Best of 2024: Arcade Games

I haven’t actually played any arcade games in an actual arcade this year. I’ve been to some, but modern arcade games are so thirsty for your money now. They always were, but it’s somehow worse when you have to put money on a card and try to spend exactly amount of that money.

But there are plenty of games with that arcade “pick up and play, try to do better than before” mentality. Some, maybe all, of the games below came out before 2024, but I played them in 2024 so here we are.

PaRappa the Rapper 2 (2001)

PaRappa the Rapper 2 is the third in the series of PlayStation rhythm games featuring paper cutout characters doing call-and-answer songs with a variety of crazy mentors. I was on a quest to find the second of these games, “Um Jammer Lammy”, for a couple of years and I finally found it while on vacation in California. If I were including retro games PlayStation games here, it would be on the list.

But PaRappa the Rapper was remade for the PS4, and that’s where I played it.

All three games are hard to find today on their original release, but they’re fun, you can play a level in a few minutes, the characters are endearing, the music is catchy, and they deserve to be remembered.

Drums Rock VR (2022)

I’d bought the PlayStation VR2 but the only VR game I had was Beat Sabre. Nimgimli of DragonChasers suggested Drums Rock, where you’re a heavy metal drummer killing demons in Hell to covers of rock anthems.

It’s fun, but the later levels really depend upon that VR tracking being pinpoint. Or maybe it’s just me being clumsy. Whichever — all the fun of Rock Band without the plastic instruments. If you love covers of heavy metal music, PlayStation 5, and have a VR2, give it a shot. Probably available for other VR systems, too.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002)

The studio that eventually made its mark with Ghost of Tsushima started out chronicling the adventures of a thieving raccoon named Sly Cooper. (Old Sly pops up in Ghost of Tsushima as an Easter egg; that raccoon gets everywhere!). Sly makes his way onto the list by virtual of his re-release on the PS5, but the PS2 version is still widely available.

Sly Cooper is a 3D platformer that values flow and speed over careful planning. The levels are full of light and motion, the story is goofy, the characters are fun, and hey, Sly Cooper.

Buck Up and Drive (2022)

I’m really bad at playing games the year they come out. Apparently.

Buck Up and Drive is an endless driving game that thinks it’s a skateboarding game. You drive. You grind rails. You do gnarly jumps and climb up the sides of buildings. This reminds me a lot of the old PlayStation game “2Xtreme”, Pick up and playability is amazing. The crazier you drive — the more points you get.

John Wick Hex (2019)

The award for the best arcade-type game that I played in 2024 goes to “John Wick Hex”.

I had zero interest in the John Wick franchise. It’s a guy who kills a thousand people in a movie. Keanu Reeves and a gun.

And it is, that’s exactly what the movies are. John Wick goes through the movie being shot at, and shooting people. But that’s not what the movies are for.

The movies are for people who appreciate cinematography and stunt work. The violence is cartoon; it’s videogamey. But what’s on the screen is the work of dedicated professionals. Reeves trains for months to do the gunplay and the stunts. The other actors are the best stunt women and men in the industry. Actors clamor to get in the movies.

John Wick Hex is a game with a timeline, similar to “The Caligula Effect” and the recent “Tarnished Blood”. You plot your actions on a timeline, then let them play out in real time with your enemies moving according to their scripts. If it doesn’t work out, you rewind time and try again. At the end, you hit the play button on the entire level and John Wick runs through, masterfully taking down the enemies and dodging the punches, taking what hits he can take and making it to the end of the level barely alive — but alive.

It’s a masterful game that leans into the cinematography and stunts of the movie franchise while being a compelling and addicting arcade game.

Addendum: My boyfriend was skeptical that I’d played John Wick Hex this year and so I did some digging and I actually last played it in 2023. Also, I was playing for free on PlayStation Plus, and it turns out that is no longer free for PlayStation Plus members, so I’d have to pay ten bucks to get it again in order to grab some video. Doesn’t matter, I didn’t do a best of 2023, so I’m letting this one stand. The next few will be better.

It really is a good game, though.