The Games That Helped Me Survive 2024: Kate's Top 10

This year was long for me. It made me face my fears, get vulnerable, and deal with problems head on. It put me through the wringer in more ways than one, but through it all, I had games to lean back on. When everything else was going on in 2024 and I found myself holding onto anything that felt familiar and safe in my personal life, video games gave me the chance to do something more. 

My favorite games of the year were the ones that made me step out of comfort zone, gave me a warm embrace when things were rough, brought me back to my childhood, and more importantly connected me with other people. 

In a time when the industry finds itself at a tipping point, we can't lose sight of the fact that the games we hold onto in times of struggle are there because the be people who created them are humans too. They've felt grief and loss. They've felt triumph as much as fear. And ultimately, in 2024 it video games represented a multitude of experiences only possible when people create. 

My top 10 games of 2024 are the ones that I'm still thinking about today on the last day of the year. They're the ones that made me feel the most human. Ultimately, they're the ones that got me through every rough patch 2024 kept tossing me into.

The game that got lost in the 2023 December void: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

My GOTY for 2023, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, keeps making my personal games of the year lists for 2024. Why? Because December and January are a soul-sucking void of a release window for any game or movie. It’s a time when everyone is making their speedruns through their Steam wishlists and catching up on whatever games have made it into The Game Awards nominations which require a game be published in November of the year in which they’re taking place. 

And so, I’m here to tell you to play Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Developed by Massive and published by Ubisoft, the open-world RPG puts players in the heart of Pandora. 

A Nav’i, you were kidnapped by the Resources Development Administration (RDA) and raised in the human world. You were expected to act human, appease humans, and forsake every bit of your culture and identity in the process. While the Avatar films, as beautiful as they are, only scratch the surface of colonization and forced assimilation, Frontiers of Pandora is a game that never sidesteps the real-world issues at play. In fact, the game goes a step forward to craft a story that never looks to paint the RDA as anything other than world-destroying murderers who do not view the Nav’i and you as anything other than objects to exploit. 

Thanks to its robust and immersive story, the game’s RPG system is fantastic . The combat is engaging and dynamic. But it’s the world and the detailed love of what James Cameron created that shines. Pandora as a world, and the Nav’i’s cultural connection to it impact the game’s mechanics. You have to honor what you hunt, and not overdo it in order to maintain a connection to Eywa and by extension have a sight that allows you to find objectives easier. Flying the Ikran and training it feels like more than just a mount. And ultimately, the fact that you can do it all co-op is the ultimate cherry on top of one of the best experiences I’ve had. With the new DLC that released in 2024, there is every reason to pick up the game now. 

The Game That Tested My Patience (complimentary) - Arco

2024 really was a year where I explored genres that I often avoid. The first foray into that was Arco. A tactical RPG, the game is one of the many wins for Mesoamerican and Latin American culture in games this year. The Panic-published video game Arco is an absolute beauty. Developed by an international team with Polish pixel artist Franek Nowotniak, Australian Max Cahill, Spanish composer Bibiki, and Mexican developer Fayer, Arco is a standout when it comes to indies this year. Arco’s world is beautifully developed through a gorgeous score and nostalgic pixel art style that manages to capture the vibrancy of the cultures on display perfectly. 

The game also takes RPG decision-making to the max, with every decision you make through exploration and combat impacting the course of your game. Even the smallest of choices like picking from a bush, can impact the trajectory that you take. Beyond that though, Arco also has an interesting repercussions system that make the guilt you feel from doing bad deeds follow you around as you play. Building in replayability, the game doesn’t allow you to escape guilt or the weight of your choices. And I’m not saying that as a turn of phrase. The guilt stacks on your conscience repeatedly as you make bad choices worldwide. 

Exploration and combat are what the game revolves around, and it’s made better through the game’s score. Still, its truly unforgiving combat system is what takes the prize. I am not tactical, and that showed when I played Arco. However, the combat depth kept me coming back repeatedly. Even with glaring issues with its Switch launch, the game deserves your attention on Steam. 

The most Kate-coded MMO - Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

I have played a lot of MMOs, and Final Fantasy XIV is the one that I keep returning to even after time away. It’s also the one MMO that I’ve invested time into to learn the end-game raid content and focus on meta-specific rotations so that my Free Company and I can tackle Extreme and Savage content. But Dawntrail, the latest expansion for the game, was the first time that I was current. I had capped the MSQ, maxed out my item level, and done everything I needed to run as both Paladin and Samurai. It was the first time that I got to experience endgame with everyone else and not be behind. 

