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RPG Site Best of 2024 Awards: Our picks for the best of the year

by RPG Site Staff on 05 January, 2025

We knew going into the year that 2024 was going to be packed. We finally saw the release of long-awaited and long-anticipated titles like Granblue Fantasy: Relink and Dragon's Dogma 2. The second entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth had been circled on our calendars for a long time, and a new franchise from Atlus in Metaphor: ReFantazio was a giant wild-card that we were hopeful would turn some heads. Add in a few surprises like The Thaumaturge and Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven and this year started out quick and never let up.

As has become site tradition, in mid-December the RPG Site staff got together to deliberate all of the RPG releases of 2024 for our RPG Site Best of 2024 Awards, our annual feature where we rank the best RPGs of the last year.

If you simply want a quick summary of our final results, click here.

How RPG Site's End-of-the-Year Awards Work

If you've followed RPG Site for any length of time, we've kept the way our end-of-year awards work largely the same. We want to commend some games that demonstrate some specific category of excellence, and then we deliberate in real-time to determine a winner from a list of nominees. We record this deliberation so that the final results can be listened to by anyone who is interested.

To list out and summarize how it works, here's the run-down:

  • First, we'll link a special edition of our Tetracast podcast, where we determine the winners of each category and the ultimate final RPG of the Year for the site. If there are any questions about why a game is (or isn't) present on the list, or how the final determinations came to be, we record it all so that all the discussions can be referred back to!
  • Second, there will be several Category Awards that platform specific games with specific strengths, such as art and music. These are most like the specific awards you'll find from other publications, but with an RPG-focused spin, of course. 
    • Note that just like in in 2023, we have removed two categories: Best Non-RPG and Best Ongoing Support. We felt that these games, while deserving to be commended, didn't quite fit in with the rest of our deliberations.
  • Thirdly, past the category awards, here's where things get tricky. We rank our Top Ten RPGs of the year, starting with five runners-up. These are games that we recognize as some of the best of the year, but did not land into our Top Five. You can think of these like our Top-Ten-but-Not-Top-Five, though that's a bit of a mouthful. 
  • Then, naturally, we list our Top Five RPG releases of the year, specifically the four games outside of the over overall winner, but remain RPG of the Year-caliber releases in their own right.
  • Finally, at the very end, we list out the official RPG Site RPG of the Year 2024.

A couple of final important notes to consider:

  • For the past several years, we've operated on a schedule that goes from December through November. That means this year's list includes games released between December 2023 and November 2024. This is done to make sure December releases don't get completely snubbed due to lack of time to play. So titles released in December 2024 will be eligible in our 2025 deliberations, and games that released in December 2023 are in the running for this year's! 
  • As more and more games become world-wide releases, this has become less and less relevant, but only official English releases are eligible. Fan translations or imports might be discussed in passing during our podcast, but RPGs will only be in official contention with a formal English release.
  • Outside of our overall RPG of the Year, our list is unranked within the Top Five and Top Ten categories.
  • As typical of our coverage, we include some RPG-adjacent titles.

We also enjoy comparing our results with our readers! In the month of December, we hosted a 2024 Reader's Choice Poll via our Twitter page to determine your favorite RPGs of the year, along with your most anticipated RPGs for 2025. Finally, we've also published our own staff list of RPG Site's most anticipated RPGs of 2025 to round out our end-of-the-year feature slate.

Contents

Tetracast - RPG of the Year 2024

This special episode of The Tetracast includes the deliberations of all of the winners shown on this list. As always, we started out by listing out 30 or so RPGs nominated by our staff and contributors that were released over the year - basically a complete listing of any game that our staff felt deserved to be in consideration. The goal is to first determine our Category winners, followed by our main RPG of the Year list as well.

Following the multiple hours of determining the winners for best Remaster or Re-Release, Design, Art, Music, and Writing, we all whittled the main list down to a list of about 15 contending games. From there, we narrowed it down to a final ten, then a final five, and finally a winner.

As we say every year it's an incredibly grueling process with passionate discussions at practically every cut-off point about what games should remain in contention and which should be removed from the list. If there is a game that you feel should have been in the top ten, it was probably close! You'll have to listen to see what some of the "first out" RPGs ended up being. As we started doing last year, we included the Runner-Up in each of our categories.

