Site Event The Famiboards Game of the Year 2024 Celebration- (Final results have been posted. Please see threadmarks)

[Josh5890]

Where the heck did this year go?

Let's be real. We all thought that 2024 was going to go in a completely different direction. We all assumed (myself included) that the Switch 2 was a slam dunk for a 2024 release date. This was finally the moment where we were going to get new hardware from Nintendo. Instead, we got an alarm clock. AN ALARM CLOCK.

Regardless, 2024 was filled with a lot of great games. Whether you returned to Hyrule to play as the legend herself, traveled across the galaxy on a dualsense controller, or returned to a classic in the world of Gaia, 2024 had a lot of great games to play. Sadly, the industry was also burdened with tens of thousands of layoffs along with several studio closures. While there is little that we can do besides supporting the hobby that we love, we remain hopeful that everyone impacted by the layoffs over the past couple of years will land on their feet if they have not already.

Before we move on to 2025 and (hopefully) the dawn of a new Nintendo generation, it is time to look back on the great games and moments of 2024.

For those unfamiliar with the nomination process, or just need a refresher, here is the system that we go by. The nomination process will work so that we all nominate games in batches of 2. We will be nominating games in two categories at once, and the categories will change every 3-ish days. Today, we will immediately start the event by nominating both “Best Action or Best Action-Adventure”, and “Best Art Direction”.

The event will run from today, January 1st, all the way to the day we present the winner, on February 1st. The nomination process will take place in this very thread, where you fine folks will nominate in the current category.

To nominate, you only need two things in your nomination:

1. The name of the game in bolded text
2. A motivation

The motivation should be at least one paragraph, but don't hold back on what you want to say - let the passion flow!

Once the nomination process is over, the voting will take place. Just like with the prelude event, voting will be made in this thread via a ballot, where all who participate will vote for what games you think should win in their respective categories. Voting will go on for 5 days, and after that, the winner is decided.

1. You can only nominate one game per category to be added to the voting ballot. You are free to mention and talk about other games, but your top choice(s) is the only ones that will be added. We are encouraging everyone to nominate as many games as possible!

2. The game must be released in 2024, and it must be a new game. Remasters/Remakes/Rereleases are reserved for the “Best rerelease” category only.

3. Any games that are nominated in this thread will be included on the ballot, assuming that they are eligible games of course.

4. Once again, we have decided to include DLC for eligible games, as this year has seen some very sizeable DLC releases.

Best action or action-adventure
Best art direction
Best RPG
Best soundtrack
Best platformer
Best level/area/world
Best RTS/strategy game
Best multiplayer experience
Best puzzle game
Best rerelease
Best indie game
Best protagonist or antagonist
Best narrative
Most badass character
Best surprise
Game of the year

There was a couple of changes this year:

1. Best Surprise has replaced Best Comeback. Best surprise can be a wide range of options. It could be a video game announcement that you didn't see coming. It could be a game that ended being better than what your expectations were. It could be a spontaneous gaming moment either on or off screen. Heck, you could nominate Microsoft porting more games to PS5/Switch. It is all on the board here.

2. We have changed the last two days of nominating to allow anyone to nominate something for an earlier category that might have been missed. Remember, the reason that we have this schedule to begin with is to make sure that each category gets the spotlight. We would hate to get to the end and find out that the Best Indie game category only received 2 nominations.

Friendly reminder. Genres can be a tricky one. The games that practice a lot of genre-blending might get hard to pin down at times, especially those that mix and match action, adventure and RPG. We will follow the general consensus of genre labels as best as possible when judging a game's belonging in a category, but if we feel the need to disqualify a nominated game due to it not belonging in a category, there's no hard feelings involved, since this is all in good fun.

Jan 1st to Jan 3rd - Introduction and nominating Best Action/Action Adventure and Best Art Direction
Jan 4th to Jan 6th - Nominating Best RPG and Best Soundtrack
Jan 7th to Jan 9th - Nominating Best Platformer and Best Level/Area/World
Jan 10th to Jan 12th - Nominating Best RTS/Strategy game and best Multiplayer Experience
Jan 13th to Jan 15th - Nominating Best Puzzle Game and Best Rerelease
Jan 16th to Jan 18th - Nominating Best Indie Game and Best Protagonist/Antagonist
Jan 19th to Jan 21st - Nominating Best Narrative and Most Badass Character
Jan 22nd to Jan 24th - Nominating Best Suprise and Game of the Year
Jan 25th to Jan 26th- Last chance to nominate for past categories
Jan 27th to Jan 31st - Voting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I finish, I must give some acknowledgements.

Thank you to the staff for allowing this event to take place again!
Special thanks to @WonderLuigi @Phendrift and @Barely Able for helping prepare the categories
A very special thanks to my good friend @Irene. While she is currently not part of the site, she was very instrumental in getting this current version of the GOTY Celebration event off the ground two years ago. This is as much your event as it is anyone's.
Lastly, thank you to everyone here who will nominate, vote, or even just participate in this thread. You are all what makes this event great!

 

[Josh5890]

Saving for the running list of nominations.