I could talk at length about the thoughtful adapting of Mesoamerican culture in Dawntrail and how amazing it was to see my history adapted into a fantasy setting. But at the same time, that thoughtful cultural specificity is just a part of what made this game feel like, well me. The other part was how Danwtrail tackled a standard shonen arc, with Wuk Lamat at the center, creating a cast of rivals with empathetic backstories. It was funny, fun, and had the impossible task of following up a saga-ending expansion with Endwalker. 

From a mechanics standpoint, the new dungeons, trials, and raids boosts details. I won’t say they’re difficult content, but thet are additions to the game that were a solid correction to the asy large hitboxes and minimal movement requirement that were the Endwalker Duties. As a tank, I was consistently engaged and once we ran the Extreme of Valigramanda, I was introduced to the single best tank mechanic in FF14: Mountain Fire. 

While job homogenization remains a looming issue, Dawntrail brought a focus back to the M part of MMORPG. Multiplayer content, even with the expansion of Duty Support functions, took center stage again, and that continues into 7.1 patch that brought in the Chaotic raids.

Undeniably Latino-inspired and allowing tanks to do more than just turn and spank, Dawntrail was what I wanted on a personal level and a player level. It was just for me. 

The Game that surprised me the most and wasn’t an MMO or an RPG - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Another game that finds itself lost in the Ubisoft Winter release void is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. An absolutely near-perfect Metroidvania, The Lost Crown brought a beloved franchise back to life. Instead of doubling down on the Orientalism of the originals, this game not only revamped the mechanics and genre of the series but also thoughtfully explored Persian mythology. The game’s approach to cultural storytelling made it compelling, but more importantly, it lent to the game mechanics themselves. 

The Lost Crown’s level design made you yearn for more. It begged you to explore every bit of it and try different ways to reach new areas you couldn’t before. Exploration may be a core element of Metroidvanias, but there is nothing in the game that makes you need to do more than what’s necessary. However, the level design itself absolutely pushes you to keep doing the most. 

The game I wish I had played instead of just watched - Fallout 76

Prime Video’s Fallout was easily one of the largest events of 2024. The show was a fantastic adaptation of a beloved property, which helped it stick out. But in truth, the real impact it offered was a resurgence in popularity for Fallout games. More specifically, Fallout 76. Plagued by a bad launch (one of which I was unfortunately present for on Day 1), Fallout 76 is not the game I played and immediately bounced off of. It’s been this way for some time now, but to be honest, there are just too many games out to make me go back to a game that had disappointed me so greatly. After Fallout though, my husband who is notably a bigger Bethesda fan than me, got the itch and started playing. 

He joined one of the million that rushed back to the game and I sat on his office couch and watched. Getting called in to see when he’d stumble across a really great build or one that looked like something I’d create. In the Fall during the Halloween Event he walked me through how the game had changed, how it was building community through candy quests that required ou to visit others, and all of the spooky items you could craft to add to your base. But the timing was never right for me to jump back into it myself. Instead, I watched many of the 100 hours my husband put into the game and kept wishing I had more time to join him in the Wasteland. 

The game that made me cry - Dragon Ball Sparking Zero

I truly thought that anime arena fighters were dead. I mean, Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was the last time I felt taken aback by the genre being used to the limit. Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, is ultimately the fourth sequel to that game in every way. While the game itself nailed exactly what made the Tenkaichi series a fighter standout, it was everything around Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero and its commitment to honoring Dragon Ball that made it standout, and ultimately, made me cry. 

When it comes down to it, the ridiculous number of Gokus and Vegetas felt like a cash grab. If I’m being honest, I took it as an omen of a buffet that really didn’t have any specialty. Then I played it and my mind changed immediately. Sparking! Zero undoubtedly understands the varying power levels and move sets attached to each iteration of every character. In fact, they understand it to the point that defeating Great ape Vegeta is one of the most soulwrecking experiences I’ve had this year. And tha’ts why it all works. 

Even the inclusion of GT characters and those from the feature films stand as a celebration of Dragon Ball. That love was felt from the media previews I attended and back at home when I jumped into match lobbies or just talked with friends. It captured the characters we loved and, more importantly, respected them. This reverence for even the silliest of the Dragon Ball franchise hit me at my core because 2024 is also the year that we lost the great Akira Toriyama. 

A man whose impact on video games and anime is nearly incomprehensible playing Sparking! Zero felt like continuing his legacy. And that legacy wasn’t always perfect, as long-time Dragon Ball fans can attest, but it is there, and for many people who used Toriyama’s gateway into the world of anime and manga, it all matters. Yes, even Dragon Ball GT is the one series in the franchise that Toriyama has no involvement with. Baby Vegeta has that lasting impact, and I don’t say that to be dismissive, but rather to capture what Toriyama inspired and how those in his footsteps in Dragon Ball and beyond have kept creating and iterating on his work. And so, I cried because damn, the world still feels a little dimmer without Akira Toriyama in it.  

