Gosh, video games are good. They can make you think so deeply about the world, and where you belong in it. They can make you contemplate true horror, in a way that re-contextualises the world. They can also send you on daring quests to find missing salami, and to consensually film as many voluptuous booties as possible.
The best PC games of 2024 did just that. They sent us on wild, reality TV-inspired quests, and to the darkest depths of the ocean. They challenged our notions of world history. They asked us to figure out the exact best way to hide a dead body, and when best to summon a werebear. In short: they were beautiful, spectacular, weird, and wonderful.
Here’s all the best PC games of 2024, as voted by the GamesHub team.
Note: We’ve avoided overlap with games of the PlayStation and Xbox GOTY 2024 console list. Many of the games on that list should be considered part of this list, and vice versa – but variety is the spice of life, and we had far too many games to shout out this year.
Table of Contents
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a wonderful, joyful game where you are a down-on-your-luck detective duck trying to make it in a big, bad world. Taking cues from Return of the Obra Dinn and The Case of the Golden Idol, this game tasks you with investigating a seemingly cutesy crime: the theft of salami in an office environment. Everyone is a suspect! Everyone is adorable! Use your wits, and you’ll eventually uncover a much deeper conspiracy than you might expect.
Read: Duck Detective: The Secret Salami – Review
In design and aesthetic, Duck Detective: The Secret Salami truly is a game to behold. It’s simple by nature, but this works so well to elevate its central tale, and its kooky cast of anthropomorphic animal office workers. While bite-sized in nature, it makes the most of its runtime, for a lively mystery adventure that is quacking good stuff. It’s wildly memorable, and so, so cool. – Leah J. Williams
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank
Who could have predicted that one of my absolute favourite games of the year would involve the escapades of a thieving vegetable? Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is a truly delightful romp that had me grinning stupidly at my Switch for hours.
Read: Turnip Boy Robs A Bank review – Full of beans (and assorted vegetables)
From the art style to the dialogue and everything in between, this is a sequel that brings higher stakes, loftier goals and one heck of a heist. I loved this game so much – it’s so funny and sharp that it makes you feel like robbing a bank is the most reasonable thing in the world for a turnip to do. – Steph Panecasio
The Crush House
In a perfectly surreal blend of reality TV, ominous slime and manufactured drama, The Crush House is a vivid and glorious addition to this list. The game takes voyeurism to a whole new level, asking you to satisfy the whims and wants of a variety of highly demanding audiences.
Read: The Crush House review: The audience is always right
Frequently funny, bright, and incisive in its humour, The Crush House also has a thrilling horror side that showcases the dark side of entertainment and social media, and the ways in which folks are forced to dance for the pleasure of a global audience. – Steph Panecasio
Conscript
Conscript is an absolutely brutal work of art that dives deep into the nature of war, and its impact on psychology. Taking cues from Resident Evil and Silent Hill, it focuses largely on the horror of being a lone soldier, and in doing so, paints a realistic portrait of history. Too often, war games glorify battles, and paint soldiers as heroes. Conscript rejects that narrative entirely, for an impactful game that feels so needed.
Read: Conscript review – Reflecting war as real-life survival horror
Not only is Conscript impressive for its subject matter and how it’s handled, it’s also worth noting this is the creation of Australian-based solo developer Jordan Mochi, who worked on the game over a number of years. It’s an incredible achievement, and one that deserves to be applauded. Equally, Conscript deserves to be played. It’s an essential title that is as memorable as it is horrific. – Leah J. Williams
Sumerian Six
Sumerian Six became an unexpected love of mine in 2024, thanks to moreish and robust strategy gameplay that genuinely tickles the brain. This is a turn-based alt-history adventure that focuses on a group of super-powered heroes working to take down a group of magical Nazis. On your squad, you’ve got a werebear, a chemist, an electrician, and more, all of whom must work their way across a variety of maps, putting away enemies with thoughtful tactics.
Read: Sumerian Six review – Going commando has never felt better
What makes Sumerian Six so moreish is its spread of abilities. One character is able to melt enemies and get away with it, as long as they remain in cover. The werebear is less subtle, but he’s able to sustain more damage. Elsewhere, you can experiment with ghost-like abilities and lightning hands, both of which require finesse and understanding to use properly.
