Well, we’re halfway into 2025, so I finally put together my famous list of games I played in the last year. I played a bunch of games, and to be honest, at this point it’s hard to know for sure that I remembered everything I played. That being said, if I forgot a game maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal anyway.

Below is a record of those games with some personal commentary on them. Some of them were good, many of them were not. I finished some games, but most I did not. If I finished a game, I put a *** at the end of the entry. If it’s a game that you cannot “finish” but I really honestly played it a lot, I put that *** at the end as well. If you read all the way to the very bottom, you can see some honourable mentions for games that didn’t meet my stringent criteria.

My stringent criteria are:

The games on this list must be have been released (or re-released) in 2024
I have to remember playing them

That’s it. Please enjoy the list.

The List

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PS5) - This is a good Prince of Persia game that takes its side scrolling roots and adds that metroidvania sauce to it. That’s a good thing! The game is, however, actually quite hard. I got to a boss that was going to require more effort and I put the game down. I’ll probably come back to this one.

Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain - More Celeste is good Celeste. 64 era 3D graphics, with more music from Lena Raine. Amazing stuff. ***

Persona 3 Reload - The remake of one of the best JRPG games of the 2000s. Great soundtrack and a wild story. I intend to put some serious time into this, but for now I can’t so I’ll just enjoy the idea of playing the game more.

Foamstars - What if you took Splatoon and made it a game where you shoot foam instead of paint? What if you took Splatoon’s cool vibes and art direction and made it feel artless and directionless. Congratulations, you just made Foamstars.

Helldivers 2 - It’s Starship Troopers the video game. Blast endless enemies and enjoy the comic action. Best blowing up giant bugs in 2024.

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore - A loving tribute to one of the worst games ever made. If you know what this game is doing, it’s a pretty incredible delight.

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered - I’m old, so I have vivid memories of the original trilogy of Tomb Raider games coming out. It’s hard to explain the degree to which Lara Croft was a cultural icon. Relive the magic here of exploring tombs and killing dinosaurs which for some reason exist in these sealed tombs.

PlateUp! - Kind of a kitchen simulation game? Odd visuals, but fun gameplay. Play with a friend and realize working in a restaurant is stressful, together!

Balatro - What if you made solitaire/poker and then just made it more. Like a lot more. This is probably the best game of the year. Probably. ***

Penny’s Big Breakaway - Feels and plays like a hybrid between Nintendo and Sega platforming. You’re Penny, and you have a yoyo that I think has a mouth or something. You ride on it and try not to get caught by penguins. It makes more sense when you play the game.

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster - I slept on this game when I was a kid, but the sequel rocked my world. So when the remaster came out I knew I had to play through it. You will shoot so many Stormtroopers in this game. ***

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth - I don’t know what to say about this game. I love FF7, but these remakes are vaguely torturous to me. The fact that I haven’t finished the game feels wrong. The combat just doesn’t do much for me. Other people seem to love it, so I suppose YMMV. Despite it all shoutout to the characters who remain divine beings of my youth.

Unicorn Overlord - I’ve put a lot of time into this game, and I suspect I’ll finish it at some point. Vanillaware has the best 2D sprite work in the biz and this strategy game is gorgeous. The gameplay is okay, but it’s fast and snappy. Get revenge on a guy who destroyed your kingdom for some reason!

1000xRESIST - Beautiful science fiction adventure where you play as a woman who lives in a society where everyone seems to be clones of each other. To say much more would spoil this game, but I will say that this game has a moving story that touches on subjects that felt deeply resonant with me. Hekki Grace. ***

Animal Well - You are a little gumdrop blob in a well. There are animals down here. It’s a sort of metroidvania puzzle platformer. This game rocks. One of the best games of the year.***

Braid Anniversary Edition - The indie game that really brought indie games in the public consciousness. It was fun to revisit. Best little guy wearing a tie of the year. ***

XDefiant - Ehhhh.

Humanity - You’re a little dog and you’re helping an endless sea of humanity not fall off the edge of the world. It’s lemmings, but with the cutest little dog made of light. Great stuff!

Octopath Traveler 2 (XSX) - I finally played some of this game. It feels like the original, which is cool because the 2D/3D/HD thing they’ve got going on is awesome. It’s hard sometimes to capture the magic and feeling of 90s JRPS, but they do it well here.

Still Wakes the Deep - A mysterious game where you’re working on an oil rig when things go very wrong. Way too scary. I had to stop but I liked it.

