Favourite Games of 2023

Glen-i · December 16, 2023

No-one did one last year, so fine, I'll do it myself!

The year's coming to a close, and it's safe to say that it's been quite an excellent one in terms of the software that were released. So it's time to make lists and secretly judge everyone for their stupid, incorrect opinions.

Instead of just doing a GOTY style one, I'm gonna blatantly nick the format @Jonnas used 2 years ago, because he's right. We all have backlogs, and the urge to play older titles.

What were your favourite games released in 2023?
What yearly GOTY discussions usually talk about, what were the best 2023 games for you?
What were your favourite games played in 2023?
Once you include older games you played this year for the first time, what are your favourites? Do they surpass this year's releases? Feel free to include replays and such, it's your opinion.
Any 2023 release that you wish you had played?
I mean, surely we didn't buy every new game, right? Any game(s) you feel like you missed out on?

Righto, lead by example:

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Ordered from worst to best

Metroid Prime Remastered - It's good, it's just I don't like the changes made to accommodate dual stick controls. I'd rather play the Trilogy version, so it fundamentally fails as a remaster for me. Very pretty, though, even though the lighting tweaks makes some bits harder to see.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - An April Fool's joke, yes, but it's also a solid little visual novel with great writing and utilises the Sonic characters in excellent fashion. It has the Vector the Crocodile seal of approval, so you know it's decent. It's free as well, give it a go if you haven't.

Hi-Fi Rush - What if the likes of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry were also rhythm games? That's Hi-Fi Rush! An immensely satisfying fusion of two genres that I wouldn't ever dream would work as well as it does here. I technically haven't finished it because Dcubed got a fancy-schmancy stereoscopic 3D monitor, and this game is compatible with it. He's waiting for a Steam Sale for it, and that's when I'll play it again.

Fire Emblem Engage - After bouncing off of Three Houses hard, Engage was a much welcome return to form. The story is as basic as it gets, but the gameplay is absolute top-notch. The Emblems add a fun and flexible way to alter your strategy that makes you feel totally OP at first, until you realise that you aren't all that when the game's difficulty catches up to you. Second best Fire Emblem game to date for me.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed - Yes, you need to own a copy of Xenoblade 3, but you don't need to play the base game (You should, Future Redeemed is full of spoilers). It's effectively a seperate game. A mini Xenoblade, if you will.

Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition - The best 3DS rhythm game got a Switch version, now it's the best Switch rhythm game! A ridiculous amount of high-quality songs from the Final Fantasy series (And other Square IP's if you get the DLC). The great mixture of RPG mechanics and arcade style-rhythm gameplay make for a rhythm game that all skill levels can enjoy. It's on sale, right now, BTW. Totally worth it!

Octopath Traveler II - Quite possibly one of the finest Turn-Based RPG's ever made. Octopath Traveler II takes the already excellent base the first game made, and improves on it in every way. I can't stress this enough, if you like Turn-Based RPG's with amazing battle systems, you need to play this game!

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I'm gonna put the titles released this year that I mentioned above in brackets between games here to give you an idea of what my full rankings would be. Again, worst to best.

Pokémon Scarlet - *sigh* This game's depressing... Why does this series not want me to play it anymore?

Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD - It doesn't have an open world, and it's already good because of that. I'm more thankful this exists so I didn't have to torture myself with the full fledged game.

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - It's fine. There's better "Tales of" games out there. Biggest problem I had is that the cool plot points it introduces go nowhere.

Persona 5 Strikers - I've not played Persona 5, too much faff for my liking. This sequel cuts down on the social aspects quite a bit, which means I quite liked it. Then again, I like Musou games, so pretty easy formula to nail for me. It's a cool mish mash of Musou and RPG.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - Another RPG turned action game (Admittedly, an increasingly worrying trend), the artstyle and world building are incredibly engaging, but the actual gameplay is just fine. It's not quite as good as the first game. But it's good enough.

(Metroid Prime Remastered goes here)

Disco Elysium - An excellent tabletop style RPG with an incredibly unique hook, and excellent writing alongside excellent voice acting. Honestly, this would be higher if it wasn't for the atrocious performance on Switch. Game crashes all the bloody time! It's still great, though.

