The Top 8 Games of 2024

Welcome all to another edition of The 8 Ball! It’s the end of the year folks, and as I and every other site, publication, and person with a bullhorn does, we all do *subject* of the year awards. My subject is games, and as you might expect, this is an objective list, so you don’t really need to read anyone else’s view ob the subject. As before, I haven’t played every game this year, and reviewed even less, so stuff like Indiana Jones or Balatro isn’t on here but that’s fine. My list is still correct, and even if I had played those games, my top two choices wouldn’t change at all. Let’s begin:

#8: Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 would probably be higher on my list if I actually had a dependable/energetic crew to play it with. However, I only had one friend who had it, and he didn’t like it much. In particular, he didn’t like the stratagem system, where you had to input specific button combinations to get supplies or strikes from the command ship. I actually thought it was a pretty neat idea, and better than the usual “Eh, just throw a grenade down for support”, that most games have. It raised the stakes and made you actually get good at having to manage not only the direct combat but also quick, button combos, to turn the tide of battle. Alas, I fell off this game after about two months and I’ll likely never go back to it again.

#7: Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance

Even if Vengeance was a 1 to 1 port from the Switch version, to other consoles, it would still rank pretty high on my list. Why? Because it fixed a lot of the technical issues that the Switch version had, like a very limited draw distance, and a wildly inconsistent framerate. However, Atlus did more than just fixing the technical issues. It gives the game a whole new story campaign, with three additional endings. They added in a new top-down camera mode, which is actually incredibly useful, given how vertical the levels are. You can also skip fight animation and they just made the overall game speed faster. I only played through this game twice, but I do need to get back to it and really just plow through it to get the other endings/trophies.

#6: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

While Infinite Wealth does add a whole lot of new content to the Like a Dragon formula, my favorite thing about it, is that it fixed a glaring issue with the first game. In the original game, if you went to attack a far off enemy, but ran next to a closer enemy, they could basically hit you and completely cancel your turn. That sucked. In this game, that doesn’t ever actually happen, so you can attack whoever you want, without facing a penalty. Aside from that, it adds a whole new island to the game, new minigames/subgames, a new story, new characters and so on. It would be a fitting end to Kazuma’s character arc, but they are never going to let him die.

#5: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

This one might be a bit higher but there were two things holding it back for me, personally. For one, I didn’t get nearly as invested in the battle system as in Remake. I think in that game, it was maybe a bit simpler but enjoyable. The second, slightly bigger, issue is that the middle of the game drags way down. By which, I mean, the entire Gongaga region. If I never see any of those giant mushroom jumps, it’ll be too soon. Getting around the place was just a nightmare, and it made just navigating it a big chore. Also, while Rebirth probably had around 15 or even 20 minigames, about a third of them were garbage. I’m specifically calling out “Gears and Gambits”, “Cactaur Crush” and “Glide de Chocobo” as ones that belong in a burning dumpster. Everything else was pretty spot on, though.

#4: Astro Bot

Astro Bot is a bit of an interesting thing. I actually really disliked Astro’s Playroom, and functionally speaking, Astro Bot plays a WHOLE lot like that game, only it is actually playable/enjoyable. My main sticking point with Astro Bot is that the crux of the game is finding all 300 bots, which is a good goal. However, the game, outside of a one-liner when you pick them up, offers no information on each bot. How great would it be if when you picked up the Tony Hawk bot, there could be a little “Botpedia”, that you could see some of the history of the Tony Hawk franchise, like when it started, or how many games there were on PlayStation consoles?

#3: Stellar Blade

The best thing about Stellar Blade is the combat. It combines elements of Nier: Automata with a Soulslike game to be a fun blend of both. I don’t like combat in most Souls games because it is slow/deliberate. Not so in Stellar Blade, it is very fast and fluid and that just makes it more enjoyable to me. I dug the story, the characters, the world and just everything about the game. I’m sure a Stellar Blade 2 will come out, even though it’ll probably take years.

#2: Metaphor: ReFantazio

The normal, battle music theme along with merit Metaphor being on this list. So I guess it’s cool that the rest of the game also manages to pull its own weight as well. The battle system has the standard SMT formula but does manage to be a bit unique with the combo attacks. I actually think the class system is pretty brilliant, since you can change classes at almost any time, even inside of a dungeon. The story is solid also, but I think what a lot of people miss is that game is almost sarcastic in its viewpoint. The game has all these warring species, but presents a world (our world) as being idyllic because all the people are the same, and we should live in harmony. But, we clearly don’t, and racial strife exists today. So, I think it’s a bit of an in-joke that Metaphor is pulling on people that I deeply appreciate.

#1: Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Relink finally came, you guys! After it being on my “Most Anticipated” list for like 4 or 5 years straight, it finally came out and was almost perfect. Relink is an action game set in the Granblue universe, where you and your crew go through levels, or go on monster hunts to get money and materials. Unlike Monster Hunter though, the combat in Relink is actually really enjoyable and quick. Even the “slow” characters, that you think might be cumbersome, aren’t, and everyone moves around well. It’s also to Relink’s credit that the game has over 15 characters/weapon types and they all play differently. I stuck with Vane, who has a big hammer for attacks, can shield players against enemy damage mechanics, and can ignore attacks if you use him right. But there are other fun characters like Charlotta who can endlessly boost her strength when attacking, Lancelot who can combo attacks into anything, and Eugen who can use a gun to hit far off enemies. The only small annoyance is having to farm for the “Ultimate” weapons, or getting them for characters I don’t use, but Relink is still an amazing game and definitely worth checking out.

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For comments, list what you thought was the best game of the year.

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Top 8 Most Anticipated Games of 2025