Bradford's Best Of 2024: 10 Games That Made 2024 Worth It, And One Disappointment That Made 2024 Sad

mmorpg.com:

It's that time of the year where we look back on the year that was. While we'll have our general End of Year awards next week, I wanted to take a look at some of the games that impacted me over 2024. 

2024 has been an incredible year for gaming, and has held a few surprises for MMO fans as well, with new games like Stars Reach finally revealed while we've seen indie studios like Visionary Realms and Stormhaven Studios make huge strides with their MMOs. It's also been an incredible year for RPGs, seeing great games like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Dragon's Dogma 2 and so many more hit digital shelves. So what were my top picks of the year? Here are 11 of the games that impacted me the most in 2024.

Best Game I Kept Coming Back To: Stardew Valley

There are few games that pass the time like Stardew Valley for me, but as 2024 kept giving me and my family a host of body blows, going back to the simplicity of my farm was a great escape. It helps too that Stardew is the perfect Steam Deck game, but even if it weren’t I feel like I would have spent quite a few hours of my life tending my crops, finally building out my greenhouse and exploring the caves surrounding the valley, my mind reveling in the escape for a few hours at a time. 

The MMO That Might Not Be For Me, But I’m Really Happy It Exists In 2024: Embers Adrift

Look: I am not Embers Adrift’s target audience. I don’t have fond memories of old-school MMOs of the ‘90s and early ‘00s — my favorite MMO is about to celebrate its 18th birthday and I can still play my original character. But I can appreciate the efforts put forth by Embers Adrift’s small, passionate team to keep their vision andgame alive in 2024. From a massive shift from the original business model, carving out a free trial, adding aPvP proving grounds and more, Stormhaven Studios has brought the MMO I affectionately call the “Little MMO That Could” a long way in just two years. 

I’m looking forward to seeing Stormhaven celebrate Emb