2024 Games by Players

Thousands of voted readers of the magazines Zing.cz, Hrej.cz, PCTuning.cz, Grunex.com and Spite.cz together determined the best games of the year in your opinion, players:

1st place: STALKER 2: The Heart of Chernobyl

Stalker 2 is one of those rare open world games that offers such depth and atmosphere that it is very easy to get lost in it for tens, even hundreds of hours. The combination of unique environments, unusual terrain, creative details, immersive non-linear story, impressive audio-visual processing and excellent gameplay puts the journey into the Zone on par with adventures like Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption. Although the game suffered from technical glitches upon release (especially on the PC version), the developers have been tireless in fixing them, and you’ve made it clear with your voices that this is the best gaming experience this year, despite all the odds and competition. For those who haven’t tried it yet, you can fix it by getting easy access to the game on Game Pass for Xbox and PC. The developers have already mentioned that the game is planned for other platforms in the future.

2nd place: Black Myth: Wukong

This year, China entered the competition for the best game of the year with a bang when Game Science studio brought us an absolutely stunning hardcore action game inspired by the souls genre, challenging battles and unforgettable bosses, but mainly following the legendary story of Journey to the West with all its wisdom and timelessness. Chinese mythology came to life on our 4K TVs and gaming monitors like never before, and it was a trip we won’t soon forget. While many traditional Western developers have been rather stagnant in recent years, new reinforcements from Asian countries (Korea’s Stellar Blade is also worth mentioning) are successfully seizing the initiative.

3rd place: Astro Bot

Crystal clear and distilled entertainment that can remind every gamer in the family what the magic of video games is. Irresistibly cute, pleasantly surprising at every turn, full of colorful ideas and pleasant nostalgic references to the history of games. Say what you will, but if you pick up a controller and sit down to play this game, sooner or later it will put a smile on your face, whether you like it or not. A good reminder that not all games have to be “adult” or “dark”.

4th place: Silent Hill 2

Until the last moment, almost no one believed that the Polish studio Bloober Team would be able to return one of the strangest, scariest and most touching legends of the Japanese survival horror genre to a new worthy life twenty years after its original release. But Bloober Team wiped everyone’s eyes and their remake, supported by the contributions of several of the original game’s writers (including the music composer), far exceeded even the wildest hopes of fans. An absolute must for fans of the genre and a good reason for newcomers to try it.

5th place: Helldivers 2

Guided democracy reigns as the wildest, most action-packed carnage we’ve seen in gaming this year comes in the surprise sequel to the popular co-op shooter. Featuring a vastly improved setting, absurdly funny (and brutal) physics and “friendly fire” (friendly fire), and backed by sarcastic Star Infantry-style humor, this game is the perfect battleground for a group of demanding teammates.

6th place: satisfactory

A player’s life isn’t just defined by epic stories and explosive action. Sometimes you really want to unwind with something completely different, slower and calmer. What stands out this year is the building survival strategy, in which you explore an alien planet and build a giant factory on it to process raw materials and produce increasingly complex technologies. The satisfaction of a well-functioning production chain in this game is an incomparable joy.

7th place: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

By a huge margin, today’s most challenging JRPG game will easily captivate even players who wouldn’t otherwise mind the genre. So what does he do with his fans and memorializers of the original version of this classic game? A timeless story with characters you’ll never forget comes to life here with such bravura, acting and breathtaking music that it’s simply irresistible. Although it differs from the original in many ways, it still manages to give fans everything they love. If you played one game in this genre, it would be the new trilogy.

8th place: Star Blade

Another Asian game that easily captivates with its beauty – not only the beauty of the main character, but also the beauty of many wonderful locations and an overall wonderful melancholy atmosphere, supported, among other things, by excellent music and overall audiovisual processing. At the same time, the game offers exciting gameplay that sees you unleashing a bloody ballet on the ruins of a destroyed planet that is a joy to watch and even more fun to play.

9th place: Metaphor: ReFantazio

It’s nice to see that the community of Czech JRPG fans is not as small as it might seem. Already the second representative of this genre in your rating this year, it has, among other things, traditionally superbly written and played characters from the creators of Persona, who this time gave us their very first fantasy story, which, however, did not stop them from filling it with complex political and social topics.

10th place: Animal Well

We are very glad that at least one completely independent, seemingly small indie game, also made it into your rating. Anyone who has experienced the enchanting world of Animal Well, with its completely unique atmosphere and huge dose of secrets and surprises, knows what an exceptional game it is. He recommends ten cave animals out of ten.

Steam Voucher Winners

Thanks to our partner Česká spořitelna, we were also able to give away five Steam vouchers, each worth 100 euros. We contacted the winners via email on Friday morning.

• zd*****l@gmail.com
• r***kc****a@atlas.cz
• j****r@seznam.cz
• m**.**u@seznam.cz
• so***cz**8@gmail.com

Best First Person Action

1. location: STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl
2. place: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
3. location: Destiny: Final Shape

Best Third Person Action

1. location: Black Myth: Wukong
2. place: Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
3. location: Helldivers 2

The best RPG or soulslice

1. location: Black Myth: Wukong
2. location: Dragon Age: The Veilguard
3. location: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Best Strategy, Tactics or Turn-Based Game

1. Place: Frostpunk 2
2. location: Age of Mythology: Retelling
3. place: Lords of the Manor

Best Simulation, Sports or Racing Game

1. place: Farming Simulator 25
2. place: EA FC 25
3. place: F1 24

Best fighting game or Hack’n’slash

1. place: Tekken 8
2. location: Dragon Ball: Sparkling Zero
3. Location: Marvel Vs. Campcom Fighting Collection Arcade Classic

Best Adventure, Puzzle or Horror Game

1. Location: Silent Hill 2
2. location: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
3. Location: Hellblade 2.

Best Platformer

1. location: Astro Bot
2. location: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
3. location: Animal Well

Best DLC or Expansion

1. location: Ring of Elden: Shadow of Airdtree
2. location: Alan Wake 2: The Lake House
3. location: Diablo IV: Vessel of Hate

Best Czech game

1. place: Quark
2. place: Schrot
3. place: Whisper of Prague

Best Remake, Remaster or Port

1. Location: Silent Hill 2
2. location: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
3. location: Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered

Best multiplayer or battle royale

1. place: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
2. location: Helldivers 2
3. place: Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2

Best movie or TV series based on a game

1. Location: Fallout
2. place: The Secret Season 2
3. location: Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft