2024 has been a sneakily solid year for video games, highlighted by several heavy hitters in already well-known and beloved franchises. Titles likeAstro Bot,Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, andTekken 8made strides in their respective histories that took their IP to new and exciting levels.
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Where this year in gaming really shined, however, was in the wide swath of brand-new IPs that graced our consoles. Sure, sequels and spin-offs are often great, but there’s just something extra exciting about a developer bringing a brand-new idea to the table and the results being excellent.
With that said, let’s take a look at 10 of the best new IPs we got this year, many of which put their stamp as some of the absolute best video games of 2024.
Animal Well
Best Metroidvania of the Year
Metroidvanias have been back in vogue for a while now, but few in the modern era have been as surprising and well-received asAnimal Well. Made by a solo developer named Billy Basso, it’s obvious how much time, love, and dedication went into the creation of this title.
The typical Metroidvania mainstays are all present: great platforming, a map full of secrets, and abilities that unlock new areas to access.
Where Animal Well really thrives, however, is in its wonderful puzzle-solving layered that respects your intelligence and feels rewarding with each step of progression.
It’s charming, creepy, smart, and oh-so satisfying.
Another Crab’s Treasure
Souls Under The Sea
In a sea of Souls-likes that seem to become more and more prevalent after each successful FromSoftware game, Another Crab’s Treasure still felt like a breath of fresh air. Or… spray of refreshing seawater. You control Kril, a down-on-his-luck hermit crab that starts the game by having his shell repossessed by a plastic loan shark.
The game has a great sense of humor, as Kril scavenges the ocean floor for trash he can refashion into new shells for boosted defense or into new and more powerful melee weapons.Boss fights feature power-hungry lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, all with a memorable specific twist about them.
If you’re a fan of Souls-likes, Another Crab’s Treasure should be experienced. Still not convinced? There’s a menu option to toggle that also gives Kril a comically large pistol to wield. If that doesn’t sell it for you, nothing will.
Poker For Introverts
Balatro was surely the most unexpected game to end up as a 2024 Game of the Year nominee. But give it a shot, and you’ll get the hype within minutes.
Easy to learn and difficult to master, Balatro is a single-player, rogue-lite poker experience where you’ll gather thebest cards and jokersto add to your deck in order to synergize and stockpile the highest possible multipliers for each played hand.
Each round has a target score or “boss” with a buff to topple, and each completion scores you in-game cash to spend on more cards and upgrades.
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The absolute epitome of the “one more round” type of game, Balatro is truly dangerous. There is no real gambling to be seen here, but do not be surprised if you quickly find yourself addicted to this one.
Black Myth: Wukong
A Truly Epic Journey
There was plenty of buzz aroundBlack Myth: Wukongas each new dazzling trailer dropped for the game, and it thankfully lived up to all the hype. Another 2024 Game of the Year award nominee, Black Myth: Wukong, brought plenty of style and difficulty to the table for fans of a challenge.
Based on the Chinese story Journey To The West, the story follows “The Destined One,” a monkey with a formidable staff that traverses forests, mountains, and deserts to retrieve relics of his descendant, Sun Wukong the Monkey King.
Combat is melee and magic-heavy with cooldown timers to juggle and deploy at just the right moments as your character becomes ever stronger, thanks to a very satisfying skill tree and leveling system.
While not exactly a true Souls-like and a little more at home classified as simply an “action game,” Black Myth: Wukong is mighty impressive, difficult, and rewarding.
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
The Best Licensed Game Of The Year
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Created by MachineGames, the minds behind the amazing modern Wolfenstein series, it shouldn’t be surprising thatIndiana Jones And The Great Circleis awesome, too. And yet, it kind of… is?
Licensed games stemming from such beloved film franchises can be tricky (see The Avengers and The Suicide Squad), but Indiana Jones perfectly captures the magic of the movies, and Troy Baker pulls off an incredible rendition of Harrison Ford’s portrayal of our whip-carrying hero.
The action is fun and flashy, like a blockbuster movie, and the option for stealth in many sections is refreshing and works well. Indiana Jones And The Great Circle truly feels like it fits alongside the film franchise. MachineGames, you’ve done it again.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
An Atlus JRPG With Its Own Persona
Yet another new IP turned 2024 Game of the Year nominee,Metaphor: ReFantazioremixed thePersona/Shin Megami Tenseiformula and came out with yet another absolute banger. In fact, we here atDualShockers named it our outlet’s pick for the best game of 2024.
Ditching the high school drama-filled setting of Persona, Metaphor: ReFantazio embraces a fantasy/sometimes steampunk world full of twisting plot points and lore that evokes feelings of Game of Thrones (when it was good).
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It also implements very fresh and new-feeling combat compared to other Atlus titles of the same ilk, marrying together real-time and turn-based combat in ways that Persona has never experimented with while keeping all the style and finesse intact.
Stylish Side-Scrolling Sekiro
Another new IP in 2024 that paid its respects to a FromSoftware title,Nine Solsis more side-scrollingSekirothan any other Souls-like property. Absolutely gorgeous, hand-drawn-looking art is the pristine sheen that lies on top of an incredibly interesting Cyberpunk-meets-Ancient China setting.
This game, like Sekiro, is all about the parry, and you and your main character, Yi, will need to master that mechanic quickly in order to see all the beautiful worlds and crushing boss fights that Nine Sols has to offer.
The added themes of political tyranny and oppression that are portrayed here add an extra layer of significance to an already awesome game that is undoubtedly one of thebest Souls-likes of the year.
Satisfactory
The Ultimate Factory Simulator
PartNo Man’s Skyspace exploration/planet harvesting, part Factorio manufactured goods madness, part first-person Sim City-levels of structure building and land optimization, Satisfactory is absolutely one ofthe best factory sims available on PC.
Coming out of early access and releasing as the full 1.0 version of the game in 2024, Satisfactory is a rad variation on an established formula that includes combat with alien creatures you’ll find on your planet and the humor of creating a suction tunnel to zip your character from one end of your map to the other.
If you have some creative construction muscles to flex and enjoy the soothing grind of material harvesting and factory management, few have ever done it better than Satisfactory.
A Retro-Inspired Collection Of Goodness
The older I get, the more often I find myself returning for retro, arcade-style games that I either loved from my childhood or completely missed the first time and want to discover.
UFO 50 is perfect if you find yourself in a similar mood. It feels very much like a curated collection of retro games you somehow missed growing up that are now begging to be explored.
The kicker here, though, is that while feeling straight from the 80’s, UFO 50 is a collection offifty brand new and interesting retro games made by the creators of Spelunky.
Yes, some are obviously better than others (again, there arefifty), but as a collection, UFO 50 absolutely shines and has succeeded in making something new feel old feel new again. Start digging; there’s a lot to experience here.
Unicorn Overlord
Tactical-RPG Perfection
An absolute dream for fans of tactical JRPGs, Unicorn Overload neatly packages together engaging and stylish turn-based combat, team and ally building, interesting story, cooking, party customization, and satisfying exploration.
Genuinely, it hits all the marks for any fan of the genre and hits them allverywell.
Created by Vanillaware, it’s obvious that Unicorn Overlord took a lot of visual influence from their previously most beloved game, Odin Sphere.
The absolutely beautiful artwork is the cherry on top as you lead Prince Alain and his friends on their quest for freedom.
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