And that's a wrap on 2024. Was it a good year? Not for many in the video game community. Companies laid off workers by the hundreds, a gang of weirdos kicked off another right-wing harassment campaign against developers from marginalized backgrounds, and workers pressed on against the backdrop of horrendous and stress-inducing world events.
But press on they did. For many this was a year of celebration. Studios across the globe released a tidal wave of great games—so many that when it came time for the staff of Game Developer to pick our top 10, we each showed up to the table with wildly different sheets of nominees. Coming to consensus was difficult, but with the help of some ad-hoc ranked choice voting (maybe it's right for your elections too?), we selected 10 wonderful games all worthy of the title "Game of the Year."
It's our habit at Game Developer to present these games in no particular order—each its is its own unique, precious diamond, an exemplar of what video games are and can be as a medium. We hope you're as inspired by the games on our list as we were.
Image via Billy Basso/Bigmode
Image via Billy Basso/Bigmode
Animal Well, Billy Basso/Bigmode
Well hot diggity dog we've got ourselves a freaky boy. Animal Well is an proper, unabashed oddity. Billy Basso's singular riff on the metroidvania is dripping with atmosphere that veers between adorable (just look at how your dinky blob climbs a ladder) to horrifying. Every pore of this experience effuses mystery, from the eerie creatures you encounter to how the interconnected labyrinth slowly unfolds to reveals layers upon layers of abstract truth. You might delve into the depths in search of answers, but can certainty be found in the luminescent caverns hidden below?
Each discovery only begs another question. How did that yoyo get here? Christ on a bike–why won't that cat leave me alone? Did that ostrich just turn into a snake? Is that an egg? Animal Well owes you nothing, but delivers everything fans of the genre could ask for and more. Puzzles intersect and intertwine, delivering glorious eureka moments before making your feel dumber than dirt.
It's an exhilarating cycle backed by celestial visuals that prove (as if you needed convincing) that pixel art can be absolutely jaw-dropping. It can be frustratingly obtuse at times, but there's something refreshing about a video game that puts all the onus on players. The knowledge you seek is right there. You know that. If only you could figure out how to obtain it.
Now go. The well calls you home. —Chris Kerr, news editor
Image via Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Image via Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Astro Bot, Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment
It's rare that I roll credits on triple-A titles these days, but Astro Bot had me hook, line, and sinker from minute one. Team Asobi's rambunctious platfomer is a near-perfect addition to the PlayStation 5 catalog and shows what can be achieved when major corporations let developers flex their creative muscles instead of trend-chasing.
Whether you're slowing time to transform tumbling poker chips into a makeshift staircase, turning into a kaiju-sized sponge to duke it out in a bathhouse brawl, or strapping on a barking-mad booster pack to blitz through barriers, Astro Bot weaves together a rich 3D platforming tapestry that prioritizes one thing above all else: joy.
That's the real secret of Astro Bot's success. Every design decision elicits wonder. The way you can feel Astro Bot's tiny trotters clink and clack across different surfaces thanks to the DualSense controller's haptic feedback. How rescued bots will cling to your gamepad, jostling in unison as you jiggle around in the real-world. Those 'holy shit' moments built around flooding the screen with as many physical objects as possible, teasing players with the prospect of pure unadulterated play. There's a tactile quality on display here that has become so rare in video games.
Astro Bot understands there is catharsis to be found in the silly and absurd. By leaning fully into that idea, Team Asobi delivered so much more than a nostalgia-fuelled marketing ploy. Although we do hope Sony ditches the corporate handwaving whenever Astro Bot embarks on another adventure. —Chris Kerr, news editor
Image via Localthunk/Playstack.
Image via Localthunk/Playstack.
Balatro Localthunk/Playstack
This might sound odd, but indulge me for a second. Balatro is a Beethoven simulator masquerading as a poker-themed roguelike. Your aim here isn't to slam down poker hands in pursuit of fortune and favor, but rather to birth ethereal symphonies by rewriting the very fabric of play. When Balatro clicks (and it will) you'll feel like a master craftsman. A prophetic composer at the very top of their game.
It took me a few runs before the crashing cacophony of manic multipliers, spectral supporters, and jostling jokers became coherent, but when I finally found my flow the entire experience became nothing short of transcendental. Conventions and norms crumble to dust as you learn how to flip the script turn after turn. You'll need a pinch of luck along the way, but there's something immensely satisfying about assembling a deck that properly slaps, cutting through bosses like a hot knife through butter.
