This year may not have been as jam packed as 2023 was for gaming, but there were still plenty of amazing new releases. Whether you love a good indie or a big-budget production, this year had you covered. All you needed to do was look a bit deeper than you might have in 2023.Animal WellThe core of Animal Well isnt that structurally complicated: Its a lock-and-key Metroidvania. You go to places to unlock other places and abilities. There are puzzle bits. Platforming bits. Bosses. A sense of progression. Beating the core story opens up a couple layers of admirably elaborate and increasingly meta secrets, but lets be real, most people interested in those are just going to look up the answers online.And yet, you play it, and you cant help but think there isnt much like it nowadays. Why? Its not just the lo-fi aesthetic. Its the fact that you never learn what your little blob guy is. Its giving you a map to mark up yourself instead of providing any instructions. Its accidentally realizing the disc youve held onto for the last three hours isnt just for throwing. Its the big monkey that flings rocks at you, just because. Its the way each screen is a static shot, the way the camera centers the world instead of the player. Its the eternal wonder and pleasure of uncovering what lies in wait in the dark, behind us, under our feet, outside of our little wells. And then having no clue what it actually means. Thats real stuff.Animal Well is that rare thing: a modern video game that trusts you to figure it out and has enough grace to let you stumble in the shadows. I bet the ending will leave you slack-jawed. Jeff Dunn, Senior ReporterAstro BotAstro Bot is a paean to the three-decade history of PlayStation. It shines a spotlight on every crevice of the brand's timeline, turning both mascots and long-forgotten characters from Sony's archives into adorable bots that you collect along your journey.More importantly, though, Astro Bot stands squarely in the pantheon of great PlayStation games in its own right. It's an exquisitely designed platformer that's bursting with personality, wit and gorgeous visuals. Team Asobi packed its ultra-charming game with clever ideas and mechanics to keep you on your toes. It even feels great thanks to smart use of the DualSense controller's haptic feedback.Video games arent always supposed to be fun. But Astro Bot wrings pure joy out of every single moment at least when its not kicking your ass in the tough bonus levels. Kris Holt, Contributing ReporterBatman: Arkham ShadowI never get sick of playing the Batman Arkham games. It doesnt matter how many times Ive solved all the Riddlers puzzles or foiled The Jokers plans. Batman: Arkham Shadow does a superb job of replicating all the things that make the original Batman games fun, like using gadgets to rack up combos in hand-to-hand combat and swooping out of the darkness to pick off armed henchmen. The games most impressive feature, however, isnt the fighting, Batarang-ing or the satisfying feeling you get when you make a Tyger guards leg bend in the other direction. Its the story.Batman: Arkham Shadow goes deep into the legend of Batman and its Rogues Gallery of thematic villains. It unpacks Bruce Waynes story of perpetual pain and need for emotional redemption just as well as any of the other games and even some of the big-screen adaptations. Batman: Arkham Shadow shows that VR games have a lot of potential to be more than just mindless shooting galleries and boxing simulators. Danny Gallagher, Contributing ReporterBalatroOf all the games you see on this list, not one was as universally loved as Balatro. Nearly every member of the Engadget team wanted to write about the game. So instead of limiting ourselves to just one blurb, we wrote an entire ode to Balatro.Crow CountryWhen I first heard about Crow Country, a 2024 release that was heavily influenced by PS1 survival horror games, I was really intrigued but also a bit worried that itd be little more than a nostalgia grab. But once I got to playing it, I totally fell in love, and found it to be a unique experience even with all the loving nods to its inspirations.Crow Country follows Mara Forest, a somewhat shady protagonist, as she explores an abandoned amusement park in search of its missing owner, Edward Crow. There are constant hints to a terrible event that led to the parks shutdown, and strange skinless monsters are all over the place. In typical survival horror form, you have to manage your resources like ammo and health kits, and youll encounter a bunch of puzzles that youll need to solve in order to progress. I played Crow Country before the introduction of Hard mode, and found it to be spooky and engaging but, to my surprise, also kind of cozy, which I really liked. But theres a game mode for everyone. If you want a more riveting experience, go for Hard mode. If you dont want to face any enemies, theres Exploration mode. Survival, the normal mode, falls in between those two.Crow Country is a great game with some light horror and a story that was fun to piece together along the way. Its perfect if you want to play a horror game that has a creepy atmosphere but wont have your heart in your throat the entire time. Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend EditorDragon Age: The VeilguardDragon Age: The Veilguard wastes no time showing off the full glory of its graphical prowess and epic storytelling. Once youve spent some time in its (excellent) character creator, its only a few minutes until youre fighting to stop the end of the world. Solas, the previous games surprise villain, is trying to tear apart the boundary between the spirit and human world. And in the process, his magical ceremony fills the screen with a glorious array of neon lights, color and shadows. If youve got a modern GPU, youre in for a ray tracing workout.Im a gamer of simple pleasures, and Ill admit, that bombastic opening sequence alone was enough to make me fall for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. What kept me playing, though, was BioWares classic formula of intriguing characters and sharp storytelling. Ill forgive the many missteps of Mass Effect Andromeda, Veilguards crew of ragtag heroes make it clear BioWare still has its narrative.Whats truly surprising, though, is that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is also a decent action RPG, with fast-paced and challenging combat that feels more reminiscent of the recent God of War games than anything from Dragon Age proper. Theres a rich skill tree to follow, and you can always re-spec without penalty.For a game that could take a hundred hours to truly finish, Veilguard still manages to feel fresh and exciting every time I sit down to play. So really, I dont mind if it doesnt hit as hard as previous entries, or if it doesnt give you as many consequential choices as Baldurs Gate 3. Sometimes it just feels good to hang out with your fantasy buds and crack a few demon skulls. Devinda Hardawar, Senior EditorFinal Fantasy VII RebirthThe second part of the anticipated remake of 1997s Final Fantasy VII uses the power of the PlayStation 5 to create a more significant (if not entirely open) world. (Its also one of the best games to showcase what the PS5 Pro is capable of, offering smoother framerates and crisper textures and detail.) Its a bigger, better, game than Remake.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth expands Remake's often constricted alleys and buildings into expansive plains, mountain hikes, and Mythril caverns. Whats interesting about this middle chapter is that the ending of Remake seemingly cut ties with the story we all knew from the original. Despite that, Cloud, Aerith and the rest of the motley crew tour most of the same towns and destinations of the original game. That feeling of nostalgia is paired with a modern, further refined action RPG battle system, with new synergy attacks, materia and summon spells. Its all a little convoluted, but also meant I got to lean into my favorite characters and their play styles. (No one likes Cait Sith.)Its a rolling adventure that folds in extra character and story detail. While exploration in this middle chapter isnt as expansive as I might have liked, the themed areas are all different from each other, packed with their own battle and exploration themes. I just love the soundtrack of Rebirth I love it so much that it made it into my most-played albums of 2024. Mat Smith, UK Bureau ChiefIndiana Jones and the Great CircleWhen I first learned an Indiana Jones game was in the works, it seemed instantly superfluous. Whats the point when the Tomb Raider and Uncharted games have spent decades translating Indys pulpy action into the world of video games? I should have known better than to doubt MachineGames, the developers behind the recent (and excellent) Wolfenstein games. If anything, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has more in common with Dishonored and Hitman than the bombastic set pieces that have plagued Uncharteds Nathan Drake. Its a first-person game, for one, and it focuses more on stealth and problem-solving than mowing down dozens of baddies.The game begins with a stunning recreation of the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, a sequence that had me continually dropping my jaw. Many shots are directly mirrored from the original film, the Indy model looks surprisingly life-like, and perhaps the biggest shock of all, voice actor Troy Baker delivers a solid interpretation of a young Harrison Ford. Honestly, his Indiana Jones sounds more like the character I remember than Ford does in the recent (and genuinely great) Dial of Destiny.While youre equipped with a gun early on, most of your time is spent investigating large areas like the Vatican, sneaking around restricted areas and punching fascists in the face. Youll also encounter a few puzzles that pose just enough of a challenge to be satisfying, without being overly annoying.Five hours into the game, I realized I hadnt yet fired my gun. And it would take several more hours before that was actually necessary. I cant think of many other action franchises that practiced such restraint.MachineGames didnt just make a good Indiana Jones game it crafted one of the best Indiana Jones experiences ever made. Ill take The Great Circle over Temple of Doom any day. Its so good, it belongs in a museum. D.H.Infinity NikkiFrom the hours we spend transmogging items or building gear sets for max stats, fashion has always been low-key essential in video games. So it's about damn time that someone decided to take the plunge, accept that style is everything and put it at the heart of an extremely charming game. Infinity Nikki is