When people tell us to touch grass, we say, “okay,” and then, more often than not, log in to play some No Man’s Sky, or potentially even The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. What? No, we’re not remotely embarrassed. You see, people generally tell us to touch grass in a musical, “put the pedals down” kind of way, not as much in the classical gaming context, but 2024 potentially changed the tides – we played more video games in one year than we ever have.
That being said, we didn’t have the time or money to invest in more than a dozen, so we were thinking to ourselves, “how do we come up with a list that recognizes video game excellence that is both engaging and honest if we haven’t played all of them yet?”
After going over some of the core aspects we look for in games, more importantly the games we’d consider buying, we decided that the qualities of being “interesting” and “creative” would suffice. Those descriptors might sound vague, but trust us – just like our Top 50 Math Rock Releases article, the year was actually stacked with so much quality that it ultimately made this list a walk in the park. That being said, pour one out for the devs and publishers that were shuttered this year due to skyrocketing corporate greed. Anyway.
(“It’s time to play the game.”)
This is our first year with the gaming column, so formatting for these kinds of lists could change in the future, but thanks to 2024’s awesome roster of releases we had more enough to sort between indie and AA/AAA-level projects as well – thirty two of each, to be exact, making for 64-bits (get it) of gaming glory we’re excited to share with you. We’ll do the smaller ones first, with the second half being the more recognizable ones from bigger studios, with either in no particular order. In our opinion, they’re all worth celebrating.
Without further ado, here is the Fecking Bahamas Top 64 Most Creative and Interesting Games of the Year.
1 Thank Goodness You’re Here – Coal Supper
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This bizarre and British-to-the-core adventure isn’t just fun and hilarious – it also features the best voice performance of the year from Matt Berry, the celebrated actor from What We Do in the Shadows, Toast of London, The I.T. Crowd, and more.
2 Oddada – Wholesome Games
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This supremely tactile music puzzle experience offers a genuinely creative and intuitively utilized sense of freedom while instilling the joy of composition in players that might have otherwise never dreamed of writing their own tunes, let alone in such an abstract way.
3 Sorry, We’re Closed – Akupara Games
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Between a vibe-heavy soundtrack and retro Resident Evil-style gameplay that mixes survival horror with hilarious and haughty demonic drama, we couldn’t help but find ourselves consistently intrigued.
4 Pacific Drive – Ironwood Studio
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We have been waiting for a game like this for a long time, being one that can mix the satisfaction of survival and exploration mechanics with the awe of otherworldly occurrences in real time without overcomplicating things.
5 Epigraph – Matthew Brown
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While not necessarily for everyone, this deciphering-a-tablet puzzle game is almost sure to tickle the fancy of a lot of math rock-friendly folk considering their affinity for symbols, numbers, and formulas.
6 Cryptmaster – Akupara Games
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If you’re a reader, a writer, a puzzle-solver, or even just lover of cryptic, spooky vibes, Cryptmaster offers an incredibly stylish and innovative take on cryptograms, palindromes, and old school, text-driven RPG’s.
7 Animal Well / – Billy Basso
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This perfectly neon-lit and oil slicked platformer hits home for so many reasons, nailing the cozy vibes without being too easy to digest. There’s depth, mystery, metroidvania, and pervasive moodiness on tap, so drink from this well as soon as possible if you haven’t already.
8 Little Kitty Big City – Double Dagger Studio
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When Stray came out, it’s style and uniqueness obviously made it the talk of the town but it also sort of hyperjumped a few rooftops in terms of what we’d want to do as a cat. Little Kitty Big City nails the whimsy and laid back nature of what we’d want to be in this feline-friendly kingdom.
9 1000xRESIST – Sunset Visitor
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Who would have thought a dense, dramatic, and occasionally depressing sci-fi RPG about the end of humanity could be so much fun? Not us, but from what we can tell, 1000XRESIST juggles intense narrative and imagination with enjoyable gameplay while inviting players to ask themselves deep-seated philosophical questions.
10 Mullet Mad Jack – Hammer95studios
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This über-stylish and high-velocity FPS keeps things fresh with it’s popping visuals and pulsing soundtrack, not to mention a frenetic timer mechanic that threatens to become as addictive as just about any controlled substance you could think of, do, you know, don’t forget to get up and stretch and relieve yourself and whatnot.
11 Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom! – Wholesome Games
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Farore than a cracked out Crazy Taxi tribute, this platforming racer throws classic passenger-pickup mayhem at you while also throwing in surprise mechanics like side scrolling, timed sections, and so much more.
