Posted January 08, 2025
high rated
2024 was an interesting gaming year for me. I completed a total of 56 games, played quite a few great ones, and also a few stinkers, but I also played System Shock for the first time.
Yes, the original System Shock from 1994, but I did play Nightdive’s Enhanced Edition, which had some QOL improvements.
System Shock Enhanced Edition is easily the best game I played in 2024, and I can’t wait to replay it in 2025. It was released the same year as Doom II, but this one also had floors, elevators, better AI for enemies, a lot of freedom in the way you approach your objectives, and it also had plot. You can shoot wherever you can point the cursor at, and you can also crouch, crawl, and lean. Compared to Doom, this was way ahead of its time.
I had skipped on this back on release, since it was definitely not a looker even by 1994’s standards. Also, it wasn’t clear what type of game it was back then, and teenage me was mostly interested in Doom and Lucasarts adventure games.
Another game I played last year was Red Dead Redemption 2, and, although this is a magnificent game, I’d still name System Shock as my favorite game that I played in 2024.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is exceptional in that it transports you to the end of the 19th century, and manages to make you care about characters who are not good people, to put it mildly. Although some chapters feel artificially drawn out by repeating a few gameplay tropes, the game is still a marvel of design, with everything within being deliberate and well thought-out.
Another game that I enjoyed every second of was Ctrl Alt Ego. This one I completed 3 times in a matter of 2 months, with a short break between the 2nd and 3rd time, and will likely replay again in the very near future.
Ctrl Alt Ego takes notes from Looking Glass Technologies and Warren Spector’s game design philosophy. It’s a stealth/FPS/whateveryouwantittobe game, with perks and character progression. After reading about it on Reddit for so long, I ended up playing it, replaying it, and once again for a 3rd time. It didn't start off great for me. In fact, I was underwhelmed at the beginning, and that initial impression was with me until past the mid point. It wasn't until after I completed it that it started stewing in the back of my mind. I started replaying it from beginning to end the very next day.
And as much as Ctrl Alt Ego valued player freedom, the next game on my Favorites of 2024 list is RoboCop: Rogue City, which is a very linear FPS, with some optional side-missions in between main missions.
Oh, lawdy lawd! RoboCop: Rogue City is a love letter to both RoboCop and FPS games. The story may not be anything groundbreaking, and indeed, it’s just repeating things from the movies in a roundabout sense, but it also remains true to the satire and over the top gore. Although the game is not too ambitious in its presentation, it still manages to be a lot of fun. The progression system also begs for a New Game Plus, which I will certainly be perusing in the near future. This game was kindly gifted to me by a friend of mine.
Another game I enjoyed a lot was Amnesia: The Bunker. Now, I know this isn’t for everyone. In fact, I’d be hard pressed recommending it to any of my friends, knowing their tastes in games. This is primarily a survival horror game, with some freedom in how one approaches objectives. It’s small in scope, but quite interesting for people who enjoyed Alien: Isolation. Think of it as Alien: Isolation, but with a much smaller budget, set in the First World War, much smaller map, and some superficial emergent gameplay.
I also played a number of adventure games in 2024. In fact, exactly half of the 56 games I played in 2024 were adventure games.
My favorite adventure game of 2024 being The Crimson Diamond. This game takes pointers from Sierra’s The Colonel’s Bequest, but does it with 35 years of adventure game knowledge. It's meticulously crafted, and very well made. I’d highly recommend this, but only if you don’t mind the text parser. It’s a lot of fun, and begs for replays. This game was also kindly gifted to me by another friend of mine.
Another great adventure game I played in 2024 was The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. It carries on from the original, with more humor, more traditional gameplay, more interesting world-building. Recommended even if you haven’t play the original.
Nobody Wants to Die is another noteworthy adventure game that I played in 2024. It’s what I call an “on-rails” adventure game (kind of like on-rails shooters, but the adventure game equivalent, like The Wolf Among Us), with a lot of style, sci-fi gloom, and quite a few cliches thrown in for good measure. I’ve had a soft spot for this since I saw the reveal trailer, so I may be very biased towards it. The mini-games may get tiring for some, and they’re required to drive the plot forward, but it makes up for it in atmosphere; at least for me it does.
And lastly, another adventure game I enjoyed a lot in 2024 was Cleo - a pirate’s tale [sic]. Although it wears its influences on its sleeve, it was a fun adventure, with charming and funny characters, easy to get into, and probably one I’ll be replaying soon, as with everything noted above.
These are just a few of the games I enjoyed a lot last year. As I said above, I played some great titles, even though I’ve limited this blurb to a total of nine; and I also played a few stinkers, but I’d rather focus on the positive ones, and maybe help some devs get an extra sale or two.
Maybe I’ll add a tenth one to round them up. Even though it’s in Early Access, Fallen Aces is a great FPS game, with great old comics-inspired graphics, old detective comics-inspired plot, with intricate maps, and some freedom in how one approaches the objectives. It’s still only a third of the way done, which will put some people off for the time being, but it’s worth noting, regardless.
Moving forward, some games on my radar include Loco Motive, Manor Lords, INDIKA, the System Shock Remake, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The game I’m most looking forward to, however, is Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, as I am a great fan of the first one.
Thank you for reading.
See you in the next one.
