I’ve been doing tons of lists for the end of the year. This might be my craziest. This is part one of three this week, going over my top 40 moments of 2024. I love video game moments because they can encapsulate such a wide variety of experiences. A lot of these are big story moments of course, but several are more personal gameplay moments as well. In the end, these are the forty moments I will carry with me the most as I recall 2024, which was one of the best video game years of my life. I hope my fellow gaming sickos are able to read this and remember some of their favorite moments of 2024. Hopefully, it also inspires you to check out some of the games on here that you haven’t played as well.
I feel like this is obvious but this article will have massive spoilers.
My Other Year-End Content So Far
BigNerdGaming’s Top 10 Indie Games Of 2024
AndresPlays Top 10 Games of 2024
BigNerdGaming’s 2024 Honorable Mentions
BigNerdGaming’s Top 10 Games of 2024
#40: Luisa’s Reflections (Dungeons of Hinterberg)
This isn’t one moment, but a collection of them. Dungeons of Hinterberg has some fun moments with its plot that I enjoyed. There is one twist in particular that I thought was really well done. But nothing else quite hit like the quiet moments.
There are several opportunities in Hinterberg to “meditate.” These can enhance your stats, but they are also rewarding because of how good the writing is. In these moments, Luisa just reflects on life and on vacation. She talks about how good it feels to let go, even for a short time. If you’ve ever been stressed out at work, all of these moments hit hard. These are so well written and moving in small ways. I loved pretty much all of them. I feel like I ended up taking screenshots every time one happened because I enjoyed them so much. I just could not get enough.
#39: Red and Antea Fight In The Cave (Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden)
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a love story above all else. The game is built around Red mac Raith and Antea Duarte, and the game sells that love incredibly well. They have an undeniable chemistry, and you feel the connection they have for each other from dang near moment one.
But even the best relationships have issues. And well, Antea dying, becoming a ghost, and both partners going on a quest to send her to the afterlife seems like something that could cause fights to occur.
This isn’t really the case for most of the game. I felt like Red and Antea were mostly in line with their ambitions throughout. However, as the journey gets closer to the end, the reality of what is about to happen seems to set in. This boils over with a pretty big argument from the two. I think this stuck with me because it was so stunning and heartbreaking at the time. After watching these two be so aligned and together the entire game, seeing tension build up hurt. Especially knowing that (with the way I played the game) Antea was about to fully pass on soon.
#38: Entering Toshara on The Speeder For the First Time (Star Wars Outlaws)
I love a good “entering the open world for the first time moment”. This isn’t quite on the level of the very best out there (Fallout, Tsushima, etc), but this was still very damn cool. After crash landing on Toshara, you get a speeder, and it’s off to the open world. The game sets it up perfectly as you turn a corner and then see the world open up before you. Being on the speeder makes it even better, as it is a lot of fun to use.
Toshara also happens to be one of the most gorgeous looking open worlds that I have ever seen. Rounding the corner and truly seeing Toshara for the first time is stunning. This was a great way to kick off the open world gameplay.
#37: Winning My First Balatro Run
I have discussed Balatro a few times in my end of year content. I mostly like to talk about how it is one of the most accessible card roguelikes of all time. That doesn’t mean that Balatro isn’t tough, though. There is a lot that can go wrong in any given run. I’ve had runs where I thought my setup was invincible, and then a few bits of bad luck and one decision that doesn’t pay off, and suddenly the run is over. I think it took something like 10 hours for me to finally win a run. There is a feeling of accomplishment like no other when it happens.
The beauty of this is that I recently downloaded Balatro on my phone, and I actually won my first run within five tries. This is without a lot of the better Joker cards you unlock the more you play. It just goes to show that there is still quite a bit of skill that comes with this game, and it was great to feel that “first” win for a second time.
#36: The Red Moon Boss Fight (Neva)
Neva is an absolutely gorgeous game. But admittedly, after an hour or so with the game, I thought it was getting kind of dull. The watercolor design is beautiful, but it all feels kind of repetitive after a bit.
Suddenly, the game shifts as Neva and Alba start to travel to a darker area. This leads to a boss area with an absolutely stunning backdrop of a red moon. This is up there for best boss arena of the year (oh man, should I rank that next year?). The music is also phenomenal, and the fight itself is very solid as well. After having some difficulties getting into Neva early on, this is where I started to like the game a lot more. Nomada Studios can do big visual moments with the best of them
#35: Running For My Life In Helldivers 2
I feel like we all have at least one moment in Helldivers 2 that stuck with us long after we stopped playing (for those of us who stopped playing, anyway). This game just has so many epic set piece moments and occasional hilarity that comes with those.
The biggest moment that I still remember fondly from Helldivers 2 is playing with some friends on one of the harder difficulties for the first time. I had only put about 10 hours into the game at that point, and I was playing with people who had significantly higher levels than me. So, I was clearly the worst of my group.
Of course, we reached a point where everyone died except for me. I then proceeded to run for my life for several minutes while I got to safety with everyone watching and cheering me on. Eventually, after several close calls, I made it to safety and was able to revive people. Moments like these are what make this game so special
#34: I Don’t Need You Anymore (Silent Hill 2 Remake)
This is the closest thing Silent Hill 2 has to a “Goku going Super Saiyan” type moment. Except it’s more about emotions than raw power. As James faces down two Pyramid Heads (who represent his guilt over killing Mary), he tells them he doesn’t need them anymore before taking them on. There is speculation as to what this means, but to me, it meant James is at the very least done repressing his guilt and memories, which meant he was now able to take these foes on in earnest. The last few hours of Silent Hill 2 are absolutely nuts, and this was one of several powerful moments within that conclusion.
