I feel like I mostly played old games this year, at least it helped me to pick Labor of Love: Cassette Beasts.

Cassette Beasts is made with Godot, devs are still releasing content, and they just added support for steam workshop.

There were so many good games for this category that it was hard to choose. e.g. I learned from Lemmy about Shattered Pixel Dungeon, that is open source and has been receiving updates for almost 10 years.

My other picks are: Shadows of Doubt, Tactical Breach Wizards, All Quiet in the Trenches, and Tiny Glade.

I also liked Star Fetchers : Escape from Pork Belly, but they released it as DLC rather than its own game.

I was thinking about Keep Driving, and Dice Gambit for the soundtrack, that was also when I thought about Cassette Beasts. But they are not from 2024. I will probably vote for the abbot rapping in Esperanto from Metaphor.

Personally, the only games I’ve found that Im esspecially comfortable to “lock-in” are:

Factorio for Labour of Love, as its an absolute gem of a game that has continued to receive significant improvements even after launch and not even all bundled in to the (itself amazing) expansion. I also considered Stardew Valley or Dota, both of which are great for this, but Factorio really deserves it for Space Age and the updates that have come with it.

Balatro for Best Game on Steam Deck, for its addicting, fun gameplay, good for longer sessions or pick-up and put-down play.

Tactical Breach Wizards for Outstanding Visual Style. There are other games that might have pulled off their themes better, but the mix of military and magical is so cool and charming and unique, that its my absolute favorite right now.

And Balatro again for Sit Back and Relax, for the same reasons I gave for Steam Deck, and just how chill it can be once you’ve learned the basics.