Off the Shelf Media

Without a doubt, Stardew Valley is a cozy gamer’s dream. There is not a single aspect of this game I don’t enjoy. From the simple design to the easy click-and-point style of play and endless hours of exploration and narrative that will keep you saying “one more day” for hours upon hours. Not to mention, the music exudes peace and tranquility. The soundtrack is so soothing it’s even spurred an international orchestra concert. Yes, I’m being serious. While the game was originally released in 2016, the 1.6 update was released for PC in March and consoles in November of this year. In addition to handling generic bug fixes, the update included a new “mastery” system, a new farm layout, upgrading co-op to eight players (on PC), and plenty of new dialogue and items to keep even day-one players engaged. The update even earned the game a nomination for the “Labor of Love” Award on Steam. There’s a reason Stardew Valley continuously overshadows every other game in my Steam library for played hours, and I don’t anticipate that to change anytime soon. 

Most Anticipated 2025 Release: Aloft

Aloft has been on my Steam wishlist for a while. It’s been on my list for so long, I don’t even remember how I originally came across it. But I remember why I saved it to my list. After seeing a gameplay trailer, it reminded me so much of Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky (an underrated classic). If you read my recent Europa review, you’ll recall that I am both a sucker for cozy games and a pretty big fan of Studio Ghibli. The game is being described as a “co-op sandbox survival game set in a world of floating islands.” Yeah, sold. At the time of writing this, the game is set to release in Early Access on January 15, 2025. Offering co-op with up to eight people, the game sounds pretty promising. Of course, Early Access means it might not be a winner straight out of the gate. Either way, I’ve already been waiting this long, I’m okay with a few bumps and bugs if it means we’ll have a sandbox-style game with a Studio Ghibli-esque story behind it.     

Game of the Year: Helldivers II

When you examine Helldivers II, it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that appear in every game these days. There is not an open world, quests, crafting mechanics, or really more than one or two NPCs you can even interact with. While there are two main enemies (three with the launch of ‘the Illuminate’ in a large patch in December), the core gameplay mechanics are the same. Land on a planet overrun by hostile forces and “Spread Democracy” with every type of weapon you can imagine. This game is so much simpler than so many other big launches, so how does it land in my top spot? The gameplay is phenomenal, cooperative gameplay is flawless and has immersed me more than some AAA RPGs in the worlds we are fighting on. From a basic firefight against a bug patrol on your way to the next objective, to fighting off dozens of robot dropships with airstrikes, turrets, and rocket launchers as you await extract, the game keeps you locked in from the moment your hellpod hits the ground. The pure adrenaline of this game can make a 40-minute, medium-difficulty mission feel like you just stormed Normandy Beach if Normandy Beach was filled with aliens who hate our way of life and the beauty of managed democracy. Lastly, friendly fire is very much a thing in this game and leads to many hilarious encounters with friends when one person drops an airstrike just a BIT too close. 

Most Anticipated 2025 Release: Sid Meier’s Civilization VII

The next big release in the Sid Meier’s Franchise is set to hit stores in 2025 and I am very excited to see the next step in this series. Out of all the ones that came before, I have put by far the most hours into ‘Civ 5,’ but ‘Civ 6’ did have some interesting mechanics as well. The thing I am really excited to see is that they are really overhauling the city systems within Civilization VII, and taking a lot of inspiration from another great game Humankind. Admittedly, Humankind did take a lot from the ‘Civ’ Franchise itself but tweaked the city-building mechanics in a way that made every city feel unique. I am hoping they can take the best parts of the last few games combined with their new mechanics, and add to an already impressive catalog of games that has defined the turn-based strategy genre for the last decade. 

Game of the Year: Shadows of Doubt

Now normally I am not the type to buy the most recent game. Especially considering the amount of patchwork and updates that hit any new title in the following months after release. While it is not my typical behavior I was surprised to learn the recent titles I have, even if some of them actually feel a little long in the tooth, cough 7 Days cough, from their time in production to release. With that being said it should come as no surprise that my Game of Year pick is going to come from indie developer Cole Powered Games and you may have even already read my review of it: Shadows of Doubt. I casually had my eye on it for some time and it came as a surprise smash hit, going well beyond my expectations. Cheers to some extra time spent sleuthing. 

Most anticipated 2025 release: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

This pick is a lot easier to make, not because there aren’t options to look forward to next year. Rather Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has already won a special place in my mind because of the great delivery of the first title. Kingdom Come: Deliverance felt like a masterpiece on all fronts. The story, unique mechanics, graphics, and diligence of the team that developed it to maintain a high-quality product made me happy to have pre-purchased before launch. It could be the last game I have preordered and it certainly ended up being worth it. Now that the studio has more of a name for itself because of their initial success it is a different story to see how it plays out but personally, I can’t wait. 

Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption

I spent a good portion of my 2024 gaming life hanging out with an old cowboy I once knew. A lot of people might read that and assume I’m talking about a cowboy named Arthur Morgan, a man who we all grew to love and admire in one of the most heart-wrenching well written stories in gaming to date. But alas, I was not with Arthur Morgan. Instead, I spent over 100 hours of my precious free time roaming around a strikingly more barren open world, in a time that wanted to push out the cowboy kind even more than the Pinkertons and Leviticus Cornwall ten years prior. 

