December gave way to January, the stock of tangerines on the table remains at a consistently high level – by all indications, it’s time to take stock. In this holiday rush, it’s easy to miss the games that came out at the very end of the year, and forget those that appeared on digital shelves ten or eleven months ago. But we tried, as far as possible, not to deprive anyone of attention – for this, as usual, we divided the results into two components: 3DNews readers chose their game of the year, the editors chose theirs. And let no one leave offended!
⇡#Readers’ Choice
Voting among 3DNews readers for the title of the best game of the year lasted from December 12 to 19. You could choose only one option, vote for only one, the very best, and to maintain the intrigue, we made the voting secret. Who do you think won? The results are below.
Commenting here will only spoil it. Well, this is ours, ours! And no events in the world will change this. The dubious technical condition at release did not alienate the masses either – after all, the first “stalker” was also far from ideal, but further support and a close-knit fan community made it the game it was originally supposed to be. Probably, “Heart of Chernobyl” will repeat this path. In the meantime, let’s just say that the game of the year according to 3DNews readers was S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl!
Image Source: Steam Community by RockoTrex
⇡#Editor’s Choice
Throughout the year, we have been telling you about the most interesting releases. It’s impossible to embrace the immensity, but we tried to cover as much as possible – you can find all our reviews of this year’s releases by following the link. And below we invite you to take a look at the past 2024 “from the first person” of our gaming editorial staff.
In addition to each author’s personal top 5, there is also an “Honorable Mention”. This item does not in any way affect the choice of game of the year and is not involved in voting – it is just a game or games (not necessarily released in 2024) that the author, for one reason or another, wanted to note.
Let’s move on to the author’s tops, and then we will count the points and determine the winner.
Alexander Babulin
Back in October, I simply didn’t understand which games I should include in my top five. There are several reasons for this – I’ll mention one of them a little lower, the other is that I haven’t come across any completely unsuccessful works, but I haven’t come across any that really resonate with me. But in the middle of autumn, as they say, it was flooded.
First, I got to the second project of the creators of the cold beauty GRIS – and this time I liked their design project, which by chance became a game, even more. It seems to be more accessible, but at the same time it carries a rather deep thought and, in addition, is not devoid of a sense of flow and is still divinely handsome. Neva immediately soared to first place.
Then, quite belatedly, I got to the thriller Still Wakes The Deep from one of my favorite studios, The Chinese Room (Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture is definitely my favorite walking simulator, and what can I say, the game is one of my favorites in general) . Without Jessica Curry and her magical music, after a rather long crisis, I wasn’t sure that they were in good shape. But nevertheless, the story of a hard worker from an oil platform, absorbed by another, turned out to be surprisingly poignant and superbly written – we rarely meet such bright characters, literally indicated by a dotted line.
Towards the end of the year Death of the Reprobate was released, the finishing touch to Joe Richardson’s wonderful triptych (Four Last Things, The Procession to Calvary). I didn’t see anything new in it and I was very happy about it – it’s still homerically funny. Yes, this game is not as inventive and original as Thank Goodness You’re Here!, but for me, it’s simply funnier.
I couldn’t help but put Indika in the top five, a game that for me became a victim of high expectations. This is both a great disappointment and a great joy too – nevertheless, along with the primitive anti-religious pathos and understatement, there is a lot in it that is not found anywhere else (at least thematically); This is a unique work for the gaming industry, and in December I remember it more with tenderness than with pain.
And finally, in November I got to Harold Halibut, which was released back in the spring – and Neva was forced to give up the top spot. This story of a small, extra person will definitely repeat the fate of its hero – with all the interesting history of ten years of development, plasticine animation and other news reasons, it turned out to be forgotten as if immediately after its release. And at the same time, she is doomed to the fact that after 10-15 years someone will “find” her and say – listen, guys, we missed a real diamond in 2024. Well, it’s like we didn’t miss it – Harold Halibut is a great game, with an outstanding narrative, characters written with great love, with unique, of course, graphics – and absolutely solid.