Find that special Best of 2024 edition of the Tetracast embedded below or available via iTunes or Spotify! Also on YouTube!

    MP3 Download

    Timestamps:

    • 0:00 - Introductions and Outline
    • 6:39 - Best Remaster or Re-release
    • 33:00 - Best Writing or Storytelling
    • 1:44:19 - Best Artwork
    • 2:46:26 - Best Design & Immersion
    • 3:45:46 - Best Music
    • 4:28:53 - RPG of the Year Initial Cut
    • 4:46:43 - RPG of the Year Top 10
    • 5:05:13 - RPG of the Year Top 5
    • 5:15:12 - RPG of the Year 2024
    • 5:29:46 - Thank You and Sign Off

    Category Awards: Special Commendations for Specific Excellence

    Our category awards have slowly shifted over the years. The general idea is that while a game may not rank highly amongst our RPG of the Year listing, it might deserve mention for one specific thing that it does better than anything else. Additionally, by discussing broad excellence in Art, Design, Writing, and so on, it is a good way to talk about several games that often end up placing very highly in the main list as well. If during the category discussion we find that a game has both great design and great writing, it probably is going to be a strong contender for our Top Five list.

    One specific category, worth calling out ahead of time is the Best Remaster or Re-Release. For this category, the RPG Site Staff picks the best remaster or re-release of the year to recognize, but with a caveat that the chosen title will not be found in our main list Top Ten list. Ultimately. this category allows us to look at games that were originally released prior to 2024, but made newly available or refreshed in some way worth commending. We want to keep our Top Ten RPGs of 2024 list reserved for brand-new games released within that year, even though a remaster might be excellent. So, in short, re-releases are considered for the category award, but not among our Top Ten list itself. This way we can highlight excellent games without crowding any out completely.

    Without further ado, the category award winners for RPG Site's Best of 2024 Awards are as follows:

    Best Remaster or Re-release - Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

    Runner-Up: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

    Shin Megami Tensei V was a great game back in 2021, and when thinking about a new version, I only expected maybe the game with all of its DLC bundled together. With Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Atlus basically addressed whatever few complaints I had in the original, delivering a polished and massively expanded re-release that exceeds every other re-release the studio has done.

    I was ready to just enjoy replaying Shin Megami Tensei V on more powerful systems, but Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance was so much more with its new route, remixes to some existing story beats, new characters, brilliant new music, and quality of life improvements. It likely won't change your mind if you hated the original, but this is easily the best version of Shin Megami Tensei V and one that I enjoyed playing through multiple times across platforms. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Best Writing - Metaphor: ReFantazio

    Runner-Up: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

    Metaphor: ReFantazio's narrative is one of this year's biggest surprises given the developer's recent releases. Not only does it have some of the best characters in any Atlus game, but it actually manages to stick its landing throughout with a brand-new fantasy setting, multiple tribes handled well, and a superb supporting cast. This is elevated by how the main party grows over the course of the game and with some smart fourth wall breaking moments that play a huge part of the overall story. Metaphor keeps reiterating that time is marching on with the age of a new king drawing nearer. With everything going on within and outside the game, Metaphor: ReFantazio is all about working towards the future and hope is what pushes us ahead. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Best Art - Black Myth: Wukong

    Runner-Up: Zenless Zone Zero

    Stark and striking is one way to describe the makeover given by Game Science to the classic story of the Journey to the West for Black Myth: Wukong. Freighted as it is with centuries, even millennia, of telling and retelling, the image of that story is almost classically gilded, a colorful adventure through a fantasy rendition of Chinese legend. Black Myth: Wukong’s attention to detail, technical proficiency, and environment and character designs lend the tale a sense of gravity that familiarity has drained it of in more popular conception. But even amid the gloss of a “prestige” makeover, Black Myth: Wukong still makes room for experimentation and indulgence, as in its between-chapter animated cutscenes and within the game itself, via the fanciful combat animations and lavish spell effects. [Josh Tolentino]

    Best Music - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

    Runner-Up: Granblue Fantasy: Relink

    From the moment we played Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, it felt obvious that the game was destined to take the top spot in this category; there are plenty of RPGs that deliver standout tracks, and in any other year 2024's runner-up Granblue Fantasy: Relink could've easily sprinted ahead with the prize. Yet the combination of Rebirth's sheer scope of its score, and its consistent quality doesn't just make it the best soundtrack of 2024; but a contender for one of the best soundtracks of any game, of all time. From the jazzy sounds of Queen's Blood, to the jaw dropping and cinematic final boss medley - and everything in-between. [James Galizio]

    The beauty of the Rebirth soundtrack is that it isn't just a nostalgia trip. The team of composers on the game happened to be lucky enough to be working with some of the finest and most beloved video game musical motifs of all time, but that isn't even necessarily the best work in Rebirth. The swinging sounds of Queen's Blood to the rhythmic tumble of Gongaga - there's a magic here. This is the best score of the year even without the nostalgia bait.

