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Best of the best Ars Technicas top 20 video games of 2024 A relatively light year still had its fair share of interactive standouts. Kyle Orland Dec 22, 2024 7:00 am | 0 Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWhen we introduced last year's annual list of the best games in this space, we focused on how COVID delays led to a 2023 packed with excellent big-name blockbusters and intriguing indies that seemed to come out of nowhere. The resulting flood of great titles made it difficult to winnow the year's best down to our traditional list of 20 titles.In 2024 we had something close to the opposite problem. While there were definitely a few standout titles that were easy to include on this year's list (Balatro, UFO 50, and Astro Bot likely chief among them), rounding out the list to a full 20 proved more challenging than it has in perhaps any other year during my tenure at Ars Technica (way back in 2012!). The games that ended up on this year's list are all strong recommendations, for sure. But many of them might have had more trouble making a Top 20 list in a packed year like 2023.We'll have to wait to see if the release calendar seesaws back to a quality-packed one in 2025, but the forecast for big games like Civilization 7, Avowed, Doom: The Dark Ages, Grand Theft Auto 6, and many, many more has us thinking that it might. In the meantime, here are our picks for the 20 best games that came out in 2024, in alphabetical order.Animal WellBilly Basso; Windows, PS5, Xbox X/S, SwitchThe Metroidvania genre has started to feel a little played out of late. Go down this corridor, collect that item, go back to the wall that can only be destroyed by said item, explore a new corridor for the next item, etc. Repeat until you've seen the entire map or get too bored to continue.Animal Well eschews this paint-by-numbers design and brings back the sense of mystery inherent to the best games in the genre. This is done in part by some masterful pixel-art graphics, which incorporate some wild 2D lighting effects and detailed, painterly sprite world. The animationsfrom subtle movements of the lowliest flower to terrifying, screen-filling actions from the game's titular giant animalsare handled with equal aplomb.But Animal Well really shines in its often inscrutable map and item design. Many key items in the game have multiple uses that aren't fully explained in the game itself, requiring a good deal of guessing, checking, and observation to figure out how to exploit fully. Uncovering the arcane secrets of the game's multiple environmental blocks is often far from obvious and rewards players who like to experiment and explore.Those arcane secrets can sometimes seem too obtuse for their own gooddon't be surprised if you have to consult an outside walkthrough or work with someone to bust past some of the most inscrutable barriers put in your way. If you soldier through, though, you'll have been on one of the most memorable journeys of its type.-Kyle OrlandAstro BotTeam Asobi; PS5Astro Bot is an unlikely success story. The team that made it, Studio Asobi, was for years dedicated to making small-scale projects that were essentially glorified tech demos for Sony's latest hardware. First there was The Playroom, which was just a collection of small experiences made to show off the features of the PlayStation 4's camera peripheral. Then there was Astro Bot Rescue Mission, which acted as a showcase for the first PlayStation VR headset.But momentum really picked up with Astro's Playroom, the bite-size 2020 3D platformer that was bundled with every PlayStation 5again to show off the hardware features. When I played it, my main thought was, "I really wish this team would make a full-blown game."That's exactly what Astro Bot is: a 15-hourlong 3D platformer with AAA production values, with no goal other than just being an excellent game. Like its predecessors, it fully leverages all the hardware features of the PlayStation 5, and it's loaded with Easter eggs and fan service for players who've been playing PlayStation consoles for three decades.Like many 3D platformers, it's a collect-a-thon. In this case, you're gathering more than 300 little robot friends. All of them are modeled after characters from other games that defined the PlayStation platform, from Resident Evil to Ico to The Last of Us, from the obscure to the well-known.Between those Easter eggs, the tightly designed gameplay, and the upbeat music, there's an ever-present air of joy and celebration in Astro Botespecially for players who get the references. But even if you've never played any of the games it draws on, it's an excellent 3D platformerperhaps the best released on any platform in the seven years since 2017's Super Mario Odyssey.The PlayStation 5 will arguably be best remembered for beefy open-world games, serious narrative titles, and multiplayer shooters. Amid all that, I don't think anybody expected one of the best games ever released for the console to be a platformer that in some ways would feel more at home on the PlayStation 2but that's what happened, and I'm grateful for the time I spent with it.The only negative thing I have to say about it is that because of how it leverages the specific features of the DualSense controller, it's hard to imagine it'll ever be playable for anyone who doesn't own that device.Is it worth buying a PS5 just to play Astro Bot? Probably notas beefy as it is compared to Astro's Playroom, there's not enough here to justify that. But if you have one and you haven't played it yet, get on it, because you're missing out.