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Top Ten Video Games from 2024

2024 was not as diverse of a year for me when it comes to the different gaming genres, but it’s overall stronger in terms of the quality of games that I played this year. All of these games I loved playing and some of them are genuine masterpieces. Whether I played these on PC or on laptop or whether they are old and new, these games defined the year for me.

10. Sonic Adventure

Of all the games on this list, this one is by far the messiest, which explains its last spot here. Yes, Sonic Adventure did not age well. The graphics are not great, the camera system is quite mediocre and not all of its mechanics worked. But there is no doubt about it – the game was immensely ambitious and unique in its different genres and elements incorporated into one package. The highlights are its terrific soundtrack and strong world building.

9. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

At the tail end of the year, I chose to play this famous Lego game and I did have a blast with it, though I found it to be slightly overrated. The game is at its worst when playing the levels for the first time with no cheats, but it is its best when you buy some cheats and pursue full completion as the collectibles are so fun to seek out and the levels are easy enough when you know what you are doing. It’s a dream come true for collectors.

8. Assassin’s Creed Revelations

Every year I play at least one entry in one of my favorite franchises and sadly this year I played some of the weaker installments, though a game that I still loved playing. Yes, Assassin’s Creed Revelations is a very good entry, but hardly a great one. The setting of Constantinople was a solidly utilized one and the main storyline was incredible. The character arcs of both Ezio and Altair were emotionally rewarding and compelling. But in gameplay it’s a safe game that didn’t change much for better and for worse. Some of its newly added mechanics worked very well, but others were inessential. I liked it quite a bit, but from this franchise I do expect more.

7. The Legend of Zelda

This year I finally decided to start the Zelda franchise and I played the very first game. Yes, it is unintuitive and difficult to play these days and its graphics did not age well at all, but the sound and score are excellent and the level design is superb. There is a lot of magic to be had in playing the loop of this game, which is going through each dungeon, finding secret tunnels and eventually gaining an important weapon and becoming stronger in the process. It’s a clunky game at times, but it deserves respect for everything that it did oh so right.

6. Mario Kart: Double Dash

Mario Kart: Double Dash doesn’t have the most detailed graphics, but its cartoony and vibrant aesthetic was still a delight. The score was a mixed bag and the same goes for the difficulty level. But it’s worth playing for its some unique tracks, strong use of its character roster, some excellent new mechanics and an overall fun, rewarding gameplay. It’s by far the best of early Mario Kart entries and such an underrated gem.

5. Limbo

We are now taking a bit of respite from all the action-adventure games on this list to include a puzzle game for a change. Limbo is a great puzzle platformer that is toward the end too abstract and difficult in some puzzles, but the vast majority are not too hard to solve. The game has clunky controls, but amazing graphical presentation that is wonderfully minimalist and artistic. The sound is also highly immersive. It’s a very memorable puzzle game that is creepy and atmospheric throughout and it’s by far the most artistic game I played all year, though it shied away from reaching the heights of its successor, the incredible ‘Inside’.

4. Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim is one of my favorite Sega Genesis games and an underrated gem for sure. It can be unintuitive in its controls and its difficulty curve is quite staggering. But this run and gun platformer benefits from superb level design throughout, very creative gameplay mechanics, and the fact that every level is different and authentic in its own right. The protagonist is very memorable, the soundtrack is a banger, the humor is goofy and fun, and its animated aesthetic is simply delightful. I did not play as many platformers as usual this year, but this classic easily takes the cake as the best of the bunch.

3. Immortals Fenyx Rising

The third spot goes to the game that I ended up putting most time into – this underrated gem from Ubisoft. Immortals Fenyx Rising is a versatile AAA game that utilizes soulslike combat, ambitious puzzles and rewarding RPG elements in abilities and weapons into the overall open world action-adventure format that fully worked. It’s a gorgeous-looking game that is also beautifully scored. It features terrific voice acting, a superb cast of well developed characters and a surprisingly strong narrative with phenomenal humor and dialogue. Perfectly mixing the modern and witty with the ancient and mythological in its tone and approach is its finest accomplishment and the prime reason why it deserves more respect.

2. Bully

The other game that I poured numerous hours into, Bully is a superb Rockstar game and one of the most underrated games from its decade. While it has clunky controls and somewhat underwhelming graphics, the soundtrack is simply incredible, the plot is surprisingly rich and the characters colorful and memorable for the most part. The gameplay is uniquely diverse, featuring a bunch of mini-games, side activities, collectibles and fun missions around the school or in the town areas. The game offers a very authentic, grounded school experience and it gets extra props for just how fun, charming and lived in it felt. I just loved Bully’s main loop and it was a joy to play it every single time. It’s one of my favorite games of the 2000s.

1. The Last of Us

And by far the best game I played all year is of course The Last of Us, which is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best video games of all time. Technically stupendous and beautifully designed, this is a fantastic game that features excellent action-adventure, shooter and stealth elements. The A.I. is fantastic and because you care for the characters, you feel especially drawn to its world throughout. This is an epic game that features truly impressive world building, an unforgettable story and iconic characters. It’s a classic that transcended the medium itself to create something that will stay with me for decades to come. I just wished that the television adaptation wasn’t as disappointing as it turned out to be.

Honorable Mentions:

Mario Kart 64 – Mario Kart 64 is the second best of the early Mario Kart games. It aged surprisingly well due to a great score, memorable tracks and fun gameplay.

Super Mario 3D Land – Not one Super Mario game ended up on my top ten this year because both games I played were disappointing. The final one that I played was even more familiar and lackluster while this one at least had an interesting visual presentation and strong level design.

Kid Icarus – This is a pretty good early Nintendo platformer – one that was extremely difficult in bosses, labyrinthine levels and annoying enemies, but one that was solidly designed, memorable in setting and featuring a potent mix of platforming, shooting and RPG genres.