Want to see five extra games you should have played? Then throw me some cash!: www.patreon.com/ArchitectofGames Some things never change, but at least... Alien Mosk isn't on this website: bsky.app/profile/architectofgames.bsky.social
Just a quick important point about Tactical Breach Wizards, Banks doesn’t have a magic gun, it’s a normal regular gun. She shoots you with it because she can only heal people if they’re dead, so when you’re knocked out by attacks, she has to kill you to heal you.
@@ScaredJade she has shakey hands and accidentally killed a kid on the operating table which is how she discovered her powers. She can't do medicine safely anymore which is why she pretty much just heals with her powers now.
@brunokingz i do watch the video. And that's the problem. He says something at the start I want to look into but by the end I cant remember what it was or what time he said it
@@MagosJCDentonus45121(00) games is just a compilation of every 20(XX) Games video before it, with the finale being “I know you didn’t play every single of one these, go get one of the old ones. I’m going to sleep.”
Based on the thumbnail, I half expected that to happen. Either way, I'm happy to see UFO 50 represented here with its own meta-list. UFO 50 was my personal #1 of the year.
@zojirushi1 I would say most take several hours to beat and even longer to master. A few are definitely full length games. Not at all like warioware games
If Mini and Max was a standalone game it would still easily be in my top 10, maybe even top 5 games I've played this year. The fact that a game with that much content and quality and innovation comes in a package of 49 other games is just beyond impressive.
This series of "games you should have played" is how I decide to buy new games when I want to, I go through all the videos in order of year and check if I have bought and played each game I'm interested in, if yes move on to the following year. I don't buy the games of each year immediately, but I think I'm up to finishing all the games from 2021 at this point. It's such a resource, and thank you for making one each year. Happy new year, hope it's a good one for you!
I really love this series. So many lists only contain games I aready have or have already decided I do or don't want. Your lists never cease to have a few recommendations I have never heard of, but immediately know I want. And I have to say, this year seems particularly good.
special shoutouts to tactical breach wizards which has humour that I can describe as "quippy" without meaning it as an insult, it's so common to see this kind of light hearted cheeky dialogue done so badly in every movie and every game I had forgotten it sometimes works
Derek Yu wasn't content to make one of the most iconic, influential indie games of all time in Spelunky and Spelunky 2 - he had to make an entire opus. In a world of composers that write 3-minute pop songs, Derek Yu just wrote a symphony.
I always come out of these with at least one recommendation that I either hadn't heard of, or hadn't heard a convincing enough pitch for. Thanks for making them every year!
This year has been insane for Indy games. That list was excellent and it didn't even have: animal well, 9sols, bo and many other incredible games. Heck of a year in gaming. My favorite part is how innovation still exists. Games keep coming out where I'm like. Wow how has no one thought about making this before.
This has become my most anticipated end of year video. The opportunity to discover some new games I haven't heard of is far more exciting than hearing about 10 games I already know.
I gotta shout out Garbanzo Quest. I wouldn’t call it GOTY by a long shot, especially when UFO 50 is right there, but I met the dev at a con and he was super chill. Very cozy Super Mario World-inspired game with light bullet hell elements with a chill soundtrack. Out of every game this year this just felt the NICEST to play, you know? Criminally underrated game.
This is the most useful kind of list. This is how some idiot gets an idea like Balatro and just strikes a vein of brilliance because, no, making a poker roguelike is not a stupid idea. Yes, it was fun when games encouraged you to cheat, and you should just try things even if they sound dumb.
@@GhostSamaritan Cakes of Qud was a game that I swear came out about four years ago; it would have contended to be the game of the year in what was apparently Early Access. I had no idea and had to pick it back up because I had put over 100 hours into something that was apparently not even finished. Pacific Drive is fantastically relaxing in spite of itself. It feels like it should not be, yet for some-though not all-people, it is going to be almost a form of meditation. Yellow Taxi go Vroom: Is dumb and fun, like so many games that inspired it. Mouthwashing: Is easily the story game of the year. 1000X resist: Is absolutely wild, and I have to recommend it to everyone. I Am Your Beast: Feels like it would be GoTY in 1999 and is absurdly addicting. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes: Was my GoTY. Artic Eggs: Is not an egg scrambling simulator, nor does it even try to be, and is again recommended.
Redline Crooks is definitely my favorite underrated game from this year, it's like if Nuclear Throne was a racing game. It NEEDS more attention. Also, 18:14 Banks' gun is not magic. It's just a regular revolver that kills people. She shoots people because they need to be dead before she can revive them.
I've been watching these episodes for probably 5 years in a row, and I'm enthusiastic every time. These lists really help me discover new things, even though I thought I knew everything
While it's still in early access (at time of writing), I would like to add 1 to the list. Beastieball. From the team behind the adorable Chicory, it's basically Pokémon except the creatures play a combination of volleyball and dodgeball. It's adorable, deeply strategic even in the story mode of the game, and has a story that combines themes of environmentalism and the importance of passion for your interests in a mostly satisfying way. There's also a social sim mechanic that involves social batteries, which is just fun.
