GBAtemp's favorite games of 2024
Happy New Year! The GBAtemp Staff wishes everyone a wonderful 2025! As we put a wrap on the previous year, we've decided to highlight the best of what we played throughout 2024, and recommend those games to you! Plenty of exciting indie games, localizations, and big budget games released this past year, so if you don't see your personal favorite mentioned, be sure to share it in the comments!
We will of course, kick off the list with the objective best game of 2024, Concord!
Just kidding.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Our first recommendation comes from Costello:
Growing up with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on my trusty monochrome Game Boy back in the ’90s, 2D Zelda games have always held a special place in my heart. But Echoes of Wisdom isn’t just another nostalgic nod to the good old 2D action-adventures—it comes with a clever twist. This time, you don’t play as Zelda: you play as the princess Link! Wait no, is it the other way around? Okay, confusion aside, the real fun begins when you dive in. Forget simple hack-and-slash gameplay; here, strategy is the name of the game. And while that might not sound as thrilling at first, the sheer freedom offered by Echoes quickly draws you in, delivering a creative spark akin to TOTK’s Ultrahand. Sure, you'll need to get used to frequently swapping between Echoes, but the pace remains exciting. You still get to face off against epic bosses and waves of enemies—but the real magic lies in how the new mechanics revolutionize level design. The puzzles and mysteries feel fresh, like nothing you’ve seen before in a Zelda game, and that’s the true masterpiece here. Bravo, Nintendo! Once again, you’ve managed to create a whole new subgenre within a universe we all adore. Now, bring on the next 2D Zelda… or Link.
Too Good for Words - Balatro
Scarlet has two different games to talk about:
I’ve wanted to write about Balatro for a while but I’ve struggled to find the words to capture such a primal enjoyment of gaming. With this being the year end roundup though, I’m somewhat out of time and left to try to figure out how to explain exactly what really makes this titanic dopamine machine so great.
At its core, Balatro follows the basic rules of poker. You draw a hand of cards from your deck, and discard those you don’t like to try to get the best poker hand. Each hand scores a certain number of points, with you needing to hit an ever-increasing target to progress. It’s so simple on the surface, and that basic familiarity is a big part of what makes this game so easy to pick up and run with. Of course, there is more to it than just simple poker, expanding your standard ruleset with a vast assortment of game-breaking Joker cards.
Balatro is a game where everything just clicks, and you’ll know it’s for you after watching just a few minutes of gameplay. The fun of the game is in watching how your luck tallies up, and how unexpected combinations score unbelievably high hand after hand. It thrives in its simplicity and lulls you to keep playing, to keep scoring higher. If you like roguelikes, if you like card games, if you just like the small rush of seeing numbers go up, this is a game that will keep you hooked for tens, if not hundreds of hours. Balatro is just as worthy of a Game of the Year title as any AAA shooty thing or mascot platformer. It’s a joy that seems to have come out of nowhere, and it’s one that I hope will continue to receive attention and updates going into 2025.
A Quick Shoutout - DICEOMANCER
Now the assignment was to write about our favourite game of the year, but I really wanted to talk about this too… I only picked up Diceomancer this month and I’ve put nowhere near as much time into it as I have Balatro, but man I already know this one is a gem that needs to be on more people’s radars. We’ve got a roguelike deck builder, and I know that sounds about as generic as it comes, but stick with me here. The big twist of this game is, as the title may elude to, a die. A terrifying and chaotic die called The One Die, that lets you change any number on-screen to whatever you roll. Want to lower an enemy’s health bar? Sure. Want to alter your card to hit six times instead of twice? Go right ahead! This is a game that pushes your creativity and out of the box thinking to make any solution feel entirely your own. It is magnificent.
The game is well-balanced with an assortment of different builds, where each can be warped and twisted through events you come across and how you use The One Die. Supported by some stunningly stylistic eight frame per second hand-drawn animations, it’s a captivating adventure I keep crawling back to. It has a free demo on Steam, and while you have a free moment over the festive period, I would wholeheartedly recommend giving it a go. This is a game that deserves to be talked about.