Best action or action-adventure

• I Am Your Beast
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• Nine Sols
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Prince of Persia - The Lost Crown
• Star Wars: Outlaws
• Stellar Blade

Best art direction

• Animal Well
• Celeste 64 Fragments of the Mountain
• Crypt Custodian
• Harold Halibut
• Infinity Nikki
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership
• Mouthwashing
• Nine Sols
• Penny's Big Breakaway
• The Plucky Squire
• ReFantazio
• Unicorn Overlord

Best RPG

• Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Mario and Luigi: Brothership
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Monsters of Mican
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• Skald: Against the Black Priory
• Unicorn Overlord

Best soundtrack

• 1000XResist
• Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
• ANTONBLAST
• Crypt Custodian
• Dragon’s Dogma II
• Emio the Smiling Man
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Nightmare Kart
• Nine Sols
• Penny's Big Breakaway
• Splatoon 3 Side Order
• Stellar Blade
• Warframe
• Yars Rising

Best platformer

• Animal Well
• Anton Blast
• Astro Bot
• Fallen Leaf
• Penny's Big Breakaway
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble

Best level/area/world

• Astro Bot- “Downsize Surprise”
• Astro Bot- "Going Loco"
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth- "Cosmo Canyon"
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth- "Gongaga"
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth- "Temple of the Ancients"
• Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail- "Living Memory"
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom- "Faron Temple"
• Selaco- "Mall"
• Spire of Order (Splatoon 3: Side Order)

Best RTS/strategy game

• Age of Mythology
• Kunitsu-gami: Path of the Goddess
• Tactical Breach Wizards
• Unicorn Overlord

Best multiplayer experience

• Helldivers 2
• Pokémon TCG Pocket
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• Two Handhelds: Both Alike in Dignity
• Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes

Best puzzle game

• Animal Well
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Monument Valley 3
• Vividlope
• World of Goo 2

Best rerelease

• Another Code: Recollection
• Castlevania: The Dominus Collection
• Dragon Quest III
• Hi-Fi Rush
• The Last of Us Part II Remastered
• Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• Persona 3 Reload
• Mario Vs Donkey Kong
• Sonic x Shadow Generations

Best indie game

• 1000xRESIST
• Animal Well
• Anton Blast
• Balatro
• Crow Country
• Crypt Custodian
• Lovely Lady RPG
• Nightmare Kart
• Nine Sols
• Penny's Big Breakaway

Best protagonist or antagonist

• Barret Wallace (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
• Emio (Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club)
• Joker (Balatro)
• Louis Guiabern (Metaphor: ReFantazio)
• meatbag (Two Handhelds: Both Alike in Dignity)
• Watcher (1000xRESIST)
• Van Arkride (Trails Through Daybreak)
• VolcanicDynamo (Two Handhelds: Both Alike in Dignity)
• Yi (Nine Sols)
• Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom)

Best narrative

• 1000xRESIST
• Ace Attorney Investigations 2
• Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Mouthwashing
• Here & There Along the Echoes

Most badass character

• Catherine Portillo (Until Then)
• Kazama Kiryu (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth)
• Sargon (Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown)
• Shadow the Hedgehog (Shadow Generations)
• Yutaka Yamai (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth)
• Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom)

Best surprise

• 1000xRESIST
• Balatro
• Emio-The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Drova
• Fallen Aces
• Infinity Nikki
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
• The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom
• Monument Valley 3
• No Case Should Remain Unsolved
• Okami 2
• UFO 50

Game of the year

• 1000xRESIST
• Anton Blast
• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
• Nine Sols
• Penny's Big Breakaway
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble
• Tekken 8
• Unicorn Overlord

 

[Phendrift]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Mario & Luigi: Brothership​

It’s been a great year for beautiful art in the games I played. Thousand Year Door beautifully remastered the original, Shadow of the Erdtree boasted Elden Ring’s most stunning vistas. VII Rebirth gets wild in the last few chapters. But dang, Brothership’s vibrant world and incredibly smooth animation for the bros and their foes just shines. I can’t believe how the well the team did bringing those early box arts to life. I’ve got to give it the shout for that alone.

 

[curl-6]

Best art direction: Unicorn Overlord

Vanillaware's signature hand-painted style shines brightly and brings the game to life in sumptuous style

 

[xghost777]

Best Action - Stellar Blade

Terrible outfits aside, Stellar Blade was the finest action game this year. When it starts off, the windows for perfect countering and dodging are perhaps a bit too cruel, but as you level up your skill trees and equipment and you get used to it, you'll find an immensely satisfying combat system that makes both regular enemies and especially the colossal bosses a thoroughly satisfying delight to rip apart. Some of the bosses took me many attempts to conquer, but because it is so precise and satisfying to master, I endured over and over again until I came out on top and after any boss I managed to clear on my first try I felt absolutely on top of the world. Most interestingly, the game is divided into linear stages still littered with secrets to uncover and two big RPG open world zones that each have a distinct flavor (big multilevel canyons vs a wide open desert and city) and are satisfying to explore every last inch of. The game does a great job of mixing it up as there are even levels where you are forced to only use your guns in a survival horror-like scenario and it's a testament to the strength of the combat system that it works so very well. I ultimately enjoyed the game so much I decided to replay it to fight the alternate final boss fight (which was incredible) and claim the Platinum trophy which I rarely do for games. Most excellently, there is New Game+ with more new abilities to unlock to keep it interesting. Also I want to give a final shout out to Stellar Blade's Devil Trigger-equivalent mechanic which is pretty solid, but is most notable for playing a vocal song that shouts "Iiiiiiiiiii BELIEVE! Iiiiiiiii BELIEVE!" every time you trigger it. Anytime you are almost dead and you decide to activate it as a last resort it is always incredible lol.

