{"id":1083786,"date":"2026-01-23T18:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=503322"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:09:09","slug":"the-23-games-i-played-with-my-kids-last-year-and-the-87-i-played-without-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-23-games-i-played-with-my-kids-last-year-and-the-87-i-played-without-them\/","title":{"rendered":"The 23 games I played with my kids last year (and the 87 I played without them)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 2007, I started marking the end of the prior year by publishing a list of all the video games I played in the preceding 12 months. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve changed my approach since then, especially this time, as I look back at the 110 (or so) video games I played in 2024.<\/p>\n

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Game File is a thrice-weekly newsletter about the culture and business of video games, written by longtime gaming reporter Stephen Totilo (Kotaku, Axios, MTV News, The New York Times). Subscribe here<\/a> for scoops, interviews and regular updates about gaming with the author’s nearly 8-year-old twins.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s list is divided into shorter lists. First, there are the 2024 games\u2013and some older games\u2013that I played with my son and daughter in the past year. The twins both just turned eight and have been gaming with me since 5 \u00bd, though only on Switch until we added a second platform this year (guess why!<\/a>).<\/p>\n

After the list of games I played with my kids is the rundown of games I played alone. I\u2019m excluding any that aren\u2019t out yet and that I only played for work. I may have forgotten a game or two as well. That tends to happen.<\/p>\n

When I started making these lists, as a young reporter for MTV News, I was trying to make a case for finishing games. I was distressed that the finales of too many games went unseen. I would do my part to normalize the act of  getting to the end of what we\u2019re playing. That first list, published in early 2007, was 102 games long<\/a>, and I marked off the 21 games I had \u201cfinished.\u201d Half Life 2: Episode 1<\/em>! Chibi Robo<\/em>! Suikoden V<\/em>! And so on. <\/p>\n

By 2017 (269 games played in 2016<\/a>; a second straight year of not getting to Bloodborne<\/em>) I dropped the bit about completing games. I switched to recommending my favorites. That seemed more useful for readers.<\/p>\n

After writing my 2019 run-through<\/a>, I took a break from these lists. But I have brought it back now, thanks to the urging of Polygon editor-in-chief Chris Plante. (He said he liked them! I think he wasn\u2019t joking?)<\/p>\n

I hope you\u2019ll find some interesting games below. I think I found some hidden gems. Please also let me know what I\u2019m missing, what the kids might like, which games I should give more time to and so on. And, yes, it\u2019s silly that I played 70 hours of a game I didn\u2019t love when there was so much else to play.<\/p>\n

A caveat: <\/em>Via my work, I got access to most of these games via free review copies. <\/p>\n

And if you are in a rush: <\/em>Scroll to the bottom for my nine favorite games of 2024!<\/p>\n

New 2024 games I played with my kids<\/h3>\n