Game Of Troy's Year 2024
I know most people probably don’t follow me for my opinions on videogames, but hey, I like them! 2024 was a pretty great year for games (though the same infuriatingly can’t be said for the developers behind them), so I’m going to give you my top 5 games of 2024 below in case you’re curious. I put them in reverse order so you can be IN SUSPENSE about what my top game is. Don’t scroll prematurely! Or do! I dunno! Who cares!
I also included the link to buy each one on Steam if you're interested. I don't get a commission for that or anything, it's just for convenience's sake because I'm a big sweetheart.
#5 - Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
Small caveat right off the bat here. I haven’t actually finished Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. I’m probably about 3/4 of the way through it. Despite all that, I’m very confident it belongs on this list. Hopefully that’s not recency bias talking? It probably isn’t. Maybe it is? Whatever.
Machine Games was responsible for the outstanding Wolfenstein reboot from a few years back (I need that 3rd installment, dudes), so I was surprised and, admittedly, disappointed to find out that they were making an Indiana Jones game next. While both franchises are about absolutely sticking it to nazis, Indiana Jones isn’t as chaotic as Wolfenstein. I’m also not huge into the Indiana Jones movies. I think I’ve seen two of them.
Turns out, being a sizable departure from Wolfenstein is a good thing. While you start the game with a gun, I never used it a single time in the first open world area, and then only rarely after that. This isn’t a game about gunning down nazis so much as it is about outsmarting them and beating them senseless with various objects while they fumble to do anything right. In a way that’s even more satisfying. Most of what you’re doing besides knocking out nazi teeth is exploring and solving ancient puzzles. You know, stuff Indiana Jones does. This game really feels like the definition of an adventure and I love it for that.
UPDATE: I have since finished this game and yeah, it belongs in this spot.
#4 - Crime Scene Cleaner
I guess I just need to accept the fact that I now like games where you clean up messes. I was hypnotized by Power Wash Simulator last year (and this year thanks to its expansions), so Crime Scene Cleaner was right up my alley. Unlike Power Wash, Crime Scene actually has a story to it about a down-on-his-luck janitor having to accept increasingly complex (and gruesome) jobs from a local unhinged criminal. It’s not particularly riveting stuff narratively speaking, but it’s a nice addition that ferries you from cleaning challenge to cleaning challenge.
You’re not just disposing of bodies and wiping blood off the walls, that’s the easy stuff. You also have to reset the scene back to the way it was before murdering happened. This is where the game can get downright diabolical. Where does this small lamp you found go? On that table that you haven’t moved back yet either? Or in a completely different room? It’s a lot, and one stage in particular has you rebuilding an entire MUSEUM piece by piece. This stage will be in my nightmares, but somehow I mean that in an endearing way. It’s perfect for the cleanup enthusiast that I apparently am. If you are too, and aren’t particularly squeamish, definitely give this one a shot.
#3 - Mouthwashing
Hoo boy, where to even begin. Mouthwashing is one of those games that you hear a lot of people talking about but you have no idea what it is. There’s fanart EVERYwhere for this one, so I had to find out what the draw of this was.
I was not ready for what it ended up throwing at me. I went in expecting a slightly-unnerving but overall quirky experience. It is not that. This game starts dark and ends darker, with precious few moments of levity sprinkled in. It naturally switches between time lines to tell a story of how one person can absolutely ruin everything if they’re horrible enough. But like the next game on this list, I don’t want to say too much about it at risk of spoiling anything for you. It’s short and very un-sweet. Enjoy!
#2 - Silent Hill 2 Remake
The original Silent Hill on the PS1 has the distinction of being one of the very few games that I can remember turning off because I couldn’t handle how scary it was (the only other one I can remember is Eternal Darkness). I did end up finishing it though, and I loved it.
Despite that, I never played Silent Hill 2 when it came out for the PS2 a few years later. We didn’t have a PS2 until about halfway through its lifespan, at which point Silent Hill 2 wasn’t the hot new thing anymore. I did end up playing through the absolutely bonkers Silent Hill 3 and enjoying it quite a bit though. I just never got around to playing 2.
I was cautiously excited to learn that a remake of Silent Hill 2 was happening. I had some degree of skepticism about it, seeing as how developer Bloober Team had a bit of a spotty track record in terms of delivering compelling horror games that didn’t overly rely on jump scares. But they have basically nailed this one.
It’s surprisingly restrained with its horror, which is something I appreciate. It also seems to be custom built to show me exactly what makes my skin crawl, like filthy bathrooms and rusty crumbling architecture. I don’t want to say too much about it so you can experience it for yourself, but I will say my only gripe with it is the fact that the multiple endings are based on how you play the game and it just so happens that the way I play survival horror games leads straight to the worst ending. Kind of a bummer how that worked out, but it didn’t sour the experience enough to keep it off this list.
#1 - Balatro
There’s no way you could ever have told me that I would one day be interested in anything even remotely related to Poker. I’ve only ever had the most basic understanding of a few poker hands, without the faintest idea what the difference is between a flush and straight. Maybe it’s my fondness for rougelike games, or maybe it’s the dad genes in me finally stirring for poker, but Balatro got its hooks in me BAD once it was released for mobile a few months ago. I never thought to get it on Steam before that because I just couldn’t see myself sitting in front of my PC playing what I thought at the time was a straightforward card game. Once it was released to mobile, I had heard enough positive things about it to give it a shot.
Man was I wrong about what this game is. It’s like it’s fine tuned to be just-difficult-enough for me to enjoy virtually every run I’ve ever done, even (especially?) ones that end in spectacular failure. Similar to my previous favorite roguelikes such as Hades, Vampire Survivors, and The Binding of Isaac, that very first victory felt like an amazing accomplishment. I took a screenshot of it and everything. But like all great games of this genre, that victory didn’t even scratch the surface of what Balatro has in store. I’m still playing it regularly, and am nowhere near the fabled 100% completion. It’s a fantastic game and I’m glad I gave it a chance. You should too.
Steam (also available on mobile)
The others that should be honorably mentioned that I also liked from this year:
Thank Goodness You’re Here (Steam)
Home Safety Hotline (Steam)
Clickolding (Steam)
Supermarket Simulator (Steam)