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iLythium

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DAYS OFF GAMING GOTY 2023

It’s been a busy year! My wife and I finally got to go on our delayed honeymoon to Tahiti; I attended The Formula 1 in Melbourne, The NRL Magic Round in Brisbane, we finally got to see a performance of Hamilton, and recently we added another addition to our little family in the form of another adorable little puppy. It has meant that I’ve not always had an abundance of time to play all the video games I would like, and even less time to stream them. Both things I can try to improve on heading into the New Year.

Now I’m sure you’re sick of hearing it, as it has been said by many people already, but 2023 has been one of the greatest years for video game releases in recent history. There were some absolute all-timers that came out this year and even though I haven’t managed to play all of them, I can appreciate the ones I missed from afar while still thoroughly enjoying the ones that I managed to get to.

So this is my personal list of the top 10 games I played in 2023. As I’ve said in previous years, I tend to play a lot of games on PS Plus or Gamepass and don’t always jump on the newest releases so this list may not be exclusively games from this year. There may be slight spoilers but I do my best to keep things as spoiler free as possible.

List items

  • 10. Tchia

    Tchia is a delightful little action adventure game set on a tropical archipelago inspired by New Caledonia, and celebrates the people and culture of this nation brilliantly. It’s cute and fun, with Tchia’s soul jumping ability allowing you to pop in and out of and control all manner of creatures, and even inanimate objects. The art style oozes charm and you can tell this game was made with copious amounts of love. It’s a game that I don’t expect to see on too many Game of the Year lists as it feels criminally overlooked, but one that I felt like I had to include as it was an extremely joyous game with mountains of heart.

  • 9. Humanity

    I grew up in the early 90s, mostly playing games on our home computer, and one of the games I used to play a lot when I was young was Lemmings, where you would try to direct a continuous line of Lemmings through a 2D puzzle trying to save as many as you possibly could before they plunged off a cliff to their doom. Humanity feels like a long overdue evolution of this concept. You play as a dog, directing a never ending line of humans from one end of a 3D puzzle to the exit, without the added pressure of having to save them all! It’s incredibly satisfying to solve the increasingly difficult scenarios, but the game introduces concepts slowly enough for you to get a grasp on them. The visual style and design of the levels makes Humanity a striking and truly unique undertaking which gave me hours of enjoyment.

  • 8. Dead Space

    Dead Space was among my most loved games from the Xbox 360 era and this remake does an amazing job of bringing it back onto modern systems. However, rather than just a simple visual update, this game adds to existing systems, changes up some mechanics and weapons, whilst also improving on sections that weren’t as well received the first time around. The changes all add a lot to the overall experience without losing the feeling I got when playing through the original. The horror atmosphere is still impeccable, with the improved lighting taking it to the next level. Plus Isaac talks now, which feels a lot more realistic.

  • 7. Diablo IV

    They say the candle that burns twice as bright will last half as long. That’s kind of how I felt about Diablo IV. From the time it was released until the time I beat the main story I was obsessed with this game. I spent dozens of hours levelling up my Necromancer and mindlessly slaying hordes of demons and monsters alongside friends and my summoned skeleton army. However once I beat the main quest line I felt little desire to return despite loving the time that I had spent with it. It would’ve been higher up on my list if it had held my attention past the main story. Still a marvellous game with one of my favourite cinematic cutscenes of the year.

  • 6. Lies of P

    Souls like games have never really been in my wheelhouse. I’ve tried a few of them and it just never seems to click for me. Yet something about Lies of P made me want to keep trying. You play as Pinocchio in a gothic, steam-punk inspired city in which puppets act as a labour force, but recently there has been a puppet uprising, and a lot of the humans living in this city have been killed. It’s a bizarre concept that I never thought I would be into, but the atmosphere and dark vibes of this world really resonated with me. I wanted to keep bashing my head against the obstacles, even when I got stuck in a difficult section, just to see where it would lead. A fascinating, strange, and noteworthy inclusion on my list.

  • 5. Slay The Spire

    The only game on my list which didn’t release in 2023. I’ve somehow managed to completely miss this game for over 6 years, but once I finally stumbled upon it I was thoroughly hooked. Slay the Spire is a punishing roguelike deck builder, a genre which is apparently right up my alley. I was recommended this game after replaying Inscryption and looking for a similar game to sink my teeth into. I ended up playing this game on both Gamepass and PlayStation Plus, as well as purchasing it on iOS so I could play during my workouts. Easily the game I have sunk the most hours into this year and I predict I will dump a lot more into in future as it is addictively rewarding.

  • 4. Stars Wars: Jedi Survivor

    The sequel to 2019’s excellent Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi Survivor was one of my most anticipated titles of 2023. This game takes the exceptional foundation that was established in the predecessor and expands and improves on it, delivering a classic Star Wars story with dense, vibrant, and exciting worlds to explore. The action platforming is still first rate with new abilities unlocking access to different parts of each planet as you progress through the story. You now have more lightsaber stances to choose from, even including a stance that allows you to use a blaster, so there is an option to suit every play style and varying enemy types. A much greater suite of customisation options really allow you to make your version of Cal feel personalised, and live out your own Star Wars fantasy.

  • 3. Sea of Stars

    A beautiful retro inspired RPG that has been lovingly crafted as an homage to games like Chrono Trigger. With a positively gorgeous pixel art style and a compelling active turn based combat system, it’s one of the most charming RPG experiences I’ve had in a long time. Filled with an assortment of fun, loveable characters in an awe inspiring world this game kept me enthralled to the end. If you have any nostalgia for retro RPGs I guarantee you will also love playing this, and as it launched on both PlayStation Plus and Gamepass there’s almost no barrier to entry making this an easy choice.

  • 2. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

    Marvel’s Spider-Man from 2018 was the winner of my Game of The Year that year so the follow up game was always likely to be high up on my list this year. Building off of everything that was so great in that game, while also adding a few new elements like the wingsuit, makes for an extraordinarily fun ride. The traversal is still the most remarkably enjoyable way to get around an open world, so much so that I barely used the phenomenal new fast travel system that was implemented because I just love swinging around this world so much. With stellar performances from the standout voice cast, it really delivers an emotional and captivating story which I couldn’t get enough of, and includes a moment in the late game that was one of my highlights of the year and had my mouth agape in awe.

  • 1. Alan Wake II

    Stunning. Remarkable. Astounding. Remedy really delivered with this new direction for this series. Taking Alan Wake and injecting it with the special sauce that made Control so incredible, this game made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a Survival Horror game since the first time I played Silent Hill 2. I felt genuinely anxious in places and it had some of the biggest scares I’ve experienced in a long time, where I literally had to take a moment to gather myself before moving on, on more than one occasion. The game looks unbelievable, and the inventive and unique use of FMV is a touch of genius. It includes one of the best sequences in video games ever, the likes of which we’ve not quite seen before. An absolutely deserving winner of my Game of the Year for 2023.
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