Trombone Champ - This game is dumb.

(The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog goes here)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Stylish as hell, but I can't help but feel all the glitz comes at the cost of the great level design we've seen from the more recent 2D Marios. It's servicable, but only average compared to other games in the series.

Lil Gator Game - The only open world game I've played that isn't incredibly boring. More open world games should be 5 hours long. More open world games should feature sickingly cute alligators. Surprisingly heart wrenching plot near the end. Just a lovely little game all round.

Digimon Survive - My surprise hit of the year. Was not expecting this game to be as good as it was, considering how mediocre I found Cyber Sleuth. I've yet to write up about it in the Gaming Diary thread, so I'll leave it there.

(Hi-Fi Rush goes here)

Final Fantasy VII Remake - It plays nothing like the original game, but that's fine, because that's not the point. Square Enix finally managed to make a Final Fantasy action based fighting system not suck. Took them long enough, but I very much enjoyed it and how much weirder some bits got compared to the PS1 game.

(Fire Emblem: Engage and Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed goes here)

Shin Megami Tensei V - God, this game is good! The series doesn't deserve to be so overshadowed by the spin-off it spawned. Unapolegetically difficult, but rarely unfair. I played through this 5 times in a row, and never got sick of it.

Vampire Survivors - Crack is less addictive then this! A stupid amount of content for less then 5 quid! I'll be playing this one long into next year!

(The rest of the games go here)

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That took longer then I expected. Have at it!

Edited December 16, 2023 by Glen-i
Fixed my horrendous mistake with Final Bar Line's title

Dcubed · December 16, 2023

You didn't ask for it, but here it is anyway! The only lists that matter...

Each list goes from lowest to highest.

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Everybody 1,2,Switch!: Solid multiplayer game. A pretty natural evolution of the original 1,2,Switch! that incorporates smartphone devices into the mix. Some clever minigames in play here, particularily the one that has you photographing things of specific colours. Good fun with the right crowd. It won't be dethroning the Jackbox games, but it's a fun alternative.

The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog: The best Sonic game released in the last 5 years.

HiFi Rush: Haven't finished it, played through around 3 chapters, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I played of it. Even without the gorgeous visuals and novel rhythm combat concept, it'd still be a solid Stylish Action game. But it does also have gorgeous visuals and a novel rhythm combat concept, so that's neat!

Honestly didn't think that Tango had what it takes to make a really good Japanese-style action game, but they proved me dead wrong. Not quite sure why I haven't played through the whole thing, but I do want to go back and play it proper at some point... especially since the PC version on Steam now has stereoscopic 3D support on my Spatiallabs autostereoscopic display! This game is gonna look TITS in stereoscopic 3D!

F-Zero 99: Dammit! Now I can't make continued F-Zero being forgotten jokes! Is it an F-Zero game? Or is it a 99 game? Is it even a new game at all? So many questions... All I know for sure though, is that it's a lot of fun! I don't really play online multiplayer games all that much, but I've had a good time playing this one.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass Waves 4-6: Is this new content? Does it count if it's mostly just ported directly from Mario Kart Tour? Ehh... if I haven't seen it? It's new to me! What can I say? It's more Mario Kart, and in the absence of a new Mario Kart game? I'll gladly take another 24 tracks!

The NE Get Together nights remain a weekly fixture and they're always a grand time. The "new" tracks are mostly great as well... though Airship Fortress died for Rosalina's Ice World's sins... never forget and never forgive.

Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition is the best rhythm game on Switch. I love Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition. While I do wish that we could get an official controller that replicates the All Star Carnival arcade cabinet setup that this game is clearly based on (This game is essentially an expansion of the arcade game, rather than the 3DS titles, meaning that the controls and game feel are quite different from the original 3DS games), Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition is still a great game, and I'll be playing it for years to come. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition is not the same game as Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line, or even Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Digital Deluxe Edition, because only plebians buy anything less than Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line: Premium Digital Deluxe Edition...

See! It's not the same title screen, it's not the same game!

