What’s up gamers? Welcome to our official list of the best games released this year, where we curate, recommend and review our favourite games of 2024.
We’ve had a banger of a year so far, with some truly genre-defining games that could easily end up as someone’s favourite game of all time.
So, clear your weekends and charge your controllers so you’re ready to dive in.
The 20 Best Games Of 2024 Across PlayStation, Switch, Xbox & PC
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 was this year’s first viral gaming phenomenon, and for good reason.
Taking inspiration from Starship Troopers, you play one of many expendable soldiers from a future Earth sent to destroy space bug colonies. The game is brimming with dark, gory humour as you watch yourself get blown up, torn apart, and mowed down by all the different enemies in the game.
This game has given me some of my fondest co-op experiences in a video game ever. Everyone still has nightmares of Malevalon Creek.
Even better, Helldivers 2 is still dropping hefty updates, introducing many new weapons and enemies since launch. If you haven’t in a while, I’d consider getting a group together to dive back in and spread more democracy.
Play it on: PC & PS5
Buy it from: Amazon ($72.87), Steam ($59.95), PlayStation Store ($59.95), EB Games ($64.95)
Astro Bot
If we’re talking GOTY contenders, Team Asobi’s Astro Bot is a frontrunner.
You play as Astro Bot, the coolest non-binary little robot. After having your mother ship attacked, scattering parts of your ship and fellow Astro Bots to the wind, you run around the galaxy to rescue them.
Across the many different worlds, you find charming homages to previous PlayStation titles from God of War to Spyro. Some even let you engage in fun mini-games in the style of said games.
What sends this game over the edge is how it takes advantage of all the neat tech in the PS5 controller and runs wild with it. Remember when you got your first Nintendo DS and discovered you could blow into the mic, which would show up in the game? It also happens here in Astro Bot and blew me (wheeze) away when it did.
In my opinion, it’s one of the best platformer games of the past ten years. Forget Mario and Sonic; we’re here for Astro Bot supremacy.
Play it on: PS5
Buy it from: Amazon ($109.95), PlayStation Store ($109.95), EB Games ($109.95)
Hades 2
They say first impressions are everything, and Hades 2 made a helluva good one.
Despite still being in early access, the team at Supergiant Games gave everyone the chance to play an early build of the game. Early access titles usually come with some degree of jank, but not here. The game was essentially complete and only had a few tweaks left to go by the time I played it.
You play as Melinoë, Princess of the Underworld and daughter to Hades and Persephone. Mysteriously, before the game’s events, the titan Chronos has waged a devastating war against the gods and taken over the underworld.
Like the first game, you trek through dungeons, gaining boons from the Gods of Olympus as you run the gauntlet over and over again. Rogue-likes aren’t anything new, but Hades 2 adds enough to make it distinct from every other game in the genre.
If you’re looking for a game to ruin your sleep schedule with, Hades 2 is a must-pick.
Play it on: PC
Buy it from: Steam ($43.95)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Warhammer is one of those famous franchises everyone knows about, but most are too intimidated to get into. It’s dense, has an incredibly passionate fanbase and years of material that would fill an old wizard’s library.
I’m happy to say, however, that if you were looking for an entry into the series, this game is it.
You play as Lieutenant Titus, a superhuman warrior with an undying devotion to humanity’s God Emperor. As a Space Marine, you go from world to world, mowing down hordes of chaos demons and barely escaping with an inch of your life.
Even better, you get to live out your miniature figure painting dreams by fully decking out your own Space Marine to your heart’s content.
With Henry Cavill‘s live-action tv show on the way, this game should be a great intro to ease you into the franchise.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: Amazon ($109.95), Steam ($89.95), PlayStation Store ($107.95), EB Games ($109.95)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII is one of the most iconic games in all of gaming. If someone were to tell you that a remake of the game that made a heap of changes to the original and, in fact, wasn’t all that much of a sequel and was more of a meta-commentary on remakes themselves, was actually a good game, you’d need to sit down. However, that’s what I’m telling you, so I hope you’re already sitting down.
But it’s true! Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a phenomenal remake of Final Fantasy VII‘s second act. With these remakes, the game hasn’t pretended that they were aiming for a one-to-one re-imagining of the original PlayStation 1 game. These remakes are sequels, taking place in a separate multiverse. They share similar plot points, and all the characters are the same. And yet, nothing is the same. At all.
