Games I Played in 2024

The games I’ve played this year in a chronological order:

Completed Games:

And some thoughts along the way…

1- Life is Strange

I don’t like choice-driven games—the genre just doesn’t click with me—but I thought I should give this one a try. It was praised for its psychological insights by the mental health community. While this is a big claim, I’m not sure it truly promotes useful lessons in psychology. However, I’m sure of one thing: I ENJOYED THE GAME immensely! To my surprise, the game managed to immerse me in its world much faster than I anticipated. Because of my initial prejudice I assumed I would drop it in less than a couple of minutes. The graphics reminded me of those Barbie games I used to play with my sisters back in the day. Some of them were, low key, actually a lot of fun but I’m an adult now and I was a bit worried the game might turn out to be too girlish, but that impression faded away very soon.

While walking through the hallways of the school in the first segment of the gameplay, I became enthralled by the great music and the relaxing colors and motion. The featured song, “To All of You” by Syd Matters, set an impactful start, then I found myself locked into the story within the first 10 minutes. Yet, there was also a sense of anxiety in the atmosphere—I’m not sure where that stemmed from; it could be personal reasons, but I’m pretty sure that it’s safe to say the game indeed has a gloomy story with dark twists appearing regularly throughout. Luckily the direction and fluidity of the gameplay allowed me to engross myself in the uneasy story while still enjoying pleasant vibes.

I do have two critiques, however. First, I found some fragments of the story to be extra melancholic and unsettling, which seemed unnecessary (maybe I’m too sensitive to cruelty; I generally find homicide stories always terrifying, so I won’t blame the game too much). Second, I wish the ending had been more positive and satisfactory.

Overall rating: 9 / 10.

2- Days Gone

(I wrote this mini review on Backlogdd, so I will copy and paste it) Mixed Feelings

The first third of the game felt like a walking simulator, then it started to pick up—but still kept so many “filler arcs” going on that didn’t contribute to the story and only made the game, and I mean sooooo much longer. At least the story’s ending was pleasing, and the characters were interesting. It might be a predictable story, but I think they managed to present it with amazing voice acting and an immersive storytelling style that didn’t, for the most part, bore me.

However, what really bored me was the gameplay… it was lame. I hate to say it. But truth be told, it had nothing more than the usual generic third-person shooter missions: chase this, escape that, sneak here, storm there. Wash, rinse, repeat through the entirety of the 34+ hour game (34 is the minimum realistic playtime. I personally don’t know exactly how long it took me, but it was definitely over 48 hours). The only unique element was the “Freaks Hordes” they give a palpitating, heart-pounding experience. It has become rare to see such a simulation done well nowadays, so that’s a commendable plus. I was looking forward to the moment when players would finally be able to take them down (during the first two thirds of the game, that was impossible). It should have been very satisfying to destroy the Hordes that constantly freaked you out, right? And here comes the disappointment: NO, it wasn’t! It seemed as they just ran out of ideas so the only thing they did was unlock a tiny bit more beefed-up weaponry to kill ‘em all one by one. It was insanely tough, frustrating, and not rewarding at all.

Would I play a second season of the game? Yes, but only when I run out of games to play, in other words, at the bottom of the list for me. Would I recommend the current game? It depends on who I’m talking to, but for people whose least favorite genre is zombie or third-person games, the answer would be a solid no! I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to newcomers in these genres; you’d probably be better off watching a cut-scene movie of the game on YouTube, because the story direction and the graphics are the only above-average aspects of the game.

Overall rating: 7 / 10. (Was 6 out of 10 but after some reconsideration I think keeping me playing for long hours was worth something)

3- Celeste

I’ve been yearning for a 2D platformer that could truly absorb me. I really hated the disappointments I’ve faced over and over again (you can see that even in the unfinished games list below). And then Celeste was the one that finally delivered! With very good controls, cute graphics, and a story that is supposed to teach people how to manage anxiety and panic attacks—but does the opposite in its gameplay—this was such a hilarious contradiction. At least this stressful and challenging experience was presented in a very straightforward way. The game clearly didn’t want to be pretentious, which was enough for me to accept the challenge, and I personally suspect that’s the true ambition of the game. Thank you Celeste for reviving my faith in retro gaming.

Overall rating: 8 / 10.

4- BioShock Infinite

I don’t know whether I’ve seen more cut-scenes of the game used in computer CPU or GPU benchmarks, or more people praising the franchise—especially the Infinite release. In 2021, I played the original game and liked it very much (9 out of 10). In 2023, I tried BioShock 2 but quickly grew bored and wasn’t in the mood, so I put it on hold. Then, in late 2024, I jumped into Infinite, hoping it would be twice as good as the original, since it seemed to be the majority favorite among fans. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me. It definitely had a unique charm, but that’s about it; most of its other aspects are mediocre at best.

Overall rating: 6 / 10.

Dropped Games:

I tried getting into these games but failed and uninstalled them before finishing.

Soma (2015)

Played almost 2 hours. it was so boring.

Dying Light (2015)

This one has potential. I liked it at first, but it felt like it would take so many hours to even complete one level. I didn’t like the slow progress, maybe due to personal circumstances that made me crave a fast dopamine fix (I hope you’re not judging me now for being impatient and seemingly bipolar). I looked up some walkthrough videos and skipped toward the final chapters. It felt repetitive and not much different from what I’d already experienced, so I had another reason to stop playing. I will probably give it another try after I finish the 120 games on my wishlist.

Far Cry 4 (2014)

Far Cry 3 was so good that it persuaded me to try the entire franchise, but this one was a disappointment. I spent 2 hours on it and found it very dull and so darn corny. The missions weren’t focused on skill, stealth, or strategy; just shooting at enemies coming in swarms from all sides. It felt like a mess.

RiME (2017)

Kids shouldn’t be pushing rocks all the time. One hour of pushing was tiresome to me.

Flower (2009)

I wanted to relax during some stressful times and thought this game - according to many reviews - would be a good choice. But I stopped playing after 1 hour because I didn’t want to fall asleep.

Dishonored (2012)

Now, this is going to be controversial, I know. But seriously, it is.. ugh, overrated. The game was fine, but I was expecting more. I spent three and a half hours on it, yet it felt like I was still getting started. At the end of the last session, suddenlt the game designers presumed players had gained enough skills they thought I was a master killer with minimal skills unlocked. Maybe that was my fault because I didn’t care about collectibles and didn’t want to spend half my life reading fantasy manuscripts. I hate games that have so much text and so few applicable actions. I understand people call that “game lore” and see great value in it, but that’s not my cup of tea.

Grow Home (2015)

I thought I was a clumsy person until I played this thing, which seems like a Unity learner’s third homework assignment.