Advance Wars 1 Remake: A brilliant remake of a phenomenal game. You've read my post in the My Gaming Diary 2023 thread... right? ... RIGHT!? Well, if you haven't? The TLDR of it all is that Wayforward knocked out a great remake of the GBA classic, and didn't mess with a good thing. Still need to go back and play through the Advance campaigns at some point, but I usually like to leave a break inbetween playthroughs anyway. I'll be back though...

Advance Wars 2 Remake: A brilliant remake of an even more phenomenal game. Please make a new one Nintendo!!

Octopath Traveller 2: I have been making very slow progress through this game over the past months, owing to a lot of life crap getting in the way, but this game is utterly brilliant so far. It's essentially more Octopath Traveller, which means it's more of some of the best RPG gameplay I've ever experienced. I don't know about saying that it's better than the first game so far, but it's pretty much on par; and if you've read my previous Your Gaming Diary post about Octopath Traveller 1? You'll know that being on par with the first game is already enormously high praise.

Any deeper thoughts will have to wait until I eventually finish this behemoth of a game, but what I will say is that I am not playing this on Switch... I am playing the Steam version on PC instead... and that's because it has support for the Spatiallabs View autostereoscopic 3D display! (as does the PC version of Octopath Traveller 1). Now, if you thought this game was beautiful in 2D? WHOO BOY! You have NO idea how much more beautiful the game can get! The S3D experience with this game is just utterly transcendent, and it is easily the most next-gen thing I have experienced since the Switch first came out! I would give my left Slippery Nut for Nintendo to go back to having autostereoscopic 3D again with Switch 2... please? Pretty please Nintendo?

That's it? Yup. That's it. Those are the only games I've played this year that actually came out this year. And even then, I'm really stretching the definition by including DLC, as well as the AW1 and AW2 remakes... which are not only remakes of games that came out in 2001 and 2004 respectively, but are remakes that were originally scheduled to be released in 2022!

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Silent Hill: The Arcade: This game is [Jim Sterling voice]fucking shiiiiiiiiiiiit[/Jim Sterling voice]. It's not even bad because it's a disgrace to the Silent Hill name, it's bad because it's a terrible light gun game that is horrendously slow and boring. I could literally put the gun down for minutes at a time and not die, it's so achingly dull!

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy: Did not enjoy this game for the most part. Wanna know why? Read my expose on this game's sins here.

Vampire: Master of Darkness (Game Gear version): It's bootleg Castlevania and it's thoroughly ok.

Castlevania Legends: It's bootleg Castlevania and it's also thoroughly ok; has some funny music though.

Sega Bass Fishing 2: The not as good sequel to Sega Marine Fishing... wait, what? Yes, Sega Bass Fishing 2 is actually the 3rd game in the series! S-E thought they were clever with Bravely Default 2, but SEGA beat them to the punch 20 years ago! Who's laughing now!?

Anywho, I got my hands on a Dreamcast fishing controller and bought all three SEGA fishing games, and this is the least good of the three. It takes itself a bit too seriously for my liking... it's like... a normal fishing game? It just doesn't have the bad voice acting or amazing butt rock music that the rest of the series revels in. Unfortunately, this game wasn't originally designed as an arcade game and it shows; it leans more into the simulation side than I would like. But it's still a fishing game that uses the Dreamcast fishing controller, and that means that it's still weird enough to get my seal of approval.

Lucky & Wild: It's more of a roller coaster than a well designed game, but this light gun/driving game is enough of a strange novelty to be well worth a play if you're lucky enough to find an original arcade cabinet like I did.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: A good game in its own right, but a massively disappointing sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles. Some utterly baffling design decisions really drag down what could've been a great game.

Vampire Night: It's bootleg House of the Dead! Swap out the zombies for vampires and you're pretty much there! No, literally! It actually runs on the same engine as HOTD2 and was even made by SEGA Wow... despite being published by Namco!? Cats & dogs living together, mass hysteria etc.

Considering that SEGA and Namco were as bitter rivals in the arcades as SEGA and Nintendo were in the console realm? This game is really as crazy as F-Zero GX was back in 2003. And it's also pretty dang good! Unlike Silent Hill: The Arcade, this game isn't total fucking shit. It's fast paced, filled with secrets and (most importantly of all) filled with wonderfully corny voice acting. It's a fun time, well worth a play.

