2024 was a relatively quiet year for video games. The highly-anticipated blockbuster games were fewer in number and largely spread out from each other, at least until the fall, when several games released at the same time, creating a pile-up to explore. This year’s ‘best of’ offering is less about finding the perfect games and more about finding rewarding experiences, even among the setbacks. And what’s true for gaming is very often true for life as well.
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00:00Here are Time's favorite video games of the year.
00:05Number 10.
00:06Helldivers 2
00:08Gamers killed a lot of bugs earlier this year as Helldivers 2, a cooperative third-person
00:13shooter from Arrowhead Games Studios, broke records and servers.
00:17A sequel to the 2015 top-down shooter, Helldivers 2 became PlayStation's fastest-selling title
00:23of all time, and within a week of its February release, the servers couldn't handle all the
00:28new players.
00:29The game is a riff on Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, complete with satirical military
00:33propaganda of war against insectoid aliens and cyborgs.
00:37There's not much in terms of story.
00:39Gamers play as a shock trooper called a Helldiver and are sent on increasingly difficult operations
00:43to collect better weapons, better gear, and more in-game currency to purchase it, so they
00:48can defeat a quickly growing number of tougher and tougher enemies.
00:52The overwhelming number of enemies led to server overloads, and players who weren't
00:56able to get online in time were often quickly outranked and outpowered by other gamers.
01:01Despite these frustrations, the game lives up to its core conceit, kill or be killed,
01:06and if Helldivers 2 proved anything, it's a lot easier to be killed unless you're willing
01:10to sink quite a bit of time into leveling up.
01:13Number 9.
01:14LEGO Horizon Adventures
01:15Horizon has quickly become one of PlayStation's most popular IPs since releasing in 2017,
01:21and the chance to explore that world through the lighthearted lens of LEGO felt like an
01:25automatic win.
01:27LEGO Horizon Adventures retells the story of Horizon Zero Dawn with all the humor and
01:32pop culture references that have made the LEGO Star Wars games such a hit across generations.
01:37There's something appealing about the gameplay of T-rated titles, and from first-hand experience,
01:41Horizon, with its lush world, robot animals, and alloyed archer skills, has always had
01:47a particular draw.
01:49LEGO Horizon Adventures makes good on finding balance, softening the world in its more complicated
01:54emotional and narrative themes while still providing gameplay that is involving and challenging.
01:59Plus, there's a cool co-op feature that's beneficial to family-style play.
02:03LEGO Horizon Adventures may not be what every gamer is looking for, but for Horizon fans
02:08and anyone looking to broaden the interests of a younger gamer in their life, this entry
02:12offers plenty to explore.
02:14Number 8.
02:15Star Wars Outlaws
02:16Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft take gamers to the seedy underside of the galaxy far,
02:21far away, where they play as K-Vess, a thief and scoundrel with a heart of pyrite who is
02:25looking to escape the Outer Rim and start a new life on one of the Core Worlds.
02:30Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Outlaws
02:34is a third-person action-adventure game featuring shootouts, heists, lockpicking, speeder races,
02:40gambling, and double-crosses.
02:42While nothing competes with the thrill of being a Jedi, Outlaws offers a wholly new
02:45experience in the Star Wars universe, as K is forced to join different crime factions
02:50to gain allies, get favors, and walk away alive to collect party members to pull off
02:55the biggest heist of her life.
02:56While the game had some frustrating bugs upon release, they've since been patched, making
03:01for a smoother and more thrilling experience.
03:03Whether players choose to gun blasters blazing or employ stealth tactics, Outlaws rewards
03:08their playstyle, offering blaster and gear upgrades that work best with their choices.
03:13There's also plenty to explore, from seeing a few familiar faces to finding parts to upgrade
03:18K's ship, speeder, and blaster.
03:20The very nature of gameplay gives back what you put into it.
03:23But if checking out every local cantina and helping pay off the debts of patrons wanted
03:28by the Empire is one detour too many, Outlaws also offers a compelling central story about
03:33crime and class that creates hope for more Kvests in the future, in any medium.
03:387.
03:39Black Myth Wukong
03:42Game Science's Black Myth Wukong made history as the first AAA game in the Chinese video
03:46game industry, which has historically developed mobile games instead of console games.
03:51Earning rave reviews, Black Myth Wukong is inspired by Wu Chang'an's novel Journey
03:56to the West.
03:57Gamers play as the Destined One, an anthropomorphic monkey believed to be the reincarnation of
04:02Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, as he travels to the mountains to fulfill his destiny, facing
04:08a myriad of Chinese spirits and mythological beings along the way.