    But then you get to the nostalgia. And, wow, whoa, the nostalgia. The soundtrack's finest moments in this sense come towards the climax, as various famed themes are given surprising run-outs. The insertion of a new version of J-E-N-O-V-A into a boss fight where it originally never played sounds risky at first, until you realize the way the song is arranged is at first gutting, and then thrilling, and then lands a final flourish in the last stages of the battle that would make even the most weary soul punch the year and cry 'YES!' Exactly how somebody really, truly follows up on the legacy of Nobuo Uematsu is a difficult question, and one I felt last year's Final Fantasy XVI grappled with earnestly without full success. But in FF7 Rebirth, that legacy is secured, respected, and most importantly advanced. It's an incredible piece of work, and this year there could be no other choice. [Alex Donaldson]

    Best Design and Immersion - Dragon's Dogma 2

    Runner-Up: The Thaumaturge

    The design and immersion category is always a bit up to interpretation. What exactly does it mean? RPGs in general are often an amalgamation of many different facets: combat, progression, exploration, crafting, storytelling, music, and the list goes on. Trying to consolidate all of that into a single numerical value or ranking is often more art than science. The goal of a "design" category is to highlight games that do something neat. We want to platform a title that accomplishes something just a little bit different and unique. Dragon's Dogma 2 is a unique game and doesn't easily compare to other RPGs, even if they look similar on the surface.

    In many ways, Dragon's Dogma 2 feels anachronistic in ways that won't appeal to everyone. While other RPGs often go out of their way to avoid inconveniencing players through copious waypointing, explorations guard rails, unlimited fast travel, and the like, Dragon's Dogma 2 attempts to curb this as the core of its identity. The result is a title that encourages getting lost, struggling a bit, ending up confused, and finding a way through despite these potential setbacks. In the moment, it can be frustrating, but with the end result feeling all the more triumphant once these challenges are overcome.

    It's rare to have a single-player RPG allow the opportunity for emergent storytelling at the center of its design. Two different players might have vastly different experiences, which can make critique of that design incredibly tricky. In that way, Dragon's Dogma 2 succeeds at being one of the most unique RPG experiences this year. [Bryan Vitale]

    Best of 2024: The Near Misses, aka the Runner-Up Five

    These next five titles made their way into our Top Ten RPGs of 2024, but did not quite reach our Top Five. Either they had one specific minor shortcoming, or they were simply beaten out by later games on this list. However, they remain excellent games and are all titles we would highly recommend as some of the best of the year. In no particular order, our Runners-Up for RPG of the Year 2024 are as follows:

    Dragon's Dogma 2 - Top Ten of 2024

    There's lots of different expressions of what role-playing means. From that core of tabletop role-playing some take deep, winding stories with choice and consequence. Others take crunchy number-based combat mechanics. We can get into endless arguments about what stuff is more RPG or less RPG - and then, every now and then, you get a game like Dragon's Dogma 2.

    I'd argue that Dragon's Dogma 2 is a role-playing game with a capital R and a capital P. It's a hardcore expression of what more traditional role-playing can be: a world that theoretically reacts to your every move, where guard rails and restrictions in the name of balance or cinematic flair are few and far between. Just go out into the world, do what you want. Maybe it'll break. Maybe it won't.

    In a sense, Dragon's Dogma 2 is something of a throwback to an era when big-budget 'Triple-A' RPGs held the player's hand less and just let them have at it, sometimes with sub-optimal outcomes. In a way, however, that peril was always some of the fun. I realized this myself when I almost trapped myself in a high level area with little chance of escape and almost ruined a 12-hour save game. I squeaked out, in the end - that stressful hour or so was one of my most exhilarating and memorable gaming experiences of 2024. 

