2024: Ranking the Rest

Every year, I participate in ranking my top 10 video games of the year. Every year, I also play more than 10 video games. So, what of the rest of them? Here, in my annual “ranking the rest” writeup, is where I speak to those games, and thus the broader picture of my gaming year. As I wrote on my top 10 list, I think 2024 was a very good year for video games, with new releases I wanted to play coming out consistently throughout the entire year. Even the games lower on this list aren’t bad in the grand scheme of things, so take these loose rankings with a grain of salt; it’s all relative. And as always, I didn’t get to everything: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Metal Slug Tactics, 1000xResist, and a trio of JRPG remakes (Persona 3, Paper Mario, and Dragon Quest III) are among the many games from 2024 I still hope to get to. Anyway, with the introductions out of the way, here’s my ranking of every 2024 release I played during the year. Thanks for reading!

1-10: See my GOTY 2024 list.

11. Minishoot' Adventures. My “tough cut” for the year that barely missed making the list, Minishoot’ Adventures is just a good game across the board. Its concoction of “Zelda plus bullet hell” works right away, with excellent bullet hell combat combining with a tight Zelda-like adventure near flawlessly. It controls like a dream, has some great sense of progression, solid dungeons, and a charming audiovisual presentation. Really the only thing that held it back for me was maybe not being quite as ambitious as it could. The 10 games that did make my list stood out more, and will linger in my memory longer. But hot damn if Minishoot doesn’t nail basically everything it does aim for.

12. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. This is the most recent game I finished as of this writing, and it’s a good one. MachineGames has a penchant for writing compellingly campy characters and cut scenes, and that was my favorite part of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as well; the main villain in particular commanded my attention every time he was on screen. The adventure itself was fun to play through, with exploring fairly open areas proving to be a good fit for Indy. I’m not even a big Indy fan, but I enjoyed doing all the side stories (if not all the excessive collectibles) in addition to the main quest. It can be a bit janky at times – I ran into a couple bugs or glitches – and it maybe went on a bit longer than it needed to. But I still had a very good time with Indiana Jones. Also it lets you punch Nazis and I like that too.

13. The Rise of the Golden Idol. Case of the Golden Idol was one of my favorites from 2022, and this sequel is nearly as good: the detective work of piecing together what’s going on in each scene remains a highly satisfying endeavor. This studio has carved out a clear and impressive niche for themselves, and if anything, Rise gets a bit more ambitious with its scenarios than Case did. I didn’t enjoy Rise quite as much, however, which is primarily due to being a very similar sequel, and thus not having the same impact. If I have any gripe with the game on its own terms, it’s that some of the logic needed to fill in the overwhelming number of blanks in later scenarios was a bit much for me; I don’t remember having that same hurdle with Case. That said, I still had a great time with Rise of the Golden Idol.

14. Inkbound. I loved Monster Train, so I was curiously optimistic about Shiny Shoe’s sophomore effort. While I didn’t like Inkbound as much as its predecessor, I still enjoyed it quite a bit, in much the same way: I like the focus on fewer, bigger encounters, the way each class plays very differently, and the impactful character building choices during a run. Inkbound’s main new hook is a focus on co-op, which I also think works pretty well. The handful of co-op runs I got to play had a different feel from playing solo, where we could play off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses for neat combos. I don’t think Inkbound is as clean as it could be – the quest system is kind of a mess, and the UI isn’t always great – and it kind of ran its course for me after a number of runs. But I enjoyed the time I spent with it.

15. Balatro. I didn’t get sucked into Balatro to the degree the rest of the world seemingly did, and it didn’t supplant my favorite roguelike deck-builders either. But I still spent a dozen hours (all within a week or so) throwing down with 2024’s breakout obsession. The game plays quickly in a way that makes it easy to keep going, and when you do get everything to align, and get the numbers to pop off, it can be pretty satisfying. But once I won a couple runs, they quickly started to feel pretty samey to me such that I didn’t have an urge to play more. I also don’t like that boss blinds can negate certain builds entirely; that’s one of my roguelike pet peeves. Still, I did have fun with what I played of Balatro.

16. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. I definitely did not expect a new Zelda game only one year after Tears of the Kingdom, so this was a pleasant surprise. One I enjoyed a fair amount too, especially the new echoes mechanic: they provided a new, freeform way to explore the overworld in a top-down Zelda game that was fun to play with. However, the more I played, the more I came down from that initial high. The combat never really found its footing, the dungeons were lackluster for how many of them there were, and the structure became repetitive once I had my key echoes. I really liked the audiovisual presentation though, and that Zelda finally got to be in the starring role for once.

