The Best Games I Played in 2024

The 19th of December, 2024

2024 was a great gaming year for me, huh… It was a unique year because I played nearly 100% of my games this year on the Steam Deck. I ended up playing a lot of old stuff, but it was still super fun! Steam Replay is out now, so why not show off some of my favorites?

Lunacid

As anyone who knows me is well aware, I really enjoyed Lunacid this year. I even wrote a review! Lunacid is a game I highly recommend to you, dear reader! Though my playtime was shorter in this game than some of the others, I thought the experience was extremely high quality, and that’s why it’s number 1 on my list! Lunacid is simply a masterpiece and one of the finest games I've ever played. Full review here.

Fallout 4

I got this game the day it came out on Steam many moons ago. I played the first few hours of it and just kind of hated it and never touched it again. It took me years and years to finally try it again, and when I did this year, it finally clicked. To my credit, Fallout 4 starts off in a way that highlights all its flaws. It’s easy to imagine the fact that they gave the main character more presence and a voice would mean you have less agency over what you do, but that’s totally not the case. The game offers you a ton of meaningful choices throughout its runtime that make it a total blast. The gunplay is fun, and getting in huge firefights is a blast. I also love how they gamified the power armor, and it’s not just “best in slot” gear anymore. This game is totally killer, actually. I feel like people are too harsh on it.

No Man's Sky

I still remember cool 2015 nights watching the prerelease marketing for this game and getting super excited; I finally played it 9 years later in 2024, and it’s everything I hoped it would be back then and maybe a little more. No Man’s Sky is massive, and it’s very good at providing that sense of exploration and leaving your mark on the galaxy. Such a cool game with cool designs and lots of little fun things to do. I can’t believe it took me this long to play it, but what a blast it was!

Wrestling Empire

This game is a bit of an oddity and probably the hardest one on this list to openly recommend. Wrestling Empire is a very complex and robust game that is somehow made by a single man. It’s an N64-esque wrestling game with a very fun career mode and also a management mode. However, what really clicked with me, and the reason it’s my number 1 most played game this year, is how the single-player story mode is kind of radiantly generated. Because of this, the game allows you to create your own stories and rivalries; this makes it extremely hard to put down.

Psychopomp

This game is super arthouse and it’s short, but it left a huge impression on me this year. Extremely artful, drenched in aesthetic, and packed with obscured lore and meaning. Psychopomp is up there with the best games released this year, 100%. This one doesn’t even cost money, so it’s free to try it out. This one spent a lot of time bouncing around inside my brain. Highly Recommended.

Super Hot

I’ve actually owned this game for many years and started it up twice before in years past, but I finally played it this year! What a total joy it is! Super Hot is a short game, and that’s to its benefit in my opinion. They keep giving you new items as the game goes on that keep it from getting stale before the massive final fight where you have all the stuff. It’s classic good game design, and it hits a lot harder than its sequel that I don’t think I’d recommend as strongly as this first entry.

Borderlands 2

What the hell, this game is a blast. I can’t believe I skipped on this back in the day. Borderlands 2 is a joy to play from the beginning of the game all the way to the final boss fight. The guns and looting are insanely fun, and the combat is enjoyable too. Runs maxed out on the Steam Deck like a dream. Awesome little game I missed out on in the past. Glad to have rectified that this year.

Katamari

It’s another old one! I’ve played this one before, as I’m sure you have too, but it’s important to remind you all how special this game is! Katamari is like if you distilled pure joy into the form of a video game. This is a unique kind of game that only the 2000s could produce. It’s weird, and it’s so unique. Offered on modern platforms with a lovely remaster!

Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy

This is an even older one! These games are just as fun and full of joy as they were when I first played them in the 90s. A lot of the games I played in the past I’ve replayed over and over again, but somehow I avoided these for more than 20 years. As such, I’ve gotten a fresh perspective on these games. I think Crash 2 really shines as being a very well-designed game. Giving these games a fresh coat of paint for a modern audience and bundling them all together in one package was a wonderful idea from Activision.

And uh…

Skyrim and Oblivion (yes, really again, sorry) I know. Really, Oshy? You Re-Re-Re-Replayed Skyrim? Seriously? Yes… sadly, I really did re-re-re-replay Skyrim this year. It’s a blast like always. Oblivion goes here too because I somehow played like 50 hours of that this year too. I’ll leave this one brief because everyone has played Skyrim. It plays well on the Steam Deck though, and I quite liked the Anniversary edition content.

Well… Thats it! What were the best games you played this year? Maybe I should have played some new games?