12 Dread Delusion – Lovely Hellplace
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If you ever wanted to play something that mixed the best of The Elder Scrolls series with the nightmarish looks of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask or King’s Field II, this should certainly be of interest to you. The game’s influences are clear, but there’s also a lot of originality in the details of the world to become enamored with.
13 Schim – Ewoud van der Werf, Nils Slijkerman
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Schim is a damn near timeless platforming experience that blends a simple, shadow-based mechanic with intricate level design that bridge a vintage hand-drawn art style with modern feeling gameplay.
14 9 Sols – Red Candle Games
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People are quick to compare this game to Sekiro, but try to ignore it – even if you have no idea what that means, 9 Sols’ highly original Tao-punk setting and cat-like alien protagonist help make the action-packed side scrolling metroidvania a fantastic world to navigate.
15 Europa – Novadust Entertainment, Helder Pinto, Chozabu (Alex PB)
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Did you ever have that annoying friend that would come to school bragging about how they always had cool flying dreams? No? Wait, that was you? Well, then – this game is perfect for both of us. You finally get your dream flight simulator, and we finally experience the transcendent, child-like wonder you described. Oh, and we get to do it in a world that reminds us of films like My Neighbor Totorro and Hal’s Moving Castle too, making for a truly dream-like and inspired good time.
16 Anger Foot – Free Lives
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You’ll probably notice there are a couple of those breakneck takes on boomer shooters on this list, but Anger Foot’s brutally cathartic and literal ass-kicking will have you sweating in no time, and the whole experience is elevated even further thanks to visceral sound design and an all-out bangin’ soundtrack.
17 Ereban: Shadow Legacy – Baby Robot Games
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Shadows seem to be a theme this year, and we’re not complaining – alongside the dark yet cozy concoction of Schim, we have Ereban: Shadow Legacy, which uses lighting and lack thereof to dictate what powers you can use in this stealth exploration platformer. It also has a striking visual mix of organic vs cybernetic characters and environments akin to something like Beyond Good and Evil, but with the methodical pacing of Dishonored.
18 420 Blaze It 2: Game of the Year -= Dank Dreams and Goated Memes =- [#wow/11 Like and Subscribe Poggerz Edition] – Normal Wholesome Games
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Part boomer shooter, part time-capsule, and all completely insane, this riot of an FPS will sharpen your skills at frenetic gameplay with rando-launchers and Illuminati foe, but also educate you on just about every meme from the 2010’s in the process.
19 Wild Bastards – Blue Manchu
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This rhinestone cowboy of a cel-shaded strategy shooter from outer space is actually the spiritual sequel to Void Bastards, but introduces enough new mechanics that fans of the the franchise will likely enjoy it as it’s own experience overall. You can plan out your squads, objectives, and more in advance a la old school Rainbow Six games, but roguelite showdown surprises always await that’ll have you relying on special abilities and a day/night cycle that affects enemies and players alike.
20 Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes – Rabbit and Bear Studios
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This gorgeous 2D-HD RPG reflects the best of the old while competing with the best of the new, potentially even making for a best-in-show moment for the series overall. The journey’s vast scope might intimidate some, but the breadth of drama is held tight by outstanding voice performances, so don’t worry, you’ll have no trouble involving yourself emotionally.
21 Grunn – Tom van den Boogaart • Sokpop Collective
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If you told us a gardening simulator that spices itself up with mysterious mischievous gnomes, VHS worship, and uncanny liminal spaces would be on just about everyone’s year end lists… we’d have to believe you, and here we are. We seriously can’t wait to catch up and dig into this one.
22 Mouthwashing – Wrong Organ
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There’s a pretty rich sub-genre of sci-fi horror in film where the plot revolves around the psychological descent / aftermath of an accidental crash, but we haven’t really seen it done with much originality in games. With Mouthwashing, we don’t just get a great first taste of that hell through it’s great cast of characters and interactive grizzly-ness, we get a look at what the future might hold for forward-thinking IP’s in survival horror.
23 Another Crab’s Treasure – Aggro Crab
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Well, this was a hell of a year to contend with the fact that we’re not built for souls-likes, but this one in particular held our interest. With its environmentalist themes and a saturated color palette that completely contrasts with the games it was inspired by, it’s an underwater adventure that’s deep enough for dedicated fans of the genre but also shallow enough for newcomers or people like us that simply aren’t meant to getgud.