-Samuel AxonBalatroLocalThunk; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Switch, MacOS, iOS, AndroidAt first glance, video poker probably seems a bit too random to serve as the basis of yet another rogue-like deck-builder experience. As anyone who's been to Atlantic City can tell you, video poker's hold-and-draw hand-building involves only the barest hint of strategy and is designed so the house always wins.The genius of Balatro, then, is in the layers of strategy it adds to this simple, easy-to-grasp poker hand base. The wide variety of score or hand-modifying jokers that you purchase in between hands can be arranged in literally millions of combinations, each of which can change the way a particular run goes in ways both large and small. Even the most powerful jokers can become nearly useless if you run into the wrong debuffing Boss Blind, forcing you to modify your strategy mid-run to keep the high-scoring poker hands coming.Then you add in a complex in-game economy, powerful deck-altering arcana cards, dozens of Deck and Stake difficulty options, and a Challenge Mode whose hardest options have continued to thwart me even after well over 100 hours of play. The result is a game that's instantly compelling and as addictive as a heater at a casino, only without the potential to lose your mortgage payment to a series of bad bets.-Kyle OrlandThe Crimson DiamondJulia Minamata; Windows, MacWould you like to spend some time in a rural vacation town in Ontario, Canada, doing mineralogy fieldwork in the off-season? A better question, then: Would you like to go there in 16-color EGA, wandering through a classic adventure game, text parser and all?The Crimson Diamond is one of the most intriguing gaming trips I took this year. Its an achievement in creative constraints, a cozy mystery, and an ear-catching soundtrack. It was made by a solo Canadian developer, inside Adventure Game Studio, with some real work put into upgrading the text parser and (optional) mouse experience with reasonable quality-of-life concessions. The charming but mysterious plot gently pulls you along from one wonderfully realized 1980s-era IBM backdrop to the next. It feels like playing a game you forgot to unbox, except this one actually plays without a dozen compatibility tricks.We are awash in game remasters and light remakes that toy with our memories of old systems and forgotten genres (and having a lot more time to play games). The Crimson Diamond does something much more interesting, finding just the right new story and distinct style to port backward to a bygone era. Its worth the clicks for any fan of pointing, clicking, and investigating.-Kevin PurdyElden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeFrom Software; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series Credit: Bandai Namco You can tell downloadable content has come a long way when we deign to put a piece of DLC on our best-games-of-the-year list in 2024.Released two years after the megaton zeitgeist hit that was the original Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree bucks just as many modern gaming conventions as its base game did. Yes, it's DLC because it's digitally distributed add-on content, but while most AAA games get DLC that adds about 510 hours of stuff to do, Shadow of the Erdtree's scope actually fell somewhere between a full sequel and the expansions you'd buy in separate retail boxes for PC games in the 1990s and 2000s. It adds a large new landmass to explore, with multiple additional "legacy dungeons" and tentpole bosses, plus new mechanics and weapons aplenty.Additionally, the game's designers cleverly mapped a whole new system on top of the base game's player levels and equipment, ensuring that you could still get the same satisfying sense of power progression, regardless of how deeply you'd gotten into the Elden Ring base game previously. Shadow of the Erdtree attracted some criticism for its sharp difficultyeven more so than the base gamebut the same satisfying progression from hopelessness to triumph through perseverance as we enjoyed in 2022 is in play here.As such, everything that was great about Elden Ring is also great about Shadow of the Erdtree. You could cynically call it more of the same, but when what we're getting more of is so delicious, it's hard to complainespecially given that this expansion includes some of the most compelling and original bosses in From Software history.It didn't convert anyone who didn't dig the original, but fortunately that still left it with an audience of millions of people who were excited for a new challenge. Its impressive polish and scope land it on this list.-Samuel AxonFrostpunk 211 bit studios; Windows, Mac (ARM-based); PlayStation, Xbox (coming in 2025) Credit: 11 Bit Studios The first Frostpunk asked if you could make the terrible decisions necessary for survival in a never-ending blizzard. Frostpunk 2 asks you to manage something different, but no less dire: helping these people who managed to hold on keep their nascent civilization together. You can go deep with the fascists, the mystics, the hard-nosed realists, or the science nerds or try to play them all off one another to keep the furnace going.Its stressful, and its not at all easy, and the developers may have done too good a job of recreating the insane demands and interplay of human factions. The interface and navigation, sore spots on launch, have received a lot of attention, and the roadmap for the game into 2025 looks intriguing. Id probably recommend starting with the first game before diving into this, but Frostpunk 2 is an accomplished, confident game in its own right. Human failings amidst an unfeeling snowpocalypse make for some engaging scenes.-Kevin PurdyHalls of TormentChasing Carrots; Windows, Linux, iOS, Android Credit: Chasing Carrots The isometric demon-killing of the old-school Diablo games has endured over the decades, especially among those who remember playing in their youth. But the whole concept has been in need of a bit of an update now that we're in the age of Vampire Survivors and its "Bullet Heaven" auto-shooter ilk.Enter Halls of Torment, a game that is probably as close as it comes to aping old-school Diablo's visual style without being legally actionable. Here, though, all the lore and story and exploration of the Diablo games has been replaced by a lot more enemies, all streaming toward your protagonist at the rate of up to 50,000 per hour. Much like Vampire Survivors, the name of the game here is dodging through those small holes in those swarms of enemies while your character automatically fills the screen with devastating attacks (that slowly level up as you play).The wide variety of different playable classeseach with their own distinct strengths, weaknesses, and unique attack patternshelp each run feel distinct, even after you've smashed through the game's limited set of six environments. But there's plenty of cathartic replay value here for anyone who just wants to cause as much on-screen carnage as possible in a very short period of time.-Kyle OrlandHelldivers 2Arrowhead Game Studios; Windows, PS5 Credit: PlayStation/Arrowhead Every so often, a multiplayer game releases to almost universal praise, and for a few months, seemingly everyone is talking about it. This year, that game was Helldivers 2. The game converted the 2015 originals top-down shoot-em-up gameplay into third-person shooter action, and the switch-up was enough to bring in tons of players. Taking more than a few cues from Starship Troopers, the game asks you to "spread democracy" throughout the galaxy by mowing down hordes of alien bugs or robots during short-ish missions on various planets. Work together with your team, and the rest of the player base, to slowly liberate the galaxy.I played Helldivers 2 mostly as a hang out game, something to do with my hands and eyes as I chatted with friends. You can play the game seriously, I guess, but that would be missing the point for me. My favorite part of Helldivers 2 is just blowing stuff upbugs, buildings, and, yes, even teammates. Friendly fire is a core part of the experience, and whether by accident or on purpose, you will inevitably end up turning your munitions on your friends. My bad!Some controversial balance patches put the game into a bit of an identity crisis for a while, but things seem to be back on track. Ill admit the game didnt have the staying power for me that it seemed to for others, but it was undeniably a highlight of the year.-Aaron ZimmermanIndiana Jones and the Great CircleMachineGames; Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S Credit: Bethesda / MachineGames A new game based on the Indiana Jones license has a lot to live up to, both in terms of the films and TV shows that inspired it and the well-remembered games that preceded it. The Great Circle manages to live up to those expectations, crafting the most enjoyable Indy adventure in years.The best part of the game is contained in the main storyline, captured mainly in exquisitely madcap cut scenes featuring plenty of the pun-filled, devil-may-care quipiness that Indy is known for. Voice actor Troy Baker does a great job channeling Harrison Ford (by way of Jeff Goldblum) as Indy, while antagonist Emmerich Voss provides all the scenery-chewing Nazi shenanigans you could want from the ridiculous, magical-realist storyline.The stealth-action gameplay is a little more pedestrian but still manages to distinguish itself with suitably crunchy melee combat and the enjoyable improvisation of attacking Nazis with everyday items, from wrenches to plungers. And while the puzzles and side-quests can feel a bit basic at times, there are enough hidden trinkets in out-of-the-way corners to encourage completionists to explore every inch of the game's intricately detailed open-world environments.It's just the kind of light-hearted, escapist, exploratory fun we need in these troubled times. Welcome back, Indy! We missed you!-Kyle OrlandThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomNintendo; SwitchAfter decades and decades of Zelda games where you don't actually play as Zelda, there was a lot of pressure on a game where you finally get to control the princess herself as the protagonist (those CD-i monstrosities from the '90s are best forgotten). Fortunately, Zelda's turn in full control of her own series captures the franchise's old-school, light-hearted adventuring fun with a few modern twists.The main draw here is the titular "echo" abilities, which let Zelda copy enemies and objects that can be summoned in multiple copies with a special wand. This eventually opens up to allow for a number of inventive ways to solve some intricate puzzles in what feels like a heavily simplified version of Tears of the Kingdom's more complex crafting tools.My favorite bit in Echoes of Wisdom, though, might be summoning copies of defeated enemies to fight new enemies in a kind of battle royale. As much as I love Link's sword-swinging antics (which are partially captured here), just watching these magical minions do my combat for me is more than half of the fun in Echoes of Wisdom.Even without those twists, though, Echoes of Wisdom provides all the old-school 2D Zelda dungeon exploring you could hope for, and the lighthearted storyline to match. Here's hoping this isn't the last time we'll see Zelda taking a starring role in her own legends.-Kyle OrlandLlamasoft: The Jeff Minter StoryDigital Eclipse; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, SwitchI went into this latest Digital Eclipse playable museum as someone who had only a passing familiarity with Jeff Minter. I knew him mainly as a revered game development elder with a penchant for psychedelic graphics and an association with Tempest 2000. Then I spent hours devouring The Jeff Minter Story on my Steam Deck during a long flight, soaking in the full history of a truly unique character in the annals of gaming history.The emulated games on this collection are actually pretty hit or miss, from a modern game design perspective. But the collection of interviews and supporting material on offer here are top-notch, putting each game into the context of the time and of Minter's personal journey through an industry that was still in its infancy. I especially liked the scanned versions of Minter's newsletter, sent to his early fans, which included plenty of diatribes and petty dramas about his game design peers and the industry as a whole.There are few other figures in the early history of games that would merit this kind of singular focuseven early games were too often the collaborative product of larger companies with a more corporate focus (as seen in Digital Eclipse's previous Atari 50. But I reveled in this opportunity to get to know Minter better for his unique and quixotic role in early gaming history.