Have not I seen you someplace earlier than? 2024’s finest video games have been pure nostalgic consolation meals, and typically that is what you want


I just lately realised with some alarm that I’ve spent almost 2% of 2024 taking part in Ace Lawyer. That is not simply 2% of my free time and even the time I spent awake, to be clear, however an entire share of the time I used to be alive in 2024, in-game in Ace Lawyer. However truthfully, what are you able to count on in a 12 months when 5 beforehand almost-lost video games from one in every of my favorite collection have been remastered and rereleased for contemporary methods, actually doubling the quantity of Ace Lawyer accessible to modern audiences inside the span of solely eight months?

I’ve no regrets about mainlining each the Apollo Justice: Ace Lawyer Trilogy (launched on January twenty fifth, complete completion time: 105 hours) and the Ace Lawyer Investigations Assortment (launched on September sixth, complete completion time: 60 hours) as quickly as I had the chance to take action. As somebody who was initially drawn into Ace Lawyer when the final two remastered collections introduced the collection to residence consoles, understanding that I am now caught up on all 10 core video games on this franchise provides me an immense feeling of satisfaction, and I am positive different followers in my place really feel the identical manner.

However the trade-off of spending a complete calendar 12 months with a 1-in-50 probability I would be taking part in Ace Lawyer at any given second was that – maybe unsurprisingly – nothing else has left fairly such an enormous impression on me in 2024.

At first I ascribed this to 2024 being considerably akin to the morning after the evening earlier than, with “the evening earlier than” in query being all of 2023. By midway by way of final 12 months, I would already declared round 20 video games as doable GOTY contenders, and I hadn’t even met Baldur’s Gate 3 but. It was merely an superb 12 months for brand new video games, and 2024 was at all times going to see a little bit of a come-down by comparability. However as this 12 months attracts to an in depth, I do recognize the truth that, if I used to be a bit metaphorically hungover firstly, then my miracle treatment breakfast of alternative was basically a Full Monty Ace Lawyer fry-up – and that in all probability did dictate how a lot urge for food I had left over for different issues.


Cover artworks for the Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy and the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, showcasing just how many characters showed up in 2024.
Actually an all-you-can-eat buffet of wacky-yet-lovable anime archetypes… to say nothing of the 26 mysteries we solved collectively this 12 months.Picture credit score: VG247 / Capcom

That is to not say that no different releases impressed me this 12 months, in fact – removed from it. I particularly appreciated the humorous one in regards to the little man who does his finest to assist everybody as a fish out of water in an unfamiliar city: an outline I am obsessive about as a result of it might probably apply equally properly to the surreal indie comedy gem Thank Goodness You are Right here! and Sega’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, a large RPG sequel that was however beginner-friendly sufficient to get me over my historical past of being too intimidated by the overwhelming back-catalogue of the Yakuza franchise to leap in. (You can say I am… LAD shy no extra!)

An honourable point out can be merited by Little Kitty, Massive Metropolis, the Goose Sport-alike a couple of puckish black cat misplaced within the really-exceedingly-kind streets of an unnamed, pastel-tinged metropolis. This recreation has been on my most-anticipated listing for 3 years working, and I used to be immensely happy once I lastly received to play it in 2024 and located it was every thing I would hoped it might be.

And, on fairly a distinct observe, there was Mouthwashing, a retro-style indie within the physique horror sub-genre that I normally change off from as quickly as doable, however which ended up as hands-down the very best instance of unique recreation writing I skilled all 12 months.


The unnamed protagonist of Thank Goodness You're Here is hoisted aloft by the appreciative residents of Barnsley.
The grateful residents of Dondoko Island hoist their hero Ichiban aloft in celebration. | Picture credit score: Coal Supper / Panic

However truthfully, there isn’t any rhyme or cause to what stood out to me this 12 months, no actual narrative conclusions I can draw from any tendencies I received invested in – with the notable exception of simply what number of nice remasters have been launched all year long. A ridiculous quantity, the highlights of which you’ll be able to see enumerated as a part of our VG247 Alternate Sport Awards.

So sure, declaring this 12 months’s duo of Ace Lawyer remastered collections as my private joint-GOTY is a completely self-indulgent coronary heart choose, but it surely’s Christmas, a time after we needs to be additional sincere and have a good time what makes us blissful. And spending a strong week of this 12 months fixing crimes and objecting to the opposing counsel’s nonsense within the inimitable firm of Apollo Justice and Miles Edgeworth made me extraordinarily blissful.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *