The Best Old Games (That I Played in 2024)

While I played a fair amount of new games last year, that number pales in comparison to the sheer quantity of survival horror I played through in 2024. While this list isn't going to be exclusively Silent Hill and Resident Evil, it would be dishonest of me to think of my-year-in-old-games without acknowledging that I effectively played through the entirety of both of those series in this last calendar year. It was an ordeal. One that I'm glad I undertook, but an ordeal nonetheless.

10. 

12 Word Searches

 

I'm starting this list with a bit of an odd pick because it's not even really a video game. Then again, it does say "best games" and not "best video games" up there and that was deliberate. This is, as the name would imply, a collection of word searches and it was cool as heck because it kind of has some video game-esque mechanics. There are hidden rules and secrets to discover as you work through them, and despite only being, well, 12 word searches all in all, it took me a few hours to finish. This is a free thing you can check out over on itch.io and if you enjoyed the puzzle-solving of something like Fez or TUNIC I'd highly recommend it.

9. 

Resident Evil Village

In a lot of ways this game felt like a modern take on Resident Evil 4 and, releasing only a year or so before a literal modern remake of RE4, it holds a weird place in my mind. Mechanically it's solid and a refinement of a lot of what RE7 did before it, and I love the progression of things, but what made this game stick with me was, oddly enough, its story. It was probably the Resident Evil game with the most compelling narrative if only because its returning protagonist, Ethan, was a character I grew to love. It's a great game and the first of many Resident Evil games you're about to hear me rave about.

8.

 Yakuza (Restored)

Next on my list is another non-survival horror entry: the first Yakuza game. The combat is a bit rough and it can be repetitive, but man does this game have heart. It's a bit of a precursor to the open-world mini-game fests that a lot of the later 2000s and 2010s would end up being full of, but playing it in the current year still felt fun and fresh. It's essentially got RPG random-encounters in the form of street fights and, combined with a strong story, it was just a really solid game that has me excited to see where the series goes from here. I already love Kiryu.

7. 

P.T.

There's more to this game than just a hallway, but they sure made a game about walking down a hallway absolutely nerve-wracking. The sound design, the lighting, the way it takes something familiar and twists it ever so slightly to make it unsettling, this glorified tech demo is a masterclass in horror and it's a shame it's confined to a finite amount of PS4s. Definitely seek it out if you have the opportunity, it makes for an unforgettable hour.

6. 

Silent Hill 4: The Room

This was an odd game but I loved it. It's incredibly uneven but the parts of it that are great are some of the best in the series. The back half of this game is essentially one long escort mission where you're traveling with someone with questionable AI, but the vibes and aesthetics of this game are second-to-none. The hauntings in the apartment, the uncomfortable voyeurism, even just the intro video, there are some standout sequences in this game. It may not be perfect but it manages to carve out a unique identity for itself and I have to respect that.

5. 

The RE4make

This has, hands-down, the most engaging gameplay in the entire Resident Evil series thanks to parries and dodges and all kinds of weapons to play around with. Fights are a joy. Boss fights have been tweaked and, like the other remakes in the series, it takes an already strong foundation and builds on it in many ways. The story is essentially just RE4 but they've smoothed over some of its odder aspects and made it ever-so-slightly more grounded (so no mech chase, sadly). This is a fantastic addition to the franchise that manages to almost match the original and that should be commended.

4.

Silent Hill 3

Heather rocks. This game has a lot more going on than just Heather; it's a followup to Silent Hill 1 that plays and looks like Silent Hill 2, but the reason it's so high up on this list is Heather. She's a fun and energetic protagonist who's a breath of fresh air after the relatively stuffy characters of Harry and James and that meant I wanted to see her happy, so the trauma and tragedy of her story hits even harder because of it. This game's level design can get even more awkward than the other games and overall the game's not without its (glaring) flaws, but, as petty as this may sound, Heather makes it all worth it. She's that likeable.

3. 

The RE2make

I love this game. It takes the bones of Resident Evil 2 and makes it play like something modern. It also adds a pursuer enemy in the form of a Tyrant (or "Mr. X") who chases you through the game's environments and makes previously safe areas tense again. It's a fantastic change-of-pace when he comes into play, and it hearkens back to the introduction of Crimson Heads in the first REmake. Keeping you on your toes after you've "cleared" an area was a wonderful addition and it's no wonder they kept this idea going for the RE3make and RE Village.

The only reason it's not higher on this list is that I think I may actually still prefer the original. There are just some things that weren't carried over and, for as complete a package as this is, I wish they had been able to make zapping work, or to find a way to make the A/B campaign dynamic as interesting as it was in that original. Still, this game was excellent for everything it does manage to translate.

2. 

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

This game is great; VR made it even better. That, combined with the return to a classic-style mansion to explore, made for a great time. Ethan is sort of a blank slate in this compared to Village, but his commitment to finding his wife still makes him pretty darn endearing.

It's a bit less complex and refined than Village, so I could understand your confusion as to why this is rated so much higher in my eyes, but the thing is this game was unforgettable in VR. It's a bit silly to aim a gun with your face, I'll admit, but once you get the hang of it it becomes second nature and it helps you get even more immersed in the goings-on. Sure, I could have played some of these other games in VR as well, but I didn't, and my experience is ultimately the thing I'm rating here. This was the first major thing I played in VR and it made me a convert. When this technology is used well it's fantastic and, for whatever reason, this game has an incredible VR mode.

1.

 Resident Evil 4

Is it any surprise that this game is at the top of my list? While I loved the remake and think it's a wonderful game that even improves on this in a few ways, it simply doesn't match up, all-in-all, compared to this in my eyes. There are some edges that get smoothed in the remake that I think add some wonderful character to this game and, personally, I love how delightfully video-game-y this one is. There's a purity to this that I have such a profound respect for. The combat, as stiff as it is, flows like a lightgun shooter and, when dealing with the slow moving enemies you fight in this game, popping heads feels just as satisfying as the "improved" combat from the remake. I think this might be my favorite game in the Resident Evil series, and there was some tough competition, and for that reason it's my favorite old game I played in 2024.