PixlBit

2024 has come and gone. There were ups and downs (my gosh, it could be downright brutal at times) but I got to play cool games and that's what really matters, right?

Games Beaten

January—RWBY: Arrowfell (Switch); Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch)

February—Pop'n Twinbee (SNES - Switch Online); Vampire Survivors (Switch); Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Switch)

I did love the art style for this game

March—

April—Hello Neighbor 2 (PS5); Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Switch)

May—Depixtion (Switch)

June—Dragon Marked for Death (Switch)

July—Hollow Knight (PS5)

August—Live A Live (Switch); Moon Chronicles (3DS); Nano Assault EX (3DS); Yakuza 0 (PS4)

September—Death's Door (PS5); Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Switch)

October—Gato Roboto (Switch); Runbow (Wii U); Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons (Switch)

November—Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (Wii U); Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)

December—Kirby Star Allies (Switch); PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids (Switch)

Total Beaten: 23

In 2023 I got through only 13 games, so 23 games in 2024 was a big jump!

Games Bought

or somehow acquired

Note: Click on a month to go to that month's recap and see what these games are. The PS+ games in parentheses are part of the total but I wanted to make special note of them since I didn't have to pay for them beyond the subscription fee.

January—4 (PS+: 3)

February—1 (PS+: 1)

March—3 (PS+: 2)

April—4 (PS+: 3)

May—3 (PS+: 2)

June—6 (PS+: 2)

July—3

August—4 (PS+: 3)

September—3 (PS+: 2)

October—5 (PS+: 1)

November—4 (PS+: 2)

December—13

Total Bought/Acquired: 53 (PS+: 21)

When you take out the PS+ games and consider that some of these games were for or bought by my kids, the ratio of games beat to games bought is a lot closer to balanced...though the backlog hole is still deeper than it was before lol.

Addendum of Sorrow

Games I spent time with in 2024 but didn't finish

-Factorio (Switch)

My older brother bought this game for me so we could play together and we did, but not enough to finish a run (build a rocket and escape the planet) and this is not the kind of game I enjoy playing by myself. Who knows, maybe we'll pick it up again next year.

 * * *

The Golden Hippo Awards

And now it's time for the Golden Hippo Awards! These awards are based solely on the actual games I played in 2024, regardless of whether or not they came out in 2024.

Why Is This Fun?: Vampire Survivors (Switch)

When you boil it down, Vampire Survivors is a game about walking around collecting power ups while your character auto-attacks. You survive as long as possible but if you reach an arbitrary limit, you're killed anyway. But why is this so complelling and fun? I don't know but I had a great time playing it.

Great Challenge Until It Is Too Much: Hollow Knight (PS5)

Hollow Knight is a great game and any fan of the Metroidvania genre should definitely play it. But dang, good luck if you want to see all the endings! Those endgame boss rushes are ridiculous. Just check out those last couple endings on youtube.

Best Music: Live A Live (Switch)

I enjoyed this RPG quite a bit, though I was not as high on it as a lot of others. But when you reached the boss at the end of a chapter and this song kicked in, hoo boy! It does such an amazing job of getting you pumped to fight.

Best Story: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Switch)

Visual novels, by their very nature, are basically just stories. Some VNs, like this one, add in some more gamey elements but the story still better be good and Danganronpa did not disappoint. So much murder! I am looking forward to playing the rest of the series in 2025 (hopefully).

Game of the Year: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)

I have always loved a good Metroidvania and I played quite a few in 2024 but Prince of Persia stood above the others. It met the first requirement for this genre—solid controls—with ease and built upon that a large interesting world that was fun to explore. The combat system strikes a deft balance between depth and accessibility, dodging the bullets of boring fights and overbearing mechanics. The power ups, so important in a game like this, do not always follow the tropes you would expect and help keep the experience interesting. The story, world, and music are all good to great. And the game has a slew of challenges to test your mettle and skill...that are blessedly optional. Last but not least, you can take pictures and afix them to your map. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH WHAT A BOON THIS SIMPLE ADDITION IS! Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an excellent game and my favorite from 2024.