24 Lorn’s Lure – Rubecki Games
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Imagine if you were playing Minecraft but then all of the sudden you were transported to a giant alien megastructure, and all you could really do is climb around it / on it in hopes of figuring just what the heck is going on. It’s a concept that might sound compelling enough, but there’s also a lot more depth to uncover than you might imagine as you leap across, clamber atop, slide down, and jump off all manner of deceptive, barely euclidean spaces.
25 I Am Your Beast – Strange Scaffold
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I Am Your Beast is a really interesting take on the frenetic corridor shooter where it takes an almost speed run approach to gameplay, where combat is satisfying and pulpy but also more of a means to an end, even incorporating stealth in ways you don’t often see with games that play at this pace.
26 Fallen Aces – New Blood Interactive
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Fallen Aces is one of the best looking comic book-style shooters to ever release, period, but it’s also one of the deepest as far as gameplay goes due to old-school immersive-sim qualities that had us thinking of System Shock 2 and the original Deus Ex.
27 Satisfactory – Coffee Stain Studios
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This fascinating city-builder breaks the mold in a number of ways, and its effective, even visceral first-person perspective of the futuristic terraforming and automation is something of a revelation. IIf you ever get into settlement building or base building when you didn’t think you would, be advised – we could see you playing it and thinking, “you know, I’m in the wrong business,” quitting your job, and setting up an interview with the next available construction crew… on this planet course, which hopefully isn’t too much of a disappointment.
28 Crypt Custodian – Kyle Thompson
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We weren’t sure what to expect with this one, but it did have a cat, so we had to check it out. Our cats get pissed if we don’t, you should have seen them react to Stray. Anyway, Crypt Custodian is an artful, semi-isometric metroidvania about a recently deceased cat cleaning up the afterlife’s various holy sites and mausoleums (meow-soleums?), which sounds dark, but it’s clever inventory management and ability-stacking makes for a immaculate action platforming ascension.
29 Penny’s Big Breakaway – Evening Star • Christian Whitehead
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The yoyo-action platformer you couldn’t have possibly imagined that you needed is here, and it’s actually pretty incredible. Taking the best of games like Bomberman, Spyro the Dragon, and Sonic Adventure, the gameplay never lets up. This one might be kid friendly, but it’s got way more than enough under the hood to entertain nostalgic Gen X gamers as well, so don’t be afraid to give it a whirl.
30 Tactical Breach Wizards – Suspicious Developments
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Tactical Breach Wizards is a mystical, if not downright magical twist on established tactics formulas with a superb sense of humor. However, the game has a relatively huge story compared to it’s peers, and beefs up its gameplay with magical abilities for each character you role out with, not to mention a unique setup within environments where said powers and additional items can kill multiple wizards with one philosophers stone.
31 Crow Country – SFB Games
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There’s a unique sense of dread certain games are able to project by essentially weaponizing or distorting the player’s nostalgia, and most of them are liminal space horrors like Liminal and Back Rooms, but Crow Country distills a heartier, RPG-friendly flavor, tying Parasite Eve / Final Fantasy style aesthetics with Resident Evil style gameplay.
32 UFO 50 – Mossmouthgames
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A love letter to the history of game development up to roughly the early 90’s, there’s certainly enough bang for one’s buck here with UFO 50. It’s got 50 brand new old games under the hood that technically never existed, but all represent key points in dev history. It might not be for everyone, but for many that were looking for something different yet familiar in 2024, this was an obvious contender for game of the year.
33 Visions of Mana – Square Enix • Ouka Studios
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Sadly, the team that was behind the game was laid off the day it was released, and there are moments you can almost tell they knew it was coming in some of the corners cut in the game, but still it’s a beautiful world to experience with some intricate item and ability stacking mechanics that makes for high replayability.
34 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – GSC Game World
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GSC Game World are still working on patching up the game’s lovable but occasionally immersion-breaking bugs, but just about everyone agrees that the long wait has already been worth it for fans of first-person survival horror and surreal, unpredictable open worlds.
35 Astro Bot – Team ASOBI
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We actually didn’t have a damn clue about Astro Bot until it started sweeping up awards at the end of the year, and honestly, we can see why it did after checking it out with varied platforming mechanics, eye-popping graphics, and tributes to dozens of Playstation’s greatest IP’s.
36 Thrasher – Puddle
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Lightning Bolt‘s BRIAN GIBSON cooked on this spiritual successor to Thumper, and although guiding a space eel through hooks while tripping absolute balls on psychedelics might not sound like a gameplay loop you can sink hours into, you’ll realize how wrong you are after playing Thrasher once.
