Even with its short length and simple gameplay, Thank Goodness still stands as one of my favourite indie games in recent memory. Thank Goodness You're Here's consistently giggle-inducing jokes and wonderful visual humour are great, but its surprisingly authentic and heartfelt interpretation of England is what made me reyt chuffed wi’it.

Earth Defense Force 6 is everything I expected it to be, which is both a blessing and a curse. Sandlot has no intention of shaking up its B-movie arcade shoot ‘em-up formula, and I’m not complaining, but when there is obvious room for ambitious expansion that wouldn’t harm the moment-to-moment joy of mowing down giant insects and evil aliens, I struggle to figure out why the developer is so stuck in its ways. I’ll always love this series, but maybe it’s time for a change?

Ete might be simplistic, but it has so much heart and gives you so much room to express yourself that, like a paintbrush and an easel, it can be more than its parts. Technical hitches disrupt its flow and a shallow narrative can hold it back, but it’s worth seeing what you can create for yourself.

The Operator’s concept is fresh and compelling, and generally well-executed. Even with my misgivings about the small flaws that made themselves apparent during my gameplay, I thoroughly enjoyed the minute-to-minute experience of playing, and the cliffhanger worked on me – I do want to know what happens next, and how the gameplay will change given the ending’s repercussions. If you’re able to ignore these things, and you love detective games, The Operator packs a lot of fun into a bite-sized package.

Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is both a pleasing and frustrating puzzling journey that leaves you thinking both about the steps you make in-game and the ones that you might or might not make in your real life.

In the end, though, Vampire Therapist is every bit as compelling as the name would lead you to expect. Sam is a wonderful protagonist, the writing is well-balanced between humour and pathos, and it does a great job telling disparate stories that have full arcs. The commitment to depicting CBT faithfully could go further, but it remains an impressive effort. Overall, this is bloody good stuff.

Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus​​​​​​​ tries its hardest​​​​​​​ to break out of the staples of genre contemporaries, such as with its folklore backdrop and a handful of new abilities, but it sometimes results in being more convoluted than necessary. Still, it’s set in a beautiful world that’s a joy to explore, with tough bosses and platforming that provide a rewarding challenge.

It’s still a serviceable enough story to keep you invested until the credits roll though, and while some twists and turns may not be as impactful as you’d like them to be, Flintlock is still definitely worth playing for its combat and focus on exploration. I had a blast, and while it’s not as polished as other soulslikes, it deserves to sit up there with the likes of Nioh and Lies of P as valiant attempts that just fall short of FromSoftware’s masterpieces.

Throughout Schim, you can only watch this man’s life from a few steps behind, and when the time is right, you find him as hope returns and the man finds himself at the same time. There are some beautiful, abstract sequences as the man goes through these stages of depression, development, and betterment, and the lead-up to the final moments are appropriately dramatic and satisfying, completing what is a pure and wholesome experience that casts a bigger shadow than you may expect.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate might not manage to reach the same heights as the game it so clearly takes inspiration from, but ‘being as good as Hades’ is perhaps an unrealistic goal for any game and it's a wonder that it comes even close. It still provides a satisfying roguelite experience with one of the best interpretations of the TMNT universe I’ve seen in some time. It won’t be replacing Shredder’s Revenge as the franchise’s best modern game, but it’s sitting nicely in second place.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a breath of fresh air. Its tireless commitment to its aesthetic, and enticing, varied gameplay make for a memorable experience. One that is as charming as it is enthralling. In an era where Capcom largely produces remakes and sequels, games like Kunitsu-Gami are more important than ever. Every inch of Kunitsu-Gami feels deliberate, and the passion of those who developed it bleeds through. Kunitsu-Gami is carving a path forward for Capcom, and at the end of that path is a more creative gaming landscape.

The FPS is well-paced, smartly designed, and looks like a cartoon you would joyously gulp down with a Capri-Sun after school. It can occasionally frustrate, but it gives you all the tools you need to tailor the experience to your taste. It does many things well, and it accomplishes them elegantly. That a game this focused on feet pulled all that off has got to be the gaming surprise of 2024.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail starts with a slow burn that builds into an emotional, captivating inferno that tackles some deep themes and effectively balances new elements with old beats in more ways than one. Overall, it’s a brilliant first chapter to the new story arc that has left me eager to learn more about what the future holds in new patches and later expansions. I’ve fallen in love with Tural and its characters, and more importantly, Dawntrail has me obsessed on a new level with FF14 in a way the game has never achieved before.

