The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.
Time to enjoy your lovely joke!
Q: What d’you call a pair of komodo dragons making a sand castle?
Mat, Matt, and Jen are here to present the IGN UK Podcast Alternative Game Awards for 2024. Which game had the best animal? Which simply requires you to get gud? Listen to find out.
Remember to send us your thoughts about all the new games, TV shows, and films you’re enjoying or looking forward to: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.
IGN UK Podcast 780: The Alternative Game Awards 2024
Send out the year of Shadow with a bang.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is arguably one of Sonic’s best outings ever and if you enjoyed the soundtrack in Shadow’s new campaign as much as we did, you might be interested to know Sega has now officially released the entire album on all “major” digital services.
This includes sites (and apps) like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and the iTunes Store. You’ll also be able to listen to Dark Beginning’s “Without You” and other hits like Escape from the City. All up there are 52 songs and there’s a runtime of more than 2 hours.
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Available for a limited time.
Nintendo has released all sorts of icon designs for Switch Online subscribers throughout 2024 and now to wrap things up it’s bringing back select designs you might have missed.
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Here’s another look.
Earlier this year, LEGO announced it was extending its Nintendo range with the addition of a new Mario Kart line and more Animal Crossing sets. Nintendo’s Japanese website has now issued a reminder that three new Animal Crossing sets and six new Mario Kart sets will be launching on 1st January 2025.
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“We want to make one of the most accessible and playable RPGs of all time”.
Over the holiday season, we’re republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy!
Couch co-op and JRPG are two genres you don’t often see together. Secret of Mana is one of the earliest examples of the genre, with most of the Tales of series also allowing fans to play together while sitting side-by-side. But outside of those examples, playing JRPGs with your friends in the same room isn’t a common experience.
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Even with Christmas over, there are still many great deals available that you can score before they’re gone. Here are the best deals for Thursday, December 26.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 follows the story of Rex and the Aegis, who aim to reach the fabled land of Elysium. This massive RPG takes place across the world of Alrest, a land covered in clouds, where there are only a few landmasses remaining. With incredible music, exciting gameplay, and a memorable story, this is a fantastic deal for only $44.99. Simply put, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of the best games available on Nintendo Switch. I’ve put over 600 hours into the massive adventure, with all sorts of quests and exploration to be discovered.
If you recently completed the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, this is the perfect game for you. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Defintive Edition is the newest mainline title in the series, and there is so much it offers. For many, this is one of the best Dragon Quest games out there, and you can’t go wrong picking this up for only $44.99.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of 2024’s biggest games, continuing the story from 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII begin their journey outside Midgar, meeting characters like Yuffie, Vincent, and Cid along the way. This experience offers well over 100 hours of content, with 36 sidequests and a main story over 40 hours long. Plus, there are dozens of minigames to discover.
Both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S cannot use standard NVMe SSDs. Instead, you can expand the storage of the internal SSD by plugging in an expansion card. Today, you can save on both a 1TB and 2TB model from WD_BLACK, which is perfect for downloading many more games to your system. If you find yourself quickly running out of storage, don’t pass up this sale.
You can score Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for only $34.99 this weekend at Amazon. This collection packs in seven different titles, including the beloved Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. At last, you can play these classic titles on modern platforms.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is the long-awaited remaster of the classic Wii game. Set at the beginning of the Zelda timeline, Skyward Sword takes Link to the skies as he traverses across the world to save his childhood friend Zelda. You’ll uncover the Master Sword was created as part of this journey, among other things. For $39.99, this is an excellent title to add to your Switch collection.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is arguably the best entry point into the SaGa series at this time. Acting as a full 3D remake of the 1993 release, this game features English and Japanese voiceovers, rearranged music, retooled gameplay, and more. If you’re still unsure about Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, you can check out the free demo across all platforms!
Finally, you can save on WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSDs. These are perfect for any gaming PC, and you can even use one of these in a PlayStation 5, as long as you have a heatsink attached. The SN850X has speeds up to 7,3000 MB/s acoss all models, which is essential for quick and speedy load times. If you’re purchasing for PS5, there are heatsink models available, though the sale on the standard models makes these SSDs much cheaper.
Tea leaf!
Strolling down the road in a brand new, unfamiliar town, taking in the sights, you stop in front of a pleasant-looking house. Lovely big oak door, ruby red slate tiles, stone brickwork stained by sunlight and mud. It’s quaint and cosy, the idyllic village house, perhaps home to a young mother who’s just returned home from the local item shop.
You walk up to the door. Do you knock? Shout? Leave the residents alone? Of course not – you just walk right in, barge into the kitchen, and start shuffling through the shelves. And what do you find? Ah, yes, 50 gold pieces. Perfect.
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Sure, the exhilarating thrills of 2025 are close to being loaded onto our screens within moments, but there’s still time to bask in the glories that 2024 brought. From brilliant Bots and a beautifully blocky LEGO world, to epic fantasy adventures and remastered classics, there’s been everything for everyone.
