Our 2024 games of the year

2024 was a bloody good year for gaming. Whether AAA blockbusters or indie gems, we were inundated with a flood of excellent games from January to December. Time for a look back at the highlights.

Last year, we gave you one favourite game by individual members of the editorial team. This time we’re doing it differently. First, each gaming editor made their individual top ten, which you can read at the end of the article. I then calculated a collective top ten list from all their votes. You can read more about the methodology I used in the info box below:

Tastes vary wildly across the various members of our editorial team. Same goes for our preferred gaming platforms. As a result, our final top ten is a colourful assortment of excellent games from different genres. A total of 53 titles made it into the seven individual top lists. These ten games scored the most points:

10: EA Sports College Football 25

Compared to other sports games, EA Sports College Football isn’t just an annual update with minimal improvements. The last entry in the series, NCAA Football 14, was released in 2013. Fans had to wait a whole eleven years for another release. For college football fan Kim, it’s a dream come true. He’s the only writer who voted for the game – in first place on top of that.

Compared to those annual Madden NFL updates, the college version is bursting with passion and attention to detail. The game was co-developed by fans, so the different atmospheres of college football stadiums were captured perfectly. The peculiarities across numerous college teams are also reflected in the gameplay, which is less static compared to Madden. Differences in the playstyles of individual teams are clearly noticeable. The fact that the controversial Ultimate Team mode only plays a lesser role compared to other EA Sports games is also commendable.

EA Sports College Football 25 was released on 19 July for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

9: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Following two excellent 3D Zeldas (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom), Nintendo finally released another spin-off from the classic top-down perspective this year. Although plenty things seem familiar at first glance, the game turns many conventions of the long-standing action-adventure series on their head. For the first time, you don’t control swordsman Link, but Princess Zelda herself. She goes into battle with a magic staff, using it to copy objects and monsters and conjure them up as Echoes.

Debora was thrilled by the sweet adventure, the only editor to include it on her list (1st place). To her, it’s even the best Zelda game in recent years. She was particularly impressed by the mix of nostalgia and new elements – even if she’d have liked a little more swordplay.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was released on 26 September for the Nintendo Switch.

8: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

The new Indiana Jones game from developer studio Machinegames (known for Wolfenstein) is a dream come true for fans of the whip-wielding archaeologist. In classic Hitman style, you explore open levels where you disguise yourself, sneak around or beat up Nazis. In between, you’ll find creative puzzles to solve.

Phil is particularly enthusiastic about Indy’s globe-spanning adventure – despite initial scepticism regarding the first-person perspective, which takes some getting used to. He was the only one to put the game on his list – in first place at that. To him, there’s no debate: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t only the best Indy game of all time. The title can even compete with the original film trilogy from the 1980s.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released on 9 December for Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game is also available in Game Pass. A PS5 version will follow at the beginning of 2025.

7: Balatro

Balatro is an addictive mix of poker and roguelike. You’re tasked with beating a set number of points per round played. You do this by playing poker hands. Cards for this are randomly assigned to you from a deck. The points required to move on increase as the rounds progress. In order to overcome these ever-increasing hurdles, you have to invest the money you earn into various bonuses. They expand your deck with special cards or jokers that boost your score.

The indie game particularly impressed cards fan Simon, who put it in first place. He describes the game as «crack with cards». The unusual release captivated me too (tenth place), especially given the recently released mobile version. Putting together a combination of different bonuses and jokers to watch yourself crack high score after high score is indescribably satisfying. Just one more round, then I’ll stop. I swear.

Balatro was released on 20 February for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC. A version for macOS followed on 1 March. On 26 September, the game was also released on Android and iOS.

6: Call of Duty Black Ops 6

After the scandalously bad single-player campaign in last year’s Modern Warfare 3, this year’s Call of Duty delivers one of the best shooter campaigns of all time. It impresses with varied locations, open levels and exciting gameplay mechanics. It’s not just non-stop shooting, there’s also some sneaking and – hard to believe – puzzles!

The game impressed both me and Phil, we both put it in fifth place. Singleplayer alone would be worth the purchase price. But then there are the excellent zombie and multiplayer modes. I got stuck on the latter in particular, and am currently fighting my way up the prestige ranks.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was released on 25 October for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. The game is also available in Game Pass.

5: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Following a relatively linear adventure in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cloud, Tifa, Barret and co. are transported to several open game worlds in part two of the remake trilogy. The story feels familiar yet completely different to fans of the original PS1 JRPG. Same goes for the numerous fantastic locations you visit. But even if you haven’t played the original, you’ll still enjoy the beautiful world.

In terms of gameplay, expect the action-packed real-time combat system from its predecessor, which has been sensibly expanded in key areas. There are also countless – and I mean countless – mini-games to discover, where you can easily invest several hours of playtime. The astonishingly complex card game Queen’s Blood in particular has it all.

The game impressed both Final Fantasy expert Kevin (first place) and me, a Final Fantasy noob. As Kevin raves in his review: «The team at Square Enix has quite simply created a masterpiece that even surpasses the original. The title is close to perfection […]».

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was released on 29 February for PS5.