Also posted on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PixelSupernova/comments/1hw5uiz/newsletter_1_sooo_last_year/
Yes, the original System Shock from 1994, but I did play Nightdive’s Enhanced Edition, which had some QOL improvements.
System Shock Enhanced Edition is easily the best game I played in 2024, and I can’t wait to replay it in 2025. It was released the same year as Doom II, but this one also had floors, elevators, better AI for enemies, a lot of freedom in the way you approach your objectives, and it also had plot. You can shoot wherever you can point the cursor at, and you can also crouch, crawl, and lean. Compared to Doom, this was way ahead of its time.
I had skipped on this back on release, since it was definitely not a looker even by 1994’s standards. Also, it wasn’t clear what type of game it was back then, and teenage me was mostly interested in Doom and Lucasarts adventure games.
Another game I played last year was Red Dead Redemption 2, and, although this is a magnificent game, I’d still name System Shock as my favorite game that I played in 2024.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is exceptional in that it transports you to the end of the 19th century, and manages to make you care about characters who are not good people, to put it mildly. Although some chapters feel artificially drawn out by repeating a few gameplay tropes, the game is still a marvel of design, with everything within being deliberate and well thought-out.
Another game that I enjoyed every second of was Ctrl Alt Ego. This one I completed 3 times in a matter of 2 months, with a short break between the 2nd and 3rd time, and will likely replay again in the very near future.
Ctrl Alt Ego takes notes from Looking Glass Technologies and Warren Spector’s game design philosophy. It’s a stealth/FPS/whateveryouwantittobe game, with perks and character progression. After reading about it on Reddit for so long, I ended up playing it, replaying it, and once again for a 3rd time. It didn't start off great for me. In fact, I was underwhelmed at the beginning, and that initial impression was with me until past the mid point. It wasn't until after I completed it that it started stewing in the back of my mind. I started replaying it from beginning to end the very next day.
And as much as Ctrl Alt Ego valued player freedom, the next game on my Favorites of 2024 list is RoboCop: Rogue City, which is a very linear FPS, with some optional side-missions in between main missions.
Oh, lawdy lawd! RoboCop: Rogue City is a love letter to both RoboCop and FPS games. The story may not be anything groundbreaking, and indeed, it’s just repeating things from the movies in a roundabout sense, but it also remains true to the satire and over the top gore. Although the game is not too ambitious in its presentation, it still manages to be a lot of fun. The progression system also begs for a New Game Plus, which I will certainly be perusing in the near future. This game was kindly gifted to me by a friend of mine.
Another game I enjoyed a lot was Amnesia: The Bunker. Now, I know this isn’t for everyone. In fact, I’d be hard pressed recommending it to any of my friends, knowing their tastes in games. This is primarily a survival horror game, with some freedom in how one approaches objectives. It’s small in scope, but quite interesting for people who enjoyed Alien: Isolation. Think of it as Alien: Isolation, but with a much smaller budget, set in the First World War, much smaller map, and some superficial emergent gameplay.
I also played a number of adventure games in 2024. In fact, exactly half of the 56 games I played in 2024 were adventure games.
My favorite adventure game of 2024 being The Crimson Diamond. This game takes pointers from Sierra’s The Colonel’s Bequest, but does it with 35 years of adventure game knowledge. It's meticulously crafted, and very well made. I’d highly recommend this, but only if you don’t mind the text parser. It’s a lot of fun, and begs for replays. This game was also kindly gifted to me by another friend of mine.
Another great adventure game I played in 2024 was The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. It carries on from the original, with more humor, more traditional gameplay, more interesting world-building. Recommended even if you haven’t play the original.
Nobody Wants to Die is another noteworthy adventure game that I played in 2024. It’s what I call an “on-rails” adventure game (kind of like on-rails shooters, but the adventure game equivalent, like The Wolf Among Us), with a lot of style, sci-fi gloom, and quite a few cliches thrown in for good measure. I’ve had a soft spot for this since I saw the reveal trailer, so I may be very biased towards it. The mini-games may get tiring for some, and they’re required to drive the plot forward, but it makes up for it in atmosphere; at least for me it does.
And lastly, another adventure game I enjoyed a lot in 2024 was Cleo - a pirate’s tale [sic]. Although it wears its influences on its sleeve, it was a fun adventure, with charming and funny characters, easy to get into, and probably one I’ll be replaying soon, as with everything noted above.
These are just a few of the games I enjoyed a lot last year. As I said above, I played some great titles, even though I’ve limited this blurb to a total of nine; and I also played a few stinkers, but I’d rather focus on the positive ones, and maybe help some devs get an extra sale or two.
Maybe I’ll add a tenth one to round them up. Even though it’s in Early Access, Fallen Aces is a great FPS game, with great old comics-inspired graphics, old detective comics-inspired plot, with intricate maps, and some freedom in how one approaches the objectives. It’s still only a third of the way done, which will put some people off for the time being, but it’s worth noting, regardless.
Moving forward, some games on my radar include Loco Motive, Manor Lords, INDIKA, the System Shock Remake, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The game I’m most looking forward to, however, is Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, as I am a great fan of the first one.
Thank you for reading.
See you in the next one.
Also posted on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PixelSupernova/comments/1hw5uiz/newsletter_1_sooo_last_year/