Honorable Mention: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Silent Hill 2. Larian Studio’s cyclopean creation absorbed me for almost the entire year, leaving almost no loopholes for other games – yes, it’s my own fault (I just have very little time for games in general), but the scale of BG3 is impressive. At the same time, I can’t say that it will even be included in the top five of my favorite RPGs – as a result, it seems both very rich and as if devoid of any focus. Full of colorful characters, but without a single one worthy of true love. Huge, but lacking any real epicness. It eats you up with its detail, and you simply get tired of playing it. As of the end of 2024, I still haven’t finished it, stopping a couple of steps from the finale. And I’m not sure that I will take these steps. Well, as for Silent Hill 2, this is my short “fie” to the idea of putting remakes in the final tops. Yes, this is an absolutely great game, yes, Bloober Team did everything right, but that’s the whole point – this is the same Silent Hill 2, I returned to it and realized that after 20 years I remember almost everything here, even the scenery arranged in a different order. Thank you, of course, but this is the best game of 2001, and not of 2024.
Ivan Byshonkov
If someone said that in 2024 my favorite thing would be a mixture of Death Stranding, Stalker and a car mechanic simulator, then I would laugh. However, no one was able to dislodge Pacific Drive, which was released back in February, from first place. This is a unique, albeit with its own shortcomings, game, which, thanks to a bunch of interconnected systems, constantly generates crazy situations from which you need to somehow get out. It’s a lot of fun to drive, to wade through various kinds of anomalies deeper and deeper into the Zone – even more so, and it seems that no one has ever done such detailed interaction with a car.
Harold Halibut is easily one of the best narrative projects of all time. The cutest, beautifully written characters, a gorgeous melancholic plot, the general atmosphere – everything was done at the highest level. If playing through Disco Elysium is more like reading a book, then “Harold” is like watching a sad, touching puppet film.
I’ll probably never see a worthy successor to Tactics Ogre/Final Fantasy Tactics, but Unicorn Overlord quietly ate up more than a hundred hours, turning out to be a very enjoyable TRPG with a vibrant visual style. Kunitsu-Gami should be praised for its unusual attempt to mix action and strategy. And although there is very little strategy here, it turned out to be so much fun that I deleted the game only after receiving all the “achievements.” Finally, I didn’t expect anything at all from Stellar Blade: it was just interesting to see what the mobile NIKKE developers were capable of on large platforms, and, as it turned out, a lot. In the action games, the plot, as expected, is purely for show, but everything else – from the world design and EVE itself to the combat system – the studio did at an unexpectedly decent level.
Honorable Mention: The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. I’ll be a little dishonest and name two games that are in no way inferior to each other and are just a millimeter away from getting into the top. Trails – because it was released in Japan three years ago and only got out of it in 2024, and the eighth “Yakuza” (I just can’t get used to the new name of the series), although excellent, does not surprise as much as the seventh part in due time. However, both projects offer cool combat systems, strong storytelling and, which is very important for an RPG, wonderful, lively heroes. In addition, The Legend of Heroes shows that an exciting adventure does not require a cosmic budget, a useless open world and dozens of towers (warm greetings to the disappointing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth). Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to get to Metaphor: ReFantazio yet, but even without it, the year turned out to be very successful for JRPGs, which, as a longtime fan of the genre, makes me happy.
Alexey Likhachev
It’s hard to imagine how dull this gaming year would have been if developers from Japan and China hadn’t come to the rescue. Something happened to the Western gaming industry, which almost entirely gave way to Eastern game development. And we’re not even talking about Nintendo – apart from Zelda, which was somehow forgotten too quickly, even the Big N hasn’t released practically anything significant. But other teams tried their best, including those from whom such high quality was not expected.
I mean, of course, the creators of Black Myth: Wukong. Although in the review I gave the game a more or less “objective” nine, for me this game was almost a ten – at least that’s how I presented it and recommended it to everyone I knew (and didn’t even hear a single complaint a week later!) . Somehow, everything combines too perfectly: the graphics, the design, the combat system, and the frequency of encounters with bosses. It was interesting to explore everything, fight with everyone, look for secrets and spend sleepless nights in the game.