The gameplay is the tightest a Final Fantasy game has ever been. Combat flows seamlessly between adrenaline-pumping action sequences and tactical gameplay, making you think about your moves like they were in the original. The game is also filled with enjoyable mini-games that make exploring this huge world all the more rewarding.
While some might not be crazy about the massive departure from the original game, all these changes help Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth stand out on its own and keep long-running fans invested in these remakes like it’s the first time playing Final Fantasy VII all over again.
Play it on: PS5
But it from: Amazon ($119.95), PlayStation Store ($114.95), EB Games ($119.95)
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Nintendo has been hitting it out of the park with its remakes this year. The company has been revisiting all its classics from the Gamecube era, remastering them, and bringing them onto the Switch. For nostalgia heads like myself, I love it.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a charming RPG, unlike anything in the Mario series. The art style is gorgeous and opens up levels in ways you didn’t think possible in a video game. You meet a fresh new cast of characters, take on adorable companions and see beyond what the Mushroom Kingdom has to offer.
Paper Mario is a cult classic for a reason, and this remake should convert more to the fandom. It’s easily one of the best Mario games of all time and one I will foist onto people to try out for years to come.
Play it on: Nintendo Switch
Buy it from: Amazon ($79.95), EB Games ($79.95), Nintendo eShop ($79.95)
Princess Peach: Showtime!
Princess Peach is finally starring in her own game for the first time in what feels like forever.
Princess Peach: Showtime! takes place within Mushroom Kingdom’s Sparkle Theatre, and the game runs with the setting. Every level in the game reimagines a different stage play. On one level, Peach can be a superhero stopping an alien invasion; on the next, she can be a detective investigating a crime or a royal swordfighter.
More broadly, what’s great about the game is that it’s a solid entry into video games. Thanks to the different settings, players get to sample a wide variety of games and see which ones click with them most. It’s also great that Nintendo is building on the Peach they introduced in the movie and proving she can also be a cool, capable character.
Play it on: Nintendo Switch
Buy it from: Amazon ($79.95), EB Games ($79.95), Nintendo eShop ($79.95)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is for freaks who love a good puzzle and weird time shenanigans in their platformer game.
Most of us will probably remember The Prince of Persia as that one movie with Jake Gyllenhaal that kinda flopped. But this game is not that! It’s fun, and worth your time!
In the game, you play as Sargon, one of Persia’s most legendary warriors, as he tries to rescue his kingdom’s Prince, who has been kidnapped by an external invading force hoping to plunge the region into chaos. Along the way, you learn you can control time and do really cool parcour.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a great pick for anyone wanting a solid platformer that really scratches your brain and feels satisfying when you find a rhythm.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch
Buy it from: Amazon ($49.95), Steam ($59.95), PlayStation Store ($59.95), EB Games ($49.95), Nintendo eShop ($59.95)
Elden Ring; Shadows of the Erdtree
It’s been two years since the original Elden Ring was released and had us bursting blood vessels in our foreheads. But with all that time to “get good”, the DLC had a lot to live up to, and it delivered.
Despite being marketed as a DLC, make no mistake, this might as well be a full-fledged sequel to the original game. This DLC is big and has some of the most challenging bosses in any FromSoft game. Players who had spent nothing but two years playing the base game to prep for this expansion still struggled through the game.
The expansion is filled with dungeons with an oppressive and gruesome atmosphere, fun new weapons, and epic cinematic moments that gamers will quote for years to come.
It’s the peak of everything FromSoft has offered in the past and will be one of the best experiences you’ll ever have with a game.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: Amazon ($119.95), EB Games ($119.95), Steam ($59.95), PlayStation Store ($59.95)
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
If you love your games batshit crazy, then Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is for you.
The Yakuza series has become a borderline camp classic among gamers. With an overly dramatic story, endearing main characters and absurd mini-games, it’s hard not to fall in love with the games.
You play as Ichiban Kasuga, an ex-Yakuza member now employed at a Hello Work employment agency. The Japanese government has enforced a ban on former Yakuza members finding employment should their previous ties be discovered. Ichiban helps former Yakuza members find employment in honest work, carrying on his father’s legacy. This all falls apart after his Yakuza background is leaked, and he’s forced to make ends meet however he can.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth might be one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. You’ll find yourself getting into fights with “random assholes” and witnessing some of the most out-there cutscenes in a video game ever; you’ll keep playing to see what’s next. It’s one of this year’s most joyous games that will keep you grinning from ear to ear while you play it.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: Amazon ($109.95), Steam ($114.95), PlayStation Store ($114.95), EB Games ($109.95)
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
This one had to make the list because I’m an undying simp of this franchise, and everyone must join me in my cult-like dedication to it.
