And with that, the 2023 season comes to an end – but not before I (and the other lovely friends of Kotaku Australia) get to scream into the void about our favourite games of the year, as we are wont to do.
Before I get into my favourite games of 2023, it would be shortsighted to not take a bit of a broader look at the industry. There’s been plenty of discussion around what a hellish year it’s been for the wider games industry, and many of our guest GOTY list writers have taken the opportunity over this last fortnight to discuss the issues of near-constant layoffs of extremely talented folk both globally and in our own backyard who’ve put their blood, sweat, and tears into many of the titles people have been loving over the last twelve months and beyond. It’s always a rough cop hopping online each day and bracing for the onslaught of bad news, cancelled projects with immense promise, and games industry workers losing their livelihoods in the name of exponential profit growth and cost of living pressures, amongst other reasons.
But, for now, at least, let’s take a moment to celebrate the year that was in gaming.
Whittling down this list has been a difficult task, made even harder by the rolodex of 2023 game launches playing in my brain shooting out even more titles I loved and obsessed over just as I thought I’d finalised my shortlist.
I’ve separated my favourite games of 2023 list into games that decidedly make it into my favourites of the year (in no particular order, with a few pretty predictable entries), those that I reckon would have been right up there, had I gotten more time to get to know them, and games I’m shitting, pissing, and screaming to be able to finally properly try. Just know that over Christmas and New Year’s, I’ll probably be hopping into those that make it into the last two groups, as I think many other gamers might also do (or they might do their fifth runthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, just to keep things new and interesting).
My favourite games of 2023
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
It’s perhaps a pretty obvious choice, but there’s a reason for that – Tears of the Kingdom is just so bloody good. Having not been a dyed-in-the-wool The Legend of Zelda fan, and someone who couldn’t quite get into Breath of the Wild (something I still feel is maybe a crime for someone so involved with games), I was unsure if this was going to be one of those games that I played for a bit and ditched, but I can decisively say that it’s perhaps the game I’ve spent the most time with in 2023.
The storyline, the gorgeous vistas of Hyrule, the side quests, the cooking (oh god, the cooking), and of course, the propensity for pure chaos when it comes to crafting all sorts of fucked inventions and weapons powered by Zonai devices and other random shit you come across make Tears of the Kingdom so addictive. Every corner of the map holds something exciting to discover or do, and even those spaces where an otherwise pretty quiet-looking wooded area stands has this sort of beauty and serenity that made me just want to take it all in. David really touched on it in his review earlier this year, but the silence of some parts of the game added this extra gravity I just was not expecting from Tears of the Kingdom. I continue to return to it – often just to dilly dally, sometimes to actually progress the game – which is something that I consider to be a sign of a damn good game, especially when your day to day, like mine, is spent surrounded by the constant tide of new releases to keep up with and play.
Final Fantasy XVI
If you’ve read my work on Kotaku Australia, know me personally, or follow me on social media (I’m still not on Bluesky, and I will continue this bit of refusing to use David’s invite code – sorry, chief), you’ll know I am completely, utterly, and hopelessly obsessed with Final Fantasy. Despite this, I am a rare FFXV disliker. Thus, the release of Final Fantasy XVI was a nail-biter for me as I hoped and prayed for a return to the swords-and-sorcery, high fantasy leanings that inch me just a little closer to the childlike joy I experienced playing Final Fantasy IX as a kid.
If you’re wondering (which, given you’re reading this, I’d assume you maybe are at least a little): it absolutely did. Of course, Final Fantasy XVI is a much darker, Game of Thrones-esque take on that mediaeval fantasy setting I love in an RPG – and maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much. I, too, am not the same optimistic young scamp I was in the late 90s to early 2000s. But, much like returning to your family home after years away, playing Final Fantasy XVI was like coming back home, even if it had received a lick of paint and had a wall or two knocked out since the last time you visited.
This is one I’m still playing through as we speak, but what I have played has been equal parts gorgeous and devastating. I’ll always long for a return to turn-based combat in the franchise, but for once I found myself still enjoying the seamless battles, easy to grasp controls that felt less button-mashy and more like they retained the strategy I enjoy from those bygone systems. It goes without saying that it’s obviously also visually stunning with a banger score, but if I ever find myself not saying that about a Square Enix game, that’s when I know it’s time for me to put them down.
World of Horror
World of Horror is every bit the eldritch horror, Junji Ito-inspired game it set out to be. The pixel art doesn’t in any way dull down the body horror of faceless ghouls, bloated corpses, or creepy fucking little girls living inside the womb-like hole in your apartment – and it’s all the better for it, accompanied by chiptune-style music that makes it feel like I’ve been transported to an earlier era of gaming.
