Best of 2023
So far.
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Baldur's Gate 3 is my favourite game that I have *ever* played, and inarguably the best role-playing game ever made.
Every playthrough is so long, dense, complex, reactive and infinitely charming that I am both at a loss of words, while also wanting to vomit those words of love all over my screen right now in a completely incohesive way.
Like, it isn't just about the narrative, the branches and the dice roles. It's also about the 46 subclasses, the multiclassing, the insanely systemic gameplay that rewards experimentation, the seamless 2-4 player multiplayer, the brilliant itemization, the nearly perfect recreation of the D&D ruleset in a video game, the spectacularly functional UI with so many little quality of life inclusions, the music... even the goddamn "press start" opening menu transition just feels so instantly iconic.
This game is a labour of love from top to bottom by a studio that previously released one of the best games of all time, Divinity: Original Sin 2. Baldur's Gate 3 succeeds DOS2 in every single way, and has to be their magnum opus. People will look back on BG3 for decades to come.
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The second best game I've ever played, largely on the back of wonderfully player-expressive systemic gameplay.
There's a joy to solving a puzzle the way the developer wanted. Then, there's an even stronger joy of solving a puzzle the way the developer didn't want. Then, there's an even stronger joy still of solving the puzzles and problems that you create yourself--and this is only really achievable in the richest of sandbox experiences. Tears does all of that and significantly more. (I'd be lying if I said Tiktok did not play a huge role in my enjoyment of this game.)
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In any other year, this would have been my Game of the Year. But this is 2023.
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Remnant II may edge out Hollow Knight as the new best non-Fromsoft Soulslike game ever made. The procedural multiplayer element adds such a unique twist on multiplayer campaigns in general.
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TBD.
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