The five best games of 2024 from GamesBeat writer Rachel Kaser

We’re about to draw the line on 2024 – a complicated year that brought us excellent games, but which I fully expect will be remembered as “troubled” by the entire industry. We’ve had over 14,000 layoffs, a shrinking market for three outdated consoles, skyrocketing subscription costs, and the (partial) collapse of the live service genre. But we have the first few weeks of January 2025 to mark the events of the year. Instead, it’s time: time to talk about our favorite games that we had the most fun with this year.

Dean has already revealed it his favorite games of the year…so now it’s my turn. To be clear, I personally enjoyed these games the most and found them to be the greatest overall experience. Hopefully I can make a longer list sometime in 2025 – this is not my list of games played in 2024 As long as it was last year (Although in related news, I’m better rested than I was a year ago), but for now, here are my top five games of the year.

5. Lorelei and the laser eyes

Every year, I aim to include at least one game in these lists that can be classified as a “dark horse” in my top 5 – a smaller title whose inclusion only satisfies me. Lorelei and the laser eyes It may have come out so early in the year that it was later eclipsed, but I never forgot it. Its surreal, stylized art design would be enough to stick in my mind, but Lorelei is ultimately so much more than that.

Lorelei is a game that challenges the player. The entire time you’re playing, you feel like the game is engaging you in a battle of wits, and while it gives you everything you need to solve the multitude of puzzles, it doesn’t engage you hold your hand. Even the game’s diegetic interface and so-called “hint” systems seem more aimed at cornering the player than helping them. And balancing your mind with a game may not be for everyone – it’s not always my thing, either – but sometimes it’s what I need, and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes do it so well.

All in all, 2024 was a good year for role-playing games – Baldur’s Gate 3 is a tough task. But we had a surprisingly full year. And one RPG made it to the top with its distinctive, serious story and fun, fast-paced gameplay: Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio. For me, role-playing games live and die by how much they make me feel like I’m truly a part of the world around me, and the world of Metaphor, although unpleasant and evil and full of unfair social systems, felt real – felt the struggles of his people important.

Metaphor: ReFantazio manages to avoid many of the pacing pitfalls seen in other RPGs this year (I’m not naming names, but IYKYK) by locking you into an in-game calendar that’s leading up to a major world event – an evolution of Atlus’ classic time management mechanics. In fact, almost every bit of Metaphor feels like a more compelling version of something Atlus has done before, from the art design to the turn-based combat. The story is a bit more sober and serious, but it is told with so much conviction and such a strong message that it never gets boring.

3. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Look who we have here. MachineGames’ licensed adventure game featuring everyone’s favorite whip-wielding archaeologist debuted in the last month of the year and has almost made it to the top of the list. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the best adventure games – and, surprisingly, one of the best stealth games – I’ve played not just in 2024, but in the last five years. Troy Baker’s performance as Dr. Jones goes so far beyond mere imitation that she puts the entire game in my top three.

Great Circle replicates the charm of the original almost perfectly Indiana Jones films (note that I say “original” with specific intentions) while also paying homage to the classic point-and-click adventure games that preceded it. MachineGames has managed to capture the humor and swashbuckling fun of the series, the feeling that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the satisfaction of beating up the Nazis (a theme they’ll be very familiar with after the Wolfenstein titles should). Plus, one of the villains is played by the late Tony Todd, and it’s just nice to see him again.

2. AstroBot

As someone who plays games professionally, it’s sometimes tempting to over-explain or complicate my own opinions. So while I could give a long, drawn-out explanation for why Astro Bot’s platforming feels so rewarding or how the story is compelling despite its simplicity, let’s put it in fewer words: AstroBot is on this list because it is Fun. It’s fun, entertaining, well made and gives the player exactly what they expect.

Okay, to make my opinion a little more complex: Astro Bot is a platform game with diamond shine, heart and a sense of humor. The variety of gameplay keeps it fresh, and the game doesn’t exhaust its appeal by overextending its levels or overdoing any of its gimmicks. It’s also just the right length to keep the PlayStation character from seeming too much like an advertisement (although admittedly it comes close once or twice). Many are the games I play and love as an adult gamer – few are the ones I play and know I would have loved as a child.

1. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

To be honest, my top game this year surprised even me. Up until the final moments of writing this, I wanted to give it to Astro Bot. But then I took a serious look at the dozens of games I’ve played so far this year and thought about which game I actually enjoyed playing the most. And maybe it’s been long enough – almost a year – that my memory is rosy, but I do remember playing through Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown with a warmth that I haven’t felt much differently this year.

The Lost Crown has everything I want in a game: it has solid gameplay that evolves as the game progresses, excellent pacing, varied platforming, a story and art design that is true to the story and the Paying homage to real world mythology and fantasy at the same time, a varied and diverse game combines an interesting cast of characters and so much beauty that sometimes I take my breath away just when I’m playing. There were so many games between its release in January and now, and yet it stayed with me until the end of the year.