Most Anticipated 2025 Release: Ghost of Yotei

In 2025, I’m looking forward to becoming a samurai all over again in the highly anticipated sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yotei. “People come north to disappear, but you are hunting.” I am so excited to immerse myself on the island of Yotei, experiencing another exciting tale in mid-century Japan. Ghost of Tsushima felt so raw, especially when you turned on that black-and-white filter with the Japanese audio, sheeeeeesh. I have high expectations that Ghost of Yotei will drop us onto a vast and beautiful island, with bright colors and interesting people, yet not forgetting the brutal and realistic take on this time period Ghost of Tsushima put forward.

Game of the Year: Roboquest

Tons of great games out in 2024, including Black Myth: Wukong, Helldivers II, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Balatro, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, College Football 2025, the list goes on. Or so I’ve heard, because I didn’t buy or play anything that was released this year. I’m a patient gamer who got burned by his last two preorders (No Man’s Sky and Battlefield 2042, yes, I’m that guy). Call me cheap. So like any sensible person who buys a used car, I’m going with the new to me Roboquest from 2023. It’s an FPS rogue-like with a great variety of guns and perks, challenging enemies, and fantastic movement. My only gripe was the lack of a looping mechanic for the comically overpowered kinds of builds I love, but they just added one in a recent update.

Most Anticipated 2025 Release: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Sticking with the patient gaming theme, I’m really looking forward to picking up Indiana Jones and the Great Circle once it hits a decent sale in 2025. An all-time franchise that hasn’t had a good game in at least two decades, early reviews extremely good with a strong single story with plenty of puzzles, secrets, and exploration. It’s a character and setting I love, and I’m excited to get a game that finally does it justice.

Game of the Year: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

My game of the year for 2024 is Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. I know this game originally came out in 1999 and the ‘definitive edition’ in 2019 but hear me out. Age II had two massive DLCs come out in 2024 starting with Victors and Vanquished on March 14th. This added 19 brand-new campaign missions to the game and with it came innovation. A typical Age campaign is five missions that can take 3-5 hours to complete. This DLC combines those five missions into one super mission. It took me five hours to complete one mission and it was five hours well spent. Chronicles: Battle for Greece was released on November 14th and added a lot more to the game. Video cutscenes, three new teams to play as, and a captivating story through history. Age of Empires II is not just the definitive Age game, it proves time and time again to be the greatest RTS game ever made so it easily gets my 2024 game of the year. Well, that and I didn’t buy or play any game released in 2024, but that’s neither here nor there. 

Most Anticipated 2025 Release:  Tales of the Shire

Tales of the Shire comes out on March 25, 2025, and I could not be more excited for this game. I’ve been a fan boy for Lord of the Rings since 2002 when I watched The Fellowship of the Ring on DVD and I watch all 3 movies in one sitting once a year. Tales of the Shire is a casual life simulation game where you live as a Hobbit in the Shire. Think of it as a cross between Stardew Valley but you grow Old Toby in addition to carrots and PO-TA-TOS. You know how Gary Vee’s dream is to buy the New York Jets? Well if I had $500 billion dollars I would go to New Zealand, buy the Shire, and work as a hobbit living on the film set until I die. That’s my dream. But we live in reality, friends, so this game will be the next best thing. I’ll see ya there, but until then, y’all take care. 

Game of the Year: Silent Hill 2 Remake

In a year rife with so-so to pretty good to downright abysmal releases, only a handful of games really stood out from the rest. Silent Hill 2 from Bloober Team and Konami is the one that stood out the most. While still retaining the spirit of the original release, Bloober Team gave gamers a great, original-ish experience that not only doubled the original’s duration, it also utilized some of the best techniques in modern gameplay mechanics and hardware usage. Though some gameplay quirks here and there kept me from giving the game a perfect 10 out of 10 in my review, the atmosphere, voice acting, and adherence to the source material make this as close to perfect of a game as one can get. I encourage anyone with the capability of playing this game to do just that: play it. You won’t regret your time or money spent.

Most Anticipated 2025 release: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Though originally slated for a 2024 release, It’s looking like as of December 10th, 2024, a 2025 release date is essentially an inevitability. If you asked me six months ago what my most anticipated game for 2025 was, I wouldn’t have had a quick answer. After seeing how well the Silent Hill 2 remake performed, I am starting to renew my faith in Konami as a publisher. From the looks of it, MGS Δ looks to be even more faithful to the original than Silent Hill was, with many of the original voice actors reprising their roles and the option for a ‘classic’ camera angle setup. The Silent Hill 2 remake created something that both series veterans and newcomers alike could enjoy, and it seems that MGS Δ will provide that as well. I’m hoping that the delay to 2025 means that everyone involved in creating this game is getting more time to help refine this experience so that it is a completely finished product upon release. A finished product in this modern era of gaming? I shan’t hold my breath. Still, very excited to see if Konami can continue to ride the momentum they created in 2024 into the coming year.