-Kyle OrlandLorelei and the Laser EyesSimogo; Windows, PS4/5, SwitchYou'd be forgiven for finding Lorelei and the Laser Eyes at least a little pretentious. Everything from the black-and-white presentationlaced with only the occasional flash of red for emphasis to the Twin Peaks-style absurdist writing to the grand pronouncements on the Importance and Beauty of Art make for a game that feels like it's trying a little too hard, at points.Push past that surface, though, and you'll find one of the most intricately designed interactive puzzle boxes ever committed to bits and bytes. Lorelei goes well beyond the simple tile-pushing and lock-picking tasks that are laughably called "puzzles" in most other adventure games. The mind-teasers here require real out-of-the-box thinking, careful observation of the smallest environmental details, and multi-step deciphering of arcane codes.This is a game that's not afraid to cut you off from massive chunks of its content if you're not able to get past a single near-inscrutable locked door puzzledon't feel bad if you need to consult a walkthrough at some point to move on. It's also a game that practically requires a pen and paper notes to keep track of all the moving piecesyour notebook will look like the scribblings of a madman by the time you're done.And you may actually feel a little mad as you try to unravel the meaning of the game's multiple labyrinthine layers and self-aware, time-bending, magical-realist storyline. When it all comes together at the end, you may just find yourself surprisingly moved not just by the intricate design, but by that oft-pretentious plot as well.-Kyle OrlandMetal Slug TacticsLeikir Studio; Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Switch Credit: Dotemu Good tactics games are all about how the game plays in your mind. How many ways can you overcome this obstacle, maximize this turn, and synergize your squads abilities? So its a very nice bonus when such a well-made pile of engaging decisions also happens to look absolutely wonderful and capture the incredibly detailed sense of motion of a legendary run-and-gun franchise.Thats Metal Slug Tactics, and its one of the most surprising successes of 2024. It delivers the look and feel of a franchise that isnt easy to get right, and it translates those games feeling of continuous motion into turn-based tactics. The more you move, shoot, and team up each turn, the better youll do. You can do a level or two on a subway ride, crank out a rogue-ish run on a lunch break, and keep getting rewarded with new characters, unlocks, and skill tree branches.If youre always contemplating a replay of Final Fantasy Tactics, but might like a new challenge, consider giving this unlikely combination of goofy arcade revival and deep strategy a go.-Kevin PurdyParking Garage Rally CircuitWalaber Entertainment; WindowsThe rise of popular, ultra-detailed racing sims like Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport has coincided with a general decline in the drift-heavy, arcadey side of the genre. Titles like Ridge Racer Sega Rally or even Crazy Taxi now belong more in the industry's nostalgic memories than its present top-sellers.Parking Garage Rally Circuit is doing its best to bring the arcade racer genre back single-handedly. The game's perfectly tuned drifting controls make every turn a joyful sliding experience, complete with chainable post-drift boosts for those who want to tune that perfect speedy line. It captures that great feeling of being just on the edge of losing control, while still holding onto the edge of that perfect drift.It all takes place, as the name implies, winding up, down, over, and through some well-designed parking garages. Each track's short laps (which take a minute or less) ensure you can practically memorize the best paths after just a little bit of play. But the stopped cars and large traffic dividers provide for some hilarious physics-based crashes when your racing line does go wrong.The game earns extra nostalgia points for a variety of visual effects and graphics options that accurately mimic Dreamcast-era consoles and/or emulation-era PC hardware. But the game's extensive online leaderboards and ghost-racers help it feel like a decidedly modern take on a classic genre.-Kyle OrlandPepper GrinderAhr Ech; Windows, MacOS, Linux, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, SwitchIt's amazing how far a platform game can get on nothing more than a novel control scheme. Pepper Grinder is a case in point here, based around a tiny, blue-haired protagonist who uses an oversized drill to tunnel through soft ground like some kind of human-machine-snake hybrid.Navigating through the dirt in large, undulating curves is fun enough, but the game really shines when Pepper bursts out through the top layer of dirt in large, arcing jumps. Chaining these together, from dirt clump to dirt clump, is the most instantly compelling new 2D navigation scheme we've seen in years and creates some beautiful, almost balletic curves through the levels once you've mastered it.The biggest problem with Pepper Grinder is that the game is over practically before it really gets going. And while some compelling time-attack and item-collection challenges help to extend the experience a bit, we really hope some new DLC or a proper sequel is coming soon to give us a new excuse to wind our way through the dirt.-Kyle OrlandThe Rise of the Golden IdolColor Gray Games; Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, SwitchIn 2022, The Case of the Golden Idol proved that details like a controllable protagonist or elaborate cut scenes are unnecessary for a good murder mystery-solving puzzle adventure. All you need is a series of lightly animated vignettes, a way to uncover the smallest hidden details in those vignettes, and a fill-in-the-blanks interface to let you piece together the disparate clues.As a follow-up, Rise moves the 18th-century setting of the original into the 20th century, bringing the mysterious, powerful idol to the attention of both academic scientists and mass media executives who seek to exploit its mind-altering powers. From your semi-omniscient perspective, you have to figure out not just the names and motivations of those pulled into the idol's orbit, but the somewhat inscrutable powers of the idol itself.Rise adds a few interesting new twists, like the ability to scrub through occasional video animations for visual clues and the ability to track certain scenes throughout multiple times of day. At its core, though, this is an extension of the best-in-class, pure deductive reasoning gameplay we saw in the original game, with a slightly more modern twist. This is yet another 2024 favorite that requires strong attention to detail and logical inference from very small hints.It all comes together in a satisfying conclusion that leaves the door wide open for a sequel that we can't wait for.