 

[xghost777]

Best Art Direction - Infinity Nikki

I played a lot of awesome looking games this past year, but the one that stands out just a little bit more to me is Infinity Nikki. It bills itself as the most cozy open world game and beyond anything else, I think what really sells it is how it depicts nature. Once I was out of the tutorial zone, I was kind of just regularly blown away by how good the plants and trees especially look in the game. They look so natural at times and this extends to other elements as well like the farms you eventually visit and the fairy forest. The rolling hills in the game and the main town are also just so appealing to look at and makes you want to explore them. I also want to give a shoutout to the cave networks in the game, a majority of which are seamlessly integrated into the open world which makes the detail, design, and visual design even more impressive. Finally in terms of the world design, I do want to give a shout out to the Abandoned District as well which evokes a Xenoblade-like fantasy design with its "stone trees" growing out of a massive lake / inland sea to great effect. It also has a very fun thing I love in fantasy games where it has train tracks submerged in water where the water is shallow which is always just visually appealing.

While the world is why I'm primarily nominating Infinity Nikki, it of course has one other area it excels in which are the clothing designs. When I saw the gacha ones in particular I already thought they looked really impressive with immense detail you'd normally not see in games. Once I learned you could evolve those same dresses with dupes and I saw the level 4 dresses, one of which has the cosmos pulsing through it constantly, I was blown away haha.

...

Honorable mention - Dragon's Dogma II has many of the same strengths with its art and world design. It similarly feels so handcrafted in a way that begs you to see all of it. I gave Nikki the slight edge mainly because I found such a cheery world depicted in such detail and how effective it was at it more of a feat since it's so rare. I hope someone else nominates Dragon's Dogma II though!

 

[komicer]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Action-Adventure: Prince of Persia - The Lost Crown

One of the best metroidvania to be released in 2024 and possibly in the last couple of years too. Incredibly slick action. Tight controls. Challenging but rewarding platforming sequences. Many times, as I was playing this game, I had to put my Switch down to rest. Then it is back into the action to attempt that series of jumps and dashes through all those spikes for the umpteenth time. Such a great action game.



And did I mention that it runs perfectly well on the Switch at 60fps? This is a game made with the Switch as the priority. If you love metroidvanias and have not gotten it yet, what are you waiting for? It is almost always on sale somewhere.

The team at Ubisoft created a great game and was promptly rewarded by their corporate overlords with disbandment. So what say we reward them with the Famiboards 'Best Action-Adventure' Award as a consolation.

 

[Barely Able]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction:

The Plucky Squire
​

I know the game might not have lived up to the hype surrounding it for some, but I think in this category, the game achieved what it set out to do in spades. The transitioning from the hand drawn look of the 2D to the 3D environments was beautiful, and the use of different surfaces for the environments was well done.

 

[Barely Able]

Best Action-Adventure: Prince of Persia - The Lost Crown

One of the best metroidvania to be released in 2024 and possibly in the last couple of years too. Incredibly slick action. Tight controls. Challenging but rewarding platforming sequences. Many times, as I was playing this game, I had to put my Switch down to rest. Then it is back into the action to attempt that series of jumps and dashes through all those spikes for the umpteenth time. Such a great action game.



And did I mention that it runs perfectly well on the Switch at 60fps? This is a game made with the Switch as the priority. If you love metroidvanias and have not gotten it yet, what are you waiting for? It is almost always on sale somewhere.

The team at Ubisoft created a great game and was promptly rewarded by their corporate overlords with disbandment. So what say we reward them with the Famiboards 'Best Action-Adventure' Award as a consolation.

Great choice. Wasn’t sure if this was more platformer which was what I was going to nominate it in (maybe we can do both).

 

[curl-6]

Best action-adventure: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

The Princess herself takes the reins in this unique and charming entry, which blends the open ended problem solving of BOTW and TOTK with classic Zelda tropes to form a brilliant fusion that feels both familiar yet fresh.
Its playful, experimental nature keeps it engaging throughout, and it overflows with that wholesome appeal that makes the series so lovable.

 

[Vookatos]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes


Instantly gripping low-poly black and white adventure game will stick with me for years to come. While I have enjoyed the story and puzzles, it's the way the game looks that grabs you and never lets go. From its incredible camera angles to strange and somewhat unsettling designs of certain scenes, it's all somewhat Lynchian, and it's easily the most memorable looking game this year for me.

Best action or action-adventure
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle


Video games have tried to do Indiana Jones for years now. He's had his own games, Lara Croft tried to take up the mantle, and then Nathan Drake joined the party. However, I never really liked those games. From old Tomb Raider to new, a few Uncharted games I've played, they all lacked a certain something that MachnieGames brought into the mix.
Indy really appeals to me with its big non-linear levels and almost imsim design, making you really feel like you're in control of your own adventure. Obvious things from big games are present: stealth, shoot, melee your way through any situation, but the big levels really make the decision feel more natural. Finding collectibles, seeing all the gorgeous landscapes gave me a feeling no other game this year did.
The action is always meaty, and even if the game is really easy on normal it's always satisfying carrying a random object to hit a nazi over the head with.
I've not actually finished this game yet, but if any game deserves to be in a category with "adventure", it's this one.

 

[BlackthornOrion]

Great choice. Wasn’t sure if this was more platformer which was what I was going to nominate it in (maybe we can do both).

