The best video games of 2024

Layoffs, the closure of studios and the cancellation of projects have marked a 2024 that has been especially hard on the video game sector. The machinery of this cultural industry has continued to operate at full capacity, and proof of this is that a multitude of interesting titles have been launched, but at the same time many of the negative trends that began to manifest have been maintained and even accentuated. after the pandemic.

Paradoxically, at a time when there is a greater supply of video games, less variety of them is played. Ironically, the creators of acclaimed titles have seen their development studios dismantled for failing to achieve expected sales.

This 2024 games have been up to par, but this creative and multi-billion dollar industry still has to put things in place. Once again, these games and the human teams behind them have been the positive side of a sector that is going through hectic times.

As is tradition, and to celebrate some of this year’s great titles, below we offer a selection – in strict alphabetical order – with our ten favorites.

Animal Well

‘Animal Well’ from American developer Billy Basso

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch

At a time when the most normal thing in the world is for a game to take up several dozen Gigs, it is surprising that one of the best titles of 2024 requires only 33 Megabytes to blow your mind. That’s what happens with Animal Wella small yet colossal jumping and exploration game set in a mysterious underground world. Developed alone by American programmer Billy Basso, this elegant “metroidvania” stands out for its setting, but stands out for everything it hides in plain sight.

AstroBot

Platform: PlayStation 5

Reaching all audiences, from children to adults, has great merit, and this is one of the greatness of the magnificent AstroBot. This nice 3D platformer developed by the Japanese studio Team Asobi is an ode to creativity and fun, but it is also the blow to the table of a way of creating video games, one that thinks about the player more than monetization. During the last edition of The Game Awards, it won the well-deserved award for the best video game of 2024.

helldivers 2

Platforms: PC and PlayStation 5

Nobody gave a dime for helldivers 2; until it came and devastated. This cooperative multiplayer title asks players to play elite soldiers who must join forces to defend humanity from alien hordes in intense, tactical combat. Inspired by the cult film Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997), the game uses satire to mock militarism and to represent the so-called “Superdemocracy”, that is, a totalitarian regime disguised as a democratic ideal.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Platforms: PC and Xbox Series

The last big surprise of the year has been this new adventure for the most iconic archaeologist in fiction. The new Indiana Jones video game not only does justice to the original film trilogy – in fact, it is set between the lost ark and The last crusade– but it perfectly captures the spirit of the character. Thanks to its use of the first person, the player not only controls Indy, but also puts himself completely in his shoes to explore scenarios recreated with a great level of detail. Puzzles and investigation predominate, but this does not prevent there from also being moments of action (and comedy).

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch

Although it has gone somewhat unnoticed, this twisted puzzle game set in an old mansion has been another of the great surprises of 2024. Its development has been carried out by the Swedish studio Simogo, responsible for the sensational Sayonara Wild Heartswho on this occasion present an intriguing story of atmosphere between noir and surreal. Of course, those people who want to play it can now prepare a pen and notebook, because its logic puzzles are not only a challenge, but are a mechanism in which all the pieces fit together perfectly.

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series

That the fantasy genre bases much of its appeal on the way it evokes and reinterprets real-world situations and problems is by no means new; However, it shines especially in Metaphor: ReFantazio. This new fictional world created by the Japanese developer Atlus, known for the Persona saga, addresses topics such as inequality, racism, the sense of identity, corruption or collective responsibility, and does so within the context of a role-playing game. Japanese style, with anime aesthetics and dozens of hours long. Special mention for its extraordinary soundtrack, the work of Shoji Meguro.

Snow

Neva', video game by Conrad Roset — ‘Neva’ by Barcelona team Nomada Studio

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch

Art, gameplay and narrative intermingle in Snowthe second game from the Barcelona team Nomada Studio. A warrior and a wolf are the protagonists of this emotional story that enters the eyes thanks to the evocative artistic direction of Conrad Roset, but that also instantly connects with the player thanks to a gamefeel perfectly measured. Such universal themes as parenting, love or loneliness are addressed here through such direct, video game language as jumping, puzzles and sword blows.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch

Thirty-five years after the first and iconic Prince of Persiathis saga inspired by the stories of Arabian Nights returns with an update that is as daring as it is satisfactory. The new adventure maintains the two classic dimensions, but leaves behind the limitations of the titles of yesteryear to embrace a non-linear structure, which imposes its labyrinthine world, a gigantic setting to explore freely and in which to get lost for more than twenty hours. But it doesn’t end there, and if all these years of evolution of the interactive medium have been useful for anything, it is so that the stories are not reduced to saving the Sultan’s daughter from the clutches of an evil vizier. The Lost Crown It is the best game that Ubisoft has produced in recent years.

Silent Hill 2

Platforms: PC and PlayStation 5

Enter the foggy streets of Silent Hill 2 It is one of the most memorable experiences that can be had with a controller in your hands. It was in 2001, when the Japanese Konami published the original version of this psychological horror game, and it is more than twenty years later, thanks to the remake with which the Polish studio Bloober Team has updated this great classic of the interactive medium. Based on the original title, the visual section has been completely renewed and, although there will always be those who prefer the look of the classic version, the new installment not only offers settings and characters with a great level of detail, but has also managed to find the balance between respect for the original art direction and an approach to both graphics and gameplay in line with current times.

Thanks Goodness You’re Here

'Thank Goodness You're Here!' by the British duo Coal Supper — ‘Thank Goodness You’re Here!’ by the British duo Coal Supper

Platforms: PC, Mac and Nintendo Switch

A surreal, hilarious and absurdly British comedy. That’s how it is Thanks Goodness You’re Herea kind of graphic adventure that puts the player in the shoes of a traveling salesman who arrives in a town in the north of England. Developed by Coal Supper, the duo formed by Will Todd and James Carbutt, the game stands out for its detailed visuals, which may remind you of a cartoon series, but above all it becomes a memorable experience thanks to the constant gags starring by the locals eager to entrust the protagonist with all kinds of crazy assignments.

Honorable mentions:

When it comes to making this type of list, it is always inevitable that some games will be left out by the skin of their teeth. Thus, our honorable mentions would include titles such as the charismatic Final Fantasy VII Rebirthwhich exemplifies a type of overproduction that is at risk of disappearing; the creative UFO 50which is the biggest ode to the classic video game we’ve seen in years; the addictive Balatroperhaps the great phenomenon of the year within – although we have not been able to get hooked –; the crazy one Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealthwhich brings together the two great protagonists of this SEGA franchise; or the imaginative The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomwhich not only surprises with a change of protagonist, but also with an interesting twist in gameplay.