Honorable mention: Starcraft 2
I have a long history with RTS games (I played Warcraft 2 before I could read!) and I picked up Starcraft 2 again this summer while on leave. It’s still incredible, and I don’t know how any RTS game will top it. Shoutout to PiG bronze to gm for helping be claw back to Diamond rank.
(7) Against the storm
I played Against the storm a lot in the first few months of the year. I like city builders (have played a lot of Anno 1800, Cities Skylines, etc.) and this is a fun twist, adding Rogue-lite elements that make you throw away your city after completing an hour-long scenario. Loving this trend of making “$genre but rogue-lite”. I expect I’ll be returning to this one before too long.
(6) Satisfactory (1.0 release)
I played a lot of Satisfactory during early access, and was eager to return for the 1.0 release earlier this year. I’m a sucker for automation games and they managed to balance the exploration combat, factory building, and decoration in a really satisfying way. The final release didn’t add much in a way of story, but that wasn’t really needed for a game like this. The beare bones of building and expanding the factory throughout the world were enough to capture me for many more hours.
(5) Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (singleplayer campaign)
This was a surprise! I loved the original Call of Duty games growing up, but have not played a modern incarnation since high school. Not interested in the multiplayer, but I heard some positive buzz about the campaign and with it free on Game Pass I gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised - 8 hours of whirlwind psychedelic spy-thriller action straight out of Jason Bourne. Nothing revolutionary but exactly what I’m looking for out of a shooter these days.
(4) UFO 50
Gosh, this is a special game. The premise is that they found a storage unit with a video game console and 50 games published by a defunct company from 1982 to 1989. Each game of the collection looks and feels like it could’ve been released in the 80s, but often time takes modern design sensibilities and transports them back to that technological era. Even as someone who did not grow up with this era of games, I am finding a lot to love here and have a feeling that I’ll be working through this collection for a long time to come.
My favorites so far: Magic Garden, Party House, Avianos, Campanella, Mooncat, and Overbold.
(3) Balatro
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this wonderful game? I got hooked early on, and recently succumbed again to the mobile version. Even after reaching what is likely my high score (e15 or so), I find myself coming back to try and progress higher and higher stakes. A bit of the magic is lost after you understand the few optimal strategies for truly high scores, but the challenge to beat the game on each run is different and rewarding. Can’t wait for the content update in 2025!
(2) Factorio: Space Age
Did I mention that I like factory games? The Space Age expansion takes Factorio to a new level. The three new planets I’ve visited so far have required some lateral thinking from traditional Factorio patterns, and I haven’t even made it to the last one yet. There are SO many little challenges to solve, I find the loop very rewarding. As an example, in a recent session I decided I wanted to set up artillery batteries on the main planet, Nauvis. To do this I needed to import Tungsten from Vulcanis, so I designed a new hauler ship dedicated to traveling back and forth. Then on Vulcanus I needed to scale up Tungsten production and increase the rocket launch rate to supply the new frequent hauler visits. Once I had the Tungsten imported I set up a production line on Nauvis and used the logistics system to set up a few outposts. Not attempted yet - a continuously running artillery train circling my base. And that’s one of the simpler problems!
(1) Metaphor ReFantazio
My favorite game of 2024 and my first Atlus (maybe first JRPG?) that I’ve completed. Read my detailed thoughts about it here: You should play Metaphor ReFantazio. One month on, the characters and story stick with me - the middle 3rd of the game has some of the best storytelling and character development I’ve experienced in a video game. Go play it!