Last year, I said 2022 was an odd year for games, with some feeling that it was largely devoid of great releases and others, myself included, finding them plentiful. But this year was even stranger, as it was better than ever while simultaneously being the worst in a long time.
2023 will likely be remembered as one of the best years in video game history, up there with stand-out years like 2004 and 1998. These past 12 months have brought incredible big and small games across every genre and platform.
I follow a lot of developers on social media and by my count about half of them lost their jobs this year. Those who didn’t all have close friends or colleagues who did. As the holiday season comes to an end and we enter the new year, a whole lot of talented people are looking for work in an industry that, thanks to corporate mergers and greed, feels smaller and smaller. So while I’m about to praise and cheer on 10 games (and celebrate some honorable mentions), it should be noted that the people who made these games deserve better, and the execs in charge need to be less shitty to the human beings they employ. Now, on to the list!
Here are my top 10 games of 2023 as well as some honorable mentions. As usual, this list is in no particular order until the very end, where I’ll drop my personal favorite game of the year!
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
In recent years, a game as good and Star Wars-y as Respawn’s Jedi: Survivor would have easily been my GOTY. But in 2023, it faced incredibly stiff competition just to make it onto my top 10 list.
Ultimately, what helped it make the list was a combination of elements, including the game’s fantastic story—which seems to be leading to a blockbuster third entry. This game and its predecessor make up one of my favorite tales in Star Wars, one packed with memorable characters and moments. Then you pile on the skillful and rewarding combat, platforming, and lightsaber action and you get one of the best Star Wars games and sequels ever made.
Cocoon
I burned through all of Cocoon in a day and I was so mad. Not because the game was short but because I had guzzled down this wonderful puzzler in a few hours and not spread it out over a few days. Cocoon is a game you should savor. But like a good meal, it’s hard to do that because you just want more and more and more.
I’d be lying if I told you I fully understand what happened in this artsy top-down puzzle game about going in and out of different worlds within worlds. I think by the end I was a stellar god? Maybe. I don’t know. What I do know is that the slow but well-paced difficulty curve and challenging puzzles built on top of each other in a delightful stack of puzzle perfection that often had me smiling or giggling at how smart I felt. What a treat and a great addition to the Game Pass library.
Diablo IV
I know that diehard Diablo players will yell at me. They did last year when I put Immortal on my list. And this year, I’ll be dodging tomatoes for ranking Blizzard’s latest and biggest entry in its long-running ARPG franchise among 2023’s best. Yes, I know the seasons haven’t been perfect. Yes, I understand that the endgame isn’t what you wanted. And I get that not everyone likes the open world.
But uh…man, Diablo IV feels good to play. I’m sorry but blasting and dicing up demons for hours has rarely been this fun. And I enjoyed the main campaign’s story and gorgeous cutscenes, both of which improved greatly on Diablo III’s. I even liked the world bosses and MMO-like aspects, too. Perhaps that means I’m not a hardcore Diablo player, min-maxxing every skill and every piece of gear. But I knew that already. I’m just here to collect bigger swords and kill more shit.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Finally, here we go, Ubisoft. Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoy the big, RPG-like Assassin’s Creed games—Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla—even if they are far too long and overstuffed with crap. Yet, over the years, I’ve longed for Ubisoft to return to the older, stealth-focused, and smaller-scale formula found in the earlier entries.
And that’s Mirage. It’s built with Valhalla’s tech, so it looks gorgeous and plays great, but is designed more like a classic AC game. This is exactly what I yearned for. Getting to sneak around villages and cities with a hidden blade that can kill in one hit was nice. Even better is that after about 25 hours, I was done with everything. More of this please, Ubisoft. Thank you.
El, Paso Elsewhere
It’s unlikely we’ll ever get a Max Payne 4 from Rockstar and even if we did, it wouldn’t be anything like the first game, for better and for worse. Don’t worry, though; someone has gone and made a Max Payne 1-like third-person shooter complete with wordy narration, pain pills, lots of guns, strange ideas, and supernatural shenanigans.
El, Paso Elsewhere is a genuine delight to play, especially if you are a Max Payne lover, as it not only nails its own great story about abuse, trauma, and relationships, but does so while shoot-dodging in slow motion out a window and killing a pack of werewolves. A glorious and action-packed shooter that shouldn’t be missed.
