[Thoughts] Top 5 Games I Played In 2024

These games made my year better!

In this blog, I will be going through the 5 games that were my favorites of the year. This isn't just exclusive to games that came out this year, but also inclusive of ones that I played for the first time this year, I find it to be more interesting that way. At the end will also be a mention of my favourite DLC of the year too. That said, let's begin!

5) Honkai: Star Rail

I never really played Gacha games before this year other than Fire Emblem Heroes as I don't really like how they are done. However, the setting and designs of the characters quickly pulled me into this game after giving it a try due to a recommendation from a friend. Before I knew it I had sunk many hours into it. This did cause me to get burned out and actually made me stop playing for a few months. However, when I came back I have since stayed for good and plan on staying with it until I no longer want to play it. 

The gameplay and the visuals are my favorite things about this game. I look forward to where 3.0 takes us. I am quite excited about the new planet in 3.0 since it seems to be based on Greek mythology. 

4) Stellar Blade

I followed this game for a long time eagerly waiting for it to come out and I was not disappointed. The demo gave me a great opportunity to confirm whether I would want to get this game, and it was an instant yes after playing it. It was a great challenge to learn the bosses and get good with the combat of this game, even so, it was very rewarding and never felt unfair. The whole experience was really something though and the game went to places I didn't think it would.

The combat and soundtrack for this game are absolutely kick ass. The devs keep adding small updates too for this game, most of which are free, like the recent Xmas event update. I look forward to any more updates this game has or a possible sequel in the future.

3) Ys X: Nordics

Ys is a series I really love and have done for quite a few years now. Ys X coming west this year was a huge surprise and I was so happy when it was announced. The whole adventure was another great one and it ended up becoming my third favorite Ys game ever. These games just feel like classic gaming and I wouldn't have it any other way. I just wish this series got more attention. Maybe the next one will get the attention it deserves, who knows.

The greatest things about this game though were the combat and narrative. Ys X Proud Nordics has been announced recently, this looks to be a big upgrade in several ways most importantly the visuals. Depending on if this actually comes west and what it contains exactly this could push the game beyond Ys 0 and 8 for me.

2) The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

source: consolevariations.com

Echoes of Wisdom was a game that came somewhat out of nowhere and really stuck the landing. You can tell a lot of passion went into this game. Being able to play as Zelda was such a cool change, especially with her playing completely differently than Link. I really do hope we will get another game with Zelda as the main character that plays somewhat like this again. This game just oozes charm and sometimes that's just what we need. The dungeons of this game were so well done too coming off BOTW and TOTK, though I don't think their dungeons were bad at all, these ones just remind me more of the classic style dungeons with tighter design. The amount of references to previous games also made me feel very nostalgic and warm inside.

The design of this game was amazing and so was the gameplay, definitely my favorite things about it. I now wonder what's next for Zelda as a series. I love both top-down and open-world Zelda so I can't wait either way.

1) Resident Evil 4 Remake

source: www.playstation.com

I first played Resident Evil 4 on PS4 and loved it, so when I heard it was receiving a remake RE 2 style I was beyond overjoyed. OG RE 4 was beaten out by the recent RE 2 remake in terms of my favorite RE game but only just. So, I knew I would absolutely love it and it would shoot straight up even beyond the RE 2 remake. This version fixed some of my minor issues with the original and really expanded on the game's narrative. It is probably one of, if not, the most well done remake in my opinion. This was funnily enough the first game I played this year too so it managed to keep the crown the whole way.

What made this game extra special was the narrative and gameplay being so high quality. When RE 8 came out I sort of lost interest a bit in the series, however, this brought me right back and RE 9  is rumoured to be more like this than the newer direction of 7 & 8 which fills me with excitement. 

DLC) Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways

source: www.playstation.com

RE 4 not only is my favorite game I played this year but it also has my favorite DLC. This DLC episode for Ada was so well done. The original Ada campaigns felt very standard and weren't really anything too special. This version is a fully realized side of her story from RE 4. This DLC is also more lengthy than I expected, well worth the price tag it has. I really enjoyed speedrunning it as well for that sweet S Rank.

That's it for 2024's favorite games, for 2025's favorite games stay connected!