Cannon Dancer: Osman: This is a spiritual successor to the original Strider, released in 1996 (3 years before Capcom's own attempt at a proper Strider 2), made a bunch of ex Capcom staff (including Kouichi Yotsui, who directed the original Strider). It plays an awful lot like Strider, but much with smoother controls and way better graphics. The level design is not quite as solid, but still interesting enough to hold your attention, and it manages to capture much of what made the original Strider fun. Unfortunately, the game's difficulty is just utterly brutalising, making the original Strider look like a piece of piss; and since the game uses a continue system that revives you on the spot? Credit pumping this game just trivialises the difficulty curve completely. Still, it's a ton of fun to try and see how far you can get on a single credit; and it's great to see this game finally get a proper home release.

Gokujou Parodius: This is Parodius at it's peak. It's the most polished traditional entry in the series... and it's also probably the hardest. I will never manage to 1cc this game, but I always have fun seeing how far I can get!

Sega Marine Fishing: ~~Bravely Second~~ Sega Marine Fishing is a brilliant follow up to the original Sega Bass Fishing, and it's every bit as batshit crazy as its predecessor. The voice acting is nigh on unintelligable, the music is completely tonally inappropriate, and it errs closer to a fighting game than a fishing game. It's great! Plays very well with an official Dreamcast fishing controller, I've had a blast every time I turn this game on. Pure insane arcade fun

Lunar: The Silver Star: I haven't finished this game yet. I'm like 2/3rds of the way through, so I don't want to delve too deep into my thoughts on this game here yet, but I've certainly enjoyed my time with it. Very ahead of its time in many respects, but also suffers from plenty of guide dammit moments that marr the experience. Certainly one of the better RPGs of the 16 bit era, but not quite on the same level as the titans of the genre like Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy 4.

Tetris: The Absolute: The Grand Master 2 Plus: This is Tetris at its best. A more refined and even more brutal rendition of the excellent gameplay seen in the original TGM, it's built for high speed gameplay and demands perfection. Have had tons of fun trying to climb the leaderboards and never coming close to GM rank; I'm very glad that we finally have a home console release for this game

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That's me done. In short? Yeah, I'm ready for Switch 2 now; and I like my old tat!

Edited December 16, 2023 by Dcubed

Hero-of-Time · December 19, 2023

Here's the only 2023 gaming list that matters.

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Jonnas · December 21, 2023

On 12/16/2023 at 4:49 PM, Glen-i said:

I'm gonna blatantly nick the format @Jonnas used 2 years ago, because he's right.

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Can't argue with that logic!

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From worst to best (and excluding games I dropped too quickly):

Pnickles - Blargh. What a mess of a game.

Mystical Ninja (Game Boy) - A waste of my time, and a stain on Goemon's name. I have since learned that the team behind this game also made the following game:

Castlevania Legends - More playable than Goemon's outing, but that's not saying much. Like, "not that awful" is the best I can say.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit - Not my cup of tea at all, but I can recognize when a game is actually decent.

Flicky - Pleasant, simple, and fun. Might revisit it more properly in this coming year.

Super Bomberman R - Enjoyable game, but a tad loud, janky, and frustrating at times. Legitimately fun in multiplayer, though.

Shadow of the Ninja - Kind of carried by the NSO, but genuine fun is genuine fun.

(Murder of Sonic)

A.K.A. Block Block - Wacky Arkanoid (wackanoid?) can really hit the spot when it wants to. But the higher challenges didn't do much for me.

Dr. Mario 64 - I have my misgivings about this title, but I did like a lot of what it had to offer. I just think the concept was fundamentally flawed.

Fallblox - Pleasant puzzle game. But be warned, I puzzled so much, my head burned out of the genre for a while.

The Horror of Salazar House - A short game that did its thing, and satisfied what I was looking for. If it was more substantial, it'd be way higher on this list.

Mechstermination Force - A highly creative, fast-paced, quick-to-get-into game that reminds me why I enjoy this medium. And also why I sometimes don't, what with the janky movement.

F-Zero (SNES) - Playing the right game with the right mood can do wonders. Playing a difficult game that requires skill really did me good. I ought to play 64 at some point.

