MobileSyrup’s Top 10 Games of 2024

Much of the conversation surrounding the video game industry in 2023 was about it being one of the best years ever in terms of consistent quality releases. In some respects, that’s undeniably true thanks to the highest-rated lineup in 20 years on Metacritic, led by such juggernauts as Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

And yet, one could argue that 2024 was a decidedly more interesting year when it came to game releases. While there weren’t nearly as many heavy hitters, we instead got a more varied assortment of games across the board. Nowhere was that truer than with indies, whether it was a novel riff on poker that took the world by storm, an incredibly well-written Nier-style exploration of deeply relatable diasporic narratives or an absurdist and heavily gameified rumination on faith between a conflicted nun and fiendish devil. At the same time, many of the biggest publishers put out some of their best works in years, from Square Enix and PlayStation to Ubisoft and Sega-owned Atlus.

It should be noted, however, that the gaming industry continues to be rough for those who are actually inside of it, with even more layoffs occurring this year than in 2023. There’s also been a rise in toxicity in gaming in recent months, with grifters viciously attacking innocent developers simply because they included more diverse characters in their work.

Therefore, we view “best of” lists like these not as a means of ignoring the legitimate issues that sadly persist in the gaming space, but rather to, in our own small way, try to celebrate just some of the developers who persevere to produce great art for us. With that in mind, here’s our top 10 games of the year. We think there’s something here for pretty much everyone!

10. Balatro

Developer: LocalThunk
Publisher: Playstack
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam), iOS (plus Apple Arcade), Android

In many ways, Balatro is the gaming success story of 2024. Amid the many challenges in the gaming landscape, a single anonymous Canadian developer made a genuinely innovative experience that has enraptured millions of people. The game is beautiful in its simplicity, marrying the cyclical procedurally-generated content of roguelikes with the different hands from poker without requiring any expertise with either. Throw in a refreshingly generous monetization practice — a single upfront fee alongside free crossover content with the likes of The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077 and Canada’s own Warframe — and you have one all-around uniquely brilliant game.

9. Lil’ Guardsman

Developer: Hilltop Games
Publisher: Versus Evil, tinyBuild
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)

While games continue to feature more and more exceptional writing as the medium matures, there aren’t a lot of games that are genuinely funny. For that reason alone, Lil’ Guardsman is a real winner. Drawing from prior experience in the comedy space, Toronto-based Hilltop injects a wonderful amount of humour into the deduction mechanics of the emotional Papers, Please, an emotionally-charged narrative about developing empathy as an immigrations officer. Whether it’s a psychopathic spin on classic Disney princesses, a stoner wizard or the Jason Voorhees-esque Stabitha, Lil’ Guardsman presents arguably the most eclectic, colourful and just plain charming cast this year. Good things really do come in small  lil’ packages.

8. Indika

Developer: Odd-Meter
Publisher: 11 Bit Studios
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Few games balance tone as well as Indika. It’s at once an outrageous fourth-wall breaking parody of video game conventions like high scores and RPG progression systems and a gripping examination of faith and morality. The latter point proves especially compelling, with a Rumpelstiltskin-like Devil figure constantly questioning everything you’re doing and, at times, even tearing the otherwise muted grey world asunder with fiery red hues. This results in an utterly engrossing theological debate that doesn’t provide easy answers, leaving you with much to think about by the time the credits roll.

7. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown perfectly exemplifies the old “don’t judge a book by its cover” adage. Upon its reveal last year at Summer Game Fest, audiences were quick to decry the game for being a more confined 2D platformer, but Ubisoft Montpellier’s decision to return to Prince of Persia’s roots ultimately proved to be incredibly wise. Drawing from its experience with the excellent Rayman games, the French developer produced some of the best level designs in recent memory thanks to a sprawling interconnected Metroidvania map with all kinds of nooks, crannies, traps and secrets. Complementing this tight platforming was a remarkably robust combat system that lets you stylishly string together brutal combos like Dante from Devil May Cry, resulting in one of the most satisfying gameplay loops of the year. It’s a shame the team has been disbanded, because man, is this an incredible experience.

6. Mouthwashing

Developer: Wrong Organ
Publisher: Critical Reflex
Platform: PC (Steam)

What happened to the crew of the Tulpar? Thanks to a jarring and explosive in medias res opening, you’ll find yourself anxious to discover the answer to that question over the course of Mouthwashing’s tightly paced three-hour narrative. It’s an exceptionally well-written yarn that deepens its mystery with unreliable narrators and non-linear storytelling that creates a mounting sense of dread as you uncover the horrors that befell these people. It’s a chilling exploration of man’s capacity for evil, and it makes for one of 2024’s most memorable and well-told stories.

5. Neva

Developer: Nomada Studio
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch PC (Steam)

The sophomore outing from Gris developer Nomada is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful games of the year. In a world on the brink of ecological collapse, a young woman and her wolf companion must fight to survive across the seasons. Through this passage of time, you get to see the titular creature grow from an adorable and defenceless cub into a fearsome and loyal ally, and it makes for an absolutely heartwrenching tale. Whether you’re a parent, pet owner or just an enjoyer of games in general, this one will leave you in a puddle of tears by the end.