"Action-Adventure" is a pretty vague descriptor, but Metroid Dread won Best Action-Adventure at the Geoffies in 2021, so metroidvanias should definitely be eligible in that category

 

[Red Monster]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Animal Well


​

Lots of games do retro style pixel graphics. None of them look like Animal Well. This game is beyond gorgeous. The use of darkness and light is magnificent. This is the prettiest game that came out in 2024.

 

[Suswave]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Crypt Custodian

woag, comin' at you with a surprise nominee!

not sure it'll win but surely I have to add this to the list! everything in it is lovingly illustrated and fits together so perfectly while being full of personality. the characters, the boss fights, the whole mess feels so lived-in... or died-in...

I just really like it! (and Animal Well was taken)

 

[SammyJ9]

Fami your consideration

Best Art Direction

Nine Sols

Nine Sols has a gorgeous hand-drawn bright artstyle to it that really sings in motion - screenshots don't even really do it justice:

Honorable mention:

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is still probably the most beautiful I game I played all year and has ridiculously good art direction, but I gave the award to OG Elden Ring a couple years ago so I'll let other stuff have the limelight

 

[SammyJ9]

Fami your consideration

Best Action/Adventure

Nine Sols

Nine Sols is in the running for my favorite action combat and boss fights of the year, and in a year that also had Shadow of the Erdtree and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown that's a hell of an achievement since those are also both stellar.

The parry heavy combat system in Nine Sols combined with the way you use talismans to do damage and dash through enemies makes the bosses in this game just incredible - they feel like a dance when you're really in that flow state and everything is clicking. There's also good variety to the bosses and how you have to fight them, or the makeup of their movesets and styles. There were at least three different bosses in this game that made me say "holy crap is this even possible?!" before I just buckled down and learned their movesets over many (and in the case of the final boss) many many many attempts. But I'm not sure that anything was as satisfying in gaming this entire year than it felt to finally beat that final boss.

On top of that though the game has excellent art direction and bright vibrant color, the music really pumps you up at times while also being very chill and zen at others, and the characters and story are surprisingly poignant as well.

 

[rzks21]

Best art direction: Mouthwashing

The game itself is short and not heavy on gameplay but you can tell a lot of love went into crafting its visuals and putting them in service of the incredible narrative, making you very uncomfortable from start to finish. The PS2 style characters to the environments you visit, everything just screams passion.

Best action/action adventure: Space Marine 2. I had a lot of fun blasting through Tyranids and others alongside my brother in this game. I like that it does not devolve into a power fantasy but it actually has a solid challenge with huge enemy hordes going after you, superb setpieces and very interesting boss battles. Also must applaud the continued support given to the game after release.

 

[MarcelRguez]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess​

Capcom has been a weird one in terms of art direction in recent years. The newfound aesthetic for the RE series works really well for it (even if I have some small gripes still), but recent Monster Hunter games starting with World have left me wishing for something more bold and less grounded. It's an over the top fantasy series, it should be slightly more out there in terms of art direction!

Enter one of the most overlooked games of the year:

Spoiler: Screenshots

The similarities with Rise are pretty evident given the setting, but the way the lighting is implemented and the similarly muted color palette work to the game's benefit more strongly here. Combined with its sense of scale and high fidelity, every visual aspect of the game works in conjunction perfectly to create a very striking, diorama-esque looking game.

---

Fami Your Consideration
Best Action or Action-Adventure Game
I Am Your Beast​

Another entry in one of my favorite microgenres: "games with a gun-carrying playable character consisting of a succession of quick levels that are meant to be played over and over for better scores and time". Most similar to the recent Neon White, I Am Your Beast foregoes focusing on platforming (and dreadful narratives!), replacing that instead with more environmental interactivity. The result is a fast-paced shooter that, when mastered, looks like this:

 

[Concernt]

Suddenly pain in my bones owie

 

[Concernt]

Worked New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, now um working the day after New Year's

And I've just learned, via flyer, that I will in fact be one of the HOSTS for a Nollaig na mBan event on the 6th.

Four days notice isn't the worst but oh dear.

 

[Concernt]

Suddenly pain in my bones owie

Worked New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, now um working the day after New Year's

And I've just learned, via flyer, that I will in fact be one of the HOSTS for a Nollaig na mBan event on the 6th.

Four days notice isn't the worst but oh dear.

Misclicked these were meant to be in the general thread.

Uh.

Sorry @Josh5890 !!!

 

[doodlewhizz]

Best Art Direction
Harold Halibut

This one got buzz just before released for the art style but I think the game itself being disappointing for some led it being forgotten come the end of the year which is a huge shame because I think it's one of gaming's best artistic triumphs of the decade so far. Obviously the stop-motion-esque models and settings are the draw here (which look incredible, almost like objects you can physically pick up), but it also strives for and absolutely nails its retrofuturist aesthetic.

 

[WonderLuigi]

I actually don't have a nominee for Best Action/Action-Adventure, but I do have for...

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Metaphor: ReFantazio

The art direction just wants to constantly remind you that you're in a fictional world. Absurd architecture, absurd color gradients, grainy image quality... You're part of a fantastical story and we don't want you to think otherwise! I just love how the art intertwines with the main theme of the game. And I think it looks beautiful too, which helps!

 

[Josh5890]

~12 hours to go before we move on to the next category.

 

[7threst]

Ngl, I laughed hard

 

[7threst]

Edit: sorry not the general chat topic lol

 

[Barely Able]

~12 hours to go before we move on to the next category.