-Kyle OrlandSatisfactoryCoffee Stain Studios; WindowsDanish publisher Coffee Stain makes gaming success seem so simple. Put a game with a goofy feel, a corporate dystopia, and complex systems into early access. Iterate, cultivate feedback and a sense of ownership with the community. Take your time, refine, and then release the game, without any revenue-grabbing transactions or add-ons, beyond fun cosmetics. They did it with Deep Rock Galactic, and theyve done it again with Satisfactory. By the time the game hit 1.0, the only thing left to add was Premium plumbing.Its remarkably fun to live on the bad-guy side of The Lorax, exploiting a planets natural resources to create a giant factory system producing widgets for corporate wellbeing. The first-person perspective might seem odd for game with such complex systems, but it heightens your sense of accomplishment. You didnt just choose to put a conveyor belt between that ore extractor and that fabricator; you personally staked out that deposit, and your ran the track yourself.The systems are incredibly deep, but it can be quite relaxing to wander around your planet-sized industrial park, thinking up ways that things might run better, faster, with no interruptions. Its the kind of second job youre happy to buy into, giving you a deep sense of accomplishment for learning the ins and outs of this system, even as it gently mocks you for engaging with it. Satisfactory has itself worked for years to refine the most efficient gameplay for its bravest fans, and now its ready to employ the rest of us.-Kevin PurdySixty FourOleg Danilov; Windows, MacI try not to think about, or write about, games in the manner of dollars to enjoyment ratio. Games often get cheaper over time, everybody enjoys them differently, and theyre art, too, as well as commerce. But, folks, come on: $6 for Sixty Four? If you play it for one hour and just smile a few times at its oddities and tiny cubes, that was less than a big-city latte or beer.But you will almost certainly play Sixty Four for more than one hour, and maybe many more hours than that if you enjoy games with systems, building, and resources. You build and place machines to extract resources, use those resources to fund new and better machines, rearrange your machines, and eventually create beautiful workflows that are largely automated. Why do you do this? Its a fun, dark mystery.The game looks wonderful in its SimCity 2000/3000-esque style. It can be mentally taxing, but you cant really lose; you can even leave the game window open in the background while you convince your boss or remote work software that youre otherwise productive. Its a fever dream Id recommend to most anybody, unless they dread a repeat of the many lost days to games like Factorio, Satisfactory, or even Universal Paperclips. Just wishlist it, in that case; what could go wrong?-Kevin PurdyTactical Breach WizardsSuspicious Developments; Windows Credit: Suspicious Developments What can you do to spice up turn-based tactics, a rather mature genre?Tactical Breach Wizards adds future-seeing, time-bending, hex-placing wizards, for one thing. It refines the heck out of grid combat, for another, adding window-tossing and door-sealing into the mix, and giving enemies a much wider array of attacks than area-of-effect variations. Finally, it wraps this all up in an inventive sci-fi narrative, one with an engaging plot, characters that reveal themselves one quip at a time, and an overall sense of wonderment at a charming, bizarre world of militarized magic.In other words, you could put some joy into your turn-based combat, while still offering intricate challenges and clever levels.Tom Francis unique sense of humor, seen previously in Gunpoint and Heat Signature, is given space here to shine, and its a wonderful wrapper for all the missions and upgrade decisions. Its pretty ridiculous to be a wizard, wielding a laser-scoped rifle that fires crystal energy, plotting how to hit three guards at once with your next blast. Tactical Breach Wizards knows this, jokes about it, and then celebrates with you when you pull it off. Its both a hoot, and a very good shoot.-Kevin PurdyUFO 50Mossmouth; WindowsIn recent years, modern games have started evoking the blocky polygons and smeary textures of early 3D games to appeal to nostalgic 20- and 30-somethings. UFO 50 has its nostalgic foot placed firmly in an earlier generation of '80s and '90s console gaming, with a bit of early '00s Flash game design thrown in for good measure.Flipping your way through the extremely wide variety of games on offer here is like an eminently enjoyable trip through random titles in an emulator's (legally obtained) classic ROMs folderjust set in an alternate universe. There are plenty of shmups and platform games befitting the ostensible gaming era being recreatedbut you also get full-fledged strategy, puzzle, arcade, racing, adventure, and RPG titles, on top of a few so unique that I can't find any real historical genre analog for. These well-designed titles evoke the classicseverything from Bad Dudes and Bubble Bobble to Super Dodge Ball and Smash TVwithout ever feeling like a simple rehash of games you remember from your youth.While there's the usual spread of quality you'd expect from such a wide-ranging collection, even the worst-made title in UFO 50 shows a level of care and attention to detail that will delight anyone with even a passing interest in game design and/or history. Not every game in UFO 50 will be one of your all-time favorites, but I'd be willing to wager that any gamer of a certain age will find quite a few that will eat away plenty of pleasant, nostalgic hours.-Kyle OrlandKyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 0 Comments

