It's been a bit of a difficult year for PlayStation exclusives and the studios that create them. While The final form was generally praised as an excellent final chapter for Destiny 2In the current story arc, Bungie has faced all sorts of setbacks, including canceled projects and layoffs. Elsewhere, Sony's Firewalk Studios launched Concordrebooted it and then permanently shut it down in the space of a few months after the hero shooter failed to gain traction in a saturated market.
That said, PlayStation still came out ahead this year with a slate of excellent games that will hopefully prove that there's an appetite for more than just live shooters.
helldivers 2
XChallenging, foam stars, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Concord – 2024 has been littered with the bones of live-duty shooters who have arrived, left, or are limping along with little fanfare and even fewer players. But helldivers 2 It was something special. It could be the game's humorous, over-the-top take on political propaganda, developers at Arrowhead Game Studios leaning in completely, or the regular content updates, including the new Omens of Tyranny update that launched in early December. But helldivers 2 managed to be the only live multiplayer shooter this year (that doesn't have Obligations in the title) that has the juice to compete against the usual great games like Apex legends and fortnite.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
FromSoftware has managed to maintain the Elden Ring party that goes with the launch of The shadow of the Erdtree. The DLC is huge, filled with devastating enemies and lots of delightful story, all taking place on a map that's much larger than what director Hidetaka Miyazaki called “the size of Limgrave.” Really, Erdtree feels more like a direct sequel to Elden Ring than a mere expansion of it, which is probably what Elden Ring Night Reign is.
Dragon Age: Veil Guard
Dragon Age: Veil Guard It took 10 years and many conflicts at BioWare to release. There was no guarantee that it would live up to the reputation the series had earned, but it did. veloguard is exemplary of the Dragon Age Series Strengths: Characters you care about and decisions that devastate them as well as you. On top of that is a very detailed skill tree with a loot system that feels strangely like a devils game. Veil GuardCombat allows you to customize your class to a level of specificity that I have never seen in a Dragon Age previous game, making it an interesting iteration of the standard RPG system of warriors, rogues, and wizards. There was a concern that Veil Guard would be eclipsed by last year's Baldur's Gate 3and while Veil Guard doesn't seem to have that kind of runaway success, I'm very happy that, in two years, I got two wonderful, life-absorbing RPGs.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues Square Enix's attempt to adapt one of the best RPGs of all time to fit modern gaming consoles and audiences. This second entry in the great FFVII The trilogy project takes over as the gang escapes Midgar into the rest of the world, and damn, what a wide world it was. Every aspect of the original. Final Fantasy VII has been fully expanded and developed, whether with more story or a fancy new minigame. Speaking of minigames, Renaissance It's less about the events of FFVII Disc 2 and more queen's blood delivery system, proving that Square Enix is really just a collectible card game developer in disguise.
silent hill 2
Remaking a classic game is always complicated. A developer should try to capture what made the original so beloved while also updating it for new audiences. And that conflict is especially complicated when it comes to a genre-defining game like silent hill 2. But Bloober Team did a surprisingly solid job with this remake, ensuring that the idiosyncratic survival horror experience looked and felt at home on modern platforms, while retaining most of the scares and tone of the original. The remake is a bit cleaner than the PS2 game it's based on, but it's also less frustrating to play. And most importantly, it still picks up those hazy vibes.
Astrobot
There has never been a game that I instantly clicked on with more than Astrobot. Going back to my first demo of the game at Summer Game Fest 2024, I knew I had something special. Astrobot is a well-designed platformer where players travel across the galaxy to find the scattered pieces of a PS5 spaceship and its stranded crewmates. While it pays homage to games from PlayStation's 30-year history and features some really interesting homages to its gameplay, Astrobot It is also a love letter to joy. Every aspect of its design, from its music to its sound effects to its bright, cheerful graphics, is a reminder that there is still a lot of love in the world longing to be discovered. Astrobot It was my game of the year from the moment I rolled the credits, and its GOTY win at this year's Game Awards was well deserved.