#33: Letting Angie Go (Closer The Distance)
Closer the Distance is a game about grief. It takes place in a small town that is shaken from the loss of a girl named Angie, who was one of the main people who brought the town together. Over the course of the game, several characters gain a connection to this “ghost” version of Angie. Angie helps guide them in their path to getting through that grief.
Yet, only one person truly seems to understand everything that is going on, and that is Conny, Angie’s sister. As the game goes on, and all of the other characters in the game seem to start getting better in their own ways, Conny does not. She seems to get more sad as the game goes on. Grief is a complicated thing. I think much of this pain actually comes from Conny understanding that Angie is still around. She had already lost her once, and now she is about to lose her again, and she knows this.
The conclusion of the game has Conny finally letting Angie go. I have a hard time crying, but damn this moment sure got me close. Especially as someone who is about to have two daughters. Seeing the tight bond between two sisters forced into a difficult situation like this was devastating. This was such a powerful way to end this game.
#32: The Spieldance Case (Rise of the Golden Idol)
In my review of Rise of the Golden Idol, I discuss how the improved graphics in the game actually improve the gameplay quite a bit. The game features a lot of visual clues, and having better graphics makes it a lot easier to figure out those clues. The game also has significantly better animations from the first game, and that comes into play here.
This case is like no other in the game. You have to decipher the meaning of a dance that is going on during a talent show. It’s so fun to “translate” the dance into what the message is. Not only was this fun from a gameplay perspective, but it was also a bit of a “what the fuck” moment from a plot perspective. The character doing the dance was introduced in a previous case, and is very clearly not someone who should know such an elaborate interpretative dance like this. My mind was absolutely spinning wondering what it could mean. There are definitely cases in Rise of the Golden Idol that have even bigger plot moments, but I adored the mix of plot revelations and unique gameplay here.
#31: The Uncharted Level (Astro Bot)
The highlights of Astro Bot are pretty clearly the themed levels that come at the end of each world. These are all pretty neat in their own ways, but there was only one level that I thought truly captured the complete essence of the game it was honoring, and that was Uncharted.
The gunplay and platforming all feel right, and this leads up to an awesome set piece boss encounter, with great music, fun perspective shifts, and a general epic feel that you would hope for. They absolutely nailed this level.
#30: Hulkenberg Realizes That Her Mission Succeeded (Metaphor: ReFantazio)
Hulkenberg is one of my favorite characters in Metaphor: ReFantazio. She is a goofy and likable character. She is also filled with honor. She spends much of the game tortured because she let the prince get attacked. So when the prince comes back to life, and she realizes the main character was actually an alter ego of the prince the entire time, it is a special moment. Hulkenberg gets emotional, and the whole party is there to lift her up. Coming off one of the best moments in the game, the moment right after still manages to be almost as special.
#29: Buddy The Postman’s Funeral (Harold Halibut)
The biggest star to me early on in Harold Halibut is Buddy the Postman. He is full of charisma and incredibly entertaining. He is also part of a really fantastic side quest where you help deliver old letters to people on the ship. I had quite the attachment to Buddy after a few hours with the game.
So, it was legitimately quite sad when Buddy died in the middle of the game. Buddy’s funeral features a nice eulogy from his friend, then one last video from Buddy, which is also emotional and touching.
In a surprise, Buddy then transitions his eulogy video into a workout video in order to motivate everyone on the ship to stay in shape. This was absolutely hilarious and was the perfect way to cap off a very sad moment with something light-hearted.
#28: Kalunga is Baba (Tales of Kenzera: ZAU)
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU has a lot of great story moments as it tackles the difficult subject of grief. You play as Zau as he travels with the god of death, Kalunga, in an attempt to bring his father back to life.
At the end of the game, it is revealed that Kalunga was actually Baba the entire time, and this entire journey was a way to prepare Zau for his future as a shaman. This was a legitimately stunning twist for me and led to even more emotional moments. This was a great way to cap this game off.
#27: Discovering The Alien Cave (Harold Halibut)
The claymation art style in Harold Halibut is really cool. It’s fascinating to watch it in motion for pretty much the entire game. But you spend most of the early hours of the game on a spaceship, and it does get a little bit old after a while.
So when Harold goes on a foray outside of the ship to look for the home of the aliens he just met, I was excited to see what this would look like visually, and it did not disappoint. I loved the build-up here. The game smartly moves the camera behind Harold as you venture towards the big opening. Finally, you see the alien home, and it was as cool as I hoped. It’s also meaningful because poor, downtrodden, and unremarkable Harold ends up being the first human to see an alien world. This was an awesome moment.
#26: Pluto is Reunited With His Owners (Crypt Custodian)
You know what the ending is going to be in Crypt Custodian for quite a while. You play as Pluto, a recently deceased cat. Once it is discovered that there is a mirror hidden away in the afterlife that lets pets visit their former owners, it’s pretty clear that the game will end with Pluto visiting his former owners.
Sure enough, once you reach the mirror, that is exactly what happens. Pluto’s ghost form climbs onto his owners bed and cuddles right up in between them. The game isn’t over the top with it, but the music hits perfectly, and it’s all just understated enough in a way that makes it feel more authentic. It was the perfect way to finish this game. And given that I had lost my dog only a few days before finishing the game, it hit even harder. I’d like to imagine my dog Chester doing the same somehow.
Coming Wednesday, moments #25-11!
Big Nerd Gaming 
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