I’m a games analyst by trade, but let’s be honest – I spend just as much time playing games as a fan as I do poring over spreadsheets like a proper data wonk. And while the industry numbers in 2024 have been grim (record layoffs, trend-chasing flops, and revenue struggles thanks to quarterly goal-chasing over player-first design), the devs? Absolute legends. They’ve been smashing it out of the park despite being treated like dirt by an industry run by a revolving-door of McKinsey MBAs and cigar-chomping execs reading straight from the gambling playbook. The resilience of devs is commendable.

Anyway, let’s cut to the chase: my top five games of 2024.

OK, slight delay – there were too many good games this year, so here’s a quick shoutout to the honorable mentions: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Celeste 64, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Metaphor ReFantazio, and Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Now, without further ado…

5. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

If you’d told me back in January that a Call of Duty game would make my top five of the year, I’d have told you to jog on. Yet here we are: Black Ops 6 sits proudly at number five on my 2024 list, and honestly, it might just be the best CoD has ever been – at least for me.

The campaign? Absolute chaos in the best way. Think levels so inventive they’ll have you questioning what reality even is, set pieces so over-the-top they’d make Michael Bay weep into his explosion budget, and pacing that’ll keep you asking, “what the fuck are they gonna throw at me next?” It’s dumb, it’s loud, and it’s bloody fantastic.

Zombies mode is still doing its thing – weird, wild, and just complicated enough to make me feel like I need a PhD to unlock Pack-a-Punch these days. But multiplayer is what got its hooks into me this year, which is saying something, as I usually avoid online games these days.

The big game-changer? Game Pass. BO6’s inclusion made it ridiculously easy to dive in, and suddenly everyone I know was back on the grind. The network effects were unreal – one second I’m downloading it out of curiosity, the next I’m gasping “ONE MORE ROUND” at 2am on Nuke Town with friends I haven’t spoken to since 2011. For a few fleeting weeks, it felt like the good old days. Sure, my K/D is a crime scene these days, but damn if it wasn’t worth the humbling.

4. Animal Well

When it comes to indie games, I’m an absolute pushover for two things: Metroidvanias and annoyingly obtuse puzzles. Enter Animal Well, a game that serves up both in generous chunks. Created by one-man development powerhouse Billy Basso, Animal Well totally nailed it for me with its focus on exploration over combat, thanks to the moment-to-moment gameplay being so smooth and snappy.

What really got me hooked was the collaboration with other players. In the early days of Animal Well, solving its absolutely diabolical puzzles with others was pure magic. It was something I hadn’t experienced since the glory days of Fez back in 2012. So much nostalgia in this list. I guess I really am settling into my mid-30s…

3. Thank Goodness You’re Here!

I love comedy, and I love games, but let’s be real, the two don’t always mix well. Comedy is all about timing. Punchlines need to land. And since games hand so much control over to the player, nailing timing can be… let’s say “challenging.” But then along comes Thank Goodness You’re Here!, proving that yes, games can be funny – and not just funny, but bloody hilarious.

Imagine Monty Python crashing into a British Saturday-morning cartoon (hello again, nostalgia), and you’ve got the gist. This game absolutely nails humor by blending repetition and razor-sharp timing, making sure every joke hits its mark. I laughed harder at Thank Goodness You’re Here! and its quirky take on British culture more than at any Netflix standup special or formulaic US sitcom this year.

That said, it’s VERY British. If that’s not your thing, maybe it’s time to hit “play” on your seventh rewatch of the US Office. No judgment … OK, a little judgement.

2. Astro Bot

A Nintendo-level 3D platformer? Thoughtful PlayStation nostalgia (sigh) from the 90s onwards? Making me smile in today’s hellish economy? That’s Asto Bot. You can see why it won game of the year at the Keighley’s, given that the jury was made up almost exclusively of gaming millennials. I’m one of those, so I love Astro Bot. But so does everyone who’s played it.

I couldn’t get my partner off it despite her being a lapsed gamer. It’s just too joyous. It’s a love letter to a simpler, bygone era of gaming. And above all, it’s teaming with something joyous to discover around every corner. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate PlayStation’s big 3-0.

Timeless.

Astro Bot would have been my game of the year any other year, but …

1. Balatro

I’ll never get back the 120 hours I spent playing Balatro this year – and honestly, I don’t want them back. Since drafting this article two days ago, I’ve somehow squeezed in another four hours. And let’s face it, that timer’s just going to keep ticking. I’ll probably still be playing Balatro years from now. That’s the magic of this game – it’s endlessly addictive, but never in a way that feels predatory. It’s so moreish.

Balatro almost makes me understand why game execs are obsessed with “make number go up at any cost.” Almost. It’s the kind of “just one more run” game that doesn’t make you hate yourself afterward. No loot boxes, no shady microtransactions.

Balatro’s design is masterful, easily standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Slay the Spire, the deck-building roguelike GOAT. Experimenting with the synergies between cards and jokers is ridiculously satisfying, and the strategic depth is wild. Balatro makes it easy to feel like you’re crushing it right away, but its high skill ceiling keeps you coming back for more. Nothing beats the feeling of pulling off a perfect plan – or even better, adapting mid-run and making it work. I’ve had Balatro runs that were more satisfying than beating FromSoftware bosses.

But Balatro isn’t just about lucking into a killer hand; it’s about playing the hand you’re dealt with skill and creativity. Honestly, that feels like a pretty solid metaphor for game development in 2024. Devs everywhere are getting dealt some truly shite hands, but they’re still cranking out masterpieces like Balatro, Astro Bot, Thank Goodness You’re Here!, Animal Well … the list goes on.

In a year where every app and algorithm is clawing for our attention, letting Balatro sweep me into its flow state for a few hours a week has been an oasis. It’s an all-timer. And I don’t even like poker.