04:12The game undoubtedly has the best art design of the year, filled with gorgeous detailed
04:16scenes of forests, temples, and mountains.
04:19The interpretation of mythological beings matched the God of War franchise in its bold
04:24and occasionally horrifying imagination.
04:26While some gamers have cited a lack of familiarity with the novel as a hindrance to understanding
04:31the narrative, the game does a good job of filling in details and providing a detailed
04:35glossary.
04:36It is easy to see why it will be many people's game of the year.
04:40However, the combat is challenging, so punishing that at a certain point it stopped being fun
04:44and never quite gave way to feeling instinctual.
04:47Even with all the charms picked up along the way, the many obstacles consistently felt
04:52more powerful than the Destined One.
04:54Your mileage may vary, and there's no doubt plenty to love about Black Myth Wukong, but
04:58when we're talking about hours put into trying to defeat the same boss over and over, this
05:03monkey's gone to heaven a few times too many.
05:09Number 6.
05:10Alan Wake 2.
05:11Night Springs and The Lake House
05:12Time's 2023 Game of the Year pick, Alan Wake 2, returned with more mysteries to solve
05:17this year with two expansions, Night Springs and The Lake House, totaling around four hours
05:23of new gameplay.
05:25Remedy Entertainment's first DLC release, Night Springs, contains three self-contained
05:29episodic narratives that exist within the fictional Twilight Zone-inspired series, Night
05:35Springs, and features parallels of the familiar characters we met in Alan Wake 2 as they
05:40traverse their private nightmares which become increasingly surreal and meta.
05:45The second DLC, The Lake House, continues to thread the connection between Alan Wake
05:50and Remedy's other franchise, Control.
05:53In this installment, players take control of the FBC, Federal Bureau of Control, Agent
05:59Kirian Estevez as she explores the FBC site, The Lake House, and finds horrors within,
06:06along with clues and emails that lead her towards a volatile shape-shifting entity.
06:11Both DLCs offer up the same kind of cold dread that Alan Wake 2 offered and continue to showcase
06:15game creator and director Sam Lake's exploration of what video games are capable of narratively
06:21and how far players are willing to follow him down the rabbit hole.
06:25When it came to indie games this year, Nomada Studio and publisher Devolver Digital made
06:29quite an impact with their beautifully rendered side-scroller, Neva.
06:33The game follows a young woman, Alba, who travels with her wolf companion, Neva, over
06:38four seasons across a fantasy land where they fight off a growing darkness that is manifested
06:43in the form of monstrous creatures.
06:45As the player progresses through each season, Neva grows from cub to adult wolf which changes
06:50the pair's dynamic and their emotional bond matures.
06:53The game is dialogue free and the only words come from Alba saying, Neva.
06:57The lack of dialogue serves to highlight the emotionally moving score by Berlinist.
07:03Simple combat and puzzle solving takes on a new sense of grandeur through Neva's animated
07:07visuals.
07:08Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, a side-scroller hasn't felt this fresh in
07:13a long while.
07:15Number 4.
07:16Silent Hill 2 Silent Hill 2 faced an uphill battle since
07:20its announcement in 2022.
07:22And yet, Silent Hill 2 was one of the year's biggest surprises, managing to stay true to
07:27the same haunting atmosphere of the original while updating the gameplay for a generation
07:31of horror gamers more familiar with the current Resident Evil remakes and contemporary entries
07:37than a fixed camera of Silent Hill's past iterations.
07:41While the overall narrative of the original game, in which James Sunderland returns to
07:45Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased wife, Mary, who tells him she's
07:50waiting there, remains largely the same, this one adds new wrinkles and locations to
07:55create an entirely different experience.
07:57No matter how many times a player has trod through the foggy streets of Silent Hill,
08:02the town is never anything less than unnerving.
08:04With original composer Akira Yamaoka returning and an excellent sound design that crawls
08:10inside your head, Silent Hill 2 is a perfect showcase of respect for the past through the
08:14capabilities of the current generation of gaming systems.
08:18The second installment of Square Enix's ambitious three-part remake of Final Fantasy 7 immediately
08:23follows Final Fantasy 7 Remake and picks up with Cloud Strife and the eco-terrorist group
08:28Avalanche as they take on Shinra Power Company that's draining the planet's life energy.
08:34But Shinra has an ace up their sleeve.
08:36Their soldier Sephiroth, long thought dead, is alive and intent on achieving godhood.
