It’s
that
time
of
the
year
yet
again,
a
time
to
reflect
and
write
mostly
pointless
lists
because
they’re
fun.
Yup,
it’s
my
top
5
games
of
2024,
ranked
based
on
absolutely
no
scientific
criteria.

I
admit,
though,
that
I
didn’t
play
as
much
as
I
wanted
to
this
year
and
missed
out
on
quite
a
few
big
hitters.
So
when
I
was
browsing
back
through
the
games
I
have
reviewed
and
played
this
year,
it
felt
lacking.
I
did
play
a
number
of
older
titles,
but
I’m
keeping
this
list
strictly
to
games
released
this
year.

So
without
further
ado,
here’s
the
top
5
games
of
2024
that
I
enjoyed
the
most
in
no
particuilar
order.

Warhammer
40k:
Space
Marine
2

Picking
up
a
Warhammer
branded
videogame
can
be
like
flipping
a
coin,
except
one
side
is
shiny
and
golden
and
the
other
side
is
covered
in
monkey
pop
and
HIV.
But
by
the
Emperor,
Space
Marine
2
is
one
of
the
best
licensed
Warhammer
games,
right
up
there
with
the
likes
of
Dawn
of
War,
and
I’m
angry
at
myself
for
not
reviewing
it.

Basically,
you’re
a
human-shaped
tank,
a
mountain
of
a
genetically
modified
super-human
clad
in
massive
armour
that
lets
you
run
straight
through
lesser
beings
in
a
shower
of
gore.
Even
walking
feels
satisfying
because
of
the
sense
of
weight
and
power
that
the
developers
have
imbued
Titus
with.
Every
step
feels
like
a
seismic
event.

That
sense
of
powers
carries
through
to
the
meaty
combat
where
thousands
of
angry
little
Tyranid
burst
out
of
every
corner
of
the
level
and
swarm
over
you
like
the
world’s
ugliest
tsunami.
But
you
can
wade
through
the
mass
of
flesh,
swinging
a
chain
sword
like
the
wrath
of
God
made
manifest
in
battle
armour
and
pure
spite.
It
just
feels
so
right.
The
thump,
thump,
thump
of
your
boltgun
is
the
icing
on
the
blood-flavoured
cake.

Really,
the
game’s
biggest
strength
is
also
probably
the
reason
some
people
won’t
like
it
–
Space
Marine
2
feels
a
lot
like
an
Xbox
360
game
that’s
been
transported
through
time.
It’s
a
straightforward
action
game
with
minimal
bells
and
whistles,
and
sometimes
that
can
leave
it
feeling
a
bit
archaic
or
lacking
in
polish.
Linear
levels
with
little
room
to
move
around,
some
rough
transitions
and
so
on
can
make
it
seem
like
the
game
is
caught
in
a
time
warp.

But
it’s
those
things
that
make
it
so
enjoyable
to
me.
It’s
a
balls-to-the-wall
shooter,
unafraid
to
be
exactly
what
is:
simple,
fun,
uncomplicated
double-A
action
that
revels
in
the
comedic
seriousness
of
the
Warhammer
40k
universe.

Astro
Bot

Read
my
review
of
Atro
Bot

When
I
was
a
kid
I
loved
wholesome
stories
where
right
and
wrong
were
clearly
divided,
where
good
would
ultimately
triumph,
love
would
conquer
all
and
everything
was
colourful
and
fun.
As
I
grew
into
a
teenager
and
then
into
an
adult,
I
craved
what
I
deemed
“mature”
stories
where
right
and
wrong
were
not
so
clear,
where
morality
was
muddied,
characters
were
complex
and
imperfect,
and
good
didn’t
always
win
the
day.
Now,
though,
at
the
ripe
old
age
of
32,
I
find
myself
going
back
to
those
happier,
simpler
experiences.
We
live
in
a
world
we
talk
all
the
time
but
never
communicate,
where
right
and
wrong
aren’t
very
clear,
where
everyone
needs
to
have
an
opinion
on
everything
and
entire
friendships
and
families
must
be
destroyed
based
on
them.
It’s
nice
to
go
back
to
something
wholesome,
happy
and
pure.

