VideoGamer Game of the Year Awards – Best Games of 2024 

Another year around the sun, another website giving out their Game of the Year awards. Over the course of 2024, we’ve seen instant classics that reinvigorate their genre, multiple cinematic blockbusters that perfectly adapt beloved source material, and VR masterpieces. 

Of course, there can only be one VideoGamer Game of the Year Award, but it was a shockingly close choice. That’s why, like almost every website, we’ve taken the easy way out and crafted multiple categories to get our favorites into one slick list. (Oh, I don’t think I like the phrase “slick list” actually.) 

VideoGamer Game of the Year – Indiana Jones and The Great Circle 

While many gamers were looking forward to experiencing unpredicted Nazi slaughter in a Wolfenstein 3, MachineGames has crafted the ultimate whack-a-Nazi-with-a-hammer simulator in Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. 

More a casual Deus Ex than the first-person Uncharted many were hoping for, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is this generation’s Arkham Asylum. After decades of mediocre-to-fine games based on the pulp adventure series, MachineGames has cracked the formula. Sure, its first-person perspective may not be to every gamer’s taste, but it works well and offers something far more unique than anyone expected. 

From the opening recreation of Raiders’ intro to the snowy Himalayas, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is a game designed around the thrill of exploration. There’s a deep respect for history, archeology and culture, all while keeping the films’ slapstick nature in check. 

Following what seems like years of Xbox’s failure to craft any meaningful new games, although this game is on its way to PS5 next year, Indiana Jones has whipped Xbox Game Studios into shape with not just one of the best games on Xbox Series consoles, but the best game of the year. 

Best Platform Exclusive – Astro Bot

What can we say about Astro Bot that hasn’t already been said? Even in our own review. While some rightful criticism can be chucked at the game’s reliance on PlayStation nostalgia —or even straight up advertising in some sections—Team Asobi’s adorable platformer is simply a fun time that never feels dull. 

Astro Bot is at its best when it commits to a theme, such as its dangerously fun sauna level or the superfluous casino filled with secrets across every corner. There are some parts where the game falters — its villains aren’t very interesting and not everyone will some of the obscure PS2 game characters they’re unlocking — but every moment is filled with joy. 

Importantly, Astro Bot doesn’t overstay its welcome. You’re locked in for about 18 or so hours and then out, diving back in for some post-launch speedrunning missions. It’s an easy platinum, a game you’ll remember forever, and one you’ll likely chuck in every year or so and get so sucked in you’ll have to see it to completion. 

PC Only – Frostpunk 2

The cold and dour city builder returns in Frostpunk 2, thoroughly expanding on the brutality of the original game for a new experience that’s as fun as running settlements decimated by climate change can actually be. 

The snow-capped tundras you’re forced to carve out to house your settlements are as stunning as ever to look at as industrial machinery juts through the arctic floor, filling the air with steam. There is no game that looks like Frostpunk 2, well, excerpt Frostpunk the First. 

In essence, Frostpunk 2 is the strategic equivalent of Aliens to the original game’s Alien. Pretty much everything returns albeit differently and it’s expands upon the original’s themes  in bold new ways. However, just like Aliens and Alien, the newer vibe may not entirely gel with the most devout fans of the original. 

Best Multiplayer Game – Helldivers 2 

A surprise no one saw coming, not even its developers, Helldivers 2 is an entirely unique multiplayer game that feels like no other. With the Illuminate now in the game alongside urban environments and vehicles, Arrowhead Game Studios has proven that it knows exactly how to keep a multiplayer game alive. 

There is no game like Helldivers 2, not even its predecessor. While the PS3, Vita, PS4 and PC (it came out on PC, huh) original offered a tense, top-down battle against the same three factions, the series’ shift into third-person has changed everything. 

Not even the scariest horror games can match the pure fear of your first encounter with a Bile Titan, or even your first attempts at taking out Illuminate ships without knowing how to actually take them down. What do you mean my Quasar didn’t work? What do we do now? 

Helldivers 2 is phenomenal and could take home a Game of the Year Award in its own right. However, right now, we’re giving it Best Multiplayer, and nothing else even comes close. 

Hidden Gem – Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 

Ubisoft has been given a lot of crud this year for some truly bizarre decisions. XDefiant came out and we all know how that’s going, Skull and Bones finally released and, well, we imagine that’ll go the way of XDefiant soon, and Star Wars Outlaws launched in a buggy state — although we stand by the fact that the game is very good in places. 

Between all of that, Ubisoft actually released a proper Game of the Year contender, one that completely slipped through the cracks for most gamers – Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. A beautiful, stylish and deep metroidvania, The Lost Crown is a title that deserved a lot more. 

It may not have the best story, although that’s more common in this franchise than not, but The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is one of the best Metroidvanias in years. If only people played it. 

VR Game of the Year – Batman: Arkham Shadow 

Ridiculously close to nabbing our Game of the Year Award, Batman: Arkham Shadow is not just a phenomenal VR game, but one that shows just how far standalone virtual reality has come. 

Sure, it could’ve looked even better with a PC version, but Arkham Shadow already looks stunning on Meta Quest 3 and 3S. It’s a game you want to buy a headset for, and one you really should. 

Just like Arkham Asylum did in 2009, Arkham Shadow truly makes you feel like Batman with its perfect recreation of the console games’ freeflow combat system, their detective vision and even their platforming. 

Arkham Shadow is a masterpiece in design and a much needed return after the disappointment of both Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League. Developer Camoflauj, straight off the heels of Iron Man VR, crafted a masterpiece, and we hope that sequel comes along. 

Diamond in the Rough – Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl 

It’s no surprise that we love Stalker 2. In fact, our review of the game was one of the highest around. It’s a game that exists on vibes, offering a unique world and a unique style that most games would never even attempt. 

From its tense, brutal gunplay to the feeling of hunting anomalies, to the dread that kicks in when you hear a bloodsucker while you’re exploring a cave, Heart of Chornobyl is a masterpiece. It’s also a broken masterpiece. 

At the time of writing, the game’s A-Life system has received its first major patch and the improvements are noticeable. However, there are still a bunch of improvements yet to come before Stalker 2 is a stable experience, but with the massive amount of patches released since launch, we have no doubt that it’ll get there. (Knock on wood.)