We’re coming to the end of 2024 and so the gang at GamEir are looking back at some of the games they played, in particular those games that we absolutely loved.
Graham’s GamEir Game of the Year
I’m going to be honest, I have several candidates for my Game of the Year. There have been so many RPGs that have touched my heart this year. There is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak which I adore. However, a game which I played back in February which has stayed with me since then is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. This game absolutely floored me when I played it. I’ve always been a fan of the franchise, enjoying every iteration we’ve received for decades.
With Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown the franchise returns to its two-dimensional roots but it also receives a modern flair with a graphical style that immediately pulled me in. It’s one of the best Metroidvanias I have played since I stepped into the genre with Hollow Knight a few years ago. The boss battles are over the top and thrilling, the story is emotional and the game mechanics are engaging. Honestly, it may be the best Prince of Persia game.
This puts the tragedy of the team who made it pulled apart all the more terrible, and the plans for the sequel being scrapped are all the more infuriating. Ubisoft dropped the ball when they clearly didn’t understand what they had with this title. I can’t recommend Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Niall’s GamEir Game of the Year
2024 was a tough year with bad news constantly piling up. A seemingly never-ending witches’ cauldron bubbling over with horrors and misery. In picking a Game of the Year how could I not go with the title that had me joyously grinning from beginning to end?
Indeed this year I am going to pick the Geoff Keighley-approved Astro Bot. An evolution of the still great PS5 tech demo, the increased scope of the game as well as the constantly brilliant power-ups made for an embarrassment of riches. Slow-motion, sponge-absorbing and mind-blowingly amazing mouse power are an incredible showcase of Team Asobi’s imagination as well as the seldom shown power of this current generation of consoles.
While the actual platforming may be rudimentary (an issue that clashes with some of the quite difficult challenge levels) the entire game is an audiovisual delight and if at least one of the adorable cameos doesn’t raise a slight smile, you might just be a legit gaming Grinch. In short – I love my small metal son.
Have a great gaming Christmas GamEir gang!
Lewis’ GamEir Game of the Year
2024 was a great year for games. It was a great year in my home for games too. My son got his first physical game which is also his game of the year choice “Astro Bot”, our two player GOTY choice was “Tekken 8” but I’m here to talk about my game of the year, which I am awarding to “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”.
The second instalment of the FFVII Remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues the story of Cloud Strife and his party of friends and allies as they start their worldwide adventure to find and stop Sephiroth. Same as Final Fantasy VII Remake, this title takes the majority of the moments fans of the game are expecting and presents them in such an amazing spectacle. Almost as if the team were saying the entire way, “Hey, we know you’re expecting this but did you think it was happening like this?!” Que multiform boss fights with an arranged soundtrack that transforms the original soundtrack into something original yet still nostalgic.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth felt like reuniting with old friends and going on a road trip with them again. I was sad to see them go at the end but I know we will have one more adventure ahead of us down the line. The game was released in February and as we near the end of December, I still think back on the journey across Gaia I took after my reunion with the party after four years experiencing an avalanche of emotions along the way.
Jade’s GamEir Game of the Year
My game of the year this year is The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication. It’s a fantastic, well-rounded Taiwanese horror game. From an interesting story to characters that feel like real people, and so much in between, The Bridge Curse 2 ticks all of my boxes. I was hooked from the get-go and played through in one sitting.
I can’t recommend this game enough to all horror fans, especially those who are fans of Asian horror. I adore Asian horror and folklore, and this game captures Taiwanese ghost stories extremely well (in my opinion). I highly recommend playing The Bridge Curse games and watching the movies if you have time over the holiday season. I promise it will be time well spent! Happy holidays, friends! Thanks for spending another year with GamEir!
It’s been a pretty incredible year for gamers, both big and small titles have charmed us all. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year everyone. We’ll see you in the New Year.
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