Honestly, if you told me back in January that a tiny robot and a poker-addicted indie dev would be the ones saving the industry this year, I probably would’ve laughed. But here we are. 2024 was weird. It was the year of the "sleeper hit" and the year where the massive, $200 million blockbusters actually had to sweat a little.
We saw sequels that felt like entire lifetimes (looking at you, Cloud Strife) and a Chinese action-RPG that basically broke the internet in a weekend. But when we look back at the 2024 games of the year, the conversation isn't just about who got the shiny trophy at the end of the night. It's about how the "rules" of what makes a game "great" totally shifted.
The Little Bot That Could: Why Astro Bot Won Everything
Everyone expected the heavy hitters to dominate. Then Astro Bot showed up.
It wasn’t just a tech demo this time. Team Asobi crafted something that felt... well, it felt like joy. Pure, unadulterated platforming joy. You’ve got these massive, sprawling AAA epics that take 100 hours to finish, and then you have Astro, which just wants to make you smile for twelve.
It swept the awards for a reason. Specifically, it took home Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, along with Best Game Direction and Best Family Game. Critics on Metacritic pushed it to a 94, making it the highest-rated standalone game of the year.
The secret sauce? It wasn't trying to be a "movie." It was trying to be a game.
People often get wrong the idea that a GOTY needs to be a dark, gritty narrative about trauma. Astro Bot proved that if your mechanics are tight enough and your world is creative enough, you don't need a 40-hour script to be the best. It’s basically the modern-day equivalent of Super Mario Galaxy, and it treated PlayStation's history with more respect than some of the actual creators do.
The DLC Controversy: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the giant, flaming wicker man in the room.
When FromSoftware announced that Shadow of the Erdtree would be eligible for 2024 games of the year, the internet basically melted down. "It's just DLC!" people screamed. "It’s an expansion, not a full game!"
Technically, they were right. But have you seen the size of that thing?
The Land of Shadow is bigger and more dense than most full-priced releases. It holds a 94 on Metacritic, tying with Astro Bot for the top spot. It was nominated for the big prize because it fundamentally changed how we look at post-launch content. It wasn't just "more Elden Ring." It was a refinement of every cruel, beautiful, and obscure thing Hidetaka Miyazaki has ever done.
Whether you think a DLC should be allowed to compete or not, you can't deny its impact. It dominated the cultural zeitgeist for months. It made us all stay up until 3:00 AM dying to a guy with two swords and a gravity problem. That kind of shared suffering is exactly what defines a "Game of the Year" contender.
Black Myth: Wukong and the Global Shift
If you weren't looking at the Steam charts in August, you missed a literal revolution. Black Myth: Wukong didn't just sell well; it moved 20 million units in a month. It’s the fastest-selling game since Grand Theft Auto V.
But here is what most people get wrong about its success.
It wasn't just "China's first AAA game." It was a visual powerhouse that proved you don't need a Western marketing machine to conquer the world. It won Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards and Best Action Game at The Game Awards.
The boss design is relentless. The visuals, powered by Unreal Engine 5, are arguably the best we’ve ever seen in the medium. It brought the story of the Monkey King to a global audience that, frankly, didn't know much about Journey to the West outside of Dragon Ball references. It was a cultural moment as much as a mechanical one.
The Indie Monster: Balatro
Then there’s Balatro.
If you haven’t played it, it’s basically poker-roguelike crack. It was made by one guy—LocalThunk—and it ended up being nominated for Game of the Year alongside the multi-million dollar giants.
It didn't need:
- Ray-tracing.
- Motion-captured actors.
- A cinematic orchestral score.
- A map full of icons.
It just needed a "one more run" gameplay loop that absolutely nukes your dopamine receptors. It won Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie, but its real victory was selling over 3.5 million copies by the end of the year. It proved that a clever idea and a CRT-filter aesthetic can beat out any amount of "content" if the core loop is fun enough.
Honestly? It's the game I played the most in 2024. And I’m not even a card game guy.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: The Narrative Powerhouse
We have to mention Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
It’s the second part of a trilogy that shouldn't work. How do you take a 1997 classic and turn it into a 100-hour open-world epic without losing the soul? Square Enix somehow did it. It won Best Score and Music (deservedly, the soundtrack is massive) and was a frontrunner for the top prize all year.
The game is a maximalist dream. There are mini-games inside of mini-games. There’s a card game called Queen’s Blood that could honestly have been its own standalone release. While it struggled a bit with sales compared to the first part—mostly because it was locked to the PS5—it remains the gold standard for what a big-budget RPG should look like in the 2020s.
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What 2024 Taught Us About Gaming
Looking at the full list of winners and the general vibe of the year, a few things become super clear.
First, the "AA" and Indie space is where the real innovation is happening. Games like Animal Well, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Helldivers 2 (which won Best Ongoing Game) are taking risks that the biggest studios are too scared to touch.
Second, the "Console War" is basically over, but the "Exclusivity War" is still raging. PlayStation had a monster year with Astro Bot and Helldivers 2, while Xbox relied more on its back catalog and Game Pass acquisitions.
Lastly, players are getting tired of "bloat." We want games that value our time, even if they're long. We want games that feel finished at launch.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re looking to catch up on the 2024 games of the year, don't just go for the one with the biggest logo. Start with what you actually value in a game:
- For Pure Mechanics: Pick up Astro Bot. It’s the tightest controlling game of the decade.
- For "Just One More Try": Buy Balatro. Just clear your schedule for the next three days first.
- For a Challenge: Brave the Shadow of the Erdtree. Just be prepared to use a guide if you get lost.
- For the Spectacle: Black Myth: Wukong. It’s the closest we’ve come to "next-gen" graphics.
- For the Vibe: Check out Neva or Animal Well. They’re short, beautiful, and will stay with you much longer than a generic shooter.
The 2024 season showed us that the industry is in a weird spot of transition. Budgets are too high, and risk is scary. But as long as we keep getting gems like these, the future of the hobby is looking pretty bright.
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Get through your backlog now, because 2025 is already looking like it’s going to be even more crowded.