The best video games of 2024, including 'Astro Bot' and 'Legend of Zelda'

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Whether it dragged for you or felt like someone pressed the skip button, 2024 is coming to a close.

This year's video games have included brilliant indies and fantastic family-friendly entries, and brought iconic female characters front-and-center.

While some great titles from 2023 still had quite a bit of our attention coming into the year (looking at you, "Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," "Baldur's Gate 3," "Super Mario Bros. Wonder," "Diablo IV," "Marvel's Spider-Man 2"), this year offered plenty of solid new entries – and new worlds to explore.

In no particular order, here are some of the best video games of 2024:

'Astro Bot' (PS5)

Astro Bot, a 3D platformer developed by Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive, follows Astro as he navigates a galaxy, rescuing his fellow bots and trying to recover the stolen PCU after their spaceship is attacked and crashes on a desert planet.

As a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the Sony PlayStation, this title is a gift for all of us. The immersive game is adorable and witty, and any ease in puzzles is made up for by just how much fun it is to play, easy or challenging. It's reminiscent of Super Mario or Kirby titles, but Astro Bot holds its own with creative gameplay, detailed visuals and Astro's big personality. And don't just take my word for it: Astro Bot won Game of the Year at the 2024 Game Awards, among other honors.

'Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom' (Switch)

Echoes of Wisdom, the latest in the mainline Legend of Zelda series, finally puts the titular princess in the lead. Link and other villagers have been "stolen away" by strange rifts opening up all over Hyrule. Zelda and her fairylike sidekick Tri set out to investigate what's happening and save the kingdom.

The game's new mechanics and charming story are clever and make it a joy to play and explore.

Echoes of Wisdom: Legend of Zelda developers talk game themes, timeline, favorites

'Tekken 8' (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Who knew family reunions could be so violent? In this latest installment in the long-running Tekken fighting game series, father Kazuya Mishima and son Jin Kazama are back for a (supposed) final confrontation, along with Jin's mom, Jun Kazama, and other familiar faces. In addition to the usual characters and moves, Tekken 8 introduced new fighting mechanics, keeping things fresh.

'Neva' (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Neva is an adventure game from developer Nomada Studio and publisher Devolver Digital, which follows a young woman, Alba, and her wolf cub companion, Neva. Following a tragedy, the two set out on a journey across a decaying world, solving puzzles and fighting corrupted creatures. The game has an adventure mode and a story mode, which focuses on the narrative and is slightly less challenging.

Neva is both full of heart and also heartbreaking. It's smooth gameplay wrapped in a moving, beautifully styled story.

'Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown' (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

The newest addition to the Prince of Persia series is a side-scrolling action set in a beautiful landscape. In Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, you play as a warrior, Sargon, on a rescue mission, solving puzzles, using acrobatics (parkour!) to navigate the world, and engaging in combat with a variety of enemies.

'Animal Well' (Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Animal Well, from developer Shared Memory and publisher Bigmode, is a Metroidvania-style game where you play as a blob exploring a mysterious underground world full of puzzles and other creatures, collecting items and abilities.

This adventure game is unique and atmospheric, the pixel-art visuals and audio are layered wonderfully as you explore the well and uncover its secrets.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch)

Mario is seeking treasure and looking for Peach in this papery title. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a remake of the beloved GameCube classic and, while faithful to the original, it builds on that game and its gameplay, offering more to new players. See more on Paper Mario and what you need to know about the game.

'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' (PS5)

The action RPG Final Fantasy VII Rebirth picks up after the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020). The game is engrossing and challenging in a rewarding way. There is so much to explore and so many details in what is reportedly the second part of a planned trilogy it's hard to leave. Bring on the third one, please.

'Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree' (PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC)

Yes, the award-winning base game was released in 2022, but the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expands so much that it makes revisiting or rediscovering this game or picking it up for the first time an immersive treat.

It's cozy gaming season! Video game updates you may have missed, including Stardew Valley

'Honorable mention: Stardew Valley 1.6' (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, PC)

The game isn't new, but the highly anticipated 1.6 update for Stardew Valley was released in March for PC and November for consoles and mobile, so it makes the list anyway. The update brings so much new content to the popular game and breathes fresh life into this ultimate cozy life sim (though many of us never slowed or stopped playing). There's a reason Stardew is the title against which so many cozy and farming sim games are compared.

Honorable mention: 'Princess Peach: Showtime!' (Switch)

The whole world is a stage for Princess Peach as she gets her moment to shine. Princess Peach: Showtime! might feel a little rushed and simplistic in spots, but it's fun overall. And it's great to see Peach as the protagonist, owning the spotlight. For more on Showtime!, we discussed the game and what you need to know here.