Highlights

  • Enshrouded and Palworld have revolutionized the indie survival genre with their unique gameplay mechanics and captivating worlds, making them top Game of the Year contenders.
  • Both games are constantly improving during early access, with regular updates enhancing gameplay, performance, and stability based on player feedback.
  • Despite tough competition from anticipated AAA game releases in 2024, Enshrouded and Palworld's success may pave the way for an indie survival game to compete for the prestigious Game of the Year award.

Enshrouded and Palworld are undoubtedly two of 2024's biggest games, having captured the attention of gamers everywhere with their wonderfully crafted worlds and their innovative approach to the survival genre. Pocketpair's Palworld has garnered a massive amount of attention as a Pokemon-esque base-building survival game that allows players to raise animal-like creatures known as Pals, who can help run the player's base and defeat even stronger enemies throughout the game's Palpagos Islands. Furthermore, Enshrouded has been praised for its immersive atmosphere, its worldbuilding and lore, and the engaging RPG and crafting mechanics it incorporates into the survival formula.

Despite 2024 having only just begun, Palworld and its survival rival Enshrouded are already off to a great start. Both games have arguably achieved success by moving beyond traditional features associated with the survival genre and into unprecedented territory, making them formidable contenders for 2024's Game of the Year award. While they are currently in early access, they will likely continue to take shape throughout the year, which could potentially push them even further ahead in the race for the award that many game developers dream of winning.

Palworld logo with damaged Master Sword in background
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Enshrouded and Palworld Are Strong Game of the Year Contenders

Enshrouded and Palworld Have Taken Over the Survival Scene

Of all the genres, no one expected survival games to be at the top of the list in 2024, but that's all changed thanks to Enshrouded and Palworld. Both games have somehow managed to redefine the survival genre in more than one sense, raising expectations across the board for future survival games. While Enshrouded seems to push the envelope a bit too far at times, it still maintains its survival DNA enough that it could become a blueprint for subsequent survival titles. Palworld, on the other hand, manages to combine the creature-collecting of games like Pokemon with typical survival features — a combination that has never been tried and perfected to this degree.

The notion that Enshrouded and Palworld could be top contenders for 2024's Game of the Year award is largely due to the way they've conquered the survival scene in gaming. Few survival games before them have managed to achieve the level of popularity and success that these two have achieved. While this could be attributed to the low expectations that this would ever happen, both games are still excellent experiences, even in early access, and will likely only continue to get better as their developers give them the attention they deserve.

Enshrouded and Palworld Are Already Improving During Early Access

Although they are still in development, both Enshrouded and Palworld have received regular updates and hotfixes since their early access debuts. Many of these updates have improved things like each game's performance and stability, quality of life, gameplay, and more, all thanks to constant feedback. With such positive attention being directed at both games and largely maintained thus far, that reception will likely continue to grow even more positive as each game receives regular patches and even more content down the line.

The developers for Enshrouded and Palworld have made known their desire to have each game receive a full release within a year, which means they could both be in great shape by the time 2024's Game Awards ceremony rolls around, giving them an even better shot at winning the prestigious Game of the Year award. That being said, despite their massive success already, the two survival games probably will be competing with some of 2024's most anticipated game releases, including Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Dragon's Dogma 2, and Star Wars Outlaws, assuming these games stick their respective landings. Because AAA games often take home the Game of the Year award, it would be exciting to see an indie survival game walk away with it for once.