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Dec 21, 2024 By Austin Trunick and Mark Redfern

The clock continues to tick down to the holiday season, and we’re continuing to lend a hand with our annual holiday gift guide—and highlighting some of our favorite (and easily gift-able) suggestions for 2024 releases. We’ve already covered vinyl records, sweaters, books, new home video releases and reissues, and tabletop games. Today, we’ll be looking at some of 2024’s most acclaimed new video game releases, plus some sneaky-awesome games that have been flying under the radar. This is the final installment of our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide.

Video Games

Balatro (LocalThunk - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch/Steam)

RRP: $14.99

It’s fascinating that two of the most replayable games to hit modern consoles in the last couple years look like they came ripped from a Sega Genesis cartridge — but in the case of Vampire Survivors and this lateness hotness, Balatro, the retro aesthetic is just candy coating over deliciously addictive gameplay.

Balatro is a card game where you’ll be putting together poker hands and trying to hit a set number of points each round. Your card values are multiplied by the value of the hand type… and by a bazillion other factors. In between rounds you’ll be purchasing Joker cards that apply unique bonuses or powers to your played cards, upgrading the values of various hands, adding and removing cards from your deck, or even manipulating the cards you already have and giving them extra abilities. All of these things play off each other and spiral into huge combos. It’s a mathsy, tricky deckbuilder, and its randomly-generated runs will have inclined players constantly looking for new ways to break its system wide open to reach high scores and beat higher difficulty runs. A constant stream of unlockable content makes it even more addicting. I never imagined I’d spend such a high percentage of my 2024 gaming hours playing what looks like a 16-bit video poker game, but here we are. Balatro has me absolutely hooked. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

Indika (Odd Meter - Xbox/PlayStation/Windows)

RRP: $24.99

Indika is a young nun whose dark visions have made her a pariah to her convent. Given only the most menial, demeaning jobs, Indika is finally sent away to deliver a letter through a dangerous and desolate warzone. Along the way, she is taken hostage by an escaped prisoner – and they become companions on this surreal journey.

The world of Indika is a haunting vision of Cold War-era Europe, where feral “dogs” larger than men stalk the snowy landscape, villages are torn apart by factory explosions, and fish the size of boats are processed into cans as large as forklifts. First and foremost Indika is a narrative experience, told through an ever-shifting variety of video game styles: it’s a gorgeous, third-person puzzle-solving adventure until it becomes a retro platformer, a racing game, or something else entirely. Rarely do games come along that subvert players’ expectations so daringly as this one; the closest that come to mind are classics such as The Stanley Parable or What Remains of Edith Finch. Indika is entrancingly strange, unshakably memorable, and not to be missed. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo - Switch)

RRP: $59.99

Echoes of Wisdom is the latest addition to the Legend of Zelda game franchise. What’s most notable about it is that it is the first time you’ve ever been able to play as Zelda as the main character. Despite the series featuring her name, in most previous Zelda games you play as Link, often as he attempts to rescue Zelda. Here the script is flipped and you play as Zelda as she tries to save Link. Zelda fights to stop the rifts from taking over Hyrule.

In Echoes of Wisdom you get to do cool things you can’t do in other Zelda games, such as place down chairs or pots out of midair. It has easy controls for the Switch and a really good story to follow where Link is taken into the rift. Unlike most other Zelda games, you can swim underwater, which is a nice touch. The Japanese company Grezzo developed the game with Nintendo. Grezzo also developed the 2019 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the two games have a similar visual style. By Rose Redfern and Mark Redfern (Buy it here.)

Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch/Windows)

RRP: $49.99

It’s tough to follow up a game so beloved and original as the original Life is Strange. There have been numerous sequels, spin-offs, and even a prequel game, but none have directly continued the storyline from the 2015 classic — until now. Double Exposure reconnects players with Max Caulfield, the original’s protagonist, ten years after the events of that game. Now working at a New England university, her time-rewinding powers having long since left her, she’s adjusted to a relatively normal adult life. When a friend dies, though, she finds herself not able to bend time, but able to shift between two parallel universes: her actual timeline, and another where her friend is still alive.

Double Exposure is a worthy follow-up to the classic Life is Strange, continuing Max’s story in a way that doesn’t feel cheap or tacked-on. Her new powers challenge players to solve puzzles (and the game’s larger mysteries) in new ways. Players’ choices feel impactful, and the acting – these are the best the character models have moved and emoted yet – is as excellent as we’ve come to expect from the franchise. Any fan of the series shouldn’t hesitate to dive back in. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

Pinball FX and Pinball M (Zen Studios - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch/Steam)

RRP: Price Varies by Table

For years now, Zen Studios have been releasing some of the best digital pinball tables on the market. The latest Pinball FX continues to meet their high bar for excellence, whether you’re looking for faithful adaptations of classic, real-world machines from Williams, or spectacularly complex tables inspired by the Marvel and Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones, The Princess Bride, Pacific Rim, and more. Pinball M is the home to the franchise’s mature-themed tables. This is where you’ll find some really cool horror tables, with licenses based on films such as John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Child’s Play, and games like System Shock and Dead by Daylight.

Tables can be purchased individually, or in value packs – leaving the player free to customize their collection when and however they like for as little as a few dollars per table. That’s not much more than you’d pay for a single game at some barcades these days! There’s a lot of great value to be found here for the pinball enthusiast. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered (Skunkape Games - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch/Steam)

RRP: $19.99

Batman and Robin, move over: the world’s most dynamic crimefighting duo are back in Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse. Sam (a six-foot tall dog) and Max (a hyperkinetic rabbity thing) are called upon for their freelance police work when General Skunkape, an alien gorilla, crashes his ship into New York City. Meanwhile, Max finds himself the conduit for an arsenal of psychic powers – and that’s just the first episode of this five-part remaster of Telltale’s third season of Sam & Max.

These episodic Sam & Max adventurers were some of the funniest tales to feature Steve Purcell’s beloved duo, who had previously appeared in comic books and strips, a short-lived cartoon series, and a classic LucasArts adventure game. Now fully remastered with helpful quality-of-life improvements, Sam and Max’s late-’00s adventures shouldn’t be missed. The Devil’s Playhouse has many callbacks to Sam & Max Save the World and Sam & Max: Beyond Space and Time, so you’ll want to start with those first — but any fan of point-and-click adventures or the series’ offbeat sense of humor won’t be able to help themselves but play all three. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

SteamWorld Heist II (Thunderful - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch/Steam)

RRP: $29.99

Take to the seas in your submarine full of customizable robot soldiers in SteamWorld Heist II, a compulsively playable blend of turn-based and real-time strategy. The real-time tactical side of the game has you moving your squad of ‘bots through complex, multi-tiered levels, and angling your shots so that bullets ricochet off walls, the ceiling, and floors to hit an enemy. You can upgrade each of your robots through a satisfying tech tree and fine-tune their firepower by equipping your favorites from more than one hundred weapons.

The real-time side of the game takes place on the game’s large sea maps, where you’ll be guiding your submarine and trading shots with hostile enemy vessels; there’s a push-your-luck element to this game, as you’ll be plundering treasure along the way but will lose it all if you can’t get your sub back to safety.

SteamWorld Heist II offers dozens of hours of gameplay, and will keep players glued the entire way as they keep tweaking their combatants. Plus, the graphics are lively and the soundtrack – with songs by Steam Powered Giraffe – is quite excellent, too. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

Stray (BlueTwelve - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch/Steam)

RRP: $29.99

Stray is a video game about an orange stray cat who falls into an underground city full of robots. Over time the cat tries to get back to the surface to reunite with his other cat friends. Throughout the story you make a robot drone friend named B-12 and he helps you get back to the surface. You play as the cat, wandering the city, and solving various puzzles with B-12’s help.

