The Biggest Game Awards Winners Are Also No-Brainer Christmas Gifts

Image: Sony / Ninja Theory / ATLUS / Kotaku

The Game Awards, the biggest annual celebration of video games, commenced this past Thursday, handing out awards to the titles that have proven most popular in 2024. There’s a fairly good chance that if you’re fortunate enough to be bought gaming gifts, one of these could be showing up in your stocking. So we’ve pulled together a selection of guides for those award-winning games most likely to appear under your tree this holiday.

Whether your tastes are action, strategy, sports or teeny cute robots, we’ve got you covered. And if you don’t find your specific game on this list, then chances are we’ve got you covered elsewhere in our enormous archive of 2024 game guides.

Image: Sony

By most accounts, Astro Bot, the incredible PlayStation 5 platformer that pays a loving tribute to Sony’s (spotty) gaming legacy, is a pretty straightforward game. Team Asobi has created an excellent experience that is able to communicate a lot without words or hand-holding. However, we do have some tips to hopefully mitigate what little frustration you might encounter while playing Astro Bot.. Here’s some advice as you head into this joyful, PlayStation-themed roller coaster ride.

Screenshot: Sony / Kotaku

The utterly wonderful Sony platformer Astro Bot has two main collectables in each level: bots and puzzle pieces. However, some levels contain something else: secret exits that can only be found by completing very specific tasks, or snooping around in some extremely hidden locations that you may have otherwise overlooked. Yeah, there’s a whole load of more levels to find!

You can find all our Astro Bot coverage here

Screenshot: PlayStack

Poker isn’t the most exciting game to play alone. Even against computer players in a video game, poker isn’t much fun. Balatro—out now on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC—understands this. Instead of playing other opponents and placing bets, this roguelike deck builder is all about making winning hands and collecting powerful cards to help you earn big combos. And also there’s some weird cosmic magic, too. Don’t worry about it.

You can find all our Balatro coverage here

Screenshot: Atlus / Kotaku

Metaphor: ReFantazio, the new fantasy RPG from the minds behind Persona, is a pretty dense game. There are a lot of systems to keep track of, levels to grind, and time to manage as you travel through the world of Euchronia. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the things to do when actual in-game days pass when you so much as talk to someone.

Screenshot: Atlus / Kotaku

In retrospect, it is a little weird how that otherwise ridiculously generous multi-hour demo for Metaphor: ReFantazio just kinda decided, “You’ve had enough,” after a random boss in Regalith Grand Cathedral. Over a million people have since told Atlus, “We’ll tell you when we’ve had enough,” and bit the bullet on the full game. That’s excellent news for us JRPG sickos, but that demo might give you delusions that all the bosses are just random collections of minions. That is quickly dispelled when you hit the game’s first real challenge.

You can find all our Metaphor: ReFantazio coverage here

Screenshot: Ninja Theory / Kotaku

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Ninja Theory’s latest narrative action-adventure game, arrived on May 21, 2024 for Xbox and PC. While many may be divided over its simple combat and lengthy puzzles, there’s no denying that Hellblade 2 is a visually stunning game, especially on a PC with the horsepower to push the game to near-photorealistic levels of detail.

Screenshot: Ninja Theory / Kotaku

Screenshot: Game Science / Kotaku

Black Myth: Wukong features a wide variety of materials you’ll need to collect if you’re going to upgrade your weapons and armor. And trust me, you’re going to want to, as this game can be brutally difficult if your gear isn’t up to par. Early in the game, you’ll be able to start earning one such material known as Stone Spirits, which are required for upgrading certain weapon tiers. You’ll want to get your hands on plenty of these little stones, and we know just how.

Screenshot: Game Science / Kotaku

Black Myth: Wukong is a lengthy and challenging game filled with over 80 bosses and tons of enemy types to tackle, promising that you’ll need to put your skills to the test if you want to see it through to one of its multiple endings. The opening hours of the game give you a lot to learn and think about, and getting to grips with how the game’s various mechanics work can take a little getting used to. As such, we’ve compiled a list of early game tips here that we hope will aid you in the opening hours of Black Myth: Wukong.

You can read all our Black Myth: Wukong coverage here

Screenshot: Arrowhead Game Studios

Third-person cooperative shooter Helldivers 2 recently landed on PC and PS5. Featuring intense, chaotic gun fights against alien threats across the galaxy it’s proven pretty popular—so much so that you might be struggling to get into a match right now due to server load. Assuming you can get into one, I’ve rounded up a number of essential settings tucked into the game’s options that might make for a better experience.

Screenshot: Arrowhead Game Studios

Whether you’re fighting bugs or bots, you need the right tools for the job. As Helldivers 2 finishes its 60-day roadmap and releases the new patch, there’s no better time to visit Super Earth’s armories and take your pick of the litter.

If you want to save the citizens of Super Earth, you need to take advantage of the tools available. These are the best weapons in Helldivers 2 currently, with a mix of Stratagems and primary and secondary weapons for a well-rounded arsenal to choose from!

You can read all our Helldivers II coverage here

Report