PS5 Game of the Year 2024 So Far
Image: Push Square

Now that we're officially halfway through 2024, it's time to take a look back at all of the PS5 games we've played so far this year and decide on the current Game of the Year contenders. From where we're sitting, it's been a solid six months, which have offered up some fantastic titles across a range of genres.

In order to talk things through, we've gathered the usual suspects from the Push Square editorial team. Read about our favourites, and then vote for your own in the poll at the bottom of this article. Oh, and feel free to completely disagree with our opinions in the comments section as well!

Helldivers 2

Aaron Bayne, Video Producer - Helldivers 2

The fervour has certainly died down, but all these months later I’ve still not had quite as much fun with another game as I did with Hellldivers 2. I love a good co-op experience, and Arrowhead Studios' far improved sequel sort of came out of the blue with tight gunplay and chaotic action. Making your very own Helldiver a squishy little human that’ll lose arms, legs or their own head was a stroke of genius as it throws hordes of Terminids and killer robots at you. There's a unique blend of squeal-inducing tension and rib-tickling hilarity to the gameplay here. It's a real sh*t-hit-the-fan kind of game, and when it does there’s nothing quite like it. I just hope Arrowhead can do a little more to warrant our attention with meaningful post-launch content as we coast through the second half of 2024.

Khayl Adam, Staff Writer - Helldivers 2

Despite being an incredible year for RPGs, I've just got to give it up for Helldivers 2. The gameplay is incredibly crunchy and unforgiving in an era of samey service titles, and it got its hooks into me in a way I didn't think was possible for a game that regularly doles out content. It's the meta-narrative surrounding the series as it is the moment-to-moment stuff. The wild turns that developer Arrowhead has pulled on the community have kept me engaged (if not quite logging in every week), but it still manages to surprise me. Quite a feat after almost 200 hours!

Stellar Blade

Liam Croft, Assistant Editor - Stellar Blade

If you'd told me at the start of the year that Stellar Blade would be my favourite PS5 game six months into 2024, I'd never have believed you. I wasn't at all excited for the game in the lead-up to launch, essentially writing it off as something I'd get to during a quiet period. But then I played it, and everything changed. I love Stellar Blade. Its gameplay loop of Souls-lite combat, fun exploration, stylish traversal moves, and satisfying rewards kept me engaged from the beginning right to the very end. Its story could be a lot better, but I found simply playing the game so addictive that it didn't matter. It's the only game released this year — so far at least — that I've just wanted to keep playing for hours on end without a break, even thinking about it when my PS5 isn't on. I'm going to be a bit disappointed if it's still top of my list come December, but for now, Stellar Blade is my favourite PS5 title of 2024, and I'm proud of it.

Robert Ramsey, Assistant Editor - Dragon's Dogma 2

Sometimes a game just clicks with you on such a level that its (often obvious) flaws are easily swept aside. For me, Dragon's Dogma 2 is that game. The simple truth is that I've had more fun with this open world RPG than I have with any other release of 2024 so far. The sheer amount of memorable moments I've experienced in Capcom's weird fantasy completely outweigh any grievances I have with its storytelling or structure — to the point where I'm still diving back into its world months after release. While I'm not sure that Dragon's Dogma 2 will remain my Game of the Year with such strong competition on the horizon, I just can't ignore its incredible combat, and the intoxicating sense of adventure that it instills at every turn.

Balatro

Sammy Barker, Editor - Stellar Blade

As a pre-existing fan of the extremely entertaining mobile shooter NIKKE: Goddess of Victory, I’d been stanning for Korean developer Shift Up’s Stellar Blade for quite some time. The final product surpassed even my sky-high expectations, however: the combat is flashy and exciting, the visuals are sublime, and the soundtrack is an all-time classic. Sony bet on a blinder here, and while I have high hopes for the likes of Astro Bot and Star Wars Outlaws, it’s going to take something really special to top this as my Game of the Year.

Stephen Tailby, Assistant Editor - Balatro

I've played plenty of great games in the first six months of 2024, but nothing has quite surpassed Balatro as my favourite so far. In terms of pure game design, I've yet to play anything better. I'm struggling to find new ways of saying it, but the ways it escalates its "poker but roguelike" premise are so clever. What starts as a simple deck of playing cards is transformed by the many modifiers you'll pick up during a run, and while some attempts don't work out, it's unbelievably satisfying when things fall the right way. I've barely scratched the surface either, as not only do I still have things to unlock, but I've yet to delve into the challenges or higher difficulties. Mechanically dense but never overwhelming, Balatro is a generous game that rewards curiosity and ingenuity with such simple elegance it's almost funny. I won't be at all surprised if this remains in my top five for the year, even as I look at all that's to come in the second half.

Now that we've had our say, it's your turn. Vote for your current Game of the Year for 2024 in our poll, and then at least try to explain yourself in the comments section below.

What's your PS5 Game of the Year for 2024 so far?