Top 10 games of 2023

2023 was going to be a quiet gaming year for me. At the start of the year I set myself the goal of watching 365 movies and I was on track to meet that goal... and then Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom came out and consumed literal months of my life, and then Diablo IV came out and did the same and from there the game releases just snowballed until I was sat staring at my screens, paralyzed by decision of what to do with my time.

To start with, There are some notable admissions from this list simply due to the fact I didn't play them. The big one would be Baldur's Gate 3. I had no idea it was the people behind Divinity Original Sin and since I hadn't played those games yet, I elected to start with that.

Other games I didn't get around to: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Tchia, Crime Boss: Rockay City, Dredge, Everspace 2, Humanity, Goodbye Volcano High, Dave the Diver, Planet of Lana, System Shock, Pikmin 4, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, Venba, WrestleQuest, Sea of Stars, Chants of Sennaar, Mortal Kombat 1, Jusant, Bramble the Mountain King, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Viewfinder, El Paso, Elsewhere, Metroid Prime Remastered, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Wargroove 2, Lords of the Fallen, Endless Dungeon, RoboCop: Rogue City and Super Mario RPG.

Jeez that's a lot of games I probably won't remember to come back to. Now for a few of honourable mentions.

Final Fantasy 16 - The first half of this game was absolutely top 10 worthy. Very clearly influenced by Game of Thrones, the story was filled with political intrigue and a truly despicable villain. However the game clearly took that influence too far because much like Game of Thrones, this turned to shit about half way through. Discarding the more interesting villain in favour of a generic otherworldly threat, this game fumbles the bag so fucking hard. It's also got some MMO quality side content that is just god awful.

Diablo IV - I played so much of this mediocre game. The story was excellent and the loot treadmill is still appealing, despite the game itself seemingly trying to make it as confusing and unsatisfying as possible. The game has certainly improved over time, and I have faith it'll continue to get better as the years go by but right now I can't honestly say this is one of the 10 best games of the year.

Starfield - Fuck this game and Fuck you Todd for spending so much time on something so mediocre. BGS has entered "too big to fail" territory and I hope to god this game is the wake up call they need to not fuck up Skyrim 2. Seriously how did this take 8 years to develop.

Now for the top 10 games I played!

List items

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  Atomic Heart

  #10

  Atomic Heart is the very definition of a game punching above it's weight. It wears it's influence on it's sleeve (at one point during an underwater elevator sequence the main character literally says the word Rapture) and while it is very rough in spots, the game just has so much heart.

  I really spent a lot of time thinking about whether this or FFXVI should get the last spot and while I don't think this game reaches the same highs as Final Fantasy, it's just a much more consistent experience from start to finish.

  Crispy Critters indeed.

• 

  Touch Type Tale - Strategic Typing

  #9

  What kind of game is Touch Type Tale? Well at it's core it's a typing game but over the course of the campaign it becomes so much more than that. It's an RTS game, a Rhythym game, a cooking game, a boat based rogue like, it even becomes Dota for a level. There is so much variety and creativity here, and everything is controlled via the simple act of typing words. It drew me in with it's unique typing based RTS system but as the game progressed it continued to impress with just how far it pushed the boundries of what was possible through simple typing. Pushing up to the harder difficulties provided me one of the most challenging, stressful experiences of the year and beating those harder difficulties will definitely be something that keeps me coming back in 2024.

• 

  Dead Space

  #8

  It's not quite the overhaul that the RE4 remake was, but the remake of Dead Space still introduces some smart, slight changes while also keeping the core experience intact and it's one I have a lot of nostalgia for. A fantastic reminder that the original Dead Space is an amazing game and this updated version is just as good, if not slightly better.

• 

  Super Mario Bros. Wonder

  #7

  This year saw me play not one, but two Mario games for the first time and both of them left me with the same exact question. Why do I continue to underestimate Nintendo's ability to make amazing Mario games. For some reason, I just never have an interest in them... until I actually fight through my own negativity and get my hands on the games.

• 

  Risk of Rain Returns

  #6

  Back when my Steam library consisted of maybe a couple dozen games, Risk of Rain was one of the handful of games I actually engaged with PC gaming for. I was primarily a console gamer but Risk of Rain was one of the amazing, PC only games that got me to view the PC more seriously as a gaming platform. Hell, I was still playing the original earlier this year. Risk of Rain 2 was also quite good, but it just didn't hit for me the same way the first game did. This remake adds updated visuals, more secrets and more of the kickass soundtrack and is something I look forward to playing over the next decade.

• 

  Lies of P

  #5

  It's been over a decade since From Soft essentially birthed the 'Souls' genre and since then they've pretty much been kings of the genre. Truly great non-From souls games are few and far between, while the list of imitators that don't quite hit the mark grows with each passing year. Lies of P not only hits that mark, merging some of the better tropes of the genre, but it introduces new ideas that I hope From themselves incorporate into their own games in the future. Who knew a Pinocchio themed Souls game could be so damned good.

• 

  Resident Evil 4

  #4

  The original RE4 is among my favourite games of all time. It's a game I could pick up and play at any time. I've beaten it at least a dozen times, twice last year even (once before the remake announcement and then once again after). Hell, I was at a house party once and saw a Gamecube with a copy of the original and decided to spend the next 12 or so hours playing through it. People were literally partying, and then later cleaning, as I sat there glued to the game. So to say this game had a lot to live up to is certainly an understatement.

• 

  Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

  #3

  My first Armored Core game and I enjoyed it so much that I'm seriously considering going back and playing through the entire franchise. The depth of customisability combined with tense, fast combat was some of the most fun I've had with a video game this year, not to mention the hours I spent just painting my giant robot. It also delivered one of the best stories of the year, told in uniquely From Software fashion. I won't soon forget my time spent with my brain waifu.

• 

  The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

  #2

  I wasn't planning on playing this at all on account of only having a Switch Lite but loading up Breath of the Wild a day before it came out inspired me to get a big boy switch.... I then proceeded to play a weeks worth of BotW before loading up TikTotK and you'd think that I would have burnt myself out on Zelda by doing this but I still ended up having multiple 10ish hour sessions on consecutive days. It's just such a remarkable designed sequel with so much to do. By the time I accidentally wandered into the endgame I had played for over 140 hours and despite 'completing' the game with only one of the temples finished, I was incredibly satisfied with the experience. Between this and Alan Wake 2, I wish more developers would allow for a longer time between entries because absence makes the heart grow fonder and it's resulted in two of the most powerful gaming experiences I've had in 2023.

• 

  Alan Wake II

  #1

  I don't even know how to describe my experience with Alan Wake 2. There was a palpable electricity running through my body for the majority of the game. The first chapter alone was an incredibly overwhelming experience. The opening moments realising I was by the Lake from the first game, Seeing Mirror Peak and Bright Falls again, Hearing the chapter 1 credits music, it literally brought a tear to my eye. And it only got better from there. Each FMV sequence, each returning character, each new Old Gods of Asgard song. The game exceeded my every expectation and while in terms of gameplay the ending was underwhelming (which seems to be a common problem with Remedy games, pre-DLC) it's still the best thing I've played this year.