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Good evening! It might be 2025, but I’m still wrapping up the final games from 2024. I’m giving you a meaty post with 10 games. After that, we can move on to game reviews for this year. Let’s see how the 2024 game calendar finished.  Unknown 9: Awakening received terrible reviews and most of them were justified. This linear action game doesn’t perform very well on hardly any level. The combat is repetitive and bland. You have a skill tree, but it doesn’t change the gameplay on a significant scale. Unknown 9 has a robust fantasy setting, although the story is confusing with running monologues, lore that requires insider knowledge, and obtuse terminology. I can’t tell you what’s happening in this game most of the time. The game has a ton of bugs and glitches that require a restart at numerous checkpoints. Some of the set pieces look pretty good, but the character animation is outdated and unpolished. This game probably needed another year in development. Nearly everything about Unknown 9 is boring and unimaginable. I’m not sure what Bandai Namco hoped to accomplish regarding this game. It was one of my biggest disappointments in 2024. Naturally, I’m not going to recommend this game, even with a deep sale. 2024 didn’t have a shortage of entertaining games. You could easily spend your time and money on something else.  If you’re looking for another JRPG, Ys X: Nordics is a good place to start. I usually stick with real time combat and it works fabulously in this game. The tenth Ys game includes dual protagonists who can fight either separately or simultaneously. You don’t have to be a wizard at JRPGs t0 play this game. The RPG system and upgrades are pretty basic yet effective. Ys X has a large cast of supporting characters who are endearing and helpful. Many of them are vendors who provide important supplies. Like many JRPGs, the runtime is very long, but it remains entertaining and the story has a few clever twists. It avoids sprawling open world environments in favor of scattered zones that allow decent exploration. I can’t say the game has a phenomenal enemy variety, although it doesn’t ruin the experience by any means. This game includes navel combat, which is serviceable, especially after you add some upgrades. Ys X is a lengthy 40 hour excursion that, but I won’t complain about it. Want to know how to pronounce the title? Just say the word, “Ease.” This game is definitely worth purchasing. It’s $60, but at least you’re getting your money’s worth. I’m sure many gamers are hesitant to try JRPGs. Ys X is a great place to start if you’re less familiar with the genre. I find this game very entertaining. You should check it out.  I must admit, the collective Life is Strange franchise never clicked with me, even though I love the choose-your-own-adventure genre. Double Exposure is a pretty weak entry in the series. It’s slow and boring with annoying characters. Nearly every character is whiny, self-entitled, and unlikeable. At first, I thought this game was a murder mystery. Apparently, that idea was just a marketing ploy to snag a bigger audience. Double Exposure is primarily a drama with some romance elements. It’s also setting up a multiverse in the vein of Marvel and DC with super powered individuals. I find the entire situation derivative and unoriginal. Graphic adventures rely on their stories, which is a problem for this game because the script isn’t very good. Truthfully, this game is a major step down from other entries in the franchise. I thought the first Life is Strange and True Colors were much better. This isn’t the type of game I would recommend. Double Exposure is unimpressive and Square Enix needs to learn a lesson. If you can handle scary stories, I suggest choose-your-own-adventures like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and several entries in The Dark Pictures Anthology.  2024 was a fantastic year for horror games, but Lempo was a disappointing title. I think this game might appeal to some gamers, although it’s not my cup of tea. Basically, Lempo is really confusing. The protagonist is lost in a legendary forest and some of the core gameplay elements include solving puzzles, exploring the environment, foraging for health items, and fleeing from stalker enemies. Technically, this game has a map, but it’s not very helpful. Lempo has sparse checkpointing and your health drains over time. It’s really easy to get killed by stalker enemies or natural occurrences. The game feels a bit pretentious. Is Lempo scary enough? Not really. It’s just frustrating and weird. Still Wakes the Deep and Layers of Fear are similar games, but both of them are more frightening than Lempo. That’s just how I see it. In the end, most people could skip this game. However, a small number of horror enthusiasts might enjoy the experience. Lempo isn’t very expensive. Digital retailers are selling it for $20. Just keep your expectations in check.  I simply can’t resist old fashioned fighting games. The modern era has a distinct lack of 2D fighting titles. Diesel Legacy is a really fun addition to the fighting genre. The art style has a cool dieselpunk aesthetic with retro futuristic cities, robots, airships, factories, and genetically engineered characters. I find the combat fast and snappy with several new tricks for the genre. It’s easy to dash in various directions, including up and down in designated lanes. Each character has their own story with a number of challenging encounters. Diesel Legacy is quite difficult compared to some of the most recent fighting games, but it feels satisfying and the strong character roster provides ample replay value. This game has a bigger emphasis on combo chains instead of special moves, which is totally fine for me. The character stories are short and sweet without adding extra fluff. Diesel Legacy is a steal at $30. I believe the value is excellent. It’s a must play for gamers who enjoy the fighting genre. Will it appeal to casual players who don’t like fighting games? Probably not, but that’s okay. I’m sure Diesel Legacy can find an audience, including competitive multiplayer crowds.  Ravenswatch is a decent roguelike game, although it pales in comparison to Hades and a few more examples. It was developed by the team who made Curse of the Dead Gods. I see many similarities between both games. Unfortunately, I didn’t like Curse of the Dead Gods very much. I found it boring and repetitive with minimal reward. Ravenswatch is a violent take on classic fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood. If you look at the box art, Red Riding Hood is also the Big Bad Wolf. The combat feels pretty smooth and some of the environments are interesting. It has a huge difficulty spike during the boss fights. I breezed through some of the regular levels and died repeatedly during the boss encounters. Ultimately, Ravenswatch doesn’t incentivize players to keep moving forward. You die and repeat the same levels on a loop. It gets old very quickly. I don’t hate this game, but progression is very slow and the gameplay isn’t entertaining enough. Maybe it isn’t fair to compare roguelike games to Hades. It was a rare masterpiece. With that said, Ravenswatch needed more variety, a bigger selection of weapons, and a better story. I suppose it might be fine for some people who love the roguelike genre. Everyone else could ignore this game completely or wait for a sale.  Indiana Jones fans, rejoice! This rare Xbox exclusive is a redeemable title for the overall Indiana Jones franchise. Initially, the first person viewpoint is jarring, but it’s easy to adapt. This game is an authentic Indiana Jones experience with espionage, artifact hunting, beating up Nazis, exploration, solving puzzles, glob trotting, and Indy’s iconic whip. You can use guns, but it’s probably better to rely on stealth elements. Indiana Jones has limited health, which becomes an issue when a slew of Nazi soldiers open fire. Troy Baker sounds just like Harrison Ford, the music evokes themes from John Williams, and the overall experience feels like the original trilogy. It’s a wonderful homage to the franchise while cementing its place in a crowded adventure genre with similar games, such as Tomb Raider and Uncharted. This game is a little rough around the edges, although I can easily recommend it to any curious player. You don’t even have to buy it directly. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is available on Game Pass just like the rest of the Xbox library.  Check out the remaster of Clock Tower if you enjoy retro experiences, particularly horror. The majority of older games don’t hold up well today, but this one is quite surprising. I can see how franchises like Oulast and Amnesia got their inspiration regarding unbeatable stalker enemies and defenseless protagonists. Clock Tower is probably the game that started it all. This horror game has a classic point and click style, which can be a bit cumbersome during the chase scenes. You’ll explore a giant mansion while taking valuable items, solving puzzles, and running for your life. Clock Tower has multiple endings and the remastered version also allows players to rewind their failures for a specific number of seconds. It evokes images of Spencer Mansion from Resident Evil and several horror games with demonic cults. Jennifer is a clever girl who can temporarily defeat the Scissor Man by grabbing tools for defense, hiding under beds, locking doors, or climbing to safety. I’m not sure if this game will appeal to modern audiences, but you should try it anyway. It’s a great history lesson for horror buffs. Clock Tower Rewind costs $20 at digital retailers, which is a fair price. I purchased a limited physical release. Those orders were closed some time ago, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it hits Best Buy and GameStop later this year.  