It's the post that everybody in The Underground has been looking forward to for an entire year! It's time for the Playstation Wrap-Up, where we boast about our gaming accomplishments and put all of our friends to shame. The trophies we earned, the games we loved, the ones we wish we had never started in the first place... it's all here, folks!
How will our stats for 2024 stack up? Let's find out together!
Total Hours:
That's a considerable number of hours. I don't know how I did it nor how it is possible.
Top Five Games:
- Baldur's Gate III: I never in my entire life thought that I would ever play Dungeons & Dragons. But alas, I was corned by my next-door neighbor back in the summer of 2024 about playing D&D with some other neighbors and I just didn't have the stones to say no to his face. So I went. And I liked it. Upon telling some friends and coworkers that I had ventured into D&D, several of them immediately recommended "Baldur's Gate III," which I had never really heard of, let alone did I know that it was essentially a D&D video game. I picked up BG3 and gave it a shot. Let me say this unequivocally - this game is not for everyone, especially children. Literally, the very first thing it asked me was whether I wanted to turn on graphic nudity. Uh... NO?! There are certainly some mature themes in this game, but if you're wise and make good choices, almost all of them can be avoided, in my experience. With no further gilding the lily, I can say that I absolutely loved "Baldur's Gate III." I had an absolute blast. And there's an extremely high replayability factor - perhaps higher than any other single-player campaign in any other game I've ever played. You could choose a different character type and make a few different choices and get a totally different experience in a second or even third playthrough. I started over with a new character and got a little way into the game again but have been taking a break. But it's just absolutely insane that I spent 116 hours on this game and could probably do it all over again. That's my game of the year for 2024, without a doubt.
- Disney Dreamlight Valley: Another year, another 90+ hours in The Valley. Props to the team for pumping out so much content that my family never gets bored. In terms of cost per time played, this might be one of the most cost-efficient purchases I've ever made for the sake of my entertainment.
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Great game. But there was a completely mind-boggling plot twist at the very end that went way over my head because I apparently, like, missed one side mission or something? I had no idea what was going on there during the finale and had to spend a considerable amount of time Googling my questions.
- WWE 2K24: Another solid edition in the "WWE 2K" series. I think it's safe to say now that "2K" has dug itself out of the monumental hole it fell into for a couple years and they've got the train chugging down the track (other than MyRise mode, which I continue to dislike - it's just so painful). Tonight, as I watch the premiere of "WWE RAW" on Netflix, I see that they'll be announcing "WWE 2K25" three weeks from tonight, so I better finish up '24 and get ready for the new game.
- Star Wars Battlefront II: If you would have told me at any point in my life that I was going to get the platinum trophy on any "Star Wars Battlefront" game, I wouldn't have believe it. But I've got a coworker that is a hardcore gamer and he somehow convinced me to get back into the game and finish it up. It took forever to do it, and I screamed when I got that final trophy, but I somehow did it, in, perhaps, one of the most impressive feats of video game completion in all my years.
Games Played:
Beyond my top five games, here are some of my other favorites from 2024:
- Anno 1800 - even though it's extremely hard and I can't figure out how to get more than about an hour into the game without going bankrupt.
- Burnout Paradise Remastered - one of my favorite games from my college years, remastered (haven't been able to pull off a triple barrel roll yet, though).
- Fallout 76 - which is a zillion times better than it was at launch and has a great and very friendly online community now; it's practically an entirely new game, at this point.
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - what a massive, massive game; gonna take many more hours just to complete the campaign.
- Harry Potter Quidditch Champions - I couldn't believe that this was free at launch for Playstation+ subscribers.
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - still chipping away for that platinum trophy; maybe 2025 is the year!
- Lost in Random - a weird little game that I picked up on sale for like two or three dollars.
- No Man's Sky - another game that is completely different now than it was years ago; I had never played it and really enjoyed the time I spent.
- NHL 25 - the Utah Hockey Club has arrived!
