We’re into the top half of our Most Wanted games of 2024, and if there’s two themes running through this selection of five games, its of redemption arcs and new beginnings.
25 – Towerborne
XSX|S, PC – 2024
After the award-winning The Banner Saga trilogy, Stoic Studios are making something rather different for their next game. Towerborne trades in turn-based tactical adventuring for an action-packed adventure and co-op for up to four players.
You will be cast as one of humanity’s defenders, an Ace who has been born from the spirit realm to venture forth and defend the Belfry. There’s seemingly shades of Castle Crashers and its ilk with side-scrolling battling against foes, but this will aim to be a long-term game with an evolving world map and seasonal content that will continue and grow the story over time.
24 – The Plucky Squire
PS5, XSX|S, NSW, PC – 2024
There’s a childlike wonder to The Plucky Squire, as Jot adventures through the pages of a colourful children’s book, protecting the land from a villainous sorcerer. Except, Jot’s journey won’t just be confined to the papery sheets. No, he’ll be able to leap out into the 3D world and adventure there as well!
There’s plenty of inspirations that I can see within The Plucky Squire, starting off with the look and feel of Swords of Ditto – the last game from Jonathan Biddle, one half of All Possible Futures – and combining it with a bit of Micro Machines as you get into the 3D world and explore around kids toys, pencils, letter blocks, and more. However, there’s plenty more ideas thrown into the mix, with little references here and here from other games and genres.
Read our hands on preview of The Plucky Squire here.
23 – Little Nightmares III
PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, NSW, PC – 2024
The first two Little Nightmares games were a horrifying delight, filled with weird and unsettling imagery, and the simple terror of being a small child hunted by much larger beings. Where the first game was a solo adventure for Six, the second saw her become an AI companion for new character Mono. Little Nightmares 3 shifts to feature full on co-op (though you can still play solo).
Supermassive Games have taken over development duties from Tarsier Studios for this third game, and we see a big changes alongside that. There’s two new characters called Low and Alone and they’re trying to creep through and escape the Necropolis. It’s a new beginning for the story, and co-op will put a different tone on the puzzle platforming, but at its heart, this will have the same style of tentative adventuring through dark and creepy places.
22 – Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
PS5, XSX|S, PC – 2nd February 2024
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been hanging around in our Most Wanted lists for a good few years now. Spinning off from Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy, you’ll now be playing as a villainous foursome, forced by the government to try and save Metropolis from the machinations of Brainiac by defeating the brainwashed Justice League.
It’s safe to say that many people remain a bit unconvinced by Suicide Squad. On the one hand, the game makes some shifts toward featuring more ranged weapons than brawling and giving all of the characters some gadgets to get around the city far faster than they usually would, and on the other, it’s aiming to be a live service game with the usual action RPG character and gear upgrades, alongside a battle passes. That the game was delayed heavily after backlash to the big gameplay reveal makes it seem like there’s some skittishness within Warner Bros. about how well the game will do.
21 – Destiny 2: The Final Shape
PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, PC – 4th June 2024
Destiny 2: The Final Shape looks set to bring an end to the first ten years of Destiny, with a final confrontation with The Witness, the big bad who has been pulling strings behind the scenes since the very beginning of the online shooter’s tale. Players will be delving into The Pale Heart, located inside the Traveller itself, and a place that will feature call backs and the return of some beloved characters.
There’s a lot of heavy lifting for The Final Shape to do, after the disappointment of the Lightfall yearly expansion, and the upheaval within Bungie that this led to. That’s why The Final Shape has been delayed to June, as Bungie seek to make sure it lives up to expectations, and to help ease the shift from seasonal updates to Episodes that will hopefully give the game a lease of life after the conclusion of its main story.
Are there any games from this fivesome that you’re really looking forward to tucking into? Let us know in the comments and come back tomorrow for another set.