The Game of the Year for 2024 has finally been revealed! The candidates for this year’s Game of the Year were Metaphor: ReFantazio, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Balatro.
And the winner is Astro Bot!
Astro Bot is an arcade style platformer game. It is a sequel to Astro's Playroom released in four years ago in 2020. People, including regular gamers and critics, almost exclusively loved the game. On Google, the game has a 4.6 out of 5 stars with 754 ratings as of this writing. IGN gave the game a 9/10 while The Game gave it a 10/10 and GameSpot gave it a 9/10. The incredible reviews for the game and the fact that it won Game of the Year makes me really want to play it. Before its nomination for the title, I heard very little about this game. I usually don't play these kinds of games, but the general consensus across gamer is that it's incredible.
Many gamers are somewhat surprised that Black Myth: Wukong did not win Game of the Year. Black Myth: Wukong was an incredible game and my personal favorite to release all year. The combat is exciting and challenging, making every boss fight feel like a true victory, while not being quite as hard as Elden Ring. Wukong was the title I predicted to win, but maybe it was too similar to last year's winner, Elden Ring. Die hard soulslike fans seem to be saying Wukong is not particularly of the soulslike genre, but many gamers say there are enough similarities that it should be considered part of the popular genre.
Shadow of the Erdtree was another excellent gaming experience this year, but this game was a DLC attached to Elden Ring, last year's winner. There was some discourse over whether DLCs, remakes, and even sequels should be allowed as candidates for Game of the Year. I covered that and my personal pick for Game of the Year here.
Shadow of the Erdtree sits at a 4 out of 5 stars on Google with 688 user reviews, but many of the one star reviews are written with reference to the DLC’s difficulty, something the base game and the genre as a whole, is known for. Game Spot gave it a 10/10, Screen Rant gave it a 9/10 and it sits at a 94% on Metacritic.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a sequel to a remake of an original game. My knowledge of the Final Fantasy franchise is limited, but, from what I've heard of the game, it is an excellent, nostalgic experience. The game has a 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google with nearly 1200 user reviews. IGN gave it a 9/10, and Metacritic has it at 92%. Clearly, there is something to love about this game.
Metaphor: Refantazio, has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5 with only 221 ratings on Google while Metacritic has it at a 94%. Balatro sits at a 90% on Metacritic, the lowest of all the nominations, but a very impressive 10/10 on Steam. Balatro is a very different kind of game from the rest of the nominees as it is a deck building game with the theme of poker. I’ve looked into it but have never personally played it, although it looks to be quite fun.
The past winners of Game of the Year are, in chronological order, The Witcher III, Overwatch, the only game to win the award that is online multiplayer only, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, God of War, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Last of Us Part II, It Takes Two, Elden Ring, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Every game to win Game of the Year was adored by many fans, and it is nearly impossible to argue that any one of them didn’t deserve it. What do you think about this year’s Game of the Year? What title did you think would win? Let me know in the comments!