2023 was an absolute feast for gamers. The industry dropped anticipated sequel after anticipated sequel, a myriad of remakes, and plenty of terrific original content as well. With so many titles, covering enough ground to actually have a valid GOTY list this year in and of itself has felt like somewhat of a Herculean task, from both a time and financial scenario.
So it’s not too much of a surprise that despite a strong team effort, we haven’t played all the big releases, let alone each small release. Hell, there are several games on this list we’ve sunk dozens of hours into that we have yet to finish. Maybe we’ll even rewrite this list in the middle of next year once our backlogs are more caught up.
That being said, in any other less competitive year, many of the titles below could’ve easily dominated the competition in previous annual rankings, while many of our honorable mentions would’ve easily found their way into the top ten.
You can all probably tell we’re stalling now so we can get in a bit more of our BG3 playthrough before landing on the final selection. You caught us. We’re putting down the controller. Let’s get into what was arguably the best year in gaming history.
10. Spider-Man 2: Insomniac Games
Spider-Man 2 made us feel like we were… well, Venom for a change. While Spider-Man 2018 certainly had tragic moments, the sequel feels like a substantial pivot into significantly darker tones. Kraven comes to NYC, actively killing off former members of the Sinister Six and working to capture other past Spidey foes. Peter’s personal life begins to fall to pieces with the introduction of the classic symbiote suit and how it brings out his aggression. Miles is dealing with his own desire for revenge against Negative Man who killed his father. And the game’s new brutal symbiote move set feels significantly more raw and unhinged than the typical flurry of Spider-Man acrobatic punches.
The writing is still a bit hit or miss with some cheesy or even juvenile earlier set ups in the story. The mechanics do still get a bit stale with certain combos often feeling more useful. And some of the missions or endless gauntlets of hunter fights feel pretty repetitive by the end of the game. But when Spider-Man 2 lands a big gooey Venom punch on its audience with a terrific boss fight or an emotional endgame moment, it hits better than any other Spider-Man game has before.
9. Armored Core 6: FromSoftware
Armored Core 6 may be one of the best radically unbalanced games of all time, and this wide shotgun spray of difficulty spikes is actually a huge reason the game is so addictive in the first place. Tearing through a mission in your mech is sometimes as easy as ripping through tissue paper enemies, with the overpowered player blasting around a map raining missiles and sword slashing a path of destruction to the extraction point. But on tougher levels, it might take the player four to eight hours on a single boss fight. Several enemies will require the player to meticulously memorize volleys of fiery projectiles, and die time after time to new attacks from a more unpredictable second phase.
While this back and forth can be occasionally infuriating, it does prod gamers to engage with the vast variety of weapon and armor options Armored Core 6 has to offer. And best yet, no one combination will fit every single mission, creating the need to experiment and get to know the game on a deeper level. Like any FromSoftware title, Armored Core 6 demands a lot from its players, which only makes those victories or new discoveries all the more thrilling.
8. Dredge: Black Salt Games
Dredge plays with plenty of Lovecraftian seaside village tropes, with the indie horror game’s best trick being its ability to keep players in fear of the unknown. Whether this dread comes in the form of shadows and rocks emerging atop the foggy ocean surface, catching odd and deformed breeds of fish, or some pretty horrifying jump scares if you get too familiar with passing ships, the game gives the player debilitating anxiety of what could be out there. Yet Dredge still stokes those flames of curiosity that will entice players back out into the depths to look for fish or eerie new biomes.
The moment to moment action is a nice break from the terror, as you’ll catch fish or dredge for materials in zen mini games. And finding prizes through simple gameplay offers a calm yet engaging reprieve from the ocean fog, while simultaneously rewarding players with tech upgrades and high selling fish.
We did all find that the final biome and chapter of the story became a bit more tedious, trading some of that pulse pounding terror for more mechanical challenges and a slightly lackluster conclusion. But even so, those uncertain earlier parts of Dredge have remained with us since playing.