In the spirit of the video, I'd like to share some other games that are also worth checking out: * Cento - A Rhythm fighter game, that has you and your opponent take turns to activate moves (from a 'deck') which have a very wide range from simple attacks/buffs/debuffs, to an attack that does massive damage to both you and the enemy, which you should only use if you can block/dodge the self-damage. All that on top of brilliant cheerful music and gorgeous pixel art, making this a prime example of a "hidden gem". Though do be warned, the game is machine-translated from Japanese, so learning all the ins and outs can be a bit harder than it could've been * Emberdrift - What if Sonic and Dead Cells had a baby? Well, this is what it would be. A 2D momentum platformer roguelike, where building up speed and dashing through enemies is your best way of not dying. Once it clicks the game is pure joy to dash through. It also has a neat touch where depending on what skin you equip, your dialogue will be different since you're technically a different character * Maxwell's Puzzling Demon - On the surface, a simple sokoban about pushing blocks that have the added property of temperature you have to navigate around. However, really quickly this game's puzzles will start requiring outside of the box thinking, solving levels with levels, restarts, and more. If you liked Baba Is You, this is the same level of puzzling greatness, with hundreds of well designed puzzles * Ultros - A time-looping metroidvania with plants. If that sounds weird then it should, as the game is heavily about a unique style, with visuals being an extremely vibrant cocophony of colors. The game is far from perfect, however sticking through with it long enough reveals a second layer to it, where it turns from a metroidvania into almost a puzzle game, where you try and figure out how to grow the garden across the space station, to get the plant you need into the place it needs to be. If you're looking for something weird and different, it might be worth checking out So now with 20->24 games, let's look forward to another year of great games and content
I'm so glad more people are finally opening up to how amazing Tactical Breach Wizards is. If not for Thank Goodness You're Here being also released this year Tactical Breach Wizards would have been the funniest game I had played in ages. Also the one game I think you missed out on Adam: Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip. Think A Short Hike meets Crazy Taxi. It's brilliant.
I laughed pretty hard a the scratched 3 games because I read the description's list of games and went 'Really, these games' until I watched it and laughed out loud. Great vid and great recs! A few in there I never heard of, like Straftat, thanks!
This is the type of list I look forward to, since there's so many excellent titles that get overlooked. Also, I saw Wayfinder and Pepper Grinder in there towards the start of the video.
For those that were glued to BG3 for a good while and are looking for something, Skald Against the Black Priory. Retro style game with modern mechanics with a surprisingly well written story. Also has one of the best commercials for a video game in the last two decades.
That Lorn's Lure game might have the best climbing of 2024, but keep your eyes out for a game called "White Knuckle" coming some time in 2025. The vibe is similar, but the space far more cramped. And the climbing is genuinely the best I've seen in a game. It has so many good ideas and there is a playable demo that I beat in about 10 hours. Its really difficult yet fun.
Hero shooters always do well When you're not an idiot and put a price on it If Blizzard couldn't make Overwatch work as pay to play there's no way in fuck Concord was gonna be it
everyone pointed at Concord and said "the market is oversaturated. thats why it failed." and then a couple months later Marvel Rivals came out and proved that incorrect. Its just that concord looked terrible as hell and then people played it and confirmed it was terrible. Rivals came out and tried something a little different (3rd person and has a ton more melee characters) and has great characters we all already know and a great art style. People can't stop speculating on what character could come next and how they could fit into the 3 roles, nobody cared about a single Concord character because the entire setting was boring and the characters themselves were shit to play as.
But Blizzard _did_ make _Overwatch_ work as pay to play. They just thought they could make more money by swapping to freemium (and also by resetting accounts so you had to work for/buy stuff you'd once had.)
Great selection of games to check out once again! If I could add two: "Animal well" (but most people here probably already know about it) and "Shady knight". Shady knight is a fun little 1st person movement/parkour game made by a single developer. It has fun movement and physics. The scope of the game is a bit limited (4 hours to finish), but the gameplay is fast-paced, smooth and addictive. Once you get used to the controls, (I think) you'll probably have a great time moving around the levels and getting rid of enemies in fun and creative ways. The developer really focused his efforts on the movement and the physics. So don't expect jaw-dropping graphics or a nail-biting storyline.
I love this channel so damn much, these are the exact games I was expecting to see on the list, and the top 3 are just perfect :D There were a couple of them I didn't know about before and they went directly to my wishlist! Thank you for doing these every year, they really showcase the creme of the indie scene (apart from the most popular stuff)
The most important question of all is, will the list be 21 games once we hit 2100? Also happy to see Reus 2, I think that's the first mention I saw for it in a list so far.
I seriously think that it's insane how so few people talk about UFO 50. To many it might seem like shovelware, but it truly is a gem, all 50 of the games (not ALL of them but like 85%). I wish more people could give it a shot. I would love to see a big speedrun community grow around it, some games are perfect for speedruns.
One game I'm surprised didn't make the list is Arco, especially as a fellow tactical game fan. It really changes how you think of tactics since it's kind of a middle between RTS and XCOM style games. If you haven't played it, you definitely should!
I love this series a lot; it's an amazing source of game recommendations. My favorite game you shouted out last year was Void Stranger. Just a little game about moving tiles around, just an interesting puzzle game I thought. Hahahaha, what a game that was... Time to see which of this video's games slide into my wishlist and later my steam library this year!
