I haven’t posted much recently on the topic of gaming. I should probably give some thought regarding why that is the case. Part of it, I suspect, is that I have thought for quite a while that I should move my gaming-related content onto its own blog like what I did with my motorcycle content and Geek on a Harley. But any more in-depth analysis regarding my relative silence on the gaming front is a topic for a different post.
In any case, this post is about gaming! I have been inspired to list my four ‘favourite’ games for the year so far by posts from Krikket (Nerd Girl Thoughts) and Naithin (Time to Loot).
Note that I’m cheating a bit here: a couple of the games on this list were ones I really played primarily or entirely in 2023, but they still are near and dear to my heart in 2024.
Starfield
Total played time: 234 hours
I started playing Starfield on the Xbox Series X on its first day after release in September of 2023. I completed the main quest line and passed through the Unity, and am about halfway through my second play through.
I actually have chosen to not progress the main story line any further on this second run, focusing instead on building bases and ships as well as simple exploration. I haven’t played much in the past couple of months, but I continue to ‘poke my nose in’ periodically.
Really liking Starfield is probably a bit controversial for some people. It is not as narrative driven as some of Bethesda’s Fallout games which is disappointing. The universe often feels rather empty and repetitive without sufficient character driven ‘side missions’. The NPCs are likewise more shallow-seeming compared to other Bethesda titles.
But for me it is still a very good game. I enjoyed the main quest and the story justification for the ‘new game plus’ mode is rather innovative. I continue to return to Starfield to tinker: the ship building in particular is something that has consumed a lot of my time. And there are story expansions on the way that will undoubtedly draw me back in when they release.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Total played time: 106 hours
Baldur’s Gate 3 was a game I had been following for quite some time as it worked its way through various stages of pre-release. I got the PC version when it shipped in its full form in August of 2023.
I played Baldur’s Gate 3 somewhat intensively up until I reached about the midway part of Act 3, which is where I stopped. I didn’t want the game to end, and was starting to feel ‘trapped’ into the resolution of story lines. I had particularly become quite attached to Karlach as my character’s romantic interest, and had heard that her story did not end on a happy note.
Despite not completing BG3, I truly did love it. I read almost every article I see about the game even today, and am contemplating starting a new game on my Xbox Series X. Maybe I’ll complete it this time!
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Total played time: 50 hours
I started playing DD2 in April of 2024. I’m a bit torn about calling Dragon’s Dogma 2 one of my ‘top’ or favourite games of the year. Although I did enjoy the game, it is another one like BG3 that I intentionally didn’t finish.
As with Baldur’s Gate 3, my reasons for not completing the game were mostly story related. I had read overviews of the various endings and none of them sounded satisfying to me. I stopped playing once I reached the point in Dragon’s Dogma 2 where I started to feel like I was being ‘corralled’ towards the end game.
I also didn’t like the ‘pawn’ system in DD2. Pawns are the only party members you can get. I like party members with interesting stories of their own, and the pawns felt like disposable helpers instead of real characters.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage
Total played time: 38 hours
I picked up Assasin’s Creed: Mirage in February of 2024. I completed the main quest and didn’t really revisit it.
I properly enjoyed AC: Mirage- to me it felt like a true return to the ‘roots’ of Assassin’s Creed. The game has a nicely curated quest line instead of a gigantic open world of endless quest markers, and I enjoyed the stealth aspects as much as I did back in the early days of the series.
I’m hoping that the next Assassin’s Creed game (Shadows) will continue with this more narratively ‘tight’ approach.
A few games that didn’t make the list
I did play a couple of other games in 2024 that didn’t really leave as much of a mark. That isn’t to say these titles were particularly bad, but for a few reasons weren’t ones that I felt fully engaged in.
Little Kitty Big City: this is a very cute game where you take on the role of the titular ‘Little Kitty’ as he solves various problems while trying to get home. I didn’t regret playing it at all, but I finished the main ‘quest’ in about four hours and further play just wasn’t that appealing.
GreedFall: I picked this action RPG in the June 2024 timeframe. It is interesting, but the game play just didn’t ‘click’ for me. I basically only made it through the introduction / prologue with about four hours of playing before I bailed. The big battle before leaving the starting city just felt… meh. And I read that this kind of fight was the ‘bread and butter’ of the game: I imagined repeating the fight dozens of times and felt my enthusiasm drain away. I might open it up again and see if I can muster any further enthusiasm as Greedfall has been fairly highly rated but… maybe not.
Sir you are not allowed to like Starfield.
/signed
The Internet
Personally I struggled to pull myself into Starfield after the first few hours. I was hyped for the game launch to and really thought it was going to be a don’t-miss game launch. I so, so wanted my money back for both my copy and my son’s copy. Been a good bit that I felt so betrayed by what I thought a game would be vs what it actually was.
I still tell myself I am going to go back and check it out but probably fooling myself. I know I won’t… ha… but I’ll still think about it.
Heartlessgamer, I fully understand your disappointment with Starfield. But it didn’t hit that way for me. It wasn’t “Fallout”, but it was enjoyable enough for me to get a good couple of hundred hours of playtime out of. Not many games keep me engaged for that long.
I suppose some of how people felt was a matter of expectations. I had recently been playing No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous, so I didn’t go in to Starfield expecting rich narrative experience with fully realized NPCs- instead I was primed for another ‘space exploration’ game. And as that kind of game Starfield is, at least for me, just fine.
Would I have been happier with a stronger RPG feel? Absolutely. But it was good enough for me to be looking forward to the story expansions that are coming out.
I’m curious how you got so long out of it. I gave it, I think, around 50ish hours, which was enough to finish a single play through doing most (but not quite all) of the big faction storylines.
But beyond those mini-campaigns, the game felt so vacuous to me. I just couldn’t do it any more, and I definitely wasn’t interested in it enough to go through it for a NG+ run.
If the modding scene ever truly takes off for the game, I’ll likely be back for another go round one day, but til then… Adios Starfield!
Most of my time, Naithin, was spent completing lots of side quests/bounties, building outposts, and mostly fiddling with different ship designs. I completed most of a NG+ play through but haven’t completed the main quest in that second play through.
The Shattered Space DLC is expected before the end of 2024, and I plan on playing through that when it arrives.
My friend has been binge playing Starfield and keeps telling me how great it is. I’m sure it’s flawed according to some but I try to keep an open mind.
Some folks spend far more time than I have in Starfield, Emily. I have a friend who I would guess has double my played time in the game.
I don’t fault folks who didn’t enjoy Starfield: I was also somewhat disappointed as I was hoping for something with a deeper story. What I find frustrating is the abject hatred some people exhibit, with the “If you like it you are just a Bethesda fanboy/idiot/sheep” crowd being pretty loud in some forums.
The worst ones in my opinion are those who seem to feel obligated to hang around Starfield fan forums attacking everyone who says anything remotely positive.