4: Silent Hill 2

Polish development studio Bloober Team brought back the PS2 horror classic with completely revamped graphics and new gameplay. Playing as James Sunderland, you fight your way through the fog-shrouded town of Silent Hill. According to a mysterious letter, his deceased wife is waiting for him there. But instead of his wife, James finds all kinds of hideous monstrosities out to kill him in the ghost town. The later levels in particular are some of the scariest I’ve ever experienced in a game.

Cassie (second place) and I (sixth place) were particularly impressed by the horror masterpiece. Unlike me, Cassie also played the original game. She particularly likes how the game plays with her expectations and memories and how she can immerse herself even more in the nightmarish world thanks to the new, more intimate perspective.

Silent Hill 2 was released on 8 October for PS5 and PC.

3: Emio – The Smiling Man

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a remarkable game for several reasons. Firstly, it is the first game co-developed by Nintendo to receive an 18+ age rating. Secondly, it is the first new game in the Famicom Detective Club series for over 30 years. You play as various private detectives, helping the police solve the mysterious murder of a primary school pupil. The «prime suspect» is a figure from urban legend – The Smiling Man, strangling crying schoolgirls and putting paper bags with smiling faces over their heads.

The crime thriller is on both Cassie’s (third place) and my list (fourth place). Admittedly, the gameplay in this adventure title seems a bit flat and old-fashioned at times. But the Smiling Man’s story is told incredibly well, one of the best I’ve experienced in this medium so far. The last third of the game in particular completely blew my socks off, leaving me sitting in front of the screen with my mouth agape.

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club was released on 29 August for the Nintendo Switch.

2: Animal Well

Animal Well is the antithesis of modern game design. The stylish Metroidvania from solo developer Billy Basso throws you in at the deep end – no explanation. You’re a blob in a dark well full of strange animals. What are you doing there and where do you have to go? Find out for yourself. The game thrives on its countless secrets and «aha moments» experienced while experimenting with unlockable items. Finding out you can not only break things with the Frisbee, but also stand on the flying projectile makes you feel pretty darn smart.

The dark adventure lands on four lists – namely Simon’s (second place), Kevin’s (second place), Phil’s (ninth place) and Cassie’s (tenth place). As a result, it’s truly earned the title of runner-up GOTY.

Animal Well was released on 9 May for PS5, Switch and PC. A version for Xbox Series X/S followed on 17 October.

1: Astro Bot

Our Game of the Year for 2024 is Astro Bot – and by quite a wide margin. The platformer landed on four lists, achieving high rankings on each. First place with Cassie and me, second place with Phil and fifth place with Simon.

As already mentioned in my review, Astro Bot is one of the best games I’ve ever played. I still stand by that. No other title this year has made me smile as much as this cutesy platformer from Japanese developer studio Team Asobi.

It’s one of the very few games that I’d describe as perfect. The level design impresses with ingenious ideas and lots of variety. Both the sound and visuals are detailed and technically excellent. And the controls make full use of the entire PS5 controller. The game lets me feel every step, every jump and every attack with a mix of haptic, visual and auditory feedback. No other game feels this damn satisfying to control.

For long-time PlayStation fans, the game also features countless guest appearances by well-known gaming legends and levels based on iconic PlayStation titles. Thanks to several free updates, Astro Bot has also recently received new levels and additional content. In short: it doesn’t get any better than this.

Astro Bot was released on 6 September for the PS5.

Here’s how our individual editors voted

Individual top tens across the editorial team are listed below in alphabetical order. If we’ve covered a game in our magazine, I’ve linked the respective article in the game’s name.

Cassie Mammone

01) Astro Bot
02) Silent Hill 2
03) Emio: The Smiling Man
04) Pokémon TCG Pocket
05) Black Myth: Wukong
06) Dungeons of Hinterberg
07) Life is Strange: Double Exposure
08) Sonic X Shadow Generations
09) Mouthwashing
10) Animal Well

Debora Pape

01) The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
02) Satisfactory
03) Ara: History Untold
04) Citadelum
05) Star Trucker
06) Fabledom
07) Farming Simulator 25
08) Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game
09) no vote
10) no vote

Domagoj Belancic

01) Astro Bot
02) Metaphor: ReFantazio
03) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
04) Emio: The Smiling Man
05) Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
06) Silent Hill 2
07) Rise of the Ronin
08) Stellar Blade
09) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
10) Balatro

Kevin Hofer

01) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
02) Animal Well
03) Fantasian Neo Dimension
04) Neva
05) Crypt Custodian
06) Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
07) Nine Sols
08) The Plucky Squire
09) Momodora: Moonlit Farewell
10) Biomorph

Kim Muntinga

01) EA Sports College Football
02) Pro Cycling Manager 2024
03) Infection Free Zone
04) Total Extreme Wrestling iX
05) Frostpunk 2
06) Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
07) War Hospital
08) 63 Days
09) Writer’s Rush
10) Diplomacy is Not an Option

Philipp Rüegg

01) Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
02) Astro Bot
03) Stalker 2
04) Pacific Drive
05) Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
06) The Plucky Squire
07) Dragons Dogma 2
08) Dragon Age: The Veilguard
09) Animal Well
10) Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Simon Balissat

01) Balatro
02) Animal Well
03) UFO 50
04) Mechabellum
05) Astro Bot
06) Tekken 8
07) Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
08) Persona 3 Reload
09) Dragons Dogma 2
10) Frostpunk 2

You can also find an overview of all our reviews at opencritic.com.