2024 was a weird year for the gaming industry. We had some of the best games of all time released, and yet we are still being plagued with historic layoffs. It’s so strange that many of the talented people in our industry cannot keep their jobs when they poured their blood, sweat, and tears into some of the best games of the last decade. As we approach the end of 2024, let’s take a look back at some of the best games of January that it seems everyone forgot about.
Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy
©RPGFan
- Released On: January 25, 2024
- Available On: Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PS4
- Metacritic Score: 84
- Metacritic User Score: 8.1
- All Time Peak Steam Player Count: 4,440
- Average Steam Player Count: 306
Capcom is having a phenomenal year, and it seems they will continue to do so going into 2025. The Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is a compilation of the 4th, 5th, and 6th games in the main-line Ace Attorney games.
Available now for gamers who prefer to play these games in HD instead of on the Nintendo DS family of consoles. With this release and the Miles Edgeworth games that came after, players can enjoy every Ace Attorney game on modern consoles. Hopefully, this means that we will see an Ace Attorney7 soon.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
©Xbox Achievements
- Released On: January 18, 2024
- Available On: Windows, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PS5
- Metacritic Score: 87
- Metacritic User Score: 8.5
- All Time Peak Steam Player Count: 1,446
- Average Steam Player Count: 98
Metroidvanias are already a pretty niche genre, so it makes sense for player counts to be lower on average. However, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is excellent in every sense of the word.
This title is not only an excellent Metroidvania, but also an all-around excellent game being held back by its genre. Many people look at metroidvanias being boring or inaccessible since they deploy a lot of backtracking and refusing to hold the player’s hand. If you give this title its fair shake, you will find that it’s not only good but VERY good.
Immortality
©RPGFan
- Released On: January 23, 2024
- Available On: Windows, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5
- Metacritic Score: 87
- Metacritic User Score: 6.6
- All Time Peak Steam Player Count: 385
- Average Steam Player Count: 11
Immortality was released in 2022 however it did receive a PS5 release in January of this year. This game might just be one of the most creative games to release this year, and it makes sense for it to have such a high critic score and a lower user score.
Not saying that critics understand games better than actual players, but this game is very artsy. Like how some people would look at certain films as Oscar bait, Immortality feels a bit pretentious in its presentation. However, this game definitely deserves its critical success because you will never play anything quite like it. It’s a perfect game for those who want something that truly feels new or those who miss the FMV-style games of the 90s.
Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth
©Sega
- Released On: January 26, 2024
- Available On: Windows, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5
- Metacritic Score: 89
- Metacritic User Score: 8.5
- All Time Peak Steam Player Count: 46,029
- Average Steam Player Count: 1,772
Sega is already promoting the next entry in the Like a Dragon franchise but the success of 2024’s entry, Infinite Wealth can’t be understated.
There is a lot of game to enjoy in Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, and the quality of that time spent skyrockets if you’re a pre-existing fan of the wacky franchise. The series pivot from character brawler to a turn-based JRPG was a strange move, but I would be lying if I said the series isn’t bigger than ever. Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is a game for those wanting something that doesn’t take itself too seriously while not being afraid to pull at your heartstrings.
Tekken 8
- Released On: January 26, 2024
- Available On: Windows, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5
- Metacritic Score: 90
- Metacritic User Score: 7.6
- All Time Peak Steam Player Count: 46,139
- Average Steam Player Count: 6,290
One of the heaviest hitters of January 2024 was Tekken 8. It currently has the highest average player count out of the games on this list, however its fall-off was massive from its peak.
Now, this can be expected from fighting games because of how casual players engage with the genre. Whenever a new fighting game releases, especially an accessible one like Tekken 8, these games will have a high player count but as time goes on a lot of those players move on while only the most competitive stick around to see the game throughout its life cycle. This is at no fault of the game itself, it’s just the way of the game when it comes to fighting games. The same thing happened to Mortal Kombat 1 and Street Fighter 6.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Jazz Stewart.