The Game where I just played as a guy I idolized growing up, and that was enough - Indiana Jones

A little-known fact about me is that I got into my undergraduate university as a classical archaeology major. A very known fact about me is that Lara Croft is my favorite video game character of all time and Tomb Raider on the PSX was the very first game I beat by myself. Both of these things are connected to my deep love of Indiana Jones. His charisma, his intelligence, his nerve, and his love of history. We all have moments in our lives that, if we pull the thread far enough, we can find where iconic pop culture media inspired u,s and for me, all roads lead back to Indy. 

After the first footage of the MachineGames developed video game released, I was apprehensive heading into Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. However, after playing as much as I could within the limits of a 24-hour day during the review period, the game ended up being one of my top of the year. Why? Because for its stealth faults, The Great Circle tasks the player with just being Indy. 

The puzzles may be slightly simplistic, but their deeply tactile qualities are why they stand out in a year of truly great games. Because you turn every statue, read every note, and pull open every door. The first-person perspective I had been worried about quickly became the main reason I was so immersed and in love with the game. I was the guy I had idolized when I was a kid, and that joy outshines any review score.

The game that highlighted that it was a great year for Metroidvanias - Tales of Kenzera: ZAU

My second Metroidvania on this list and, well, the second game that made me cry, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, was wonderful. From 2020-2022 nine members of my family died. From a 29-year-old cousin to a 70-year-old tia and too many more people I loved in between, the last four years of my life have been more tragedy than triumph. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU was what I needed. I’ve described it in the past as allowing me to let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. A personal story about grief and losing a father, Surgent Studios and it’s head, Abubakar Salim, invited players to explore his loss. 

It is an empathetic journey that explores anger, depression, anxiety, and the robust nature of the things we feel that all get condensed into one word: grief. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is beautiful and intimate, but its level design adds a level of combat and platforming depth that highlights how good 2024 was for Metroidvanias. 

On top of that, the game’s solid focus on story and skill development made this action-platformer feel more like an RPG than everything, even if not done in the traditional sense. I cried my eyes out. I sat with it. This is not to steal the tagline from the SEC, but ultimately, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU just means more. 

The game that got rid of the thing I hate about turn-based RPGs - Fantasian Neo Dimension

As you can tell by the heading on another game on this list, I am an impatient player. I don’t particularly like turn-based games, and ultimately, I deeply hate random encounters that lock you into a pace and disrupt momentum in RPGs. That’s exactly why Fantasian Neo Dimension, is the latest RPG from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Developed by Mistwalker and published by Square Enix, the RPG uses a system called the Dimengeon system. A portmanteau of dungeon and dimension, the Dimengeon holds all of the enemies that would yield random encounters throughout the game in one spot to create one big battle. 

Fantasian Neo Dimension smashes all enemies that you have encountered at least once into the Dimengeon up to a cap. Then, you fight. It’s a situation that makes the turn-based combat fit into a pacing that doesn’t make me want to tap out. Instead, it pushed me to make investments at points and not dread random encounters. I need more of the system and hope that the game being moved from Apple Arcade to platforms players usually use is a choice that shows this will build into more. 

The game that made me jump out of my comfort zone and became my GOTY - POE2

I have written about Path of Exile 2 pretty much all year. Since PAX East, I’ve been jumping further and further out of my comfort zone by embracing the ARPG from Grinding Gear Games. Having avoided the first game like the plague out of intimidation, POE2, becoming my favorite experience in video games this year was not on my bingo card. The system depth was still there, and the developers’ focus on “player power,” as they call it, stopped being intimidating and started becoming a creative challenge. 

I picked up the newly designed Witch class and I haven’t looked back. The passive skill trees are still unthinkably enormous, but by playing every node came into perspective. Once I stopped thinking about being within the meta, and instead, about  what just felt good to play, everything clicked into place. 

At this time I’m approaching 100 hours in POE2, and I didn’t even think it was a game I could play in the beginning of the year. I never even thought about it. The beauty of jumping out of your comfort zone and into a game with gorgeous art and sticky combat is that I feel unrestrained. In other games and genres that I have spent this much time in, I’m always questioning my decisions.But despite many mistakes in my build, I have never once felt overwhelmed, but rather completely in control. The level of customization to your play style makes me shirk off the meta and just embrace this vibrant and beautiful love letter to horror fantasy like nothing else.