Games Inbox: What’s your favorite game of 2024 so far?

Infinity is not a number
I enjoyed GC’s list of the top 20 games of the year so far and I agreed with a lot of it, even though I haven’t played many of them yet. I was happy to see Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth listed high, but I think it’s my number one for now.

I’ve played Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Animal Well, but the game I’ve enjoyed the most this year is still Infinite Wealth. Granted, I’ve always been a fan of the series, but while I thought the change in character and turn-based combat would ruin it, it’s only made it better.

For anyone who has never played one, you probably don’t know how funny the games are, especially this one. It’s filled with jokes about gaming and just about everything, and a lot of the mini-games are more fun than some of the full price games I’ve played.

So that’s my tip, but I’m curious what others think, especially if it’s something that wasn’t on GC’s list.
Tom Weiden

Seal the leaks
I’m just fascinated to know what Nintendo plans to do with the Switch 2 and its games. They seem pretty confident that if they’re busy stocking up on enough games, there’s no point in scalping, and you’d imagine they’d be reluctant to repeat the mistakes of the Wii U. But who knows.

I’m still counting on a mid-fall reveal, but I wonder if Nintendo, with all the consoles they’re releasing, isn’t it inevitable that some photos will leak out? I’m sure Nintendo will sue the culprit to hell and back, but I doubt that’ll deter anyone who isn’t thinking about it too carefully.

I can imagine how tight the security is in the factories right now, but I sincerely hope it doesn’t leak out. It would be much more fun if Nintendo would announce it themselves in a clear way.
Thrush

Temporary boost
I see Palworld already starting to drop in the Steam charts, despite the release of new DLC. I just don’t think there’s room for more than a handful of these live service games to be successful. Not only do people not have the time, but they’re not going to put down something they already enjoy to play something else that isn’t necessarily as good.

At this point, a live service game absolutely has to be top quality to get a real deal. While I haven’t played Palworld, I know that this doesn’t apply to Helldivers 2, which everyone agrees is the better game.

That explains why Sony is asking for money for these games, even if it’s not full price, because at least that way they make some money back. They must understand the risks, but I’m still not sure they’re worth taking.
Terry Gold

Please email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Shadow of an opportunity
I have a few tips for anyone having trouble with Elden Ring and its DLC.

1. Have a lot of vitality. The more health the better. I have mine at 60+.
2. Use a large hammer or a wooden mallet or perform bloodletting with a large hammer.
3. Have a lot of stamina to run away.
4. Go to the Haligtree for the best talisman against damage.
5. Take the Dragon Rot Breath.
6. Use your mimic in every battle.
7. Learn the ‘quit out’ method to reset enemies that are chasing you.
8. Don’t start the DLC at New Game +2 like I did. Enemies are brutal, even with tons of health and armor.
9. Discover the DLC to get more Scuda gear, allowing enemies to hit a little less hard.

With my tips you can also get to the Twin Rennala boss, who moves faster than Sonic on crack and can still hit me with two shots even with all my health.
Bobwallet

Old masters
If there’s one positive to come out of all the layoffs and chaos in the industry over the past year, it’s that I have a newfound respect for Nintendo. I’ve never really liked their games, but I’ve always accepted that they’re very good at what they do. Recently, I’ve come to realize that they’re very smart and careful about their business in a way that I didn’t appreciate before.

Many of their decisions make no sense from the outside, but it’s clear that there’s always a backup plan waiting in the wings. They released the Switch so quickly, after the failure of the Wii U, and that wasn’t by accident.

Compare that to Xbox, who dithered for 10 years before giving up and buying everything – or Sony, who were completely unprepared for this generation’s problems – and they look amateurish in comparison.
Statutory

A little bit of fanfare
I just finished the campaign for Turbo Overkill on Steam Deck. It was released for PC in 2023, without much fanfare, but it’s a very good cyberpunk first person shooter (of the “boomer shooter” variety) that borrows from other games like Doom, Titanfall 2, and Vanquish to make something that stands alone.

The game introduces new ideas and enemy types at a good pace (for the most part) and is ideal for shorter gaming bursts, as levels can be completed in 5-10 minutes. The platforming is a little rage-inducing at times, particularly the grappling hook which I never quite got the hang of, but whether you’re dashing from enemy to enemy or sliding around on your chainsaw leg, the game gives you enough options and is rarely dull.

The only negatives for me were that I was bad at the platforming (and if you’re bad at it, the last thing you need are the few timed sections that rely on platforming that appear at the very end of the game…). I also found the game to be a bit longer than I’d like at ~16 hours: a bit of restraint would have made it a better game, as the last few levels felt like they just threw more enemies and longer boss fights at you (but maybe I would have felt differently if I’d taken a break and not been so eager to finish the game).

The game isn’t out on consoles yet, but I’d recommend checking it out when it does. A solid 8.45/10.
Magnum mustache

Main class: That’s a very specific score.

To become this good, it takes you centuries
The Sega Neptune is cool and all, but it reminds me that we still don’t have a Saturn mini console and probably never will. I keep hoping that it will happen someday, because the Saturn was actually pretty big in Japan and Sega doesn’t seem to mind releasing stuff that only appeals to their hometown audience.

That never happened though, despite the strange rumors. I wonder if it’s because they allegedly lost some of the game code from that time, but surely they could just dump a bunch of ROMs and use those as long as the emulation works? Let’s hope so.
Benson

Cheese camp
I think the fact that Capcom said about Resident Evil 9 that the director definitely meant it as a message. The only way I can interpret it is that it’s going to be more like the game he worked on last time, which was Resident Evil 7.

I’m all for cheese and camp in my Resident Evil, but I think if you play multiple games like this in a row you run the risk of it turning into a total joke and it becomes impossible to go back and make it scary again. Resident Evil 5 and 6 basically got to that point (although they were also really bad, which had the same basic effect).

I don’t think it necessarily has to be a case of one scary game, then one crazy game, but I wouldn’t overdo it in either direction. My hope is a straight horror game this time around, that I’d like to see experiment with open world, and then at some point go back to something more horror comedy.

Resident Evil has never been that intentional, although Village comes closest. I’d like to see them hire a straight-up comedy writer and really do something in the vein of Shaun Of The Dead or Zombieland. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright seem to be Resident Evil fans, so why not ask them for help?
Dougie Sr.

Inbox-also-rans
Depressing to see even indie developers laying off people now, with layoffs at the studio that made Tales Of Kenzera: Zau. I don’t know if there will ever be a new normal that we can be happy about.
Hedin

I don’t know if GC saw it, but there was just a new Transformers game announced. It’s mainly a racing game and looks pretty low budget, but I’ve seen worse and I like the designs, which are nothing like the Michael Bay movies.
Oscar

Main class: Hmm… On the bright side, there are rumors that the Activision Transformers games might be available again, as they have mysteriously been relisted on Xbox and Steam. They are currently not for sale, however.

Please email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes on the weekend. Reader letters are used on a merit basis and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500-600 word Reader’s Feature at any time by email or via our Submit Stuff page. If you use this text, it will be featured in the next available weekend slot.