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If pushed, I’d describe my 2024 gaming habits as fluency, but that’s actually a lie. All my favorite games of the year are pretty much the same: they’re all great. Unfortunately, the realities of sharing website space with multiple corrections didn’t all make it to this year’s advent calendar.
“We’ll have to box it too,” Graham asks, with a mince pie in one hand and a ranch hand in the other, occasionally kneading the pie crust, which he says creates an impervious texture. At first I looked into another holiday tradition, which gave me another chance to get both incredibly accurate as far as I was concerned And Light to moderate entertainment.
Alan Wake 2: The Lake House
I’m so glad I waited as long as I did to play Alan Wake 2Because Remedy’s Surreal Multimedia Masterpiece bakes the two expansions into the base game, they feel like an integral part of it. The first DLC, Night Springs, is a trio of episodes that you’ll find on TV stations at certain points in the story – off-kilter comedic vignettes that break up the darkness nicely.
But what really struck me was The Lake House – a chance to explore bureaucratic architecture in a satirical, compulsive and satirical way with Alan Wake 2 – and I think it’s even more successful – the existential horror tunes. Playing as Agent Kieran Estevez, you’ll follow a warning sign to an FBC facility near Cauldron Lake, which is a… healing waste. But like, the best and most innovative solution tea. The Lake House is funny and weird and fun in all the ways you’d expect, but it’s also powerful in its contempt for the targets it chooses to insult. I’m gagging here to avoid spoilers, but I wrote it More about this here.
This being one of my picks of the year may be more about how much I enjoyed Allen Walk 2, but what is ‘Nick Robel’ if not a script to do anything about? The hell does he want? Please play Alan Wake 2. It’s a triple-budget indie and looks like something that shouldn’t be allowed to exist. If he can’t get his money back, it’s because Remedy has done too much fun to summarize marketing material of any length.
Total War: Warhammer III Thrones of Decay
Thrones of Decay It’s a brilliant expansion in itself, but it stands out to me because it marks where it’s at Total War: Warhammer 3 It’s starting to feel real-life – as the conversation around the game takes on an optimistic note after a long, difficult period. The Chaos Dwarf expansion was great, but this one here felt too respectable. The leading spirits for the release felt high on both the creative assembly and the community, and to top it all off, the actual expansion was staggering.
The headliners of the DLC may be Nurgle’s warlord Tamurkahn and dragon-riding death mage Elspeth Von Draken, but for me, Malakai, the mad dwarf engineer, steals the show. Taking cues from the Gotrek and Felix novels, team up with the pair to complete quests on the map and earn tons of cool bombs as rewards. It’s probably the most overtly story-heavy campaign in the trilogy so far, but that’s perfectly balanced with sandbox chaos where no element feels undercooked.
Elsewhere, Tamurkan offers crushing speed and unique heroes, and Elspeth brings a chance to return to the Empire – alongside the first Lord’s brief hiatus, 76% of people play Carl Franz when they buy a new expansion. Oh, and Franz got himself some powerful new abilities as well, making Festus/Kazrak/Vlad/Drycha able to manage the Superbowl in a big way.
At this point I’m invested in the game so it will be a rare year for that expansion to pass is not One of my favorites. But even at that, Thrones Of Decay was a fantastic release that marked a true high point for the game.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Something magical happened during this year’s Game Awards, when in the midst of all Geoff’s skits Star Homing, saccharine, layoff-advertisement-mageddon was trying to frame an accurate critique of the Muppet media. In fact, there were several good announcements, but the proof Final Fantasy VII Rebirth at last Coming to PC It was especially timely, because it meant I could write about it here. it’s good! Because it’s awesome.
Awesome new battle system aside, Final Fantasy VII Remake In any meaningful sense, it always felt more like a job to look forward to. But if it was a party, it was reserved. The end of the year office social where no one really knows each other and everyone stands awkwardly on edge nodding their heads to Coldplay. But Rebirth is absolute rage. Claude is scanning the donkey photos on the photocopier. Barrett is arm-wrestling Kate Sit and Sid at the same time. Yuffie is slurping lines of material from the chocobo’s beak. It’s so expansive and joyous that it risks collapsing under the weight of its own grandeur, and yet it’s built on such solid combat, exploration, and sidequest fundamentals that it stays upright all the way through.
I am a symbol Final Fantasy 7 in many ways. I can’t even listen to half the songs on the soundtrack without hearing the opening notes. But Rebirth reminded me that the developers feel exactly the same way I do. Again: celebration. Like the latest Silent Hill 2 The sense that all who worked on Rebirth did not take the gravity of their task lightly is palpable and powerful. Unlike Silent Hill 2, the team here aren’t afraid to mess with the classics in a way that allows Rebirth to have its own identity. As a complete, standalone story, I’m not sure it would necessarily work; It’s a very mediocre chapter. But as a complete game, it’s one of the most beautiful and engaging RPGs I’ve ever played. I haven’t smiled that much in years.
