BSN Members Game of the Year - 2024

With that launch and subsequent turn around, I maintain that No Man’s Sky automatically should win best ongoing game each time they’re nominated.

Some of the games I enjoyed this year, in no particular order:

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

The scope of this game blew me away. While the game does sometimes have the tendency to deviate from the original a bit too much and shows things that are better off being implied (e.g. there's way too much Sephiroth), a lot of the additions are incredibly well done. I love that the game finds a balance between levity and serious moments. One moment the story can be about the protagonist's deteriorating mental health, another moment you have a dog playing cards.

I want to keep it brief, so to sum up: They made Yuffie fun (kudos to her American voice actor Suzie Yeung). The minigames are really good. The soundtrack is amazing. Bow wow wow, little Stamp.

9.5/10. Game of the year.

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak

This technically came out longer ago, but we got the official English localisation this year. This is the 11th entry in the long-running Trails series, which is one big continuing storyline. Trails is my personal favourite series of JRPGs.

The game is a traditional JRPG with turn-based combat and a bonkers storyline. This entry dials back a little from the previous one in terms of minigames and other fluff. I do miss the minigames (there was a Dr. Mario clone in previous games that I particularly liked), but at the same time it has a more narrow focus with a smaller cast of major characters that I appreciate. No more 12 character party with members who have resolved their characters arc three games ago. Every party member is a delight and has earned their place in the storyline.

I first played Daybreak last year with a fan translation and loved the game the first time around. Now we got English voices, and some of them are excellent. Damien Haas as the protagonist was an inspired choice.

8.5/10

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Astro Bot

A delightful game that pays hommage to video game classics (as long as they were on PlayStation). The game is very easy, with the exception of optional challenge levels, but it makes up for the lack of challenge with its infinite charm. The sound design and mixing in this game are next level. Soundtrack is great too.

9.5/10

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The game is incredibly fun to play. The storytelling is serviceable, but a bit half-baked. The story never goes in an unexpected direction, and I miss the political plots that the Dragon Age games are known for. I like whatever the hell Vorgoth is. Highlights: The third act, the audio presentation, cinematic direction. Low points: The loot system, story needed more meat.

8/10

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Let's School

A school management sim. I'm having a blast with this one. Build a school, manage class rosters, organise clubs, and so on. It has pretty good amount of depth to it.

Haven't played enough for a rating, but good so far

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On my wishlist: Ys X: Nordics, Balatro, Metaphor ReFantazio, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, Fantasian: Neo Dimension, Stellar Blade

That released this year or that I played for the first time this year...

In the former; probably... nothing actually?

For what I have played though, Signalis takes the cake, easily one of the best titles to come out of this generation and people will be talking about it long after most others have been resigned to obscurity or become inaccessible if they rely on online service.

Honourable mention goes to Aliens Dark Descent for quenching both the thirst for good Xenomorph stuff and good tactical stuff.

Dishonorable mention goes to The Veilguard.

2. BG3 that is the endless source of incredible fun.

3. Pathfinder WotR after the final DLC with its major updates. The depths of this game are fascinating, it has the life force of its own in terms of gameplay mechanics.

Overall, it has been a really wild year for me. Now, time is running short, got to get back to Warframe now.

Omg, that game was SO good. My only previous experiences with the franchise are the movies. It was super nice to get a Mantis and Drax who didn’t feel like pure comic relief.

Yeah I also did a second PT immediately after completing the first. I was not ready to let go. Also made me go from ‘I don’t know who that is’ to actually feeling a bit hyped about Golden boy.