How do I rank the year in gaming when the best game I played this year wasn’t really a game at all?
In June, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was released to near-universal acclaim, with critics and general audiences alike awed by its expansive maps, pulse-pounding boss battles and artful fine-tuning of the game’s difficulty, a trademark characteristic of developer FromSoftware and industry icon Hidetaka Miyazaki. Like so many millions who set launch weekend aside to play Shadow of the Erdtree, I can’t count how many times the game brutally punished me for my mistakes — just as I can’t count how many times I rose from the mat for another round.
The only problem in Shadow of the Erdtree’s race for end-of-year awards is that it’s technically DLC (gaming parlance for downloadable content meant to add to the base game) for 2022’s Elden Ring.
Shadow of the Erdtree’s nomination to several best-of-2024 lists has ticked off pundits galore. Some say DLC should be separated into a new category and “Game of the Year” reserved for standalone releases, while others contend that Elden Ring’s acclaim two years prior encompasses any subsequent glory due to Shadow of the Erdtree. Once the internet’s hot take economy starts up, though, it’s nearly impossible to stop, and arguments have spilled over into accusations of alleged preferential treatment for FromSoftware by awards organizations.
Now imagine how loud those whispers will become if Shadow of the Erdtree edges out Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game (shorthand for titles with Hollywood-esque budgets and production values) made by a Chinese developer?
In many ways, Shadow of the Erdtree and Wukong share the same punishing action-adventure DNA. But where the former is a display of mastery of the genre, the latter is an uneven, though rewarding, experience. Were playability alone the sole judging criteria, Shadow of the Erdtree would exist in an echelon decidedly above Wukong, but gaming’s first premium representation of Chinese folklore certainly helped developer Game Science stand out from this year’s pack.
According to the Golden Joystick Awards (which determines winners by public voting, a relative rarity in major game awards that use judging panels), it does. On Nov. 22, Wukong took home the Ultimate Game of the Year award — in part, perhaps, because the Golden Joystick Awards splits DLC into its own category, which Shadow of the Erdtree won.
As the year draws to a close, I’m much closer to a replay of Shadow of the Erdtree than Wukong, but that may not be a fair comparison, almost like pitting a prime Shohei Ohtani against a young prospect coming off a breakout rookie campaign. It’s almost incumbent upon the gaming world to appreciate Miyazaki and FromSoftware while they’re still capable of cranking out masterpiece after masterpiece, and though it might be premature to crown a successor, Wukong’s mere inclusion in year-end lists should be encouraging for the legions of fans within China and beyond — all the sticky elements of nationalist pride in gaming aside.
Samurai slip-ups
With each passing year, the games that rise to the level of best-in-show are outweighed by those that crash and burn in evermore spectacular fashion. One promising candidate in this year’s race to the bottom is undoubtedly Concord, a first-person online shooter developed by American studio Firewalk and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Launched on Aug. 23, Concord proved such a dull draw that it never had more than 700 players online at any given time. Sony pulled the game offline just two weeks later and refunded all purchases. In late October, Sony shuttered Firewalk as well.
Even then, the failure of Concord may pale in comparison to the cultural fiasco of Assassin's Creed: Shadows.
Though developed by a Quebec-based branch of major developer Ubisoft, the upcoming Shadows sees the long-running Assassin’s Creed series finally shift to Japan, specifically the Sengoku Period (1482-1573), where two main protagonists — Naoe, a kunoichi (female ninja), and Yasuke, an African slave-turned-warrior — become embroiled in loosely historical episodes heavily inflected by the Assassin’s Creed series’ trademark blend of conspiracy- and supernatural-based plots.
Yasuke, a dark-skinned man of African descent who eventually made his way into the personal service of leading warlord Oda Nobunaga, was undoubtedly a real individual backed up by the historical record, but there are questions as to whether he was officially endowed with the status of a samurai. And, while influenced by real history, the Assassin’s Creed series has never claimed to be a completely accurate, fact-based retelling of events.
These elements combined into a cultural firestorm for Ubisoft complete with accusations of cultural appropriation, erasure of Japanese representation in games (never mind co-protagonist Naoe) and historical revisionism (Shadows portrays Yasuke as a full-fledged samurai). In July, the backlash was so strong that Ubisoft felt the need to respond to an online petition against Yasuke’s inclusion as a main character.
