George's Top 10 Favorite Games of 2023

2023 is going down as one of the best year's for gaming, and I certainly agree! Without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite games of 2023.

10. Trepang2

If you’re looking for a first-person shooter that plays like Doom 2016 or Doom Eternal, Trepang is the game for you. You play as someone called Subject 106 and fight back against the militaristic Horizon corporation who has been conducting inhumane experiments. The story isn’t all that deep, but that doesn’t matter all too much when the gameplay makes up for it.

Subject 106 has seemingly supernatural abilities such as intense focus (slowing down time), stealth, and superhuman strength. With all of these abilities, you can tear through waves of Horizon employees and other creatures throughout the facility. Despite its rather short campaign, this game is truly a bloody power trip and I hope we get more.

9. Hi-Fi Rush

It’s surprising that the studio that gave us moody and dark games like The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo was able to create something that was so different and colorful in tone. Tango Gameworks really outdid itself with Hi-Fi Rush! The main protagonist, Chai, is a lovable goofball and the game’s humor is genuinely funny and isn’t cringe like Borderlands at all.

The combat syncs up perfectly with the rhythm of the game and as someone who’s tone deaf, I still found the game incredibly fun thanks to the game’s suite of accessibility features. I was able to customize my experience and give myself leeway on some of the combat encounters.

8. El Paso, Elsewhere

With pixel art games being all the rage over the past few years, I feel like we’re in an era where we can now reminisce over the blocky art style of the original PlayStation games. Those were the vibes I got from the excellent third-person Max Payne-like shooter El Paso, Elsewhere! The game follows vampire hunter James Savage as he searches for Draculae, his homicidal ex-girlfriend who just happens to be a vampire. Throughout the game, you’ll experience their relationship dynamics through flashbacks. Not only is the story touching, but the gameplay is just as good.

The shooting mechanics are straightforward and simple: point your twin pistols or shotgun at an enemy and shoot! Being able to slow down time really helps manage the waves of monsters that come at you throughout the motel. El Paso, Elsewhere is one of the best indie games of this year and it deserves a shot!

7. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

Real-time strategy games aren’t really my typical genre, but I checked out Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew after playing the excellent Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun from Mimimi Games. Developed by the same studio, what really makes Shadow Gambit stand out is its charming characters and art style. Your main character, Afia, is a woman with a sword in her chest! You can also recruit other characters to join your rag-tag team as well, including a treasure-hunting skeleton with a golden skull and a guy with wispy, ghostly hair smoking a pipe.

Each character comes with unique abilities to take out enemies and achieve different objectives such as finding a certain item or killing specific people. There’s a lot of variety within the gameplay and that keeps things fresh between missions.

6. Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 is one of the most creative horror games I’ve ever played. It’s a gigantic step up from the first game and I love that it’s actually survival horror this time rather than action-based like its predecessor. The dual protagonist idea between Alan Wake and Saga Anderson was implemented incredibly well—the exclusive mechanics between Alan’s light puzzles and Saga’s corkboard analysis really kept me engaged until the end.

Unlike the first Alan Wake game, I truly felt unease and anxiety throughout Alan Wake 2 as I scrambled for ammo while trying to make my way through the Dark Place. It’s very clear that Remedy Entertainment had a vision here with cinematics, even incorporating real-life cutscenes with talk shows and musicals. There was a huge budget behind the game and you could tell.

5. In Stars and Time

I was surprised by this one as I played it relatively late this year (this month, actually). In Stars and Time is a turn-based RPG with roguelike elements where you’re in a time loop at the final dungeon. Siffrin and his friends have to climb the King’s Castle to kill him and every time Siffrin dies, he has to start over. The roguelike elements and RPG combat work well together to create an engaging gameplay loop that kept me going, “just one more run.”

Its environments and music definitely reminds me of the old Gameboy Color days with the first two generations of Pokémon, while the graphics and turn-based combat is inspired by Earthbound. The combat uses a rock-paper-scissors elemental weakness system and I enjoyed how simple it was. Yet, there was still depth through the variety of options like speeding up your turn or deferring your turn to ally.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

As if Breath of the Wild couldn’t get any better, Nintendo managed to pull it off with Tears of the Kingdom. Set a few years after the first game, a cataclysmic event called the Upheaval plunges the Hyrule Kingdom and it’s up to Link to save it once again! Along with a touching story, it’s the new gameplay abilities that really sets Tears of the Kingdom to the next level.

There’s unparalleled freedom that you get with Link’s new abilities is what makes Tears of the Kingdom really fun. I loved the whole DIY nature with the Ultrahand ability, being able to create long bridges with trees to cross huge gaps. The Ascend ability lets me swim vertically through massive mountains and reach the very top. It’s truly amazing how much exploration is in this game.

3. Dave the Diver

Dave the Diver is an incredibly fun management game about exploring the depths of the ocean while operating a sushi shop. It’s honestly one of the most satisfying gameplay loops I’ve ever experienced. Catching new species of fish and finding treasure in the ocean before night time never felt so zen. The progression system feels really natural as well. As you fulfill certain objectives, you’ll be able to upgrade your suit to be able to breathe longer underwater and withstand higher water pressures.

The game’s pixel art style also adds a lot of charm to the characters and environments. The bright and detailed colors help it stand out to other games that have a similar underwater premise like Subnautica and Abzu.

2. Octopath Traveler 2

As the Final Fantasy series has evolved over time and shifted from its traditional turn-based combat, I’m glad that the Octopath Traveler series has stepped in. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight separate character stories in the world of Solistia. The sublime pacing between all of the stories never makes any individual one overstay its welcome. Additionally, the gorgeous HD-2D pixel graphics are incredibly charming.

During battle, each character earns “BP” every round and can stack them in order to execute multiple actions at once when it’s their turn to act. By discovering an enemy’s weakness, you can “break” their shields and leave them vulnerable to major damage. Do I want to break the enemy’s shield quicker by spending more BP, or should I save it for when their shields are down? The BP system is an excellent mechanic that rewards careful strategy.

1. Baldur’s Gate 3

This is a cliché pick since so many other people are going to pick this for their number one game of the year. However, it’s understandable why! Baldur’s Gate 3 has raised the bar for roleplaying games. Like Tears of the Kingdom, I loved the freedom that Baldur’s Gate offered, letting me choose how to interact with my companions and how I’d tackle the world around me.

While I was never a big Dungeons and Dragons person, I found the characters incredibly funny and charming, which is a testament to Baldur’s Gate 3’s writing. The combat felt a bit dull at times, but that didn’t matter when I could push my enemies off a cliff or something. The possibilities with Baldur’s Gate 3 are endless and I’ll probably be playing this for years to come.

Here are some honorable mentions:

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Starfield
• Pikmin 4
• Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
• A Space for the Unbound