Player 2's 21 Most Anticipated Games Of 2024: #16-#12
You may have recently seen that we enlisted a range of our writers the task of determining their ten most anticipated games of 2024. That gave us a lot of data to comb through, and some clear front runners. We did some work with that data and compiled this, the top 21 most anticipated games of 2024 according to the P2 writing team.
How it worked: Each writer had to come up with their games, ranked from 10 (least) to 1 (most) in terms of their anticipation for the title. For this, a selection at 1 was worth 10 points, while a selection at 10 was worth one point (and so on). This allowed us to rank the games based on their overall score compiled from each writer’s rankings.
So with that said, let’s get into the list; starting today with positions #16 to #12
#16 - 6 Points Each
Homeworld 3
It’s been a long time since I really gotten engrossed with a strategy game, I guess it’s one of those genres which truly needs the time investment to truly thrive with them, and that’s something which I struggle with in some regards.
But it doesn’t mean that I’m not intrigued to see how Homeworld 3 fares. I mean, it’s a series which has always presented the spectacle of giant space battles combined with an epic atmosphere.
I always appreciated that scale, and considering how long it’s been since the last game was released, the idea of seeing what the folks at Blackbird can do with all the advances in gaming hardware to see just how far they can pull the envelope in strategic gaming.
Rob Caporetto
Star Wars: Dark Forces Remastered
I’m honestly a bit nervous about this one, and if it falls on its face then I will mentally swap in the 4K remaster of the 1996 original, I guess. In fact, this is a big part of this, the sixth Broken Sword game’s problem – that first game was damn close to perfect, and the things that held it back were one dumb goat puzzle and a bunch of asset quality stuff that can be fixed with a bit of digital sandpaper.
Still, Broken Sword 5 ended up being maybe my second favourite game in the series, so while I have my reservations of how Revolution’s touted ‘super 2D’ looked in that initial trailer, it’s hard for me to not be at least a little bit excited that this game at least exists. If nothing else, I can’t wait to hang out with these characters again.
Tim Henderson
Enshrouded
This looks a lot like Valheim, and that’s enough for me to be excited. Hard bosses, co-op, building. Everything a growing gamer needs to be big and strong. I’m a little nervous about this one as it promises a lot in the trailers. Specifically around terrain shaping and settlement building, but I think if it pulls off even some of those things, it’ll be a game worthy of keeping an eye on.
Detective Ridelle
Detective Ridelle is an adventure puzzle game steeped in mystery. It reminds me so very much of Hotel Dusk: Room 512, a game I played on DS and made by Cing. I’m not sure why more of these games aren’t made and why they seem to often come from Japanese studios only. It’s nice to see an Australian company dip their toes into this untapped market and I think the game will be a banger. I got to play the demo after pax and found myself disappointed when it ended. It was exactly what I’d been hoping for from Rain code and found it rather lacking. The fact that the puzzles are made by an escape room expert is honestly icing on this detective cake.
Lost Records: Bloom And Rage
After thoroughly enjoying Jusant which came out of left field completely (and being a huge fan of Life is Strange) the next big project from DONTNOD has me intrigued as it is seemingly dealing in the same space with, at least from the trailer, a touch of Chronicle for good measure. One thing that wouldn’t shock me is the studio jettisoning the Life is Strange brand name which carries quite a lot of baggage with it at this point, even if Bloom and Rage looks like it could slot comfortably in that particular series. Teen girls in the mid 90’s with weird magical realism shenanigans? Sign me up.
Where The Winds Meet
While the above couple of games are fairly certain to release in 2024, this one is perhaps a bit more of a Hail Mary. I’m going to put this particular prayer on a Q4 release, too, as there is no way that my current PC is running this game and I don’t expect to have any meaningful upgrade in my home any earlier than that (if not later, but the end of next year is technically possible).
While I would like to act like this is a wholly original title flexing in my list, the truth is that nobody seems to be buying that this is anything other than Ghost of Tsushima except set in China. It looks quality, though.
Granted, this is a part of why I think it might actually land in 2024 – they probably want this one out the door before Sony starts making too much noise about Ghost’s all-but-inevitable sequel!
Tim Henderson
Helldivers II
I loved the original Helldivers and while the sequel retains the core essence of the original, much like what Housemarque achieved with Returnal, it seems that a healthy finacial investment from PlayStation has given Helldivers 2 that AAA sheen that comes with those premiere PlayStation exclusives. Now a third-person shooter, Helldivers 2 ticks all the boxes that I’m looking for in multiplayer. Co-op stupidity, paired with rock-solid systems are always a good time. I’m ready to go
#15 - 7 Points
Open Roads
I’ve been waiting years for this, and since I last included it on this list, there’s been some controversy at the studio developing it. It’s now in the hands of a team simply known as the ‘Open Roads Team’, who I have total faith are going to bring this Annapurna-published gem home.
Bellwright
Zeitgeist is sometimes something to just get swept up in. I love survival games, and this did amazingly well at the last Steam Fest. If not for these things I don’t know if I’d know too much about this, but here we are. Sign me up for an awesome survival game in a brutal world that have settlement aspects, especially if they’re online co-op.