17. Shogun Showdown. I have not played a ton of this yet as of this writing, but Shogun Showdown is already a very solid roguelike in the few runs I’ve done. I enjoy the emphasis on positioning and planning ahead; it’s simple to grasp, yet allows for a lot of strategic thinking and combo potential. For a tactical game, it also plays at a very snappy clip, though I do have to slow myself down sometimes lest I make mistakes. I look forward to trying out more of this in the coming weeks or months, and this is one game that I may have placed higher had I played more of it before now.

18. World of Goo 2. I really liked the original World of Goo, and this sequel offers many of the same delights 16 years later. Assembling goo balls into structures of questionable engineering remains a good time, and its unique brand of charm and whimsy – with a bite of social and political commentary – still hits as well. Oh, and the music remains excellent. I didn’t like this sequel quite as much as the original, however, for two reasons. First, as a mostly similar sequel, it didn’t have quite the same impact 16 years later. Second, the late-game moments where it does try and shake things up, while clever tin theory, just weren’t as fun in practice to me. Still, World of Goo 2 is a good physics puzzler that I'm happy I played.

19. Animal Well. This one should have been right up my alley. A mysterious new Metroidvania with a big exploration focus? That sounds like me! And I did enjoy Animal Well for the first handful of hours; I really dig its aesthetic and atmosphere, and discovering the myriad uses for the early game items is a treat. But the more I played, and the more cryptic Animal Well became, the less I wanted to keep going. The immense effort needed to solve its deeper mysteries went past my personal threshold, especially given the tedious platforming and traversal of the underlying game; if moving around a space isn’t fun enough, that makes it harder for me to stay invested. Still, the initial run through the credits was just interesting enough to earn Animal Well this position.

20. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell. I enjoyed Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for being a concise but well-playing Metroidvania, and for the most part, Moonlit Farewell hits those same notes. This is a solid if standard “one of those”: it does the basics well enough, but also doesn’t do much above and beyond. If anything, it felt even more generic than its predecessor, where I would expect a sequel to be more ambitious. I don’t have much to say about it as a result, and it doesn’t linger as a hugely impressive game in my memory. Even if there’s nothing blatantly wrong with it either, and I had a perfectly fine time playing it.

21. Dicefolk. This is a pleasant, if somewhat shallow roguelike. Dicefolk has some neat ideas, and I like the type of thinking needed in battles, along with the skills on the different units. I also generally like the look and vibe of it. But it’s also a pretty easy and simple roguelike, and after I won a few runs, it felt like the game had already run out of steam. I do think this is a good roguelike if you aren’t looking for something terribly deep, but alas, Dicefolk didn’t stick with me for long.

22. Pepper Grinder. The core movement of Pepper Grinder is very smooth and a lot of fun. That’s what you come to this game for, as there isn’t a whole lot else to it. It’s a very short action game, with only a handful of additional secrets and challenges to reach for; it was over before it could make a lasting impression on me. But the core mechanic of launching your drill into dirt/sand/water/etc. and swimming through it, followed by launching out and flying through the air, is a thrill unlike anything else I’ve played.

23. Dungeons of Hinterberg. For as much as it didn’t grab me, this is a perfectly cromulent game. It has a mix of Zelda-esque dungeons and Persona-esque social elements that works, and a nice audiovisual presentation (awkward animations aside). But as someone who has played many actual Zelda and Persona games, I found Hinterberg’s implementation of those mechanics to be elementary. The dungeons are short and simple, with generic puzzles and rudimentary combat. The “social links” are no deeper, and the writing didn’t do much for me in the time I spent with it. Other than maybe the combat, there’s nothing really bad about Dungeons of Hinterberg, and I enjoyed the time I did spend with it just fine. But it also wasn’t interesting enough to capture my attention for more than a few hours.

24. Nine Sols. I have admittedly only played about 5 hours of Nine Sols, and it’s one of the games on this list I plan to go back to. I initially bounced off it because it’s such a demanding game, and I was not in the headspace for it at the time; we’ll see if giving it a second shot gets me any farther. I do appreciate the combat, both for the difficulty and the technical precision of it. There is absolutely a place for tough as nails action games like this, and I’ve loved challenging games like Sekiro and Hollow Knight before. But even in its early hours, Nine Sols felt like a step or two (or ten) up from those. So we’ll see how far I make it if or when I give it another go.