It was an enchanting 12 months for massive and magical lands full of spell casting heroes, pointed ears and sky dwelling towns. Persona creators Atlas stepped into a brave new world with its fantastical Metaphor ReFantazio, and with it scooped an abundance of well-deserved praise thanks to its thoughtful combat mechanics, slick presentation and that battle theme.
Similarly, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth aced the unenviable task of reimagining one of the most influential RPGs of all time and maintaining the momentum of its prior, the massively successful Final Fantasy VII Remake. Sticking with the fantastic, fast-paced action RPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink delivered some much-welcomed co-op combat to go with its sprawling story, while Dragon Age: The Veilguard rounded out the year with a hugely compelling quest and a suitably stirring soundtrack by composer royalty Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe.
On a slightly more grounded level – well, relatively speaking – Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth provided some punch to any RPG fans who preferred mean streets over spell sheets, via its entertaining combat system and fun expansion of the rich Yakuza universe.
Not to be outdone by the onslaught of new titles inspiring imaginations, there were an impressive array of classics coming back with more than just a fresh lick of paint. Which was more than appropriate for Disney’s Epic Mickey, which saw the iconic mouse return with new abilities to match his beautifully updated visuals.
Speaking of icons, Lara Croft fans had a treasure trove of familiar delights to unearth in Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, and she wasn’t the only one resurfacing archaeological wonders, either. Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged brought back George Stobbart and Nico Collard’s quest to discover the arcane secrets of the Knights Templar in a 4K enhanced version of the adventure favourite.
In galaxies a bit farther afield, Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster and Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition both delivered on sci-fi delights across the FPS and action-adventure genres, respectively – with an equally epic turnout in fan-favourite fantasy RPGs via Grandia HD Collection and Persona 3 Reload. Oh, and for the players craving remastered zombie action? Capcom had its finger on the trigger, as Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster lumbered onto our screens with an array of… well, brainy improvements. Actually, while we’re on the subject of horror…
While many remasters sent hearts aflutter, there were a sprinkling of games returning to give other hearts a real jolt. Silent Hill 2 stepped out of the mists in frightening form with a stunning remake that took us back to nightmarish encounters with Pyramid Head, albeit with a high presentational fidelity that only enhanced the unforgettable story.
There was also a creepy cavalcade of new titles that were just as powerful at making the hairs on your controller-holding arms stand up on end. For those who love retro touches, Crow Country perfectly wrapped timeless survival horror gameplay within the familiar 1990s PlayStation visual style. Similarly, Fear the Spotlight played with an old school aesthetic to give its creepy narrative an intense edge, while the ‘80s also made a comeback via the amusing and disturbing asymmetrical multiplayer thrills of Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, based on the 1988 cult classic movie.
If you preferred a more modern scare, Still Wakes the Deep delivered a well written, utterly haunting and claustrophobic psychological – and cosmic tinged – horror. Although going full cosmic was also terrifyingly easy with the in-your-face frights of VR combat adventure Alien: Rogue Incursion. And in your living room, everyone can hear you scream…
Making a mark on the platform genre isn’t easy, but 2024 provided a blueprint that we’ll all be eager for others to follow in the future. Of course, the big flag bearer this year has been the endlessly inventive and charming Astro Bot. Team Asobi’s fun and feature-packed adventure became an instant classic due to its imaginative level design, wonderful use of the DualSense wireless controller and some unforgettable cameos.
But let’s not forget a couple of slick sleeper hits, either. Another Crab’s Treasure introduced us to the aquatic Soulslike action-adventure world of Kril, an irate hermit crab capable of using the discarded junk around him as weapons and armour. On the slightly breezier side, Penny’s Big Breakaway was a bright and colourful callback to an era of kinetic and fast-paced platformers, with the titular hero out to clear her name while being pursued by Emperor Eddie’s army of madcap penguins. It’s exactly as wild as it sounds.
2024 also played host to some of the most memorable looking games that not only had a distinct visual identity, but also played well, too. The beautifully crafted stop-motion animation of Harold Halibut contributed to its 10-year development process, with physical dioramas scanned into the game, resulting in a striking aesthetic for the charming graphic adventure.
The powerful use of colour and contrast were the visual hallmarks of beautiful puzzle-driven platformer Neva, while slapstick adventure Thank Goodness You’re Here! leaned entirely into its absurdist humour with a bright and bold style reminiscent of classic – and equally eccentric – British comedy comic books.
Also coming in bold, but additionally blocky, was LEGO Horizon Adventures, a playful spin on Horizon Zero Dawn. Its visual inventiveness was highlighted by the revelation that everything you see in the game, including its imposing and impressive machines, can be built using real world LEGO bricks and sets.
Which games and their appropriate trends were your favourites for 2024?
Some shinies that may have slipped through your fingers.
2024. It was a bit of an odd one for Switch, with the impending announcement of Nintendo’s follow-up console. It never materialised, but its shadow has been looming over the entire year. Still, if there hasn’t been an absolute avalanche of games to dig into!
Nintendo had many first-party releases — some weird and surprising, others long-time-coming remakes or new series entries — but it’s also been an outstanding year for smaller, independent games. And with the sheer variety, there’s bound to be many some you’ve missed.
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