Megacopter: Blades Of The Goddess
Something I love about indie developers is that they’re the ones most likely to go for a new take on a long dead genre – and with Megacopter, this so happens to be a modern take on the Strike (Desert Strike, Jungle Strike et al) series.
Now, compared to some of the other games I’ve listed here, this is not one which is going to redefine the industry, or be highly innovative. It’s just one which is a throwback to a lost style of game, but hopefully with a modern twist, and something that’ll scratch that itch.
After all, sometimes it’s great to pick up a controller and get taking on some hostile forces, and disengaging your brain for a bit.
Rob Caporetto
#14 - 9 Points
Broken Roads
This has been a game that I have been following closely for a long time now. A very late release delay has pushed this Australian-made CRPG back to February but I for one believe this can only be a good thing as it is better to delay than release a broken game. We don’t have much longer to go before exploring the apocalyptic Outback.
Mechwarrior 5: Clans
If it’s one thing with 2023 for me, it’s been a relighting of my love for the giant stompy robots of the BattleTech universe. Something no doubt fuelled by revisiting the most iconic of the MechWarrior games, 1995’s MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat.
So when Piranha Games dropped their teaser for MechWarrior 5: Clans, they certainly knew how to grab my (and I’m sure a lot of other fans’) attention. What’s important with this is that it ditches the procedurally generated missions of its predecessor, instead going for a tighter scripted campaign reminiscent of the earlier game.
It’s also going to be exciting to play through an important part of the BattleTech timeline – the early days of the Clan Invasion which is certainly something to give players a thrill. Even if from the perspective of one of the cruelest factions in the game.
Rob Caporetto
Earth Defense Force 6
I wanted to get into EDF for years and it never super clicked. Then I played EDF 4.1 with my friends and everything fell into place. Now I’ve played 200 hours of EDF 4.1 and almost as many in EDF 5, and I am hype as hell for EDF 6 which, for all intents and purposes seems to be more of the previous game but tonnes better. The EDF deploys!
Rise Of The Ronin
I’ve admired what Team Ninja have been doing in the ‘soulsborne’ space with Nioh and Wo Long, so their first attempt at an open-world coming hot on the heels of Elden Ring will be interesting at the least. Exploring an extremely engaging period of Japanese history will be icing on the cake of their strong gameplay systems which made Nioh and Wo Long such successes.
STALKER 2 Heart Of Chornobyl
My love for dark, depressing and engaging Eastern European shooters is well known and with no new Metro game on the horizon, STALKER is looking to fill that void. The fact this game is even still coming out is something of a miracle considering the development conditions it was made under and every trailer has been super impressive. This is a dark horse in early GOTY 2024 betting for me.
#13 - 10 Points
Go-Go Town
I saw the art for Go-go town at Pax Aus and knew it’d be a game that I would enjoy. This was further cemented by the trailer that was playing on the screen. I didn’t really need to see anymore; I knew I would love it. I got the chance to be part of the Go-go Town playtest and yes, I love this game. As the new mayor of Go-go town, it’s the players job to make Go-Go Town into the tourist destination it used to be. It’s a wholesome town builder where, as the mayor, you need to assign your residents jobs to keep the town growing. As it grows, more people will want to move in, providing you with more workers. Alternatively, stop the train and just work on the look of the town. Either way, you’re going to do great.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
This is one which is probably not going to surprise anyone who knows me, or has listened to enough of my rambles on the Pixelcast, but the recent Interactive Documentaries Digital Eclipse have been putting out (Atari 50, The Making of Karateka) scratch my itch of wanting to learn about how many old games are put together.
That’s more than enough to keep me interested in what they’re putting out, but that anticipation is turned up to 11 with the subject of their next one: the early years of legendary indie developer Jeff Minter. Once again, we’ll have the opportunity to play a bunch of games, review various scanned documents and watch a bunch of videos, which includes material originally filmed for Heart of Neon (http://heartofneon.com), a documentary about Jeff’s career.
Rob Caporetto
Black Myth Wukong
Having dropped a stunning 13-minute pre-alpha video in 2020 that got many a tongue-wagging, developer Game Science is finally bringing its take on the Monkey King and Journey to the West to gamers in August. The game looks stunning and as a fan of martial arts with a fondness for the original Monkey TV series, bad dubbing included, I am looking forward to fighting demons and creatures when this souls-like drops in August.
#12 - 11 Points
Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown
It’s been a heck of a long time since we’ve had a Prince of Persia game, let alone one which properly throws back to the 2D origins of the series. So the announcement of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, certainly struck some curiosity. Luckily, I’ve had the chance to play its demo at PAX Aus this year, and combined with Jess’ preview means this is going to be quite the reinvention.
Something I think I can say I’m quite here for. It takes the base exploratory concepts, but marries them up to some more Metroidvania-esque mechanics and it truly gives it some serious pacing to. I love that they’re not retreading the same ground, yet it feels familiar enough to give that buzz.
Rob Caporetto
Stay tuned tomorrow for the game’s that were ranked #11-#7
