Hey, it’s Győző “FairyEmpire” Baki here. You may remember me from a billion racing game reviews, plenty of FPS content, several indie write-ups, and even the occasional big cinematic adventure. 2024 was a strange, but exciting year of videogames for me: perhaps not that many titles absolutely dominated the conversation this year, with multiple AAA releases either missing their date or not making as big as a splash as suspected, but that gave a lot of innovative indies and surprising backmarker stories the spotlight they needed. So, let’s check out my personal top 10 favourite games from 2024!
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
You know what, fine. In my review of the multiplayer and Zombies packages, I was… somewhat disappointed. Because Treyarch have done quite a great job at delivering a full package, with an explosive campaign, a solid Zombies mode at launch, and the best iteration of the Call of Duty multiplayer in quite some years. Yet, many of the extremely weak aspects of the multiplayer formula that were introduced in 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot, issues that were never really addressed before… still exist, and the rest of the package wasn’t all that innovative either, bar the omnimovement system that has a lot of pros but plenty of cons as well. Yet, the post-launch support so far has been excellent, including an incredible new Zombies map and the newbie-friendly Director Mode, on top of some very fine additions to the multiplayer in season 1 and a currently on-going Squid Game event. I thought I was done with this game, but not quite. I’m still not a fan of everything, but I’m more on board now than I was back at launch.
9. PegIdle
Peggle’s pachinko-like formula but as an idle game. Sounds like the equivalent to digital crack, and it’s certainly not far from it. The iconic peg-busting gameplay, with stages continously rotating as an increasing amount of balls are shot by the player towards the targets, as their bonuses increase. When it’s slow and manual, it’s basically an unlimited life version of Peggle. When it’s fast, it’s like watching a thousand Slinkies go down the stairs – it’s just awfully satisfying.
8. Transformers: Galactic Trials
A licensed racer, based on the expansive Transformers IP, being my second favourite racing game of the year? Now that wasn’t on my bingo card, and I was equally surprised back when I wrote the review for it. And yet, despite an evidently limited budget, which reflects on the lack of the online multiplayer and some slight presentation woes, this game is an absolute blast. A high octane arcade racer with strategic resource management, offensive dashes and defensive moves, sprinkled with speed-based third person action sequences where players have to blast opponents and AI fodder alike. One that flew under the radar for most, but that I definitely recommend to arcade racer fans.
7. Graven
The involvement of 3D Realms, alongside the Heretic-esque aesthetic, may trick you into believing this is a standard fantasy-themed boomer shooter. Yet, Graven is a unique adventure, featuring RPG elements, soulslike design choices, immersive sim levels of interactivity and tons of atmospheric exploration, instead of just being a non-stop barrage of action. And it’s certainly not for a lack of quality shooting, either, as blasting away demons with medieval weaponry and magic spells is a lot of fun. Some slight oddities with the exploration and progression don’t hinder the experience all that much, and Graven remains one of my most memorable gaming experiences of 2024.
6. New Star GP
OGs may remember that a game with this name already exists, and that it was an off-brand top-down F1 racer from the 2000’s on PC. Some may also recall other games in the New Star franchise, such as the ludicrously addictive mobile game New Star Soccer. Well, 2024’s New Star GP may be the studio’s most technically complex title yet, with a retro-style yet slick 3D presentation with bright colours and massive polygons. With a campaign mode that spans over five decades, from the 1980’s to our days, players get to race on slightly altered tracks from all eras, with even pit strategies, a solid damage model, dynamic weather and more to boot. As is the case for New Star titles, there’s even all sorts of real life events, moral dilemmas and cut-throat decisions to make about the development, the team and more. What else to say? It’s one of the best old-school arcade racers in recent years, and it even received a huge permanent price drop recently, making it much harder to miss.
5. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
What happens when you combine the damn addictive gameplay loop of bullet heaven games like Vampire Survivors, and the hit sensation Deep Rock Galactic? The most predictable game name aside, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor hits pretty much all the right notes. It delivers a viscerally satisfying bullet heaven with killer graphics, innovative mining mechanics that allow for all sorts of strategic placement and enemy crowd control, with a solid weapon and class variety that keep replayability high. So far, there’s not many maps to play, but the title is still in Early Access on PC, and receiving great support thus far. It already is one of the finest bullet heaven titles on the market, and this isn’t even its final form. Rock and stone!
4. UFO 50
UFO 50, sadly only available on PC at the time of this writing, is a game – well, 50 games, in a package that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. In what intentionally mimics the experience of finding one of those multigame game cartridges on NES, such as the infamous Action 52, UFO 50 puts the players ahead of a list of over 4 dozen titles to play, representing the career of a fictional 80’s videogame developer. But unlike the aforementioned shovelware collection, these aren’t low effort minigames in the slightest. Each of the 50 titles offer several hours of content, featuring own game mechanics, lore, easter eggs, alternate routes and more. From platformers, shoot ’em ups, puzzle games, sports, tactical turn-based combat and more, each of the 50 games is a meticulously crafted experience. Sure, you may not love all of them, but neither of them has evident flaws, with even the gameplay limitations stemming from a very clear design philosophy. Each game is meant to emulate the limitations of the 8-bit era, while also providing game designs that clearly show the developer truly understands how game designs have positively changed since. The games are hard but fair, and just like when we were younger, there is nothing more rewarding than getting through a difficult challenge. UFO 50 is an astonishing videogame package, one I haven’t even fully explored yet, and one that I’ll likely be coming back to for months, if not years.
