Kotaku’s 15 best games of 2024: Astro Bot, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Animal Well

Kotaku journalists have compiled a list of the top 15 best games of 2024. The leaders were the platformer Astro Bot, the RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the indie game Animal Well. The final ranking was formed by voting by the publication’s employees, who gave the games points depending on their places on their lists.

The top 15 games according to the Kotaku team

1. Astro Bot
2. Dragon Age: The Veilguard
3. Animal Well
4. Balatro
5. Metaphor: ReFantazio
6. Helldivers 2
7. Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
8. Star Wars Outlaws
9. UFO 50
10. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
11. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
12. Silent Hill 2
13. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
14. Mouthwashing
15. 1000xRESIST.

Metacritic allows you to see both the most successful games of the year and those that did not meet expectations. The most unsuccessful game of 2024, according to critics, was the anime fighting game Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash from Bandai Namco.

The irony is that this company published the highest rated project of the year – the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring. Critics also coolly met the unusual car simulator Taxi Life: A City Driving and the arcade race Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. Among the disappointments of the year was the free-to-play game Silent Hill: The Short Message.

Although its gameplay is considered boring and primitive by many, it is impossible not to note its important social message related to the destructive influence of social networks and the Internet, which is especially relevant for a young audience.

In 2024, the following games received the lowest critic scores on Metacritic:

1. Jutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash — 44 points out of 100 (PS5)
2. Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports — 47 points (PS5)
3. Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator — 51 points (PC)
4. Pneumata — 52 points (PC)
5. TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants — 52 points (PS5)
6. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown — 53 points (PS5)
7. Silent Hill: The Short Message — 53 points (PS5)
8. Funko Fusion — 54 points (PS5)
9. Die By The Blade — 54 points (PC)
10. Sker Ritual – 55 points (PS5)