Hooked Gamers' Game of the Year 2024
Feature
The Hooked Gamers team reveal their favourite titles from 2024
2024 gaming in review
As always, 2024 gave us a year with a huge variation in genres. It started in January with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown before we moved on the the anti-heroes of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the piratical adventure of Skull and Bones, and the addictive Poker playing roguelike, Balatro. Throughout the year,we had some Chinese mythology in Black Myth Wukong, outer space exploits of Star Wars Outlaws, gimp-mask wearing vengeance in Anger Foot and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. With so much variety in PC games, there was something for everybody in 2024.
By the time October had come around, we here at Hooked Gamers had almost decided who we would be selecting as our favourites from the year, but there were definitely some late entrants with the likes of Metephor: ReFantazio, the gorgeous Neva, another Call of Duty, Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd, VR games Metro Awakening and Max Mustard and everyone's favourite archeologist in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Choosing just one favourite game is hard enough as an individual. Having the whole team agreeing on one title for the Game of the Year could take us well into 2025. So, in order to get this out the door before the new year begins, we've decided to let each member of the team announce their favourite, and you, the reader, can choose who you agree with.
Time for the drum-roll...The winners are...
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (William)
For so much of the year, I had The Plucky Squire as my Game of the Year, with its superbly blended 2D and 3D platforming, lovingly told story, and the cute characters that personified the family friendly feel to the game. There were other memorable games throughout the year that could have taken the mantle, but it remained on top as my favourite. That was until Indiana Jones and the Great Circle came along.
As someone who grew up with Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and (later) The Last Crusade, I was disappointed with the two most recent chapters in the Indiana Jones movies. As a result, I was apprehensive about the latest video game adaption of the famed archeologist. But after donning the famous Fedora and whip, I scoured the globe for the titular secret. And my trepidation was for nought, as the game feels like it could have come straight from a 1980's cinema, but one where you get to fill the shoes of the adventurer.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does nearly everything right. It is primarily an exploration and puzzle game that has Indy searching for clues to the Great Circle, rather than being an all-out action game - Indy rarely wields his revolver in the movies, and so is the case here. The artists have done an amazing job of ensuring each of the 1930’s locations feel authentic, and it is wonderful to wander around and listen to each of the NPCs chat and go about their business. The puzzles are well thought out, the combat (when required) is polished, and the voice acting is superb. And the cut-scenes and signature tune from John Williams just tops everything off - making Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feel more like the movie we all wanted and my favourite game of 2024.
Black Myth Wukong (Samuel)
The game is really good, I swear I'm not just trying to boost my Social Credit Score.
In all seriousness, Black Myth Wukong is the best Souls-like I've played in years. It's a gorgeous game with a world that sticks to the golden median of being large enough to feel vast and expansive but small enough that you seldom get lost and it never takes you that long to get from place to place. Combat is fast, fun, and surprisingly forgiving for the genre, with plenty of special abilities that will help you navigate even the toughest of encounters.
Best of all is the sheer number and variety of the boss fights, with the game sporting almost 100 encounters. Sure, with that many bosses not all are going to be winners (does anyone remember fighting Mother of Stone or Gore-Eyed Daoist?) and a few of them are even re-skins like all those frog bosses. However, there are way more hits than misses in this department, with the top-tier bosses (Like Kang-Jin Star or Whiteclad Noble) being on par with anything in Sekiro or Dark Souls 3.
Its massive success also bodes well for the future, as it seems like we will be getting quite a few high-quality Chinese imports.
Marvel Rivals (Jordan)
2024 was an embarrassment of riches once again. So, when it came time to whittle the massive list down to my definitive one, it ultimately led me to choosing between one of the best DLCs I've ever played (if such a thing should even qualify) versus one of the best horror remakes I've ever played. Sure, there were more indie darlings than I can account for from memory, and a few of the big-budget games hit real hard, too, but I felt confident in where my heart was leading me. Until the first week of December arrived. Classically, games released in this window are a particular level of quality. This year, though, against all odds, I have found not just the one, but four games that will be among my top ten. Ultimately, my favorite game of the year had to be something I had a great time playing. I thought about when I wasn't playing and it had a certain level of quality to reassure me I wouldn't be wasting my time investment. So one game jumped out at me. I've already spent dozens of hours playing in the handful of days since release, and have no reasonable end in sight. It fits all the above criteria, and appears to have a future brighter than its present, and brighter than the rest.