Persona 3: Reload
Bortz wanted to discuss one of this year's biggest JRPGs:
Reload was the only game from 2024 that I played to completion this year. Back in 2017, while thoroughly enjoying vanilla Persona 5 upon release, I couldn't help but wish for a remake of Persona 3 in the new engine. And I only had to wait 7 years. My first playthrough of Persona 3: FES was actually much later than the original release, deep into 2014 on the PS3. I played without a guide and missed... a lot of the game. So I was really ready for another run, this time soaking in all the glory of P3 with the glorious remake. I really enjoyed my time with the game, this time playing with a guide to make sure I saw all the social links with the male MC. Upon completing the main story and obtaining the platinum trophy, I do what I always do. I dove into the YouTuber sphere of reviews and hot takes. I didn't really share the same opinions of the YouTubers I watched who found the remake... a bit polarizing. I am just glad to have had the chance to officially play Persona 3 in real HD with a new soundtrack and a slightly revamped Tartarus. I will eventually dive into Episode Aigis.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
New Year's party? X65943 recommends a Mario Party instead:
The Mario Party Franchise has had its share of boons and busts. For anyone who actually paid for the vomit that was Mario Party 9 and 10, my deepest apologies. I think I can speak for basically everyone when I say the best of the series was on the N64 - and admittedly most of the Mario Party I've played over the years has been the N64 titles or the earlier GCN titles.
If it's not broken, don't fix it right? Well, that's not how Nintendo sees things. Nintendo is famous (infamous?) for throwing gimmicks at the fridge until they stick. They started off strong adding things we like.
Gameboy? Gameboy Color!
NES? Super NES!
But quickly it got weird.
Two handles on controller? Three handles on controller!
One screen? Two Screen! AND a stylus! AND broken 3D!!
What was I talking about again, oh right, this IS a game review I guess. To get to my point. Super Mario Party Jamboree is my game of the year because as a certified Nintenyearold(TM) it does what I always wished Nintendo would do. Keep the formula we all know and love and improve it incrementally. Super Mario Party Jamboree doesn't try to re-invent the wheel by throwing a microphone, wiiu gamepad or single cart mechanics into Mario Party - it simply takes what we love and expands on it. And by the way, if you play with bonus stars turned on you are a scrub, 'nuff said.
MiSide
Sneaking out at the tail-end of 2024 is Joe88's pick for this year's best:
In a year of flops and disappointments of $70 "AAAA" games with 10 year dev cycles, this $15 indie game is one of the bright spots in the gaming world this year. Developed by two Russian guys and released in early December, its a cutesy anime style game but all it not what it seems. In the same vein of Doki Doki Literature Club, things quickly run off the rails and you the player end up being trapped in the game. The same anime dating sim you were playing has now turned into a horror game. I don't want to spoil too much but lets say you will be jumping through all different dimensions of the game it order to find an exit back to the real world and meeting all sorts of different variants of the female mc simply named "Mita" along the way. One second you will be running for your life down a PT-inspired hallway loop being chased by some nasty creature and the next you will be playing mini games with one of the Mita's. It also dives into psychological aspect what exactly is a relationship and life in general, what exactly is the difference between being trapped in a virtual prison (the game) or working a job all day long, repeating the same mundane tasks over and over again in the real world. The game isn't terribly long clocking into around 4 hours, but it is an experience you should play. There is also tons of secrets, collectibles, achievements, and references through out the game. The ending does feel a bit short handed but the devs are working on a "Peaceful Mode" which will be added to the game sometime in the future which will act as some sort of end game content.
Palworld
With the other two options that would have normally been her "GOTY" already claimed by others, Chary instead has to fall back on:
I was already a fan of PocketPair's bizarre precursor to Palworld, Craftopia. So when they released Craftopia but with bootleg Pokemon, you could bet I was gonna be there day 1 to play it. It ran poorly on console, forcing me to actually play on PC; a feat that not many games manage. It hits just the right balance of gameplay elements that I love: simple crafting where number-goes-up, explorable worlds with loot to find, and adorable Pals to catch, train, and hoard. I put a solid 50 hours into the game on Xbox, and another 25 on Steam, making it my most-played game this year, outside of Persona 3: Reload. There's a new expansion that just came out, and combined with the recent PS5 port, that might be just enough to drag me back in for more.
