Games I Beat in 2024, Ranked
It was a year in games. There’s a lot that could be said about the industry overall, but this is more to discuss what I finished this year, again largely from Game Pass since I finished that up this year, though with a few outside of that as well, and going forward it’ll all be non-Game Pass stuff since I don’t see myself renewing any subscription at those rates. I also ended up getting a PS5 recently, so it’s likely there might be something from that for this list next year too. Anyway, time to list out my top however many games, which might actually be a real Top 10 this time by happenstance, and see what comes out as my Game of the Year that likely didn’t come out this year.
- Adios (XB1, Game Pass)
This was a random game I had on the account from when Games With Gold was still barely a thing and figured it’d be a quick thing to run through before the subscription ran out. It’s one of those narrative indie walking type simulator things about a farmer who wants to get out of his business, specifically being materials disposal for a legitimate business if you get what I’m saying here. Of course getting out of that business means loose ends have to be tied up, so the farmer has to tie up his own loose ends before his “resignation”. Long story short, I thought it was okay, a short but not quite engaging thing for me.
- Maquette (XB1, Game Pass)
I figured I’d check out another weird puzzle game on Game Pass, and this one has to do with size manipulation for the most part mixed with recursion, so that objects harder to move on one size level are easier on another, such as moving really heavy or tiny objects. It’s a neat concept but the narrative throughout this game didn’t grab me. I was more playing to see if they would do more interesting stuff with the mechanics, which they kinda did but generally this was just okay.
- When the Past was Around (XB1, Game Pass)
Another short puzzle game from Games With Gold that was on my list, this is more of a typical point and click involving a woman who plays a violin who I think has an owl man husband if I interpreted this right. But then stuff happens like plot disease and I’m not sure if there’s a metaphor involved or if things really do turn out the way they did or what. So again not the most engaging plot but at least the owl man is cute and the puzzles were relatively easy to work out aside from a few sticking points of not knowing what I could grab or click on.
- A Little to the Left (PC, Game Pass)
If you’re seeing a pattern here of just playing random short puzzle games, that just tended to happen a bunch during this last year of Game Pass while I was checking things off. I did check out a bunch of other games on Game Pass but dropped them for various reasons, either lack of interest or not having the time to go through the whole of a game, possibly picking it up elsewhere later and treating the Game Pass experience as more of a demo. Anyway, this is another puzzle game that involves following some kind of arbitrary rules to organize things in places, like drawers or shelves, with various twists around like different ways to arrange things as well as a random cat interruption that can mess things up, so working quickly to counter this or re-sort as needed can get through the puzzles. The cat seems to be ever-present as well, and maybe there’s a story here but I didn’t really pick up on it. I thought this one was also okay.
- Arcade Paradise (XB1, Game Pass)
I figured I’d look into whatever this game was and see how well it went with the whole retro theming. The premise is being given a laundromat to run by the protagonist’s father to learn how to be a proper business person, but moving away from that to instead turn it into an arcade as would fit the time period the game is roughly set in. As far as how much it follows the retro style, it’s really more of an art guideline, jumping between games rather than a more authentic experience like UFO 50 apparently is, and the games aren’t immediately apparent as to what they are, like one that acts as if it’s Grand Theft Auto plays more like Pac-Man for instance. The radio soundtrack is also eclectic and even keeps playing what’s apparently the theme song for the game, in addition to a remix of it, plus there’s some obvious pastiches of popular songs found in the 90s-ish era. Upkeep is fortunately not a major concern, mainly keep machines working and clean up as needed without having to worry about bills, just pay for the next machine or upgrade once there’s enough cash. There’s even a familiar cheat code to help smooth through the initial grind getting the laundromat more into an arcade. Overall, this one was all right but by the end it was mainly just waiting for the arcade machines to generate enough money for the next milestone.
- Starfield (PC, Game Pass)
A game that was certainly hyped up as games by this developer are, and I was also interested to check it out around launch, thanks to already having Game Pass, but more to see if I could spot any funny bugs. As far as their track record for having buggy releases, I have to say I only encountered major issues a few times but that was it. The rest was just the occasional jank. However, the game itself I feel has its own issues, mainly that there are several systems running parallel in the game that play against each other, and that grinding for both experience and resources to unlock upgrades is a bit much.
The leveling system is similar to Fallout 4, but instead of having upgradeable base stats to unlock perks down the line, it’s entirely perk-based, down to having to unlock basic features like a stealth meter and the ability to pickpocket, plus throwing in the challenges from previous 3D Fallouts as mandatory to upgrade a perk further, not to mention having several skill trees effectively to worry about. Managing to work around this and focus on the most important things, while also figuring out an effective way to grind experience, it can still be fun to mess around, even if not so much explore. Due to how a lot of the planets are procedurally generated in fairly basic ways that plop down random repeated dungeons, it feels more like unfinished areas outside of the actual designed settlements and landmarks for the most part, but at least a number of the lifeform designs are interesting, even if there’s not really any other “intelligent life” so it’s just generally in place of random wildlife.