4. Astro Bot

Developer: Team Asobi
Publisher: PlayStation
Platform: PS5

Astro Bot is the most pure unadulterated joy you’ll experience in any game this year. Building off the exceptional groundwork laid by its PS5 pack-in game Astro’s Playroom, Team Asobi has delivered one of the most inventive, exciting and just plain entertaining platformers ever made. Indeed, it’s a truly Mario-level work with its masterful level design and impeccably tight platforming mechanics, and that’s all elevated through loving homages to dozens of characters from PlayStation’s 30-year history. It’s a magnificent celebration of gaming as a whole and a well-deserved Game of the Year winner at The Game Awards this month.

3. 1000xResist

Developer: Sunset Visitor
Publisher: Fellow Traveller
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)

Pound for pound, 1000xResist is the best gaming narrative of the year, and that’s no small feat, given that it’s the debut game of a tiny Vancouver-based team of former performance artists. And yet, it’s precisely that unique creative background that’s helped 1000xResist to become such a revelation. It’s a truly magnificent piece of fiction, expertly mixing the potent existential themes and dizzying perspective changes of Nier Automata, the immaculate and stylish colour palettes of Wong Kar-wai and soulful intergenerational trauma of Asian-Canadian immigrants. Such an achievement would be impressive for any developer, and Sunset Visitor deserves endless praise for so wonderfully executing on its singular vision as a first-time game maker. There’s nothing quite like it.

2. Metaphor: ReFantazio

Developer: Studio Zero
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Following up Persona 5, one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time, was surely no easy task, and yet Studio Zero — a new Atlus-owned team consisting of several key Persona alums — more than delivered. On the one hand, Metaphor: ReFantazio retains the unparalleled sense of style of the Persona games, from the striking character and monster designs to the snappy turn-based combat and oh-so-flashy UI. But it also delivers the team’s greatest narrative to date, a profound look at the struggles to achieve democracy. Unlike other games that provide shallow depictions of social issues like racism, Metaphor actually dedicates significant time to showing its rich cast of characters putting in the meticulous work to enact change. Given the recent U.S. election and impending one in Canada, Metaphor feels more “of the moment,” in many ways, than pretty much any other game, but beyond that, it’s just one hell of an RPG no matter how you slice it.

1. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Developer/Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PS5, PC (releasing January 23rd, 2025)

It’s not an understatement to say that there isn’t anything quite like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. After all, it’s the second instalment in an unprecedented trilogy that seeks to dramatically reimagine a single decades-old game. In less capable hands, this could have been a cynical cash grab to milk one of the most beloved titles of all time. But through the stunning vision of a team of FFVII veteran and newcomer developers alike, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth manages to be one of the greatest Final Fantasy games of all time.

It meaningfully builds on the remarkably deep and fluid combat of Remake through tighter controls and thrilling team-up moves. It takes players from the almost claustrophobic cyberpunk streets of Remake‘s Midgar to the sprawling open fields of the world of Gaia, all separated through thoughtfully designed and geographically diverse regions boasting all sorts of self-contained and significantly improved sidequests. It expands upon some of the greatest music in all of gaming with an award-winning soundtrack filled with mind-blowingly creative remixes and new compositions, including the achingly beautiful “No Promises to Keep” main theme from legendary FF composer Nobuo Uematsu and The Greatest Showman‘s Loren Allred and, on the complete opposite end of the emotional spectrum, an unbelievably catchy pop song for an optional dog escort mission that’s even played at concerts worldwide.

But above all else, Rebirth leans into the fact that it’s a remake to create a level of dramatic irony never before seen in a game with respect to the fate of Aerith. Knowing that her death in the original VII is one of gaming’s most iconic moments, Square Enix wisely chose to weave Rebirth‘s entire narrative around this story beat, creating a deeply emotional meditation on trauma and the impermanence of life. If Metaphor is a rousing and triumphant call to action, Rebirth is a beautifully melancholic ode to how we can all move forward in the face of pain and failure. As harrowingly dark as Rebirth can sometimes be, the game’s masterfully written and performed cast of characters constantly reminds you to celebrate the tender moments with your loved ones, and given the state of the world, that’s exactly the kind of message we could use right now.

Of course, it remains to be seen how well Square Enix will ultimately stick the landing with the upcoming third and final game, but based on the immense quality of Remake and especially Rebirth, we have full faith it will be the incredible finale that Final Fantasy VII deserves. Until then, we’ll be playing Queen’s Blood.

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Honourable mentions: Dragon’s Dogma 2, I Am Your Beast, Fear the Spotlight, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Still Wakes the Deep

Image credit: Square Enix/Atlus/Critical Reflex/Fellow Traveller/PlayStation/11 Bit Studios/Ubisoft/Playstack/Versus Evil/tinyBuild