2024 games review

I recently remembered that early-ish in 2024 I started a thread of games I wanted to play in the upcoming year. I thought it would be fun to look back on what I played (or didn't play) this year and which ones I actually enjoyed! I'll include everything mentioned in that list, and everything else I tried out.

I don't have a ranking system or anything, just a few thoughts here and there. And, there are some I didn't include either because they weren't in that list, or because I really only played it for a day; like books, I have a terrible habit of buying games that end up sitting on the shelf.

May this also serve as a reminder to me to do actual reviews of games as I play them so I can better organize my thoughts for next year!

Returning games

I wasn't sure if I wanted to mention returning games, because they're basically what I play between trying everything else. But, I spent a good amount of time playing them this year so here we are:

World of Warcraft

Obviously, I returned to this. The War Within expansion finally gets the story telling part of this game back on track. Shadowlands felt like too wide of a departure from what we were doing in Legion and BFA. After that, Dragonflight felt like their expansion to clean up technical issues, get gameplay loops on track, and focus on ever green features. So, finally, it feels like we're get some conclusion (or, at least, continuation) of the Titan + Azeroth story. The world design and environment building is absolutely wonderful. Overall, was happy to play a lot of season 1 and have a breather now before season 2 starts early 2025. WoW is essentially, my Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. I love the story and characters so much.

They've also made it a lot more enjoyable for solo players which is generally how I play the game now, even when I do have friends playing. Delves are fun, the world quests are fine, and there are lots of toys/pets/transmogs and lore bits to collect this expansion.

7 Days to Die

I really don't like "scary" games or games with zombies/monsters that chase you. But, something about this one is really fun to play with friends. It finally made it to the 1.0 release so we fired it back up. A lot of good improvements to points of interests. Blood moons were still challenging enough early on. Base building is fun; we usually occupy an existing house and I spend time repairing all the walls or repainting them to look nice. It's not a game I'd play solo, but it's great to add to the list of games to return to with a couple friends.

Minecraft

I love voxel-ey building games so this is one I come back to a lot. I don't play a lot of the base game; instead my friends and I usually play a large modpack like Create. With those, you can usually do a lot of automation, building factories, trains, etc. Lots of nerd stuff! We came back several times in 2024 to play different packs. I'm still surprised at how often we play this.

New (or new to me) in 2024

Enshrouded

I really enjoyed this one. It's a multiplayer RPG with crafting/building. The building is very voxel-ey and detailed. It's the type of game where I'm happier to play with others; they run off and kill everything while I use up all of our materials to build a really large house.

Unfortunately, this game didn't have lasting power with my friend group because, at least originally, all of the progress was shared on the server. So if you came in late, or played at odd hours, there wasn't much for you to do. I think they changed that later in the year, so I'll either urge them to revisit it with me or at least play on my own.

Once Human

I really wish my friends would have liked this more. I kept on with it for a little while after they all stopped playing. It felt like a mix of Secret World and a survival/zombie game. I think some negatives were the in-game shop, lots of confusing menus to claim "rewards" that you would immediately forget how to open again or how you even got those rewards. It was fun driving around on a motor cycle, clearing out camps, and looting boxes. Base building was pretty fun, though a little sad to see all the good decorations were part of the shop.

A Little to the Left

Scratches my brain so good. If you like anything to do with recognizing patterns, play this game.

Abiotic Factor

I don't usually like games that are "scary" but this was so much fun to play with friends. It's a good amount of silly mixed into it. It's a multiplayer survival game where you are working your way through a research lab and fighting the anomalies that have broken through.

Planet Crafter

Really good game to get stuck into and play for hours at a time. You can play multiplayer but I got enough enjoyment out of it solo. I was so excited when my world finally had frogs.

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen

Look, I think we need to let go of making new games look "retro" or old on purpose. I thought this might be one of those "old looking but just for the aesthetic games but it feels too clunky. It feels "old" clunky. Not good. Give me the quality of life things like, I don't know, a mini map. I don't want to go back, anymore.

Pax Dei

Didn't play. It was a game that looked too good to be true. This was even a thought I had early on when it was announced. When early access rolled around and people started streaming it, I got the vibe it probably wasn't for me. My main issue, is really I feel too old now to play games that require me to be online for large amounts of time AND to play with a huge group of people. That's my issue with most games in the sandbox genre; when the population falls off, there usually isn't much of a game to play on your own or with a smaller group. Which is a shame, because they always SOUND fun, but without other gameplay loops besides grinding materials and pvping in large groups, I'm always dissapointed in the actual fun-ness of them. Maybe it's too early, and I'll give it a little more time to cook.

Ashes of Creation

This is a sandbox game I've stayed interested in, because they've presented it more as an MMORPG than some of the others in the genre. I got a little impatient and bought into the second alpha so I have gotten to play a small bit of it. I think it's still too early to call, but it was in good enough shape that I'm hopeful to see where it goes. I am worried, at least for me, that it won't pan out because of the "be in a huge big guild to succeed" type of requirements these games often have, but it did seem like there was still content for small groups or solo players. I hope they pull it off!

Palworld

I had no intention of playing this, but after Enshrouded didn't really pan out early on for my friend group, they wanted to give this a try. I didn't get the hype for it. The building mechanics seemed very poorly implemented and just generally not enjoyable from a gameplay aspect. Some of the bosses were fun to fight. Instead of an open world/survival, it probably would have been better as a Monster Hunter + Pokemon ripoff. I dont intend to return to this one.

Throne and Liberty

Skipped this one. Honestly, too much RMT and in-game shop stuff from what I saw of others playing. It's such a drag. And, they feel like such a cash grab.

Dune Awakening

Didn't get to play but I will whenever I get the chance. Will it be a re-skinned Conan Exiles? Probably not. But that game was also fun enough multiplayer that I would try out another from Funcom.

ArcheAge 2

LOL. Did not play. Not sure if the game is even being made anymore. Probably shouldn't play anyways or give whoever owns this franchise now any money.

Nightingale

I played this alone right on release into early access. Probably too early to have an opinion on it. I don't feel super inclined to return to it. Honestly, I'm probably spent on the sandbox genre.

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I don't have any standouts for this year as for as new games. I originally included Lethal Company, because it's the last game I remember laughing that much in, until I realized I last played that in 2023! The War Within WoW expansion was probably my most anticipated (and most played). Blizzard's world designers deserve far more accolades than they get. What were your favorites this year?