Taking the sixth spot are Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes.Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes couldn't be easier to make. All you need are small red and white-skinned potatoes, fresh rosemary leaves, garlic, and olive oil.And after tossing all the ingredients together, you just need to throw the potatoes in the oven for an hour. Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes are a great side when you're craving something classic.Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes are very easy to make. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider Just because they're in sixth place doesn't mean Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes aren't delicious the competition is just that fierce when it comes to "Barefoot Contessa" potato dishes.The potatoes develop a beautiful golden color in the oven, and the pop of rosemary makes for a lovely Instagram photo. Plus, this dish makes your kitchen smell incredible.Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes are also deliciously crispy, with a soft and creamy middle. Both of my parents were huge fans of the dish and liked that it was a lighter alternative to mashed potatoes or a gratin.Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's rosemary roasted potatoes here. In fifth place are Garten's Parmesan smashed potatoes.Garten's Parmesan smashed potatoes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider Garten loves to give a new twist to a classic dish, and her Parmesan smashed potatoes are no different. Her recipe involves smashing the potatoes with an electric mixer, a great time-saving technique. It features unpeeled red potatoes, half-and-half, sour cream, butter, and freshly grated parmesan cheese."The key to mashed potatoes is what you add to them to make them have great flavor," Garten told Al Roker while demonstrating this dish on his podcast, "Cooking Up a Storm with Al Roker," in November 2021. "Two things people really miss a lot, in almost every recipe, is the salt. It needs a lot of salt to give it flavor." Garten's Parmesan smashed potatoes are packed with flavor.Garten's Parmesan smashed potatoes have a delicious texture. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider I love the texture of these thick and creamy potatoes, and the salty sharpness of the Parmesan pairs really well with the subtly sweet red potatoes. I made these for the first time at a Friendsgiving, and they were a huge hit with my boyfriend and friends."The smashed potatoes were deliciously salty and also not overcooked," my boyfriend said. "They still had a bit of texture to them it wasn't just like a bowl of soup.""The best mashed potatoes I've had!" our friend Kayla added. "So creamy and thick."Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's Parmesan smashed potatoes. The fourth spot belongs to Garten's elevated store-bought mashed potatoes.Garten's elevated store-bought mashed potatoes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider I know what you're thinking: How can store-bought mashed potatoes be so high on this list?But if anyone can elevate something from the supermarket, it's the Barefoot Contessa.Garten developed this recipe, a spin on her Parmesan smashed potatoes, for The New York Times in 2022 after declaring that she was burned out from cooking."Mashed potatoes are an essential Thanksgiving side dish but can be time-consuming," she wrote. "Instead of starting with raw potatoes, then peeling, cutting, and boiling them, start with these prepared potatoes, and no one will know you didn't make the dish from scratch."Garten's recipe features a pack of refrigerated mashed potatoes, plus butter, sour cream, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. All you have to do is heat the refrigerated potatoes over a pan of simmering water and then throw in the extra ingredients. Garten's elevated store-bought mashed potatoes taste delicious and barely require any work or dishes.You can whip up Garten's elevated store-bought mashed potatoes in less than 20 minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider Garten's elevated mashed potatoes were super creamy, with the Parmesan cheese infusing each bite with a lovely richness. I made these for my parents when I was home for Thanksgiving and they couldn't tell the mashed potatoes were store-bought.What's really great about the recipe is how quick it is. You could easily whip up these mashed potatoes in less than 20 minutes and have a side dish everyone will love.Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's elevated store-bought mashed potatoes here. Rounding out the top three are Garten's hash browns.Garten's hash browns. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider Garten uses diced instead of shredded potatoes for her hash browns, and Jeffrey her husband of 56 years is a huge fan."When my husband tasted them, he wanted to know if he could have them for dinner!" Garten writes. "Hey, why not? What makes him happy is just fine with me."Garten's hash browns feature boiling potatoes, chopped yellow onions, butter, scallions, and fresh flat-leaf parsley. I'd happily eat Garten's hash browns for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.Garten's hash browns are deliciously crispy and creamy. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider Garten's hash browns were a huge hit when I whipped these up for brunch with my boyfriend and our friends.The potatoes have a deliciously crispy exterior that gives way to the soft and creamy middle, and the parsley and scallions add so much extra flavor. One friend loved these so much they declared they could've eaten the whole pot.I served the hash browns with Garten's sweet banana pancakes (also very delicious), but I think they'd also pair well with chicken, turkey, or any other holiday centerpiece.Get the full recipe for Garten's hash browns here. The English roasted potatoes that Garten learned from Emily Blunt are in second place.Emily Blunt's English roasted potatoes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider Emily Blunt's English roasted potatoes were such a hit that the "Barefoot Contessa" website temporarily crashed when Garten shared the recipe in May 2020.Blunt taught Garten how to make her family's special recipe for roasted potatoes on a 2018 episode of "Barefoot Contessa." The simple dish only requires two main ingredients Yukon Gold potatoes and parsley and features some helpful cooking tips.After parboiling the potatoes, Blunt shakes them in the pot to help roughen up the edges."If you rough up the edges, once you roast them, it just gives a really nice, sort of crispy, crunch," Blunt explained to Garten during the episode.Blunt also lets the potatoes dry for 15 minutes before baking them, which she said creates "such a fantastic crust on the outside." Blunt's English roasted potatoes look gorgeous and taste delicious.Blunt's English roasted potatoes look beautiful on the plate. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider I will always love my dad's recipe for Greek roasted potatoes above all, but these English roasted potatoes are a close second.Blunt's two quick tricks really pay off in terms of texture. There's such a satisfying crunch on the crust of the potatoes, which are deliciously soft and creamy in the middle.These potatoes go great with just about everything, but you'll definitely have a lot of happy guests if you make them for the holidays.Get the full recipe for Emily Blunt's English roasted potatoes here. Taking the top spot is Garten's potato-fennel gratin.Garten's potato-fennel gratin. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten's potato-fennel gratin is the first dish I cooked for my family's holiday menu. The recipe, which appears in "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," features russet potatoes, fennel, yellow onion, heavy cream, and Gruyre cheese."I love to make potato gratin and fennel gratin, so I decided to combine the two," Garten writes in the recipe description. "If you make this in an old French gratin dish, it looks wonderful and can go from the oven to the table with style." Garten's potato-fennel gratin is one of my favorite holiday dishes.I make Garten's potato-fennel gratin every holiday season. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten's potato-fennel gratin is just so creamy, comforting, and delicious. The potatoes always come out perfectly cooked, the combination of heavy cream and cheese is a dream, and the sauted fennel cuts through with some lovely sweetness.The dish couldn't be easier to assemble, especially if you want to hand off a holiday cooking task to a younger chef in the family (or that cousin whose most-used app is DoorDash).I make Garten's potato-fennel gratin every holiday season, and it's always one of my favorite dishes at Thanksgiving and Christmas.Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's potato-fennel gratin here.

I've planned girls' trips with friends for years, but it's been harder to coordinate them over time.We all have a lot going on, and many of us have kids who can be especially tough to plan around. Our adults-only trips aren't going anywhere, but we now plan group trips with our daughters, too. Since college, I've been fortunate to have a big, close-knit group of girlfriends and I've prioritized nurturing those friendships.I especially love strengthening our bonds during getaways, and in my group, I handle planning and coordinating the girls' trips. Since the '90s, I've spearheaded countless getaways for our group from raging college spring breaks (New Orleans) to bachelorette parties and divorce parties (both Vegas), to milestone birthdays (my 21st in NYC and 30th in Jamaica), to healing retreats after illness and loss. These trips have been a great source of joy, laughter, healing, and countless memories one that sustains us through distance and life's tribulations.I'm determined to keep up the girls' trip tradition, especially as life looks different for all of us.There are more factors to consider now that we're adults with full lives Many of us (not pictured) don't even live in the same city. Dmitry Molchanov/Shutterstock In our teens and early 20s, finding time and space for bonding was easy because many of us lived together and had few distractions. As life has gone on, those opportunities for connection have become fewer and more difficult to coordinate. We no longer live under one roof, and many of us aren't even in the same city. In our group, there are big jobs, spouses or partners, ailing and elderly parents, a wide range of disposable incomes, and home projects.For many of us, there are also kids. This element, in particular, makes it harder for people to commit to dates and make a trip happen: There's homework to do, drop-off and pick-up schedules to coordinate, and sometimes no partner who can help. It can be hard to prioritize time for yourself as a parent, let alone make time for a trip with friends. A recent change of plans helped me approach girls' trips in a new way My last girls' trip to Palm Springs was an impulsive overnight stay at an Airbnb oasis with a jewel box of a pool amid a historic heat wave.My friend had intended to celebrate her anniversary with her husband and daughter there but when he got sick, she invited my daughter and I to join for a two-generation girls-only sleepover instead.While we hung out, our daughters (ages 7 and 10) had fun among themselves. When we all came together, we did pedicures and facials, had cannonball contests, and shared a huge tray of nachos by the pool.This arrangement was fun and rewarding, plus it eased some of the logistical burdens involved in coordinating childcare. It also helped me realize how nice it could be to incorporate our daughters into some of our trips. Mom-daughter trips won't replace our old format entirely. Importantly, some friends in our group have no kids (and no interest in spending leisure time with them), and some have only sons. Still, I'm hoping the two-generation girls' trip flourishes as one extension of a cherished tradition in our expanded circle as life goes on.Most of all, I'm thrilled to expose the next generation to the soul-satisfying joy of girls' trips, a travel style that I believe nurtures friendships and supports sanity across all stages of life.

