Gaming in 2024 felt like the start of a shift in trends. The death of live services. The rise of nostalgic remasters and remakes. A time of big budget stagnation and indie innovation. It was also a year awash with layoffs and studio closures alongside a massive disruption of both the games industry and games press. As such, my top 10 of the year may be the most eclectic it's been in a while. The strange, the challenging, the exciting, and the profound all have a place here.
Here are my top 10 games of 2024.

10. Black Myth Wukong
GameScience's debut title made a considerable splash this year. Its recursive narrative moves back and forth between adaptation, retelling, and sequel to Journey to the West. Combat hits a euphoric blend of challenging and satisfying, utilizing Sun Wukong's arsenal of clones, teleportation, heavenly transformations, and powerful quarterstaff strikes. Boss battles walk a fine line between monumental challenges and bombastic spectacle.
It is a game with such passion and dedication put into every polygon that it overshadows some undercooked level design and some questionable story presentation. Black Myth Wukong is one massive swing that gets a lot right on its first go, and It has made GameScience a studio to keep an eye on.

9. Destiny 2: The Final Shape
A lot can happen in 10 years. In the case of Destiny, three different console generations, the rise and fall of gaming trends, and countless sea changes and course corrections for its epic space opera shooter.
But this year, Bungie did it. Destiny 2: The Final Shape delivered an epic conclusion to its decade-spanning story, packed with emotional setpieces, impeccable gunfights, and a wonderful 12-member finale event that lives rent-free in my head.
While Destiny 2's current climate has been meandering and anemic, I cannot deny the craftsmanship that went into telling the final chapter of The Traveler and The Witness. And it is a finale that I and some close friends will remember for a long time.

8. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
It has been years since I've touched a major release from Ubisoft. Their in-house style, while enjoyable in small doses, can be an overwhelming exercise in excess. In the current gaming landscape, that can mean dozens or even hundreds of hours of precious time lost.
Which is why I absolutely loved Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, a scaled-down, straightforward action platforming adventure packed with polish, punch, and presentation by some of the industry's best designers.
It blends the spectacle and style of shonen anime into its boss fights, the creative and thoughtful level design of the best Metroidvanias on the market, and an escalating set of challenges tailor made for platforming purists and combat junkies alike.
It's an experience soured by the fact the studio that made it got laid off. But, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the kind of game we need more of in this industry, and for that, it earns a spot on my list.

7. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, when described on paper, reads like an ad lib. A hack-and-slash, real-time strategy, tower-defense game about banishing an army of demons from a mountain set in ancient Japan. It represents design from an older time, a wild era of experimentation where developers could try anything without worrying too much about selling millions of copies. It's an attitude that is downright alien in this day and age.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an infectiously rewarding game. It keeps all of its plates spinning with style and grace, a testament to Capcom letting their imaginations go wild.

6. Silent Hill 2 (2024)
What else can be said about the legacy of Silent Hill 2, one of the greatest horror game stories ever told? Not much. What can be said about the prospect of it getting remade by Bloober Team, a development studio with an uneven track record? Quite a bit.
It is a remake that doesn't just play the hits but explores different parts of the narrative left implied. This has led to more naturalistic dialogue, impressive subtle character performances, newfound depth in the supporting cast, as well as new theories about the nature of the town and James' fate within its foggy walls.
Is it that magical remake that perfectly captures the spirit and impact of the original release? Of course not. But it is a remake that understands why the original has endured for so long and admirably updates itself with overhauled combat and revised puzzles.
The Silent Hill 2 remake was one of 2024's pleasant surprises. A modern return to the iconic haunted town that has successfully entranced a new generation of players.

5. Metaphor: ReFantazio
Atlus' developers continued to push the envelope this year with Metaphor: ReFantazio, an original property helmed by former developers from the Persona series.
In strict game terms, it is an evolution of Persona's strengths: engaging and difficult turn-based combat juxtaposed with quiet social bonds and real-world time management.
But what makes Metaphor: ReFantazio so compelling is its various artistic inspirations. It seamlessly blends Renaissance art motifs, medieval high fantasy architecture, contemporary fashion designs, and monsters that have leaped off the pages of Hieronymus Bosch.
Impressively, despite being set in a fantasy setting, Metaphor: ReFantazio tells a timely tale. A big idea narrative around the underhanded corruption of elected officials and protecting the ideals of a just world. In a modern political climate where institutional trust is at an all-time low, it is a hopeful narrative worth telling.

4. Neva
Neva is a visually magnificent game with its heart on its sleeve. A short but impactful game about parenthood and environmental awareness.
It is both a game and an impressionist painting brought to life. A polished platformer and a serenely beautiful allegory for the enduring spirit of life and nature. A game where you can pet an adorable white wolf pup as much as you want. An experience forever burned into my memory thanks to its striking imagery and playful gameplay. A wonderful blend of audiovisual art and interactivity that leads to some transcendent setpieces.Truly unforgettable.

3. Mouthwashing
Mouthwashing by Wrong Organ may be the most disturbing horror game I have played in a long time.
On the surface, it is about the doomed crew of a space cargo freighter. But this simple tale of entrapment degrades into a pitch-black tale of human misery. A tale packed with commentary on late-stage capitalism, unflinching depictions of operational incompetence, disturbing nightmare vignettes, and a descent into delirium, distrust, and despair.
In addition, it is deceptively grotesque. Mouthwashing's retro polygonal look hides horrifying setpieces with some gross body horror. This game has ruined cake for me.
But all of that cruelty and revulsion is not in the service of cheap shock. It earns a place on my list thanks to its fantastic script, three-dimensional characters, and its masterfully labyrinthine nonlinear narrative structure. A brand new interactive horror classic that stands head and shoulders above its peers this year. I hope this hurts.

2. 1000xRESIST
Sunset Visitor has pulled off something phenomenal with 1000xRESIST. A narrative-focused game with an explicit central message about societal injustice, civil dissent, and religious dogma. It is also a deeply personal narrative drawing from lived experiences involving immigration, cultural diaspora, trauma, and societal anxiety. On top of all of that, it tells an existential sci-fi story spanning hundreds of years, an alien invasion, and the collapse of two different civilizations.
It is the most gameplay-light experience on my list. Yet, 1000xRESIST is a wonderfully written tale with a lot to say about family, friendship, romance, and the power of endurance in the face of hardship and unjust leadership. All of which is expressed with no condescension or pretension.
It is because of that confident, measured, and precise storytelling that I will be thinking about this game for years to come. Heki Grace.

1. Pacific Drive
Pacific Drive is a game I have not been able to put down. An '80s sci-fi game where you unravel the mysterious origins behind a radiation exclusion zone with the aid of a broken-down station wagon.
This is mostly thanks to its impeccable atmosphere and tone. Just driving from location to location, jamming out to indie rock as the mountainous Pacific Northwest degrades into surreal landscapes and alien life would have been enough to put it on this list. But Ironwood Studios also built deeply rewarding survival gameplay and genuinely challenging traversal missions into the main experience, making each drive compelling.
There were countless moments throughout my playthrough full of unique, emergent moments. Running out of gas during a key mission leading to me siphoning fuel from every wreck I could find. Barely escaping a radiation storm on three flat tires and all my armored plating stripped off. The list goes on.
All of this combined with a solid sci-fi story steeped in retro kitsch makes Pacific Drive one of my favorite games this year.