Top Games Each Month:
Trophies Earned:
Here's a list of all of the games for which I either got the platinum trophy or reached 100% completion in 2024:
- Disney's Dreamlight Valley - January 8
- LEGO 2K Drive - January 30
- Lost in Random - February 8
- WWE 2K23 - February 22
- Valiant Hears: The Great War, 100% - February 23
- PowerWash Simulator - February 27
- SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake - June 21
- LEGO The Incredibles - July 10
- Planet Coaster - August 5
- MLB The Show 24 - September 9
- Astro Bot - October 8
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged - October 21
- Beyond: Two Souls - October 31
- Star Wars Battlefront II - November 15
- Skull & Bones - November 19
- The Plucky Squire - November 26
Thoughts on that list:
- "Dreamlight Valley" is a family favorite at our house. If we're looking at cost per hour, that game is well worth the money I've spent on it.
- "LEGO 2K Drive" had one of the most ridiculous trophies ever. I literally had to tap and rubber-band the controller and let it run for hours (even while I slept), lest I be subjected to mindlessly playing for hours and hours and hours just to rack up the numbers on my virtual odometer. By the time I was done with that asinine task, I never wanted to play the game ever again.
- My three- (now four-) year old son, Stockton, started a couple games on my profile this summer, which meant that I was essentially contractually obligated to 100-percent them, so if you thought that it was my idea to play "SpongeBob: The Cosmic Shake" (which was stupid) or "LEGO Incredibles" (which was actually pretty enjoyable), you are mistaken.
- Astro Bot was super fun. My kids love Astro.
- I wouldn't recommend "Beyond: Two Souls" to pretty much anyone, and I somewhat regret that I even went back to it to clean it up. The fact that it was my most-played game of October pretty much sickens me, but at least it's done now and I never need to play it ever again.
- My hardcore gamer coworker encouraged me to get back into "Star Wars Battlefront II," which I never thought I would ever be able to beat... but I did it. It took me FOREVER... but I did it.
- "Skull & Bones" was a great time. It would have been more fun to play with friends (I forced my brother to play with me a couple times, which was fun - but mostly for me), but I had a good time playing solo. I wrapped it up - MY 100th PLATINUM - on my birthday, which was also a fun little planetary alignment for me.
Yearly Comparison:
- 2024
- Hours played: 1,091
- Top games: Baldur's Gate III, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, WWE 2K24, Star Wars Battlefront II
- Trophies earned: 845
- Platinum trophies: 15
- 2023
- Hours played: 1,212
- Top games: Disney Dreamlight Valley, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel's Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Trophies earned: 911
- Platinum trophies: 20
- 2022
- Hours played: 1,308
- Top games: WWE 2K22, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Gotham Knights, Ghost of Tsushima, Stardew Valley
- Trophies earned: 968
- Platinum trophies: 18
- 2021
- Hours played: 1,203
- Top games: MLB The Show 21, NBA 2K21, Marvel's Avengers, Watch Dogs Legion, Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Trophies earned: 1,091
- Platinum trophies: 14
- 2020
- Hours played: 2,419 (holy crap, COVID!)
- Top games: MLB The Show 20, Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix, NBA 2K20
- Trophies earned: 1,410
- Platinum trophies: 15
Final Thoughts:
After writing up that last little section there, it's very interesting to see how my top games have changed over the years - and how much free time I had during COVID. Overall, 2024 was a pretty good year for gaming. My top game, obviously, was extremely unexpected, so that was kind of refreshing. I'm still having a good time playing video games, even though I'm sure many people out there find it inappropriate for someone of my advancing years. But I'll tell you what - I've had some great times playing games with my kids, and my son Stockton is a fantastic problem solver due to his time spent with a controller in his hands. I was watching him play "Epic Mickey Rebrushed" on the PS5 earlier today and just sat there in amazement at what he was doing, without my help. He's a smart kid, and if I can thank Playstation for that, I'm happy to do so.
Here's to another fun year of gaming in 2025!
*****
That's a wrap for our Year in Review season! If you missed any of our other 2024 Recap blogs, be sure to check them out now!
- A-Town's Bookshelf: The Year in Books, 2024
- A-Town Playlist: Top Spotify Songs of 2024
- Nintendo Year in Review 2024
What were your favorite games of 2024? If you're playing on a Playstation and we're not friends, feel free to add me (PSN ID: atownmania). Who knows? Maybe we can "plat" a game together in the upcoming year!
Hit us up with your gaming recommendations or any other commentary in the comments section below, on Twitter (here and here) or on Facebook... if you dare!
Until next time.