37 Dragon Quest III: HD-2d Remake – Square Enix
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We were so stoked to see this when we first saw the trailer – Dragon Warrior Monsters, the series’ Gameboy spinoff, was a big part of our childhood, and the beautified take on the world of Erdtree alone is a sight to behold.
38 Dragon’s Dogma 2 – Capcom
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Although actor Ian McShane didn’t actually appear in the game, his introduction to the relatively unexpected sequel to Dragon’s Dogma had people standing in their seats, and boy oh boy did the product deliver. If you were a fan of the first one, most people agree that the second iteration is even better.
39 Earth Defense Force 6 – Sandlot Games
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We didn’t expect this franchise to continue to get better and better, but here we are. Almost as much as Starship Troopers, there’s a lot on display here that influenced the Helldivers series, which may have perfected the formula, but EDF6 is a great reminder that single-player enjoyers can get the same rush, and have been able to, for some time now.
40 Indiana jones and the Great Circle – Machine Games
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What can we say that hasn’t already been said about 2024’s most unexpected gem? In an industry where the norm is that things that look too good to be true are simply that, Indiana Jones managed to swoop in and steal hearts across the globe for delivering on its promise.
41 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth – Square Enix
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Though the series’ devotees might see the game as somewhat of a surprise departure from the game’s iconic original inception, players with an open mind will be exceptionally rewarded with a totally different perspective on the world of Gaia.
42 Silent Hill 2 (Remake) – Bloober Team
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Bloober Team’s remake of the Konami classic was a near perfect glow-up that splashed every undertone of the game’s traumatized, punishing world with a loving, reverent sense of contrast.
43 Metaphor: ReFantazio – Studio Zero • Atlus
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Incredible character performance has long defined Atlus’ Persona series, and Studio Zero (who helped develop with Personas 3, 4, and 5) is back with a lauded new take on narrative-driven action RPG’s that will be sure to please Persona fans, as well as people who have never played the series.
44 [Redacted] – Striking Distance Studios
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Combining the isometric action of Hades with the universe of The Calisto Protocol? With results this good, we have little reason to argue with it’s unlikely summary, but thanks to it’s interactive environments and wacky, occasionally even charming cast of characters, no matter how you slice it, it’s worth checking out.
45. Still Wakes the Deep – The Chinese Room
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We’ve never had much of an inclination to work an an oil rig at sea, but thanks to Still Wakes the Deep, a survival-horror romp through unknown terror while surviving the surprise devastation of an oil rig at sea, this is as close as we’ll ever have to get.
46 Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth – Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
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As ridiculous as the series has ever gotten, Like a Dragon has always had action at the heart of it’s gameplay, and some people didn’t know what to think when the last game transitioned to turn-based combat. Thankfully, Infinite Wealth not only makes the turn-based system feel really organic and fun, it also introduced heaps of side-missions and bonus content to get completely lost in, which always feels like a bit of a vacation thanks to it’s Hawaiian setting.
47 Sonic x Shadow Generations – Sonic Team
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Decent three-dimensional takes on a two-dimensional classics are never a given thing, but the Sonic franchise has been mostly lucky in this regard. Sonic X Shadow Generations expands on the sprawling level design while staying true to the blazing speed and style of the series’ best, offering a grounded yet fantastical, entirely enjoyable arc through it’s derelict, occasionally demented space colony setting.
48 Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – Ninja Theory
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Potentially 2024’s most gorgeous, visually incredible game, Senna’s sensory saga through psychosis continues in Hellblade 2, and though the gameplay itself is semi one-dimensional, the emotion and storytelling Ninja Theory manages to conjure through the medium of video games continues to stun.
49 Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – Capcom
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So, apparently this is what people call a tower defense game, but we wouldn’t know any better – we just know that when there’s a colorful Japanese fantasy setting and innovative perspective shifts throughout the battlefield, we know we’re going to add it to the list.
50 Squirrel With a Gun – Dee Dee Creations
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We used to live next to a giant tree that had squirrels that would come up to the windows and tap on the glass to harass the cats. Now, imagine if those squirrels had guns. Yeah, pretty scary, but only if we’re not the squirrels, and thanks to Dee Dee Creations, we can finally turn the tables… um… on… ourselves.
