for your pardners and worms. One thing is for sure, me and my friends will be coming back to this game for a while.
Phasmophobia
Being not a huge fan of horror games, I was initally hesitent to pick this one up. But after a bit of convincing from my friend Joe, I finally did, and boy was it worth it. The game feels less like a traditional horror game and more focused on the investigation aspect of ghost hunting. That said, there's still some scares to be had with ghost events and hunts, which honestly add to the tension of the game pretty well. There's a lot more of this game that I want to play, not just because it's fun to investigate and discover the kind of ghost your hunting, but because I have a bad habit of dying a lot, and need to do that less. Hopefully with some more practice though, I can get there.
Honorable Mentions
Gori Cuddly Carnage
Omno
Sheepy: A Short Adventure
And with that, 2024's list has wrapped up. All in all, the year was a big improvment on my life from 2023, and the games only made it better. Keeping my fingers crossed that 2025 can be just as exciting and we can have just as good of a list!
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