I'm also going to speak up for another crab's treasure. Even if you are BAD at that kind of game, you can turn it down in difficulty until you've got an invulnerable shell and a one hit kill spell. At that point you've got a cute platformer with a great story.
It technically came out in the end of 23 but everyone should play ‘In Stars and Time’ its possibly the best indie rpg ever, that includes undertale and omori. It handles time looping as good and with more substance than the outer wilds, with just as good slow burn world building. It has a better cast and character writing than Red Dead II, with better trauma writing than the second half of NieR automata It’s easily 20+ hours of content for only like 15-20 dollars on steam or the switch, and it is a fecking societal failure that it is not more recognized
Havent watched or read all the top games of the year lists, but out of the stuff that I did, you're the only person who mentioned Caves of Qud. SkillUp mentioned it in the passing but I don't think they played the game unfortunately
Seeing "Caves of Qud" show up on a list is always a nice surprise. I never expect people to know this game exists. I'm nearly 700 hours into it, and I love it. No game has more absurd options. King of The Bridge is going to be in my collection, too. Maybe the Mech game, it's wishlisted for now.
Wanna shoutout prince of persia the lost crown ( ubisoft closed the studio because they can't have their name attached to something good ) and Nine Sols.
My Game of the Year for 2024 was Workers&Resources: Soviet Republic. Nice little twist on the traditional city-builder genre that folded in a lot of advances in logistics and resource management games. The 2024 release I put the most hours into was Starstruck Vagabond, Yahtzee Croshaw's solo project that's well-written (if you like Yahtzee's sense of humor) and has wonderful music. But that's just a blip on the radar compared to the massive amount of hours (over 700) I put into American Truck Simulator (and the 300-plus I put into 2023 GOTY My Time at Sandrock.)
I really wished Adam would go back to putting the names of the games being shown on screen at the top. Sometimes I don't know the game but feel like trying (like the pirate one in the beginning) but then I don't know the name of the game. Awesome video as always!
I will never see these games if i havent watch this video. I thought this would be a big title checklist. Based channel who actually exploring new indie games.
I was surprised not to see "Still Wakes the Deep". A cosmic horror masterpiece, brimming in a Scottish (or Galic?) dialect you absolutely need subtitles for.
It was shown towards the beginning of the video, but I really can't recommend Nine Sols enough. I don't think I'm even that far into the game yet (just got to Lady Ethereal), but it's already one of the best games I've ever played. The true successor to Sekiro's parry-style gameplay
You know, this might be inaccurate, but this felt like a year that indie community has been able to make consistently appealing 3D games, in a way I've often seen not achieved in previous years. There's something about the lower poly sensibilities of the late 90s to early 2000s that avoids the uncanny-ness and not quite there feeling of the 360/PS3 days that makes for good art styles. I knew it was inevitable that the nostalgia train would wrap around to early 3D, and it'll probably happen for mid to late 2000s 3D somehow, and in a way that I'll probably some to appreciate, but for now I really enjoy this revival wave, as much like the pixel art revival some 10 years ago, it shows how removing detail can be as important as adding it.
On the note of the minigolf adventure, that brings me to my recent remembrance and nostalgia for Slice N' Hook: Haunted Miniature Golf. May be worth checking out if you're unfamiliar with it.
I know this is mostly a list of smaller games, but when you list the bigger players at the beginning, I'm surprised you don't mention Black Myth Wukong. Especially since it's probably one of the most technically competent games released this year, and a first for the studio.
I would like to recommend another, my favorite game of 2024: Ascending Inferno. It's one of those "hard to control" rage games like Getting Over It, but done with an incredible level of creativity. You are a soccer player who must escape hell with the soul of your brother in the form of a soccer ball, and you need to precisely control that ball to navigate the game. No power ups or level ups, just pure player skill to win. The art and sound design are fantastic as well.
Some great recommendations here, some I knew about and a few new ones to add to my list. I do feel you've given a bit too much away about a couple of them though, mainly Grunn and 1000xResist. Although that story info does come in the first hour or so of 1000xResist, it's much more interesting to piece it together for yourself.
I'm quite glad that Arranger was on here. Judero would have, without a moment of hesitation, been my pick for this list. If this was 2023 i would have mentioned Clash: Artifacts of Chaos and Cookie Cutter. Both games that i very warmly recommend. Zet Zillions, Decline's Drops & Loco motive are fun too. And there's warmth for BLUD & a recommendation of Magenta Horizon for all high-action game fans. Currently looking forward to The Midnight Walk, IMMORTAL: And the Death that Follows, the new game by the Papetura dev, Promise Mascot Agency, Genokids, Kraino Rebirth, PRIM, My Familiar, Pillory, and so many more.
Every year you make this and every year there's at LEAST a half dozen of the games on the list that look fun af. And I've probably only heard of 3 on said list. Tactical breach wizard UFO 50 That dark souls one Maybe egg frying Loreilei That autobattler actually sounded fun I don't remember the others but those are some that jumped out at me. :)
If you're a fan of Grunn, there's coincidentally a lot of games in the same style that are being worked on: TRIP, Pager, and Blue Prince. It's a bit of a stretch, but the recently-ish released THRESHOLD also meets that... threshold in some ways.
