Five Games You Should Try in 2024

After I finished up my last review of 2023, I was thinking about was how there were a bunch of great games I played throughout the year that I never got a chance to cover on this site. Many of these games were titles I thoroughly enjoyed, but played before I published my first article back in May, while others I simply did not have time to cover in depth due to the busy holiday season. Seeing as January is a traditionally slow month for game releases, I figured now would be a good opportunity to offer you all five game recommendations, in case you’re looking for an interesting title to start in the new year. I tried to pick a good mix for this article, so hopefully there’s something for everybody here – especially if you happen to love a good mystery! 

Speaking of good mysteries, let’s talk about Paradise Killer. The framework here is pretty traditional – you play as Lady Love Dies, a disgraced detective called back into the fold to investigate a grisly series of murders. That’s about as far as the traditions go, however, as the aptly named world of Paradise Island is best labeled as a retro-satanic dystopia, chock full of equally eclectic suspects to investigate. The vaporwave aesthetics and soundtrack alone are worth checking out, but Paradise Killer also manages to stand above peers in the detective genre by enabling a profound sense of player freedom. Many mystery games naturally engage in a degree of handholding to guide players to a conclusion, but Paradise Killer instead allows you to investigate as much or as little as you please. Players maintain complete freedom in scouring through evidence to construct their own theories, leading to a final trial in which they’ll get to make their case in court. Given that Lady Love Dies has complete agency in deciding who is and isn’t guilty, Paradise Killer naturally has no “true” ending. While this open-ended storytelling may be frustrating for some, it ultimately creates a more immersive investigation while also providing a welcome deal of potential replay value. If you’re looking for a wonderfully complex murder mystery to solve or are just a sucker for a sick vaporwave aesthetic, I thoroughly recommend giving Paradise Killer a shot.

Let’s pivot to mobile games for a moment. While I’m normally picky with which mobile games I dabble with, I have to admit that I am thoroughly addicted to Marvel Snap. Helmed by former Hearthstone veterans like Ben Brode and Hamilton Chu, Marvel Snap is brilliantly approachable for both new and veteran card players alike, with a straightforward design that makes the game easy to understand and deeply satisfying to master. Matches are comfortably quick, oftentimes only taking two to three minutes to complete as players drop cards to control three locations across six rounds. With a lovely mix of different location effects and a menagerie of different deck types to enjoy, Marvel Snap positions itself to make sure every match feels different than the last. A robust library of Marvel cards, varying from iconic heroes like Iron Man to comically niche picks like Jeff the Baby Land Shark, empowers players to mix and match their decks to create the ultimate dream team. The developers at Second Dinner did an excellent job at designing cards to properly represent Marvel’s extensive character catalog. For example, Thor will gain immense power once you reunite him with Mjolnir, while Domino’s superhuman luck means you’ll always draw her on turn 2.  Marvel Snap also possesses possibly the most unique method of unlocking new cards of any game I’ve ever played, in which players will unlock new additions to their deck by increasing their account level instead of purchasing booster packs. This system can be a bit of a grind at times, but players won’t need to spend any money to increase their account level, making Marvel Snap one of the more accessible free-to-play card games out there. There’s so much to enjoy in Marvel Snap for both Marvel fans and card game enjoyers alike, but be warned. Once you install this game, you may have trouble putting your phone down!

Despite being marketed as a celebration of Fire Emblem’s expansive history, Fire Emblem Engage is surprisingly very approachable for new fans of the series. Engage’s narrative unfolds in a very straightforward manner, making it accessible even for those unfamiliar with the franchise, yet you can keenly feel the absence of political intrigue that was present in its predecessor, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Narrative aside, gameplay remains the star of the show here as Fire Emblem Engage presents some of the most compelling strategy combat the franchise has ever seen. The game offers an excellent variety of playable characters, and the dozens of missions will keep you on your toes as you aim to get your army through the next perilous situation. While combat saw a significant overhaul compared to previous titles, Engage’s new Emblem Rings do wonders at setting the game apart from its’ peers. Each ring, containing the spirit of a previous Fire Emblem hero, will bolster the wielder with increased stats unique to each ring. Ring-bearers can even “engage” their rings to enter an altered stance, gaining access to new weapons and other special attacks. For example, engaging with the Emblem Ring of Ike allows the bearer to wield weapons from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and utilize Ike’s famous Great Aether attack to decimate groups of enemies.These Emblem Rings can be given to any member of the army, offering a great deal of strategic diversity as players experiment with new team strategies. For Nintendo Switch players who are looking for a more tactical game to add to their library, Fire Emblem Engage is a solid choice.

If you’re looking for tension and the occasional scare, Killer Frequency might be worth taking a look at. Set in the small town of Gallows Creek in the 1980’s, you play as Forrest Nash, a disgraced disk jockey covering his new station’s graveyard shift. While Forrest begins his shift with the usual task of playing music and answering late-night calls, he’s soon thrust into the role of a 911 dispatcher as Gallows Creek is terrorized by a rampaging serial killer known as The Whistling Man. The main gimmick of Killer Frequency is that Forrest spends almost the entirety of the game inside his radio station, leading to an audio-focused choose your own adventure thriller as you attempt to aid callers and figure out The Whistling Man’s identity. Many of the night’s callers are being terrorized by the killer, leading to nerve-wracking decisions as Forrest attempts to help potential victims hotwire cars, apply first aid, and even give directions to escape a corn maze. The game’s writing and voice acting is stellar, combining excellent tension with some occasional black comedy. It’s a pretty short story that can be completed in roughly 4-5 hours, so it makes for an excellent sort of “movie night” game to play with some friends on the couch. All in all, Killer Frequency offers a refreshing new perspective on the slasher genre, making it an excellent choice for players looking for something a little bit different.   

It’s been a very long time since a multiplayer shooter has made me excited to play it. That’s less a knock on industry titans like Fortnite and more a recognition that the last time a new shooter really excited me was when Apex Legends released back in 2019 (https://youtu.be/UMJb_mkqynU?si=2P2gcFj1ZMvsPB90). Since then, the shooter market has mostly been dominated by battle royales and the occasional Call of Duty release. That may change now that The Finals has finally been released. Created in part by former Battlefield developers, The Finals is a high-octane shooter with tight gunplay, fluid mobility, and unusual game modes. Instead of traditional offerings like Team Deathmatch and Capture The Flag, The Finals features modes like Cash Out, where three teams of players attempt to steal and extract a safe while thwarting assaults from their opponents. Players have three unique classes to choose from, offering different movement speeds, health bars, weapons, and gadgets for their loadouts. There’s lots of fun to be had mixing a number of gadgets with the game’s library of unusual weapons to create the competitor of your choice. In matches, each and every building and structure is fully destructible, adding to the memorable chaos of every gunfight. Matches even have occasional “Game Show Events” in which randomized effects could go off, such as meteor showers, orbital lasers, or low gravity zones. For competitive shooter fans who are looking to take a break from the usual battle royales, I highly recommend giving The Finals a try – especially since it’s free to download!

I hope you take the opportunity to try out some of these recommendations – they’re a bit of a random mix, but I do believe they’re all worth your time! As for what you can expect from me and this website going forward, I do have a number of games on my docket that will be getting played and reviewed. I’m almost finished playing through Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and following that review, I intend to play Marvel’s Midnight Suns, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and finally, Baldur’s Gate 3, so look forward to seeing some articles on those games within the first few months of this year. I have a feeling 2024 is going to be a good year, so be sure to enjoy it by playing some quality games!