Let’s face it: after a disappointing 2023 ceremony, expectations were rather low for the 2024 Game Awards. Those low expectations ended up working in the show’s favor. Because the games announced this year included some really heavy hitters—and some surprises with absolutely no one saw coming.
Granted, most of the awards themselves were sprinted through, with only a handful actually allowing the winners time to speak. But, I guess, that means all the more time for trailers. And this year, there were multiple trailers which elicited scream-worthy responses. So here are the 10 best announcements made at the 2024 Game Awards.
10. Dispatch
Superhero fatigue is real. Only a irreverent, novel setup like Dispatch—that’s not attached to Marvel or DC—can overcome that fatigue and create excitement.
Starring Aaron Paul and Laura Bailey, you do not play as a superhero in Dispatch. Rather, you play as the guy sitting in an office cubicle telling them what to do—or, at least, trying to. Dispatch comes to us from Adhoc Studio, a spin-off studio of alumni from the legendary Telltale Games of The Walking Dead fame. That same prompt-based adventure game vibe seems to form the foundation of Dispatch. The game looks genuinely funny and intriguing, a worthy successor to Telltale.
9. Split Fiction
Hazelight Studios won Game of the Year in 2021 with their critically-acclaimed co-op game It Takes Two, It’s only fitting that the Swedish studio announced their next game at the Game Awards.
Like It Takes Two, Split Fiction is a narratively-driven co-op game about two people who do not get along at the game’s outset. The story’s potentially forced-feeling: two aspiring writers get stuck in a simulation which allows them to live in their fictional worlds by an organization intent on stealing their stories. The huge, intriguing upswing is that this allows the game to swing between fantasy and sci fi worlds at a hairpin turn.
8. Project Century
Ryu Ga Gotoku, the Sega-owned studio behind the beloved Yakuza / Like a Dragon series, has been very busy. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth came out in January, and another game in the series—the delightfully absurd-looking Pirate Yazuka—releases in February. And they announced two new games at The Game Awards: Virtua Fighter and the deeply intriguing Project Century.
Project Century looks to be a grittier and significantly bloodier version of the Like a Dragon series. Better yet, the game is set in a stunningly rendered version of 1915 Japan. It’s a fascinating move from a studio which could have just stuck to its main series.
7. Stage Fright
Overcooked! and its sequel are rather inarguably the best couch co-op games of this generation. But we haven’t heard a ton from Ghost Town Games since Overcooked 2 came out six whole years ago. Now, we finally know what they’ve been working on.
Stage Fright keeps the co-op vibe, but this time allows either couch co-op or online play. Two players work through an escape room-like environment, where the split in the screen divides the two playable characters into two different environments. While definitely more of an action game than Overcooked!, the game’s website assures the challenge is “in the mind, not the fingertips.” In other words, your non-gaming friends and family might have an easier time with this one.
6. Borderlands 4
After the now-famously awful Borderlands adaptation film, the series really can’t go anywhere but up. Fortunately, our first look at Borderlands 4 does indeed seem promising. The game was technically announced a few months ago, but the Game Awards gave us our first proper look.
Although many fans noted that the vault hunters’ designs are not quite as exciting as in previous entries, Borderlands 4 at least shows off some epic warfare from the get-go. The description beneath the YouTube trailer also promises “billions of weapons.” Borderlands may have started as a looter shooter, but now we’re also taking down a “ruthless dictator.” Talk about an elevation of stakes.
5. Elden Ring: Nightreign
No, Nightreign is not another Elden Ring DLC. Instead, it’s a standalone action game made in cooperation with Bandai Namco. Most intriguingly, Nightreign is a co-op game, where up to three people can play together at once. You also seem to be able to fly by clutching to a giant bird’s claw, so that’s a huge plus.
Nightreign doesn’t seem to have the adventure aspect of Elden Ring, and it appears as though your playable character comes from a selection of pre-made “heroes.” The big question is whether or not these bosses will be as notoriously difficult as the foes in a proper Fromsoft game.
4. Project Robot
The most mysterious trailer revealed at The Game Awards belonged to an untitled game, still deep in development, from genDESIGN, a studio filled with staff who developed Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. As those credentials might suggest, the untitled game patiently showed us a bleak-looking world with formidable mechs. The attention to detail in this trailer is unbelievable—the image of just the mech’s spine haunts you.
The teaser is only two minutes long and completely dialogue-less, but there’s something utterly devastating about it. Perhaps it’s tapping into fears of climate disaster. Whatever this game may become, if the full experience is this gorgeous and deliberate and emotional, it will absolutely be a huge title.
3. The Witcher 4
The Witcher 3 is frequently cited as one of the best games—not of a particular genre, just games in general. Instead of going straight to the sequel, developer CD Projekt Red opted to explore new avenues with Cyberpunk 2077. While that game eventually became the incredible experience we were expecting, Cyberpunk‘s infamously bumpy rollout diverted resources away from Witcher 4—placing its release a full decade after its 2015 predecessor.
The upside is that all of that drama made this surprise announcement at The Game Awards all the more sweeter. If you heard screaming during the Awards’ livestream, it was probably during this trailer. New protagonist and all, The Witcher 4‘s trailer lived up to expectations. Ciri’s looking great.
2. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Sometimes, success can be a kind of trap. Since The Last of Us came out in 2013, Naughty Dog has only worked on games related to The Last of Us: a sequel, a cancelled multiplayer, ports and remasters of games which only came out one console generation ago. Not even an hour before Intergalatic was announced, posts flooded social media lamenting the state of Naughty Dog.
But Intergalatic put those fears to rest, breathing a new life into the studio by showcasing an exciting and bold new direction—bizarre product placements and all. Looking like Blade Runner and reportedly inspired by sci fi anime like Cowboy Bebop and Akira, the Intergalatic trailer immediately oozes an undeniable cool. An unexpected Kumail Nanjiani cameo always helps, too.
1. Okami 2
The announcement of a sequel to Okami is something absolutely no one had on their bingo card, which is why it feels like such a miracle. For the uninitiated, Okami is an action-adventure game from 2005 where you play as the wolf god Amaretsu who wields a magical paintbrush and she moves through gorgeous environments reminiscent of Japanese ukiyo-e paintings.
Okami is notable for wearing its Legend of Zelda influence on its sleeve and being one of very few games that has not been subsequently weighed down. Hideki Kamiya—original director, as well as the director of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta—has formed his own studio and will be returning for the sequel.
Published: Dec 16, 2024 10:00 am