Well, that’s another year in the bank for gaming, and WHAT A YEAR! Am I right? Ok, so there weren’t many AAAA hundreds-of-millions-dollar budget games being released except for Skull and Bones (LOLZ), but what we did get were a bunch of quality titles. There are far too many to go through, but here are some of the Couch Soup Contributors’ Games of the Year.
Remember, these are all just opinions from individual people. We aren’t snubbing your game; we’re just going to bat for the ones we vibed with the most!
This year has been a difficult choice for me. For the longest time, I thought it was going to be Ultros, my favorite Metroidvania of the year. Recently, a new contender entered the fray when I played Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, a terrific (but totally hardcore) puzzle game. But, alas, whenever I think of the bestest-best time I had in gaming this year, I think of one title in particular: Astro Bot.
Astro Bot came out of nowhere this year. Nobody was expecting PlayStation to release a 3D action-platforming follow-up to Astro’s Playroom, the free game everyone gets when they buy a PS5. However, that’s exactly what they did. Astro Bot is a highly enjoyable mascot platformer with tons of love put into every single level. The mechanics are easy to pick up and precise (gone are the days of old Crash Bandicoot games). The music will stay inside your head for months, and the cutesy graphics are beautiful. Overall, it’s just a freaking awesome game.
More than that, though. It’s a love letter to the games that came before it, whether it be PlayStation or even Third Party. Yeah, the themed levels for God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn are cool and all, but when you give me a Parappa the Rapper and a Psycho Mantis-themed bot, I’m putty in your hands.
However, let me be clear. Even without the obvious nostalgic overtones, this game would still be almost perfect. With the celebration of 30 years of PlayStation, it’s a masterpiece, and that’s why it’s my GOTY.
It’s always hard to pick a game each year that you believe to be the best of the best, especially this year with all the bangers that have been released. However, for myself, the answer is crystal clear: SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS, BABY! Released as part of SEGA’s Year of Shadow, I’ve had more fun playing this game than anything else in the past year. Could you point to other games that may be better? Sure, but to that, I say shut your mouth-hole. Sonic X Shadow Generations is not only a return to form for the Sonic franchise, but it also finally lets us play as fan-favourite Shadow the Hedgehog again (that crappy Sonic Forces DLC doesn’t count). But instead of just telling you it’s great, I’ll also explain why.
For starters, this is actually two games in one, with Sonic Generations included alongside the new Shadow Generations, which means this is technically a two-for-one deal! Sonic Generations is still as amazing as ever, so I’ll focus more on Shadow Generations. To start, the gameplay in Shadow Generations is next-level amazing. Blasting through these stages feels incredible, and I couldn’t wait to replay them over and over again. Shadow’s Chaos Control and Doom Powers add new layers to the typical Sonic formula, allowing for a lot of creativity when approaching each act.
Speaking of stages, they all look fantastic and have level designs to match. Each stage has a unique twist, like the rail grinding in Rail Canyon, that makes each stage an extremely enjoyable experience. And the soundtrack only emphasises how glorious this game is, both with the standard stage themes, but also being able to select any song from most of the series catalogue is great! I especially enjoyed blasting through both Acts of Rail Canyon with “This Machine” blaring the entire time.
The story is also stellar in that it ties Shadow’s story into the OG Generations plot and acknowledges previous games like Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 (which I never thought they’d do). It further develops Shadow’s character, and his interactions with the rest of the cast put me on the edge of my seat. And that final boss and the following cutscene were some of the most hype and depressing experiences I’ve had in recent memory.
So, to wrap this up, Sonic X Shadow Generations is absolutely amazing and is my Game of the Year for 2024! You should totally go and play it right now!
I’ll admit that my confidence in the so-called game awards has been shaken. For too many years, notable games have been left out. Some of the best games I have seen in the last two years have barely been mentioned, and I might add these are some of the best-selling games from these years. What happened to Hogwarts Legacy last year? Exactly. It’s one of the top-selling WB games. I keep seeing some of the same developers and the same games being mentioned over and over again at The Game Awards. It’s getting a little old. A DLC up for Game of the Year? What is that? It blows my mind.
Anyway, rant out of the way. My pick for Game of the Year is Dragon Age: The Veilguard. It is another beautiful Bioware masterpiece with colorful and complex characters and continues where Dragon Age: Inquisition left off. This game is still Dragon Age but is much more of an action RPG than the last few. If you have played the other Dragon Age installments, it was apparent that they would likely go that way. I can’t say enough about this game, so much so that I played back through Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age Inquisition. Holy crap, it gave me a whole new perspective, and while I struggled to get through the other games years ago, I tore through them this time. That is the fantastic world of Dragon Age and the extraordinary thing that Dragon Age: The Veilguard did for me. *cracks knuckles* onto my third playthrough of Veilguard.
Last year's Game of the Year was a no-brainer. Baldur's Gate 3 was such a big thing that it swept up the competition. This year was more complicated. The nominations were kind of strange to me. Shadow of the Erdtree being nominated in a year where both Palworld and Helldivers 2 didn't, despite being released to ridiculous player numbers, was a perplexing thought. Nintendo was almost nowhere to be found in this awards show, which was odd to me. It feels like The Game Awards have a very narrow view of prestige nowadays. Some games just don't get showcased or even the props they deserve, whilst others get elevated beyond what they perhaps deserve.
My pick for game of the year was Black Myth: Wukong. It was a passionate game with clear love, detail and drive. Game Science has much to be proud of, and I believe that should have been celebrated. Wukong is an experience for gamers who strive for newer and better experiences. However, I have to admit, Astro Bot will be a game remembered fondly for years to come by the younger generation and foster the health of gaming for all of us long into the future. I mean, how could it not be given an accolade at The Game Awards. It's just a shame we can't have two games of the year, but I'm happy with the result regardless.
So, they are our GOTYs! What are yours? I mean, there are loads of games to choose from this year. We’ve been eating good, and long may it continue!