25. Arco. This appeared on pretty much every “best 2024 game nobody played” list I saw, from enough writers that I respect, that I felt compelled to give it a go. And while I didn’t outright dislike Arco, and would certainly not call it a bad game, I haven’t felt compelled to finish it either (at least for now). My favorite part is the combat, which has a fresh tactical angle that I can appreciate. But there are just enough dissonant aspects that have pushed me away the more I played. The character progression is uneven, items and equipment feel unnecessary within the scope of the game, and most of all, the tone of the story is all over the place; I haven’t clicked with what it’s going for. I wanted to like Arco more than I have.

26. Helldivers 2. I have barely played one of 2024’s biggest hits so far. I’m not a big multiplayer guy in general these days, as consistently coordinating time to group up with folks is a logistical hurdle too often beyond me, and I’m not one to play with randos much either. That said, Helldivers 2 does seem neat from the little I’ve played, and I do want to play it more, which could affect its standing. There’s a fine balance of barely managed chaos going on that seems fun, and I’d like to unlock more of the wild abilities I know this game has. It’s simply a matter of making the time for it.

27. Master Key. This is a neat Zelda-like with a number of things I appreciate, but also a few too many rough edges to be an easy recommend. I like how mysterious it is, and how much it commits to pushing the player to find their own way; I enjoyed exploring the world and discovering how to progress. I also dig its black-and-white aesthetic. Buuuuut, the UI is rough, the combat is even rougher, and it can occasionally cross the line of being too obtuse. Master Key is a flawed gem of sorts, but one I liked just enough to see through (it helps that it’s not that long too). The weirdest thing about it? It has like 100 (optional) picross puzzles in it for no real reason that I could discern.

28. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. I have no attachment to the CDi Zelda games, which I have never played, but Arzette looked just bizarre enough that I wanted to check it out. It’s by no means a bad game, and has a certain charm to it; the cheesy cutscenes in particular are a treat and almost worth the price of admission on their own. The actual gameplay is pretty bland though, and didn’t grab me really at all. But it was also inoffensive and short enough that I managed to see the game through to the end.

29. Little Kitty, Big City. This is a very short, simple, and fairly cute platformer, about roaming around a space and interacting with things with no real stakes involved. I appreciate that playfulness, especially given I was able to play it via Game Pass, and given how short it is (I did almost all of it in one sitting) I’m content to have played it. But it’s also not really that good of a game in most ways: it doesn’t control great, look or run that great, and I encountered plenty of bugs. It’s also very shallow and didn’t make much of a lasting impression on me. Still, you could do a lot worse than Little Kitty, Big City, especially if you have Game Pass.

30. Exophobia. How have I never played an FPS-Metroidvania before? It seems like such an obvious idea in theory, but I don’t know that it’s been done that much. Enter Exophobia, a game I tried mostly on a whim based on that description, and its slick retro aesthetic. Unfortunately, the game itself hasn’t quite grabbed me yet. It controls perfectly well, but the pacing and progression feels off. The map is a mess of a maze that’s easy to get lost in, and I have already gone long stretches without any meaningful upgrades to find (a Metroidvania sin). I’ve only played this a couple hours thus far, and may or may not see it through. But for now, Exophobia is starting to lose me, which is a shame. I think the potential is there, but it needs some polishing.

31. Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket. This is a pleasant mobile version of a TCG that has never been that much fun to play. The actual competitive card game is imbalanced and full of luck mechanics to the point where I rarely want to actually battle against other people; I’ve played against more than enough Mewtwo EX decks already. But there is a more low key enjoyment to opening daily packs and collecting cards, which have nice art, and for that I’ll probably keep booting this thing up for 5-10 minutes a day. Given that I don’t really like the card game it’s built around, I don’t know that I would call Pokemon TCG Pocket “good”. But it’s also not a terrible way to waste a few minutes on your phone every day.

32. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. This is easily my biggest personal disappointment from 2024. I loved Sayonara Wild Hearts, and I generally like puzzle games. So when Simogo followed up its previous hit with a stylish-looking new puzzle adventure, with a kick-ass name no less? It sounded right up my alley, but unfortunately I did not click with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. If I try to give the concise version of why, I think its particular brand of logic is too abstract for my more mechanical brain, especially when combined with the copious amount of reading required. I had to look up solutions more often than I normally like to, and my most common thought when doing so was “I never would have thought of that”, which was deflating. This is definitely a thing that’s going to vary wildly from person to person, as everyone’s brain processes information and makes connections differently. But for me, it’s sadly not a puzzler I had much fun with. Also, the UI choice to not have a back button for menu navigation drove me crazy.

33. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain. I feel a little bad for placing this so low, given it’s a free game clearly made by people who love what they do. I also think the original Celeste is great! But my experience with Celeste 64 wasn’t good, driven primarily by something that won’t bother most people: there is no option to invert the camera. As someone who has been playing with an inverted y-axis for decades, and appreciates that it’s a standard option in 99% of video games nowadays, not having that option in a challenging 3D platformer made it borderline unplayable for me. Given it is very short, I did manage to push through and complete a good amount of it, and I do think it’s a nice game for a freebie. But my main memory of Celeste 64 is fighting with the camera the entire time, which is not a positive memory.

34. Super Mario Party Jamboree. I haven’t played a Mario Party game since… the GameCube days? But if Jamboree is anything to go by, the series hasn’t changed all that much in the past 20 years. It’s still a mess of luck-based mechanics that controls poorly and moves extremely slowly for how little happens; I could barely believe how long some turns can take. I did have an OK time playing Jamboree, however, which was a result of the people I was playing with, rather than the game itself. Put another way, it is possible to have fun with Mario Party despite itself. But it’s still not a good video game.

BONUS: Some Older Games I Played in 2024:

Octopath Traveler II. One of my most played games during 2024 was a 2023 game. I started Octopath Traveler II in January of 2024, and went back to it between new releases all throughout the year. 12 months and 70 in-game hours later, I’m still playing it, and still enjoying it; there’s a good chance it would have made my GOTY 2023 list had I played it in time. It’s a very solid JRPG mixing old-school charm with some new ideas. I like the combat system, I like the freeform way you’re encouraged to explore the overworld, and I absolutely love the presentation and music. It’s a comfort food game to play when I want something that’s equally new and familiar, and I’m happy to keep plugging away at it in 2025.

Lies of P. This was another one of 2023’s releases I got to in 2024, and I enjoyed the hell out of Lies of P. It’s a very good “soulslike” as advertised, with all the hallmarks you’d expect, plus a couple new tricks of its own. I really like the defensive options in combat, and how perfect guards can break enemy weapons. I also really appreciate the way you can mix and match weapon handles with the blades; this opens up some fun character build options. But for the most part, Lies of P succeeds by being perhaps the best “one of these” not made by FromSoftware themselves. It almost certainly would have made my GOTY 2023 list had I played it in time.

Alan Wake 2. This was probably the most high-profile 2023 game I didn’t get to in time, but did play early in 2024. I was never the biggest Alan Wake fan – I liked it fine, but didn’t fall in love with it – and that sentiment continues through the sequel. It works well enough as a survival horror game, in the way that other good survival horror games work well, and a few of its narrative set piece moments are pretty entertaining. But I was ultimately undone by the sponginess and lack of variety in the enemies, which only got more tedious down the stretch of this surprisingly long game. It’s a problem I’ve had with most of Remedy’s games, where I hit a point of going through the motions well before the game ends. I respect their creative ambitions, but enjoying the act of playing Remedy’s games largely continues to elude me.

Rhythm Tengoku and the Analogue Pocket. I went to Japan in 2023, and picked up a few games while I was there. One of them was the original Rhythm Heaven, aka Rhythm Tengoku, which is a GBA game that never released anywhere else. Fortunately the GBA is region free, so I could play this one on one of my other 2023 purchases, an Analogue Pocket. I didn’t get around to fiddling with either much until 2024, however, but had a great time once I did. The Pocket is a very nice device, and even though many of Rhythm Tengoku’s minigames appear in later entries, it was still fun to experience them in their original form. Rhythm Heaven is great. The Analogue Pocket is great. Now maybe in 2025 I’ll play that copy of Pokemon Green I also picked up…

Metroid Prime Remastered. I got around to playing the Switch remaster of Metroid Prime in 2024. This is a very good remaster. Metroid Prime is still the GOAT. That is all.