51 Slitterhead – Bokeh Game Studio
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Perhaps more than any of the Silent Hills, it looks like the surreal action survival-horror bonanza that is Slitterhead was inspired by the more action-heavy parts of Resident Evil, and we are all about it. The character and enemy design are some of the most creative in recent memory, and the concept of playing as a spirit strategically roaming through expendable bodies in order to explore is a novel experience.
52 Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Cube
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It seems the days of losing mini games to our friends, families, and Bowser are not, in fact, behind us, thanks to the return of the original couch multiplayer supremo series via Super Mario Party Jamboree.
53 Dungeons of Hinterberg – Microbird Games
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This heavily-stylized action-RPG blends established tropes like dungeons, magic, and enchantments with deeply personal storytelling and exploration of the Alpine outdoors, which, spoiler alert, are quite beautiful. It’s more feel-good than cozy, so if you’re more the chilling type but still want some depth and dimension, this one is a perfect fit.
54 Stellar Blade – SHIFT UP Corporation
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This action adventure saga from SHIFT UP Corporation has some truly breathtaking visuals on display, and we’re not just talking about… um… never mind? But seriously the art design and story are very inspired, and despite any comparisons to classics like NieR: Automata or Devil May Cry, it can easily be appreciated for what it is: a great game in it’s own right.
55 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Saber Interactive
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Although it came out at a time where the Helldivers and Earth Defense Force series’ were at an all time popularity surge, this one is actually more for the died-in-the-wool nerds than gamer bros, although it will very much satisfy both if they’re looking for a splattering good time.
56 The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development
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Played return to Hyrule, but not as Link, and not from the perspective they’re used to, but POV be damned, Zelda and Tai slay all by themselves in this vibrant platformer that allows you to spawn characters and items to your advantage.
57 Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – FromSoftware
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The faithful were rewarded something fierce in this expansion for the ages – while some people see it as an expansion because that’s exactly what it is, it almost throws as much content as a sequel at you, so come prepared.
58 Helldivers 2 – Arrowhead Game Studios
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What was once a competent peer to the Earth Defense Force series took a leap off the deep end into PvE multiplayer arenas this year, and to say the results have been explosive would perhaps be the gaming understatement of 2024. Surpassing even the licensed version of it’s spiritual inspiration Starship Troopers, which also came out this year, Arrowhead Game Studios can pat themselves on the back for doing their part to not just end the war on bugs, but win it.
59 Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Ubisoft
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Perhaps one of the least expected comebacks of the year, Ubisoft actually gave Prince of Persia a solid return-to-form this year with the metroidvania-inspired Lost Crown. It’s almost a full circle moment when you consider the full history of the series, but for the first time in a long time, things are looking good for the outlook of a series nearly lost to the sands of time.
60 Tekken 8 – Bandai Namco
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Although Tekken 7 polarized the fighting game series’ core audience, it did some things that got people pretty excited, and its sequel manages to bring it all home for the most compelling Tekken experience yet. It’s also one of the best looking fighting games we’ve ever seen, and it was done in Unreal Engine 5, so don’t let anyone tell you that optimization isn’t possible.
61 Black Myth: Wukong – Game Science
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The video game adaptation of the Chinese folklore classic Journey to the West impressed just about everyone who played it this year, bringing the action and boss fights of a soulslike to a signified and rarified setting while naturally allowing the story to progress, enfold, and enthrall.
62 Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door – Intelligent Systems
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If you’ve ever wondered just what you would do if you could contort yourself into a two-dimensional object like a sheet of paper, have we got news for you. While the original version of The Thousand Year Door on Gamecube was a classic that gave us a single-player Mario Party-adjacent experience, this reupholstered edition allows players more space and imagination than ever to make their way through the trials and tribulations of Rogueport.
63 Mobius Machine – Madruga Works
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A couple of years ago we got pretty obsessed with Neon Abyss, a side scroller that took simple twin-stick mechanics and vibrant nightclub aesthetics and smashed them together in an easily digestible package. The Mobius Machine is the next game to scratch that itch with it’s satisfying gunplay and super detailed sci-fi world, but it also has this uniquely detached atmosphere to it that expertly ties things together to create a unified and cohesive experience.
64 The Plucky Squire – All Possible Futures
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We’re doing our best to think, and honestly, we can’t remember a game like this hitting the mainstream in recent memory. Maybe Portal, but this is a whole other story. The Plucky Squire masquerades as a 2D platformer at first, but once you get involved, it quickly morphs into an on-the-fly meld of 3D action adventure and puzzle solving, and ultimately results in one of the most interesting and creative games we’ve seen in years.
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