    One of the only things you can level at Dragon's Dogma 2 as a strong criticism, in fact, is how closely it ebbs to its predecessor. In some ways, it didn't feel like enough of a sequel, and I await to see if we get an expansion eagerly, safe in the knowledge of how transformative Dark Arisen was to the original game. But even in its initial release form, it's undoubtedly one of the best of 2024, and an absolute must-play for those who like their role-playing experiences with a bit of heart - and a refreshing touch of the unfriendly. [Alex Donaldson]

    Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - Top Ten of 2024

    Owlcat Games has become a major player in the traditional ‘CRPG’ space for a few years now, but I wasn’t expecting Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader to become my clear favorite from the studio’s titles. Going into the game with nothing except the very faintest knowledge of Warhammer anything, and not sure I would really gel with a sci-fi setting, Rogue Trader ended up exceeding all my expectations. With both a setting and a cast of characters that do not tend to draw any clean analogs to other series, Rogue Trader succeeded in immersing me completely in a new and foreign world in a way that only the best RPGs have previously managed to do.

    Rogue Trader’s main strength comes from how wholly cohesive it is on every facet. From establishing the history of its universe, to its cast of characters that’s unlike any other in RPGs of its type, to the moral Heretic/Iconoclast/Dogmatic framework -- the whole package self-compliments itself on a narrative and mechanical standpoint that deserves recognition, even from those that have no prior affinity with Warhammer at all. [Bryan Vitale]

    Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Top Ten of 2024

    I knew I'd probably end up liking Granblue Fantasy: Relink when the Director explained to me that Monster Hunter was one of the game's main inspirations; but what surprised me the most about the game ended up being just how incredible the main campaign ended up being. It wasn't anything particularly special to do with the story; but fights like Excavallion and Bahamut Versa, paired with their excellent musical scores, elevated a game I was already primed to love with its buildcraft and tight boss designs into something truly special - even as someone who will never touch the original mobile game in his life. 

    Needless to say; Relink feels like a success in all the ways that matter, and makes me excited for the future of Cygames in the console and PC gaming space. They've shown they can deliver where it counts, and I couldn't be happier to see where things lead. If their output remains as good as Relink, this won't be the last time they'll end up on one of our end of year lists. [James Galizio]

    Granblue Fantasy: Relink placed 6th in our Reader's Poll for RPG of the Year 2024.

    The Thaumaturge - Top Ten of 2024

    The Thaumaturge may not have been my favorite RPG of 2024, but was easily my most surprising. I would not have expected a low-fantasy RPG set in a historical fictionalization of early 20th-century Poland to have been a highlight of a packed year for the genre, but The Thaumaturge ended up standing out nonetheless. 

    Despite a short runtime, The Thaumaturge is a definite example of a game ending up as more than the sum of its parts, and in the best way. While moment-to-moment gameplay may appear well-worn, it implements some fundamentally clever ideas that are not often seen in games of its type. This includes the double-edged “pride” mechanic that both rewards and punishes that player in equal measure, as well the way it hints to the player whether or not they would have been able to change the outcome of a story even or quest if they had made different choices. Add in an immersive historical setting and a high degree of replayability, The Thaumaturge is one of the most memorable RPGs of 2024. [Bryan Vitale]

    Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Top Ten of 2024

    How do you top one of the best games of all time? Well, how about with a little bit more of it? The answer is sort of obvious, I suppose, but I was taken aback by how well Shadow of the Erdtree managed to continue the Elden Ring experience. Chief among its achievements is a simple to understand but deceptively difficult to realize feat - the ability to make over-leveled players who have been crushing everything in their path in the post-game feel like newborn babes again, cowering from basic enemies once more.

    Shadow of the Erdtree signals its intent with clever placement of a Curseblade enemy, camping in a semi-obscured position right near where players first venture into the Realm of Shadow. For most, this powered up enemy with an unpredictable attack pattern spells the first glorious death of the DLC. From there, the expansion continues to surprise and delight - never quite just 'more Elden Ring', but always pushing a bit beyond, always searching for a way to trip up the player and upend expectations. That comes in the form of weird experimental stealth sections, a vastly different map structure with more verticality, and intriguing new enemy designs.