Experienced teams also did not disappoint this year – for example, the authors of Metaphor: ReFantazio added another excellent series with a superbly written universe to their portfolio. We seemed to be waiting for a new “Persona”, being distracted all these years by all sorts of remakes and re-releases, but it turned out that they were preparing something even better for us. This game is also very close to ideal, but it still has some rough edges.
But the top 3 of my list began to form a long time ago. Back in April, I realized that nothing better than Harold Halibut would come out before the New Year. My colleagues will probably describe all its advantages here better than me – I already did this in a review, which I recently re-read and consider very successful. Also, at the beginning of the year, it was obvious that Balatro would definitely be on my list – a perfect example of the fact that everything ingenious is simple. Well, Astro Bot closes the top three – a fantastic platformer that gives emotions that I previously only received from three-dimensional Super Mario. A very strong top three, but I hope that next year compiling such a list will be at least a little more difficult. And judging by the release calendar, this will most likely happen.
Honorable Mention: Zenless Zone Zero and Infinity Nikki. Yes, gacha games sucked me in irrevocably. No, I haven’t donated yet. Yes, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with each update.
Mila Ponomareva
We may not have been inundated with an avalanche of games like last year, but it still wouldn’t be possible to say that 2024 was quiet: here are the long-awaited returns of long-standing game series, and sudden indie hits, and amazing DLC, and entire three notable projects about team shooting of beetles. And there are also a lot of scandals, dramas and sudden closures of everyone’s favorite studios.
All of a sudden, I was seriously captivated by the fresh “witchcraft”: the peppy campaign-attraction entertained me, and the network part confidently pulled me in – an extremely frisky and cheerful dopamine locomotive, in which I spent a couple of dozen hours with great pleasure. If you, like me, haven’t touched Call of Duty for a long time, but miss its signature stupidly pretentious atmosphere, then now is perhaps the best time to jump into the series again.
It’s worth jumping into another popular series – Tekken! The eighth part of the famous fighting game can quite rightly be called not only the best entry into the series, but also, perhaps, the best that the massacre genre has to offer today. Fantastically spectacular, incredibly addictive, insanely dynamic and superbly polished in every aspect, Tekken 8 has set the bar for quality!
The highest standard of quality was also set by Songs of Conquest, which came out of early access this year, giving fans of strategies in the spirit of “Heroes III” one of the most exciting, thoughtful and deep representatives of the genre, in which you can easily get lost for hundreds of hours. And, yes, playing it with friends is a special nostalgic joy!
There was joy on the street for Souls fans too! Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree caused quite a stir with its impenetrable bosses and brutal difficulty. However, it was much more difficult to understand the plan of the master Miyazaki, who forced players to seek a path to victory through reconciliation with their helplessness in the face of incredibly tough opponents.
Where you definitely won’t meet “sweaty” opponents is in Balatro. Hypnotic and unpredictable, but incredibly logical and understandable Game in the most fundamental meaning of the word! The essence of polished and balanced gameplay, providing the purest experience of exciting experimentation and situational planning. It’s easy and interesting to play for the first time, it’s easy to return to after a month’s break, it’s perfect for both an enthusiastic binge playthrough and a relaxing meditative break with a podcast or video. A unique project worthy of all the high ratings, awards and nominations given to it!
Honorable mention: Right at the end of the year, I managed to play a little bit of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and although I have not yet progressed beyond the first act, I am ready to recommend the project to all connoisseurs of immersive simulators and adventure games. And in retrospect of the whole year, I was fascinated by projects from early access and playtest. We are, of course, talking about Hades 2 and Deadlock. Both projects change and develop right before our eyes, have incredibly addictive gameplay and bring many original discoveries to their genres. I’m looking forward to their release, hopefully in 2025!
Dmitry Rud
The past gaming year was replete with ups and downs, but in 2024, fans of interactive entertainment were invariably pleased with Japanese and independent developers (just look at the top releases according to Metacritic), so it’s not surprising that it was their projects that were among the leaders in my personal rating.