3. 1000xRESIST
This is one of those “the less you know about it, the better” game in my 2024 top 10, and it’s a game I hardly suspected to be as fantastic as it ended up being. If you know me, you’re well aware I’m a “gameplay first” person – so even if a game’s story is great, I’m unlikely to stick around for long if the actual act of playing is bad or boring. Despite various rave reviews, I was ready to sleep on 1000xRESIST, having understood that the gameplay rarely goes beyond walking from point A to B and interacting with things or people. But after receiving a copy of the game as a gift, I gave it a fair shot – and I’m so glad that I did. The game’s incredible atmospheres, touching personal stories, thought-provoking themes, carried by a shockingly great voice acting, made this journey a truly unforgettable one for me. 1000xRESIST digs into governance, trust in authorities, finding purpose, challenging deep-rooted beliefs, and I’d rather not spoil anything more specific. All this, with a clear artistic vision that shines through every camera angle and view, in this story that defies time and conventions. The game’s biggest weakness? It’s not on Xbox yet, with only PC and Nintendo Switch owners currently being able to experience this memorable journey. Hekki Allmo.
2. XDefiant
This game’s fate saddens me, because Ubisoft had everything to make XDefiant into a long-lasting game-as-a-service, built around what already was one of the most satisfying and better balanced “COD-like” arena shooters. It took inspiration both from the slightly futuristic, yet boots to the ground gameplay of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and the more modern hero shooters. Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter hit so many right notes; the game’s launch player numbers testified to its incredible strengths in the core mechanics. Yet, the slow content rollout, the unexciting cosmetics, the grindy and unfulfilling weapon camos and some (now resolved) netcode woes condemned the game to increased irrelevance. All this eventually led to Ubisoft pulling the plug, with a last hoorah of a season 3 that will run until June 2025, as the developers have thrown every map, game mode, faction and so forth they had in the pipeline, creating one hell of a season for fans of this short-lived shooter. There’s now even a map based on the Rayman aesthetics! And personally, I had a blast: with the game’s pacing, balance and flow beating the likes of modern day Call of Duty or Battlefield games as well – for me, anyway. I hope you have once downloaded this game already, because it’s even been delisted, so only those who already own it can populate its increasingly sparse servers for these final months.
Honourable mention: Doom + Doom II
What are years old ports of 90’s classic shooters doing on my 2024 game of the year list? Glad you asked! The so-called “Unity” ports of Doom and Doom II were released back in 2019, though they initially weren’t particularly highly regarded versions, though their availability on all then-current consoles and even mobile phones was a huge bonus. In the 5 and a half years since, the game has received countless updates. Extra official episodes like Final Doom, the Sigil duology by John Romero himself and tons of community campaigns. All sorts of new features and fixes that even bring never-seen-before fixes and quality-of-life changes, such as better timing tools for speedrunners, a proper 60fps mode and so forth. Fast forward to 2024, and the game received a free update that combined every game into one, moving it to the KEX engine, which in turn brought along a lot of features even for console users that only PC folks were accustomed to. This not only includes the comeback of proper competitive multiplayer, but even official modding support, allowing Doomers even on Xbox to just download their WAD of choice and go nuts(.wad)! Classic Doom on consoles has never been in a better place than it’s been since 2024, and I rediscovered so many classic PC mods in a brand new environment this time. These games simply never age, and id Software and Bethesda are cherishing their legacy in an incredible way. Now bring on Doom: The Dark Ages!
1. Balatro
Could it have been anything else? Balatro may often be referred to as a roguelite poker game, but that would be selling this incredible title short – one that had most of our staff addicted. Don’t be fooled by the chill presentation and the core gameplay being simply… well, poker. Balatro is really all about strategic deckbuilding, combining over 150 unique jokers, powering up your existing cards, creating increasingly broken and recursive effects that turn each of your hand into ludicrous monstrosities – with no two runs being equal, given the game’s roguelite randomness. It’s difficult, it requires luck, but it’s astonishingly good. With tons of decks, new cards to unlock, special difficulties and some of the most time-consuming yet rewarding achievements in recent memory, Balatro is an absolutely phenomenal experience that trascends the games it was inspired by, already spawning various “Balatro-like” clones based on roulette, Scrabble and more. It’s challenging, and it takes patience, as the random nature of the game can make or break promising runs in an instant. But that’s part of the magic, and I’ve found myself countless times just starting a new match after a devastating loss. There’s no actual gambling involved (get it, PEGI?), but it’s as addictive as it gets. Now that the game is even available on mobile phones, after initially only launching on PC and consoles, you have nowhere to run: stop saying “Nope!”, and hop on Balatro!
And that’s it for my 2024. A year dominated by strangely addicting, yet highly innovative games, split up by various AAAs of varying quality. There have been some notable flops, plenty of positive surprises, but overall I feel like it was a gaming year worth living through, whichever platform(s) you may have owned in the timeframe. What about you? Anything you wish to comment about my 10 games pick? Would you like to recommend something else that made you fall in love during the year? Let us know in the comments, in our forums, or whichever social platform we’re on! And now, on top an even wilder 2025…
