Every Game I Played in 2024, Reviewed in One Sentence Each
Islands of Insight was my first game of the year and it’s already sitting as one of my all-time favorite with puzzle-focused gameplay, 3D platforming elements and fantastic flying abilities.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has a unique character swapping element mid-combat and an emotional story at its heart, but once those thing wear off, it doesn’t seem to add much to the RPG genre.
Hawked is a fun extraction looter shooter with stylized graphics, but ultimately I don’t think it shook up the genre nearly as much as I’d hoped it would.
Ereban Shadow Legacy is a ridiculously fun 3D platformer with stealth elements and a very unique “shadow” gameplay mechanic that I could not stop talking about for weeks.
Palworld is absolutely one of my most memorable gaming experiences of 2024, but as with most survival crafting games, I eventually found myself feeling like it was a chore.
A Juggler’s Tale is one of the most intriguing puzzle platformers I’ve ever played with an unexpected story and fantastic if you’re looking for a 3-4 hour game.
Planet Crafter delivers on its name by providing an exciting open world survival crafting game that’s bound to keep you hooked…until it starts to feel like a chore, a common feeling in the genre.
Oddsparks is an adorable automation base builder that deserves more love if you’re into the genre.
The Rogue Prince of Persia often felt like a reskin of Dead Cells, for better or worse, but I’m never going to complain about getting more Prince of Persia games.
KoroNeko is an adorable puzzle game made by an Arab studio that got me stumped multiple times but is hard not to love despite its challenges.
The Pathless is everything I should love about a videogame—3D platformer, open world, huge exploration, fast movement—but the novelty of it all wore off eventually, potentially because the movement might be a little too fast for a videogame.
Bury Me, My Love gutted me from start to finish with its story about a Syrian refugee and her husband—and I would let it destroy me again.
Chained Together is the stupidest game I’ve ever played, but possibly the most fun I’ve had playing a “floor is lava” game with friends.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom might not be everyone’s cup of tea if you don’t get used to the combat, but the game is one of the most creative things Nintendo has ever released.
SCHiM is unique and intriguing on paper, but kind of fell apart for me after a few levels with its confusing level design once the novelty of the shadow mechanic wore off.
Arranger: A Role-Playing Adventure offers one of the most unique gameplay experiences I’ve ever played by pushing tiles across a board to unlock areas, solve puzzles and even defeat enemies.
The First Descendant wants to be Destiny but without any of the fun.
Creatures of Ava combines Pokemon-style mechanics with stylized art, a huge map to explore and super fun mechanics in a well-told story; absolutely the most underrated game on this list.
Slash Quest lets you control a sword instead of a character and the result is a game that’s fun, unique and joyful.
Caravan SandWitch offers so much to explore with a stylized art style and dozens of puzzles to solve.
Luma Island got me hooked for weeks with its unique twist on farming sim games by adding caves and dungeons, let alone a truly enormous map to explore.
Night Stones filled the Zelda-shaped hole in my heart with lots of dungeons, exploration and abilities but the game’s runtime felt much too short at just under 4 hours.
Marvel Rivals is great if you love the genre and don’t want to play Overwatch.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game me the Xbox Uncharted game I never knew I needed in my life.
Infinity Nikki is everything I love and hate about videogames: 3D platforming, open world, unlocking abilities and exploration combined with gacha elements, anime and fashion.
