Well, it's that time of the year again. I've played a lot of games in 2024, and now it's time to rank my favorites. Unlike last year, I really couldn't just leave it at 10 games, so this time, I picked a whopping 15 games that I want to shine a light on. But first, some honorable mentions:
HM. The games I'd probably have loved
Being a Mac user with only a Switch, there's always going to be a fair share of games that I'm not going to be able to play, and 2024 is no exception. So here's a short ode to the games I probably could've placed on this list if I was actually able to play them:
Astro Bot: Yeah, this one's a given. The game that everyone's touting as a spiritual successor to the Mario Galaxy games and references niche Sony series like Ape Escape feels like it was made for me, but sadly, I don't have a PS5.
UFO 50: The concept of a fictional console with an entire in-universe game library is so cool. I'm still holding out for this one to get a console release someday.
Rabbit & Steel: I know some people who are going absolutely crazy over this one. As a bullet hell fan, it looks like a unique take on the formula, the artstyle is adorable, and the soundtrack's a real bop.
HM. The Non-2024 Games I Discovered
I also want to give a shout-out to the games that came out in the last two years that I just happened to get my hands on in 2024, because some of my favorite gaming experiences of the year were with the games that I just barely missed out on the first time.
Freedom Planet 2: One of my new Top 5 favorite games of all time, Freedom Planet 2 gave me everything I could've wanted from a sequel and then some. It's double the length of the original, refines the gameplay to a razor sheen, vastly improves upon the storytelling, is stuffed to the gills with content, boasts some of the most gorgeous sprite art I've ever seen, and packs in an absolute behemoth soundtrack. It systematically checks off every single box of what I personally want in a game.
Spark The Electric Jester 3: Probably the most successful indie game I've seen so far in terms of capturing the freeform linear platforming of the Sonic Adventure games while still having its own feel. While it certainly has its rough edges, the movement in Spark 3 is an absolute joy and the sheer amount of fantastic levels across both the main campaign and the postgame still has me chipping away at it to this day.
Curse Crackers: Curse Crackers is the definition of "you didn't have to go this hard". What on the surface seems like a fairly basic GBC-inspired platformer gives way to some of the smoothest movement I've seen in a 2D platformer, a shockingly developed world with detailed lore and an incredible cast of characters, and an absurd amount of content ranging from collectibles to time attacks to secret levels to Fez-esque obscurities. Definitely the best impulse buy of the year.
Pizza Tower: What can I even say about Pizza Tower that hasn't already been said? This instant indie classic takes the strong groundwork that Wario Land 4 laid and really runs with it, making for a longer and stranger experience than its inspiration. It definitely has a bit of a learning curve, but once Pizza Tower really clicks, the chaotic movement, endearingly strange characters, and varied levels made for one of the most charming experiences I've played this year.
Vividlope: Vividlope may have released in 2023, but its Switch release this year came with a slew of QoL improvements that seem to have fixed pretty much all of its issues. It's an incredibly addictive and charming arcade puzzler with a ton of content squeezed into such a small package, but the real star of the show is Vividlope's adorable Dreamcast-inspired presentation that taps into a visual style that I'll always be a sucker for. More games like this please!
Okay, now, without further ado, let's get into my actual ranking:
15. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble
After countless mediocre Super Monkey Ball games, Banana Rumble is the return to form I've been waiting for. It may not fully recapture the magic of the original Gamecube entries, but it manages to forge its own unique magic with its more character-driven storytelling and the addition of the spin dash that makes speedrunning more fun than ever before. It's also worth noting just how much content this game has crammed into it, and it's still getting bigger and more polished through a steady stream of updates across the second half of the year. Banana Rumble feels like a real labor of love from Sega and RGG Studio in a way that I haven't really felt from Super Monkey Ball in so long.
14. Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore
Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore did something that I didn't think any game could do, it redeemed the Zelda CD-i games. It manages to perfectly replicate the look, feel, and sound of the CD-i while also being an actually polished, satisfying, and purposefully funny action platformer. Speaking of labor of loves, you can tell the team behind Arzette saw so much potential in Zelda CD-i, and they had the knowledge and the know-how to actually utilize that potential. Like with Cavern Of Dreams though, it was way too short and I definitely could've used more of it.
