Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers and editors to share their own personal PS5 picks for 2024. Today, it's the turn of video producer Aaron Bayne.
5: Metro Awakening
After forging some colourful zombie mayhem, VR developer Vertigo Games upped the ante with Metro Awakening, a tense and immersive PSVR2 experience, and a great addition to the cult series. The gameplay isn’t the deepest out there, but Vertigo has nailed the aesthetic of the series and brought it to life with seamless controls and pin-point tracking. From wiping at your visor to pulling back the gun to check if there's a bullet in the chamber, this is a must-play for PSVR2 owners, and a game I'm already keen to revisit.
4: Still Wakes the Deep
With a “The Thing on an oil rig” premise, Still Wakes the Deep would have already been an entertaining experience for me. But with its Scottish setting and genuinely authentic accents and voice acting, the whole thing was elevated all the more for this particular Scotsman. It may be a bit linear for some and could have spent a little longer with its set up, but I appreciated the finely focused and hand-crafted horror experience, and the sprinkling of Scottish familiarity made it a special experience for me this year.
3: Astro Bot
I honestly wasn’t expecting much from Astro Bot, but to say I was enamoured with Team Asobi’s latest is selling it short. There really isn’t much I can fault about this game, if anything at all. The whole experience felt like a fresh burst of energy and creativity, and to sprinkle the obvious love that the team has for PlayStation throughout it all, conjured up something magical. There were moments during Astro Bot where I was genuinely close to tears, just from how much of a joyous celebration it is of this platform we all love so much.
2: Silent Hill 2
Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of 2024 for me, Silent Hill 2 proved the naysayers (read: me) wrong with one of the most immersive horrors on PS5. I’m a sucker for a game with plenty of bells and whistles, but Bloober Team manages to utilise the tech of PS5, without being as big and flashy as some other blockbuster titles. Take away the content and narrative of the game, the audio and haptic experience of Silent Hill 2 is enough to warrant a place on this list alone for me.
1: Helldivers 2
I will seek out any excuse to play games with my friends. Whether it is a competitive shooter, a battle royale, a daft brawler, or whatever. These games are my bread and butter, so when I tell you that Helldivers 2 is one of the best co-op experiences I’ve ever had, I really do mean it. Arrowhead Studios cooked up something really special with Helldivers 2 by creating an experience that was awesome and hilarious — a hard balancing act to pull off. It might not have had the post-launch support to keep me playing until the recent Omens of Tyranny drop, but the fun I had over 50 hours across its first month was truly unforgettable. For me, experiences like Helldivers 2 are what gaming is all about.
What do you think of Aaron's personal Game of the Year picks? Feel free to agree wholeheartedly, or disagree politely, in the comments section below.
Comments 21
Nice to see Helldivers 2 get some appreciation. It kinda feels like the only time I’ve seen anyone rank it as number 1 but it’s impact in getting people who hadn’t gamed socially for years back into the multiplayer pond was monumental. Good list.
Still Wakes was my Christmas Day title I enjoyed ploughing through it. Foul language warning everything is punctuated by the f-word that’s just how it is
Excellent list Aaron, great to see Still Wake the Deep getting some well deserved love, probably the list I agree with the most but I would swap Silent Hill 2 for PoP Lost Crown.
Solid list there. Helldivers 2 in the top slot brought a smile to my face. Superb game and I will check out the oil rig horror game.
I've been meaning to get to Still Wakes the Deep all year, so it's good to see it get some love. Planning to play it ASAP
Great to see still wakes the deep on your list, it's in my top 3 games of the year. Fantastic experience, for anyone that loves the thing, I highly recommend it.
Some great games on this list. And Still Wakes The Deep was such a nice surprise. REALLY enjoyed that game! Short game but a good time nonetheless.
Still wakes the deep is superb. I cannot recommend it enough. Helldivers 2 is probably my number 1 this year also. I'm not into PvP games at all so having something i can co-op endlessly with friends is absolute gold. It also helps that it plays superbly and, most importantly, is damn good fun.
Great picks. Metro PSVR2 & Still Wakes the Deep especially 👌
Great list man! Still wakes the deep is so good I can’t wait to see what Chinese Room do next. And Helldivers on top makes me feel all warm and gooey 😍
Helldivers 2 was so much fun. I put nearly 100 hours in when it first came out and have never laughed so much playing a game. It was hilarious with friends but almost as good with randoms.
I only played it for a couple of months and doubt ill go back to it, but it was fantastic whilst it lasted.
@SystemAddict typical daily life in Scotland then lol
@Mikey856 🤬I think the confrontation with the boss near the start is the best thing I’ll see in a while 😆
I do wish the story of Still Wakes the Deep resonated more with me as the game is just so well presented. I found it to be exceedingly depressing though.
I’m so intrigued by Helldivers 2 but have no idea if/when/how I’ll ever get to it.
@SystemAddict amazing the whole atmosphere of the game is just perfect. I’m one of those people who watch the stories on YouTube about the North Sea rigs and it’s some existence for sure!. Brutal/horror conditions and the game depicts it perfectly. This and EGTTR are two of my all time games.
While I didn't love Still Wakes the Deep's gameplay the writing, casting and acting were top tier. In comparison everything else sounds like a script, whereas this just sounds like authentic conversation 90% of the time.
It should be required playing for every aspiring writer or casting director. It really is shocking how bad a lot of writing in games still is. We can do so much better.
Silent hill 2 remake is n.i.c.e. awsome game.we need more third person shooter horror games.word up son
Gotta play Still Wakes the Deep!!
Still Wakes the Deep 👍 Great game. One of the few times I've completed a game and then played through it again straight away (for the Plat).
It's great to see Still wakes the deep on there. Such a great game, and loved the story, setting and characters. Also the voice acting was some of the most authentic sounding I've ever heard. The actors really made the characters feel believable
Astro Bot and SH2 are choices I can get behind.
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