I've finally done it! I've finally gone full deviant! I've played, will play, or want-to-play/heard all but three games on your list. I was waiting to see what was on your list before finalizing a list of games in my backlog/wine-cellar that I want to target this year. Gronn was the only one that I hadn't heard that I want to try. Straftat I hadn't heard of, but I'm not into MP games, and so similarly, I won't be playing Mecha Bellum any time soon. In the spirit of all the years you've recommended great games, I've pulled three from my list of games that I've played that also came out this year: Rebel Transmute: A metroid-NES retro game that handles more like a SNES metroid game. You get tons of upgrades, and aren't really told how they all might synergize together. The game actively makes you feel like you're sequence breaking to make progress. I don't think this is for everyone... but I really felt clever for getting to some areas "early" but the game doesn't punish you for doing it... other than... you know... finding an enemy there that'll kill ya quicker than usual. Crypt Custodian: A top down metroidvania/2d zelda game? You're a cat sent to the afterlife cursed to be a janitor and clean up messes with your broom. They also built the game with a randomizer (which explains why there are redundant paths through their dungeons that utilize different patterns. Quality game. The Land Beneath us is a "nothing-moves-until-you-move" tactics rogue-like grid game. Take as much time as you want. Can't laud the story, but I enjoyed the thinking aspects of doing runs into the various levels the game creates. Not hard, but enjoyable. (A couple of other games I play were either in your intro vid, (like Pepper Grinder or Arranger,) I didn't finish but am enjoying (ExoPhobia, a castlevania-boomer shooter) or debuted last year and came out on Playstation for the first time this year (like "Let's Revolution!" a minesweeper rogue-like, or Rusted Moss - a Metroidvania with an exotically challenging control scheme that is satisfying to learn.) Thanks! I've been looking forward to this vid all month!
Want to see five extra games you should have played? Then throw me some cash!: www.patreon.com/ArchitectofGames
Some things never change, but at least... Alien Mosk isn't on this website: bsky.app/profile/architectofgames.bsky.social
alien mosk isn't on bluesky but bluesky is just another corporation with investors and needs to make money so pass, mastodon is better.
Thanks for all the great videos/essays this year. Love your stuff Adam, happy 2025 ahead to you
Bluesky is nonstop complaining about Twitter/X. So much negativity there, even compared to other social media.
Just a quick important point about Tactical Breach Wizards, Banks doesn’t have a magic gun, it’s a normal regular gun. She shoots you with it because she can only heal people if they’re dead, so when you’re knocked out by attacks, she has to kill you to heal you.
well, no, she is a professional surgeon, she can heal before death too, she can just do magic about it after you are dead.
@@ScaredJade she has shakey hands and accidentally killed a kid on the operating table which is how she discovered her powers. She can't do medicine safely anymore which is why she pretty much just heals with her powers now.
@@SpartanXVII and she does it by “rewinding” a dead body, so she uses the gun to try and go back as far as possible.
In my humble opinion it is great for the viewing experience when these list type videos have that youtube feature where the player bar is segmented.
Or just watch the entire video
I sortof like if they don't. When they're segmented I just skip through. What's the point of even being a video if I do that.
@brunokingz i do watch the video. And that's the problem. He says something at the start I want to look into but by the end I cant remember what it was or what time he said it
@@AndrewSpantonyou can just not
@@brunokingzMan, it's almost as if people have different opinions and preferences. Huh, who would've known.
Longtime fan of your channel, and one of the writers of 1000xRESIST. A pinch-me moment to hear our game on your list.
You should be incredibly proud of your game! It's spectacular - I still can't stop thinking about it!
I absolutely LOVED 1000xRESIST! Thank you for such a great game!
I'm currently playing through the game, and it's blown me away so far, it's one of my favorites of 2024!
Thank you for making my favorite game of the year
Hekki Allmo \o/ thank you for your contribution to that stunning work!
You better keep making these for a long time
Really looking forward the 2099 edition.
21(00) also sounds interesting
Nice
I'll upload 20(99) games you should have played from the grave if I have to
@@ArchitectofGames don't be so melodramatic, just find some Warhammer 40k rejuvenation tech
@@MagosJCDentonus45121(00) games is just a compilation of every 20(XX) Games video before it, with the finale being “I know you didn’t play every single of one these, go get one of the old ones. I’m going to sleep.”
Would have been a great bit to just list 20 games from UFO 50
Based on the thumbnail, I half expected that to happen. Either way, I'm happy to see UFO 50 represented here with its own meta-list. UFO 50 was my personal #1 of the year.
@@JonEricisn’t it just a collection of mini games like warioware?
No, it’s 50 full sized NES-esque games. As in, each game is as big as Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros, etc. And they’re all really good
@zojirushi1 I would say most take several hours to beat and even longer to master. A few are definitely full length games.
Not at all like warioware games
If Mini and Max was a standalone game it would still easily be in my top 10, maybe even top 5 games I've played this year. The fact that a game with that much content and quality and innovation comes in a package of 49 other games is just beyond impressive.
