A promo shot of Needle Knight Leda from Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, one of Joe Allen's top 6 games of 2024

Joe Allen's Top 6 Games of 2024

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Published: January 17, 2025 12:00 PM

There are many ways in which 2024 has been, to put it mildly, a rough year, and our industry hasn't exactly been faring well.

Amid mass layoffs, C-suite executives pocketing embarrassing amounts of money, and studios shutting down left, right, and center, studios must have had an exponentially harder time releasing games worth talking about.

Thankfully, many of them managed to do just that. However harrowing a year it's been for the industry on a business level, the games happily speak for themselves, and while I don't think 2024 raised the bar like 2023 did, that bar's high enough that it can sit right where it is without feeling too bad.

Without further ado, then, here are my top 6 games from 2024!

6. Black Myth: Wukong

The Destined One looking at his flaming staff in Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong made more than its fair share of contributions to the Soulslike genre this year.

The folks behind Black Myth: Wukong might have made a couple of unsavory remarks surrounding the game's release, but that doesn't diminish the quality of what is thankfully an excellent Soulslike action RPG.

Wukong's array of heavily Chinese mythology-inspired enemies and bosses is dizzying, and I've often said that Soulslikes live and die on their enemy variety, a brief developer GameScience seems to have understood very well indeed.

Couple that with satisfyingly complex levels that pack a plethora of optional paths to explore, and you've got yourself a Soulslike that deserves to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the genre's greats. The story's a touch muddled, but when the combat's this fun, I'll let that slide.

5. Persona 3 Reload

Junpei tipping his cap in Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reload may have been lengthy, but the payoff was worth it.

Oh, Persona 3 Reload, how you broke my heart. I never quite managed to click with previous versions of Persona 3; they always felt just a touch incomplete, like each one could do with some of the features another one had.

For the most part, Persona 3 Reload feels like the holistic package I've been waiting for. It's another delightfully offbeat slice of Persona fun, complete with everything you could want from one of these games: relationship-building, great characterization, and music that won't leave your playlists for months.

Some of the improvements made by Reload easily elevate it above its forebears, too. Its improved visuals, extra story elements, and extensive quality-of-life changes make it a much more palatable and welcoming experience than the often-punishing original.

4. Astro Bot

Astro looking up at a satellite in Astro Bot
For 3D platformer thrills of yesteryear, look no further than Astro Bot.

I haven't been as much of a fan of Sony's more recent AAA output than many; games like God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us lean a little too heavily on cinematic setpieces for me. What I want is a game that could only ever be a game, and happily, Sony provided this year with Astro Bot.

I'm about to praise it, so don't worry, but I've got a bit more of a bee in my bonnet about Astro Bot than many of my peers seem to. Its celebration of properties Sony seems happy to leave buried troubles me, and I wish it wasn't quite so self-congratulatory.

Even so, I'd be a churl if I pretended Team Asobi's throwback 3D platformer was not, on a moment-to-moment basis, the most fun I've had with a video game this year. It's delightfully colorful, beautifully playable, and wonderfully childlike without ever feeling childish.

If you can sit in front of Astro Bot, DualSense clutched in your hands, and watch its expertly choreographed action unfold in front of your eyes without cracking a massive smile, then I think your heart may have stopped beating.

3. Animal Well

A room with a tiled rabbit design in the background in Animal Well
Animal Well layered mysteries atop mysteries to great effect this year.

You can almost always rely on the indie circuit to go where AAA games fear to tread, and Animal Well certainly fulfilled that remit this year. Bigmode's inaugural title was a solo effort created by one-man outfit Shared Memory, and as opening salvos go, it's hard to top this one.

It's been a long time since I've seen a game world so absolutely stuffed to the brim with secrets. Pretty much every screen of Animal Well is hiding something, and you can choose on what level you want to engage with those puzzles, creating a deeply satisfying experience for players of all stripes.

Perhaps this is heretical to admit, but I was absolutely not bothered about the deeper, more ARG-adjacent layers of Animal Well. I was content to potter about its world, discovering its surface-level secrets and engaging with its expertly crafted platforming.

That's the beauty of Bigmode and Billy Basso's game, though; whether you're a dungeon-delving dilettante or a spelunker of secrets, you'll find something to love here.

2. Nine Sols

Yi staring down a boss that's yelling at him in Nine Sols
Nine Sols married satisfying combat and exploration with a surprisingly heartstring-tugging story.

It may be true that Nine Sols' Metroidvania world isn't quite as complex and multi-layered as some of its contemporaries, but that's more than made up for by one of the most affecting and well-realized stories I've seen in games for quite some time.

Unlike the general template for Metroidvania games, Nine Sols' protagonist, Yi, isn't a blank slate. He comes with his own personality, his own memories, and, perhaps most importantly for Nine Sols' narrative, his own baggage.

The story of how Yi slowly comes to terms with what his past contains and what it means for the world around him propels Nine Sols into the pantheon of the greatest Metroidvania games of all time, but its combat is nothing to be sniffed at either.

You'll need your wits about you to master Nine Sols' precise parry-based combat, which you'll use to take down an impressive variety of enemies and bosses.

1. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

A figure, possibly Messmer, kneeling against the backdrop of flames in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree is a phenomenally generous, thrillingly layered expansion.

There was never really going to be anything else vying for my top spot in 2024. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is about as close to a masterpiece as a game's DLC expansion can get.

The Realm of Shadow is a beautifully complex and dense open-world environment to explore. Like many, I'm not really sure why director Hidetaka Miyazaki chose to claim that the DLC's explorable landmass would rival that of the base game's Limgrave when it's so much larger and more layered.

Some found Shadow of the Erdtree's level of challenge too much to bear, but I welcomed it. Each of the DLC's bosses felt like a true test of the skills I'd learned during my time with Elden Ring, and to me, they all felt expertly designed and tuned.

Like the main game, Shadow of the Erdtree also comes complete with an incredible array of secrets to uncover. To share any of those secrets would be to spoil the surprise, so I'll just say that if you haven't played this one yet and you're an Elden Ring fan, please try to set aside the time. It's worth it.

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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for several years, and in those years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph