The Nerd Stash’s Most Anticipated Games of 2024

2023 has been a fantastic year for gaming. Notable releases like Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have raised the bar for the level of quality, care, and heart developers should put into making a gameplay experience the best it can be. Gamers were also surprised with incredible indie gems, like Hi-Fi Rush and Dave The Diver. As this year comes to a close and we look ahead to 2024, there are already a ton of titles we look forward to adding to our libraries and backlogs. Here are The Nerd Stash’s most anticipated 2024 games that will doubtlessly meet or, perchance, exceed our expectations!

Honorable Mention: Death Stranding 2

Guides Editor Ethan Webb:

While the first Death Stranding had its fair share of criticisms for being such a departure from the typical big-budget title, Kojima and his studio are prepping for Round 2 of Norman Reedus and the Funky Fetus. While little is known about what Death Stranding 2 will offer in terms of narrative, world-building, or gameplay, I feel confident in saying that you will have to travel—a lot.

If you’ve played the first in the series, the basic premise placed you in the shoes of Sam Bridges as he “bridged” together what’s left of America as a delivery courier. It was a breath of fresh air yet a controversial experience for many. Still, regardless of whether one thinks Death Stranding is a masterpiece or simply a weird walking sim by Kojima, I can’t help but be curious about what Death Stranding 2 will present.

New traversal methods to discover, novel survival mechanics to manage, or a larger, rich world to learn about and explore—these are just some of the exciting things the sequel might have in store. Still, with Kojima, you never really know what to expect.

Fourth Place: Star Wars Outlaws

Reviews Editor David Rodriguez:

Move over GTA 6, you aren’t the only open world game coming where crime and seedy characters try to hustle and survive a dangerous world. Except, instead of a fictionalized take on an American city, what about a bunch of planets and Imperial owned towns instead?

That’s the premise behind Massive’s upcoming and much anticipated Star Wars Outlaws. You play as Kay Vess, a smuggler who has a penchant for heists and her crew, rather than robes, lightsabers, and Jedi meditation. You can also control various vehicles and take flight for dogfights and traversing numerous planets.

We don’t know too much more about this upcoming experience, but if Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is anything to go by, we can be sure it will be a technical showcase when it hopefully arrives in 2024.

Third Place: Dragon’s Dogma 2

Guides Editor Ethan Webb:

While perhaps not as well-known as Capcom’s Monster Hunter or Street Fighter series, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is undoubtedly one of the best hidden-gem action-adventure RPGs to ever exist. The 2012 experience is as generic fantasy as it can get, but the combat, world exploration, and progression were, in my opinion, ahead of its time.

From what we can see in teasers and trailers, Dragon’s Dogma 2 seeks to take what the first entry did so well and improve upon it while also overhauling its graphics and systems. If you couldn’t get enough of the Hobbit-esque monster rodeo-riding in the prequel, Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks to offer that and much more.

New Vocations, less clunky and more engaging quests, snappier epic combat, and more customization options for your character and Pawns are definitely what every fan wants from the sequel. Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks to be a very promising GOTY contender for next year, and March 2024 can’t come fast enough for me to play it!

Runner-Up: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Freelance Writer Mykel Bright:

Years of development setbacks and a change in developers couldn’t stop the upcoming release of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2. It already has a reliable cult fanbase coming in, but from the teaser trailers, it’s on its way to expanding its reach even further. A part of that is thanks to the upgrade to Unreal Engine 5. We can already tell the improvements in animation, which is perfect for the action sequences. Meanwhile, we get a good taste of the graphics, a feature that can improve even more as we wait for the 2024 release. 

However, if one thing must hit the mark, it’s the story. Rather than playing as a fledgling like in the first game, Bloodlines 2 offers us a chance to play as a full-blown elder named Phyre. You can do everything fans of RPG look for: choose a gender, design the appearance, the backstory, and, of course, the clan.  

And that is a hot topic among World of Darkness fans. Some of the usual clans from the first game return, but we can finally choose to play as Banu Haqim, the stalking vampire clan with an unquenchable taste for their own kind. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 has much to live up for. If it can nail the storyline and gameplay as much as the fresh appearance, it can become one of the best RPGs of 2024.

Winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Freelance Writer Giovanna Mercado:

The game that takes the crown as the most anticipated one of 2024 is, undoubtedly, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. Even if many people think Square Enix is milking the masterpiece of the Final Fantasy series, no one can’t deny the excitement for this title. With a bigger world to explore, many new side activities to do, and some of the most pivotal story moments of the seventh entry, we’re all at the edge of our seats waiting for this game to launch in February. 

What excites us more is the opportunity to follow Cloud and the gang once more after the events of the first part. From what we’ve seen in the trailer, there are hints of some altered plot points from the original story, and while some veteran fans might not like it, we’re in for it.

The first entry of this trilogy knocked it out of the park and had fantastic pacing, so we can only hope for the same thing. Besides, there seem to be new moves, joint attacks, and some beloved characters showing up for this game, so it is truly the one title that’ll kick off 2024 with a bang.