the most time I have ever spent in a game's photo mode. How could I not? My in-game wardrobe has been filling up with pieces all over the style spectrum from the ultimate cozy loungewear to absurdly frivolous pastel confections and I love them all. Dressing up in fabulous outfits is a big part of Infinity Nikki's immaculate vibes, but there's a whole lot of game here that has wisely taken its design cues from other very good titles.The influence of Genshin Impact is clear in the approach to gacha systems. The open-world exploration and side questing feel reminiscent of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. The Whimstar mechanics are right out of any 3D Mario. But every idea has been toned down so there's no stress and very little challenge. That sounds like it should be boring. It's not. Being in Miraland is a complete joy. Anna Washenko, Contributing ReporterINDIKAI havent stopped thinking about INDIKA since I played it in May. Its not a constant train of thought or anything, but memories of the game float through my consciousness fairly often and I welcome them each time funny, heartwrenching and all the emotions in between. And yet, INDIKA is not a game I freely recommend to every person. Its a satirical and surreal tale about the devil living inside a nuns head, and while it has laugh-out-loud dialogue and cute buddy-cop moments, its also laced with scenes of sexual violence. No matter how delicately and powerfully these scenes are handled, theyre still heavy.But, if youre up for it, INDIKA is an utterly unique third-person adventure that deftly balances levity and agony. It offers a flurry of whimsical absurdity, religious criticism and raw human suffering, always with a wink and a nod. INDIKA thrives in the messy area between pleasure and discomfort, and its worth a play for anyone seeking something mature and original. Jessica Conditt, Senior ReporterLorelei and the Laser EyesLorelei and the Laser Eyes is composed of contradictions. Its a distillation of everything that makes a puzzle game tick, and its also a complete subversion of the genre. Its heartwarming but eerie, mysterious yet satisfying, chaotic and utterly logical. Its modern, vintage and futuristic all at once.In Lorelei, players are stranded at the gates of an otherworldly hotel, and the only thing to do is investigate the creativity and tragedy thats touched its grounds over the decades. The hotel is vast and dotted with secrets, and each of its rooms houses at least one mystery. There are more than 150 puzzles in the game memorization tests, logic riddles, perspective tricks, math problems, art projects, lunar phases, astrological clocks and mazes and the solution in one room often unlocks secrets in other areas. Its a nonlinear experience, though it feels like everything in the hotel is deeply connected. Even you.Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is for fans of puzzles, narrative twists and David Lynch but really, its for anyone who likes rad new video games. This is a game like no other, and its proof that innovation is alive and well in the industry, especially among indie developers. J.C.Metaphor: ReFantazioMetaphor: ReFantazio improves on the Atlus JRPG formula that Ive loved across various Shin Megami Tensei and Persona games in every way. Perhaps the games greatest triumph is making that classic JRPG grindfest feel unique and purposeful. Rather than crawling through bleak, procedurally generated dungeons to level up between key objectives, youll be claiming bounties on monsters, helping locals rescue loved ones or searching for mysterious relics. Add to that an engaging and surprisingly grounded storyline, vibrant characters and a fine-tuned battle system, and you have a clear winner.The one drawback is that I wish its technical underpinnings were stronger; all the beautiful artwork and stylish menus in the world cant hide that the game is clearly built on the same engine as Persona 5, stretched to its absolute limits. Coming from the slick Persona 3 remake, which utilized Unreal Engine to good effect, its a little jarring to see low-res textures, fizzling lines and weird loads between areas. None of this is enough to stop Metaphor from being a game I recommend to anyone who will listen, though.Heres hoping that the next Persona game which has to be around the corner, right? takes the gameplay improvements of Metaphor and pairs them with an engine that wasnt built to accommodate the PlayStation 3. Aaron Souppouris, Executive EditorNevaNevapacks a hell of a punch. This action platformer tells a devastatingly affecting story about disease, entropy and the relationship between human and animal over time. It's mesmerizing on multiple levels: visually, aurally and emotionally.The story plays out almost wordlessly, with Nomada Studio largely using its environments, enemy encounters and your progression to tell the tale. You play as a warrior named Alba who tries to cleanse the world of a corruptive force that plagues the environment and possesses animals. Her companion is a titular wolf. Neva grows from a pup to an adult throughout the seasons depicted in the game. Alba can call the wolf to her when they're apart, but the timbre of her cries changes depending on how fraught the situation is.Neva is a relatively short game, but it's one that will stick with you. Just as the blight does to the landscapes and fauna of this sumptuous world. K.H.Nine Sols2024 may not be over yet, but I can safely say we probably wont see Team Cherry release Silksong. In other words, it was another painful year for Hollow Knight fans. But if you love Metroidvanias as much as I do, 2024 was easily one of the genres best years since 2017. Even if you only count two of this years more popular releases, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Animal Well, there was no shortage of incredible Metroidvanias to play over the last 12 months. But if you ask me, most people slept on 2024s best release: Nine Sols.Nine Sols is one of those rare experiences where the elevator pitch actually does the game justice. Its a 2D Metroidvania with a Sekiro-inspired combat system. Ill be honest, that alone would have been enough to get me hooked, but the reason Im still thinking about the game months after it came out in May is because of its story. The only thing Ill say here is that Nine Sols is the product of Red Candle Games. If that name sounds familiar, its because the studios previous game, Devotion, was at the center of a major censorship scandal involving the Chinese government. By all accounts, Devotion featured an incredible story, and I wish I could play it after experiencing Nine Sols. The team at Red Candle Games are master storytellers, and if the way Hollow Knight hid its best narrative elements behind item descriptions and environmental details left you wanting more, I think you owe it to yourself to give Nine Sols a try. Igor Bonifacic, Senior ReporterPepper GrinderPepper Grinder is a brisk, no-bullshit 2D platformer. Its hook is the titular device: a giant frigging drill that lets you chew and leap through each stage like a chainsaw-wielding dolphin. Youre never fully in control while the machine roars along, so navigating the quick stages comes to feel like a cross between bull riding and figure skating, as wild and destructive as it is elegant. Put another way, simply moving in this game is a kinetic thrill. The levels themselves refuse to repeat or linger on ideas for too long some tedious run-and-gun segments toward the end aside the boss fights are honest challenges and the whole thing is over in about four hours. Thats fine. Pepper Grinder knows what it is, does what it does and does it well. If only more games could be so focused. J.D.Thank Goodness You're Here!Dumb, funny, easy to play, I cant tell if Thank Goodness Youre Here is a tribute to British comedy history or a pastiche about what Americans think British comedic sensibilities are. Either way, its a whole lot of fun. You control an unnamed, tiny man who goes around the fictional town of Barnsworth, helping people the only way he can: pummeling objects and people with his little fists. You can hit things, you can jump, and thats it. Thats all you need to rustle together a flock of seagulls, deliver soup to a sickly man with spaghetti arms and even fix the local fish and chip shops fryer.It looks like a fizzy cartoon that would look at home on Cartoon Network, squeezed through an aggressively Northern English lens. Its just a shame it doesnt last longer. M.S.Phoenix SpringsIve never encountered a game quite like Phoenix Springs. Ive played point-and-click adventures, sci-fi mysteries and narrative games, but Ive never seen one that sounds this luscious, looks this dramatic or plays this hypnotically. Phoenix Springs is a noir detective novel come to life but its also a cyberpunk vision of the future, and its all presented in muted, hand-drawn hues blanketed in light blue shadows. Truly, every scene of this game is gorgeous.Phoenix Springs stars Iris Dormer, a technology reporter whos searching for her estranged brother, Leo. Her hunt takes her from the abandoned buildings of a rundown city, to a rich suburb, and finally to Phoenix Springs, a desert oasis bathed in golden light and occupied by a handful of odd, disconnected people.Theres nothing rushed about Phoenix Springs. Iris walks leisurely through expansive wide shots, her silhouette cutting across high grasses and cold concrete at the same unhurried pace. When she speaks, she sounds like a jaded detective lost in time, her sentences stark and powerful. Haunting choir chords and droning bass lines share screen time with pristine silence and birdsong. Phoenix Springs excels as both a piece of art and a detective game, and its the perfect escape for anyone who wants to slow down and get lost in the grit of a neo-noir world. J.C.Still Wakes the DeepStill Wakes the Deep is quietly one of the best horror games of 2024 and in a year that gave us Mouthwashing, Slitterhead and the Silent Hill 2 remake, thats saying something. Still Wakes the Deep comes from the horror masters at The Chinese Room, and its a stunning first-person experience that introduces violent paranormal monsters to the Beira D oil rig in the middle of the icy North Sea.In Still Wakes the Deep, horror comes in multiple forms. The invading creatures move with thin, too-long limbs that burst from their bodies like snapping bungee cords. Large pustules and bloody ribbons grow along the corridors, emitting a sickly cosmic glow. The ocean is an unrelenting threat, wailing beneath every step. And then theres the oil rig itself, a mazelike platform supported by slender tension legs in the