While 2024 wasn’t as good a year for video games as 2023, it also wasn’t as bad a year as 2023. Hence why my “Worst Games Of 2023” list had 8 games, and this list just has 3.
Though this may say more about me than the year in question.
Here’s my “list” (so to speak) of the worst games I played this year.
Just as 2022 wasn’t as good a year for video games as 2023, so too was 2024 not as good a year for them as 2023.
Which isn’t to say there wasn’t anything worth playing this year.
Here, in the order I played them, are my favorite games of 2024.
When the good people at Zen Studios make their original pinball tables for Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC), they always pair realistic physics with unrealistic mechanics by, say, having the ball move like it would in real life, but on a table that has Mechagodzilla firing laser beam warning shots or K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider doing donuts.
But when it comes to their versions of classic pinball tables originally made by the iconic pinball company Williams, they have typically been faithful to the originals, both mechanically and aesthetically.
The operative word there being “typically.” That’s because for the three tables Zen have remade for Williams Pinball Volume 8— Banzai Run, Black Knight 2000, and Earthshaker! — they’ve added some unrealistic (but optional) mechanics to these classics…and not everyone will be happy with the results.
Much like with Star Trek, The Lord Of The Rings, and The Matrix, there have been way more video games influenced by the Indiana Jones movies than there have been games where you get to be Indiana Jones.
But while Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (Xbox Series X|S, PC) somewhat balances the scales, fans of the adventurous archeologist are forewarned: While this is faithful to Indy’s early films, it’s actually more like Indiana Jones And Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny in that it may not be what fans are expecting, or hoping for, but it is still a fun adventure.
When we talk about survival horror games, the first name that always comes up (rightfully so) is Resident Evil. Which is somewhat ironic given that while those games certainly have you trying to survive horrific situations, they’re usually not that scary.
No, for survival horror that’s scary — like, shit your pants scary — you have to go to the second name that always comes up: Silent Hill.
And no Silent Hill ever scared me as much as the second installment, 2001’s Silent Hill 2.
Granted, it was because I was playing it late at night, with my windows open, when two cats got into a fight just outside, but that still counts.
It’s why I didn’t play the new updated remake of Silent Hill 2 (PlayStation 5, PC) at night, with my windows open, or within 50 miles of any cats, angry or otherwise. Good thing, too, because this remake is just as shit your pants scary as the original.
As an old fool, I sometimes kick it old school.
And not just by making dated references. I listen to music on CDs, watch TV shows on a TV, and eat food that wasn’t grown in a lab and sold under a name that would make Charlton Heston fans nervous.
It’s also why I was curious about Sprawl (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC), a cyberpunk sci-fi first-person shooter very much in the vein of Doom, Quake, and other old school shooters.
Though as old and foolish as I may be, I was happy to find that Sprawl wasn’t completely vintage.
For the last few years, Call Of Duty‘s multiplayer mode has been the center of attention for players of this first-person shooter series.
But for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC), it’s actually the story-driven campaign that deserves your attention.
And no, I’m not just saying that because I don’t play well with others…
To fans of video game pinball, the good people at Zen Studios are best known for creating original tables based on movies (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Princess Bride), TV shows (Battlestar Galactica, Twilight Zone), and other video games (Goat Simulator, System Shock), as well as accurate recreations of classic real pinball machines by Williams (Funhouse, Dr. Dude And His Excellent Ray).
But they’ve also, on occasion, put their considerable pinball design skills to use on original ideas, such as 2022’s Wrath Of The Elder Gods.
Which is where we find them again with Camp Bloodbrook, a new table for their horror-themed pinball simulation system, Pinball M (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).
There are a lot of things that don’t seem like they would work well, but end up defying expectations. Like Cate Blanchette playing a comic book villain in Thor Ragnarok. Or the rock band Phish getting their own ice cream flavor. Or a video game in which you’re a complete jerk…and a goat.
And now you can add to that inexplicable list The Princess Bride Pinball, the latest movie-inspired virtual pinball table for the video game Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).
By paying homage to that classic fantasy comedy in a way that makes it feel like it’s as old as the movie itself, this video game pinball machine works so well that it ranks as one of the best movie-inspired tables for Zen Studio’s pinball system.