08:42Much like Remake and the 97 original, there's a lot of lore involved in the narrative, and
08:47while the combat is fast-paced and responsive and a nice switch-up from the command inputs
08:51of the original game, Rebirth does require patience.
08:55Newcomers to the franchise may be surprised by the number of cutscenes and dialogue-heavy
08:58encounters but they all serve to make the world richer.
09:01The benefit of splitting a single narrative into a trilogy allows for a greater depth
09:06of character and emotional connection.
09:08As fun as it is to take on enemies with Cloud's Buster Swords, some of the best moments are
09:12found in the interactions shared with companions, which are rewarding for newcomers and fans
09:17of the original alike.
09:18One of the added features of Rebirth compared to Remake is an expanded open world, allowing
09:24for a lot more side quests and interactions.
09:26Simply put, the game is massive, and can feel overwhelmingly so.
09:30But once you find a groove, these additional narratives deepen the world and its citizens,
09:34which makes Cloud and Avalanche's plight feel all the more crucial.
09:38There's little doubt that Square Enix will pull out all the stops for the final entry,
09:42which will make the Final Fantasy 7 trilogy go down as one of the all-time great game sagas.
09:48Number 2.
09:49Astro Bot
09:50Hands down, the most fun gaming experience of the year is Astro Bot.
09:54Team Asobi puts the PlayStation mascot Astro Bot, who gamers could previously play as in
09:58Astro Bot's Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom, into a full game.
10:03Making use of all the PS5 controller has to offer in terms of movement, dexterity, and
10:08sound, Astro Bot makes sure no button goes unused.
10:11As players take Astro Bot from world to world to rescue bots from his crashed ship in four
10:15different galaxies and 90 planets that offer different and increasingly difficult experiences
10:20and variety of terrains and enemy types.
10:23A number of these worlds are inspired by classic video games and iconic PlayStation titles
10:27like Uncharted, God of War, and Horizon, with plenty of easter eggs and nods to PlayStation's
10:32history scattered across the worlds.
10:35Astro Bot is a big win for PlayStation's renewed investment in family games.
10:39It's a great way to allow new gamers to get a sense of the controllers, but it's also
10:43challenging enough for all parties to feel a sense of achievement over completing a planet.
10:47With extremely creative gameplay, even the end credits offer a fun experience, and an
10:51earworm of a soundtrack by Kenneth C.M.
10:53Young, Astro Bot is a grand celebration of PlayStation's 30-year history.
10:59Number 1.
11:00Dragon Age The Veil Guard
11:02Between Elder Scrolls and Baldur's Gate 3, there's been no shortage of great high-fantasy
11:07RPGs to play.
11:09It has been a decade since Dragon Age Inquisition, and despite an incredible run for developer
11:14BioWare, their last decade was marred by the cancelled game Shadow Realms, the disappointing
11:19Mass Effect Andromeda, and a disastrous foray into MMOs with Anthem.
11:24This was reason to wonder if BioWare still had the sauce to return to Dragon Age.
11:29Boy did they ever.
11:31Dragon Age The Veil Guard comes out swinging and BioWare clearly had something to prove.
11:35Effectively, the game takes place a decade after the events of Inquisition, and immediately
11:40follows up on the post-credits scene of that game, which sees former companion Solas revealed
11:45to be the elven god of betrayal attempt to tear down the veil, a magical barrier that
11:50separates mortals from the demon realm.
11:53The action begins quickly, and players familiar with the franchise will quickly find themselves
11:57impressed by the combat and traversal features which are best seen in the Dragon Age game.
12:02The same goes for the impressive details that create a sense of awe and feel visually
12:06distinct in an era where gamers have their pick of visually impressive fantasy, but this
12:11is BioWare of course, and the real treat is in the journey, which is nothing without the
12:15bonds formed with your companions.
12:17Of the 6 available companions, each offers a unique skill set and personality, and unlike
12:23previous games in the series, going for the seemingly agreeable response in the dialogue
12:27trees won't always grant players the response they wish.
12:30There is greater attention to character traits here, which makes the connection all the more
12:35exciting because it isn't simply a game about playing nice.
12:38Additionally, the portals are a welcome travel feature, as is the ability to access companions'
12:43special power sets from an open menu.
12:45While some may miss the more politically charged narrative of its predecessor, The Veilguard
12:49feels like a refreshing addition to the series that's still heavy on lore, but doesn't feel
12:54too dense to distract from the pure pleasure of killing demons.
12:57If there's a single word to describe Dragon Age The Veilguard that signifies its place
13:01as Time's Game of the Year, it would be fulfilling.