You’ll probably get something out of Spy x Anya if you’re a massive fan of the show, but even if you're fairly enthusiastic about it like myself, you’ll find it lacking. It’s extremely faithful to the show in both humor and aesthetic, but it requires a prohibitively high tolerance for repetitiveness. There’s fun to be had, but it’s locked behind hours of taking photos, lackluster conversations, and repetitive busywork. It’s nowhere near the quality of a must-play title for a Spy x Family fan, and you can probably get as much satisfaction from rewatching the show.

A little more polish could have gone a long way, but the Calvard Republic is an enjoyable place to explore, the protagonist is appreciably mature, and the story ends with that same deliciously Trails philosophy: always leave ‘em wondering how the heck they’ll ever wrap this up.

Radiant Tale - Fanfare! handles its romance well, but the game leaves me wanting more engagement. I enjoy visual novels, but I hoped for some sort of mini-game or higher narrative stakes. The lack of real friends for Tifalia rings hollow as well, making it difficult to latch onto anyone. Radiant Tale - Fanfare! is a colorful adventure, but one that falls short of delivering a memorable experience.

Riven remains one of the most captivating and challenging puzzle games I have ever played. You can’t help but leave the game wanting to learn more about the strange and mysterious world it welcomes you into. I encourage anyone to play this remake, however, while it’s a fine VR game, it’s best enjoyed on PC so you can fully commit to note-taking for puzzles and avoid the added frustration of whipping your headset on and off.

But for what it actually is, Banana Rumble is an utterly adorable sequel full of charm, with some decent level design to be had. When it was at its best, it was incredibly satisfying to pull off skips and blast through stages in mere seconds. Now that it’s over, I just can’t see myself picking it up again.

Despite its mechanical flaws, Times & Galaxy is still a deeply resonant and incredibly thoughtful game about the world and the role of journalism in it, chock-full of characters to love and showcasing a galaxy ripe for exploration. I just wish that actually playing it wasn’t so frustrating.

I didn’t know how much I would gel with Megaton Musashi W: Wired as I don’t consider myself much of a mech fan, but I was surprised by how invested in the narrative and gameplay I became. Though the story’s pacing could have been polished better and combat can get a bit repetitive, it’s an enjoyable experience that I fear many will miss out on this year as it has snuck in under the radar. If you love anime, mechs, or even just like beating down aliens (and other players online) in your own customised exoskeleton, give Wired a shot.

I’ve been emotionally preparing myself to hang up my Arbalest and ride off into the sunset after The Final Shape. Destiny 2 is a game that means a lot to me, so much that I’m not prepared to watch it slowly turn into a shadow of what it once was. But this expansion restored my faith in Destiny and made me eager to see what the frontiers the future has in store. There’s been ups and downs over the years, but this proves the trajectory of Destiny 2 is onward and upward. It proves we can expect Bungie will learn from mistakes and that there are bigger and better things in Destiny’s future. I worried this would be the end, but now The Final Shape just feels like the end of the beginning.

Sometimes, you don't need to be the hero of the epic adventure. Sometimes, it can be more fulfilling to enable others to maximise their potential in your stead. Sometimes, the safety and security of your own four walls are the escape from your traumatic past that you needed. Buy another round, and I'll tell you that tale, too.

You’ll find myriad callbacks to past From games I won’t spoil here, but it’s clear that the team looked back at everything that brought them to this point, a Game of the Year winner more successful than any of their past work, eager to celebrate the journey. This is their linking the flame moment, a chance to be reborn and usher in a new age, capped off by what can only be described as their magnum opus.

This is The Chinese Room’s best game yet. It has the bombastic set pieces, unflinching gore, and intense stealth sequences that make it a harrowing experience that deserves to stand alongside other games about guys having really bad days. But it also offers a well-paced, meaty narrative with excellent performances that I’m going to be chewing on for months to come.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance is what happens when you take a very good game, tackle every one of its flaws, and add far more content than anyone could ask for. It is a joy to play, devilishly difficult in all the right ways, and replayable to a fault - it’s proving hard to find the motivation to play anything else.

I’ve never seen a game put so much effort into making an actual statement on ecology and biodiversity, but Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge shows a cute game about photographing frogs can be so much more than that.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is one of the best asymmetrical horror games so far, standing side-by-side with the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It’ll be interesting to see if it fares better under the enormous shadow of Dead by Daylight than Sumo Digital’s efforts, but it’s stepping out of the gate with some interesting concepts that reinvent the way the genre plays, making survivors more formidable and killers more tactical, encouraging teamwork and adding so much more depth to each match.

Even if these minor issues prevent Rakugaki from fully filling the hole in my heart that the equally colourful Hi-Fi Rush left, its incredible style and fast-paced platforming make it one of the year’s best hidden gems and a strong entry into the genre that shows that its heart is still beating strong.