Top Games 2024
It's been a big year for non-AAA games! I've been blown away by the creativity of the smaller teams and the games they make and I really enjoyed my time with them.
Apparently I played less games this year on Steam, but I'm fairly certain it is because I played on the Playstation more in 2024 and I played 3 100+ hour games. I rarely play games for over 20 hours and I played three 100+ hour games this year.
The List #
My top games for 2024!
- Balatro
- Factorio: Space Age
- Satisfactory
- 1000xRESIST
- Animal Well
- Kitsune Tails
- Nier: Automata
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Pseudoregalia
- Arctic Eggs
- Astro Bot
Balatro #
Jokers. Bananas. Numbers. The perfect Steam Deck game. The first game this year I played for over 100 hours. The design of Balatro is incredible. It boils down the essence of what a deck builder rogue-like is using familiar poker style hands.
I have 1 gold stake on the Checkered deck and finished all the challenges. The Golden Needle challenge felt like the quintessential challenge of Balatro, showing knowledge of the game mixed with the luck you need during a run. I did not like the Jokerless challenge. It was not the same game. But overall, the challenges were fun and now I'm slowly completing more decks.
Slay the Spire never fully clicked for me but now I want to try it again now that I've played Balatro. I'm hoping I will understand the scaling mechanics better.
Satisfactory #
If it wasn't for Balatro, Satisfactory would have been Game of the Year. But, it already won that in 2020 and Balatro was just that good. Satisfactory was the second game this year I played for over 100 hours.
I was enjoying this game for the first 120 hours, and then I went achievement hunting. I don't normally complete all the achievements for the game but I felt like I was so close. It nearly killed me and I don't want to play this game anymore. Grinding out 1000 tickets to get the golden nut was not fun. But the game is a lot of fun and I'm hoping to return after a big content update.
Foxis: What's this, it's Factorio with a steel chair!
Factorio: Space Age #
If it wasn't for Balatro, Factorio: Space Age would have been Game of the Year. I would have put 100+ hours into Factorio if I didn't start it so late in the year. It is currently my 2025 game of the year. I was really enjoying Satisfactory but Factorio being top down 2D constrained the design space to allow for really in-depth simulation. I love it.
I am now fully into Factory games and Space Age really expands what you can do in the game. I don't know if I'll ever "finish" this game, whatever that means, but it's going to be my main game for the foreseeable future. Making a thing and then turning it into another thing is such a satisfying game play loop.
Wow, the simulation for this game is amazing. As annoying as the biters are and how tempted I've been to nerf their settings, they are an integral part of the design of Factorio.
My mostly balanced two train iron station
1000xRESIST #
I wasn't entirely sure what this game is but I love it. It's my favorite type of weird science fiction. It almost didn't grab me, but I was hooked by the end of chapter 3. I liked how the game grounded itself with the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests and shows how these events are real, they are historical, and how history effects and connects us to today's events.
Pseudoregalia #
She's built that way.
Arctic Eggs #
Eggs.
Honorable Mentions #
These are other games I enjoyed and want to mention.
- Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
- Slay the Princess
- Tiny Rogues
- Helldivers II
Games I've Finished! #
Nier: Automata, Balatro (Can you really finish Balatro?), Animal Well, Pseudoregalia, Astro Bot, Satisfactory, Arctic Eggs, Slay the Princess, 1000xRESIST
Other Games I Played and Liked #
Cusineer, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Remake
Other Games I Keep Meaning to Play #
Octopath Traveler 1 & 2, Divinity Original Sin 2, Pine, Kingdom Hearts 3, No Man's Sky, Ni no Kuni, Doom Eternal, Dwarf Fortress, Lord of the Rings Online.
Other Games Started That I Keep Meaning to Finish #
Pyre, Doom, Dragon Quest XI, Angels with Scaly Wings, Ni no Kuni II, Loop Hero, Tails Noir, Prey, Red Dead Redemption 2, Disco Elysium, Alan Wake, Control, God of War, Psychonauts 2.
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