Last-minute write up of the games I finished in 2024
I'm a master procrastinator who overthinks everything, so here's my almost-late thoughts about the games I played in 2024. I wanted to be able to rate them, but I get caught up thinking if I should try to rate more objectively or just go on my feelings about it. I'm not great at brevity but I tried. These are in the order I played them.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon - Oh man. I cannot remember the last time I loved a game so much. It alternates between goofy and serious often but just works. The story was great, and Ichiban is one of my favorite protagonists now (from someone who is often meh on protagonists). I played with Japanese audio and Ichi's VA did a great job at a huge range of emotion. The ending made my eyes leak a little.
There are flaws here sure, it takes a few hours to get going, it can do long story dumps at times (pacing issues), and at the end there are several hours during which you can't save, but at least it warns you. Also, my second favorite character after Ichiban is the last party member you get unfortunately rather late in the game.
I think having experience playing older Jrpgs really enhances this game, as there are references and party chats related to them.
The soundtrack to this game also got me listening to all the Yakuza music on Spotify this year, to the point that Sega Sound Team was my 3rd ranking artist in 2024, oops. Hugely recommend for fans of high intensity electronic stuff.
Like a Dragon hit for me on a level that games rarely do anymore. Starting the year with this gave every other game a disadvantage. More Ichiban focused games, RGG!
9/10
Ghostwire Tokyo - This game is huge and overwhelmed me at one point enough to take a month-long break. Combat can be fun (even though a few enemies suck) and looks flashy in a satisfying way, but really the appeal here is the general atmosphere and exploration. I mostly tried to be stealthy whenever I could, and creeping around when it starts raining, the streetlights go out, and the ghost parade solemnly marches through is really cool.
The amount of detail and care put into this game was something I noticed repeatedly. There are things to find absolutely everywhere, there are random apartments/buildings you can enter that serve no real purpose other than extra context on characters or just a reward for exploring. If you enjoy collectables there are a lot of them here. There's lots of Japanese folklore tidbits. It's funny how much of this massive game is entirely optional.
The story feels like it ends when it's maybe 2/3rds through, I really thought it was just ramping up when it ended. Even though there are some truly spectacular setpieces that really wowed me during the story, it overall isn't... great. The ending soured me a little on this game, it's heavy and gloomy and I'm not here for that. It didn't help that the end credits were entirely a solemn sounding Japanese choir. I've never been to a funeral in Japan but that's what I imagine it could sound like.
I'm mixed on the game, I think there's some greatness here but it's a weird package. I wouldn't push someone to play it, but I'd recommend it overall if it looks appealing. Just possibly be prepared to play it on and off for a few months.
7/10
Dredge - I didn't expect to like this so much. It is essentially a fishing game. You catch fish and upgrade your boat, that's about it. But the Lovecraftian elements, the world, the atmosphere, even the art style are very well crafted. I enjoyed exploring and catching all the aberrant fish, and there were a few great "oh shit" moments. There is a little bit of story here and it works well. The ending is very short but I think I'll remember it for quite some time.
8/10
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - I played through most of the mainline entries in the series in 2023, and the previous title A Crack in Time would have been my Patient Game of the Year had I posted then, may have actually been 10/10. After that one, this one didn't really stand a chance. It's a downgrade in basically every regard. It's not bad and I enjoyed playing it for the most part, but it's short and not nearly as meaty as previous games. It almost feels like a spin-off at times. I still haven't played the last game in the main series, but as of now this is the only mainline entry that feels like it could be skipped without missing out. The blizzard weapon that turns enemies into snowmen while playing "jingle bells" is great though.
6.5 or 7/10
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One - This one actually is a spinoff but developed by Insomniac so I gave it a shot despite lukewarm reviews. Despite some annoyances, I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I did play it co-op so I can't recommend it solo, but it was actually a fun experience. There's a lot of variety in the gameplay, it's fast paced, has generous checkpoints, and really encourages teamwork. Story is forgettable but has a few funny moments thanks to Quark and Nefarious.
7/10
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - aka "legally distinct HD Symphony of the Night". I mostly really enjoyed my time with this game, even though it feels at times like it has no identity other than recreating Symphony of the Night. It looks nice, plays well, and can be a lot of fun. It can also be grindy to get drops for sidequests and recipes, which grated on me. Would recommend as a fun 'Vania.
7.5/10
Summoner (2000) - I've played this game a few times on different platforms in the last 20-odd years but in 2024 I actually completed it. I have such conflicting feelings about this game I was in the process of doing a writeup on it, only to be discouraged by some posters grumbling about long reviews on a few other posts I read on here at the time. Essentially, it has some great qualities and some terrible qualities. It is both amazing and awful. I can't get too much into why without becoming extremely wordy, but it says something that I made several efforts to play it over the years. It was appealing enough to do that, but off putting enough it took me this long. I would both recommend and not recommend it. Summoner 2 does everything Summoner does better and is one of my favorites of all time. I live hoping at least for a port of Summoner 2 on modern hardware like they did for the first game. It's too bad that Voliton is gone now, even though Summoner 3 was canceled and there was no real chance of it ever happening, at least there was the possibility.
It's both a 4/10 and an 8/10 simultaneously
Until Dawn (ps4, replay) - Did a replay of this before Halloween and let my mom make almost all the choices. We both had a good time even though not everyone survived. This was the first time I played it on a 4k tv and damn it still looks pretty good. I think of this game as a modern classic, but it would have been nice if you could skip recaps and make your characters move faster, dammit!
8/10
Silent Hill 2 (ps2, replay) - I hadn't played this in 20 years or more but went back to experience it again. I forgot a lot of it outside of a few areas and plot points. The controls didn't age well, but other than that and possibly the somewhat distracting film grain effect, it holds up pretty well. I liked that you can avoid a lot of battles if you turn off your flashlight, but the game lobs so much healing and ammo at you that it really isn't a big deal fighting unless you're in a tiny space. I don't know what the game is like on harder difficulties as I played on normal, but normal was quite easy. Like a lot of horror games, especially from this era, it backloads its story so sometimes it feels like it could be paced better.
At a few points I wasn't sure why I was bothering to do something but I think that adds to the dreamlike atmosphere the game has. The fixed camera can add a lot of tension at times, one very notable instance had the camera on the ceiling and you could only see straight down through a grate. It's both too bad sometimes but entirely understandable fixed camera isn't used anymore.
8/10
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin - The more I played this the less fun it was. I always felt like I needed money and that I was much weaker than I should be. That led me to choose whichever weapon did bigger damage whether it was a type I wanted to use or not. Most of the bosses were quite easy, with the exception of a certain story one and the final boss. But regular enemies in recent areas would kill me. The character switching mechanic could be cool at times but I'd often go a while without even using it other than to lob spells occasionally. I don't think it's a bad game but it's one I didn't enjoy all that much for at least the 2nd half.
6/10
Children of Morta - I'm not much into roguelikes but this one has couch co-op so I gave it a chance. I actually enjoyed it most of the time, even though it cares about its story more than most players are likely to and the ending was kinda dumb. Still, a pretty good time, nice pixel art, and fun mechanics switching playable characters around.
7/10
My 2024 Patient Game of the Year: Yakuza: Like a Dragon