Annapurna Interactive published the game, with development beginning in 2015 by BlueTwelve Studio founders Koola and Viv. The city in the game was inspired by Kowloon Walled City, a lawless enclave of Hong Kong that was demolished in the 1990s. We were sent the Switch version of the game, which was released last month, but it’s also available on various other platforms, including the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Series X/S.

It is an overall really unique and fun game to play and has a really good story to follow. How many other games can you name that feature cats, drones, and robots? By Rose Redfern and Mark Redfern (Buy it here.)

System Shock Remake (Nightdive Studios - Xbox/PlayStation/Steam/GOG)

RRP: $39.99

You’ve awoken suddenly from the deep sleep of a medically-necessitated coma. It’s clear right away that something terrible has happened upon the Citadel space station while you slumbered. Most of the crew has been killed or, worse, turned into zombie-like cyborgs. You’re able to make contact with some fellow survivors in different parts of the ship, and you’ll have to work together with them against Citadel’s malicious artificial intelligence, SHODAN, who has turned everyone – and everything – on the ship against its human occupants.

This writer has fond memories of playing the original release of System Shock on CD-ROM, huddled under a blanket in front of my family’s massive PC and being frightened as heck by ghouls lurking around the bend in a corridor. Thirty years later (the original came out in 1994) and this is still perhaps the finest-writter horror game I’ve ever come across, with one of my all-time favorite villains in SHODAN, who taunts you throughout the game. This remastered System Shock is just as creepy as the original, but far more pleasurable to play in the year 2024 and beyond thanks to updated gameplay, graphics, controls, and sound. (SHODAN’s voice actor has returned, because you can’t top perfection.) For those who haven’t experienced it, this is the best way to play the game that spawned several more masterpieces (System Shock 2 and the spiritual successor BioShock series) or for longtime fans to dive back in. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Atlus - Xbox/PlayStation/Switch)

RRP: $59.99

You’re the deposed of a once-great kingdom. An evil magic led your family’s supporters to betray their benevolent rules, and a darkness has enveloped the land. A child then, you’ve returned an adult and are leading a rebel force to liberate your people fron their wicked despot. As you march across the lands that were once your home, more fighters join your side, and your small liberation force grows into an army.

Unicorn Overlord is a massive strategy RPG from Vanillaware, the developer behind 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and Odin Sphere. From the gameplay perspective, this is deep, deep, deep: Unicorn Overlord allows you to customize your units from an insane number of classes, which complement each other in thousands of possible combinations. (This is on top of being able to fine-tune their equipment loadouts, prioritize their ability trees, and alter their exp growth patterns.) It’s also a BIG game packed with things to do, battles to win, towns to liberate, and sidequests to complete; just as you think you’re nearing the end of the story, it will zoom out again to reveal that, in reality, you’re closer to the beginning than to the finish line. (At risk of letting you know just how old I am, Unicorn Overlord reminded me of the grand scale of Ogre Battle on the SNES combined with the intricate class systems of Final Fantasy Tactics.) The game also features good writing, fantastic voice acting, and excellent anime-style character designs. It’s the most hooked we’ve gotten on a strategy RPG since the early days of the Disgaea franchise. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

Books

Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family (First Second)

RRP: $29.99

Jordan Mechner’s graphic novel Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family tells his family story across three generations. Mechner is the video game designer behind Karateka and the influential Prince of Persia, and his story tracks not only the changes in what has become the leading entertainment industry, but his changing roles as a father, a husband, and a son. Replay also tells the story of his father, Francis, a renowned psychologist who spent his childhood as Jewish refugee in occupied Europe; and that of his grandfather, Adolph Mechner, who fought for Austria in the First World War, became a physician, and then had to flee to Cuba when the Nazis took power.

Replay weaves their stories into his using excerpts from journal entries, allowing readers to hear their tale in their own words. It’s a stirring historical graphic novel, repeatedly reminding readers of how both small chances and large choices have effects that ripple across generations. By Austin Trunick (Buy it here.)

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