The laconic action platformer Neva from the creators of GRIS amazed me with its watercolor beauty and did not leave me indifferent (even though I am a cat lover). The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree addon impressed with its epic bosses and majestic locations, although next time I would like to see something more original.
The remake of Persona 3 – Persona 3 Reload – in the “best” traditions of Atlus did not become the most complete version of the iconic game for the series. Nevertheless, the new graphics are pleasing to the eye, battles and interactions with friends are no worse than in 2006, and the soundtrack lingered in the playlist for many months after completion.
The unfinished adventure Harold Halibut first of all captivates with its delightful visual style, and then drags you down to the bottom of the alien ocean with a sincere story and heartfelt music – you don’t want to part with the residents of Fedora-1 even after the final credits.
Metaphor: ReFantazio was considered a Persona clone before its release, but in reality Atlus has prepared an explosive mixture of familiar and new mechanics with a role-playing epic about saving a fantasy country and the power of fantasy. Nothing more exciting (three playthroughs wouldn’t let me lie) came out for me in 2024.
Honorable Mention: It Takes Two. After three years of persuasion, my wife finally agreed to play what critics and gamers say is the best cooperative game of recent years. And although the Hazelight Studios project did not reach the heights promised by the reviews in our eyes, it gave us plenty of impressions.
⇡#Vladimir Sayenko
Personally, I didn’t remember many games this year, and due to lack of time, I completely missed some interesting projects. However, a few still deserve attention. Here’s my top 5.
In first place is Tekken 8. Fighting games have long been a way for me to relax, and the new part of Tekken lived up to expectations. The graphics have stepped forward, the combat has become deeper, and your favorite characters have learned new techniques. However, it is difficult to call the game ideal – not all changes in mechanics benefited the balance. Still, this is the best fighting game of the year.
In second place is Frostpunk 2. The continuation of one of the most atmospheric city-planning games was a success. Complex moral choices, struggle for resources and a dark atmosphere make every gaming session unforgettable. However, the new oil production system adds complexity and the game feels congested at times. Nevertheless, this is a worthy development of the ideas of its predecessor.
Dr. Jones took third place. Overall the game met my expectations. It has everything that Indies are loved for: exotic locations, puzzles and action. True, some missions are drawn out, and the dynamics sags in places. But for fans of the series, this is a great way to reconnect with the familiar spirit of adventure.
Fourth place – Silent Hill 2. The remake of the cult horror film made a mixed impression. On the one hand, the graphics and atmosphere are excellent, on the other hand, some plot changes raise questions. The original still feels stronger, but for those unfamiliar with it, this is a good opportunity to discover a legend of the genre.
Age of Mythology: Retold closes the top. I enjoyed returning to the world of myths and epic battles. The updated graphics are pleasing to the eye, and the gameplay remains as exciting as in the classic version. However, there are no fundamental changes – it is more of a remaster than a full-fledged remake. I would like to see something more fresh.
Honorable Mention: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It’s hard not to note the release of such a highly anticipated game. The atmosphere of the Zone and good shooting are captivating, but current technical problems greatly spoil the impression. I wouldn’t recommend playing it now – it’s better to wait for patches with fixes and optimizations.
To sum it up: 2024 was not the most impressive year. There are successful projects, but many games disappointed me or passed me by. I hope that next year we will see more bright and memorable releases.
Artem Terekhov
Many releases from the past year were left behind, which I hope I’ll get to later: Age of Mythology: Retold, Black Myth: Wukong, Songs of Conquest, the completion of Joe Richardson’s absurd triptych—it’s impossible to list them all. And Elden Ring is mainly to blame for this. I just wanted to take a look at the expansion, but my character had already missed the required entry point and ended up in NG+, so I had to start over… And before I knew it, I was back in the nets of Between-Earth, and when I finally got to Shadow of the Erdtree and finished with it, the counter on Steam mercilessly added another hundred and fifty hours to the total time in the game. I don’t regret anything, but Miyazaki should be banned from making “souls” in the open world, it’s an unacceptable waste of time!