13. Celeste 64: Fragments Of The Mountain
Right at
the start of 2024, the indie scene was blindsided by the sudden drop of
a new Celeste game. In the grand scheme of things, Celeste 64 is a
goofy little itch.io demo made in a week, and as such, it does have its
fair share of jank. However, it still manages to do a remarkable job at
translating the feel of Celeste into this 3D format, and the platforming
still has a lot of fun movement tech in it. The package is also all
tied together with an adorable N64-inspired visual style, and a charming
coda that gives these characters the truly happy ending they kinda
needed after the more downbeat Farewell.
12. Duelists Of Eden
Duelists Of Eden is more of an expansion than its own full-on sequel, but it gives fans of One Step From Eden what they've been wanting for a while, a multiplayer mode. Duelists does a great job at converting OSFE's gameplay to a more competitive format that really puts it more in line with its Battle Network inspiration, all the while tossing in more great new characters, plenty of cool indie cameos, and another roster of incredible music tracks from STEEL_PLUS.
11. Splatoon 3: Side Order
As someone who isn't exactly a huge fan of either Salmon Run or roguelikes, I'm still impressed with how well Side Order managed to combine them to create an incredibly replayable experience that I really enjoyed. It's forgiving enough that anyone can beat it for the first time with enough practice, but actually uncovering all of the DLC's secrets and unlockables will definitely be quite the challenge. I'm also glad to say that Side Order was a satisfying continuation of my beloved Octo Expansion, with more fun character interactions among Agent 8's gang, some interesting expansions to the Splatoon lore, and of course, another fantastic lo-fi and EDM soundtrack.
10. Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines
The first Grapple Dog was a fun but somewhat flawed little indie platformer, but Cosmic Canines is an incredible sequel that not only improves on all of the first game's issues but ranks as one of the most inventive platformers I've played all year. With a solid story that expands on the characters from the first game in some fun ways, a great second protagonist with a gameplay style just as fun if not even more enjoyable than the titular grapple dog, consistently inventive level design facilitated by the multiverse hopping premise, and another wonderful soundtrack makes for one hell of a glow-up.
9. Princess Peach Showtime
Despite its fairly simple gameplay, Princess Peach Showtime manages to get by through its aggressive amounts of charm. The fun variety of gameplay styles, consistently dynamic levels, solid exploration, and banger soundtrack make for a pretty fun 3D platformer on its own, but it's truly elevated by just how much love the developers clearly have for the medium of theater and how it shows in the sheer attention to detail every single stage has packed in. There's some real experimental PS2 game energy coming from Showtime and I'm all for it.
8. Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
As someone who felt severely burnt by Tears Of The Kingdom, Echoes Of Wisdom managed to strike a strong balance between a more guided progression with stronger pacing and damn solid dungeons, and also packing in an open world that's a joy to explore along with the inventive emergent echo mechanic that feels just limited enough to be fun to mess around with. It's not one of the best entries in the series by any means, but it's the first Zelda in a while that actually feels like it lives up to the franchise's lofty standards.
7. Antonblast
Out of every game I played this year, Antonblast is the one that I have the most complicated relationship with. It offered me some of the most cathartic, stylish, thoroughly enjoyable platforming goodness I've experienced all year, with fun movement, wild levels and bosses, satisfying carnage-induced exploration, and fantastic visuals and music. But it also really put me through the ringer as I slowly learned to play by its rules, almost filtering me at several moments. And yet, as I look back on Antonblast, the game just looks better and better in my eyes, those rough edges all part of its scrappy charm. It's such a potent love letter to gaming as a medium and it shows in every frame.
