In 2024 I managed to play five new games. As always I do a rough sorting of what I played and this year everything ended up being Good or Very Good. Everything I played had something to recommend it and it mostly depends on how the quirks of the games bug you as to how much you might enjoy these.
I'm sad I didn't get a chance to play Legend of Zelda: Echos of Wisdom, but equally, I may need a distracting game for later in January, so I was delighted to get that as a gift. I also have lots of games I'd like to find time for in 2025.
So here, in their categories, but no other really organization, are the games I played in 2024.
The Good
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Well the spiritual successor to Suikoden has finally come out and it's ... kinda Suikoden. The writing in Eiyuden is sharp and it feels like a sprawling story, but mechanically and design wise it's not as cool as I had hoped it would be. It's still very enjoyable to play, especially if you loved Suikoden, or if you have a lot of patience for older style RPGS.
Goblin Stone
If you wanted to send a bunch of goblins out to do jobs and fight all the big scary things in the world, Goblin Stone would be your game. My first few hours of the game were excellent, with some really neat mechanics, the main one being you advance by retiring old goblins and breeding new ones with better abilities. After a while it ground down a bit, partly mechanically and partly because I was playing it on an older Mac Book and it was just a bit hard on the processor.
Mind Over Magnet
I haven't played enough Mind over Magnet yet, but I've watched Game Maker's Toolkit build it over the past four years. The bit I've played is fun and we'll see how far I get, given that I'm often not that puzzle minded, but I'm very pleased it's come out and is doing well.
The Very Good
Unicorn Overlord
I feel like I'm inevitably talking about Ogre Battle here, and I've already written up some Things About Unicorn Overlord, but this s a very nice modern take on the idea of a game where you set up your army and then have to let them do their work. Unicorn Overlord — despite having a silly name — is something custom designed to appeal to me and, it does!
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
I wasn't sure what to expect about Mario & Luigi: Brothership. Like most modern Mario RPGs it's a little generic in the look, but the more I've played the more I've enjoyed it. The story as such is fairly generic — put the broken world back together, but the characters are actually interesting and make the quest to all the different islands fairly interesting. The mechanics also feel pretty good, they're maybe a little lighter than old Mario & Luigi RPGs, but I'm still getting enough challenge out of the game. I'd have also enjoyed a few more dynamic enemies to fight — another hallmark of the old games, but overall it's been very good.
