Game of the Year Awards 2024

“With an awesome cast and interesting premise, the Great Circle nails the tone and themes of an Indiana Jones movie. The lore is flooded with religious undertones and ancient cultures, so players might get excited as Indy dives into a legend to uncover hidden meaning or another clue. There are many well-crafted cutscenes and, like the rest of the game, they combine slapstick, irony, careful timing, and one-liners to create something fans have been waiting for since the Last Crusade released in 1989.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Silent Hill 2 (2024), Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

“The facial animations are good for an RPG, and the game’s art style uses lots of bright colors, and smooth character models that have a bit of a cartoon-ish look to them. The style allows is some rather great fantasy environment design. The levels are quite excellently presented, from the deep forests and dark caves, to the sunny beaches and dark caverns of necromancy. These may be fairly typical locales for a medieval fantasy adventure, but they are wonderfully realized.” – Alex V

Runners-up: ULTROS, Neva, Minami Lane

“It also looks great, runs well, and has barely any technical issues, which is sadly not common enough in 2024. From the lush jungles of Siam to the sandy tombs beneath the Pyramids, the world is crisp, colorful, and has good lighting. The attention to detail is also high everywhere, like when Indy’s face gets flushed in the cold and Gina’s is covered in sweat in the tropics.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Astro Bot, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Homeworld 3

“The music is a delight, featuring more of that light, low-tempo melancholy guitar strumming with female vocals that the series is well known for. Songs by Tessa Rose Jackson, Matilda Mann, and Chloe Moriondo are a clear highlight, and many are deployed at the right time. Zen moments allow players to sit and absorb the tunes.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Stellar Blade

“The atmosphere in the Zone is astounding and audio plays a big role in crafting the perfect mood. Crickets, flies, creaking trees, groaning transmission towers, and the wind rustling add sound layers. Hellish screams in the distance, occasional gunfire as a group fends off mutated rats, and a wonderfully distant ambient soundtrack all help to enhance immersion. After the dust settles, it starts to rain, pattering the roof of a nearby bus while the sun sets. Just going on a walk is often rewarding because of the sensational haunting ambiance.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Pacific Drive, Still Wakes the Deep, Astro Bot

“Troy Baker brings it all together with one of his best vocal performances. He captures Ford’s inflection and pace, but he also accurately depicts yells, sighs, and grunts. It is easy to believe that we are seeing the old Indy, off on a brand new adventure. Indy is joined by an eclectic cast of characters that keeps the narrative interesting. Emmerich Voss is the lead Nazi after the artifacts, while Father Antonio helps players in areas crawling with soldiers. Investigative reporter Gina Lombardi is played superbly by Alessandra Mastronardi.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Silent Hill 2 (2024), Dragon Age: The Veilguard

“Omnimovement is the biggest notable change to how players transition through the environment in a Call of Duty game. In simple terms, it allows operatives to dive and slide in all directions, and also fire at any angle while lying down. There are viable reasons to slide around corners or dive off stairs, plus it adds a cinematic flair and hilarious moments when opponents superman to their death.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Helldivers 2, Echo Point Nova, XDefiant

“Fairly robust combat design is drawn towards Souls-likes, but has a flashy side to it, akin to traditional character action games. The action feels deliberate and quite slower-paced than you might expect. There is a heaviness to the movement, and yet being aggressive is encouraged and possible. The action feels meaty and satisfying, as you clash against metal and fleshy bits of enemies with Eve’s sword. Stellar Blade should appeal to fans looking for a challenging but flexible combat experience with flashy visuals and an unapologetic approach to character designs.” – Alex V

Runners-up: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin

“Sumerian Six takes the core mechanics from the Mimimi games, mixes it with the Nazis from the Commandos series, and spikes it with a fun supernatural element. The levels are large, fun sandboxes and it is rewarding to pick apart guard patrols and clear areas before grabbing XP crates that improve skills for subsequent missions. Each individual squad member has a good repertoire of skills, but tougher Nazis pose enough challenge and vision cones are still important to avoid.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Homeworld 3, Frostpunk 2, Ara: History Untold

“The core gameplay loop of exploring junctions and unlocking routes is a simple but very enjoyable way to peel back layers of the world. The focus on the station wagon helps to set the game apart, with many useful upgrades and customization options. Widespread randomization means that every trip plays out differently and there is great reward for planning and executing long drives across an unpredictable region. There is also a fantastic sense of discovery, thanks to weird anomalies and other oddities, in a world that has a suitably creepy atmosphere.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Still Wakes the Deep, Silent Hill 2 (2024)

“The more important dialogue responses carry the directional symbol that acts as a soft choice on how to respond to a situation or conversation, which will have some effect on either the proceedings or feelings. And of course, there are some rare choices that have no middle ground, as you must pick a path, and hope things work out elsewhere. Exploring the game’s maps and doing quests for the faction in each location leads to improving their strength, which as you might expect may become a factor as the narrative leads into the finale. Keeping a strong bond with your companions is important for similar reasons, so bringing them on adventures and quests helps not only gameplay variety but also the narrative.” – Alex V