Marvel Rivals was surely underestimated leading up to launch, or at the very least, leading up to its initial beta. Murmurs of "live service is dead," and "heroes shooters are a waste of time" were plentiful just a few months ago, and then of course there's general "Marvel fatigue" from the onslaught of movies and TV shows of the past decade plus. So foremost, Rivals has one of the friendliest monetization models around. I'm on the record admitting I couldn't care less about which game is selling what for how much, but it makes even a guy like me smile when the items up for offer to start are good looking representations of the individual characters mixed with the game's take on things like the movie-appropriate looks. They're coming in around $15 bucks right now, but admittedly, they appear to be the standard $20 outside of this launch window. Take it or leave it, but I think it's a much easier pill to swallow because the art in this game looks so darn good. They've crafted this blend of both comic-book style and 3D animation that looks good even at the character select screen, but really shines in motion. I'd say if you appreciated the vibe coming out of the Spider-Verse movies, you'll be in for a treat. So the cosmetics you can buy look great, but I think just about every character's standard outfit does them enough justice to truly consider spending money optional. On top of that, they're using the "persistent battle pass" option, so you don't have to make the game a second job just to grind out something in there, either.
What makes this my favorite game of the year is that blend of art and style with gameplay I just love. Of the two "Overwatch-like" games this year, this one is by far the closer of the two, but I think that benefits it to a certain degree. I think I'm in a relatively large group of people who are ready to move on from Blizzard's shooter, and Rivals hits that spot perfectly, while changing things up in several ways. Key to this is they blend the attacks together in ways that are not only appropriate to the characters, but just fun to play in the game. Couple that with an increased focus on teamwork, 6v6 gameplay that many have longed for in this genre, and you’ve got a recipe for success in my eyes. I have been that annoying friend in the group constantly nagging everyone to hop on and play, and I don’t see that stopping. It might be the first game in a long time where I take my "rank" seriously. Admittedly, I can't tell what the future actually holds for the game, but what I can say is that it deserves your attention and time right now. It just might capture you.
Balatro (Quinn)
Some games immediately grab potential players with an interesting premise. For me, Balatro is not one of those games. A poker roguelike with an overly basic visual design doesn't really seem like my cup of tea, but here we are, and it's my game of the year for 2024. Balatro isn't exactly just poker, but it does ask players to use draws of cards to put together poker hands to meet points goals. The kicker? This ain’t no standard 52-card deck. Instead, as players progress through each stage of a run, they can earn new cards, Jokers (overarching modifiers),and other items that alter the makeup of their deck and how it functions.
There-in lies the strategy of Balatro. It’s one thing to take cards and fish for straights, pairs, flushes, etc. It’s a whole different game to be able to intentionally stack your deck with 7s, then grab some modifiers that give bonuses for pairs, then consider the rotating modifiers/banes coming up at the end of a three game series to see what the best method is going to be to score big.
To me, Balatro is gaming in its purest form. The visuals serve their purpose, but they won't be turning any heads. There’s no swarm of DLC, and players aren't driven to play with leaderboards or ever-rotating, short-terms events. People play Balatro because the fundamental mechanics are rock solid, and for a truly great game, playing it should be plenty of reward all on its own.
Gunsmith Simulator 2025 (Howie)
As some of you may know I'm a simulator fan and this year I had the opportunity to play and review some very interesting sims. Even though all of the sims I played were reasonably fun, one of the games I looked at really stood out. Without further ado my Hooked Gamer's Game Of The Year goes to Gunsmith Simulator 2025. Although the subject of guns in general might be looked down upon by some, I generally ignore politics and base my opinions on how a game plays, how in depth it is and how much I might like the subject. I'm not a gun nut, I'm an enthusiast and I liked this game a whole lot.
The game did spend quite a bit of time in early access and it was worth the wait because everything is polished. The graphics are top notch and the detail presented in all parts of the game is excellent. When working on various guns, players need to disassemble the pieces, find the bad or missing part, make the part themselves in your shop or buy them, and reassemble the gun for the customer. But it is not just about taking a gun apart and fixing it, it's about building proficiency in all aspects of the trade. After the gun is functional the budding gunsmith has the option to send it back to the customer or customize it by applying paints and decals. Attachments such as silencers and scopes can be added and on and on.
