Video game preview: fantastic upcoming games to look out for in 2024

Star Wars and video games don’t always make a good team, but we’re on a bit of a roll at the moment. 2022’s Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was a brickified love letter to all things lightsaber, while last year gave us the excellent Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In 2024 Ubisoft will hope to make it three in a row with Star Wars Outlaws, an open-world game set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. We haven’t seen a whole lot of the game in action but female protagonist Key Vess seems a likeable scoundrel, and one who could fill the Han Solo-shaped hole in our hearts.

Release date: Late 2024

Prince of Persia fans continue to wait for a The Sands of Time remake that may never arrive, but in the meantime we’re getting an all new Prince of Persia game. The Lost Crown reinvents Ubisoft’s long-running series as a 2.5D Metroidvania with a beautiful cartoonish art style and tough-to-master combat. Set in a mythological Persian-inspired world, you play as young warrior Sargon. He can manipulate time. It looks great, and is reportedly a surprisingly meaty adventure too, clocking in at over 20 hours.

Release date: January 15

Back in the spring of 2020 (try not to remember it too much) we learned Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake was also a reimagining of its genre-defining PlayStation RPG. The plan is to turn Final Fantasy VII into a trilogy, but the story could be heading in a very different direction to the 1997 original. The second part, then, arrives on a tidal wave of hype, as Cloud and co. depart Midgar in pursuit of the big bad, Sephiroth, with lifelong Final Fantasy VII fans in the dark about the fate that awaits their beloved cast of characters. Expect epic combat, huge open environments and lots of Chocobo racing.

Release date: February 29

If there’s one game Nintendo fans have been begging the Japanese giant to bring to Switch for years (well, one that doesn’t involve a certain toonified Link), it’s Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The sequel to the plumber’s first papercraft RPG on the N64 has never appeared on any other platform since it launched on the GameCube in 2004. Several generations of Nintendo gamers have never had a chance to play what is perhaps the funniest, strangest and most narratively compelling Mario game ever made. That changes in 2024 when the surprise remake lands on Switch in what could be the console’s final year. About time, too.

Release date: July 22

After many years being cast as the kidnapped damsel in distress, Princess Peach was just as involved as Mario in all the stomping and wahoo-ing in last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In 2024 she stars in her own game for the first time in nearly 20 years. Princess Peach: Showtime! is a seemingly Bowser-free action-adventure game in which the Mushroom Kingdom’s most famous royal becomes a sword fighter, pastry chef, Sherlock Holmes-esque detective, and more, in her quest to save her favourite theatre from the Sour Bunch. It looks like a lot of fun.

Release date: March 22

This modern reimagining of the 1992 survival horror game of the same name was originally intended to come out around Halloween last year. You now have the perfect excuse to get scared in its new release month of March, 2024. Set during the 1920s, the single-player campaign will have you exploring the haunted Derceto Manor as either Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood, played by David Harbour and Jodie Comer respectively. With Resident Evil taking some time off after a busy few years, this Hollywood-tinged outing is very welcome indeed.

Release date: March 20

Perhaps it’s a bit reductive to say Avowed is Skyrim but sillier and with a more vibrant colour palette. But that’s the impression we get from Obsidian’s Xbox and PC-exclusive first-person RPG. With the next Elder Scrolls game still a long way off, it has a good chance of making a splash too. Despite the obvious comparisons to the aforementioned Bethesda classic, Avowed won’t be truly open-world, and it will have a strong focus on story. That approach worked well with Obsidian’s last big RPG, The Outer Worlds, and we’re excited to see what it does with a fantasy setting.

Release date: 2024

Is it a bit soon for Naughty Dog to be re-releasing its acclaimed 2020 sequel to The Last of Us? Perhaps, but we’d be lying if we said we aren’t keen to revisit Ellie’s long and grim quest for revenge with all the power of the PS5 behind it. And with the second season of the TV adaptation likely to land next year, it’s the perfect opportunity for first-time players to experience a souped-up version of what was already a technically stunning game. We’re also intrigued to see how the new roguelike survival mode, No Return, shakes out, as it’s not something we’ve seen from Naughty Dog before.

Release date: January 19

If games were judged on visual style alone, The Plucky Squire would surely be everyone’s most anticipated game of 2024. It’s an action-adventure game backed by indie titan, Devolver Digital, in which you play as the hero of a storybook able to leap from the pages he calls home into the real world. The game’s big magic trick is the way in which you hop between 2D and 3D worlds as you explore an unfamiliar land, solve puzzles and fight enemies. If it’s as fun to play as it is impressive to behold, this could be a classic.

Release date: 2024

First announced back in 2020 and subject to several delays last year before eventually being pushed into 2024, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League hasn’t had the smoothest road to launch. Fans have raised concerns about the shooter’s always-online requirement (it has since been confirmed an offline mode will arrive eventually) and general live service trappings. But we’re hoping Rocksteady, developer of the magnificent Batman: Arkham series, has used the extra time to come up with something that feels as good in the hands as its previous titles, whether you’re playing alone or in co-op with friends.

Release date: January 30