Top 10 Games of 2024 I Didn't Play
It has been a real good year for games. My game of the year top ten list is filled with amazing experiences I had throughout 2024, whether it was fighting dragons or solving puzzles. But, I always end up leaving a year with a list of other games I just simply didn't have the time to boot up.
This year is especially packed because, somehow, too many 100-hour monolithic games came out on top of one another. So, in no particular order, here is a short list of the games I wish I played in 2024, otherwise known as the Deep Winter Playlist 2025.
Metaphor Refantazio
Atlus games have never really hit for me. I’ve given the different incarnations of Persona 3, 4, and 5 a shot, but they never stuck. Same goes for the Shin Megami Tensei games, most recently with SMT5. So, when Metaphor Refantazio was receiving its accolades I was prepared for this to be another one of those games I wish I could get into, but something just didn’t click.
I spent a couple hours in the Prologue Demo and was blown away by the style, the world, and, particularly for me: the literary references to Thomas More and Utopia. Going into 2025, I know that Metaphor Refantazio is going to be a project game for me, something I can really dig into and, hopefully, enjoy as much as everyone seems to. Just like I say with each new Persona game that comes out, maybe this is the one.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
I almost didn’t play Elden Ring when it came out. I’ve never been a Souls game person and, especially after my son was born a month after Elden Ring released, I just wasn’t a person who wanted to spend the time hitting my head against a wall, studying enemy attack patterns. I gave it a go a few months later as an Astrologer, kept a cute little journal of quests, NPCs I met, and roleplaying notes, then mostly followed a guide when I was frustrated.
I really enjoyed my time with Elden Ring and was really excited about everything I heard about Shadow of the Erdtree, but it fell by the wayside for me. I even loaded into my Elden Ring save to begin it, but I still find Elden Ring to be a place and time game…and that wasn’t the place or time. But I can feel that time coming soon and I’m excited to see what crazy little (or big!) freaks From Software has cooked up for me this time.
Thank Goodness You're Here
It's been a long time since the heady days of my high school infatuation with Monty Python and the Holy Grail. For those lovely two years of head-over-heels love with irreverent, oddball British comedy, my friends and I would quote the Black Knight, giggle about Bigus Dickus, and joke about chasing a high school athlete's amount of carbs with a wafer-thin dinner mint.
Thank Goodness You're Here is still right up my alley, so I'm a bit shocked that I never got around to this pint-sized comedy game about a little guy helping out a small British village. I mean, just look at all those goofballs in the image above. Who wouldn't want to help them out? Everything about Thank Goodness You're Here sounds great: truly funny comedy, quaint visuals, goofy scenarios, and, facetiously, a very nice price tag. I'm hoping it's a Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch to my inevitable January seasonal depression.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
My end of year game checklist boiled down to finishing The Veilguard, playing 1000xResist, and fitting in a few other short indies I missed. Hopefully, that would leave me with enough time to hop into Stalker 2 because I had written Indiana Jones off as a perfectly serviceable game I could get into in the new year.
Here we are at the end of December and, dear reader, I’m sorry(?) to say Stalker 2 was bumped into 2025 because the hype on Indiana Jones was real. I’m still really excited to get into The Zone and try my hand at Chornobyl Difficulty Simulator, but there just wasn’t enough time at the end of the year.
Star Wars: Outlaws
If I have a type of game that I would consider a “guilty pleasure,” it’s an Ubisoft open world game. I am the checklist game guy who will unlock every tower, plunder the color-coded loot chests, and run across the rooftops for some sheet music so my Vikings can sing more songs on command. I’m a fiend for these time-sink games, so when Star Wars: Outlaws was announced and released I was already onboard.
At this point, I don’t have much affinity for the Star Wars stuff Disney has put out (with a massive exception for Andor), so there was something refreshing about a scoundrel simulator that (probably) didn’t feature a lightsaber. I’ve enjoyed Respawn’s Jedi games (story withstanding), but I need a little Han-shot-first energy in my Star Wars sometime. Everything I’ve seen about Outlaws is that it’s a perfect 7/10 and hoo-boy I do love me a 7/10 Ubisoft game. I'll picking those planets clean all spring.
Mouthwashing
I am not a horror person at all. I prefer my media to be spook- and jumpscare-free thank you very much. However, as I grow older, I have become more jealous of people who do like spooky media. I've also very much become an existential dread person (for better and worse).
Mouthwashing is probably the most not-for-me-but-I-need-to-know game I’ve seen in a real long time. Everything from the markedly PS1 aesthetic to the grotesque goings-on, I feel like Mouthwashing is not an experience I will enjoy. I have no reverence for the PS1 and, as stated above, gore and horror adjacent content is not my jam. And yet. I just feel in my bones that maybe, just maybe, this could be my jumping off point to get into all these horror games folks are raving about. I mean really, how bad could it get?
Pacific Drive
You’re probably sensing a theme at this point, but I’m pretty time constrained in the amount of time I can spend gaming. Pair that with only getting my first gaming PC midway through the year and you’ve got a cocktail for missing some amazing games.
Pacific Drive looks like my kind of game: hanging out in your garage, fixing up an old beater car, and surviving in a weird Pacific Northwest anomaly. Everything I've seen about Pacific Drive seems cool, like it's borrowing from that Control and Alan Wake ambience I've grown to love so much. Like a few other games on this list, I know so little about what is happening in the game's story that just the mystery is compelling me to grab my keys and redline my 1980s station wagon.
Caravan SandWitch
I’m sure it’s a sign of the times, but this list, as well as the general tenor of games getting a ton of press lately, is filled with Grim Shit. It’s rough out there and so many games built during a very dark time for humanity are finally coming out. It’s been a big year for games about isolation, survival, and humanity, but I’ve struggled to find a cozier game that I can sink my teeth into.
While I can’t guarantee Caravan SandWitch isn’t filled with those same themes, it just looks like a delightful experience. Caravan SandWitch was weirdly one of the first games I saw a ton of discussion about on Threads and, since then, I’ve had it sitting on my wishlist. Maybe after finishing all this Grim Shit in January, I’ll hop in my caravan and tootle around the desert for Feel Good February.
Dungeons of Hinterberg
I have made it to the start menu of Dungeons of Hinterberg at least three times since it landed on Game Pass earlier this year. There's been a bevy of shorter RPG-style indie games coming out lately that I've had a ton of fun with, so I know I'm going to love Dungeons of Hinterberg. I just need to hit that new game button this time.
Everything from the charming alpine setting to the funny concept of dungeon-tourism is calling out to me. I've heard the gameplay feels good, but know nothing about where this story goes. Probably due to this game sitting on a lot of people's "I wish I would've played more" lists, I don't know anything about this game besides the first half hour or so, which is both rare and exciting. Maybe I'll boot it up for the dungeons, but I have a feeling I'll be sticking around for the feelings.
Nine Sols
Something I've learned about myself in the past few years is that side-scrolling metroidvanias or souls-likes are just not for me. I've probably tried your favorite one, but after a few hours I've realized it's just not for me (sorry, Hollow Knight and Metroid: Zero Mission).
The thing is, I want to like these games, or at least understand why folks like them so much. So, inevitably, I grab the latest hotness and try my hand. This year, it seems, there are two: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Nine Sols. A few people I trust keep saying this is one to try, so I'll be going back to the side-scrolling souls-like mines once again, hoping to fall in love with this cat fellow. Wish me luck.