I put this game on hold for about a year to play other things once I got tired of it for a bit, and then they added an update which, to my recollection, is the first actual playable vehicle in a Bethesda game since those old DOS Terminator games, and it actually just works. I also decided to play through all the major sidequest plots before reaching the main quest ending, by which point I’d made an overpowered shotgun that was effectively a short-range cluster rocket launcher that blew through the end boss rush in a bit of a hilarious yet satisfying way, but also had a weird twist in terms of the game briefly compensating for my absurd firepower. In the end, I thought this game was fine, but I don’t know that I’d be going back to it anytime soon, or even going after any DLC, which I’ve also heard disappointments about. Maybe if I got it for real cheap and if someone had bothered to make some interesting mods, but even that I’m not entirely sure of. Maybe I’d have to make some mods if I found time for that. Mainly I just wonder how Elder Scrolls 6 will turn out after this and the Fallout games before it.
- Loddlenaut (Steam Deck, Steam)
This was a cute little game I’m pretty sure I got in a bundle, and having gotten a Steam Deck prior to going on some major trips this year, it was a good game to put on there to play a bit at a time, along with all the other random little indie games I’ve been putting on there. Mainly it’s a relaxed underwater cleanup simulator mixed with managing the axolotl-like creatures that repopulate the cleaned areas. While there are still concerns to manage like inventory space and oxygen levels, they’re easy to mitigate and upgrade. I made it to the original ending after cleaning out the main zones completely, but it’s been updated recently with even more things to do and a further ending to work toward, but I’ll see if I feel like doing that while doing all the Steam Deck stuff I might get up to this next year. Long story short, this was a pretty cute game with a very obvious yet simple environmental message that didn’t get in the way but rather matched with the gameplay.
- The Invincible (PC, Steam)
I forget if I got this in a bundle or if it was just on sale somewhere, but this one had my interest for a while after playing the demo some time ago. It’s based on an old sci-fi novel and looks a lot like the cover of one as well, complete with all the retrofuturistic technology and designs, and is a narrative adventure through a strange planet with weird secrets to be uncovered and looming threats throughout. Even knowing that I probably wouldn’t encounter a death to reload from in this adventure, it still provided a good amount of tension and intrigue, and there’s multiple ways the ending can shape itself in ways that aren’t all consolidated at the last part of the game either. I did manage to get a fairly satisfying ending with one last challenge to overcome at least. I’d recommend this to someone who wants to experience a weird classic style sci-fi story in a form other than a book or old movie.
- Portal: Revolution (PC, Steam)
Another long-awaited Portal 2 mod, to the point where it features a further modified Source engine with modern tweaks without quite making the jump over to Source 2. This one is pretty high up on the list due to how I just enjoy Portal overall and how the series still holds up, plus the mod itself being pretty well-designed and having a good amount of content, while also mixing up the visual style other than just between “new” and “overgrown” with some interesting scenery throughout, plus different twists on the mechanics. It also was thankfully not heavily reliant on tightly-timed fling portal replacement to focus on thinking over pure reflex, like I feel this puzzle game should be. This was a pretty enjoyable mod overall and I’d still like to see more Portal action. Of course I’d really like to see a proper Portal game in VR, but there’s that whole “VR sickness” thing to worry about, given how important certain smooth fluid movements are to passing through portals. I’ve overcome it myself, but I didn’t really have motion sickness problems to begin with, so a game like that still has the niche market concern regarding the numerous people who aren’t so lucky, on top of the still niche market for VR overall, particularly any that requires a more powerful machine attached to the headset.
- Lil Gator Game (XB1, Game Pass)
Out of all the games I played through this year, this one was nice to look back on. I even went so far to go for 100% completion, which isn’t exactly the most difficult thing given the game’s fairly short length, but there’s still a fair bit packed into this game’s map. It’s effectively styled like Breath of the Wild but for kids, to the point where it’s really more imagination-powered than having any actual threats, while still having cartoony physics where nobody really gets hurt, even if the titular gator ragdolls off the highest peak in the map. The art style is adorable and draws from A Short Hike, as I mentioned when I recalled that game on the previous list, down to optional pixelization which I turned off for my playthrough to get the full effect of the low-poly cartoony style. There are also several plots to resolve between groups of kids having trouble with playtime while working on the larger plot of trying to get the protagonist’s big sister to play along for a bit. There’s also this overarching though not overbearing theme of big games being an effort between many people to create a great experience for a single player, given the efforts of all the folks both crafting things for the gator while also playing in or suggesting their own little ideas. As a disclaimer I’m also a developer myself, though not for this game or a big studio, but it’s still relatable in that fashion. But mainly it’s a cute little game with lots to do even in its short size.
So that’s what games I got up to finishing this year. I also want to give an honorable mention to Frontiers of the Mind to being an interesting experience that takes a weird real game show and turns it into a creepypasta sorta thing without being too clichéd, plus also being in the format of an old interactive CD with strange secrets to find. I didn’t count that in my games beaten for some reason but I’d say it’s worth a look for those interested in stuff like that. I guess we’ll just see what games I finish in the next year, hopefully plenty to play through and hopefully everything isn’t going horribly wrong also.