Failure and success is perfectly balanced. The former imparting valuable wisdom and unlocking new tools, while the latter leaves you feeling like the prodigal genius who learned how to manipulate the imperceptible. —Chris Kerr, news editor
Image via Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Image via Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Helldivers 2, Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Arrowhead Games’ Helldivers 2 wasn’t just a great game of 2024, it was a defining game of the year. It's the kind of multiplayer masterpiece only made possible when a core team of devs who’ve been working together since the making of Magicka could decide to take on such an ambitious project. Helldivers 2 doesn’t just ape the dark comedy of space marine fascism seen in Paul Verhoeven’s film Starship Troopers, it leans all the way in with chaotic, silly gameplay where friendly fire, falling corpses, or a bouncing barrel knocked your way by an explosion could all splatter your guts on the landscape.
Then there’s the Galactic War system. Multiplayer games have been experimenting with simultaneous in-game events for several years now, but Helldivers 2 cracked the code with the help a bit of tabletop roleplaying logic. This complex system allows a single "Game Master" (literally named "Joel") to direct which planets players should attack or defend. This can either rally players to act as though they’re fighting a common enemy—or drive a friendly wedge between them as they argue over which rewards to pursue.
This mix of gunplay, black comedy, and sense of being part of a greater whole drove millions of players into Arrowhead’s arms. The studio spent months responding to the glut of enthusiasm, reworking its org chart to improve the quality of updates and clamp down on crunch. This was aided by Sony’s gamble on bringing the game to Steam, but the huge PC playerbase forced the megacorp to bend the knee and remove the requirement for a PlayStation Network account. If the game wasn't such a siren call to a passionate playerbase, Sony wouldn’t have budged an inch.
That might be, as the game sarcastically suggests, is the power of Managed Democracy. —Bryant Francis, senior editor
Image via Mossmouth.
Image via Mossmouth.
UFO 50, Mossmouth
UFO 50 is one of the coolest and most exciting projects (for me, anyway) in commercial game development in years. Developer Mossmouth had me at the pitch: 50 unique, new, retro-styled games (not mini-games), all bound together in a fictional universe and styled as a lost 80s' studio's full library. The games are varied: full RPGs, experimental arcade shooters, brawlers, puzzlers, adventures, all with modern twists and unique features, layered with positively delicious, retro-appropriate pixel art and music.
The sheer variety of mechanics, genres, and aesthetics would be enough to warrant this a space on the list—look at what these folks accomplished—but the quality and ingenuity here is unparalleled. There are multiple games within UFO 50 (I’m looking at you, Devilition, Rock On Island, Party House, Pingolf, Avianos, Mortol) that I would have gone to battle for in our GOTY deliberations on their merits alone, so the fact that they live here in one appealing package is all the sweeter.
UFO 50 has permeated my thoughts and imagination more than any other game this year, and it sits comfortably atop my own personal list. The collection has inspired me to think about cool mechanics, about invigorating genre blends, and about just how much life and energy still flow through the practice of pixel art. —Danielle Riendeau, editor-in-chief
Image via sunset visitor 斜陽過客/Fellow Traveler.
Image via sunset visitor 斜陽過客/Fellow Traveler.
1000xResist, sunset visitor 斜陽過客/Fellow Traveler
Though labeled as speculative fiction, 1000xRESIST is an obscenely relevant and thought-provoking play in a “post-pandemic” 2024.
It’s the sort of game you have to play to understand, but at a glance, it’s an impossibly stylish sci-fi story about a small band of cloned survivors eking out a limited existence in an underground bunker following an alien invasion that brings a catastrophic plague to Earth. They are led by the ALLMOTHER, the plague’s sole survivor and an immune and immortal being from whom the clones were spawned, who leads them in their desire to return to the surface one day.
While the narrative, often delivered through esoteric dialogue that feels more like poetry than conversation, leaves a lot to unpack, I think what stuck with me most was its opposing themes of control and resistance, bitterness and grace, generational trauma and healing. Through Iris and her mother, through the ALLMOTHER, the sisters and the Occupants, we are asked to consider how the pursuit of comfort and safety contributes to the desire for control, how these intentions are corrupted by fear and power, and whether to endure the dysfunction and hardship of rebellion or submit in the name of stability.
Above all, it also asks us to consider the child we once were and how our experiences influence who we become. Will you hold on to the past and the memories that made you…or will you leave it all behind and become free? —Holly Green, community editor
Image via Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games.
Image via Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games.
Cryptmaster Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games
Ah, Cryptmaster. Or as I like to call it, Wheel of Misfortune. In this game, the pen is definitely mightier than the sword. Or rather, it is the sword: players can only use the attacks