Pure.
That’s
a
good
word
for
Astro
Bot.
It
doesn’t
care
about
your
politics,
your
religion,
your
creed,
your
race,
your
gender
identity
or
your
opinion
on
whatever
celebrity
bullshit
is
currently
blowing
up
social
media.
It
just
wants
you
to
have
fun,
and
it
does
that
through
rich,
vibrant
graphics,
plenty
of
platforming
shenanigans
and
an
endless
supply
of
charm
so
strong
that
it
may
have
to
be
made
illegal
lest
its
power
be
used
for
evil.

Does
it
rival
the
Mario
franchise?
Tough
to
say,
and
even
harder
to
judge.
Mario
has
years
of
nostalgia
behind
it,
and
it’s
hard
to
separate
the
quality
of
the
games
themselves
from
that
feeling
of
warmth
and
love
that
my
brain
automatically
generates
as
soon
as
it
glimpses
the
iconic
red
hat
and
moustache.
And
I
ain’t
talking
about
Santa,
baby.

It
doesn’t
matter,
though,
because
there’s
plenty
of
room
for
Mario
and
Astro
to
co-exist.
PlayStation
does
a
lot
of
amazing
games
but
they
have
some
big
gaps
in
terms
of
genre
and
Astro
neat
fills
one
of
them.
And
who
knows,
considering
we
have
a
PlayStation
published
game
on
the
Nintendo
Switch,
maybe
an
Astro
bot
and
Mario
crossover
isn’t
impossible?

Indiana
Jones
&
The
Great
Circle

Read
my
review
of
Indiana
Jones
and
the
Great
Circle

Xbox
as
we
know
it
is
in
the
midst
of
some
massive
changes.
Hardware
sales
are
in
decline,
games
are
being
ported
to
other
platforms
and
the
whole
brand
seems
to
be
shifting
toward
becoming
the
globe’s
biggest
3rd
party
publisher.
But
while
out
that
chaos
is
swirling
around
it’s
easy
to
forget
that
Xbox
has
a
lot
of
talented
studios
working
away
in
the
background
creating
a
potentially
very
strong
line-up
for
the
future.

In
a
world
full
of
massive
IPs
resurrecting
Indiana
Jones,
which
hasn’t
exactly
been
going
from
strength
to
strength,
might
not
sound
like
a
good
move
on
paper
and
yet
that’s
exactly
what
Microsoft
and
MachineGames
did.

I
said
it
in
the
review,
and
it’s
absolutely
a
horrid
cliché,
but
Indiana
Jones
and
The
Great
Circle
genuinely
does
make
you
feel
like
the
good
doctor
himself,
venturing
through
underground
tombs
and
punching
Nazis
in
the
face.
The
first-person
view
sounds
like
an
odd
choice
at
first
but
MachineGames
quickly
proves
that
it
was
the
perfect
decision
as
you
keeps
you
immersed
in
the
world
and
gameplay.

I
was
also
surprised
by
how
much
of
a
focus
on
stealth
there
was.
Most
of
the
time
pulling
a
gun
or
trying
to
square
up
to
the
Nazis
was
a
bad
idea
and
would
get
Indy
quickly
swamped.

Going
into
it
I
thought
Indiana
Jones
was
probably
going
to
be
a
solid
but
forgettable
licensed
game,
doomed
to
fade
away
unto
the
annals
of
history
where
it
could
be
inevitably
be
dug
up
by
an
archaeologist
with
a
whip
strapped
to
his
belt
and
a
hat
on
his
head.
But
boy
was
I
wrong.
Indiana
Jones
is
an
exciting
adventure
full
of
fun
puzzles,
stealth,
brawls,
excellent
cutscenes
and
terrific
acting.

Really,
though,
the
best
part
of
the
game
is
how
well
it
captures
the
look
and
feel
of
the
models.
Troy
Baker’s
brilliant
performance
as
Indy
certainly
helps,
but
it’s
far
more
than
that
–
the
camera
angles,
the
music
and
the
humour
all
mirror
the
trllogy.