Combat is enjoyable, and branching options for resolutions of each investigation make it highly replayable in quick, but often infuriating runs that end when you die (which, for me, was often). I’ll be thinking about World of Horror for some time to come, and probably shuddering at the Uzumaki-esque horrors that await me whenever I boot it up for even longer still.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is one of those games I was super excited about after trying out the demo – after all, its witchy, 8-bit art, involves pacts with a space worm who you kind of flirt with, and it’s sapphic as all hell. After getting to play the full game, it was all those things and then some, branching a narrative through space and time with a little political intrigue to boot.
The tarot-style deck building and card-reading mechanics felt unique and fresh and added an extra element to the overall story, which is in-depth and compelling in a manner I’d expect from Deconstructeam (the team behind The Red Strings Club, if you’re familiar). The synthwave vibes of cosmic witches, female bonds, and power struggles amongst what could be the end of the world is honestly something else entirely, and I’d recommend getting your hands on it if you enjoy a great story, unique take on witches and hierarchies, or just love a good demonic pact.
Baldur’s Gate 3
About 3 things I was absolutely positive: first, Astarion was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I didn’t know how potent that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
Baldur’s Gate 3 just about drove me mad this year. I had the joy of being able to review it for the website, albeit with the world’s smallest review window pre full-launch, and found myself pushing the boulder up the hill like Sisyphus to both complete it, but also get to really experience everything the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired RPG had to offer. And experience it I did. Every party member had a compelling backstory and adventure of their own to tell, and even almost half a year on I continue to discover new things when I jump back into it. The game is truly a masterpiece, and Larian Studios can comfortably swing that Game of the Year award around because it was well-earned. This game brings the joy and magic of playing D&D at a table surrounded by your friends and putting on silly accents to do silly shit and turns it virtual in a way I simply didn’t know would ever be achievable in a video game, but am so glad it was.
Of course, my obsession with Astarion (and of course, God’s favourite princess and most interesting girl in the world, Shart/Shadowheart) probably also plays into my enjoyment of the game, in part. Much like my real-world D&D adventures, I can’t resist playing the lover girl.
Games that probably would’ve made the list had I spent more time with them
Alan Wake 2
I truly think if I’d had more time to play Alan Wake II, it would have been my game of the year. The tension I’ve felt simply watching it be played, the overall mechanics, and the Lynchian style story and influences are all addictive. I’m obviously a sucker for a well-crafted single player, story-focused game, and toss in some horror elements, otherworldly forces, and a sad-looking writer stuck in The Dark Place while shadow people rush at him from the darkness, calling out his name? I’m so in. Can’t wait to info dump anyone who will listen when I get around to putting more time into it.
Lethal Company
Who doesn’t love a co-op game with Looney Tunes ass player deaths befitting of slapstick comedy? The sheer potential for goofy chaos, but also genuine fear, is really something else, and it’s addictive as all hell to play. Sometimes it’s the simple things that bring me joy – and seeing someone succumb to a big fuckoff spider only to then have another player done in while checking out said spider while the remainder of the group either cackles or screams in the distance of the proximity chat is pure joy. Lethal Company is truly the Among Us of 2023 and I expect it’ll continue to run up people’s Steam play time for some time to come (mine included).
Games I’m shitting pissing and screaming to be able to finally play soon
So that we’re not here stuck in the void I’ve been screaming into for millennia, I’ll make this section short and sweet. There’s a whole bunch of games I just didn’t get a chance to properly play this year but am pretty positive I’m going to love, so you’ll get them in rapid-fire list form.
- Sea of Stars
- In Stars and Time
- Dredge
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Thirsty Suitors
- Venba
And that’s my list! Honourable mentions go to Gubbins, Stray Gods: A Roleplaying Musical, Diablo IV, and Terra Nil for being great games I had the pleasure of experiencing this year as well, and there’s so many more beyond those that I just can’t list them all, as much as I wish I could. You may notice a running theme of some of my favourite games being those with the ability for players to really just go ham and make it their own, with minimal limitations, and that’s for good reason – I think I derive a lot of my enjoyment in games from that freedom to simply play at my own pace and in my own way, create within the virtual realms I enter, and really choose my own adventure. And, based on some of the most successful games this year amongst the greater gaming community, it seems I’m likely not the only one.
It’s been a huge year for video games, and it’s been a joy getting to play them and then share news, reviews, and my silly little opinions on them with the readers of Kotaku Australia over the last six months (which have absolutely blown past at way too quick of a pace – didn’t I just tell you all how much I enjoyed the Barbie horse games and show you that cunt-serving Geralt figurine like last week?).
Here’s to some downtime to play through a whole bunch more wonderful games and to rest, before cracking on in the new year to begin the cycle anew and get to try out even more wonderful new titles and amazing experiences from talented devs and studios. There’s plenty I’m already itching to get my grubby little mitts on when they release in 2024 – and I cannot wait to play and share them with you.
Over and out, folks.
Lead Image Credit: Deconstructeam / Square Enix / Nintendo / Kotaku AU
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