7. Pikmin 4: Nintendo
Pikmin 4 is an odd entry into the RTS plant army franchise, in that in feels like an amalgamation of all the best parts of its predecessors, while simultaneously feeling like a hard reboot with some pretty wild new mechanical aspects. You’re still plucking little elemental plant critters to form your adorable singing battalion. The enemies are still odd looking reptiles, mammals, and bugs. And the plot still comes down to needing to maximize daylight to gather tech components and valuables to assist with your later escape.
But Pikmin 4 brings a lot more new that keeps the cycle fresher than ever. The new eerie night cycles offer a more panicked sense of management that works as a pulse-pounding tower defense series of missions. You can rescue dozens of NPCs who assist with everything from tech and equipment upgrades, to providing new challenges or even game modes.
Pikmin 4’s biggest change is the introduction Oatchi, a delightful dog-like companion who brings his own set of moves and abilities. We loved having him attack enemies or ferry Pikmin across water, but we also just loved his cuteness and frequently talked about the fact that we would take a hailstorm of bullets for him. Oatchi is precious and must be protected.
The environments are gorgeous and the charm is endless, which makes it all the more thrilling when trying to keep your legion of little soldiers safe in the heat of battle. And it’s this blend of perfecting the past and finding new directions for the franchise that makes Pikmin 4 the best entry into the Pikmin series.
6. Sea of Stars: Sabotage Studio
With as many wild technological advancements that came to the industry from AAA games this year, Sea of Stars was a refreshing return to JRPG classics. Boasting beautiful SNES era pixel art, a sweeping thirty hour story, and an absolute banger of a soundtrack from Eric W. Brown, it’s no surprise there are already comparisons to genre giants like Chrono Trigger.
Yet don’t let that old school style fool you, Sea of Stars brings some huge mechanical upgrades to turn based combat, making each fight a sort of intricate puzzle. The game’s timed hits feel crisp and keep the moment to moment tension taut. And then the game’s combo break system builds in a layer of thinking that will have you finding ways to maximize specials and joint attacks to disrupt an enemy heavy hit. Often you’ll need to be thinking at least three steps ahead to pull off battles successfully, especially if playing with higher difficulty. But for those looking to just enjoy the game’s often hilarious and sometimes tearjerking story, the game also provides a number of items to soften the blow.
It’s rare for a title to feel so steeped in nostalgia, while still providing its own unique merits to a genre, but Sea of Stars blends both perfectly, becoming an instant classic for the JRPG genre.
5. Resident Evil 4 Remake: Capcom
Remaking one of the most influential games of all time seems like an easy way to cheat your way onto most GOTY lists, but credit where credit is due: Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 4 is frankly fantastic. The new mechanics of parrying and knife degradation system and drastic improvements to AI attack patterns mean moment to moment combat feels exciting and nerve-wracking, even without the original game’s tank controls.
And while some of that classic campy goofiness is missed in certain sections, the writers replace it with much deeper and fleshed out characters. Luis, Ada, and especially Ashley all receive much more intimate personal journeys of their own rather than acting as set pieces for Leon to interact with. And the evil castle, the village, and the military island still feel as engaging and action packed as ever.
Originally we were going to comment on being disappointed with some of the material that was cut from the original, but then we played the Separate Ways Ada Wong DLC which, to our delight, added in pretty much all of the cut scenarios, re-contextualizing and somehow improving them from the original.
Sure, Resident Evil 4 is still a remake of arguably the most impactful game of the 2000s. But its ability to create its own identity and make substantial changes not only makes it a must play for today, but separates itself enough to mean the original Resident Evil 4 is just as worth replaying too.
4. Super Mario Wonder: Nintendo
After decades of underwhelming 2D Mario titles, Super Mario Wonder has reached the same heights of the plumber’s 3D masterpieces like Galaxy or Odyssey. And this towering achievement is largely owed to the game’s Wonder Flower mechanic.