    It's one of the best expansions in recent memory, if not of all time. In fact, the only reason I'm not declaring it the best RPG expansion in the modern era is because Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty exists - which is a huge compliment in itself. [Alex Donaldson]

    Top Five RPGs of 2024

    Finally, we have our Top Five RPGs of 2024. These are the cream of the crop, and all RPG of the Year contenders. If our discussions were held again, any one of these titles could have genuinely been our RPG of the Year for 2024. With the exception of our Winner listed at the very end, the following are RPG Site's Top Five RPGs of 2024:

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak  - Top Five of 2024

    I’ve developed a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Trails franchise after playing so many of its games, particularly with the Cold Steel series. After nearly a decade of experiencing the same formula, I started feeling burned out. The stakes in later Cold Steel games often involved world-ending threats, yet somehow, the stakes felt less impactful than ever. That’s why Trails through Daybreak was such a refreshing change of pace for me. Its new setting almost feels like a soft reset, allowing players to dive in without the baggage of needing to know every detail from the past games—though I can’t say the same for its sequels.

    One of the highlights of Daybreak is its battle system. After five games with a similar turn-based system that only saw minor tweaks, the combat was beginning to feel stale. Daybreak shakes things up by blending action RPG elements with the traditional Trails combat, resulting in a hybrid system that feels incredibly fluid—perhaps even more so than games like Metaphor despite being an older title. Everything about Daybreak just feels fresh, from its mechanics to its storytelling.

    The introduction of Van as the new protagonist also brings a more mature tone to the narrative. His interactions with the cast and the overall direction of the story feel closer to what I’ve always loved about the Trails series. Overall, Trails through Daybreak has reignited my appreciation for the franchise, reminding me why I fell in love with it in the first place. [Chao Min Wu]

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak placed 3rd in our Reader's Poll for RPG of the Year 2024.

    Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven - Top Five of 2024

    Who could have predicted that we would get two new SaGa RPGs in the same calendar year? A full remake of Romancing SaGa 2 was a completely unexpected but especially exciting proposition. Even 30 years later, the original 1993 SFC game still houses some of the most interesting mechanics in an RPG, primarily its inheritance system and generation structure. It’s a unique game within an already unique series, and creating a modern interpretation was not a small feat, at all.

    Revenge of the Seven has many of the hallmarks that the franchise is known for, including its open-ended nature, flexible party mechanics, non-linear narrative writing, and a badass turn-based combat system. Layering this with Romancing SaGa 2’s generation mechanics, give it an admirable visual presentation, and you genuinely have one of Square Enix’s best games in recent memory.

    One of the remake’s primary goals was to make SaGa more approachable to new players. While the series has had a longtime dedicated fanbase, it can seem impenetrable to those unfamiliar. Revenge of the Seven makes a thorough effort to illustrate its cool but admittedly atypical mechanics in an approachable way, with detailed menu interfaces, steady tutorials, and additions like the glimmer chart. We even had a series newcomer review it here at RPG Site, and he declared he would recommend this game to newcomers in a heartbeat.

    The end result is an excellent modern interpretation of a unique cult classic; not only a great entry point into the series but one of the best games of the franchise. Bring on Romancing SaGa 3 Remake, I say. [Adam Vitale]

    Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven placed 10th in our Reader's Poll for RPG of the Year 2024.

    Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Top Five of 2024

    Yakuza: Like a Dragon was a huge risk for the series with its new main cast, change to turn-based combat, and it basically being more of an RPG than the series had ever been before. This gamble paid off in spades with the superb cast including protagonist Ichiban Kasuga and a memorable narrative. Given this was the team's first turn-based RPG, there were quite a few teething issues, but also a lot of potential to build on this base.

    Fast forward a few years and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth delivered one of the biggest jumps in quality for a JRPG sequel with dramatic improvements to combat, a narrative that perfectly built on the prior entry for newcomers while rewarding longtime fans with moments no one ever expected in the series featuring older and newer characters, and just a superb passing of the torch moment for the series.

    Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn't just one of the best stories in the series, but one of the best games RGG Studio has ever made. It feels like the culmination of multiple generations of games and characters all coming together to deliver a package that has basically two full Yakuza games together.

    It is equal parts spectacular, hilarious, thought-provoking, and emotional. There are some story moments that won't be for everyone, but Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a confident showing from a legendary developer and one of the best RPGs of the year with a sublime combat system. This is one trip to Hawaii you don't want to miss. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth placed 4th in our Reader's Poll for RPG of the Year 2024.