A new study suggests universal pre-K programs could increase parents' earnings.Researchers found that those who enrolled their kids in free pre-K made about 21% moreUniversal pre-K programs have also been shown to help kids' long-term futures.Universal pre-K has long been thought to boost children's lives and futures, but a new study suggests parents could also reap the benefits of free and early education for their kids.Economists found that parents who had the opportunity to enroll their children in a universal pre-K program in Connecticut saw increased earnings by about 21% while their kids were in the program, as well as persistent gains for up to six years after.The study, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research this month, looked at a New Haven pre-K program that provides six and a half hours of free schooling each day to three and four-year-olds, as well as wraparound childcare before and after school.Parents who were lucky enough to win the school lottery saw several positive economic benefits, according to researchers. In addition to increased wages over time, those whose kids enrolled in the program also got an average of 12 more working hours each week, the study found."Parents whose kids have access to reliable, high-quality child care in the pre-K period are more likely to work during that period, and they work more hours," wrote economist Emily Oster in her ParentData newsletter. "This extra work allows them to get on a steeper career path."The authors of the study similarly chalk it up to career continuity."This means that even though everyone eventually ends up working the same number of hours, the group that was able to invest in their career early have higher wages and therefore more income," Oster added.Historically, parents haven't been required to send their kids to school until Kindergarten in most states. But in recent years, a growing number of municipalities have begun offering schooling for children as young as 3.Supporters of universal pre-K say the concept gives kids an equal starting position heading into school and opens them up to educational opportunities at a younger age. Opponents, however, point to the high costs associated with providing free childcare.Several studies in recent years have recorded some of the benefits for kids, including 2021 research that found children who attended universal pre-K are more likely to graduate high school and attend college. The study also pointed to positive behavioral impacts for those students.The positives go beyond academics, too. A 2017 study found that universal pre-K helps more kids access healthcare, such as earlier detection and treatment for conditions like asthma and hearing and vision problems.Affordable childcare and universal pre-K could also flush billions of dollars back into the US economy, a 2022 study from left-leaning think tank The Century Foundation found.President Joe Biden included universal pre-K in the Build Back Better Act, which failed to garner Congressional support back in 2021. The legislation would have allowed three million more parents to either enter the labor force or increase their working hours, the Century Foundation report found.The new study out of New Haven notably did not find any evidence that universal pre-K programs improve students' future test scores a finding in line with prior research that suggests the biggest benefits are more long-term, Oster noted in her newsletter."In the end: from an economic standpoint, the biggest value to universal pre-K may be that it helps parents return to the labor force and make a better life for their families in the short and long run," Oster wrote. "And of course, that's also good for kids."

Ivens Apartment / X AtelierSave this picture! Eduardo Montenegro studioArchitects: Yasuhiro Yamashita x Atelier TEKUTOAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:160 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2023 PhotographsPhotographs:Eduardo Montenegro studioMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The renovation of this apartment consists in the total usage of this familiar residence volumetry, set on the rooftop. In this sense, overlapping spaces generate informal areas which allow the space to be enjoyed on two levels.Save this picture!Save this picture!The living space, being the primary space of the apartment, was developed to promote greater versatility of uses corresponding to the different needs and inputs of a creative client.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The spiral staircase acts as a sculptural element that connects both floors. The optimization of the area in the second floor is the consequence of the reduction of the height in technical areas in the first.Save this picture!Save this picture!Colorful and playful, the kids room sets place behind a hidden closet door, as a secret room. Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officePublished on December 22, 2024Cite: "Ivens Apartment / X Atelier" 22 Dec 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025011/ivens-apartment-x-atelier&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

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A former CD Projekt Red artist has shared some beautiful artwork of The Witcher 4's Ciri wielding a new and unusual weapon. Her illustration later went viral on social media, impressing many The Witcher fans.

In the latest Directors Take, Overwatch 2s game director Aaron Keller gave players more information about the future of 6v6, as well as insight into Hazard's performance, holiday-themed cosmetics, and 2024 competitive rewards. Aaron Kellers blog post updates fans on what's next for 6v6 in Overwatch 2, as players have been wanting this game mode to make a return ever since the introduction of 5v5.

After more than a decade of waiting, fans finally got their hands on a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. title. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a huge expansion of the concepts introduced in the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy, which is both a relief to fans and something that might turn some newcomes away.