After doing all of that, players can then take the gun to a shooting range. Different ranges are available - from target shooting with a pistol or rifle to competing in shooting contests to shooting skeet or trap with a shotgun. You can also take a repaired grenade launcher to a range and go crazy blowing stuff up! There is so much to do and all of it is fun. With so much to do, Gunsmith Simulator 2025 is my Game Of The Year!
METRO AWAKENING (Jesse)
Vertigo Games just can't stop releasing absolute bangers back-to-back, and I'm all for it. Metro Awakening is a solo Action/Horror FPS that beautifully blends story-driven elements with tense atmospheric exploration, stealth and combat. The game has players taking on the role of Serdar, a doctor braving the darkness, crippling radiation and deadly threats of the Moscow Metro. Set in 2028 after a nuclear Armageddon survivors cling to existence in the buried subways of the Moscow Metro – civilisation's last refuge and tomb, where ghosts and spirits haunt the living in this man-made purgatory. As Serdar, you are tasked with the search for your wife and the medication she so desperately needs.
During your time in the tunnels, players fight against mutants, Humans, cannibals, spiders and their sanity. Your supplies are limited, so every shot counts. There are fully functioning utilities such as a charger, backpack, lighter, and gas mask. You can even replace the filters on the gas masks and wipe the fog from the mask with your hand. The atmospheric sound design and lighting always leave you feeling paranoid about what is lurking. Even with how scary this game can get, it is so good that I'm still willing to face them.
Metro Awakening takes a beloved IP and turns it into one of the most polished VR games of 2024. The combination of smooth mechanics and horrific atmosphere creates a well-developed and thought-out game adding to the immersive but tense gameplay. If you are willing to get scared a few times, I could not recommend this game more to you. I hope Vertigo Games keeps up with this momentum because they are one of the best in the business so far.
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth (Jack)
When trying to pick a game of the year, I found myself at a surprising occurrence – there were too many games I loved in 2024. I was swimming in possibilities, but one title was sticking out to me the most. As unbiased as we like to pretend we are, we all view media through our own lens. It's a lens made up of us - our eccentricities, our likes, our dislikes, our nostalgia. These little things can shape who we are and reflect what we enjoy. I can draw a through line from my grandpa showing me Godzilla when I was a child to the comic book I create today.
Similarly I can see how Final Fantasy 7 inspired me and opened up a new world of... well, fantasy. I remember the ads on television when I was a kid. I remember that same grandpa buying Final Fantasy 7 for me from Hastings in '97. I remember pouring over the instruction booklet that came in the PS1 jewel case and trying to draw Cloud (I can still see the pencil indentation from me tracing over it in the booklet.) I remember my mother, who suffers from lupus and pretty much never ventures outside because it makes her sick, waiting in line with me for the afternoon release of Advent Children (the FF7 sequel movie) at Gamestop. So being able to venture back into its world and see it just as I imagined it is what makes Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth my game of the year.
Nostalgia can only carry you so long, however, and luckily enough Rebirth is an amazing game as well. It is more expansive than 2020's FF7: Remake, as this one has you trekking all around the world in search of Sephiroth. It is great to see everyone back together, and we finally get to take a trip to the Golden Saucer. The battles are bombastic and the cinematic and character moments really flesh out who they are and what they want. They also keep the really goofy stuff like Red XIII (a lion-dog like character) disguising himself as a human guard. I also spent way too much time playing Queens Blood, the in-game card game, and trying to get the best deck possible. As such Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth was my favourite of the year..
The Outlast Trials (Dan)
In a year filled with almost-exclusively middling titles, The Outlast Trials stands above the rest as the undisputed monarch of mediocrity of the games I've played.
The newest in a series well-known for its tonal shifts, The Outlast Trials moves away from insane asylums and religious cults, in favor of introducing an amusement park-esque aesthetic. Each map is filled with cardboard cutouts and crude animatronics, not to mention crazed psychopaths looking to carve you up like a turkey. The game somehow manages to find a reasonable balance between dark humour, high-intensity thriller, and grotesque horror.
Developer Red Barrels has also done an excellent job of supporting the game post-launch with decent-sized content updates to keep the game feeling fresh and interesting. While it has its faults, namely widespread networking issues and an overzealous obsession with grind, it remains one of the best new co-op games of 2024.
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