Against the backdrop of such revelry, three hours of Thank Goodness You’re Here! – just a second flash. And this is the most concentrated, funny and fun three hours spent playing games this year. Things have been bad for a long time with pure comedies on the big screen, and interactive entertainment is also not great, so give it a try, a good mood is guaranteed.
Balatro turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I’m not a big fan of poker, but I won’t pass up a good card roguelike – this one at first seemed, to put it mildly, not very good. Balatro seems unfriendly, but the further you go, the better its crazy combinatorics are revealed. A real gift for fans of the genre – it’s even surprising that this is the work of one person!
I didn’t expect anything at all from Indiana Jones and the Great Circle because I didn’t want to be disappointed. In the end, yes, it has shortcomings, which Denis Shchennikov very accurately outlined in his review. But, in my opinion, MachineGames managed to walk on very thin ice – to create an exciting and vibrant adventure that perfectly complemented the Indiana Jones universe, but at the same time has its own personality, its own pace and approach to gameplay, which sets it apart from the host of similar high-budget releases tailored to the same “proven” and “safe” formulas. It would be better if the publisher promoted the release using proven and safe methods, but no – the game was quietly released at the end of the year, when all the awards had already been awarded, the top lists had been compiled, and the public’s attention was focused on anything but this release. It’s a shame if an excellent game fails because of this, and the Swedish studio goes around the world. Even in our editorial top, Great Circle could have been higher, but not everyone had time to get acquainted with it.
But the main surprise of the year for me was Harold Halibut – a game without gameplay as such (I am against this!), with the need to often wander around the same locations (if I could shorten these errands, it would not have lost anything for me). But these quibbles are instantly crushed by the boulder of a sincere and heartfelt story about a little man with a big heart. Just play – after that you will hardly want to look for any shortcomings and scold.
Denis Shchennikov
Those projects that we managed to try out right away, rather than being thrown into the backlog until better times, have fully justified themselves. I have been closely following the work of Red Candle Games since its debut Detention. Nine Sols became the first game for the team with an emphasis on the gameplay itself – and the first time it turned out to be one of the best Metroidvanias of the five-year period, with a bright style and fast-paced battles. And the colorful characters with an intriguing story are not lost in the gameplay. The game left the most vivid impressions.
Along with the exciting anticipation, the Silent Hill 2 update, entrusted to Bloober Team, caused a little concern. And the Poles, for whom the combat system was also new, did an excellent job of reimagining the cult classic. MachineGames did not disappoint either, giving Indiana Jones a worthy adventure. To the credit of the authors, they managed to preserve the recognizable adventurous spirit of the series without copying Uncharted. Well, the wizards from Nomada Studio once again delighted us with a bewitching picture, wonderful music and a sensual atmosphere – Neva is just as enchanting as Gris.
Harold Halibut stands apart. Many years of development in an attempt to create the game of dreams were not in vain. However, there is little actual play here – this is, first of all, a story about a man and his search: the search for meaning, calling, his place in the world. Despite the fact that these questions are close to absolutely everyone, and despite the fact that video games rarely address them, Harold Halibut is still not a game for everyone. To get into it, you need a certain life experience and a special mood. And it hit me right in the heart.
⇡#Game of the Year
The mechanism for choosing “Game of the Year” by our editors has not changed for many years. First place in the personal top is awarded five points, second place is awarded four, and so on, and then the points scored by each game are summed up. If several candidates for leadership have the same number of points, then advantage is given to the one who took more first places in the top.
The results are below.
Sometimes we are unanimous, sometimes the list is extensive and very diverse, as this year. We all love different things, play different games – in total there are already 25 projects in our tops this year. But Harold Halibut became a common point of resonance and stormed into first place in the editorial vote by a huge margin. This is one of the most underrated and undeservedly ignored releases, but for the editors of 3DNews, Harold Halibut is the main game of the year. We sincerely congratulate the Slow Bros team!
And to you, dear readers, we wish you peace of mind and exceptionally good games in the coming 2025. And if sadness comes, let it only be light, like Harold Khalibut. Happy New Year!
Image source: Steam Community by GoblinsOfHallstatt
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