2024 Releases I've Finished Alongside Quick Thoughts
Nothing here!
9 Games
This almost feels like a love-de-lic interpretation of Resident Evil and it’s so fucking good. Perfect distillation of classic survival horror mechanics with plenty of incentives for replaying. The charm and vibes are off the charts.
1
Although I genuinely think this is a great wrestling game and levels above what 2K have been publishing lately, I mostly wanted to include this here because it coincides with my wife and I getting way into pro wrestling and having such a fun new thing to experience together.
After falling off completely around the end of the Ruthless Aggression Era, I fell back in by way of catching snapshots of the current iteration of WWE. Long story short, my wife fell in as well and before you know it we were in the stands at Fastlane 2023 screaming our lungs out when Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso won the tag belts in a result I don't think anyone in that building was expecting. I fucking love professional wrestling.
After falling off completely around the end of the Ruthless Aggression Era, I fell back in by way of catching snapshots of the current iteration of WWE. Long story short, my wife fell in as well and before you know it we were in the stands at Fastlane 2023 screaming our lungs out when Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso won the tag belts in a result I don't think anyone in that building was expecting. I fucking love professional wrestling.
2
The quickest way to my heart is to just make a really good top-down Zelda game, and Master Key manages this task with ease. The monochromatic style is easy on the eyes (and there are a bunch of palette swaps), and the story is incredibly simple (even the dialogue primarily consists of emojis), leaving plenty of room for the gameplay to do the talking.
I love any game that drops you into a world and lets you aimlessly explore and slowly untangle a map full of secrets and adventures, and Master Key is one of the better examples of that gameplay loop. Combat is the weakest element but I honestly got used to it after a while and there are some solid boss fights that are built around your toolkit.
This one's already flying under the radar which is criminal, so if I had to pick one thing to recommend from this list, make it this one.
I love any game that drops you into a world and lets you aimlessly explore and slowly untangle a map full of secrets and adventures, and Master Key is one of the better examples of that gameplay loop. Combat is the weakest element but I honestly got used to it after a while and there are some solid boss fights that are built around your toolkit.
This one's already flying under the radar which is criminal, so if I had to pick one thing to recommend from this list, make it this one.
3
The best possible tribute to the Zelda CD-i games - never punching down on the source material, instead opting to highlight what makes those games so endearing in the first place. It also plays really well, sanding off the jagged edges of those games so only the good stuff remains. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.
4
Man, this game was pure joy from start to finish. So many distinct characters with wildly different movesets, and a quest system not unlike Monster Hunter which means I got hooked and stayed there well into the post-game.
6
A phenomenal 3D platformer that rewards the player for maintaining constant momentum throughout each level. Swinging and rolling all over these stylized environments never gets old, and there are plenty of secrets and collectibles that I still find myself returning to hunt down. Aside from the boss fights being lackluster (especially the final one) this game has a high killer-to-filler ratio.
7
A lovingly (and quickly!) crafted 3D platformer that takes mechanics from its 2D counterpart to make a really fun, brief experience. I love the cassette levels, not just for the satisfying challenge they provide but also for the Super Mario Sunshine-inspired music which immediately made me lose it
8
A tapestry of vibes. It was a lot easier than I was expecting and there’s not a lot of friction along the main path (though I just did the first ending, maybe I’ll collect all those eggs in the near future), but the art direction is phenomenal and the atmosphere is some of the best this year thanks to some really impressive sound design. Fuck that stupid dog chase though, absolute cheeks.
9
6 Comments
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING IS SO FUCKIN SICK, SO SICK I FUCKED UP MY TYPING ORIGINALLY!
The Sunshine inspired theme in Celeste 64 is sick as hell, and seing Wrestling aprreciation gives me life, so glad you and your wife are enjoying it so much. Great list!
@Vee YESSSSSSS WE ARE EATING SO GOOD LATELY. I’m still thinking about Backlash France and that crowd lmao
@DeemonAndGames - thank you so much!! And yessss getting back into wrestling at the perfect time and having someone to share that with has made an admittedly tough year so much better ❤️
@DeemonAndGames - thank you so much!! And yessss getting back into wrestling at the perfect time and having someone to share that with has made an admittedly tough year so much better ❤️
The Mullet MadJack note has me fighting for my life lmao
Vee
26 days ago