Would you look at that? Another year is coming to a close. It feels like only yesterday it was the middle of August. So much has happened over the year - some good and some sad - but I am grateful to be able to witness the start of 2025.
I had the idea to write an end-of-year post for the blog from the start of the year, but I didn't know what to include in it at first. I didn't want to write something up like the A to Z summary page or have a simple Console Recap post. It also doesn't help that I didn't put in enough time on the console to complete any titles. Otherwise, I would have included them in this post.
But after some further thought, I had an idea.
Before I started the challenge and the blog, I had started something else up. I started to fill up a spreadsheet of all the games I completed in 2023. I was bored. (A lot of my hobbies start that way). At first, the list was simple—Name; Genre; Platform. Then the spreadsheet began to get detailed. With charts and tables and graphs (oh my!). It's the end of 2024 and that list is still going strong. I've enjoyed looking at the stats of what genres I've enjoyed playing; which months had the most games completed; what platform I favored, and so on. Sure I have the Steam end-of-year summary or the PSN highlights, but my list only covered the games I completed across all platforms.
So, I figured I would combine that data with some of the year's highlights for this post. Maybe even some observations, like why one month may have had more playtime than other months, etc.
To start with, I was momentarily surprised that I had played less in 2024 than I did in 2023, but when I thought about it, it shouldn't have been surprising. The first reason for this was that I had put more time into games with longer play times (particularly on the PS5). The second reason was due to the extracurriculars my daughter had this year. Sacrifices must be made when being a responsible and present parent.
Now the above list doesn't just include what was played during the A to Z challenge or on consoles. I've also included games I've played with my brothers (as long as they were concluded) and even quick early-access games (until all of the available content was experienced). The DLCs were only separated in their list as long as they extended the base game with their own campaign or story missions. So, cosmetic DLCs or additional character DLCs did not count.
I was curious to see how I started strong in 2024 with an increase in completed games compared to 2023, but after that, up until October, I couldn't seem to top the numbers again. This was partly again, because of my daughter's extracurriculars and the choice to play games with long play times. October only got the bump up because I played the same game six times to get all the achievements (hey if I see the credits roll six times, it gets counted each time).
I can't say I was too surprised when I saw the difference in preferred platforms between 2023 and 2024. Steam will always be my main go-to and pretty much has the bulk of my games library. However, it was no surprise that in 2024 it took a back seat. I got the PS5 back in January and it was inevitable that I would give it more focus. I'm curious how this will all shift again once 2025 draws to a close.
Now this was the part of the stats that I was really looking forward to seeing. I always knew my tastes went through phases. Back in 2023, I had a massive hunger for First Person Shooters, and I practically binged them one after the other. And then, almost to compensate for the mindless blasting, I gave secondary importance to Adventure games. Admittedly, towards the end of the year, I did practically binge this genre, especially for the start of my first A to Z challenge.
In 2024 I switched to the Action genre, with most of these titles being on the PS5. I always felt a stronger affinity towards playing those sorts of games on a console rather than a PC. Just as much as how I prefer a Real-Time Strategy Game on the PC instead of a console. My secondary genre would turn out to be Visual Novels. Sometimes, when I am working, I do have one running in the background on auto text and then I would give it some attention when it required me to select an option.
Before I cap off this end-of-year summary, I wanted to also include the game/s that I felt were either the best or worst for 2024.
For the worst, I had no trouble deciding.
It was between Narcos: Rise of the Cartels and Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean. They both had negative points that left a sour taste in my mouth. Narcos was frustrating to the point where I didn't even want to start up the Cartel Campaign. Frigato had no real difficulty, was an incoherent mess, and was buggy. But if I were to select just one of the two, it would have to be Frigato. I may have been able to tolerate the lack of a clear story direction or the fact that it was so unbalanced that I could beat the game with just one character. But, after having that 'To Be Continued' splash screen thrown in my face after what felt like only a few missions - that had pissed me off.
With regards to trying to pick the best game I played, I struggled to select one. I had several potentials, but they never ticked off all the boxes. If I had to narrow it down though, I feel these two come closest:
Don't get me wrong, I played many good games over the years, but not many strongly impacted me. I selected Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered because as an open-world game, it did not feel overwhelming; it did not seem to drag on and I was more than happy to complete it fully. The combat was fluid, the web swinging was amazing, and the story was pretty good. The second contender was Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. While the game was short, the experience was unlike any other. Playing this game with headphones and having voices constantly whispering in your ear... still gives me chills.
It is that feature that nudges the game just a little above Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. I'm still not entirely convinced, however. It feels like the top spot has still not been claimed. Maybe I am just a hard man to please. Who knows. Hopefully, at the end of 2025, I'll have come across a title that can claim that coveted spot.
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