Indie RPG of the Year: Wayfinder
Nominated by Jason Love:
There have been a lot of co-op games this year … and picking one that is "best" or my "favorite" feels like an impossible task. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 scratches my need for more Warhammer 40K games that let me smash and tear through the heretics and xenos; Helldivers 2 let me "accidentally" rain hellfire down upon my compatriots in the name of democracy; and Content Warning certainly had some of our more memorable dumb fun streaming moments from this year.
However, the game that I think about most and is my GOTY is Airship Syndicate's Wayfinder. This third-person action-RPG shouldn't exist. Originally planned as an MMO, all of that came screeching to a halt when Digital Extremes laid off 30 of their staff and shut down its publishing division, which was working with Airship to get Wayfinder out. In today's gaming market that should have been the end of things right then, but Airship held on. They did everything they could to ensure that Wayfinder would still be released, and the end result is something magical, fun, and gorgeous.
There are a number of co-op titles on the horizon for 2025 that promise to consume my gaming time, but I would drop them in a heartbeat for the chance to play more/new content for Wayfinder. While that seems unlikely, I’m glad that the devs at Airship Syndicate pulled through and released this gem instead of dooming it forever into the pit of unreleased video games.
Wayfinder sells for $24.99 on PlayStation and Steam.
Jason’s Honorable Mentions: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Helldivers 2, and Content Warning
Beyond Co-op Games of the Year
Remake of the Year: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Nominated by Paul Acevedo:
Dragon Quest (or the Americanized Dragon Warrior) was many gamers’ introduction to the Japanese RPG genre. Since the NES days, the series has continued to proliferate, with 11 numbered entries and countless spinoffs. As time moves us farther and farther from the arrival of the early games, it helps to keep the older titles around so that new generations can experience them. Square-Enix has chosen to go a step further with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, fully remaking the 1988 NES game with 3D environments, fresh 2D sprites, and orchestral music.
Upon starting a game, players will name their hero, choose a gender (a new option for the remake), and select from a few customization options. Then follows a unique prologue segment in which players answer a series of personality questions and then complete one of several cryptic scenarios. This process determines the hero’s personality and stats. Players can also recruit or create a party of three additional characters, choosing from an array of classes that each have different abilities and strengths. Later in the game, party members can change class, retaining their previous abilities and a portion of their stats. Raising characters up through the levels and switching classes multiple times provides plenty of freedom and replay value.
The game spans two overworlds and features a day/night cycle that affects the lives of townspeople, the appearance of overworld monsters, and the availability of friendly monsters. Recruiting these friendly monsters is new to the remake, as is the new Monster Wrangler class that excels at recruitment and gains abilities by collecting monsters. Friendly monsters can also be out the test in the new monster arenas for rewards. The GameBoy Color version’s “Traps and Trapdoors” minigame didn’t make the cut in this remake, but the Monster Wrangler and monster arenas more than make up for it.
While DQIII is a little light on story compared to newer RPGs, the addition of voice acting in key scenes and new cinematics focused on the hero’s father, Ortega, help flesh out the narrative. Building new parties, exploring the world at your own pace, engaging in lots of turn-based battles, collecting monsters and mini-medals, and tackling the new post-game content are where the fun lies here. The original game has long been my favorite JRPG, and HD-2D Remake is the best way to play it.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake costs $59.99 on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam.
Roguelike of the Year: Balatro
Nominated by Nick Puleo and Mike Katsufrakis, who writes:
What more can be said about Balatro? It's been quite some time since any game triggered a "just one more run" reflex in me, but once Balatro took ahold of me, it was all I could think about. Decorating a combo-driven deck builder in the familiar language of playing cards and poker was a masterful way to ease people in. There was nothing more satisfying for me this year than seeing my points total hit scientific notation.
Balatro sells for $14.99 on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. It's also available on mobile.
Mike’s Honorable Mentions: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Rise of the Golden Idol
Horror Game of the Year: Mouthwashing
Nominated by Jason Love:
At the start of summer, I decided that I'd finally sit down and watch all of Twin Peaks. I had attempted it once before but just wasn't in the right mindset to enjoy it. I'm glad I waited because I definitely wouldn't have been able to appreciate Fire Walk with Me, a movie I now think about on a weekly if not daily basis.
It is perhaps this same mindset that led me to Mouthwashing, a video game that I now think about just as often. It’s difficult to get into the heart of Mouthwashing without giving away what makes it so impactful, but if you've heard buzz about this game and are interested, give it a shot. It's not a long title, yet within that time, it will leave its mark. Much like Fire Walk with Me, there are some scares, goofy moments, and bizarre occurrences, but the real horror lies in the actual events and what those scares represent.
Mouthwashing costs $12.99 on Steam.
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Thanks for reading our 2024 Games of the Year Awards! Now, let's see what 2025 has in store for us...