If you fail the first time, Sumerian Six is very generous with its restarts, allowing you to experiment as you wander, while working towards a solution to each challenge map. This game was criminally underrated in 2024, and I’d love to see it get more flowers in future. – Leah J. Williams
The Rise of the Golden Idol
The Rise of the Golden Idol is an excellent, worthy follow-up to The Case of the Golden Idol that takes the formula of the original game, and shakes it up with a fresh aesthetic, and even more challenging puzzles. While it consistently makes you feel stupid, there’s also so much satisfaction in finally working your way towards a viable puzzle solution, and figuring out exactly what’s gone down in each level scenario.
I particularly like how The Rise of the Golden Idol works to challenge assumptions. When you first come across a scene – a jail with an escaped prisoner, or an icy tundra where a man has seemingly fallen down steps – you conjure a narrative in your head. You assume. Then the game forces you to question those assumptions, as you pick apart the truth of the matter.
In one particular scenario, it seemed obvious to me that a woman had been visited by her ex-husband and assaulted in some manner. The real truth required thinking deeply about the state of her house, the objects lying on the floor, and the answers left on her telephone. Questioning what I believed was the only way to find the real solution, and that’s exactly why The Rise of the Golden Idol works so fantastically well. – Leah J. Williams
Neva
Are you prepared to have your heart captured and subsequently held hostage for a few hours? Neva is an earth-shatteringly emotional game with an art style so stunning that it’s my personal favourite for Best Art Direction at The Game Awards this year.
Read: TGA nominee Neva is an underrated gem you need to play
Simple block colours make up the majority of the action, giving way to pastel watercolour painted vistas which are just so tastefully done. I’m confident that if you give it a chance, Neva will tug on your heartstrings, sweep you away with the music, and give you a slice of something truly beautiful. – Steph Panecasio
Harold Halibut
Harold Halibut is a wonderful rumination on the state of life, and the nature of seeking purpose. As Harold, the audience is invited into relative mundanity that is soon disrupted by the arrival of something other. What follows is a thoughtful tale about stepping out of your shell, and touching the real world.
Read: Harold Halibut review – Life in clay and technicolour
Beyond being beautiful in narrative and meaning, Harold Halibut is also beautiful in aesthetic. The entire world of the game is handcrafted from clay and other materials which are 3D scanned in, making every scene look and feel handmade. With each new quest, more colour and delight comes to the fore, highlighting Harold Halibut as one of the most evocative games of the year. – Leah J. Williams
The Plucky Squire
The Plucky Squire is a bright and innovative adventure game that presents a smorgasbord of fresh, new ideas with each dawning chapter. It starts with a cool concept – you’re playing with characters who live in a story book, with their book laid out on a desk in the “real world” – and then it continuously surprises, as the bounds of the story book are broken, and protagonist Jot is unexpectedly “freed” from his own tale.
Read: The Plucky Squire review – A real page-turner
On technical and artistic levels, The Plucky Squire is a game of great wonder. You chart your way through storybook pages, then take several wild turns into a 3D bedroom, with both worlds relying on each other, and neither being safe from the forces of evil. There’s so many cool moments in The Plucky Squire, each more memorable than the last. It’s truly a sight to see this game in action. – Leah J. Williams
The Sims 4 Life and Death
When they announced a death-themed Sims 4 pack, I’m not exaggerating to say I screeched with glee. As one of the countless vocal Sims fans who have been begging for funerals to be included for years (and to be able to woohoo the Grim Reaper, but that’s beside the point), it felt like – at least on paper – I’d manifested the perfect pack for me.
Read: The Sims 4 Life and Death review – The best expansion yet
From the brand-new Reaper career to bucket lists and the reincarnation cycle, I’ve loved every minute of gameplay in this pack. It’s one of the most well rounded Sims 4 expansions we’ve seen in a while, and I’m really relieved that the Sims team were able to nail the entire life and death experience. After all, what’s a life sim without a bit of death? – Steph Panecasio
