2024 is ending, but there are still 10s of games I have yet to play that could have made this list. I place the primary blame on Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst. The excellent Ephinea custom server stole hundreds of hours of my time across the second half of the year. Halo: Master Chief Collection didn't do me any favors either with my lifetime hours now up to 786 as of writing. Regardless I mean to give you a list of games from this year which I enjoyed and a list you shall have... Behold!
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Our first non CD-i game with Zelda as the protagonist is finally here. Echoes splits the difference between the overworld and dungeon gameplay of classic 2D Zeldas and the freeform gameplay mechanics of the Switch Zeldas thanks to the titular echo mechanic. Whether you're spamming snakes to overwhelm your foes or stacking beds to navigate the world you'll be having a good time. Big minor gripe though: there are way too many echoes in the game for its simple linear selection menu to handle. A weapon wheel of selectable favorites would have gone a long way here and should be a top priority if this mechanic is ever revisited.
Mixing Geometry Wars style twin stick shooting with 2D Zelda style adventuring was an excellent idea and SoulGame Studio didn't falter in execution. Minishoot is charming and addictive. Importantly the level of bullet dodging difficulty is just about perfect for me. That said difficulty settings and accessibility options are available for tuning things up or down too which should help everyone have a good time.
UFO 50 presents the user with a 50 game collection for a fake 80s computer, the LX system, sort of a mash up of MSX and Famicom. The games are love letters to greats across pretty much every genre, but with unique flavors of their own. The games aren't just tiny throw away experiences either, they've got more meat on the bone than you'd expect. On top of all this there's a meta narrative to uncover which tells a great story of its own. Best value!
The IGA DS trilogy of Castlevania games has finally been liberated from their touchscreen prison! This package gives us not only three excellent metroidvanias, but the so janky you must see it arcade game Haunted Castle and an excellent modern reimagining by M2. Good show.
I have to hand it to Team ASOBI - Astro Bot gives Playstation's history so much love it makes me wish they'd reboot Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. That's not something I had in the cards. The stars of the show here for me are the insane number of cameos and the both technically impressive and aesthetically pleasing visuals. The platformer gameplay is entirely serviceable, but on the simple side. Some more mechanical depth could bring things closer to being a contender with the Marios of the world.
Under Night finally has a numbered sequel. What does this mean? In addition to the standard expanded character roster and system balance changes we now have a completely remixed soundtrack and forward progress to the series story. I would have been here for more Under Night regardless, but it's nice to see a more complete package this go around. Keep them coming French Bread.
Did we need a love letter to the CD-i Zelda games? Not really. Am I glad we got one? Very yes. In Arzette we have all the lovable animation and voice acting jank of the CD-i days, but with solid gameplay and a catchy soundtrack on top. Great job to the sickos at Seedy Eye Software, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next.
The Persona 3 remake is here! No not FES. No not Portable. No not the port of Portable. So yeah we’ve kinda been here before. That said, Persona 3 Reload is impressive. The 2006-2007 PS2 game has now been brought up to more of a Persona 5 or Metaphor level of graphics and UI aesthetics. For those who have yet to play one of the many releases of Persona 3 this is the way to go (though the lack of Female MC option is still a shame).
Poor Foamstars. Square Enix created a fun twist on Splatoon's shooter formula (Ink... now with volume!) then more or less sent it out into the world to die. I have my doubts on if Foamstars could have made it in the competitive market of multi-player shooters even if it had started on multiple platforms and was free to play. However, to their credit SE hasn't pulled the plug yet so if you want to play something Splatoon like with a unique aesthetic and soundtrack it's still out there for now.
Wayforward has brought us a solid if not mind blowing Contra in 2024. I'd call it the first real Contra since Hard Corps: Uprising in 2011 and for me it hits on roughly the same level as that game and Contra 4. The core gameplay is solid, but the rest of the package is just fine. Maybe with more time and money they could have improved the visual presentation and the pacing of some of the levels which drag on, but I'm happy to have a new entry in the series regardless.