‘It changed my idea of what games can be’ – the 31 games readers couldn’t put down in 2024

From the grisly Space Marine 2 to the glorious Metaphor: ReFantazio, it's time for Pushing Buttons subscribers to share their games of the year

Happy Christmas, Pushing Buttons readers! My sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who's read the newsletter this year, and to all our new subscribers. Writing this newsletter and reading your correspondence remains my favourite part of my job. It means a lot that so many of you have written in to say that you look forward to Pushing Buttons landing in your inbox every week.

Thank you also to the Guardian's brilliant newsletter team, who have worked hard all year to get these missives to you on time even when I've submitted them horribly late. (I'm sorry, team. Relatedly: if games publishers could stop dropping huge news right around my deadline in 2025, that would be amazing.)