All photos included are official content. No spoilers ahead, so don’t worry.

Well, it’s that time of year again. Here are some of the games I played and enjoyed the most in 2024.

1. Baldur’s Gate 3

Last year, at the end of my year-in-review games post, I mentioned a few games I had wanted to play but couldn’t. Well, I’ve now built that “more capable computer,” and I’ve followed through with playing those games, and the only one I have yet to play is Elden Ring—fingers crossed for next year, I suppose. But yes, essentially the first thing I did with the new rig was download Baldur’s Gate 3, and play through it alongside my spouse.

To put it succinctly: this game has earned its acclaim. Everything from the map to the music to the voice acting to the flavor text has a level of professional polish that turns an incredible base game into a verifiable masterpiece. If you have even a passing familiarity with D&D fifth edition, you’ll feel right at home in the mechanics of the game, with most of the changes feeling intuitive, and even the role-playing stays impressively flexible for a bunch of ones and zeros.

When this game first released, consumers and developers alike were saying that Larian Studios had raised the bar for open world RPGs of all kinds, and I’m really hoping this proves true. At the very least, I can personally attest: Baldur’s Gate 3 was so good that I bought Larian’s other titles, the Divinity: Original Sin games, with no hesitation. I haven’t started them yet, though. I have plenty left to do in honor mode.

2. Diablo IV

Of course, the second thing I did with my computer was play the new Diablo. I picked up this game essentially blind because I have a soft spot for Diablo III, going back all the way to its release in 2012. As a kid, I enjoyed it as a standard action RPG, but I also returned to it again years later and got really into those delicious endgame loot shenanigans.

Fortunately, Diablo IV delivers on all of Diablo III’s strengths and more. You choose some abilities, kill some monsters, earn some loot, and repeat that loop to your heart’s content, like always, but everything has been revamped, visually and otherwise, making it feel like a proper evolution of the previous game.

The bread and butter gameplay doesn’t require a ton of concentration once you’re settled into a build, which means it’s surprisingly relaxing to play—perfect for having something else on in the background. But crafting that build, experimenting with your abilities and items, is where the real engagement happens, and that part is more refined than ever. This time around, I opted to skip the online meta guides and learn by rote which abilities I preferred, building around those, and I had a blast doing it. I played for about a month, but I only played one class, which means I have at least five more reasons to return to the game in the future.

3. Hades II

In my first year-in-review post, I wrote about Hades, and while I was writing that post, Supergiant Games announced that a sequel was in development. I have been eagerly waiting for its release ever since—and technically, I still am. But as of May this year, Hades II has been available to play in early access, and I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it.

Typically, playing a game this early in development means you’re playing something pretty rough around the edges, so I had my reservations about trying it out before release. But not so with Hades II. Once I heard that the game already included more voiced dialogue lines than the original game ever had, I dropped the thirty dollars to play it early, and was immediately impressed with how complete the gameplay feels. Sure, the story progression stops you at a certain point, and some important areas aren’t yet accessible, but the core game is all there, already easily on par with the standards set by Hades.

What’s more, the developers are taking feedback and periodically making huge changes to weapon and enemy balance, among other things. This is surprisingly fun, because it means you get to experience the refinements as they happen, and try out everything they change or add whenever there’s an update. I’ve come back to the game once already after the big content update in October, and I plan to do the same again in the new year when the next one hits.

4. Bloons TD 6

This might seem like a bit of an oddball inclusion, but suffice it to say this game earned its place on this list just like the rest. I spent a lot of time playing it, for one thing. But it’s also a great game, not just as goofy games about monkeys and balloons go, but on its own raw merits. It’s accessible but strategically deep, it has a perfectly paced progression system with plenty of fun cosmetics, and the sound of popping thousands of balloons (sorry, *bloons) at a time is simply so satisfying.

In my opinion, BTD6 is the absolute gold standard in tower defense games, a genre that its predecessors effectively popularized, and the now 6-year-old game continues to receive new updates and seasonal content to this day. It works great on mobile, and you can even play cross-platform on desktop, which I highly recommend if you start wanting to make even more precise adjustments to those monkeys.

5. Super Smash Bros. Melee

This game earns the prize for the oldest game to make the list, including past year’s lists and most likely including all future years as well, seeing as it was released twenty-three years ago. I’ve written a bit before about my passion for Melee, but suffice to say it’s been a staple in my life for more than nine years, and it has this uncanny ability to just never get old.

Since my high school days, the rate at which I practice this inherently competitive game has slowed significantly—as has the rate at which I attend local tournaments—but the incredibly sound, community-built online netplay matchmaking system has allowed the game to still have a presence in my life. So long as I have a stable internet connection, I can boot up the game literally any time I want and play a few matches, so it’s perfect for when I need a break or when I’m not sure what else to play.

As I settle in a bit more in the twin cities, I hope to get more involved in that local scene, but even if I don’t, Melee won’t be going anywhere.

Philip Rienstra

Phil Rienstra (they/he) (‘21) studied writing and music, and since graduating has developed a deep interest in labor rights. They currently work at a unionized Starbucks and volunteer with Starbucks Workers United. They’re an amateur chef, a perennial bandana wearer, and an Enneagram 4. He lives in St. Paul with his spouse, Heidi.