18 Neat Games Releasing In December You Should Be Keeping Tabs On

December is here and 2024 is almost over, but not before some of the year’s biggest games launch just in time for the winter doldrums. My console SSDs are already groaning under the weight of all those downloads. How will I find room for another 350GB of games?

December 2024 is a big month for free-to-play games as well as free-with-Game-Pass releases. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the big holiday blockbuster that is accessible to everyone with a paid Game Pass Ultimate or PC subscription, though fans who want to go hands-on early will still need to shell out extra for the deluxe edition.

Marvel Rivals, meanwhile, will take another fresh stab at the hero shooter genre, while Infinity Nikki takes the cozy sim dress-up RPG series into the open world. Both are fueled by microtransactions instead of up-front price tags. Half of my Xbox Series S drive is already taken up with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, while Star Wars Outlaws, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor Refantazio are obliterating my PlayStation 5 storage. Hopefully Santa brings me a memory expansion card.

A bunch of other stuff, from console ports to ‘90s-style brawlers, is also coming out this month.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a heady and evocative puzzle game that’s making more than a few GOTY short lists. Out on PC and Switch earlier this year, it finally hits PlayStation this month so millions of new players can step into its moody interrogation of art and experience.

Before there was Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, there was Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. It came to PC a couple of years ago and Xbox in 2023. Now it’s finally hitting PlayStation and the timing couldn’t be better. After plenty of growing pains around character customization and loot, the squad-based shooter is finding firmer footing with the arrival of new updates and expansions this month.

NovaLogic’s old tactical shooter series Delta Force is back courtesy of Call of Duty: Mobile maker TiMi Studios. The paid portion of the game is a single-player campaign recounting the events of Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down while the multiplayer portion is free-to-play. The action will play out across every platform, including mobile, with the exception of Switch.

A character-driven RPG set in a dark, urban, pre-WWI setting, The Thaumaturge arrived on PC back in March. Its psychic powers and demonic enemies are now finally making their way to console on both PS5 and Xbox.

Fantasian Neo Dimension is the latest RPG from Mistwalker, the studio founded by Final Fantasy co-creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. It previously arrived as an Apple Arcade exclusive for smartphones, but now this upgraded port is bringing the classic turn-based combat and beautiful isometric dioramas to console and PC.

Infinity Nikki is the latest entry in the long-running, gacha-fueled dress-up RPG series. On both smartphones and PS5, the free-to-play game brings the platforming collectathon into an open world where players engage in the familiar routines of a cozy sim with newfound visual flare and action elements.

Will Marvel Rivals succeed where Concord failed? The latest twist on the multiplayer hero shooter has the full force of Marvel’s heroes at its beck and call, from the Hulk to Wolverine. Its unique gimmick revolves around team-up attacks that can be executed when the right group of heroes converge at the right time. It’ll be on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Diablo but free-to-play, Path of Exile 2 has big shoes to fill following the success of the first game. The Early Access launch will seek to expand on the formula of cool-loot-meets-deep-character-customization. Path of Exile 2 will be on Steam, PS5, and Xbox to start.

Microsoft’s last exclusive of 2024, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle sees Wolfenstein maker MachineGames take on the globe-trotting archeologist in first-person Nazi-punching detail. It’s only on Xbox and PC to start, with a PS5 version following early in 2025.

Netflix’s big experiment in the world of games hits a major milestone this month with the release of Monument Valley 3, the latest entry in the critically acclaimed mobile puzzle series. It’s on both Android and iOS, but only for Netflix subscribers. Will it make anyone remember all the free games they technically already have access to in their pockets? Time will tell.

PS2 classics Soul Reaver 1 & 2 hit console and PC with visual overhauls and other modern refinements. The hack-and-slash puzzle adventures see you navigating macabre dungeons as vampires rule a fallen world.

Hopefully, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind can do for the titular teens what Shredder’s Revenge did for the heroes in a half shell a couple of years ago. The retro-looking brawler has the polished animations and vibrant style of a ‘90s arcade brawler yanked into the modern era, and if it can move, punch, and kick as well as it looks, fans will have a nice nostalgic treat to sink their teeth into this holiday season. It’s on PS5, Xbox, Switch, and PC.

The latest Shiren the Wanderer is a game I keep hearing people praise even though so few played it when it hit Switch at the start of 2024. This newest entry in the roguelike dungeon-crawling series will hopefully get more eyes on it when it finally comes to PC this month.

The medieval physics simulator Besiege has been around for several years now but it’s only just making its way to PlayStation. It’s like a Lego game for bombarding knights with devilish contraptions of ancient warfare.

Completely Stretchy is surreal walking sim about using long arms to catapult yourself through strange, whimsical, and unnerving encounters in a bizarre world. It seems very silly and potentially a lot of fun.

Beach-read detective novel vibes meet a chill social game in On Your Tail. You play as Diana, an anthropomorphic ram, as she travels to the colorful sea-side village of Borgo Marina to relax, but wouldn’t you know it? You may just end up solving some murders as deeper mysteries percolate up through surface during your getaway.

Like aristocratic estates? Love learning about plants? Botany Manor is the game for you. Out earlier this year on Xbox, Switch, and PC, the puzzle-oriented walking sim about collecting seeds and exploring an old building is more than the sum of its parts. If you like the idea of hanging out in an English garden with just some notebooks and immaculate vibes, you’re in luck.

Update 12/16/2024 5:08 p.m. ET: Botany Manor is no longer coming to PlayStation this month. The developers announced a last minute delay with the port now arriving in early 2025. And exact date will be announced at a later time, the studio said.

Alien: Rogue Incursion brings xenomorph survival horror into virtual reality. Players take the reins of an ex-colonial marine exploring a spooky research facility with their AI side-kick. It’s coming to PS VR2, Oculus, and Steam VR.

The Midnight Crimes is a point-and-click adventure game set in what looks like Victorian England by way of Borderlands. The open-world puzzle game has you navigating interactions with neighbors and confronting past traumas to try and uncover the mysterious disappearance of one of the local children. I’m sure it will all end happily ever after. It will be PC only to start.