Riven (2024) - An absolutely beautiful and perfect feeling recreation of one of the most iconic adventure/puzzle games ever made. It’s not a 1:1 recreation, but I think the changes are fabulous. Amazing game set in a world you want to get lost in. Best rollercoaster orb rides in 2024. ***

F1 24 - I really got into the story mode before, and this time I didn’t. So I didn’t play much of this game. A lot of people love F1 and I am sure they like this game. Vroom.

Castlevania Dominus Collection - A collection of more great Castlevania games. These games are basically all good in their own way. Run around the castle and whip mummies and animated suits of armour until you’re strong enough to whip the ultimate baddie, Dracula.

Core Keeper - I think it’s kind of 2D Minecraft, mixed with some other stuff. I honestly only played for about 10 minutes. It’s probably good but I can’t really say why because I basically know nothing about the game.

Satisfactory - This game finally came out with its 1.0 version. I’ve played a lot of this game where you turn an untouched world into a giant factory. It’s a deeply satisfying game that becomes a little bit too much of a grind for its own good in the end. Still, I would recommend it.

Kill Knight - A flashy game where you destroy evil creatures. Cool visuals, banging soundtrack, and slick gameplay. Fun! Destroy some things!

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - I haven’t played much of it, but it looks beautiful. This game had a tortured production, and I’m worried it won’t be very good. But what I have played is fun, and the visuals are great.

Metal Slug Tactics - I love tactical games. I love Metal Slug. I don’t love this game.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete - It’s a mobile Animal Crossing game. I felt compelled to get it, but if we’re all being honest I am not playing much more of this game. Shoutout to my villagers who were so nice to me even though I am a terrible steward of their beloved campsite.

Lorelei and the Laser Eye - Simogo is a deeply underrated developer. I think this game came out on PC last year, but it got a PlayStation release this year, so it’s on the list. Atmospheric and puzzle heavy. Neat!

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - I love Indiana Jones. I love video games. I liked this game. The performances from the actors were great, the story was okay, the gameplay was fine. It’s not exactly my dream Indiana Jones game, but it was quite good. Best and only Indiana Jones of 2024. ***

Parking Garage Rally Circuit - This game absolutely kills. A Sega Saturn inspired racing game that takes place in tiny parking garages. Amazing stuff. ***

Rusty’s Retirement - You play as a little guy named Rusty who wants to grow plants in his retirement. You automate a little farm and watch plants grow. What a delight. ***

Hades 2 - The ever stylish Hades 2 is just as fun as the original. The art, the music, and the cast are all perfect. The 1.0 release is going to be a thing of beauty.

Deep Rock Galactic Survivor - You’re a dwarf in space, mining things and getting attacked by bugs. Blast bugs and get minerals out from the mine. Also, because nothing can be perfect apparently the dwarves all work for a soulless mining corporation. Boo-hiss. Good game though!

Portal Revolution - A massive mod that makes what is essentially a 3rd game in the portal series. Seems good, but I didn’t put in much time.

Shapes 2 - You build a factory in space that just makes shapes. When you’re done making the shape, you hurl it into a giant pit. Amazing game if you like factory games. Best hurling shapes into a void 2024.

Deadlock - The secret not secret game. Kind of fun, but I don’t think I have room for it in my life. Maybe it will officially come out one day!

UFO 50 - A collection of 50 games created by a legendary 80s development company that never existed. A meta-fiction video game collection is deeply in my wheelhouse and this game is amazing.

Arco - I haven’t spent too much time with it, but it feels like a great game. Lovely art style and a moving story focusing on a sort of remixed vision of Spanish speaking American countries. Some pretty heavy topics. I like games that take risks.

Fields of Mistria - Another farming game with a souped up SNES visual aesthetic. If you want another farming game, or just want one with a different vibe, this is worth a try.

Astro Bot - This game is such a treasure. Finely honed 3D platforming wrapped up in detail driven level design and graphics. The music is great too. Someone out there probably doesn’t like this game, but they have bad taste. ***

Honourable Mentions

Overwatch 2 - My constant. I’ve been more or less playing Overwatch and its sequel since they came out. That’s almost 10 years of Overwatch. The game is good and I am not going to start playing Marvel Rivals. ***

Brotato - I stress play this game. The brain goes off and you just destroy enemies.

Gnorp apologue - Have we reached peak idle game? Maybe?

Thronefall - A very tiny distillation of an RTS. You ride around as a kind on a tiny horse protecting your kingdom. Very fun little game.

Alan Wake 2 (plus DLC) - Remedy are a treasure. That this studio is able to put out such amazing games is nuts. This game is dark, haunting, and hard. The DLC is a mix of more of that, plus some pretty funny stuff. If you’re interested in a haunting Twin Peaks adjacent game, you should play this game. ***