The best games we played at Summer Game Fest 2024

This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

It’s been a long seven days here at Digital Trends. While gaming fans may have had a busy few days thanks to live broadcasts like Xbox Games Showcase and Ubisoft Forward, we were on the ground in Los Angeles for a full week full of hands-on demos and previews. Over that time, we played more games than we can count, from big fall releases like Metaphor: ReFantazio to smaller titles like Bounty Star. The big takeaway? Even if the game industry is currently facing a rocky moment, plenty of developers are still pouring their hearts and souls into making great games.

There’s so much that we’ve already written about already (and so much more coming), but we want to highlight some of the best games we played over the past week. Our picks represent a wide selection of games, from tentpole console exclusives to indies made by one or two developers. Each one is entirely different from the others, showing that passion and creativity are still thriving even in the industry’s toughest moment.

Game of the Show: Astro Bot

If we had to pick a game of the show this year, it would have to be Astro Bot. PlayStation’s upcoming exclusive impressed at the show with a deep demo showing off its precise platforming, intricate bosses, and tricky challenge stages. What’s most impressive here is how different each level we played was. One had us boosting through walls with a Bulldog Backpack, while another revolved around froggy boxing gloves that could turn Astro into a slingshot. The more we played, the more we were surprised and delighted. Team Asobi has something special on its hands here with a family-friendly platformer that feels just as tight — if not better — than Nintendo’s best. Don’t sleep on it this September. ~ Giovanni Colantonio