This series of "games you should have played" is how I decide to buy new games when I want to, I go through all the videos in order of year and check if I have bought and played each game I'm interested in, if yes move on to the following year. I don't buy the games of each year immediately, but I think I'm up to finishing all the games from 2021 at this point. It's such a resource, and thank you for making one each year. Happy new year, hope it's a good one for you!
I really love this series. So many lists only contain games I aready have or have already decided I do or don't want. Your lists never cease to have a few recommendations I have never heard of, but immediately know I want.
And I have to say, this year seems particularly good.
Best investment ive had on the year of 2024 is meeting this channel and pressing the sub button thanks Adam!
Tactical Breach Wizards' writting is sooo good.
special shoutouts to tactical breach wizards which has humour that I can describe as "quippy" without meaning it as an insult, it's so common to see this kind of light hearted cheeky dialogue done so badly in every movie and every game I had forgotten it sometimes works
Tom Francis is the "quippy" game GOAT, to be honest.
You and Jacob Geller are basically the only End-of-Year game round-ups that I really look forward to. Love these so much!
UFO 50 is such a bastion of pure ambition, like I still can't wrap my head around the fact that it's something that actually exists
Yup. It's insane how underrated it is, and how little people talk about it. It blew my mind.
Derek Yu wasn't content to make one of the most iconic, influential indie games of all time in Spelunky and Spelunky 2 - he had to make an entire opus. In a world of composers that write 3-minute pop songs, Derek Yu just wrote a symphony.
I always come out of these with at least one recommendation that I either hadn't heard of, or hadn't heard a convincing enough pitch for. Thanks for making them every year!
This year has been insane for Indy games. That list was excellent and it didn't even have: animal well, 9sols, bo and many other incredible games. Heck of a year in gaming.
My favorite part is how innovation still exists. Games keep coming out where I'm like. Wow how has no one thought about making this before.
This has become my most anticipated end of year video. The opportunity to discover some new games I haven't heard of is far more exciting than hearing about 10 games I already know.
I gotta shout out Garbanzo Quest. I wouldn’t call it GOTY by a long shot, especially when UFO 50 is right there, but I met the dev at a con and he was super chill. Very cozy Super Mario World-inspired game with light bullet hell elements with a chill soundtrack. Out of every game this year this just felt the NICEST to play, you know? Criminally underrated game.
This is the most useful kind of list. This is how some idiot gets an idea like Balatro and just strikes a vein of brilliance because, no, making a poker roguelike is not a stupid idea. Yes, it was fun when games encouraged you to cheat, and you should just try things even if they sound dumb.
Sure but only like 2-3 of these games seem enjoyable. I mean I don't want to play an egg scrambling simulator...
@@GhostSamaritan Cakes of Qud was a game that I swear came out about four years ago; it would have contended to be the game of the year in what was apparently Early Access. I had no idea and had to pick it back up because I had put over 100 hours into something that was apparently not even finished.
Pacific Drive is fantastically relaxing in spite of itself. It feels like it should not be, yet for some-though not all-people, it is going to be almost a form of meditation.
Yellow Taxi go Vroom: Is dumb and fun, like so many games that inspired it.
Mouthwashing: Is easily the story game of the year.
1000X resist: Is absolutely wild, and I have to recommend it to everyone.
I Am Your Beast: Feels like it would be GoTY in 1999 and is absurdly addicting.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes: Was my GoTY.
Artic Eggs: Is not an egg scrambling simulator, nor does it even try to be, and is again recommended.
This is the video I wait for every year. I’ve discovered some of the best games I’ve ever played thanks to you Adam.
Every year your video appears on my homepage.. and every single year it makes me go "holy shit HOW HAS IT BEEN AN ENTIRE YEAR WHAT"
Redline Crooks is definitely my favorite underrated game from this year, it's like if Nuclear Throne was a racing game. It NEEDS more attention.
Also, 18:14 Banks' gun is not magic. It's just a regular revolver that kills people. She shoots people because they need to be dead before she can revive them.
Never heard of Redline Crooks but all of its Steam reviews are positive so it's going on the list
The one channel where I always stay through the Patreon shoutouts!
Both things that I was really excited about this year (Volcano Princess and Witch Spring R) were actually from 2023... Time sure flies, huh.
Most hyped video series of the decade!
I keep coming back to old entries to discover new games to play, please keep making these!
I've been watching these episodes for probably 5 years in a row, and I'm enthusiastic every time. These lists really help me discover new things, even though I thought I knew everything
Easily one of my favourite series on TH-cam, happy new year!
While it's still in early access (at time of writing), I would like to add 1 to the list. Beastieball. From the team behind the adorable Chicory, it's basically Pokémon except the creatures play a combination of volleyball and dodgeball. It's adorable, deeply strategic even in the story mode of the game, and has a story that combines themes of environmentalism and the importance of passion for your interests in a mostly satisfying way. There's also a social sim mechanic that involves social batteries, which is just fun.
