Look. In so many ways this year, much like last year, was a dumpster fire. The seconds clawed their way into minutes, which dragged themselves into hours, which painstakingly spread into days, which agonizingly made their way into this interminable year.
Yet, somehow, video games have been there as an escape, and arguably have been better than ever. So I can think of no better way to flip double birds and Slim Pickens-esque-ly ride this bomb into the ground with some of my favorite games of the year, but first, let's get some assorted things out of the way.
With all that out of the way, let's get this show on the road!
UPDATE: 1/7/2025: I was going through my old lists and it seems like Unordered lists truly get unordered when you stick 17 entries in a list. So, just to avoid that, here's the 17th entry in this old list here, so the ordered-unordered list can stay unordered and not have confusing ordered list numbering:
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker
Number 17
Our modern FMV game renaissance shows little signs of stopping. For this, I am very grateful. Doctor Dekker's blend of mystery and Lovecraftian horror creates a very oppressive atmosphere, and the cast's performances do an outstanding job of showing a group of people on the cusp of madness. While I've only played it through once, a quick glance through some of the FMV clips and files show a wide variety in outcomes rarely seen in adventure games, and for that I can't help but recognize it.
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Number 16 Christian Whitehead et al.'s throwback platformer feels like a true love letter to the heyday of Sonic the Hedgehog. Where some of this style of game lean too heavily on nostalgia to the point of detriment, while other games banking on nostalgia try to modernize too much, alienating the very audience they try to target, Sonic Mania's finely tuned blend of heady, 16-bit graphics, amazing music, and tight platforming gameplay is the perfect defibrillator to a dying franchise.
Number 15 Splatoon 2 is a better game than Splatoon 1. I also played significantly less of it, which is unfortunate. However, what I did played exuded as much, if not more style as the Wii U original, felt as tight as ever, and the additional modes, particularly the Horde Mode-esque Salmon Run are incredibly fun. The new weapons and supers provide added depth, yet still feel as balanced and provide new strategies for the excellent new maps. But I still played it significantly less. Weird, right?
Number 14 Read my review here: https://www.giantbomb.com/uncharted-the-lost-legacy/3030-57210/user-reviews/2200-30213/ After Uncharted 4, I thought my brief love affair with Naughty Dog was over. The Last of Us doesn't appeal to me, and Uncharted 4's tonal shift into trying to angle itself as The Last of Us-Lite just seemed to fall flat. Luckily, with a new perspective, both narratively and developmentally, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy's treasure hunting adventure is just as fun and exciting as the series' heights. Which is a relief, since I don't think I'm quite ready to say goodbye to the extended rogueish family of Uncharted characters quite yet.
Number 13 Yeah yeah, I know this technically came out in 2014 in Japan. But I love Tetris. I like Puyo Puyo, but I'm kind of terrible at it. This game combines the best of both worlds, from the nearly-perfect puzzle gameplay of Tetris to the charming characters and humor of the Puyo Puyo universe. The unique modes blending both styles of gameplay feels natural and fun, and putting it on the Switch feels like a match made in heaven. Also: This game has the best use of HD rumble. The entire concept was justified simply with this game.
Number 12 While I could talk about how I think Tekken's simple fighting system lends itself to incredible depth, the character designs are some personal favorites in the entire genre, and the guest character spots they've put in are completely insane in the best ways, that's not what I think Tekken 7 does best. Tekken 7's biggest strength is making even very simple things seem INSANELY cool, with its intense slowdowns, closeups, and effects. They're very simple, like adding the dust to people's clothes in action movies that make every swing seem infinitely more powerful, but it doesn't get in the way of the actual fighting. It's fantastic, and makes me, person who is generally bad at fighting games, still feel cool enough to keep playing every now and then since launch.
Number 11 I'm not sure what it is about Breath of the Wild. Its stark, yet somehow gentle-feeling beauty provides the perfect backdrop for a vast open world. Each mechanic is carefully expounded on in ways that cause a near-infinite amount of combinations and incentivizes a never-before-seen level of experimentation. It's also just damn fun, which is a rarity in the Legend of Zelda series. There's a real sense of wonder in every corner of this game's version of Hyrule, and the freedom given to explore it is incredibly refreshing. Easily the best launch title for a system in recent memory, it's no wonder the Switch took off as quickly as it did.
Number 10 Mario games? Extremely up my alley. Strategy games? Also a thing I am a fan of. The Rabbids? Ehhhhhhhh. However, it turns out that blending all three of those things results in a surprisingly charming, genuinely funny strategy game. The X-Com like strategy layer is surprisingly tense and enjoyable, with each character's unique power adding in unique strategies and combinations per team. The askew presentation of the Mushroom Kingdom as infested by the raving Rabbids is surprisingly interesting to meander through, and, as stated above, the writing is genuinely funny. I'm as surprised as you are that I've said those words twice now in relation to something involving the Rabbids.
Number 9 I don't think Assassin's Creed Origins makes a good first impression. Its second impression is also rather shaky. New main character Bayek comes off as incredibly one-note, the rather rote revenge plot underlying the early hours doesn't do the game any favors, and it just seemed like a giant step back from the stellar Assassin's Creed Syndicate two years ago. However, once the game actually picks up, it allows Bayek to begin to develop as a character, and the rote revenge plot subtly morphs into a fantastic origin story for this millennia-long tug of war between Assassins and Templars. By the end, I still think Syndicate is a better game. But if Origins is a branching off point for the future of the series, Assassin's Creed still hasn't lost me as an avid fan yet.
Number 8 To be honest, I could just copy Jack Gallagher's explanation for why he likes Persona 5 and just put it here, because I think he and I basically have the same thoughts on it. Persona 5 is not Persona 4, for all the goods and bads that entails. And as someone who feels a bizarre, intensely personal connection to the world of Persona 4, for me at least, there are definitely more bads than goods. Maybe going into it knowing it was "Persona 5" did this game a disservice. Perhaps if it was "Anime Brain Heist Simulator Winter 2014" it may have slid in higher on the list, even if nothing else about the game's content had changed. Don't get me wrong, Persona 5 is still fantastic. Shoji Meguro's soundtrack alone would at least deserve some sort of praise. Shigenori Soejima's incredible design work breathes style, confidence, and excitement into Persona 5's representation of Tokyo. And while wishing for Hashino to capture lightning in a bottle twice is simply unrealistic, he does at least provide an exciting roller coaster ride from start to finish, bringing modern sensibilities to the romantic picaresque genre. It's just not Persona 4.
Number 7 For my money, the original Life is Strange is the strongest example of the episodic, choice-based adventure game series. Sure, it's got problems, but, much like real life and its relative strangeness, what doesn't? Life is Strange: Before the storm, in concept at least, feels like what a follow-up should be. It expands the universe without intruding too far on what made the first game so great, the interaction between its characters and the conflicts that arise from there. By jumping a few years back and really focusing in on the origins of the relationship between Chloe and Rachel, on Chloe's struggle to cope with the loss of her father, and Rachel's assistance, or perhaps her hindrance, Before the Storm's examination of grief, rebellion, and relationships is top notch. Oh, and the music is absolutely incredible. Whoever went "I know, let's get Daughter to compose our soundtrack." deserves a raise.