We've already highlighted the very best video games of 2024 -- the big-name titles everyone's talking about. But now, it's time to shine a light on something different. These games flew under the radar, overshadowed by juggernauts like Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. While they may not have had the same massive marketing push, you could argue they're just as good -- maybe even better. In fact, one of these titles made it onto both lists.

Joseph Voigt, 23, fled after leaving Marvin Voigt, 63, dead and Susan Voigt, 58, with a gunshot wound to the head. Police responded to the scene after Susan Voigt reported the incident at around 11:20 p.m. on Saturday. The Bartow Police Department said they arrived to find Marvin Voigt dead in the driveway from apparent gunshot wounds and Susan Voigt inside the home suffering from a serious gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition. "They found the mother sitting up on the couch," police chief Stephen Walker told reporters, according to Fox 13. "She was alive. She had been shot in the head once."

A Ukrainian video game is shattering records since its release on November 20, despite many delays and its being a target of a Russian disinformation operation. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the latest edition of a game series that started in 2007 with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl, developed by GSC Game World, a Ukrainian video games studio. The game surpassed one million downloads and 117,000 concurrent players within 48 hours of its release, making it the most successful Ukrainian-developed title to date. Yet, that landmark achievement in the country's gaming industry was bittersweet. Former GSC Game World developer Volodymyr Yezhov, who worked on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and was known by the nickname "Fresh", was killed in combat near Bakhmut in December 2022, while serving in the Ukrainian military.

Stardew Valley fans, there's been an update on the developer's highly awaited next game, Haunted Chocolatier. But before you get too excited, remember these things take a SquidFest's worth of work to create. The farming/role-playing game's designer, Eric Barone, who works under under the alias ConcernedApe, published a blog post on Wednesday checking in about Haunted Chocolatier's development and reminding fans that it takes time to make a game like this from scratch -- and notably solo. Barone said he'd been working on the recently released Stardew Valley 1.6 update, originally announced in April 2023, which meant he had to bench Haunted Chocolatier for a moment as he added new content and fixed bugs. But the developer said he has "created a'vertical slice' of Haunted Chocolatier, essentially a skeleton of the game with most (not all) of its bones in place."

If you were an obsessive video game fan in the summer of 1994, you'll remember where you were when Edge magazine's August issue dropped. By then, Sony had already announced its intention to develop the PlayStation console – the previous October – but it was the cover feature in the world's most forward-looking game publication that really blew open the possibilities of the machine. As well as listing its specifications in full, Edge secured enthusiastic statements of support from Capcom, Namco and Konami. One breathless developer told the mag: "It's going to revolutionise the way computers are at the moment." Suddenly, the whole structure of the console games business was being threatened. All it needed was a push.

That means it's time to settle in for some serious winter gaming. These Cyber Monday gaming deals can help. Seriously, this is one of the best times of the year to make those hardware upgrades you've been mulling over, whether that's a nicer keyboard, a new monitor, some upgrades to your gaming desktop, or heck, even a new PS5. We've even got a couple of video game deals in here if you've been patiently waiting for a sale. Be sure to check out our live Cyber Monday deals tracker for more. We've spotted a few deals on the PlayStation 5 Slim with a variety of different games and bundles.

Another Black Friday has come and gone, but many of the better gaming deals we saw last week are still kicking. If you're looking to pad out your backlog, pick up a new console or refresh your desktop with new peripherals, we've rounded up a few Cyber Monday gaming deals that are genuinely decent. The selection includes a ton of popular Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox and PC games at their lowest prices to date, 75 off PS5 consoles and several discounts on accessories we've tested and recommended. We've dug through reviews and used price history trackers to ensure each offer below is a genuine deal, and we'll update this post if prices change as the day rolls along. PlayStation 5 (slim) for 424 at Amazon ( 76 off MSRP): This isn't the absolute biggest price drop to date for Sony's console, but larger discounts have been extremely uncommon over the past year. This bundle throws in a few Fortnite skins and V-Bucks; if it runs out of stock, the standalone console is available for the same price. Walmart and Best Buy, meanwhile, have separate bundles that pair the machine with the recent RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard or one of EA's sports games for 450. Also available at Best Buy, Target, GameStop and PlayStation Direct, among others. PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (slim) NBA 2K25 bundle for 374 at GameStop ( 76 off): If you have no interest in buying physical media, you can save an extra 50 upfront by going with the PS5's disc-less model. This bundle comes with the latest NBA 2K game as a freebie.

Black Friday is usually a good time to restock on video games and gaming gear at a discount, and this year has been no exception. If you're looking to pad out your backlog, pick up a new console or refresh your desktop with new peripherals, we rounded up the best Black Friday gaming deals you can still get today. The selection includes a ton of popular Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox and PC games at their lowest prices to date, 75 off PS5 consoles, plus several discounts on accessories we've tested and recommended. We've dug through reviews and used price history trackers to ensure each offer below is a genuine deal. PlayStation 5 (slim) for 424 at Amazon ( 76 off MSRP): This isn't the absolute biggest price drop to date for Sony's console, but larger discounts have been extremely uncommon over the past year. This bundle throws in a few Fortnite skins and V-Bucks; if it runs out of stock, the standalone console is available for the same price. Walmart and Best Buy, meanwhile, have separate bundles that pair the machine with the recent RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard or one of EA's sports games for 450. Also available at Best Buy, Target, GameStop and PlayStation Direct, among others. PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (slim) NBA 2K25 bundle for 374 at GameStop ( 76 off): If you have no interest in buying physical media, you can save an extra 50 upfront by going with the PS5's disc-less model. This bundle comes with the latest NBA 2K game as a freebie. If it runs out of stock, you can grab the same Fortnite bundle noted above for the same price. The console alone is 75 off as well. It's a good price either way, though it's difficult to get too excited given that the Digital Edition once sold for 400 before this "slim" revision launched with a 50 price hike.

In 2005 I received a copy of World of Warcraft for my birthday. The game clocked in at 3 gigabytes--a behemoth by the standards of the early 2000s, so big that it had to be distributed across four different CDs. I installed those discs onto our creaking, overworked family PC and, hours later, created my first avatar: a humble dwarf paladin named Pumaras, who set off to explore a realm he would soon call home. World of Warcraft was a singular experience, and completely unlike the lonesome corridors of Halo or Call of Duty. Millions of living, breathing human beings logged on to the game at the same time.

I had a great time playing video games in 2024 -- and I hope you did too. This past year was challenging for some, including myself, but the silver lining is that 2024 produced a bunch of excellent games to play. The RPG genre, in particular, saw a modern renaissance, with an overwhelming number of releases from studios big and small. Of course, there were plenty of other games, ranging from big-budget productions to ones created by a single developer. However, unlike most years, there isn't a single standout on this list that I consider to be better than all the rest.