Why are you making me choose RPGs and Soundtracks at the same time?!?

 

[chocolate_supra]

Why are you making me choose RPGs and Soundtracks at the same time?!?

Thematic consistency

 

[Josh5890]

Why are you making me choose RPGs and Soundtracks at the same time?!?

Because we already know that Rebirth is going to win both categories

 

[BlackthornOrion]

Best Art Direction: Celeste 64 Fragments of the Mountain

I just love how this game looks. TBH, I wasn't that big a fan of the original Celeste; it was fine but didn't leave much of an impression. This followup on the otherhand left a heck of an impression on me. The name would suggest they were going for an N64-inspired aesthetic, but personally I think in practice what they ended up with looks more "DS but HD" and that's frankly way more interesting a direction to go in than trying to ape Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie like so many indie 3D platformers have been doing. The game itself is something the developers readily admit is more unfinished game jam demo than complete product, and leaves a lot of room for improvement or refinement, but one aspect I think they absolutely nailed was the visuals; it's a great low-fidelity translation of the core vibes of the original pixelart Celeste into 3D space

 

[Phendrift]

Best Art Direction: Celeste 64 Fragments of the Mountain

I just love how this game looks. TBH, I wasn't that big a fan of the original Celeste; it was fine but didn't leave much of an impression. This followup on the otherhand left a heck of an impression on me. The name would suggest they were going for an N64-inspired aesthetic, but personally I think in practice what they ended up with looks more "DS but HD" and that's frankly way more interesting a direction to go in than trying to ape Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie like so many indie 3D platformers have been doing. The game itself is something the developers readily admit is more unfinished game jam demo than complete product, and leaves a lot of room for improvement or refinement, but one aspect I think they absolutely nailed was the visuals; it's a great low-fidelity translation of the core vibes of the original pixelart Celeste into 3D space

What the hell? How did I not hear of this game at all with how big the original Celeste was? Is it the same devs? Just not as good?

 

[BlackthornOrion]

What the hell? How did I not hear of this game at all with how big the original Celeste was? Is it the same devs? Just not as good?

Mostly the same devs (it's from Extremely OK Games, Maddy Thorson's current studio). Lena Raine even did some of the soundtrack

It released really early last year and (I think?) only on Itch.io; very much a game jam/proof of concept rather than a full-fledged "complete full-release game" (iirc they've said they mostly put it together in one week), which is probably why it flew under the radar

 

[xghost777]

What the hell? How did I not hear of this game at all with how big the original Celeste was? Is it the same devs? Just not as good?

It’s very fun and worth checking out especially since it is free to download

 

[chocolate_supra]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Art Direction
Penny's Big Breakaway
​

The visual style of this game blew me away. It's colorful, it pops, it has a style that reminds me of 1990s pop commercial art especially in the way it's shaded, and it's consistent. Every element, every model and texture, everything fits together in a way that gives this game such striking visual personality. Really impressive for a studio's first release.

 

[Josh5890]

Great choices so far!

At this point we are now accepting nominations for the best RPG games of 2024 and the best soundtracks.

Don't be shy. Post some examples for best OST!

 

[xghost777]

Best RPG Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an astounding RPG that brings the world of Final Fantasy VII to life at a scale its creators could only dream of and is the best game since of carrying and exuding the energy of the PS1 games. When I stepped onto the Grasslands, it felt like I was actually stepping foot onto the world map of FF7. While it leaves its own mark with excellent combat and engaging open world activities, I was really impressed how they brought back classic Final Fantasy activities like Chocobo racing and digging (FFIX!), the new card game Queensblood which absolutely rules, and tons and tons of minigames like Fort Condor, Frog Jumping, etc. While exploring areas like the lavish Gold Saucer and the big regions like Cosmo Canyon were my favorite parts of the game, the main story is great fun as well and brought to life with a fun and funny script and an excellent voice cast. I loved how the silly moments like Cloud riding a dolphin were given just as much care as the big story beats. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an excessive all you can eat buffet of immense quality and was not just the best RPG of the year, but the best game of the year.

Best Soundtrack Stellar Blade

Stellar Blade’s soundtrack really to stood out to me this year for being something a bit different overall. It has a heavy emphasis on vocal themes and other tracks often have a strong, electric edge to them. I’ll share a few of my favorites here:

Silent Street Battle is the first song I think of when I think of Stellar Blade. It’s poppy, upbeat fun and the piano goes so well with the city returning to nature as the rain gently beats down.



Tachy Mode is the Devil Trigger-equivalent song and it made me laugh because I usually use it when a fight is going poorly as a last ditch trump card and hearing “Iiiiii BELIEVE” blast out then is just super funny.



Belial is the theme song of the boss of the same name. He’s an absolute chaotic violent menace and this track just really fits his energy especially as he just refuses to die.



Everglow plays triumphantly when you are ascending the orbital elevator near the end of the game. It feels like a great victory lap of sorts when it plays.

 

[Phendrift]

Fami Your Consideration
Best RPG
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth​

This is the stuff of dreams, a AAA RPG that finally captures the sense of scale and variety of those PS1 Final Fantasy games. Rebirth is jam packed with so many things to do and see. Following the linear and cinematic story, or doing some exploring in the open world areas, or playing one of the dozens of mini games, or tackling combat challenges. Speaking of which, an extremely fleshed out and fun as hell battle system. This world sucked me in for over 120 hours and I still wanna go back to it. So many amazing character moments, and an INCREDIBLE OST, which brings me to….

