A note from Alex “Jeddy” Jedraszczak, GameCola’s Editor-in-Chief:
Last year, we said it was 2024—this year, we’re saying that it’s 2025. Which is it?! We may never know the real answer, but for the purposes of this article, we’ve voted on the best games of 2024 and are bringing you the conclusive list of winners. There’s no disputing it. Read below to find the truth.
Best Licensed Game
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
John Rizzi: Where the new movie fails, leave it to the Top Men at MachineGames to pick up the slack. The competition was stiff this year for licensed games, but Indiana Jones and the Great Circle stuck out for being a more faithful to the source material than…some of the source material. Troy Baker gives an infectiously spirited performance as everyone’s favorite Nazi-punching archeologist that overloads the game with that classic Indiana Jones charm. The environments, the sound design, the story; it all oozes with that gritty adventure film glamour. The puzzles are remarkably tough for a mainstream adventure game from placing cog wheels precisely to solving actual ciphers. There were a number of times where I almost resorted to looking up solutions online, but where’s the fun in that? The sense of discovery and adventure is strong in this action-packed, globe trotting adventure. Microsoft has chosen wisely with this one.
Honorable Mention: Marvel Rivals
Best Remake or Re-Release
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
Diana Gray: Oh Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, the beauty that you are. We love that you were announced literally right after my husband and I finished playing Investigations 2 (previously unreleased in the US except via fan translation) via emulator, but it was still an immediate purchase for me, as a documented #1 Edgeworth fan. As an Investigations defender, the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection remastered everything we loved about these games, while also doing the rest of the world the service of allowing everyone access to the masterful sequel that is Investigations 2. The remastered sprites are so cute (while keeping the option for the original style for those nostalgia enjoyers) and the quality of life changes added truly bring the games in line with the rest of the mainline series. Now 2018 Di who was almost in tears in the middle of a game shop in Japan, surrounded by all the physical Ace Attorney games we never got, can finally be satisfied.
Honorable Mention: Backyard Baseball ’97
Best New Character
Squirrel with a Gun (Squirrel with a Gun)
Terrence Atkins: I love squirrels. The staff does too. I’ve seen them staring out the window ready to pounce. Or maybe that was my reflection. I wouldn’t attack a squirrel with a gun though. That’s why the squirrel with a gun from Squirrel with a Gun is the real winner here. Never bring retractable claws to a gun fight. That’s what I always say.
Honorable Mention: Hulkenberg (Metaphor: ReFantazio)
Best Story
1000XResist
Blu Ryder: Developed in Canada, 1000XResist itself is easy to describe as a masterpiece for which you’re worse off if you haven’t experienced it. In comparison, 1000XResist‘s radical story is impossible to neatly define, deftly weaving a plethora of themes throughout its narrative tapestry. Personal and unique, yet universal and relatable; fantastical and grounded in textbook present history. It expresses all these traits on a scale that’s molecular, larger than life itself, and every measure between (to say nothing of the clever ways in which the story is actually presented to the audience, or the fact that it has some of the greatest voice acting you’ll ever find in a game).
1000XResist is painfully aware that sometimes you just can’t shake the feeling that nothing has turned out right, but even more wisely, it reminds us that this feeling has been felt by people of all past generations as well. More than that, it believes we must work together so that eventually we may spare future generations from this feeling.
Put simply: 1000XResist somehow metatextually surpasses its own thesis, truly fitting everything into the backpack—while making it look like it isn’t even trying, so effortless appears its mastery of storytelling. This story is about life and all it entails.
Put bravely: this game is screaming out to all who are responsible enough to listen of the frightening power and terrifying freedom, but utter necessity of wrenching our own lives back out of the hands of the figures who do not value them. Out and away from the clutches of the powerful few who would incinerate all other life on Earth if it meant a stagnant eternity with their own reflection, their own countenance holding more weight in their eyes than our too many facets.
To that, Sisters, I say:
Where now is there
sphere to square
let us fight instead
for blue to red.
Honorable Mention: Mouthwashing
Funniest Game
Astro Bot
John Rizzi: What a delightful game. Team ASOBI made it their mission to fill Astro Bot with an obscene amount of charm, making up for the severe lack of AAA 3D platformers that the gaming industry has suffered in the past few years. Astro Bot’s laughs come exclusively in the form of visual gags and physical comedy. NPCS, environmental details, slapstick…you name it. Not a single word of dialogue is spoken in Astro Bot and yet I there wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t smiling. The PlayStation mascot bots in the hub world are all doing something goofy and thematically adjacent to their represented characters (e.g., Lara Croft being chased by a raptor that just wants to be pet, or Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy trying and failing to pick the right key to open a door). All the bosses are gloriously cartoonish, reminiscent of the huge and zany bosses of games past. I could go on about the attention to detail in Astro Bot that makes it an exceptional light-hearted romp. If you’re a sucker for playful visual comedy, Astro Bot is your game for sure.
Honorable Mention: Mario & Luigi Brothership
Best Multiplayer
Garbanzo Quest
Terrence Atkins: This game has won awards, but the real winner here is you when you play Garbanzo Quest in multiplayer. It’s like playing the game but with your friends. The gameplay is fun on its own but just multiply that times the number of friends you have who are willing to play the game with you. It’s not a lot but hopefully it’s more than it is by yourself. Otherwise you must be very lonely. But maybe Garbanzo Quest will help with that.
Honorable Mention: Marvel Rivals
Biggest Improvement
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
Diana Gray: While Dawntrail undoubtedly had (and still is having) its stumbles in some areas, its quality of life changes vastly improve the FFXIV experience as a whole. The expansion came along with the first big graphical update for the game since its launch in 2013, which truly made areas both new and old look beautiful (the metal textures are my favorite). The new classes (Viper and Pictomancer) are welcome additions to the job lineup, the new raids and dungeons are fun and exciting, and each other minor quality of life change feels like a lot of care was taken to enhance player experience as we move into a new era (I’m looking at you, two dye system). With Dawntrail as an opening number, I have a lot of hope for the next 10 years and the next arc of FFXIV.
Honorable Mention: Elden Ring
Most Disappointing
Endless Ocean Luminous
John Rizzi: Nintendo…what budget did this game have? I was ecstatic when this game was announced. The Endless Ocean games on the Wii obviously weren’t system sellers in terms of quality and sales, but they were a fun change of vibes from most of the games of that generation. Relaxing, educational, ethereal adventures into the depths of the ocean. To say the Wii entries were better than this feeble attempt is a huge understatement. Everything about this game screams laziness. The fish that you are setting out to try to discover all spawn randomly, taking away the sense of discovery almost immediately. The gameplay loop consists of: Spawn in a level. Scan some fish. End Level. The controls feel like you’re on autopilot which is ironic because the entire game you are being talked to by an actual text-to-speech autopilot. It is baffling how cold, empty, and half-baked this game feels in a design sense. The love and passion that the Wii entries were filled with has been completely stripped away and what we’re left with is a boring husk of what the series once was.
Honorable Mention: Princess Peach: Showtime!
… What, were you expecting Game of the Year or something? That comes in Part 2 tomorrow! It’s all about building that anticip—
If you really can’t wait, you can always visit our Discord and complain that we’re wasting your time. Or maybe you could visit the official GameCola YouTube channel and watch some videos. Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on our 2024 awards show spectacular, The Tac! We’ll be playing a choice selection of winners for your viewing entertainment. It’s not to be missed, although if you do, you can always watch the recording after the fact.
—ation.
