Games of Summer 2024

Really, this is more the “Games of 2024” so far, but I’m writing this at the end of summer, which seems like a good time to look back. All of these were played on my trusty Steam Deck, which is still proving to be my favorite way to play games; handheld, connected to a TV, or with a mouse and keyboard via a USB-C dock.

There were some other miscellaneous games I played. Some of them were huge and live large in the gaming consciousness, such as Helldivers 2, but I don’t have much to add over what has already been said.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

You might think I was inspired by the announcement of the upcoming Snake Eater remake to play Sons of Liberty, but it really wasn’t anything in particular. Just some vague association with the early 2000’s, which I often have, and which triggers me to play a game from the period that I never had the chance to.

This game and its story is as wacky as you’d expect, but go in not taking it seriously, and it still holds up. The graphics are awesome if you compare it to its contemporaries. Especially with emulation and 3x scaling enabled; I played this via Playstation 2 emulation as I wanted to play an original version and not a later PC port. Lots of strangely-specific attentions to detail, too. Try shooting Seagulls and observe how your in-game allies react.

I find the fixed camera style endearing, but the archaic controls less so. Certain actions depend on the PS2’s lesser remembered pressure sensitive buttons, which I couldn’t figure out how to make compatible with the Steam Deck’s controller.

I remember criticism from the time about the length of cut-scenes, and boy were they right. You’ll go from watching a 10 minute scene, gain back control to cross a short hallway, and immediately start another 10 minute cut-scene. It’s honestly hilarious, and I was glad emulation gave me the ability to pause and save states at any time for breaks.

UFO 50

This is the most recent game I’ve started playing and UFO 50 is really 50 games instead of just one, so I still have more to explore. It’s a collection of retro-style games packaged as if they were actually released 40 years ago on a game console that never existed.

From the subset of the 50 I’ve tried, there’s already an amazing amount of variety: action, racing, puzzle, strategy, and even lots of same-screen multiplayer support. Each game seems to be a remix of other well-known games, generally with a little twist thrown in. All feel very creative.

My favorite so far is a strategy game that somehow splits the difference between advance wars, Heroes of Might & Magic, and one of those auto battler games. From UFO 50’s main screen you “dust-off” each game for the first time, and I instantly lost an hour on this one, and I still have 40 more to go!

Selaco

A product of the boomer shooter craze of the past few years, but maybe the best of all of them. I’m a huge Doom fan (old and new) so this one was right up my alley.

Selaco’s graphics are in that pixelated style and look fantastic. The detail of the environments are impressive too, with tons of interactive and physical doodads. All of this is made more impressive by the fact the game is built on GZDoom. Absolutely wild.

It’s no surprise the gameplay is somewhat similar to Doom: it’s a shooter after all. However, it’s really more of a mix between Fear, specifically the combat, and Bioshock, taking elements like audio logs, vending machines, and environment exploration.

Definitely worth a look if you are a single-player shooter fan like me.

Deadlock

These days I don’t play a lot of competitive multiplayer games. I used to, but no longer enjoy them as much in this phase of my life. Maybe it’s not just me but that the games have changed in a way that’s less appealing. I’m still deciding.

In any case, this is relevant because Deadlock is a competitive multiplayer game, and it’s a MOBA, a genre I’ve mostly stayed away from. On the surface it doesn’t seem like one I’d go for. But it has a few things in its favor: it’s made by Valve, a developer I adore, and it’s a shooter instead of a top-down, which I like more. So I had to try it.

With the caveat that the game is still early in development, I see a lot of promise. The gameplay feels tight and interesting. A lot of the MOBA elements are at least new to me, and I like all of the guidance they’ve already built into the game for newbies like myself, like suggested ability upgrades, community curated item templates, and recommended first characters.

Unfortunately, I still see many of the things I don’t like. Sweaty matchmaking with a core game loop of farming souls (or whatever they are called) that feels exhausting. I’m still excited to see how it evolves and will probably just play along as casually as possible.