middle of a raging sea, groaning and tilting as its ripped apart from the inside. Each of these elements is deadly; each one manifests a unique brand of anxiety.Amid the life-threatening terror, Still Wakes the Deep manages to tell a moving story about family and regret, thanks in large part to the games fabulous voice acting and compelling script. This one was easy to miss amid the glut of good horror games this year, but it belongs at the very top of that list. J.C.Silent Hill 2There isnt much to say about Silent Hill 2 and its story that hasnt already been said a million times; it is incredibly bleak, a masterclass in psychological horror. In the 2024 remake, the story is much the same, but theres a new intensity to the enemies and environmental elements that takes the horror to another level. Silent Hill 2 (2024) really got under my skin at times, and at others, made me jump out of said skin.In the game, you play as the confused and grieving James Sunderland, who traveled to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife telling him shes waiting for him. They once vacationed there as a couple, but needless to say, Silent Hill is not as he remembers it. The game presents you with both a fight for survival and mystery that needs solving, as James fights off horrifying monsters and little by little uncovers clues that point to dark events. Its extremely compelling and genuinely scary, not to mention emotionally effective as the story eventually reveals itself. Bloober Team did a great job with the remake and, as with the original, its the kind of game youll be thinking about well after youve finished playing. C.M.Space Marine 2At first glance, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is a simple, by-the-numbers action game in the mold of Gears of War. Its loud, bloody, and over the top. But the more I played Space Marine 2, the more I came to appreciate how much depth and intelligence it hides just below its shiny Ceramite surface. For one, it absolutely nails the Warhammer 40K setting, both visually and in tone. Its a game that knows its transhuman protagonists are just cogs in a brutal and repressive regime.Then theres the close combat system, which, once again, seems simple but rewards players who take the time to master its rhythm. Just because youre a super soldier doesnt mean you can simply charge into combat; instead, you need to block, parry and counter the most deadly opponents on the field. Plenty of other games have employed this rhythm, but Space Marine 2 makes its own and feel extremely satisfying. Add to that a compelling co-op mode that offers a great progression system, and you have a game that Ive played more than any other this year. I.B.The Last of Us Part 2 RemastedIm going to exploit a loophole to write about one of my favorite games that technically came out back in 2020, The Last of Us Part II. However, Naughty Dog released a remastered version for the PS5 in January. Yes, the core game is the same, and the graphics upgrade isnt nearly as massive as the remake of the first Last of Us that came out in 2022. But as I said in my review of Part II Remastered, the new roguelike No Return mode was easily worth the $10 upgrade fee on its own.I wasnt going to write this up for our favorite games of the year, thinking it would be silly to go back to this particular obsession of mine yet again. However, my PlayStation 2024 wrap-up indicated that I spent a positively ridiculous 318 hours playing Part II. Yes, I went through the main campaign once this year and also finally got the platinum trophy that had eluded me on the PS4 version but my rough guess is that I spent somewhere between 250 and 275 hours on No Return alone. Yes, thats borderline obsessive behavior, but I think it also speaks to how good the combat system in Part II is. And getting to play these encounters with 10 different characters, each with their own traits and quirks, means theres a ton of replay value here (if I havent proved that already). Add in the randomized mods that pop up (invisible enemies, healing when you land a melee hit, tripwire traps populating the arena) and youll never have the same run twice. Nathan Ingraham, Deputy EditorVendetta ForeverFitness is one of the best selling points for VR headsets. Its not just a static gaming experience. You can get up, jump around, squat, duck and dive your way in all sorts of different games. Meatspace Interactive may not have had fitness in mind when they designed the rapid action simulator Vendetta Forever, but its one of the most fun ways to work up a sweat on a VR headset. Vendetta Forever puts you in the shoes of the target of a series of minimalist assassins. Just like Superhot VR, the action ramps up the more you move, but Vendetta Forever has a unique LO-KILL-MOTION gimmick that makes it so addictive.You zip between your faceless enemies as you snatch weapons out of the air like firearms, ninja stars and even pencils while contorting your body to avoid incoming fire. Its easy to get caught up in the repeating action as you make your way through action movie staple scenes and learn from your deadly mistakes in gun run after gun run. Vendetta Forever is my favorite way to meet my daily cardio requirements. D.G.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/engadgets-games-of-the-year-2024-133005519.html?src=rss