While the game’s story dragged in parts and made progress a slog, I cannot lie; seeing my Black Mage make a big boom explosion activates all the right neurons in my monkey brain.
Dawntrail is essentially an anime filler episode, letting you spelunk through jungles and help a catgirl win her local city election. Of course, this derails quickly when robots from space invade.
While the expansion starts slow, it picks up towards the end, thanks to its endzone being one long and moving thesis on death and moving on. Oh, and you also get to see this cute little guy.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: Steam ($59.95), PlayStation Store ($67.95), Square Enix Store ($52.99)
Persona 3 Reload
If you’ve never heard of the Persona series before, welcome. Your life will never be the same again.
This cult favourite JRPG series has a highly dedicated fanbase, and for good reason. The games are really good. They’re a perfect blend of JRPG and High School life simulators. Even better, the series has the coolest Jazz-inspired soundtrack that will turn you into Tim Heidecker in that one I Think You Should Leave sketch.
Persona 3 Reload is a remake of the classic PSP game, remastered and polished up for a modern audience. The game takes place in a fictional Japanese city, where you play as a young transfer student returning home for the first time in years. In this city, at a specific point at night, time freezes, bringing out nightmare-ish shadow monsters that roam the streets. Your character discovers that they’re a special persona, one of the many few who, when shooting themselves in the head, summon powerful beings to help them in battle.
If you love weird supernatural anime, Persona 3 Reload is a must-play.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Buy it from: Amazon ($76.16), Steam ($107.95), PlayStation Store ($122.95), EB Games ($109.95)
Dragon’s Dogma 2
There’s a lot to say about Dragon’s Dogma 2. The first is that it’s one of the year’s most confusing and surprising titles.
The original Dragon’s Dogma was a bit of a hidden gem among gamers and was unlike anything that had come before it. It was sometimes the most frustrating and unfun experience you’d ever had with a video game. At other times, it’d let you climb the back of a Cyclops and shiv its neck a hundred times, allowing you to feel like you’re Hercules in some epic mythology.
It’s strange to say that Dragon’s Dogma 2 is almost entirely the same game but with enough small changes to make it feel like a modern title despite the original launching 12 years ago. And those small changes are enough to make those frustrating moments a tragicomedy.
The story in the game is pretty razor-thin. You are an Arisen, a person with a weird scar and power, which makes you destined to rule. There’s someone impersonating you on the throne and also trying to summon an evil dragon. This is just seasoning for what you do in the main game — collect companions called Pawns, beat up goblins, and traipse through medieval towns.
It’s genuinely one of the most unique gaming experiences I’ve had, but I loved my time with the game and would recommend it to anyone who wants to live out their knightly fantasies.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: Amazon ($105.38), PlayStation Store ($122.95), Steam ($107.96), JB Hi-Fi ($109), EB Games ($119.95)
Zenless Zone Zero
From the makers of Genshin Impact comes yet another game in which you can spend all of your money collecting cute anime girls.
The game is pretty unique despite sharing the same developer and having a similar monetisation method. I personally wasn’t too sold on Genshin. Between its rip-off Breath of the Wild gameplay and an annoying sidekick that made me wish I didn’t have ears, I couldn’t get into it.
Zenless Zone Zero, however, is a genuine hack-and-slash with a neat comic book art style. You play as a bunch of streetwear-donning characters in a dystopian sci-fi society and beat up realm-warping monsters called Hollows. But that’s not what’s important here. What’s important is that you get to play a bunch of really pretty and aesthetic characters with cool powers and giant weapons.
Unfortunately, the game is still a gacha game. This means that the characters you get to play are up to chance. However, the game’s story mode lets you try out everyone to decide who you want to drop a mortgage on playing.
For a free game, this is immensely impressive. You get a tight gameplay loop and a solid blockbuster story. What more could you want?
Play it on: PS5, Android, iOS, PC.
Buy it from: It’s Free.
