Game of the Year 2023
This is it—the final post of 2023. And you know what that means? It’s time for the annual Game of the Year Post. This one in particular is pretty wild to me because 2023 has been stacked with good releases. From as early as January to as recent as two weeks ago, there has been a nonstop cavalcade of games that just came out and regardless of what your tastes are, there was something for everyone. There have been a good chunk of them that have appealed to me specifically, and some of them will be stuff I haven’t gotten around to doing written or video works on because this year has been wild as heck. Without further ado, here is my list 2023 game-of-the-year list.
11. ARMORED CORE VI: FIRES OF RUBICON
This was possibly one of the first times where I was actively getting my ass kicked in a From Software game since I started Dark Souls 12 years ago. Armored Core VI reminded me that with enough perseverance and some help from friends, anything is possible. It’s on this list purely because of that. That, and the because the fight at the end of chapter 1 is possibly one of the sickest boss encounters of the entire year. Since I’ve had some time away from it to reflect on it, I can say with utter confidence that the fight with Balteus kicks serious ass. It’s the epitome of all of the lessons that the first chapter of the game and its various missions have been teaching you regarding loadout crafting, stamina and resource management, and enemy attack patterns. And it proceeds to build on all of that as the game goes on. Even though there is a lot of Sekiro in AC6’s DNA (hell, I think the majority of the team that worked on Sekiro worked on this last I checked), all of what I just mentioned, combined with an intriguing story that keeps you hooked, and super smooth controls that allow for fights that engage in some unexpected speed and brutality all come together to make the most unique From Software game I’ve played in a long time, but also a mech game I didn't even know I needed in my life until when I first saw it in action. Next time they make one of these, I’m all in.
10. VENGEFUL GUARDIAN MOONRIDER
This was the first game that I played almost in its entirety on the Steam Deck (thus selling me on the concept of the Steam Deck in the process). This Mega Man X-infused Shinobi throwback was tough as nails. But that doesn’t mean that it’s unbeatable, if anything it took me less than six hours to get through the entire thing. Which Speaks volumes of the kind of loop that it encourages through repeated blow-ups. And it was through that mastery that I eventually managed to get through it, which is fitting because Shinobi was hard as fuck. Between the controls, level design, enemy placements and boss designs, Vengeful Guardian Moonrider does everything in its power to push you to the goddamn limit. The powers and upgrade chips mesh together for a good layer of customization and the Photondash is probably still the best piece of video game movement tech introduced to a video game this year because I don’t think I’ve seen platforming so readily improved because of the use of this super sick dash. It overall succeeds at both making you feel like a sick ass ninja and also continuing the trend of ninja-themed video games being incredibly hard for some reason. Check it out if you are in for a good time instead of a long time.
9. DARKEST DUNGEON 2
Talk about reinventing the wheel and doing it so well that it might as well be a new form of travel. Darkest Dungeon 2 takes what I liked about the first game, which was the exciting combat and hero/stress management, and yanks out the Hamlet management stuff which, for me at least, was incredibly boring. We are going on a road trip this time around while carrying the literal last embers of hope and have to manage your team’s personal relationship dynamics, and if that isn’t a neat change to the status quo, then I don’t know what is. The classes were steadily introduced and tweaked in early access, with the final classes being reserved for the full 1.0 release and all of them feel great between their different abilities and synergies with the other classes. The loop of getting in the stagecoach, picking your team, venturing out into the mountains, and fighting the main boss of that chapter, feels better than anything in Darkest Dungeon the original. A lot of this is because the more roguelike structure appeals to my sensibilities way more, but I find myself way more engaged with the on-the-fly decision-making and situations that those systems create. All of it comes together to make a game about making the best of a bad situation and feels far more immediate about it because you can just manage your heroes and be on your way. If you like snatching hope from the jaws of despair, then Darkest Dungeon 2 is worth taking the trip down the weary road.
8. VENBA
The more I look back on this one specifically, the more I realise how much this game meant to me. A lot of this comes down to the story that it tells feels like the kind of experience that I felt when growing up. A lot of the themes that it deals with regarding family, identity, your relationship with your culture, and how time and differing cultural norms can change all of that. The gameplay was the finest example this year of using your mechanics to help tell your story as well. And there are a series of moments in there that both hit me in my soul and brought me to the verge of tears. I can say that as someone who hasn’t had their experiences reflected in games all that much. So thank you Venba, for giving me the most emotionally impacting story I’ve experienced in gaming this year.
7. STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is my favourite Star Wars game not named Knights of the Old Republic. Jedi Survivor has since supplanted it. The first game was Respawn's Attempt at telling a story about trauma and how it affects people, wrapped up in your standard planet-hopping Star Wars fare. Survivor takes it one step further and shows how it can affect our relationships with others and how a Jedi would respond to it fully. While Knights of the Old Republic 2 already covered these topics, seeing them done more in mainline Star Wars is cool. Cal’s character arc throughout Survivor of being more of a traditional Jedi, while both working through that trauma and coming to the realisation that his closest friends are the reason he hasn’t fallen to the dark side, is some great stuff. It also weaves in Star Wars ideas from all eras in a way that makes it feel like it’s part of this massive living world; between the use of reprogrammed Separatist battle droids by criminals, the inclusion of the High Republic setting and the Hidden Path in the main plot line, everything about the bounty hunting side quest, the lightsaber stances all being in-universe forms, techniques and even tech that we’ve seen other characters in other Star Wars properties use (Hello, Crossguard stance). All of it is part of making the Jedi Survivor feel like what Uncharted 2 and, perhaps more fittingly, The Empire Strikes Back were for their prequels in that they take everything that worked in those previous installments and refine them to the point of near perfection. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is like Andor in that it’s a decent reminder that when Star Wars is firing on all cylinders, there’s nothing else like it.
6. COCOON
OH hey, it's my favourite puzzle game since both Portal and Baba are You. I had to make sure that this one was getting onto the list purely because of how unique it was. The mix of Dyson Sphere stacking and dimension hopping all added up for a puzzle game that was one of the trippiest games I’ve played this year, and in a year when Super Mario Bros. Wonder came out, that’s saying something. All of Cocoon’s puzzles are intricately and immaculately designed, challenging and come together to make you feel like a dang genius for figuring out all of its tricks. And I mean that for when the game gets into the later puzzles and you have to use all of your tricks to get things done. Cocoon is one of the best puzzle games I’ve played in years, though to be fair, I don't go out of my way to play many puzzle games.
5. DEAD CELLS RETURN TO CASTLEVANIA
This might be the most fun I’ve had with a roguelike this year. I know it’s not fair to say because Dead Cells has been out for half a decade at this point, but I can’t help but feel like it’s the truth. Even discounting the fact that it’s one of the best feeling and playing games on the market today, there’s a level of reverence and respect for Castlevania as an IP on display here that simply cannot be denied. Everything from the new biomes, the inclusion of over 100 enemies from the Castlevania bestiary, 14 new weapons and utility items that straight up pulled from the Belmont armoury, and the inclusion of over 50 tracks of Castlevania’s best music (some of which was remixed in Dead Cells’s style!) all make one thing, abundantly clear. And that’s if Motion Twin worshipping the ground Castlevania walked on wasn’t apparent before, it is now. I don’t find myself getting nostalgia-baited often, but when it does hit me, it hits me hard. And this is on top of Dead Cells still being read as heck. God, Dead Cells and Castlevania RULE.