Fami Your Consideration

Best Soundtrack​

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth​

This game’s soundtrack literally feels like an impossible accomplishment. Over FIVE HUNDRED tracks with like a dozen composers and arrangers. Hours and hours of dynamic music, pulling inspiration from all sorts of different instruments and sounds to accentuate Rebirth’s variety in locations and tone. So much that the full OST which has 8 discs and 175 tracks is barely even half of it and I’m still anticipating the OST Plus almost a year later. You can walk by an NPC on the street and they’re performing a full on pop song that’s only heard in that specific instance. Incredible takes on FF7 classics like JENOVA Tenacity, brand new highlights like Queen’s Blood and Gongaga. Like, I can’t overstate enough how huge, ambitious, varied, meticulous the whole thing is. So much so that this trilogy needs to be recognized as one of the greatest musical achievements of our time, not just in game music. The quantity of quality is legit mind blowing. There’s far and away no competition to it this year, imo.

 

[WonderLuigi]

Not on my watch!

 

[PixelKnight]

Best RPG: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

This is a stunning remake of a classic NES game. Everything from the visuals to class balance has been reworked, but the original beauty of the design still shines through. The game is pretty linear up until the end of act 1 but there’s still a few different orders you can tackle things in, and some optional dungeons to get stuck into as well. Once the game opens up in act 2, though, you are pretty much left to your own devices to chase down leads, which I found really refreshing. Once you’re able to play with reclassing the party there’s a lot you can do to really tailor the skills you want, and I spent a lot of time messing around with it. Once the credits rolled, I was left thinking that this was pretty much a perfect remake of an 8-bit game. It’s soul is very much intact, but it’s been reviewed with 30 years of extra game design experience and ideas, a few rough edges sanded, a few optional guideposts added where needed (although you can turn them off). Great stuff.

 

[komicer]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Soundtrack - Metaphor: ReFantazio

I have not even played the game myself but... even I know how this single song slaps so hard.



TGA screwed up by not having someone rap in Esperanto during their musical bit.

 

[Tangerine_Cookie]

Alright, it's time for me to shill my GOTY 2024:

FAMI YOUR CONSIDERATION IN THE CATEGORY OF
"BEST SOUNDTRACK"
YARS RISING​

Official Youtube upload of the Soundtrack to Yars Rising, courtesy of Wayforward, that absolutely knew how hard they had cooked with it

Hey! Do you want to play a cool Metroidvania that's very fast and loosely inspired on old Atari classics; made by Wayforward, creators of Shantae and Shrek: Ogres & Dronkeys? Are you a fan of city pop/future funk/vaporwave music? Do you know who Moe Shop is? If you've replied yes to any of these questions, Yars Rising might be your new favorite game!

The game follows the adventures of Emi, a very cool hacker (she went straight into the kin list lmao) infiltrating the cyberpunk-as-hell corporation QoTech to uncover a deep conspiracy involving shady experiments, supersoldiers, aliens, and much more! And from the beginning of the game, with the main theme playing during your first moments, the soundtrack absolutely never stops going extremely hard.



The entire aesthetics of the game are great, mind you, and it's worth a play for that alone - but the soundtrack just elevates this from what would have been a very solid 8/10 Wayforward game into timeless masterpiece territory by itself. I know I immediately went and bought the Soundtrack off Steam within the first hour of gameplay.



Even within the specific mood and aesthetic most tracks are trying to hit here, for the plot and setting of the game; the songs perfectly compliment the action and the story beats in the moment to moment gameplay, and that is very cool! Legitimately in love and throughly impressed with how the entire thing comes together.



If you don't want to try the game for some reason (you still should), give the soundtrack a listen at least, because it's legitimately a situation where they understood the assignment and went as hard with it as they possibly could, and absolutely deserves my nomination here.

Thanks for your consideration.

 

[BlackthornOrion]

4. Once again, we have decided to include DLC for eligible games, as this year has seen some very sizeable DLC releases.

And there's my opening to say Best Soundtrack: Splatoon 3 Side Order


It's no secret that Splatoon music slaps, and Side Order is no different. Making music that stays fresh for a roguelike where you're hearing the same thing over and over is no easy task, but this soundtrack (much like the player themselves) rises to the challenge here. The shining highlight for me is that Side Order may have some of my favorite final boss music ever; on your first attempts, it takes Ebb and Flow, something I thought was a pretty decent but nothing special Splatfest song, and turns it into something downright anthemic. They gave Off the Hook their own Calimari Inkatation-equivalent and it rules. The opening perfectly captures that joyous moment of "hey, you finally reached the top of the tower, now let's kick this dude's ass and wrap things up".

And then on repeat runs, rather than ruin that great moment by letting it become played out and familiar, they swap it out for a much lighter, bouncier piece that fits with how the big bad now feels like less like a threat and more a perfunctory nuisance on your way to a successful run; it says "yep, we're doing this again but you've got this by now"

 

[chocolate_supra]

Hey yall ain't gonna believe this buuuut

Fami Your Consideration
Best Soundtrack
Penny's Big Breakaway
​

The team of Tee Lopes and Sean Bialo (with contributions from Hunter Bridges and Christian Whitehead(!?)) put together a funky little soundtrack that not only compliments the colorful fun of the game but stands well on its own as a collection of bangers.