Alien: Isolation

Yet another type of game I normally don’t go for: horror. But Alien: Isolation had been in my back catalog for many years, and I finally found time for it.

It was mostly the games attention to detail in its recreation of the Alien movies that attracted me. And indeed, they did a fantastic job here. I actually watched the original 1979 Alien movie not long after finishing the game, and was amazed by how accurately the game developers replicated the details.

I did enjoy the elements of exploration in the game, but the horror aspects did nothing for me, and really had to slog my way through those parts. As a full-grown adult, I still have to admit those facehuggers gave me more than a few jumps.

Dread Delusion

An indie game that had a lot of the right words said about it to get it on my radar. Those retro graphics with the wibbly-wobbly PS1 textures. An unusual setting and environment that felt like Morrowind on acid. Plus, a strong focus on exploration and just a certain sort of vibe.

At least for the first few hours, this all worked pretty well for me. I really do like how progression is strongly linked to exploration, encouraging you to investigate every nook and cranny of the game world. Sometimes you’ll find ability points, or gold, or a terrifying monstrosity that turns out just wants to have a conversation.

Unfortunately, I fell off this one. While the game wears its Morrowind influences on its sleeve, too much seeped into its combat, which is not particularly fun. Perhaps the game was also too weird for me, and so the story never pulled me in.

Immortality

Easily the most “different” game I’ve played this year, or really in a long time. It’s less of a game and more of an interactive, non-linear movie with surreal and supernatural elements.

Given that as the player you are mostly watching rather than “playing”, meaning there’s no real fun from holding the controller, the game had the surprising effect of being enjoyable by my partner as well. It was fun to attempt to unravel the story together, and benefited from having more both of our heads put together, as we each noticed different things.

There’s a moment where a certain “mechanic” is finally discovered that is really the best part of the game. It reminded me of a similar feeling I got from The Witness.

Definitely check out Immortality if you’re looking for something different. Note that the game does have mature elements, so not one for the kids.

Journey

Yet another game that made its way onto my backlog after hearing so much about it over a decade ago. I don’t have too much to add so I’ll just keep it short and repeat the obvious parts: A beautiful game, short, sweet, and surprising multiplayer elements.

Ori and the Blind Forest

Continuing the theme of backlog clearing (I really made a dent this year!), Ori was one I knew I would eventually get around to. I love the Metroidvania genre, and while Ori stuck to the core of those games pretty tightly, I was still pleased to see it try some new ideas.

The game has an unusual resource management system tied to saving. You are given a limited number of saves in the form of energy, requiring you to optimize the best places to do so. You may want to save after each difficult jump or fight, but do so too often and you’ll quickly find yourself needing to repeat longer stretches of later parts of the area. Important as the game is no push-over.

Otherwise, the game is beautiful, the music ethereal, and the whole thing has the vibe of a big animated movie. Worth a look given how often this game is sold for only $5.

System Shock

I have a tiny bit of nostalgia for the original System Shock, having played it as a kid. I think it was actually a demo or shareware version, not the actual full game. I remember being very confused, barely making it out of the first several rooms, but still being mesmerized (really, any game did that to me back then).

So I was excited to check out the remake, especially having played some of the other remasters from Nightdive Studios. But its clear they went much farther with this game, where they essentially built a brand new game around the bones of the original.

It runs great and the controls are modern, even on the Steam Deck. The cyberpunk atmosphere comes through in a way that was impossible for the original game to ever convey. If you are a fan of the Bioshock series like I am, you owe it to yourself to see where the series started from.

Wrapping Up

That’s all the games for now. I still have more games that I’ve been meaning to play, so you may find another roundup like this one in another couple of months. I may also do a few one-off posts about specific games like I did for Myst, which reminds me that the remake for Riven came out in the mean time, so maybe that’ll be next. Until then!