“We acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community,” the company said. “For this, we sincerely apologize."
In September, just days before Tokyo Game Show, Ubisoft announced the delay of Shadows from its original November release date to February 2025. The company cited a variety of business factors for the decision, but it was also reported that the new launch window allowed Ubisoft to revisit “many of the historical and cultural concerns, which started before the game’s reveal ... and were accelerated further following the game’s initial reveal and mass feedback.”
Corporate backpedaling or an unfortunate coincidence? The truth will likely stay in the shadows.
Litigation and leisure
Despite the lack of major releases for its tentpole franchises in 2024, Nintendo has had a very busy year.
It started in January, when an unknown game by the name of Palworld was released to overnight success. Its secret? Take the beloved but well-worn formula of the Pokemon series and infuse it with base building, resource management and a hefty helping of firearms — factors that helped Palworld earn the moniker “Pokemon with guns.”
Palworld sold 6 million copies just four days after its release, but less than a week later The Pokemon Company (TPC) announced that it intended “to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokemon.”
Fast forward to late September when those measures manifested in a lawsuit filed by TPC and parent company Nintendo against Palworld developer Pocketpair. In question are three patents that Nintendo and TPC allege Pocketpair is improperly using — but which were applied for and officially registered with the complaining parties after Palworld’s January release.
There’s no telling if or when the case might progress, but it could turn into a knock-down, drag-out fight — especially since Nintendo rival Sony has officially thrown in with Pocketpair to expand Palworld beyond its small-studio roots.
Contrary to its family-friendly public image, hostile litigation is nothing new for Nintendo. What is, however, is a serious push to translate its beloved digital properties into real-world attractions.
Later this month, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka will officially unveil Donkey Kong Country, the latest branded area of the theme park’s Super Nintendo World region. That will join the Nintendo Museum, a collection of kitschy retro gaming experiences and occasionally interesting exhibits into the company’s history all housed in a former Nintendo factory in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.
However, the one piece of long-awaited Nintendo news we didn’t get in 2024 was an update on the live-action Legend of Zelda movie announced in late 2023. Don’t grip your controller too tight, though: According to a Nov. 6 financial filing, Link, Zelda and Ganondorf won’t be hitting the big screen until “202X.”
Gaming trends in the decade so far
Everything from the pandemic upheavals of the early 2020s to the 2021-23 shortage of semiconductors has affected the way we boot up and play so far this decade.
2020
Top trend: Pandemic gaming
Quarantine was a blessing in disguise for gamers. Online co-op games like Among Us blew up overnight, while new releases like Hades and Valorant launched to captive audiences.
Best game: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
When the world outside was falling apart, along came this cozy life simulator where players could farm, build and meet new friends on their own tropical island.
2021
Top trend: Chip shortage woes
Supply chain disruptions made it harder to find consoles or parts to build your own PC. Even in Japan, the new PlayStation 5 was nearly impossible to track down.
Best game: Halo Infinite
Despite the downfall of developer 343 Industries, the campaign at times captured the magic of the halcyon days of one of gaming’s greatest first-person shooter franchises.
2022
Top trend: Rise of the auto-shooters
Non-gamers might find it odd, but with the release of Vampire Survivors, an incredibly addictive genre was born: Move your character, pick up items and the game does everything else.
Best game: Elden Ring
FromSoftware reached the top of its game with artful cruelty and cryptic storytelling on full display throughout the world of the Lands Between.
2023
Top trend: Gacha game supremacy
Gaming and gambling combine as Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and other titles that rely on randomized loot drops (sometimes bought with real money) gained steam.
Best game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Was it as good as Breath of the Wild? No. Was following up one of the greatest games ever with a worthy successor a triumph? Yes.
2024
Top trend: China rising
Black Myth: Wukong may not win game of the year, but it should light a fire under China’s domestic AAA games industry.
Best game: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
FromSoftware caught lightning in a bottle again, delighting fans with a massive expansion to its 2022 magnum opus featuring bosses gamers will die to 100 times, beat once and remember forever.
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