You've got fun melodies and goofy synths:


Absolute grooves (this one's on my 2024 year-end playlist)


And like, how is this track even from a video game? It sounds like it's from one of those experimental chill-out albums or something.


Vibes, yall

 

[JazzyFuture]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Soundtrack
ANTONBLAST​

I don't think it's a secret that I also love the Penny's Big Breakaway soundtrack, but I want to give special attention to the only game I've played this year that I felt possibly outshined that soundtrack. Tony Grayson did such an incredible job with an amazingly varied soundtrack that's equal parts goofy and awesome.

Love the improv sounding shredding in the second half of this incredibly funky miniboss theme.


A VERY special mention to both of Bomb Candy Mines' themes.



I really love how chill this Concrete Jungle theme is, I wish it played for longer.


I cannot believe they made the Persona Trinity Soul "I'm in the house like carpet" sample somehow work. That alone should be enough for a nomination.


I genuinely think Antonblast may have one of my favourite final boss themes of all time, which is an incredibly high bar of praise.

Spoiler: Final Boss theme

 

[SammyJ9]

Fami Your Consideration
Best Soundtrack
Nine Sols

Apparently all I do in these is nominate Nine Sols, lol. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it!

Nine Sols soundtrack is fantastic and has a great mix of both high energy battle tracks as well as more zen, relaxed, calm and beautiful tracks.

First off this one shows how beautiful it can get with the slow flute, strings, and bringing in vocals before it gets a bit bigger (that moment at 1:02 hits):



And if you want epic pumping action, this has that covered:



And speaking of high energy, also showing some of that more tech-y scifi vibe that's in some of the soundtrack:



But finally I have to end on Last Man Standing which plays at not only a great in-game plot beat but is an absolute banger of a track that's in the running for my favorite music track of the entire year.

As you listen, imagine the cavalry appearing in the distance as they ride into an occupied town, ready to kick some ass and make things right again and atone for past mistakes. That moment when the vocals kick in at 1:01 is just perfection:

 

[Zellia]

Fami Your Consideration
Best RPG & Best Soundtrack
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail

​

Yes, I'm nominating the latest FFXIV expansion for both of these awards.

Best RPG
You kinda know what you're getting with FFXIV expansions, at least structurally. It would be easy for it to grow stale, especially since Endwalker finished off the myth arc that has been going on since the game first launched. As a new start for the game's story, Dawntrail has a lot to live up to.

And by and large it does. The story has less big moments than Shadowbringers or Endwalker, as it's not wrapping up many story threads that aren't self-contained, but it's still a great tale of legacy and living on after death, told through the twin stories of the Tuliyollal succession contest and the later emergence of the high-tech Kingdom of Alexandria (which yes, is an FF9 reference), and bound together by the search for the Golden City of legend. By the end, the game asks a lot of questions of the dangers of AI and what makes a person a person, culminating in a final zone quite unlike any other FFXIV has ever done, and one I found to be emotionally devastating.

Also, I do want to give props to SE for casting a trans woman (Sena Bryer) as the English VA for the expansion's protagonist, Wuk Lamat.

Best Soundtrack
FFXIV is known for its incredible and consistent soundtrack, much of it the work of Masayoshi Soken. Dawntrail isn't an exception, from the bombastic big band day theme of Tuliyollal, to the despondent lament of the Skydeep Cenote, to the calm but haunting theme of the final zone, FFXIV once again puts out some incredible tunes, although some of them really need to be listened to in context of the actual game and story and may not be as meaningful out of context.

Beware spoilers below - SE copyright strike any attempt to upload the music without gameplay, meaning that you will be seeing the relevant area unless you click off the video. For that reason, I'm not embedding these videos.

Tuliyollal day theme 'Morrow's Might'
The Skydeep Cenote theme 'Lost In the Deep' (level 95 dungeon spoilers)
Shaaloani day theme 'Cereleum Smoke At High Noon'
Origenics theme 'Anatomy of Existence' (level 99 dungeon spoilers)
Final zone theme (major spoilers!) Living Memory theme 1 'Bygone Serenity'
Final dungeon theme (also major spoilers!) Alexandria theme 'A Trail Unending'

 

[WonderLuigi]

『S』『H』『A』『L』『L』 『W』『E』『?』


Fami your Consideration
Best RPG
Trails Through Daybreak
​

You probably know Trails/Kiseki... We even have a community thread for it! But if you don't... Basically, it's a multi-saga story that spreads across 20 years of games. It currently sits at 13 games (12 localized/soon to be localized). It might seem like a daunting task but Trails does it smartly: it divides its widespread story into mini sagas that happen in different parts of the same continent. You can play the arcs and move on! The overarching story is a bonus if you enjoy how Falcom is telling this story. So, first we have Sky (which will get a remake releasing on Switch, PS5 and PC this year!), with its own story, then Zero/Azure, the same, etc. The thing is...its third saga lasted for 5 games, the same amount of games as the previous two combined... I was tired of Cold Steel.

Don't get me wrong, Cold Steel and Cold Steel II are pretty great, but the direction the arc took from there on was just not something I particularly enjoyed. By Reverie it all felt a bit...over. A long time ago. But then, the arc ended and in 2024 we got the localization of Kuro no Kiseki or, rather...Trails Through Daybreak.