    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Top Five of 2024

    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is nothing short of a miracle. There was so much uncertainty about how the remake would handle the sheer scale of the story once we left Midgar, but Rebirth exceeds a lot of those expectations. The production values set a new benchmark for modern triple-A titles, presenting a vast and breathtaking world that can feel almost overwhelming in its scope. Yet, sometimes having “too much” should be seen as a gift rather than a flaw. 

    If I were to describe Rebirth, it feels like dining at an upscale restaurant with a massive buffet with a lot of exquisite dishes, yet the sheer variety leaves you in awe. Even with its abundance, the game masterfully captures the nostalgia of veteran players like me. The characters feel like reuniting with old friends, while the stunning visuals and enchanting music elevate the experience to something truly special. Although it didn’t win our Game of the Year, Rebirth remains a standout title, ambitious in both scale and quality and serves as a reminder of what makes me love this universe so much. With the scale of Rebirth, obviously, not all points stick to the landing, but the game takes some bold narrative risks, veering into some unexpected and bizarre story directions. Despite this, I look forward to where the journey of the remake saga will take us. I trust the development team to honor the legacy of Final Fantasy VII while eagerly anticipating what the final game entails. [Chao Min Wu]

    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth placed 2nd in our Reader's Poll for RPG of the Year 2024.

    Metaphor: ReFantazio - RPG of the Year 2024

    Going into 2024, Metaphor ReFantazio was a little bit of a wild card. I think many RPG fans have been interested to see what exactly Atlus could do with a more traditional fantasy setting, and the long development of Studio Zero's Project Re Fantasy only made the anticipation build that much higher. Metaphor: ReFantazio ended up being far more than just 'fantasy Persona', but after several hours of deliberations and discussion, it was clear that there was no better selection for RPG Site's RPG of the Year.

    On its face, Metaphor: ReFantazio's premise already set the stage for a poignant narrative theming. JRPGs, in general, often tell stories about the gathering of disparate-but-like-minded individuals in order to overcome a conflict against some antagonistic force. In this way, Metaphor isn't thematically too off the mark. However, the specific individual conflicts that Metaphor tackles ended up being far more nuanced and compelling than I think any might have expected going in. 

    What is the best role of nobility in a stratified society? What is the best way to overcome deep-rooted prejudices that are hard-coded into such a society? To what extent is it okay to ally with a tyrannical force in the hopes of bettering your own standing? None of these questions have easy answers, and Metaphor's strong cast of characters offer a compelling vehicle to explore these topics and create conflicts that are relatable and relevant to every player in some way. Metaphor's metaphor here is overt, but still delivered in a way that aligns character motivations and a realistic conflict that is both fascinating and multi-faceted.

    On a gameplay front, Metaphor's formula pairs gameplay, narrative, and character writing in a way that holistically delivers on these same themes. Follower Bonds explore the various relationships between people and the societal standing they find themselves in, or between the different tribes and their collective positioning in such a society. A highlight is the follower bond with Maria, a mixed-race young girl who witnesses the shortcomings of an often-hateful environment first-hand. Many of Metaphor's Bond Links exhibit that being able to confront prejudice and strife with kindness and empathy is a difficult but possible path, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. These bonds interface with the Archetype gameplay mechanic, which in turn open up different playstyles within combat and exploration. No part of Metaphor feels extraneous or under-baked. 

    In summary, Metaphor: ReFantazio, more than any other release of 2024, managed to be the complete package, marrying narrative, character writing, theming, gameplay, art, and design beyond any other title this year. That is why it is unquestionably our RPG of the Year for 2024. [Bryan Vitale]

    Metaphor: ReFantazio also placed 1st in our Reader's Poll for RPG of the Year 2024.

    RPG Site's RPG of the Year 2024 Summary

    Award Winners:

    • Best Remaster or Re-release - Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
    • Best Writing - Metaphor: ReFantazio
    • Best Art - Black Myth: Wukong
    • Best Music - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
    • Best Design and Immersion - Dragon's Dogma 2

    RPG of the Year 2024 - Metaphor: ReFantazio

    RPG of the Year 2024 - Top Five

    • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
    • Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
    • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
    • The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak

    RPG of the Year 2024 - Top Ten

    • Dragon's Dogma 2
    • Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
    • Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
    • Granblue Fantasy: Relink
    • The Thaumaturge