(F-Zero 99)

Samurai Shodown Collection - Digital Eclipse don't miss. They gave me a lovely opportunity to fully explore a series I was very curious about, and ended up respecting a lot. If you've read my Gaming Diary post, you know what I think of each individual game, but the collection itself is what I wish to honour.

Megaman: Power Battle & Megaman: Power Fighters - Might as well mention both, as they were everything I hoped they would be, and then some. Brilliant pair of games, actually did a lot to rekindle my affection for the Megaman franchise.

Streets of Rage 2 - Yeah, this one deserves its status as a classic. Took me a while to tackle it, but I was so glad when I finally did. Consider me now a fan of the series.

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On 12/19/2023 at 8:55 AM, Hero-of-Time said:

Here's the only 2023 gaming list that matters.

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I am genuinely offended that Chun-Li is listed as a Fortnite character. Is that why that franchise is leading!?

Glen-i · December 21, 2023

On 12/21/2023 at 12:19 AM, Jonnas said:

I am genuinely offended that Chun-Li is listed as a Fortnite character. Is that why that franchise is leading!?

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You know how a lot of people first discover a series because it features in Smash Bros? You know, the "Fire Emblem" effect?

Well yeah, Fortnite is that to a factor of a million.

Hero-of-Time · December 21, 2023

On 12/21/2023 at 11:20 AM, Glen-i said:

You know how a lot of people first discover a series because it features in Smash Bros? You know, the "Fire Emblem" effect?

Well yeah, Fortnite is that to a factor of a million.

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That and they stuck her in the tightest costume possible and made her do a dance.

https://tenor.com/view/fortnite-chun-li-street-fighter-gif-21636740

This is all rookie stuff though. When I was lad we got to see a topless Chun-Li in the shower thanks to the anime movie.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Hero-of-Time

drahkon · December 21, 2023

On 12/21/2023 at 12:25 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

This is all rookie stuff though. When I was lad we got to see a top less Chun-Li in the shower thanks to the anime movie.

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Jonnas · December 21, 2023

On 12/21/2023 at 11:20 AM, Glen-i said:

You know how a lot of people first discover a series because it features in Smash Bros? You know, the "Fire Emblem" effect?

Well yeah, Fortnite is that to a factor of a million.

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Huh, and here I thought that was the "Captain Falcon" effect.

But still, Cammy is right there, properly referenced!

On 12/21/2023 at 12:25 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

That and they stuck her in the tightest costume possible and made her do a dance.

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And it's Alpha Chun-Li, on top of things (easily the blandest design). Kids these days, grumble, grumble

Happenstance · December 21, 2023

Why does the Street Fighter II anime movie seem to not be available for streaming anywhere dammit??? I'm gonna have to go dig out my old dvd now you've put me in the mood for shower Chun-Li....I mean fighting goodness.

Glen-i · December 21, 2023

On 12/21/2023 at 8:52 PM, Jonnas said:

Huh, and here I thought that was the "Captain Falcon" effect.

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Nah, Captain Falcon was actually known back then. Fire Emblem is when people legit asked, "Who the flying eff is Marth!?"

That said, Captain Falcon is very much in that camp these days. He lives on purely through Smash.

Hero-of-Time · January 2, 2024

My favourite yearly gaming vid has arrived. Love seeing what classic these guys delved into over the course of the year.

Dcubed · January 2, 2024

I like that description of Captain Toad as a modern Black Box NES game. A simple game focused on a couple of base mechanics done really well. Good way of summing that game up

Hero-of-Time · January 3, 2024

Finished watching this last night. Great watch, as usual. I love how varied their titles are and how they both delve into retro gaming a lot during the year.

I totally agree with Coury's assessment of Final Fantasy XVI. The game does indeed run out of steam by the end of it all.

The 10 pledges they both started doing last year is a great idea. Try is going to have to get his finger out in order to clear the ones he picked for last year as well clearing this list for this year.