Van, the protagonist, felt like a much needed breath of fresh air. He's a bit older (24 lol), so the writers could do more with him. He's complicated and in this one game had as much development as Rean did in 5. Aside from him, we have an amazing side cast of both returning characters but a dozen of new faces who are incredibly complex, diverse and complicated in this country that is a seemingly corrupt democracy. Worth noting that this is the most inclusive game in the series, even if you could argue it's not enough. It's not. But good steps must be recognized, in my opinion.

While the combat is fairly easy once you learn how to break it, oooooh is it fun! Everything feels snappy and "it just works"! But what really set Daybreak apart from everything else I played this year is...this is the first time I caught up with Trails releases. I didn't feel like I needed to rush anything so I could finally get to the end goal. I was there! I could experience the amazing side quest writing that is on par with the pre-Vita titles in the series. I could watch every single bonding event. I could get every single bite of lore from this fresh new take on a series I love so much.

It's hard to explain without being there. If you know, you know. Or as a friend likes to post...



Trails is very special and I'm super glad I'm caught up and that many will try it for the first time with Sky 1st Chapter. It won't win but it has to be at least nominated. Falcom built something so special that no one will be able to replicate on the current gaming landscape. This was a very messy post but I just had to explain why this was such a monumental release to me. 100h I do not regret spending. And Daybreak 2 is a month away!

If you enjoy good stories, world building and turn based combat systems, consider playing Trails! (But if you're into Action RPGs, the console ports of Ys Oath in Felghana release in two days!) Falcom is a very small company with 60 employees that puts out banger after banger...and I'm going to preach their words until the end!

Thank you for reading and...

 

[Vookatos]

Fami Your Consideration
Best RPG
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
I have had my issues with the latest installment of this franchise, but as an RPG it consumed a hundred hours of my life. Its battle system has been made much more alive, and the map featuring overworld bosses made for a great time for players who didn't want to grind. Just go out and fight some mini-bosses!

Yakuza is one of those series where the jokey nature makes me want to see everything, and everything I saw - I had every character up to their final job skill just to see what kind of crap they could pull off.

Not the best narrative this year, but I loved just walking around Hawaii and collecting stuff, getting into fights, and putting my numbers up to see weird shit. Every minigame also having RPG elements might be a little cheap, but it did hold me for longer than needed trying to achieve those high scores and level up.

Guess what? I also think it's the Best Soundtrack!

I went through my Backloggd profile to check all the games, and found out that no game's music grabbed me like Yakuza did. I suppose it's not a surprise - I love me a lyrical song, and Yakuza constantly delivers with its karaoke shenanigans. Absolutely marvelous Summertime Groove and Honolulu City Lights, strangely rocking AWAKE sung in a style really different from any other song in the series, and a hilarious in its ingame rendition If I Could Love the One I Love where your characters start derailing the song with their interjections are all marvelous. However, the regular music also held me quite a bit. If I had to choose a favorite track, it would be Brutality Rebuild, which is a fucking great track for a narratively pretty insignificant fight. Although Yakuza isn't a stranger to doing bangers for some sort of mini-boss who you'll forget in an hour.

 

[ngpdrew]

BEST RPG: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Despite basically being a 1:1 remaster of the classic game, TTYD felt as fresh as ever in 2024. The much ballyhooed turn-based combat made a triumphant return to show that even the most irritating muppets among us do have a point when they call this the peak of the series, and the writing - composed at a time when Bush v. Kerry felt like the worst existential crisis the United States would ever face - still managed to make me smile from ear to ear. Heck, they even improved the writing by righting the wrongs of yesterday's localization and openly acknowledging Vivian's identity. Also...

BEST SOUNDTRACK: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

You have to listen to the battle theme a lot, so if it still feels like a bop instead of a, uh, not bop after 20 hours it must be pretty special.

You know that old sound you were looking for? Well, listen to this!

 

[Elementary]

I didn't play a ton of RPGs from 2024, though I might nominate Wandering Sword purely on how strong the Southern Chronicles and Echoes of Ash and Dust expansions were.

But for BEST SOUNDTRACK I officially nominate Warframe.

In 2024 Warframe stopped being a lootbang shooter and turned into a trojan horse for Keith Power and Matthew Chalmers to do whatever genre of music strikes their fancy. Dante Unbound started the year off easy with a new song in the alien Voidtongue, but then kicked down the door with Jade Shadows.



To make things absolutely clear, this is Warframe's idea of elevator music. Did any other game this year have elevator music that sounds like you're fighting your way to salvation? (Full disclosure: the stage is an elevator, and you are in fact fighting to save someone's soul and memory.) The entire update was variations on the theme, angelic choruses, heart-beat drums and electric synths.

The next major update, Koumei and the Five Fates, was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show and released a few days after, because appropriately enough the update was Japanese themed. "What is My Fate" leans into the Japanese aesthetic with shamisen going wild and the singers making dire insinuations in Japanese.



And then the crowning glory: Warframe 1999. They didn't have to make a 90s boy band part of the setting and plot, but they did. And then they wrote a song for them.



And then, because Digital Extremes always commits to the bit, they wrote ANOTHER song for them which they didn't tell anyone about until the update arrived.



But like the game reminds you, there was more than one band in 1999, so the update also released with death metal, rock, and grunge songs as actual background music.

This is just the music added this year, the game's also has its own sea shanty (Sleeping in the Cold Below), operatic suite (The Duviri Paradox) and original tracks like Smiles From Juran and This Is Who You Are. Best of all the soundtrack is going to keep getting bigger, cooler and weirder.