My 2024 in Gaming, So Far
My Favorite Games So Far
I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t played as many games as I’ve wanted this year. Part of this, quite frankly, is due to the high amount of stress I’ve been in. I don’t want to get too personal or political, but the fact that it’s an election year, and a very shaky and anxiety-inducing one, isn’t helping. There’s also the fact I’m now on a strict budget to deal with some debt, and work has been so busy this year that I’m really tired when getting home to a pretty active five-year-old. That being said, it’s not stopping me here, and I want to at least outline the year for me so far. So, despite it being small, here are my top 4 favorite games of the year so far.
#4 - Tales of Kenzera: Zau
Now, while this game isn’t perfect, it’s still pretty fun and has one damn good story with a really heartfelt message. The characters and story kept me engaged, and even with the generic combat, I was pretty excited to get back to it. I see a lot of potential in this team, and even though they dealt with some tough job cuts, I hope they come back with another game in the near future. The focus on a different culture than we usually see in video games and the story around dealing with loss is something I feel the industry needs more of.
#3 - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (Let’s Play)
As I’ve explained before, I’m on a tight budget, so I had to watch one of my favorite Let’s Players on YouTube to experience this (shoutout to FightingCowboy). This could have been on my number one spot if it wasn’t for the fact that I saw this rather than played it. That being said, this is one of the highest-quality expansions I’ve seen for a game. Elden Ring is as special as it comes in the gaming lore, and this expansion feels as close as we are going to get for a while to a sequel. The size of this DLC is massive and I think everyone was caught off guard just how much was going to be here. That being said, I think it brought up decade-plus debates about From Software titles that I think are worth discussing. This was a joy to watch, from the start to the insane final boss fight. Now time to watch a million YouTube videos to understand what I just saw.
#2 - Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
There’s been a lot of mixed-to-positive reviews for this game and some debates around how much the lack of combat helped or hurt it. Personally, while I do think the combat could’ve been better, and I do think the middle of the game got a little bit boring for a split second, I liked my experience with Senua overall. The graphics are gorgeous with an insane amount of details. The game’s story is enough to keep you hooked and the battles towards the end, with the music and drums, have an epic feeling to them. This was an amazing game from a technical and story standpoint, making up for the lack of combat and lack of variety during combat. Senua earned a place in my head as one of the best female video game characters, and I hope we see her again.
#1 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The second part of the remake trilogy to one of the most iconic video games of all time delivered on the hype. Does the game have a much bigger-than-needed open world? Yes. Does the game have some questionable mini-games that can feel forced? Oh yeah. Does the game have more side quests than it should? I would argue yes. But, I think the way the game is presented, you can ignore a good chunk of those as long as you’re not trying to get the perfect relationship with a character (Tifa, for me). The traversing of the open world is very much what a classic Final Fantasy fan would want today. The graphics and presentation are top tier and the story does a good job continuing the Final Fantasy VII plot you know and love, with some slight changes and expansions. This is the perfect game for a Final Fantasy VII fan, and there’s still one more to go! So far, for the year 2024 - this is my favorite game of the year.
Future
There are a lot of games I still need to get a chance to play. Luckily, the second half of the year is going to be packed thanks to Xbox Games Pass. Games like Flintlock, Indiana Jones, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Avowed are going to take up the final months of the year. Before the year is done, I want to at least start on a couple more games such as Rise of the Ronin, Princess Peach Showtime!, Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Astro Bot, and potentially something else like a Star Wars Outlaws. I’m hoping to end the year strong. Currently I got Still Wakes the Deep downloaded to check out. While I haven’t had the same experience as the ridiculously awesome year last year was, I have hope for a strong second half.