Thank Goodness You’re Here
We’ve been treated to a bunch of charming indie games this year, and Thank Goodness You’re Here is at the top of the pile. The game plays out like Tom Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave sketch, with an escalating level of absurdism at each level.
You play as a travelling salesman, performing odd jobs for the residents of a bizarre town in Northern England. Each level plays out like a singular absurdist vignette with a town member.
If you want a quirky humorous game to knock out in a single night, this is a great pick.
Play it on: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac.
Buy it from: PlayStation Store ($26.95), Steam (A$ 29.99), Nintendo eShop ($29.99)
Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong is one of the biggest releases this year for unfortunate reasons. After finding itself in the middle of a culture war started by a bunch of Gamergate weirdos, it was easy to dismiss the game as being overhyped. If you found yourself in that corner, you absolutely should give the game another look because it is, thankfully, really good.
The game takes inspiration from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, letting you play as a monkey called The Destined One in their quest to resurrect Sun Wukong. It’s basically God of War, but Chinese mythology instead of Greek.
In your journey, you fight epic bosses, who are re-imaginings of noteworthy characters from the original Journey to the West novel. It’s a stellar boss rush game, with a deep and satisfying combat system that’ll have you replaying it repeatedly.
If you love games like God of War or Elden Ring this is a solid game to pick up and challenge yourself with.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: PlayStation Store ($99.95), Steam ($89.95)
Animal Well
In Animal Well, you play a tiny blob exploring a dreamlike labyrinth filled with adorable animals that slowly descends into an uncomfortable nightmare.
Much like Outer Wilds, it’s a game that’s hard to talk about without spoiling the experience. Playing through each level, discovering more about the game’s world and mechanics, is half the joy. And ooh boy, is it an immense joy.
Just know this isn’t your standard Metroidvania, which has you backtracking through the game with new power-ups and challenging platformer puzzles. It’s an entire web of secrets that you’ll spend weeks trying to unravel. Animal Well is a labour of love from its sole developer Billy Basso and one you have to experience for yourself.
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch.
Buy it from: Steam ($36.99), PlayStation Store ($30.95), Nintendo eShop ($36.99)
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Long ago, developer Capcom used to make weird and original games unlike anything else. They’ve found that again here with Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.
You play as Soh, a divine warrior, as he protects his goddess Yoshiro from hordes of demons while she cleanses each village from the demons. All these beautiful traditional Japanese-inspired villages have been covered in grimace shake slime, and it’s up to you and Yoshiro to fix that.
Each stage requires you to purge the supernatural rot plaguing the town while rescuing villagers, setting up traps and fighting off waves of demons. It’s a little bit Bloons Tower Defense mixed with Dynasty Warrior, making it an addictive “just one more level” game to sink hours into.
Play it on: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Buy it from: Steam ($74.95), PlayStation Store ($75.95)
World of Warcraft: The War Within
Hey, just in case you missed it — World of Warcraft is cool again.
The series has undergone a massive overhaul prior to this expansion, making it one of the most beginner friendly entries in the series. I’ve seen many friends, staunch denialists that they’d ever get into WoW, reluctant to dive into this expansion and get sucked into the series. It’s just that good. Exploring all the different zones, clearing out dungeons of mythical monsters, and dressing up your sexy Blood Elf in the finest of garbs. It’s so easy to latch onto something in this game and make it your hyper-fixation for a week.
War Within is an excellent start for anyone who’s ever been curious about getting into WoW and seeing the best of what the game has to offer.
Play it on: PC
Buy it from: Battle.net ($74.95)
Age of Mythology: Retold
This is for the “gifted children” in our audience who were once way too obsessed with Greek mythology and then had their lives derailed in sad ways.
But you know what isn’t sad? This remake. It kicks ass.
Age of Mythology was a classic Age of Empires spin-off, letting you build armies with mythical beasts and ye olde soldiers. It even let you cheat hax spawn a Canadian bear with laser eyes.
This remake has kept all of the charm, upscaling all of the graphics and repackaging it into an excellent RTS for modern audiences. It also has a kick-ass campaign that takes you through all the different regions and mythologies in the game, which can be a fun entry point for those cultures if you’re in that phase of your life.
If you played this as a kid, it’s worth picking up and treating yourself to a joyous nostalgia trip.
Play it on: PC, Xbox Series X|S.
Buy it from: Steam ($39.95), Xbox Gamepass ($39.95)
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