Another year of video game releases is about to close, and what better time to look back at some of the best games we have played in 2024.
2024 is a dire year for game developers, as workforce layoffs continue to happen even during this very holiday month. After the boom of the pandemic years, where profits soars and capital had to be spent somewhere (which resulted in the many mergers and acquisitions), that bubble has burst, and the aftermath is where we see companies scaling down and “restructuring”.
Yet ironically, from the gamer’s perspective, we are blessed with months after months of great game releases. Plenty of which found success with millions of game sales. It’s a been a good year for RPGs. A great year for Dragon games, fittingly since 2024 is the year of the dragon according to the Chinese calendar.
The following is a list of games we, the editorial team at Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters, believe to be the best games of 2024. It’s not a comprehensive list, it only features games that we are able to either cover on the site, or play on our own leisure time. But that just makes the list more interesting, as some of the crowd favourites among the mainstream/core gamers/variety gamers circle are not seen, replaced by niche picks that deserves a highlight.
Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters’ Top 30 Games Of 2024
Side Awards are hyper-specific commendations designed solely around the idea to give a game we like something. Introduced in 2022, we are continuing this tried-and-true tradition because we feel some games deserve to be specifically highlighted in its quality, and we think it’s funny.
The following 20 games are sorted in alphabetical order.
1000xResist
- Developer: sunset visitor 斜陽過客
- Publisher: Fellow Traveller
- Release Date: May 9, 2024
- A futuristic introspection of one person’s action in between all of her copies. Are you even sure you’re not a “copy” of a copy, as well?
- Side Awards: Best Cyberpunk
Astro Bot
- Developer: Team Asobi
- Publisher: PlayStation Studios (SIE)
- Release Date: September 6, 2024
- Putting the “Play” in PlayStation, this 3D platformer made us remember what makes a game fun and playful through brilliant use of gimmicks and homages of the brand’s rich 30-year legacy
- Side Awards: “You Are This Old” Award
Baladins
- Developer: Seed By Seed
- Publisher: Armor Games Studios
- Release Date: May 15, 2024
- A wholesome, with a side of whimsical mischief, twist to knowledge-based timeloop games, and evoking tabletop RPG elements this is a one-of-kind game
- Side Awards: Best Timeloop Game
Balatro
- Developer: Local Thunk
- Publisher: Playstack
- Release Date: February 20
- “Poker roguelike” sounds deceptively simple, but yet it’s so good and hard to put down
- Side Awards: Heisenberg Award for Best Drug, Trailblazer Award
Buckshot Roulette
- Developer: Mike Klubnika
- Publisher: Critical Reflex
- Release Date: April 4, 2024
- The chance of either winning big or lose it all in this high intense game of shotgunning the horrors for cash
- Side Awards: Glorious RNG
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher: Activision
- Release Date: October 25, 2024
- Treyarch and Raven Software shows hows it done with their blend of action genre shooters in their new era
- Side Awards: Best Metal Gear Solid Game
Content Warning
- Developer: Wilhelm Nylund, Zorro Svärdendahl, Erik Skog, Philip Westre and Petter Henriksson
- Publisher: Landfall Publishing
- Release Date: April 1, 2024
- What if you and your friends went “we should go viral” in the goofiest of ways?
- Side Awards: Shadowdrop of The Year
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Developer: Bioware
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Date: October 31, 2024
- BioWare can still make good enough games, and the long-awaited new entry to Dragon Age is holding the line by evolving into an action-RPG
- Side Awards: Trolley Problem Award, Best Hair
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Developer: Square Enix
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release Date: February 29, 2024
- The second chapter to a trilogy of remakes based on one the most beloved RPGs of all time is filled with fun shenanigans, emotional rollercoaster, and a sharply tuned action RPG combat not many can best
- Side Awards: Emotional Roller Coaster Award, Best Presequel
Frostpunk 2
- Developer: 11 bit Studios
- Publisher: 11 bit Studios
- Release Date: September 21, 2024
- The narrative-heavy city-builder goes deeper and more layered in this sequel
- Side Awards: Premium Child Labor Certified
Golden Lap
- Developer: Funselektor, Stelka Games
- Publisher: Funselektor
- Release Date: September 26, 2024
- “Don’t get too attached to your drivers, as that might lead to heartbreak when they pass,” Enzo Ferrari (from the movie Ferrari)
- Side Awards: Netflix Drive To Survive Award
Granblue Fantasy Relink
- Developer: Cygames
- Publisher: Cygames
- Release Date: February 1, 2024
- Making the transition to a proper game and still keeping the mobile spirit and even difficulty is Granblue’s strength. One of the more sleeper hits in the early 2024
- Side Awards: Best Mobile Adaptation
Helldivers 2
- Developer: Arrowhead
- Publisher: PlayStation Studios (SIE)
- Release Date: February 8, 2024
- Arrowhead’s specific brand of multiplayer mayhem finally reached critical mass with this sequel. The spirit of accidentally killing your friend from a poorly coordinated airstrike from Magicka lives on today, now presented in a AAA spectacle that made an impression on millions. The one big bet from PlayStation’s multiplayer gamble that paid off.