This Wonder Flower Mechanic is reminiscent of something like Hitchhiker’s Guide’s Improbability Drive. Activating it could remove the gravity or q level, call in a herd of charging cattle, start a ninja rave, turn the player into a sticky ball of goo, or cue a ghostly opera. Each level oozes its own sense of wild originality, because almost anything can happen.
The game’s badge system also works to make the game near infinitely re-playable, with these badges altering how Mario and crew jump, swim, glide, and wall jump throughout a stage. And the game’s online multiplayer is a delightful support system of players trying to help each other find secret coins or faster paths to the finish line.
Its name says it all, but with SMW Mario has finally returned to that sense of childlike wonder we haven’t seen since Yoshi’s Island.
3. Baldur’s Gate 3: Larian Studios
By all measurements Baldur’s Gate 3 is probably the “best” game of the year. The absolutely absurd size and scope is unmatched. Plus the ability to approach an entire world’s worth of conflicts and adventures in wildly different and re-playable ways is the sort of mechanical option gamers have dreamed about since the creation of games.
But at the root of this depth is its core party members like Astarion, Karlach, and Wyll, who are the beating heart of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s success. These are some of the best written characters across media, let alone in video games. Similarly its own character creation and DND module mechanics mean that you have nearly infinite choices when building your own avatar.
While BG3 should and will go down as the masterpiece it is, we did have nitpicky issues keeping it from topping our list. While the endless array of options from combat to dialogue was incredible, sometimes finding unique approaches to certain encounters was bogged down by its tedious system management. Unfortunately two of us also ended up with corrupted save files that negated hours of in game progress. But as more patches continue to come out, it will only further solidify this modern DND classic as one of the most ambitious games ever made.
2. Dave The Diver: Mintrocket Games
This sushi restaurant management sim meets diving rogue-like adventure may not be the most technologically advanced of the year, but, lord, if Dave The Diver doesn’t just provide a constant stream of cheery joy from start to finish.
Whether you’re prepping the menu for the evening dinner rush, hiring a velociraptor sous chef, battling a great white shark in a boss battle, or joining a cheering anime audience in a totally random but delightfully goofy dream induced minigame, Dave the Diver is able to keep surprising the player each step of the journey. And the characters who make up this journey are all colorful and hilarious. There were multiple times a cutscene would leave us giggling aloud. And whether it was Bancho making sushi to R&B tunes or Otto having a Ratatouille-esque childhood flashback, the characters ooze so much magnetism.
And the game really never slows down either, adding engaging new mechanics like a mid-game farming sim and plenty of creative underwater puzzles. Dave the Diver will find ways to floor you with new discoveries and games long after you think it’s run out of charming tricks up its sleeve, making it maybe the most memorable gaming experience of the year.
1. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Nintendo
Tears of the Kingdom was not only able to live up to the near impossible hype of being a sequel to Breath of the Wild, but paved its own path like the Master Sword through Hylian goat butter. The ultra hand and Link’s other new abilities put gamer creativity at the forefront. Whether they’re building a land vehicle to transport a puzzle piece, developing Bokoblin butchering weapons, or crafting flying contraptions, this is the tool that turns the entire map into a playground for puzzles and traversal. Plus, the addition of not one but two new maps with the terrifying depths and the airy skylands makes discovery a near endless endeavor.
TOTK also benefits from bringing some of its franchise heritage though as well. There was the return of more classic dungeons like the flying ship wind temple or the ancient Egyptian inspired Lighting temple. And the temple boss battles were cinematically epic in the classic Zelda franchise way. But these dungeons and bosses still all have ways of prodding the imagination of the player.
Tears of the Kingdom is able to build so much on its predecessor, all while still tapping into that sense of wonder and discovery that made Breath of the Wild so fantastic in the first place. No surprise it makes the top of our list in such a packed year.
So what’d you think of our top ten games of 2023? We’re still looking forward to checking out some of the titles we missed like Alan Wake 2, Tchia, High Fi Rush, and more!
Honorable Mentions: Diablo 4, Street Fighter 6, Lies of P, Dead Space (Remake)