In the spirit of the video, I'd like to share some other games that are also worth checking out:
* Cento - A Rhythm fighter game, that has you and your opponent take turns to activate moves (from a 'deck') which have a very wide range from simple attacks/buffs/debuffs, to an attack that does massive damage to both you and the enemy, which you should only use if you can block/dodge the self-damage. All that on top of brilliant cheerful music and gorgeous pixel art, making this a prime example of a "hidden gem". Though do be warned, the game is machine-translated from Japanese, so learning all the ins and outs can be a bit harder than it could've been
* Emberdrift - What if Sonic and Dead Cells had a baby? Well, this is what it would be. A 2D momentum platformer roguelike, where building up speed and dashing through enemies is your best way of not dying. Once it clicks the game is pure joy to dash through. It also has a neat touch where depending on what skin you equip, your dialogue will be different since you're technically a different character
* Maxwell's Puzzling Demon - On the surface, a simple sokoban about pushing blocks that have the added property of temperature you have to navigate around. However, really quickly this game's puzzles will start requiring outside of the box thinking, solving levels with levels, restarts, and more. If you liked Baba Is You, this is the same level of puzzling greatness, with hundreds of well designed puzzles
* Ultros - A time-looping metroidvania with plants. If that sounds weird then it should, as the game is heavily about a unique style, with visuals being an extremely vibrant cocophony of colors. The game is far from perfect, however sticking through with it long enough reveals a second layer to it, where it turns from a metroidvania into almost a puzzle game, where you try and figure out how to grow the garden across the space station, to get the plant you need into the place it needs to be. If you're looking for something weird and different, it might be worth checking out
So now with 20->24 games, let's look forward to another year of great games and content
I'm so glad more people are finally opening up to how amazing Tactical Breach Wizards is. If not for Thank Goodness You're Here being also released this year Tactical Breach Wizards would have been the funniest game I had played in ages.
Also the one game I think you missed out on Adam: Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip. Think A Short Hike meets Crazy Taxi. It's brilliant.
I laughed pretty hard a the scratched 3 games because I read the description's list of games and went 'Really, these games' until I watched it and laughed out loud. Great vid and great recs! A few in there I never heard of, like Straftat, thanks!
You are a wonderful gift to the youtube gaming community. Great picks!
This is the type of list I look forward to, since there's so many excellent titles that get overlooked. Also, I saw Wayfinder and Pepper Grinder in there towards the start of the video.
My favorite video of the year! Thank you for all the amazing recommendations and videos!
For those that were glued to BG3 for a good while and are looking for something, Skald Against the Black Priory. Retro style game with modern mechanics with a surprisingly well written story.
Also has one of the best commercials for a video game in the last two decades.
6:22 that’s what makes it so immersive. The space was not designed for humans. As such, movement should be a hassle, should be very difficult.
That Lorn's Lure game might have the best climbing of 2024, but keep your eyes out for a game called "White Knuckle" coming some time in 2025.
The vibe is similar, but the space far more cramped. And the climbing is genuinely the best I've seen in a game. It has so many good ideas and there is a playable demo that I beat in about 10 hours. Its really difficult yet fun.
18:21 correction, she can rewind dead bodies, so she kills someone instantly to ensure she rewinds them to the healthiest state possible.
I await this every year
I loved the extra list in a list in a list. Happy new year mr Adam! Thanks for everything!
Hero shooters always do well
When you're not an idiot and put a price on it
If Blizzard couldn't make Overwatch work as pay to play there's no way in fuck Concord was gonna be it
everyone pointed at Concord and said "the market is oversaturated. thats why it failed." and then a couple months later Marvel Rivals came out and proved that incorrect. Its just that concord looked terrible as hell and then people played it and confirmed it was terrible. Rivals came out and tried something a little different (3rd person and has a ton more melee characters) and has great characters we all already know and a great art style. People can't stop speculating on what character could come next and how they could fit into the 3 roles, nobody cared about a single Concord character because the entire setting was boring and the characters themselves were shit to play as.
people just need to play the finals
But Blizzard _did_ make _Overwatch_ work as pay to play. They just thought they could make more money by swapping to freemium (and also by resetting accounts so you had to work for/buy stuff you'd once had.)
So we have a clear winner this year - BBB games, indies and, most importantly, gamers. Lot's to play and the good stuff is appropriately priced.
Your writing and commentary are incredible! thanks for the content
Great list as always...looks like I missed loads this year! Just spat my coffee out at Constantout Amend 👏
Was able to playtest Yellow Taxi goes Vroom back in Gamescom 2023 and had a blast. Thank you for reminding me to play it again!
Great selection of games to check out once again!
If I could add two: "Animal well" (but most people here probably already know about it) and "Shady knight".
Shady knight is a fun little 1st person movement/parkour game made by a single developer. It has fun movement and physics.
The scope of the game is a bit limited (4 hours to finish), but the gameplay is fast-paced, smooth and addictive.
Once you get used to the controls, (I think) you'll probably have a great time moving around the levels and getting rid of enemies in fun and creative ways.
The developer really focused his efforts on the movement and the physics. So don't expect jaw-dropping graphics or a nail-biting storyline.
