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Video Games

Luke’s Favourite Video Games Of 2024

From archaeologists to Barnsworth, it was a good year

I played a lot of video games last year. Here are the ones I enjoyed the most.

You might be thinking that mid-January in 2025 is awfully late to be sharing a list like this, especially since practically every other writer and site has done so already. But I have reasons! Firstly, I've been on vacation for three weeks. And secondly, I didn't want to post a list like this while the calendar still read "2024", because there are 365 days of video game releases in the year, and I wanted to give each and every single one of them a chance for its games to make the cut.

In no particular order, then, here are my favourites, from the most expensive AAA release to the tiniest little game about a naughty dog.

Yakuza: Infinite Wealth

A modern masterpiece. The game so good I reviewed it twice. A single sprawling, joyous RPG that managed to simultaneously farewell an old hero and chart an exciting new course for the series.


Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

If it's not the greatest video game adaptation ever, it's certainly near the top, so faithful it even paid attention to the cinematography. With its laboured movement and devotion to the first-person perspective it felt as much like a new Indy movie as it did an Indy video game, and I mean both of those as the highest order of compliment.


Star Wars Outlaws

This was a great game, and some very good Star Wars. With a fun cast of characters, and an exploration of a side of the universe that mercifully didn't include Jedi, you'd be a moron to let the "discourse" surrounding this sour you on it.


Songs Of Silence

One of the best-looking games of the year came out of absolutely nowhere to not only stun my eyeballs, but strip a tiring Total War formula to the bone as well.


The Plucky Squire

With one eye on gaming's past and another on its future, this puzzling quest oozed character and class.


Caravan Sandwitch

Rarely a week has gone by where I haven't thought about this game, its beautiful soundtrack and its cast of misfit characters. I had more fun in its small, fully-realised sandbox than worlds ten times--and ten times emptier--its size.


Wild Bastards

Did you know I've never played Balatro? Because I know myself and my habits, and I know if I ever allowed myself to, I'd be in trouble. Did you know I'm also an idiot, because Wild Bastards--with its quickfire missions and roguelite escapades--stepped in and fucked me up for weeks all the same.


Tactical Breach Wizards

Turns out 2024's best tactics game was also 2024's funniest video game. And those are two of my favourite things.


Total War: Pharaoh

Talk about pulling it out of the fire! Creative Assembly released one of the worst Total Wars of all time in 2023, but just a few months later dropped all of its planned DLC at once and, whaddya know, suddenly it was one of the best.


Thank Goodness You're Here

An outrageously funny video game, animated and written and voiced all so wonderfully that even months on from release I'm still thinking about smoking fish, meat pies and Matt Berry.


Cataclismo

A marriage of beautiful art, grisly monsters, fashionable soldiers and sandbox fortress building, this tower defence/RTS/city-builder hybrid came very close to being the perfect video game.


Synergy

It's not the best city-builder I've ever played, but it's certainly the most interesting, and with its Moebius-inspired visuals also one of the downright coolest.


Galacticare

I don't know anybody else who played this, or even wrote about it, which is weird. It's a Theme Hospital-style game that is, I think, better than many of its peers--Two Point Hospital included--and is not only genuinely funny, but has a super smart interface to boot.


Homeworld 3

I appreciate its attempt to try something slightly different, coming so many years after its predecessors, but it fell short and so didn't quite hit the same highs. Ah well! What's there was still great, and it was lovely to see all those incredible little ships again.


Little Kitty Big City

Much like Caravan Sandwitch, it was another triumph for a bite-sized sandbox. I got to know every corner and shop in these city blocks, and gliding a cat around them doing dumb cat stuff was a blast. There have been a few cat games released recently, but this is by far my favourite.


Doronko Wanko

I love this naughty little dog so much and I just wanted to see him make a GOTY list.


1000xRESIST

Stop the presses! As you might be able to tell from the lack of hyperlinks in this paragraph, this is the only game on this entire list I hadn't already written about on Aftermath because, well, I only just played it on my vacation. It takes a little while to get going, but once it starts getting comfortable with its party trick, holy shit.


And that's it! Lots of good video games that I enjoyed very much! Thanks for all the good times!

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