Runners-up: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

“When it comes to The Show, there’s a level of quality to be expected from it year after year, and this release once again hits that mark. The mechanics of the sport have been refined to the point where I’m not sure what could be done to improve them. Storylines remains just as engaging this season, and my Yankee loving heart enjoyed reliving the exploits of Derek Jeter. Even Road to the Show saw improvements this year with the addition of a female career path and further player development outside of the field. MLB The Show 24 is a picture of a series at arguably the peak of its powers.” – Eric Hall

Runners-up: NBA 2K25, EA Sports FC 25

“Despite tricky challenges, the platforming mechanics are slick. Sargon can slide down walls, drift while in the air, jump wall-to-wall, duck under spinning blades, and swing up poles, which all works great on a controller. The six time powers are mostly advanced moves disguised as temporal abilities, including a mid-air dash, double-jump, and grappling hook. The most interesting power creates a shadow copy of Sargon that he can teleport to and it is used for the best platforming challenges and puzzles, although there are not many of the latter.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Astro Bot, Neva, Animal Well

“World of Goo 2 is an excellently made sequel that looks and plays exactly as fans would expect, as if no time has passed at all. This isn’t a precision puzzler with specific answers to discover – it’s a game where randomness is part of the package. With every batch of levels, the game quickly introduces all sorts of new mechanics and goo types. You’ll aim turrets that can propel your goo friends between platforms, use balloons to provide lift, touch goo reservoirs to suck up the liquid, manipulate the level to create a safe passage for yourself, use yellow goos to create solid surfaces, and more.” – Alex V

Runners-up: Children of the Sun, Balatro

“Sumerian Six almost perfectly emulates the games from Mimimi, offering a satisfying covert strategy experience that involves weaving through patrols, dissolving bodies, and scaring Nazis to death. Whittling down guard patrols is satisfying, helped even more with the cool supernatural powers and freedom to use different squad members. Levels look good from the isometric perspective and the story presentation is simple but effective. It is a pity that developer Mimimi are no more, but Sumerian Six definitely keeps their spirit alive.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Echo Point Nova, UFO 50

“Astro Bot feels a bit like a culmination of effort from the previous two games. The original was VR-only, and the follow-up was more like a teaser of what this character and this gameplay design is capable of. With the new self-titled game, it’s clear that a new little hero has emerged in the PlayStation universe. That whimsical cuteness of watching a bot dressed up as Solid Snake losing his cardboard box remains at the core of the visual style of Astro Bot. With satisfying and yet accessible gameplay, excellent level design and polished high quality visuals, this is probably the best exclusive 3D platformer on PS5 to date.” – Alex V

Runners-up: Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

“Fans of the original film trilogy should not hesitate to play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The story is interesting and full of tremendous characters, none better than the leading hero. Jumping across the world brings nice variety and the visual touches are excellent. There is good diversity to the gameplay, with stealth, fisticuffs, and shooting coming together well. And the open-world levels allow players to dictate how it all transpires.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

“You can always trust Nintendo to zig when you think its going to zag. Rather than wrap up the franchise’s run on the console with Tears of the Kingdom, they instead had a whole other game to deliver. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may not star Link, but it is on par with many of those classics. The echoes system is another demonstration of the franchise’s ability to craft engaging gimmicks. While it may be underserved by the system’s dated tech, Nintendo has once again delivered a creative entry in one of their flagship series.” – Eric Hall

Runners-up: Princess Peach: Showtime, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2024)

“The sixth Black Ops game is one of the best in the series. Its competitive multiplayer is fresh and frantic, offering some great fun thanks to movement changes. Fans of the cooperative Zombies get two big levels that set different tones and have oodles of tasks to keep players busy. And the long campaign offers some of the most varied and creative missions to date.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Helldivers 2, Astro Bot

“Sniping games have their own corner of the market well established, and puzzle games where players bounce between specific points is also a path often travelled, but combining these two aspects is a novel idea. And it’s an idea that the game executes quite well. The levels are fun to engage with and the movement of targets and debris adds a dynamic aspect. With good variety and some surrealist elements, it makes for a memorable and dark tale of revenge.” – Alex V

Runners-up: Pacific Drive, The Plucky Squire, Balatro

“Fans of the original Silent Hill 2 should have a glorious time with the remake, and newcomers will find a highly competent third-person survival horror game with tremendous narrative intrigue. The remake preserves the original’s story practically verbatim, and it is probably the game’s biggest strength. New and decent adventure tasks help to make the game substantially longer, and combat alterations bring it closer to that popular series from Capcom.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Age of Mythology: Retold

“Companions typically get three significant personal quests plus a few non-combat conversation quests. Many take you to unique areas, such as a gloomy manor or the deep roads. Combat is fun and frantic. The environments are fantastic, from the putrid flooded wastelands in the Anderfels to the tranquil forests in Arlathan. Things only get more impressive as the game continues and the variety helps to keep it interesting over the game’s decent 50-60 hour runtime.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Astro Bot, Silent Hill 2 (2024), Pacific Drive

“The frantic 6v6 competitive action offers a fresh start for the series. All operators, weapons and most maps are brand new. Weapon attachments often have no negatives, so there is no reason not to fully kit-out every weapon via the extensive gunsmith system. Multiplayer action is fresh, energetic, and fun, with subtle tweaks, and the cooperative undead mode is a great way to lose track of time.” – Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Helldivers 2, XDefiant, WH40k: Space Marine 2