Good video. I didnt know about most of these. Good to see stuff ive missed
I love this channel so damn much, these are the exact games I was expecting to see on the list, and the top 3 are just perfect :D
There were a couple of them I didn't know about before and they went directly to my wishlist! Thank you for doing these every year, they really showcase the creme of the indie scene (apart from the most popular stuff)
The most important question of all is, will the list be 21 games once we hit 2100?
Also happy to see Reus 2, I think that's the first mention I saw for it in a list so far.
Fantastic video! Can’t wait to hear about the 2004 other games!
Happy New Year!
Thanks for recommending Tactical Breach Wizards - I immediately bought it and put in a 9 hour session. Loving it!
I seriously think that it's insane how so few people talk about UFO 50. To many it might seem like shovelware, but it truly is a gem, all 50 of the games (not ALL of them but like 85%).
I wish more people could give it a shot. I would love to see a big speedrun community grow around it, some games are perfect for speedruns.
Finally someone that suggest great games that are not mainstream and are truly difficult to found otherwise
One game I'm surprised didn't make the list is Arco, especially as a fellow tactical game fan. It really changes how you think of tactics since it's kind of a middle between RTS and XCOM style games. If you haven't played it, you definitely should!
Bro's gonna have to step up production in uh
75 years
Timestamps? :)
Also THANK YOU for mentioning Caves of Qud! This has slipped through so many people's nets and it's incredible.
Yha, minishoot was on my wishlist, thanks for the reminder.
Fantastic list. Its a yearly tradition already for me.
Straftat "looks" amazing and I'm surprised I've never heard of it. Thanks!
I love this series a lot; it's an amazing source of game recommendations. My favorite game you shouted out last year was Void Stranger. Just a little game about moving tiles around, just an interesting puzzle game I thought. Hahahaha, what a game that was... Time to see which of this video's games slide into my wishlist and later my steam library this year!
I'm also going to speak up for another crab's treasure. Even if you are BAD at that kind of game, you can turn it down in difficulty until you've got an invulnerable shell and a one hit kill spell. At that point you've got a cute platformer with a great story.
It technically came out in the end of 23 but everyone should play ‘In Stars and Time’ its possibly the best indie rpg ever, that includes undertale and omori.
It handles time looping as good and with more substance than the outer wilds, with just as good slow burn world building.
It has a better cast and character writing than Red Dead II, with better trauma writing than the second half of NieR automata
It’s easily 20+ hours of content for only like 15-20 dollars on steam or the switch, and it is a fecking societal failure that it is not more recognized
Havent watched or read all the top games of the year lists, but out of the stuff that I did, you're the only person who mentioned Caves of Qud. SkillUp mentioned it in the passing but I don't think they played the game unfortunately
In my list of games of the year, I gotta have
1. Anton Blast
2. Astro Bot
3. Penny's Big Breakaway
4. Yellow Taxi Goes VROOM
5. Animal Well
Seeing "Caves of Qud" show up on a list is always a nice surprise. I never expect people to know this game exists.
I'm nearly 700 hours into it, and I love it. No game has more absurd options.
King of The Bridge is going to be in my collection, too. Maybe the Mech game, it's wishlisted for now.
Wanna shoutout prince of persia the lost crown ( ubisoft closed the studio because they can't have their name attached to something good ) and Nine Sols.
Actually been waiting for this vid for at least the last week!
I believe this is the first one of these lists that you’ve done where I’ve at least heard of every single game on the list.
My Game of the Year for 2024 was Workers&Resources: Soviet Republic. Nice little twist on the traditional city-builder genre that folded in a lot of advances in logistics and resource management games.
The 2024 release I put the most hours into was Starstruck Vagabond, Yahtzee Croshaw's solo project that's well-written (if you like Yahtzee's sense of humor) and has wonderful music.
But that's just a blip on the radar compared to the massive amount of hours (over 700) I put into American Truck Simulator (and the 300-plus I put into 2023 GOTY My Time at Sandrock.)
I really wished Adam would go back to putting the names of the games being shown on screen at the top. Sometimes I don't know the game but feel like trying (like the pirate one in the beginning) but then I don't know the name of the game. Awesome video as always!
finally, the only game awards that matter
Happy new year man we both love the same games hah thank you for this year's recommendations bro the future is hopefully bright
I will never see these games if i havent watch this video. I thought this would be a big title checklist. Based channel who actually exploring new indie games.
I was surprised not to see "Still Wakes the Deep". A cosmic horror masterpiece, brimming in a Scottish (or Galic?) dialect you absolutely need subtitles for.
Loving the inception of the video in the video with ufo50
Hi, i would like to recommend Tiny Glade. It's a cozy builder with some intetesting mechanics and really cute looking. Loved it.
It was shown towards the beginning of the video, but I really can't recommend Nine Sols enough. I don't think I'm even that far into the game yet (just got to Lady Ethereal), but it's already one of the best games I've ever played. The true successor to Sekiro's parry-style gameplay
Wonderful. Going to get the 10 or so I didn't do and feel like I will enjoy a lot 😅. Thanks for sharing.
Man, I am sad you did not include Dread Delusion. It's atmosphere alone is the GOAT!
The nameless slay dragon needs more attention! It's so good.
Adam, what did you think of Frostpunk 2?
