2024 has arguably been the strangest year one of the strangest years so far in this current console generation. Platform holders like PlayStation and Xbox haven’t released many of their own original games this year, while Nintendo has largely been in a holding pattern prior to the presumed release of the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025. This has resulted in more remakes and remasters coming about this year as many publishers try to bridge the gap to their larger games in the future.
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Still, even in what is considered a down year for video games across the board, there are a number of releases that ended up reaching new heights for the medium. This is especially true in the indie space, which has seen phenomenal titles like Balatro, Animal Well, and UFO 50 come about and grab the interest of millions. And on the AAA front, there have also been more than enough tentpole games that have warranted the time and money of players around the globe. As always, though, one game has been a larger achievement than the rest in 2024 and has earned our biggest annual gaming award at ComicBook.
To that end, the winner of the 2024 ComicBook Golden Issue Award for Game of the Year is…
Astro Bot!
While it might not be the largest game or the one that tells the most compelling story, Astro Bot is without question the best gaming experience of 2024. With tight controls, colorful levels, and a jamming soundtrack, it’s impossible to play Astro Bot without having a smile plastered across your face at all times. It’s a title that goes back to the roots of the gaming medium but modernizes them with new features and upgrades that could only be seen on the PS5.
The experience that Astro Bot provides is only further enhanced by those who have been entrenched in the PlayStation ecosystem for decades. With hundreds of callbacks and Easter eggs to various PlayStation franchises and hardware that have come about since the 1990s, Astro Bot pays homage to what has come before while still charting a new path of its own. It’s a bit trite to say at this point, but Astro Bot really is a love letter to the 30-year history of the PlayStation brand.
In a time when every video game publisher seems to be looking for the next big live-service game like Fortnite, Astro Bot shows that creative, gameplay-first experiences that are for all ages can still be incredibly successful. Hopefully, its resounding acclaim will serve as an example to other gaming companies that smaller games that are of a very high-quality are still just as important as those that end up raking in the most money.
Congrats to PlayStation and developer Team Asobi for the win for Game of the Year!
The nominees for the 2024 ComicBook Golden Issue Award for Game of the Year are:
- Astro Botย – WINNER
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Helldivers 2
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Silent Hill 2