Will any turned based game will impress me beyond Pokémon? Hard to say. The Thaumaturge was advertised as a horror version of Pokémon with a party system comprised of monsters. It sounds like my type of game on paper. Sadly, it still feels like most turn based games, in my opinion. The story is interesting with an alternate version of Eastern Europe shortly before the Bolshevik Revolution. You have a symbiotic relationship with Rasputin and other historical figures. It’s fine, but the story is very slow and the turn based combat isn’t particularly accessible to action oriented players like me. The combat requires careful strategy and players need to know what they’re doing. Is this game a great choice for players who love turned based combat? It’s probably an okay experience and that’s all. You’re going to prefer Baldur’s Gate 3 and Metaphor: ReFantazio instead of The Thaumaturge. I can’t identify a real target audience for this game. It’s incredibly tame for horror fans. Most likely, it will be forgettable and middling for the turn based crowds. I can’t say it will appeal to players who like mysteries, puzzles, or narrative adventures. This type of game might be fine to play if it drops on PlayStation+ or Xbox Game Pass. Beyond that, you’re better off spending your time and money on other games.  Boomer shooters are fun, but Rise of the Triad doesn’t hold up very well in the modern era. It’s a relic of the 90s with poor level design and punishing difficulty. Actually, I don’t mind the challenging combat. The main issue is confusing navigation without a map. It’s easy to spend “ludicrous” amounts of time running around lost. Pun intended. Most of the levels look the same and you gather keys to open each area. I suppose it’s similar to Wolfenstein because you kill Nazi soldiers and infiltrate their strongholds. It’s very typical of many boomer shooters from the 90s. I can’t say anything about Rise of the Triad is original or memorable. The remastered Ludicrous version has cheat codes, which provides some novelty with unlimited ammo, infinite health, weird color modes, level selection, etc. However, these elements wear down quickly and they don’t improve the gameplay very much.
I appreciate Nightdive’s attempt to revive older games, but this trend isn’t working for me. In fact, the remasters of Star Wars: Dark Forces and Rise of the Triad are making me feel nervous about The Thing: Remastered. In general, this game might be fine for people who enjoy classic boomer shooters. Most gamers could skip it and their lives will continue without consequence. Believe me. You’re going to find plenty of fun games to play without falling back on mediocre titles. You made it to the end of my game reviews from the 2024 calendar! Are you planning to play any of these games? Did you already have the chance to play them? Leave your own little reviews in the comment section. You’ve already seen my most disappointing games from last year. Next week, I’ll discuss my favorite games of 2024. I was pleasantly surprised with last year’s selection of games. So, I’m going to divide my favorite’s list in two separate posts. Get ready for Part 1 next weekend! Thanks for supporting my content and keep an eye open for next week’s post.
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Happy New Year! I’m glad 2024 is done, although it was an interesting year for gaming. My list of favorite games in 2024 is vast, but let’s start with my most disappointing games of the year. Some of the games that disappointed me the most were very popular with critical acclaim. That’s all fine, but I care about my personal experiences. I tend to measure a game’s value based on gameplay, story, functionality, general entertainment value, and the price. It’s really hard to defend a $70 price tag. Even $60 is too expensive for most games. I don’t invest a lot of thought in games that seem like a gamble. Many games look questionable and it’s not worth putting them on my post because the results aren’t surprising. I primarily worry about promising games that underperform and feel like a waste of time or money. Let’s check out the games that disappointed me the most in 2024.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown I’m starting my post with a controversial pick. Ordinarily, I stay away from metroidvanias, but Prince of Persia seems relatively accessible to general audiences. The combat is strong, although other components of the game have issues. I find the upgrade system convoluted and traversing through such a large map is tedious. It’s easy to experience motion sickness while playing this game and the map needs more fast travel options. After a while, the experience becomes repetitive with an excessive runtime. The latest Prince of Persia isn’t a bad game by any means, but I definitely feel disappointed. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League This one hurts. I actually defended this game before it was released. How embarrassing. Suicide Squad is a typical live service game with repetitive missions, a lackluster single player mode, and a terrible story. Yes, the Suicide Squad is killing some of the Justice League’s most iconic characters. It’s remarkably disrespectful to fans of DC comics and the Batman: Arkham universe. The main cast of characters are unlikable, the missions are dull, and the gameplay doesn’t flow very well. This game just isn’t fun to play. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth Many people believe Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is one of the best games from the 2024 schedule. I don’t get it. This game has a giant, bloated environment with a ton of missions that feel like busywork. It isn’t necessary to turn Final Fantasy VII into a trilogy, but Square Enix wants gamers to pay $70 three times. The story is confusing and it has a lot of filler content. Inexplicably, this game is introducing a multiverse for some reason. Most of the characters are bland and the gameplay feels like a grind. Even though the combat takes place in real time, it still operates like a turn based system. Also, I can’t figure out the RPG elements. Somehow, my characters were always underpowered and many of their abilities were inaccessible without an explanation. In the end, the latest chapter in Final Fantasy VII seems overrated. Outcast: A New Beginning The market needs more AA titles, which is why the sequel to Outcast is such a disappointment. The game has an excellent start, but the runtime is very long and many of the missions become tiresome. Moving through the landscape is unwieldy, especially concerning the flying and platforming sections. The story is both uninspired and preachy at the same the time. I wish the game had a better upgrade system. The later stages of the game become frustrating because enemies are much stronger than the protagonist. Also, the $70 price tag is indefensible for this type of game. I’m sure Outcast will develop a cult following, but it doesn’t win my vote. Dragon’s Dogma II This fantasy RPG is quite divisive. Some gamers believe it’s a masterpiece. I would say Dragon’s Dogma II is a weird experiment that didn’t work. In many ways, this game feels antiquated with mediocre graphics, a confusing RPG system, and problems that can ruin anyone’s game progression. Capcom made me angry because they included micro transactions in this game. Yup, a single player game has micro transactions. Over time, you will spend real money to bring dead characters and ruined towns back to life. It’s also the primary way to recruit other characters for your party. This game doesn’t have a very good checkpoint system, which will probably cause players to lose a couple hours of progress. I don’t have enough patience for this game. Sand Land Honestly, I really enjoyed Sand Land until a strange problem halted my game progression. On the positive side, the vehicular combat is very good, the open world is fun to explore, and the story is decent. However, I encountered something awry with the vehicle upgrade system. It’s mandatory to use the motorcycle as a means to leap across a chasm during a certain point in the game. Somehow, it didn’t work for me. My motorbike nose dived into the canyon repeatedly. I never found the right blueprints and components to create a better motorcycle. I added multiple upgrades to give the bike more speed, acceleration, power, and air time. Absolutely nothing worked. Ultimately, I couldn’t get past a section in the middle of the game. Maybe I encountered a game breaking bug, although it’s hard to tell. What a pity. Stellar Blade This action game shows a lot of promise, but some issues hold it back. I actually like Eve. She fits in perfectly fine with other female protagonists, such as Jill Valentine, Lara Croft, Bayonetta, and Joanna Dark. The gameplay and technical problems are the elements that screwed me up. Stellar Blade takes influences from Sekiro and similar soulsborne titles, which means the game requires precision. I experienced notable lag during the combat and suffered many unnecessary deaths. The platforming sections are atrocious and I couldn’t finish some of the side quests due to game breaking bugs. 2024 had a lot of games, so I turned my attention elsewhere. Regardless, I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel, providing Shift Up can fix some gameplay issues. Whisker Waters 2024 wasn’t a great year for cat games. This small indie game has a cute premise with a cat who can go fishing and exploring through a semi-open world environment. Unfortunately, the quality is slop. That sounds harsh, but Whisker Waters was one of the worst games from last year, in my opinion. The controls are finicky and it’s difficult because the game wasn’t designed