6. Pepper Grinder
Pepper Grinder may be a bit too short, but for what it was, it's impeccably crafted. Each and every level stands out as fun and unique, the movement of drilling around at high speeds is perfectly tuned, the collectibles are fun and intuitive to discover, the bosses are a blast, and the intricate spritework and eclectic soundtrack are just unhinged to perfectly fit the game's chaotic mood. Pepper Grinder does exactly what it sets out to do and leaves you wanting more.
5. Super Mario Party Jamboree
Super Mario Party Jamboree marks the true return to form for the Mario Party series on pretty much every level. Strong board design that's equal parts fun, varied, and cruel. Genuinely interesting mechanical improves that add to the strategy of board gameplay rather than takes from it. A massive lineup of minigames and side modes that are, for the most fun, almost as fun as the main board mode. And a strong, surprisingly cohesive presentation with the best music the series has had in so long. The future of Mario Party as a series has truly never been brighter.
4. Penny's Big Breakaway
I mentioned that Princess Peach Showtime felt like a experimental PS2 game, but Penny's Big Breakaway absolutely lives and breathes the early 2000s. With a bright and poppy aesthetic, slightly jank movement with a huge skill ceiling, fun level design that encourages you to master said movement, wacky boss fights, and of course, a fantastic soundtrack, Penny's Big Breakaway packs in everything I love about 3D platformers as a genre. Right when it came out, I was sure this would be my favorite original game of the year, and yeah, that hasn't really changed.
3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
I used to be on the "The Thousand Year Door is overrated" train, but the TTYD Remake did the unthinkable feat of fully converting me. This remake smartly picks and chooses the best elements of The Origami King and uses them to enhance TTYD in so many ways, from its gorgeous new visual coat of paint, to its vastly expanded soundtrack, to the removal of all the worst bits of backtracking, to Vivian's fixed characterization. TTYD Remake was the longest game I've beaten from this year, and yet my eyes were glued to the screen for the whole week I spent working my through it.
2. Sonic X Shadow Generations
As someone who's never played Sonic Generations prior to this year, this might as well be two entirely new games as far as I'm concerned, and I couldn't be happier with the result. Sonic Generations is easily one of the best 3D Sonic games with its addictively fast-paced gameplay, slick visuals, and incredibly well thought-out level design, but the fact that Shadow Generations manages to rival and even surpass it in some aspects is truly impressive coming off the heels of the lackluster Sonic Frontiers. I have no idea what happened in this game's development, but Sonic Team managed to make one hell of a comeback and put out their first genuinely GOTY-worthy package in over a decade.
1. Castlevania Dominus Collection
I tend to be a bit iffy when it comes to ranking compilations, but Castlevania Dominus Collection truly deserves its flowers for being one of the best compilations I've ever seen. This is the best way to play three of the best Castlevania games period (one of which is just straight-up one of my favorite games ever made), and it's all tied together with a cohesive, slick, feature-rich interface. But the true clincher is the fact that the madlads at M2 tossed in an entirely new Castlevania in Haunted Castle Revisited, a genuinely great 2D entry that truly solidifes Dominus Collection's spot as my favorite game of 2024.
And in case you're wondering about my favorite soundtracks of the year, here they are:
15. Metal Slug Tactics
14. Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore
13. Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
12. Haunted Castle Revisited
11. Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines
10. Splatoon 3: Side Order
9. Antonblast
8. Yars Rising
7. Super Mario Party Jamboree
6. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
5. Berserk Boy
4. Rabbit & Steel
3. Princess Peach Showtime
2. Penny's Big Breakaway
1. Duelists Of Eden
Overall, I thought 2024 was definitely one of the more interesting years in gaming as of late. Coming off the heels of 2023, we were all expecting something a bit more tame in terms of AAA gaming and that's exactly what we got. I can't exactly say this was a great year in that department, between the lack of heavy-hitters, the many layoffs and studio shutdowns, and the several high profile flops. But in terms of the kinds of games that I'm into, this year still had a lot to offer. From countless incredible indie games, to some of the strongest remasters and compilations we've seen in a while, to some of Nintendo's most experimental work since the start of the Switch era, to many long-awaited console re-releases, 2024 really did have a lot of gems for those who bothered to dig for them.
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