By Nelson Schneider - 12/22/24 at 02:04 PM CT
This year seemed to fly by, even as quality videogame releases were few and far-between.
The good news, though, is that every single game that got the MJ Crew’s attention this year (in a good way) was the type of thing that would normally fly under the radar. These were mostly surprise releases with no (or next-to-no) hype buoying them up, while the most-hyped titles of the year fell-flat alongside “AAA” sales and profit margins.
Without further ado, MeltedJoystick proudly presents our selection of the 5 most intriguing releases of 2024:
1. Unicorn Overlord (Multi)
Vanillaware is back in grand style with a Fantastical blend of Turn-Based Roleplaying and Strategy games that managed to invoke the spirits of some of our favorite RPGs and Strategy games of all-time, while also being unafraid to do its own thing. Even better, It’s one of Vanillaware’s first attempts at branching out into multi-platform releases, allowing anyone with a 9th Gen console to experience the best game of 2024.
2. Astro Bot (PlayStation)
Sony has long been in the business of copying Nintendo’s successful ideas. However, they have always struggled to capture the magic of Nintendo’s classic platforming games. They came close to bringing in the charm of Nintendo’s 2D Platformers with the (now sadly defunct) ‘LittleBigPlanet’ series, which has struggled to remain relevant into the 8th and 9th Generations. This time around, though, Sony managed to take the tech demo known as “Astro’s Playroom” and transform it into a full-blown “Super Mario Odyssey” competitor, proving that, with enough motivation from a dev team that has their hearts in it, it IS possible for PlayStation to play host to fun, charming games – not just the sludge of Soulslikes and Cinematic Schlock the company (and its fanboys) have become known for.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)
Oh my! Nintendo finally released another ‘Legend of Zelda’ game starring the titular princess! It’s the first time the Maiden of Wisdom has been playable outside of a ‘Smash Bros.’ game since 1993’s Phillips CD-I disaster, “Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon.” Fortunately for us, “Echoes of Wisdom” isn’t some weird non-canonical knock-off, but is a legit Classic-Style ‘Zelda’ game, with puzzles, dungeons, and everything fans love about the series.
4. PalWorld (PC)
The Jimmy-Rustler of the year goes to “PalWorld” for kicking Nintendo in the pants. “PalWorld” – made by a Japanese Indie developer, Pocket Pair – blatantly displays its Nintendo-owned inspirations, ripping off mechanics from both the most recent ‘open-air’ ‘Zelda’ games, like “Break of the Weapons,” while also presenting a vision of what Game Freak’s ‘Pokemon’ could be like if it wasn’t always so damned formulaic and safe (which ‘Pokemon’ fans are increasingly seeing as ‘stagnant’ and ‘kid friendly’). “PalWorld” pissed off Nintendo so much that the lawsuits started flying, and it was only at the very end of the year that Pocket Pair gave a modicum of ground to the corporate titan. And that’s really what Indie games should do: Push back against the establishment and prevent calcification within the medium.
5. Animal Well (Indie/Multi)
What’s this? TWO Indie games on the list?! Yes, it just so happens that the Jimmy-Rustler of the Year was Indie this time, but there’s always room to call attention to excellence in Indie design. “Animal Well” is the most complex and thought-provoking Metroidvania to hit digital distribution channels since the infamous Phil Fish blew us all away with “FEZ” way back in 2012. “Animal Well” hasn’t made nearly the splash, though, probably due to the developer having a normal-sized ego compared to Mr. Fish. Still, being able to bring a breath of fresh air to a sub-genre as presently oversaturated as ‘Indie Metroidvania’ is a feat in and of itself.
