Top 8 Games of 2024 So Far

Welcome all to another edition of The 8 Ball! This week I’m here to do a bit of a slightly late mid-year review of the games that are out, so far. This is only a roundup of games I’ve personally played, so keep that in mind. Hopefully this list might change come December or January, but we’ll see. Let’s begin:

#8: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Calling this a new “game” is a bit of a cheat, but it does have its own separate physical release, so why not? Erdtree is what it is: more Elden Ring, and that’s never a bad thing. Getting around the map is a bit wonky, but exploring is as fun as ever and there are some interesting new bosses for you to encounter. There’s an interesting bit where this DLC doesn’t have any trophies for you to work to, which is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it does really give you freedom to tackle it; however you want, within reason. But on the other, some guided experience would be nice. I’m just hoping I can finish it by the end of the year with the friend I’m playing with.

#7: Persona 3: Reload

Reload actually would have been higher just a month or two ago but another game kind of knocked it lower. Reload is still a very enjoyable game, it definitely knocked some of the rust off original Persona 3, and the story/characters still shine through. I do wish the game had more of a “break from the mold” though, especially since the mold is Persona 5, which is, objectively, a better game overall. That’s not to say Reload is bad, far from it, but it reminds me a bit of Assassin’s Creed Rogue, after Black Flag came out. A lot of reused content, though still a new setting/characters, but just kind of a stopgap until the next actual Persona game comes out, or at least until ReFantazio hits. Also, the Aegis DLC kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, on a consumer level.

#6: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

To be somewhat fair to Reload, while it does reuse some assets/systems from Persona 5, Infinite Wealth reuses a whole town from Like a Dragon. But to be fair to Yakuza, they’ve been doing that since the second game, so it’s standard for the franchise. Infinite Wealth gives you a lot of stuff to do in the game, most of it being pretty great. It also fixed some of the problems that the last one had, specifically, getting knocked out of an attack animation, if you were close to another enemy. I do miss the easy way you could get money from Like a Dragon but that’s just me.

#5: Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengence

I’m currently in the process of playing/reviewing this game and it’s great. Here’s the thing, I do own the original on the Switch and I think I made it to the second area before giving up. The technical limitations were too bothersome to me, so I just gave up. This doesn’t happen with Vengence though, especially on the PS5. It’s nice, responsive, and the framerate doesn’t turn to garbage 10 yards in front of you. I’m knee-deep in the third big stage right now, and while it is slightly annoying, the game is still a lot of fun to play and the improvements to it have helped some.

#4: Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 was really looking like the Cinderella story of the year. A semi-indie game, that ensnared tons of people, was a gaming zeitgeist and had a lot of goodwill associated with it. Then Sony came in and screwed it all up. Way to go, guys! Sony’s stupidity aside, Helldivers 2 still remains a great game to play. If you play it solo, it’s a huge hassle but it is very easy to get your friends, or even random people, into a mission where you can blow up space bugs and evil robots that threaten Managed Democracy. It’s the perfect Starship Troopers game, which is a shame, since a Starship Troopers game should have been the easiest thing to make, but wasn’t.

#3: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

I’m sure all the FF7 nuts out there are having heart attacks right now. Rebirth, to me, is a weirdly paradoxical game. I love that it’s so much more open than Remake, there’s dozens of things for you to (seemingly) do and that the game is on a scale that most games never dare to dream. But on the “dislike” side, some of the new areas are bad (Gongaga, I’m looking at you), a chunk of the side content is a chore, and for some reason, the combat didn’t click with me, unlike with Remake. Functionally, they are like 90% the same combat system, but I just never got used to the changes, for some reason. It’s still a great game, and I do look forward to the last game, coming in 2027 or so.

#2: Stellar Blade

I wasn’t immediately sold on Stellar Blade but once I actually got good at it, it made a lot more sense. I like the game so much that I could make a serious run at a platinum trophy and it would be enjoyable. The combat is great, the world is interesting, even if it is just Battle Angel, and it really is just fun to run around the levels, slicing up robots with your sword. Some of the stealth sections are annoying but this game is just an enjoyable Souls-lite action game. And it is going to become utterly filthy if/when it ever comes to the PC platform.

#1: Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Hey, what do you know, the game I’ve been waiting for, for seven years, is actually good? I still know nothing about the Granblue Fantasy property, other than it seems to be some sky pirate thing, but it doesn’t matter. It’s great that each character has a different weapon/play style, and that you actually aren’t limited at all in the story. If you don’t want to play the captain, you don’t have to: play the hammer-wielding Vane, or use the icy twin swords of Lancelot, or the gun skills that Rackam posses. You’ll be able to find a character with whatever play style you have, and you’ll feel comfortable with them. The actual story campaign is fine enough, but once you beat it, the real game opens up. This is when multiplayer is unlocked, where you can participate in dozens of missions to grind out dozens of materials to further upgrade and improve your character. It is an immensely satisfying game and while other games might swap in and out of this list later in the year, I doubt Relink will have its placement changed.

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For comments, list your favorite games of the year so far, and why.

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