- Side Awards: Friendly Fire Award
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
- Developer: MachineGames
- Publisher: Bethesda
- Release Date: December 9, 2024
- MachineGames’s take on the beloved fascist-punching globe-trotter is quite the adventure
- Side Awards: Deus Ex Award for Best Immersive Sim
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Publisher: Sega
- Release Date: January 25, 2024
- What better way to promote tourism into Hawaii then having THE Ichiban Kasuga loving Mahi-Mahi and making friends along the way
- Side Awards: Dragon Game of The Year
Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Developer: Studio Zero
- Publisher: Atlus
- Release Date: October 11, 2024
- The many talents behind the Persona series produced an epic fantasy-RPG with a sharp and timely commentary on the state of our world. A masterpiece in video game storytelling and a fantastic display of Atlus’ 35-year heritage in making RPGs.
- Side Awards: Bri’ish Award
MLB The Show 24
- Developer: San Diego Studio
- Publisher: PlayStation Studios (SIE)
- Release Date: March 19, 2024
- Taking up to plate onto one of the more unique sports title in this era that has a career mode than understands what you need for a challenge
- Side Awards: Not White Sox Award
Mullet Madjack
- Developer: Hammer95
- Publisher: Epopeia Games, Hammer95
- Release Date: May 19
- You have seconds to live, now get going and shoot those suckers man!
- Side Awards: Best Mullet
Persona 3 Reload
- Developer: Atlus
- Publisher: Atlus
- Release Date: February 2, 2024
- Remaking one of the most incredible RPGs for the modern audience while also retaining the banging soundtrack and toughness to fight God makes this worth playing
- Side Awards: Best New Old Game
Rise Of The Ronin
- Developer: Team Ninja
- Publisher: PlayStation Studios (SIE)
- Release Date: March 22, 2024
- Team Ninja goes up another level by turning their usually great action-soulslike (or masocore action-RPGs, to use their parlance) into a full-on open-world experience. Relieving the Bakumatsu period and rewriting history is a surprising yet welcome addition to the expected punishing but rewarding combat system
- Side Awards: Parry The Platypus Award
Satisfactory
- Developer: Coffee Stain
- Publisher: Coffee Stain
- Release Date: September 10, 2024
- This factory builder/ automation game does more than the name implies. The complexities of creating a production line is transposed into a first-person perspective and the results is clearly more than satisfactory
- Side Awards: Best Spaghetti, Underseller Award
Schim
- Developer: Ewoud van der Werf, Nils Slijkerman
- Publisher: Extra Nice
- Release Date: July 18, 2024
- A platformer with plenty of charm and a big heart, playing with the idea of negative spaces as a platform one can hop across. The minimalist looks and bouncy beats hooks you in, but you’ll want to see the end to see how a poor guy copes after losing his job.
- Side Awards: Shadow Realm Award, Minimalist Award
Sonic X Shadow Generations
- Developer: Sonic Team
- Publisher: Sega
- Release Date: October 24, 2024
- A decent remaster, but the bundled-in new campaign, Shadow Generations, might be the best Sonic game in ages. A 3D platformer that plays it straight, but also executed with precision. What a blast it is to zoom through Magic Kingdom
- Side Awards: Best Hub World
STALKER 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
- Developer: GSC Gameworld
- Publisher: GSC Gameworld
- Release Date: November 20, 2024
- The folks at GSC have cooked up the ultimate Chernobyl survival game despite their circumstances. Like them, the game is all about persistence in the face of danger
- Side Awards: Best Survival
Stellar Blade
- Developer: Shift Up
- Publisher: PlayStation Studios (SIE)
- Release Date: April 26, 2024
- Shift Up’s first foray into console games started with a stride. An action-adventure with a touch of soulslike with very clear influences, but still an amazing experience for the specific crowd that loves a good “sexy android saves the world” game
- Side Awards: Yoko Taro Award For Best Nier Game
Tekken 8
- Developer: Bandai Namco Studios (Tekken Project)
- Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Release Date: January 25, 2024
- A fighting game designed for the biggest common denominator and is ridiculously fun to pick-and-play. With its multitude of feature sets from character customisation to a full-fledged story mode, there’s no reason a casual to be afraid to dip their toes into this fun, niche genre through some good-ass Tekken
- Side Awards: Best “Family” Game
Unicorn Overlord
- Developer: Vanillaware
- Publisher: Atlus
- Release Date: March 8, 2024
- The fact that you can basically program your units to be auto-batting the battlefield while also build up the bonds speaks wonders for this Vanilaware outing
- Side Awards: Best Fire Emblem
Visions of Mana
- Developer: NetEase Ouka Studio
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release Date: August 29
- Visions makes sure that you get the experience of Trials more enjoyable in this sequel, with a story that makes the Mana lore be unique
- Side Awards: Best Anime Game*
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
- Developer: Saber
- Publisher: Focus Entertainment
- Release Date: September 10, 2024
- A sequel no one expected to happen, but glad it did. Saber’s turns this series into a horde shooter and it works. And the campaign presented these literal larger-than-life humans in a light that makes people eager to discover more of the grim dark future where there is only war
- Side Awards: The Emperor’s Approval
Zenless Zone Zero
- Developer: Hoyoverse
- Publisher: Hoyoverse
- Release Date: July 4, 2024
- Hoyverse’s new free-to-play experience oozes with style and aplomb. A new generation of gamers are now exposed to the finger dexterity requirements that character action games demand
- Side Awards: Finger Hurting Good
Check out the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year Awards 2024 hub for full list of awards.