As much as I love reading and writing fiction, I’ve always played video games more consistently throughout my life. Gaming was my first passion, starting when I was a young child with no siblings who would spend mucho amounts of time in the spare room with an old CRT TV and a game system (typically NES or Genesis). I was that kid - I still am that kid, except now I’m a lot older, and (debatably) wiser. I still play a lot of games, and I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the games I played in 2024.
2024 was largely my big foray into the world of old, free, and cheap MMOs after upgrading a few PC parts (first time ever installing a CPU - something I’ve always been intimidated by!). Though my PC is definitely still ‘behind the times’, I’ve listed each entry below with the platform I played on.
Unlike my ‘My 2024 in Books’ article, this list is not ranked and is simply a look back at a year spent in a lot of (mostly mediocre) games.
EverQuest (PC)
It wasn’t until mid-late 2023 I first thought ‘why don’t I try EverQuest?’. That thought is basically the gaming equivalent of ‘let me see if I can chart the surface of the moon’. EverQuest launched its 31st expansion in 2024, and with nearly 30 expansions freely playable without paying, it’s a huge amount of content.
I really love some aspects of the original EQ - one of the highlights being the way you interact with NPCs and quest-givers, the way you have to Hail them and turn in quest items by selecting exactly what to hand over. Questing is not as streamlined as modern MMOs, which is a blessing and a curse, but selecting the specific items I collected for turn-in almost feels like a small puzzle each time I do it. It makes me feel smart, invested, and focused.
Playing EQ was the first time I understood exactly what some of the ‘elder MMO players’ want with the promises of a ‘new MMO that harkens back to the old school days’. I also love the graphics, and even though they’ve been updated since the original 1999 release, the chunky models and flat textures have a real retro feel to them.
All that said, the combat and progression of EQ is what killed my momentum with this game. EQ was made to be played with others, and even though they support solo adventuring with things like Mercenaries, it can be a real slow grind getting through even a single combat encounter. I’ve always been a solo gamer, and by design EQ is especially less fun for that type of player - something that is very different with modern MMO’s like Final Fantasy 14.
It took some time, but then I thought, what the heck, I’ll try EverQuest 2…
EverQuest 2 (PC)
Boy is EverQuest 2 one ugly game… for awhile. Even though I don’t have nostalgia for either of the EQ games, this one especially doesn’t feel like it has visually aged very well. While EQ1 has some retro game charm to its 1999-ish art style, EQ2 has that weird mid 2000’s blurry, low-res textured look that really trips over its attempt at a realistic art style - something I think the devs have improved in the more recent expansion zones. At least the more I play, the less I hate how it looks.
What I do like is how approachable EQ2 is as a solo player. I don’t want to go into the whole history of EQ2 here, but the fact it was launched around the time as World of Warcraft and has evolved to be more solo-friendly (as has WoW) makes this game feel slightly more modern. I’m actually enjoying my time with EQ2, and though I wish it had a better look and more polish around the edges, I think I’m going to continue with this one for a little while yet.
Lord of the Rings Online (PC)
Lord of the Rings Online seems like it has been having a bit of a resurgence lately, and it just so happens that I picked it up for the first time last year for a very short time before tackling it more heavily in 2024 (same as EverQuest). LOTRO does something I didn’t think I would ever see in another MMO apart from Elder Scrolls Online - it has a cozy and warm world that makes me want to spend more time there. While feeling a bit more modern than the EQ’s, I definitely have enjoyed my time traveling across Middle-Earth.
The main issues I have with LOTRO are the monetization (which can feel greedy, even during sales) and the quest design. Perhaps this is only an issue with the older low-level content that I’m working through, or maybe it’s an issue with old MMO design in general (EQ2 does this same thing), but the quests are structured in a way that pad play time. Get quest, run through grind area, turn in quest, get quest to go to exact same grind area for slightly different reason, return, repeat, repeat, repeat. Modern MMOs like FF14 and WoW (from what I remember, as I haven’t played WoW in a very hot minute) are more streamlined when it comes to quests, allowing the player to take on almost all they can carry for a questing area, tackle them, and send them to the next quest hub. It’s a minor gripe, but an annoyance nonetheless.
Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced (Xbox Series X)
I’ve tried the original Borderlands many, many times before but never got into it before setting it aside. What got me to stick to it this time? The mindlessness of it. See, I often wake up early, before the sun, before the family, and brew a post-shower cup of coffee that I sip while playing a game. It’s sort of my morning routine. The only thing that can disturb this morning routine is the random early wake-up of my daughter, so I usually keep the volume on the television low and don’t usually have headphones around. Borderlands is a great game for that low-to-no volume gaming as it’s mostly comprised of mindlessly accepting quest after quest to go collect or kill something with very little story (and the actual story is straightforward from the get-go). Quest, kill, loot - no sound needed.
I enjoyed Borderlands, and played it through nearly entirely, completing just about every mission except for one very late-game boss mission and one of the expansion quest lines that was very clearly padded for time over content. I started the sequel, but haven’t spent nearly as much time in it yet as I did with this one.
Black Desert Online (Xbox Series X & PC)
I don’t have a lot to say about Black Desert Online other than that I played a decent amount of it this year. I’ve owned the console version for a little while and have been slowly working my way through the main quest line, but it wasn’t until I understood the basics of gear progression that I began playing it more reliably. And those who know BDO know it very commonly goes on sale around this time of the year with the lowest package only costing $1 - so I ended up buying it on PC as well.
PC and Console have some massive differences - I’ve heard console is about 3-5 years behind the current PC version - but for someone who plays very casually (ahem, me) it isn’t much of a deterrent. That said, going forward I plan to play strictly on PC, though still very casually.
Botany Manor (Xbox Series X)
This is going to be the only curveball on this list as it isn’t anything MMO-related or MMO-inspired. Botany Manor is a straight-up single player, first person, puzzle story game. It’s relaxing, cozy, and beautiful. I really love this sort of art style, and I knew nothing about the game before diving in. Those who have played games like The Witness or Gone Home will get the idea, as Botany Manor falls somewhere in the middle. It’s a wonderfully charming game that feels like an indie game with a ton of heart and soul behind its creation.
I played a whole lot of other games this year, but overall it felt like a real mediocre year for me in gaming. I enjoyed my time spent in the games listed above, but I never felt like I was playing anything mind-blowing or anything that was going to stick with me for a long time. Maybe that’s a side effect of MMO gaming, or of playing loads of older games that are slowly being left in the dust, but I also played newer games this year that didn’t even make the list. I’m hoping 2025 is better for me, even if it simply boils down to more enjoyment in one of the titles listed above.
See you online,
- Matt