4. STREET FIGHTER 6
This is the entry I’ve struggled to put into words the most. I love fighting games. I don’t talk about them very often because no matter how much I learn about them, I still feel like I’m not good enough to offer any meaningful input to the discussions surrounding them. And as I like other fighting game mainstays like Guilty Gear and King of Fighters (also play Killer Instinct, you cowards), Street Fighter will always be my first choice. But the previous entry Street Fighter V, kind of almost killed my interest in fighting games. Between the disastrous launch, online play that felt not great, the eight frames of input delay (which I will admit, did get fixed), and the first year or two of balance changes on top of system mechanics that I personally didn’t care for all that much, all added up to make me not want to play it and that fucking hurts me to say that. Because I love Street Fighter. But then, after seeing Capcom’s comeback since, it had me hopeful. And then, after years of development, Street Fighter 6 came out. It is the culmination of Capcom looking at all of their mistakes with SFV and going “Here’s how we’re fixing this” Rollback? Absolutely. Crossplay? Out of the box and works flawlessly. A single-player mode and alternate control scheme to get the casuals and new players in? I don’t think either does a particularly good job, but sure! Why Not! The best training mode I’ve seen in literal years? You bet your sweet bippy it’s got that. An Art style that puts the “Street” back into Street Fighter while looking like a Diago Ikeno drawing in motion? Hell Yeah. And that’s just the check box stuff. It’s also got the best crop of newcomers in a Street Fighter game since the 3 era, radical reinventions and advancements to the returning cast at the time of writing, with Deejay and Blanka being the standouts, And the strongest and most intricately designed set of system mechanics I’ve seen in a fighting game since Killer Instinct back in 2013. And we’re only six months in and still learning it! But the true moment I realised this was one of the most special games of the year was when I was watching the Evo 2023 Top 8 for this game with my friend and all I could think of was “Man, this is the most excited I’ve been about a fighting game in years.” And that combined with all of the ridiculous fun I’ve had with friends, and the moments of quiet reflection in training mode made me realise that Street Fighter 6 made me feel like I was seeing an old friend I lost contact with after they went through a rough patch. But they’re back and better than ever and I’m here for it. I just wish the back half of 2023 didn’t decide to conspire against my free time
3. LIES OF P
This is the best From Software game not made by From Software and I am willing to die on this hill. The main reason is I’ve played quite a few From Soft Imitators, but I’ve never been able to stick them out for more than a few hours. This is weird because I’ve played the Dark Souls trilogy and Bloodborne through at least twice a piece. But Neowiz and Round 8 Studios have actually studied FromSoftware’s output and used those lessons to make a game that is truly fit to be compared to, in my opinion, some of the best action RPGs in the last 20 years. Between the sleek yet brutal combat, excellently designed levels, a story that’s an intriguing dark take on Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, One of the best original Soundtracks in a game this year, and some of the best boss fights of the year, Lies of P does it all right and if I had to go in fresh again, I’d be super into the idea of giving myself amnesia to experience it again.
2. TURBO OVERKILL
This one being so high on the list shocks me, but I’m not surprised. Turbo Overkill is hands down the best boomer shooter that came out this year and in a year that gave us Warhammer 40k Boltgun, HROT, Supplice in Early Access, and TREPANG2 (the 2 is to be read as Squared), that’s saying something. This is because it’s due to going out of its way to be an unholy cybernetic mashup of Modern Doom and Titanfall. Fast, frenetic, gorier than your standard Mortal Kombat fight, packing a killer arsenal, a campaign that escalates in all the best ways, and the best performance Jon St. Jon has given us a video game (he’s your partner AI, SAMM). It’s So Fun, it’s so fucking fun, PLAY TURBO OVERKILL NOW.
1. HI-FI RUSH & BALDUR’S GATE 3
I know I could have made this a list of twelve games. I’m not doing that. I’m putting both of these at #1 for one very specific reason. That reason is that both Hi-Fi Rush and Baldur’s Gate 3 are, for my taste, not only the best video games I’ve played this year, but they also represent video games at their best. Not only are they refined spins on character action and CRPGs respectively, but they almost feel like they’re from a different timeline. Like, what would video games be like if console technology went past the 5th generation of consoles and went more with unique gameplay systems and what if the CRPG/Bioware style of RPG never left its period of prominence respectively? Because a character action game that’s equal parts rhythm game and a D&D RPG with a shitload of reactive choices, great writing and a great cast of companions respectively is what you’d get. Both games are incredibly well written, have some of the best art direction I’ve seen in games this year, some of the best music and music choices this year (there are serious arguments to be made about Borislav Slavov being one of the best working composers in games today), the best goddamn boss fights of this year between HFR’s Vandelay Execs and BG3’s Chosen and that’s not getting into some of the act 3 stuff, and overall get the feeling that they were both made with a resounding feeling of love and passion for the kinds of games that the developers themselves loved a lot in their earlier years. These are the games I’ve thought about the most this year, these are the games I’ve loved the most this year, and these are the games I’ve played the most this year not named Destiny 2. Goddamn it, video games are rad.
*Exhale*
Holy Crap, we’re finally done. If you’ve made it this far, thank you very much for reading to the end, that means a lot and I hope you and your have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. We’ll be back in the third week of January because I need a vacation. Stay safe out there and see you next time.
