The year of 2024 is almost behind us. Here at Indiependent, we have compiled a list of our top picks for games from this year – ranging from adventure to horror, to dating simulators and many more! Let’s take a look at our picks! Honourable mentions go to the games that didn’t quite make our list: Still Wakes the Deep, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Vampire Therapist, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Animal Well and Hades 2.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Just making the top 10 is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (EOW for short), the first of the TLOZ series to bear her name and have her as its focus. The game focuses on traversing through the many landscapes, freeing captured citizens, and conquering a dragon within a cave to close the rifts that spread across the land.
However, unlike Link, Zelda can’t fight. In true fantasy fashion, she is able to create ‘echoes’ of real objects from thin air or manifest an item to throw – but it was frustrating when all I wanted to do was fight and get the job done. It’s a very cutesy-Polly Pocket-like aesthetic, however when we get to play as Zelda next time, hopefully, it will leave us feeling more satisfied. -AO
9. Tales of Kenzera: Zau
When it comes to explorations of grief, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is one of the most evocative and visually beautiful I’ve seen in years. The main plotline follows the story of Zau, a young shaman who makes a deal with Kalunga, the God of Death, to resurrect his father.
Harnessing the powers of the Sun and the Moon via upgradable masks, Zau journeys through the lands of Kenzera – beautifully brought to life through the game’s gorgeous art style and enhanced by the wonderful music of Nainita Desai – on a journey both to grow his powers but also to face the realities of grief.
This one hit on a deeper level as someone who went through the loss of a father at a young age. The connection between the fantastical and the reality made this a beautiful game to play through even if there were more than a few moments I wanted to walk away. -MR
8. Paper Trail
Paper Trail follows the story of a young girl named Paige who is setting out to go to university – however, her parents don’t want her to go, so she runs away. The game is a top-down puzzle adventure, set in a paper world. The mechanics make you fold and tear your way through the paper world, much like making origami.
This unique style of game is what made me delve into it, and the story is what hooked me into it further. Paige comes across many new villages, dilemmas, and people. You get to learn more about the origin of her confinement and her parents’ disapproval as the game progresses, and the beautiful watercolour art style and unique game mechanics help this further. A very easy, simple play, one where you can just sit back and relax in the colour, story and music of this game. -AO
7. Helldivers 2
Fighting for democracy has rarely been as fun as it is in Helldivers II. Picking up where the first game left off, this high-action sequel has players fighting to save Super Earth from bugs, cyborgs and Illuminate with different procedurally generated missions, usually involving hordes of enemies and a lot of guns.
Where Helldivers II really excels is in the multiplayer. There’s something just so incredibly fun about dropping out of a ship with your friends and fighting the bad guys. Okay, the fact that friendly fire is always on does lead to more than a few mishaps along the way, but for me that only adds to the fun – most of the time.
It also manages to not feel too repetitive as many similar co-op shooters can do after a few sessions. The gunplay isn’t perfect but close enough, the enemies feel like a real threat and also the little details and bits of lore sprinkled throughout the worlds makes for a much more enjoyable experience beyond some pretty explosions and meme-worthy clips of when things go wrong. Plus, the 90’s kid in me loved the Starship Troopers vibes the whole game gives off. -MR
6. Mouthwashing
Mouthwashing was another awaited game this year. Made by Wrong Organ, it is a psychological horror adventure game that delves into human nature and what can happen to a team when things take a turn for (truly) the worst. It is played from a first-person perspective, following the events of a team of five humans on their mission across space, when their spaceship, Tulpar, crashes and leaves them stranded.
The game involves exploring the spaceship, conversing with the crew to find out information, and playing minigames and puzzles. What drew me in was the non-linear storytelling. It gave a very compelling edge to the game, it almost had me at the edge of my seat at times, so if you’re looking for a good psychological horror, this is it. -AO
5. Balatro
Deceptively simple and utterly addictive, Balatro is a mixture of poker and roguelite in which players work their way through a “run” – a series of eight rounds with three stages, each more challenging than the last. While that might not seem the most interesting concept, Balatro mixes things up with the ability to build your deck up with each run.
From a mix of jokers providing handy boosts to levelling up the cards – which can be customised using suit designs inspired by a host of games including Stardew Valley, The Witcher and Cult of the Lamb – or even deciding what type of deck to use, there are any number of possibilities to work with as you try and find the best hand to play.
What also sets Balatro apart for me is the pickup and play aspect. Whether it’s just a quick run while commuting or trying to build up the card collection with a longer session, it’s so easy to get started and to pick up from where you may have left off. -MR
4. Love And Deepspace
Love and Deepspace (LADS) is a game made by the Chinese company Infold. After downloading, players have the amazing customisation option to have their character (MC) look exactly how they want. In the game, you come across four love interests/characters who help you uncover the mystery of your personal family loss, why it happened and who could be behind it.
This game is like a bag of mixed sweets—RPG battles, minigames, and a dating simulator. Combined with ecstatic lore and fantastic graphics that make you feel like you have stepped into the game (I’m not joking when I say this), it is easily one of my favourite games to have debuted this year. -AO
3. Thank Goodness You’re Here
How many games let you swim in beer, slide butter across a street and end a romance with a lawnmower? Chances are the list is short but top of it would be Thank Goodness You’re Here. Playing a travelling salesman in the fictional town of Barnsworth, players need to find ways to pass the time while waiting for the town’s Mayor to be available for a meeting.
Luckily, the townspeople have plenty of errands for the visitor and as time goes on, the requests get more and more bizarre in their nature and take you to some surreal places. All leading up to the time when those town hall doors finally open and you meet the Mayor.
There are few games which have showcased British humour on the level of Thank Goodness You’re Here, with plenty of visual jokes and blink-and-you-’ll-miss-them gags through the game’s good (if a little short) runtime. Funny, surreal, and a little odd with a dash of superb voice acting from Matt Berry makes for a very fun time. -MR
2. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the long-awaited sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020). Players are able to control mercenary Cloud Strife and a character party, who embark on a journey across the Planet to protect their society and defeat elite soldier Sephiroth.
Recently delving into the world of RPG again (former Genshin Impact player here!), the scenery, fight sequences and characters really drew me in – I have a massive love for well-written and fleshed-out characters, so this was definitely high up there for me. The music and soundtrack were incredible (which is another thing I like to focus on), and the gameplay is incredibly smooth, like butter on bread. This game was well received by many players both new and old, which is why this game is so high on our list. -AO
1. Black Myth: Wukong
Going on a quest on the hunt for six relics to resurrect the Monkey King in an action RPG based on the classic Chinese epic Journey To The West might seem like too much to put into one game, but Black Myth Wukong managed it in a wonderfully to create a game that is both mythical and grounded.
While this story can be played through in around 20ish hours, my advice would be not to for the first couple of playthroughs. The world of Black Myth Wukong is beautifully crafted and full of rich detail that can get lost in that drive to the end. For me, this was a fantastic introduction to the story of Sun Wukong not to be rushed.
The art – in the game and in the chapter vignettes – the music and the voice acting (both English and Chinese) all come together like a carefully woven piece of art to create our pick for 2024’s Game of the Year. -MR
Words by Amelia Oprean and Megan Roxburgh
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