Helldivers
2

Read
my
review
of
Helldivers
2

For
a
few
months
there
it
seemed
like
the
entire
world
had
been
drawn
into
Helldivers
2.
Everybody
was
playing
it,
everybody
was
fighting
in
the
great
galactic
war
against
the
endless
bug
tide
and
robo-bastards.
But
the
most
amazing
thing
is
we
all
joined
in
with
the
roleplaying,
gleefully
talking
to
each
other
like
it
was
all
real,
absorbed
into
the
crazy
comedy
of
fascist
Super
Earth
and
its
propaganda.
To
their
credit,
developer
X
stuck
with
the
idea,
extending
the
games
lore
to
the
real
world,
putting
out
game
updates
like
they
were
in-universe
news
broadcasts,
constantly
teasing
upcoming
content
and
additions,
randomly
dropping
stuff
into
the
game
and
letting
word
spread
among
players
who
were
busy
debating
whether
it
was
real
or
what
it
could
mean.
Clever
stuff.

The
funny
thing
is,
Helldivers
2
is
a
very
simple
game.
Like,
you
get
dropped
onto
a
map
with
a
few
other
people
and
told
to
complete
a
handful
of
basic
objectives
while
fighting
through
hordes
of
enemy
bugs
or
robots.
It’s
not
complicated
stuff.
That’s
the
fun
of
it
though:
the
matches
ramp
up
in
intensity,
the
enemies
get
bigger
and
tougher
and
before
long
it
feels
like
you’re
in
an
epic
war
movie
making
a
desperate
last
stand
against
a
endless
tide
of
monsters
and
terminators.
It’s
amazing
with
friends,
but
even
when
you
play
with
strangers
who
don’t
have
a
microphone,
an
unspoken
bond
is
formed
in
the
midst
of
chaos
and
carnage,
a
brotherhood
forged
in
fire
and
gore.
It’s
glorious.
And
then
somebody
calls
in
an
airstrike
a
little
too
close
and
blows
you
the
fuck
up
like
you’re
an
Acme
firework
factory
worker
who
forgot
that
smoking
on
the
job
was
a
bad
idea.

Admittedly,
I
haven’t
gone
back
to
the
game
in
a
while.
I
had
to
move
on
and
play
other
things.
But
I
do
know
over
the
last
month
the
game
has
seen
another
huge
surge
in
players,
and
the
consensus
seems
to
be
that
it’s
in
a
great
place,
which
has
me
wanting
to
strap
my
armour
back
on
and
defend
Super
Earth
once
again.

Prince
of
Persia:
The
Lost
Crown

Read
my
review
of
Prince
of
Persia:
The
Lost
Crown

Low
sales
and
a
general
lack
of
interest
have
seemingly
all
but
guaranteed
that
we
won’t
be
getting
a
sequel
to
The
Lost
Crown
and
that’s
a
fucking
travesty
because
this
was
a
fantastic
metroidvania.

In
all
honesty
it
probably
didn’t
get
much
from
having
the
Prince
of
Persia
moniker
plastered
all
over
it.
The
name
doesn’t
mean
a
great
deal
these
days,
and
the
game
didn’t
have
much
to
do
with
the
universe
anyway.
I
mean,
you
don’t
even
play
as
the
titular
prince.
Really,
the
only
connections
are
that
you
mess
about
with
time
control,
swing
a
sword
and
run
up
walls.
Then
again,
without
the
name
The
Lost
Crown
might
have
had
an
even
harder
time
finding
an
audience,
especially
given
Ubisoft’s
currently
crumbling
position
within
the
industry.

The
gameplay
is
where
The
Lost
Crown
shines.
It
feels
brilliant
to
play
thanks
to
the
snappy
controls.
The
large
map
gradually
opens
up
satisfyingly
as
you
unlock
new
upgrades,
the
combat
is
excellent
and
the
platforming/puzzle
solving
is
great,
too.
A
somewhat
forgettable
story
holds
the
game
back
a
wee
bit,
but
it’s
not
really
a
problem.
I’d
put
The
Lost
Crown
up
there
with
some
of
the
best
games
in
the
genre
and
highly
recommend
checking
it
out.