very well. Enemies crawl through the environment and can kill you with one hit. The game has a map that isn’t particularly useful and it’s hard to find the right objectives. The fishing elements are the meat and potatoes of this game, although the experience is tedious and imprecise. I experienced a lot of motion sickness because the camera whipped around constantly. Whisker Waters might look cute, but it’s not fun to play. Endless Ocean Luminous This game is a rare miss for Nintendo. Endless Ocean Luminous is a frustrating cozy game. Sounds contradictory, am I right? The latest entry in the franchise caters to the multiplayer scene, which means the single player mode is an afterthought. You can swim around a few biomes and learn about several aquatic creatures, including fish, sharks, whales, stingrays, crustaceans, etc. That’s about it. The game has minimal variety and the exploration quickly becomes dull. It’s almost impossible to finish the main campaign because the maps generate randomly and you must solve 99 specific mysteries to roll the credits. For some reason, you can only unlock the mysteries by chance. The game doesn’t provide hints, explanations, or objectives. It’s really weird and a total waste of time. Star Wars Outlaws Maybe Ubisoft isn’t the right company to make a Star Wars game. This version of a smuggler’s life and planetary exploration was very underwhelming for me. I can’t say anything functions particularly well in this game. Maneuvering the speeder bike is a nightmare. The stealth sections are totally irritating with a bad checkpoint system. I find the upgrade system unclear and the animation looks dated. The story and characters are also quite forgettable. Apparently, space combat and travel is difficult. I can hardly think of a game that has decent space traversal. Outlaws is just another title on my long list of disappointing Star Wars games. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II Here’s another popular game that doesn’t impress me. Space Marine II is probably fine in co-op mode, but the single player campaign is lousy. Despite having a decent amount of challenge and cool set pieces, the gameplay feels arduous. If you’re playing alone, the rest of the team includes bots. They’ll kill basic enemies and revive your character, but they don’t help clear objectives. Most of the missions include dated and overused elements, such as staying within a box to defend something for several minutes, shooting weak spots on stronger enemies, and solving puzzles while enemies attack. I had to clear everything by myself, which was difficult because the game was designed for teamwork. Gamers complain about these elements constantly, i.e Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice. Players are willing to give a pass to Space Marine II, even though it shares similar problems with failed live service games. Funko Fusion What a mess. Funko Fusion is mostly disappointing because it takes iconic franchises and turns them into monotonous, annoying levels with minimal entertainment value. The game is surprisingly hard and it’s difficult to identify a target audience. Is this game for adults or kids? I suppose Funko Fusion is an adult game because it’s too bloody and violent for younger audiences. It’s difficult to find enough health items and power ups. Also, I died frequently and the checkpointing caused me to lose a lot of progress. It has a ton of technical issues that broke my story progression a number of times. Somehow, 10:10 Games found a way to make cool franchises an irritating slog. Tragically, I wish we could see more Funko games in the future, but it probably won’t happen now. Selfloss This puzzle game rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Selfloss is a indie game that was given high praise from the small number of critics who reviewed it. Maybe that’s why I feel disappointed. Reviews probably set my expectations too high. Basically, Selfloss is a super confusing game with very little direction or anything that makes sense. I couldn’t figure out how to play it. This game might reach out to a niche audience who prefers to play without hints or waypoints. However, I believe most gamers will lose their patience. The story is also quite confusing. It contains a lot of lore, but it’s ambiguous and difficult to understand. I didn’t connect with this one. Cat Rescue Story Again, 2024 wasn’t very good year for cat enthusiasts. On paper, Cat Rescue Story seems like a nice cozy game with a laid back structure. In reality, this game is boring, tedious, and time consuming. The gameplay isn’t fun at all. It’s strangely difficult to take care of the foster cats and find worthy owners who will adopt them. You have to upgrade the cats through care, such as food, water, shelter, grooming, veterinary attention, and play time. That might sound nice for a cozy game, but it’s actually a slog. I engaged in the