With so many games coming out every year, it’s normal to want to jump from one title to another, and the feeling of trying a new game out is something every player looks forward to after they finish their current game.
Games We Are Thankful For In 2024
Quite a few great games have come out over the past year. Which ones are you most thankful for?
However, while purchasing games during sales and extending thebacklog of unplayed gamesis extremely satisfying, getting our picks for these highly replayable titles will keep players occupied for a long time, since they’re just as fun during the umpteenth playthrough as they are during the first.
8Vampire Survivors
Chaos, Strategy, and Addictive Gameplay Loops
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivorsmay look simple at a glance, but its replayability is staggering. The game’s rogue-lite mechanics ensure that every run is a new experience, with players constantly experimenting with different weapon upgrades, synergies, and character builds against the relentless waves of enemies in every run.
The game’s appeal lies in its unpredictability. A seemingly doomed run can turn into a triumphant victory with the right combination of power-ups. And thanks to the frequent updates that add fresh new content, Vampire Survivors continues to deliver on its promise of endless replay value.
7The Sims 4
The Real-Life Simulator
The Sims 4
Whether it’s about crafting the perfect family drama, designing architectural masterpieces, or pushing Sims to their bizarre limits,The Sims 4thrives on creativity. The game offers players freedom like no other game, allowing them to create and control every aspect of their Sims’ lives, from relationships to careers to chaotic mishaps.
With countless expansion packs,modding support, and a vibrant online community sharing custom content, the game evolves constantly. Players can shift focus from storytelling to experimenting with new building tools or diving into career goals. The Sims 4 ensures no two playthroughs are the same, making it the ultimate life-simulation playground.
6Sid Meier’s Civilization 6
One More Turn Becomes One More Campaign
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6
Civilization VIis a strategy masterpiece in which players will invest hundreds of hours and still want to invest hundreds more. Each playthrough offers a completely different challenge based on the civilization the players choose, the map they generate, and the goals they pursue, be it conquest, diplomacy, or cultural supremacy.
Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Civilization VI takes all of the elements from the Civilization franchise, improves on them and produces one of the most unique games in the series.
It’s the game’s intricate systems that keep players experimenting with different tactics in every new playthrough. Coupled with AI opponents that vary in behavior and the multiple expansions that add layers of complexity, Civ 6 ensures that even old-time veterans feel challenged.
A Roguelike That Never Ends
Roguelikeshad existed beforeHades, but despite being an indie title, the game received triple-A-like attention from gamers. Much of this was because the game executed the roguelike formula, which many players used to avoid because they didn’t like repetition in games, so masterfully by creating an overarching story that could only be experienced after multiple playthroughs.
This was further bolstered by tangible upgrades and weapon unlocks after every run, irrespective of whether Zagreus managed to reach Hades or not, which made players feel like they were making progress, even if the gameplay loop was mostly similar.
Being 2021’s Game of the Year winner, Hades is one of the titles that players can keep on playing, because even after the credits roll, the Pact of Punishment allows players to make the future runs harder and get better rewards, opening doors to a nearly limitless number of runs.
Where Chaos Meets Creativity
RimWorld is a storytelling engine disguised as a colony simulator. Players are tasked with managing a group of survivors on a remote planet, but it’s the random events and AI-driven scenarios that make each playthrough unique. One moment, players are fighting off raiders; the next, a freak weather event could upend their entire colony.
With mods adding even more variety, like new species and enhanced mechanics, RimWorld never runs out of surprises. Players can choose to focus on building a utopian society or embrace the chaos and watch their colony spiral into a hilarious or tragic disaster. It’s the unique stories players create in every playthrough that keep them coming back for more.
A World That’s Worth Coming Back to Again and Again
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Most RPG games are a one-time experience; very few players go back and replay a 100-hour game when they can get into another RPG, or finish multiple smaller games. However,Skyrimdoesn’t follow this norm. For many players, its world acts as a place to wind down, where they can just immerse themselves and do whatever their heart desires.
There’s a reason why many gamers consider Skyrim one of thecoziest games to play in winter, and it owes all of this to its huge, immersive world where every NPC is living their own life. Players can try out new builds, explore one of the numerous dungeons, hunt down dragons, go on a killing spree in the town, or just sit back and delve into some alchemy. With the addition of mods, there is truly no limit to what players can do in Skyrim.
Skyrim on a portable console like Nintendo Switch or the Steam deck is the best thing ever. An entire medieval world where players can get lost, right in their palms, sounds too good to be true, but it is.
Experiment With Different Ways to Assassinate
Hitman 3is a massive game, containing every level from both its predecessors, and offers a unique brand of replayability with its open-ended objectives. Every mission is a puzzle, and players are encouraged to experiment with nearly countless ways to eliminate their targets. Players can drop a chandelier on the target, poison their drink, or even disguise themselves as a waiter and get them when they least expect it. And if stealth sounds too boring, players can also go in guns blazing and wreak havoc on the enemy.
The game’s mastery system rewards players for exploring new approaches and hidden paths, making each level a playground for creative problem-solving. With user-created contracts, escalating challenges, and additional DLC content, Hitman 3 will always remain a definitive way to play assassination missions.
1Minecraft
A Creative Sandbox That’s As Endless As Your Imagination
Few games offer the limitless creativity and exploration ofMinecraft. Whether it involves building elaborate structures, surviving enemy mobs, or embarking on grand adventures, the game’s procedurally generated worlds ensure players are able to get as creative as they want.
Multiplayer adds another layer of excitement, allowing players to collaborate on massive projects or compete incustom maps. The modding community further amplifies the experience, introducing new mechanics, biomes, quests, and even graphic mods, which make the game look absolutely mesmerizing.
7 Games That Are Perfect For Speedrunning
For some players, timing themselves while playing a game is unnecessary pressure, but others thrive on it. These games are perfect for them.