You know, this might be inaccurate, but this felt like a year that indie community has been able to make consistently appealing 3D games, in a way I've often seen not achieved in previous years. There's something about the lower poly sensibilities of the late 90s to early 2000s that avoids the uncanny-ness and not quite there feeling of the 360/PS3 days that makes for good art styles.
I knew it was inevitable that the nostalgia train would wrap around to early 3D, and it'll probably happen for mid to late 2000s 3D somehow, and in a way that I'll probably some to appreciate, but for now I really enjoy this revival wave, as much like the pixel art revival some 10 years ago, it shows how removing detail can be as important as adding it.
On the note of the minigolf adventure, that brings me to my recent remembrance and nostalgia for Slice N' Hook: Haunted Miniature Golf. May be worth checking out if you're unfamiliar with it.
I can't keep up with everything that is being published, so I love these lists. Tactical Breach Wizards and Cryptmaster went on my wishlist.
My most anticipated video has come again 😄
""Bully people to become your best friend" is what I'd like to do IRL too XD
Love these lists - thanks!
I know this is mostly a list of smaller games, but when you list the bigger players at the beginning, I'm surprised you don't mention Black Myth Wukong. Especially since it's probably one of the most technically competent games released this year, and a first for the studio.
Drova was my surprise game.its fantastic
I would like to recommend another, my favorite game of 2024: Ascending Inferno. It's one of those "hard to control" rage games like Getting Over It, but done with an incredible level of creativity. You are a soccer player who must escape hell with the soul of your brother in the form of a soccer ball, and you need to precisely control that ball to navigate the game. No power ups or level ups, just pure player skill to win. The art and sound design are fantastic as well.
Nice to see some love for Cryptmaster, not enough of that going around
Your top 3 was also in my top 5 games of the year!
Some great recommendations here, some I knew about and a few new ones to add to my list. I do feel you've given a bit too much away about a couple of them though, mainly Grunn and 1000xResist. Although that story info does come in the first hour or so of 1000xResist, it's much more interesting to piece it together for yourself.
I'm quite glad that Arranger was on here. Judero would have, without a moment of hesitation, been my pick for this list.
If this was 2023 i would have mentioned Clash: Artifacts of Chaos and Cookie Cutter. Both games that i very warmly recommend. Zet Zillions, Decline's Drops & Loco motive are fun too. And there's warmth for BLUD & a recommendation of Magenta Horizon for all high-action game fans.
Currently looking forward to The Midnight Walk, IMMORTAL: And the Death that Follows, the new game by the Papetura dev, Promise Mascot Agency, Genokids, Kraino Rebirth, PRIM, My Familiar, Pillory, and so many more.
I absolutely adored Minishoot’ Adventures.
you gotta praise the fact that Lorelei and the laser eyes took the lore even to the price of the game itself
Every year you make this and every year there's at LEAST a half dozen of the games on the list that look fun af. And I've probably only heard of 3 on said list.
Tactical breach wizard
UFO 50
That dark souls one
Maybe egg frying
Loreilei
That autobattler actually sounded fun
I don't remember the others but those are some that jumped out at me. :)
If you're a fan of Grunn, there's coincidentally a lot of games in the same style that are being worked on: TRIP, Pager, and Blue Prince. It's a bit of a stretch, but the recently-ish released THRESHOLD also meets that... threshold in some ways.
I've finally done it! I've finally gone full deviant! I've played, will play, or want-to-play/heard all but three games on your list. I was waiting to see what was on your list before finalizing a list of games in my backlog/wine-cellar that I want to target this year. Gronn was the only one that I hadn't heard that I want to try. Straftat I hadn't heard of, but I'm not into MP games, and so similarly, I won't be playing Mecha Bellum any time soon.
In the spirit of all the years you've recommended great games, I've pulled three from my list of games that I've played that also came out this year:
Rebel Transmute: A metroid-NES retro game that handles more like a SNES metroid game. You get tons of upgrades, and aren't really told how they all might synergize together. The game actively makes you feel like you're sequence breaking to make progress. I don't think this is for everyone... but I really felt clever for getting to some areas "early" but the game doesn't punish you for doing it... other than... you know... finding an enemy there that'll kill ya quicker than usual.
Crypt Custodian: A top down metroidvania/2d zelda game? You're a cat sent to the afterlife cursed to be a janitor and clean up messes with your broom. They also built the game with a randomizer (which explains why there are redundant paths through their dungeons that utilize different patterns. Quality game.
The Land Beneath us is a "nothing-moves-until-you-move" tactics rogue-like grid game. Take as much time as you want. Can't laud the story, but I enjoyed the thinking aspects of doing runs into the various levels the game creates. Not hard, but enjoyable.
(A couple of other games I play were either in your intro vid, (like Pepper Grinder or Arranger,) I didn't finish but am enjoying (ExoPhobia, a castlevania-boomer shooter) or debuted last year and came out on Playstation for the first time this year (like "Let's Revolution!" a minesweeper rogue-like, or Rusted Moss - a Metroidvania with an exotically challenging control scheme that is satisfying to learn.)
Thanks! I've been looking forward to this vid all month!
Let's Revolution sounds wild as a premise...
6:29 Peaks of Yore weeps in a corner