same activities repeatedly for hours. It takes a really long time to make the cats adoptable. Don’t be fooled. This game isn’t a true simulator that reflects animal foster care or pet adoption. Having a real dog or cat is much better than Cat Rescue Story. A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Licensed games are making a comeback, but this first venture in the Quiet Place franchise isn’t very good. Is the game hard? I feel inclined to say it’s more annoying than difficult. A Quiet Place includes major elements from the film series, such as moving slowly and quietly, otherwise the aliens tear the player to pieces. Those elements are fair, except the implementation is poor. Somehow, the monsters always targeted me everywhere, even if I was completely silent. It seems like Saber Interactive tried to make the game more interesting and challenging by adding irritating elements. The protagonist has asthma, anxiety, a pregnancy, and other issues that make the gameplay a grind. These elements aren’t necessary. The concept is already interesting and challenging enough without shoehorning extra obstacles in the game. Unknown 9: Awakening I don’t usually agree with the masses on social media regarding video games, but this one deserves a lot of criticism. Unknown 9: Awakening lacks nearly everything that makes a game decent. The gameplay is dull and repetitive. I find the story confusing with a bunch of monologues and incomprehensible lore. It’s not very challenging and the upgrade system is lackluster. The environment looks cool, but the character animation is awful. Unknown 9 looks more like a AA game, even though it was probably designed as a full fledged AAA experience. This game falls in a familiar trap that I’ve seen in cinema. Bandai Namco was more worried about creating a franchise and connected universe instead of a solid game. I’m sure this franchise is dead on arrival. Life is Strange: Double Exposure Somehow, this franchise never clicks with me. Double Exposure has poor reception from critics and fans alike. It’s hard to find something enjoyable in this graphic adventure. The story is mostly a series of dramatic arguments between the characters. Unlike prior entries in Life is Strange, this game has a cast of characters who range between dull, annoying, toxic, and forgettable. The pacing is remarkably slow and the overall experience is utterly boring. Double Exposure lacks substance and it’s more worried about setting up a large scale universe like Marvel superheroes instead of telling a good story. Square Enix committed the bait and switch technique. They advertised this game as a murder mystery, but it’s mostly a generic drama. Shame on you, Square Enix. Lempo Overall, I had a solid run with horror games in 2024. However, Lempo falls short. It shares similar elements with Layers of Fear and Still Wakes the Deep, such as puzzles and a walking simulator vibe. Granted, this game is really confusing. Navigating the environment is dizzying and the map is useless. The protagonist is completely defenseless, which means it’s easy for stalker enemies to kill you. The checkpoint system is frustrating, making death an unnecessary punishment with significant backtracking. Lempo has a big problem because your health drains over time. That means getting lost for an excessive amount of time can be fatal. I’m disappointed because the premise is interesting with lore from Finnish mythology. The ending is ambiguous and it defeats the purpose of such an arduous journey. I survived multiple horror games last year, but the Metsänpeitto woods defeated me. Slitterhead This game is really weird in all the wrong ways. In general, the game design is perplexing. The gameplay is incredibly awkward with a steep learning curve. The combat is repetitive without much variety, even though the enemies are Lovecraftian monsters and shape shifters. It’s mandatory to find a specific number of playable characters in each chapter. For some reason, the game forces players to repeat the chapters several times to progress through the story. Who wants to fight the same enemies and bosses on a loop for hours? I didn’t find the experience very entertaining. The story doesn’t redeem the game either. Truth be told, this game probably needed another year for development. Personally, I didn’t find Slitterhead impressive, although it has a niche following. There you go! I enjoyed the 2024 video game schedule, but you can’t win them all. What are your most disappointing games of 2024? Did you like any of the games on this post better than I did? Please, leave your own lists in the comment section. My list of favorite games in 2024 is pretty long, so I’m going to split the menagerie into a couple of posts. Let’s hope 2025 is a strong year for games! Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy the rest of your weekend. |
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