Spider-Man 2
Sure, “More Spider-Man in a bigger city” isn’t the most original or sexy pitch I’ve heard for a new video game, but whatever, Insomniac’s newest Marvel open-world game delivers so brilliantly, I’ll ignore that its big baddie is sort of a dud.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5 is—in many ways—just that first game but bigger, and now you can play as Miles Morales, too. For some, that might be disappointing. For me, it’s all I needed. I think Insomniac has nailed the feeling of being Spider-Man and swinging around NYC better than any other studio ever has or likely ever will. Few games in 2023 made me smile as much as Spider-Man 2 and no others compelled me to go after a Platinum trophy. I’d honestly do it all again if I didn’t have 20 other games I want and need to play.
While it’s sad to see Insomniac become a Marvel games factory for Sony, at least what we are getting (so far) is top-notch shit.
Halls of Torment
Vampire Survivors helped popularize the idle shooter genre and while many clones and copycats have followed, few have actually been as fun or good as the original. Halls of Torment is one of those few.
Halls of Torment takes the formula and sprinkles on a heaping of Diablo II visuals and loot, while also giving you more control (if you want) with how and when you attack. The result is a slightly more engaging and responsible idle shooter that at times feels like some weird alternate universe Diablo II spin-off Blizzard made using the same engine. It’s also only $US5 on Steam. Go buy it and play it, especially if you love Diablo, Vampire Survivors, and own a Steam Deck.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
If I had to describe Super Mario Bros. Wonder with one word I’d say: Why am I being forced to describe this game in such an arbitrary fashion? But, if you asked again, I’d offer this word: Surprising.
To be clear, the actual formula and setup is very unsurprising. If you’ve played a 2D Mario game, you’ll be familiar with a lot of what Wonder is doing. But amid all those familiar elements are some genuinely experimental and wacky moments of surprise. Activating a Wonder Seed and suddenly turning the game from a sidescroller into a top-down adventure made me laugh. Likewise, becoming tiny or getting chased by a stampede of bulls also caught me off guard and made me feel like I never really knew what was going to happen next.
It’s the way Wonder plays around with what you know and with new ideas that kept me glued to my Switch for hours and hours, even as I dealt with covid-19.
RoboCop: Rogue City
Huh, well here’s a shocker. I had zero excitement for a RoboCop game in 2023. But sometimes this job involves playing games you don’t care about, and so I ended up playing RoboCop: Rogue City for Kotaku. And I’m so happy that happened.
Here’s the big secret about this game, which on the surface looks like a shooter: It’s actually a charming little RPG with its own tiny open world and side quests, too. I didn’t realize that until I started playing, and by the end I cared so much about that little slice of futuristic Detroit and the citizens I helped. Yeah, the action is great and slowly walking into a gunfight and shooting apart a dozen criminals with RoboCop’s iconic auto pistol is a blast. But what kept me playing and won me over wasn’t the violence, but the characters and world that get fleshed out throughout the game.
Alan Wake II
If you know me and what I like, you shouldn’t be surprised that my game of the year is Alan Wake II. I’m a big fan of Remedy’s work, even calling Control my game of the year for 2019. And I’ve been waiting for a sequel to Alan Wake since beating the first game the week it launched back in 2010. So of course I was excited to play this latest Remedy joint.
But while I was prepared for something great, what I wasn’t ready for was something as transcendent and confident as Alan Wake II. In an era when so many big AAA games (and even indie titles) play it safe and carefully avoid big risks, Alan Wake II swings for the fences whenever it can and more often than not hits it out of the park. It’s the kind of game that doesn’t care if you get what’s happening or if you missed something. It keeps on going and assumes you’re smart enough to catch up or fill in the blanks. It respects the player and doesn’t feel like it needs to spoon-feed you anything or pull back out of fear it might alienate some fans. All it cares about is telling the story it wants to tell, how it wants to, and that’s it. You either come along for the amazing and trippy ride or you don’t.
In a time when it feels like every game I play is worried I’ll stop playing, move on to something else, or leave a negative review on Metacritic, Alan Wake II confidently stands up and says, “This is a creepy horror game about twisted interdimensional paranormal nonsense and the artists who make the art we consume. Enjoy it or don’t.” And I love that.
I hope more game developers and studios stop pulling punches and playing it safe in 2024 and beyond and make what they want to make, fan demands be damned. The world needs more games like Alan Wake II.
Oh and before I go, some honorable mentions. I liked Baldur’s Gate III a lot, but got about halfway through and just ran out of interest anytime combat started up. The Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remakes are both great, but so many original games I played felt more deserving of a spot on my top 10 list. Remnant II is excellent so far, but I’m not far enough into the game to place it on my list. And finally, Jusant is a rad climbing game that just missed making it on here.