Julius · January 11, 2024

Always appreciate these threads but forget spoiler tags, I'm screaming my favourite games and GOTYs for the year from the rooftops, as I think we all should be I'm going to tweak it slightly so that my favourite first-plays of older games aren't mixed in with the rankings for new releases, but I will say what was my favourite game - new or old - that I played in 2023. Because it's not even close to being a question for me. More fleshed out thoughts in my final 2023 Gaming Diary update, but to keep it to a line or two for each of my favourite games this year; I'm also going to start with highlighting what I didn't get to because, well, *heightened drama*

Games I didn't get to/complete in 2023

So, early honourable mention to Baldur's Gate 3 here as it was one of my favourite gaming experiences of 2023 playing with friends in a multiplayer campaign, even just up to wherever we are some nearly 50 hours into our campaign I've had a blast as my Half Wood-Elf Bard with Fireball who plays his flute in the middle of combat just because I can, and with some mean dice rolls to boot. I regret not completing this game in single player, though, as multiplayer is definitely a very different experience (and despite that, if I had to rank it - which I won't, because I haven't finished it - it would already be challenging around the 3rd or 4th spots of my favourite games of the year) and I do think it could have been one of my favourite games of the year; that being said, having played enough of BG3 to know what it is about and having completed my GOTY, I know that in my heart of hearts that there's little BG3 could do to move into top spot simply because my favourite game of the year does one of my favourite things in games, and that is something this game is pretty much mechanically incapable of. Also: still really gutted about no height slider. Really wanted to be a Dwarf-height Dragonborn Bard

The big hitters I feel I missed playing through in 2023 are Metroid Prime Remastered and Hi-Fi Rush. I have a sneaking suspicion I would enjoy both a whole lot and for very different reasons, but unfortunately, I didn't get around to either. Also gutted I didn't get to Jusant, that just really seems to vibe with the sort of experiences I look for in games.

I did a lot of research into indies towards the end of the year, and so to just quickly reel off a few of the ones I regret not getting to and would love to check out in 2024 or beyond (there's more to the list but it would get very long if I didn't stop myself at some point ):

A Space for the Unbound - on my console all year but just didn't get to it and had my eye on it well before it even released, so I'm sorry.
Venba - dude: vibes. and awesome food vibes throwing you into a certain culture, too!
Chants of Senaar - seen it described as Duolingo Souls, which I am so down for!
Planet of Lana - Ghibli vibes + Playdead-ish inspired puzzle platformer? I mean, yeah, it's me bait.
Videoverse - I feel like so many people here would appreciate this, as it looks back at the older days of the internet and the early days of things like forums, and makes it part of a game. Only on PC atm, so really hope we see it come to consoles and that it gets some love in 2024.
Cocoon - I mean, it was a GOTY contender for a lot of people who played it, and I need to know what's up with that.
Viewfinder - love me a good puzzle, and this has always looked super unique.
Tchia - jolly vibes with mechanics stolen from Uncharted and Zelda. As you do.
Dredge - seems very...moreish, which I definitely have a penchant of buying into.
Gravity Circuit - beautiful pixel art, from what I've seen of it there seems to be some really cool ideas going on mechanically, but yeah, didn't get to it.

Anyways, @Glen-i rightly mentioned we didn't have a thread like this for 2022, so I'm going to sneak those (just the titles, no explanation) into spoiler tags. I'll make both Top 3s, for the sake of brevity (and totally not because I didn't play enough new good games in 2022 where I couldn't come up with a list long enough to feel like more than a Top 3 was deserved )

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And now that that's out of the way...

Favourite releases of 2023

5. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Bite-sized, Dragon of Dojima madness and despair which sees a return to the brawler combat of older Yakuza titles while adding Spider-Man abilities. I mean, c'mon.

4. Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Best side quests of the year no doubt, awesome soundtrack, and traversal which somehow manages to improve on the original formula with the addition of Web Wings, more momentum-based swinging, and just a greater sense of speed. I think the 2018 game has a more consistent and cohesive plot, whereas this seems to get a little lost in the epicness of its final act, which is why it isn't higher.

3. Final Fantasy XVI

Best soundtrack and best boss fights of the year for me with awesome characters and a really well-paced first half, but unfortunately it just gets lost in the winding and meandering of side quests and fetch quests turning up in the main quest, completely tanking the pacing when combined with a trope which most FF games I've played seem to end up succumbing to when it comes to its main story: third act dumb stuff.

2. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

My GOTY until around a week ago, the customisation options are absurd and I spent 10+ hours with them designing and testing tens of ACs, I love the mission-based structure of the game allowing you to hop in and hop out with purpose and ease, which is great as it very quickly became a moreish game for me as I played through this game at least four times - and could easily see myself returning to for a single playthrough just for the hell of it. Really hope they figure out a better balance for the sake of single- and multiplayer enjoyment in whatever comes next, be it a sequel or DLC, though.

~ My 2023 Game of the Year ~

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

A flawed but overall brilliant game maybe described better as a masterful experience, and also which is, perhaps, more of an enhanced and definitive edition of its predecessor, with a bunch of half steps taken across the board rather than making any giant leaps. Some issues from before still remain - be it combat peaking 20 hours in, menus and inventory management taking up way too much of your time for a game like this, or one new area growing a bit stale due to the sameyness of it all - but this is the single greatest adventure game I've ever played thanks to the constant uncovering of new discoveries and things to do coupled with a more precise and tactile toolbox at your disposal. It also has some excellent new music (and many more opportunities to encounter music than in the last game), boss fights, and a finale which I do think will go down amongst the greats of this generation of games. How the hell this thing manages to run on the Switch - and run well; almost flawlessly, in fact - is beyond my comprehension and deserves special recognition.

Favourite first-plays of games released before 2023

3. Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss

Amazing DLC for an amazing game with awesome new locales and backstory to explore and unravel, great boss fights (with a higher hit rate than the base game), more excellent music, and just more excellent ideas. Weirdest way I've ever accessed DLC in a game, mind you.

2. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

I think there's an argument for this game being the best example of a successful extreme genre switch in gaming, period. To go from a brawler to a turn- and job-based JRPG?! RGG are mad, but thankfully, it paid off, because this game is amazing. Stellar cast as always but this time at the front of the pack is a new protagonist who just hits every. single. mark. and effortlessly took the reins from his predecessor after a decade a half. Best side activity content I experienced this year, brutal twists and turns as expected in the series, great moments for longtime fans but also potentially a really solid introduction to newcomers, this is one of the best JRPGs of the modern era.

~ My 2023 New-to-Me Game of the Year ~

1. Bloodborne

Bloodborne isn't just my New-to-Me GOTY, nor is it just my favourite game that I played in 2023 new or old: it is one of my new favourite games of all-time. Blemishes in the form of not-so-great framerate and Chalice Dungeons aside, I think this is the best From Software game (of the ones I've played so far) to date, and the closest they've come to perfection. The world drips with atmosphere which is all-consuming in its malice and cruelty, there's its gripping narrative and lore, the amazing mechanics of its combat and its ludonarrative consistency within the world that the game takes place, the epic boss fights and this haunting gothic orchestral soundtrack which just sweeps you away every single chance it gets.

And then in its DLC you get even better music, some of the best bosses in the entire game, and cool new shiny weapons in a more linear experience which streamlines an already near-perfect experience even more?

Bloodborne is one of the best games I've ever played, and The Old Hunters is, undoubtedly, the best DLC I've ever played. This is undoubtedly and without question one of the greats, and, thus, my overall 2023 GOTY.

Edited January 15, 2024 by Julius

Hero-of-Time · January 11, 2024

My personal GOTY of 2023 is one with a deep narrative, amazing gameplay mechanics and graphics that really pushed the PS5.

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drahkon · January 11, 2024

On 1/11/2024 at 1:02 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

My personal GOTY of 2023 is one with a deep narrative, amazing gameplay mechanics and graphics that really pushed the PS5.

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Julius · January 11, 2024

On 1/11/2024 at 1:02 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

My personal GOTY of 2023 is one with a deep narrative, amazing gameplay mechanics and graphics that really pushed the PS5.

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Glen-i · January 11, 2024

On 1/11/2024 at 1:02 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

My personal GOTY of 2023 is one with a deep narrative, amazing gameplay mechanics and graphics that really pushed the PS5.

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Welp, if there was ever a time to bust open the "gift" @Dcubed got me for Christmas 2022...

Edited January 11, 2024 by Glen-i

**Cube** · January 12, 2024

A brief recap of my 2023

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Hero-of-Time · January 12, 2024

We must have played very different versions of Star Trek: Resurgence.

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