Helldivers 2
P1ngpong has something to say about a game that rocked the gaming world back at the start of this year:
Helldivers 2 is a great underdog story. It came out of nowhere with very little fanfare but managed to catch fire amongst players and it built a huge dedicated community. Sure, Sony backed it, but at heart, Helldivers 2 is an indie game punching above its weight. Sure the Sony tarnish caused a bit of drama here and there in its first year but Arrowhead listened to the community and adjusted to get the game back on course and more successful than ever. The game even managed to spike in popularity on steam from 30 thousand players to 140 thousand players in December.
Helldivers 2 is my most played game of the year, I have invested 40 hours into it. That might not sound like a lot for a lot of you but with my life schedule, it is a huge investment in time. I love its fun non-competitive co-op gameplay. I have no interest in games that require hundreds of hours to fine-tune skills in order to be competitive in them. I like how if a teammate accidentally kills you they say sorry. I like how every match I play feels like it is contributing something to a greater cause. I love playing out a Starship Troopers and Terminator power fantasy. I love big guns, big maps, big explosions. I love its humour, the little easter eggs you can find, the irony behind the fact that Earth forces are actually the bad guys.
This game is an example of how a live service should be run and how a developer should value and listen to their community. At a time when big live service projects have crumbled after a couple of weeks for being bereft of content or filled to the brim with woke propaganda, Helldivers is a pleasant throwback. It is just fun, doesn't try and preach bullshit, respects its community and is not out there to gouge its player base's time and money for puny rewards. I really hope it continues being successful, and I can see myself playing it for a long time to come yet.
Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Zero:
We'll cap off our coverage with what Ericzander thought about a revival to a beloved franchise:
2024 was a weird year for me. I didn’t play much of anything new because, well, I spent the past year and a half buried deep in platinuming all* of the numbered Final Fantasy games from I to XVI. While I ultimately succeeded in that endeavor, it left me in a new, strange world, with many new titles to try out, having passed up so many… A wonderful new world of opportunity…
So instead of taking advantage of that, I decided to just continue to be nostalgic. Luckily, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero released in 2024 and as soon as I was able, I decided to crack into it to get my dopamine fix and, oh man, I sure got it.
Growing up with the Budokai Tenkaichi games, I have a lot of nostalgia tied to this series. Those games weren’t just fighters—they were pure Dragon Ball chaos in all the best ways. Sparking! Zero tries to recapture that energy, and for the most part, it nails it. The fights are fast and explosive, the graphics looked like how my brain remembered BT3, and I just let myself let go and enjoy the trip.
That said, I’ve got mixed feelings about two main points. First, the story mode needed to be changed quite a bit. The way it’s set up is that you play as Goku from the start of Z to the end of the anime version of Super (are we just pretending that Moro doesn’t exist?) but ONLY Goku’s fights. Then you can play Gohan’s story, Piccolo’s, Vegeta’s, etc. The problem is that it makes for a VERY disjointed story mode with huge gaps. The story would have been better—and would have helped fight burnout by giving us more variety—if we were able to play through one large story mode, switching between characters when appropriate for each fight. And while you can play as a ton of characters—this game could probably field its own Universe Tournament roster—don’t even get me started on how horrible the character selection screen is.
Where the game really shines, though, is in the multiplayer. I fought in well over 100 ranked matches and even went against (and trained?) my good friend/alt account @RyRyIV for some online matches, and let me tell you, it was glorious. In between the screaming and laughing, it reminded me why I love this series so much. It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about giant explosions, iconic clashes, and the pure joy of knowing the child on the other end of the game is screaming at the top of his lungs because you just body swapped your nearly defeated Captain Ginyu with his Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. Get rekt, kid. Okay… Maybe it is about winning. Seriously, here’s my tip. Try out a team of Ginyu, Recoome, Bardock, Roshi, and Videl. Cheese your way to victory and thank me later.
With that said, now that we've talked about our favorite games this year, we'd love to hear what the GBAtemp community played and enjoyed this year. Are there any recommendations you have that you've been wanting to talk about? Or, maybe you're eagerly looking towards 2025, and all the potential Nintendo games due out with the inevitable release of the Switch successor?
So, it's no wonder that the game is as good as it is despite the simple gameplay.
