As the air turns increasingly cold and families gather to celebrate the holidays, it’s time to get comfy and reminisce about the year that was. 2023 had more than its fair share of highs and lows, so join us for one last look back as we remember our favorite games, as well as the most crushing disappointments and the most delightful surprises that the past 12 months had to offer.
The Biggest Gaming Disappointments Of 2023
Good job folks, that’s another year down. This year, like so many recent years, was a mess as we continued to deal with the ongoing effects of the pandemic while governments and businesses around the world pretended everything is better now. And now, I can’t even complain about it on Twitter because the site sucks, is always broken, and is called X. Thanks, Elon Musk! – Zack Zwiezen Read More
The State Of Xbox And Game Pass In 2023
On paper, Microsoft did what it needed to do in 2023 to improve on a quiet, somewhat empty 2022. But it also enacted layoffs and took some public beatings in court as it tried to become even bigger. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
Connections, Halo, And Other Weird Ones: Alyssa Mercante’s Top 2023 Games
You’ve heard it time and time again—2023 was a huge year for game releases, which made the battle for game of the year (GOTY) at sites and award shows across the globe hard-fought and difficult. Baldur’s Gate 3 won at this year’s Game Awards, other publications have handed the crown to Tears of the Kingdom, and Kotaku’s site-wide list may do something completely different. But what about our staff’s personal GOTY lists, the games that delighted us that maybe weren’t all brand-new titles or big-budget blockbusters, but also were fun little mobile games or shooters that got a second life? – Alyssa Mercante Read More
The 10 Biggest Kotaku Stories Of 2023
What were you loyal Kotaku readers most interested in this year? Despite 2023 offering us scammers in Congress, a megolomaniac destroying one of the most popular social media websites of all time, and a pop star dating an NFL football hero, gamers remained laser-focused on the things that matter most to them as a subculture: retro games, asset theft, Funko pops, and vaginas. – Alyssa Mercante Read More
The Best Video Game Surprises Of 2023
2023 was a rough year for a lot of people. But even a shitty year like this one can offer up tiny moments of happiness or wonderful trinkets that we can all enjoy for a bit before we go back to doomscrolling on whatever social media service we’re using as the best Twitter replacement. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
Baldur’s Gate 3 to Pokémon: Kenneth Shepard’s Most Spellbinding Games Of 2023
Damn, what a year 2023 was, huh?
When I started writing about video games in 2013, I was filled with a lot of hope. Playing The Last of Us had completely shifted my professional trajectory, and I wanted to believe that the rest of the world held games in as high regard as I did. I wanted to share my enthusiasm and desire for a better industry with others. But lately, it doesn’t feel like anyone values anything. Thousands of developers have been laid off in 2023 alone, the Kotaku staff who was here when I started only a year ago has shrunk by more than half a dozen, both due to layoffs and dissatisfaction, and yet, I see millions of people show up to read Kotaku anyway. So clearly, someone out there still cares, right? – Kenneth Shepard Read More
The 9 Best Games To Play With Family This Holiday
There are so many good reasons to play video games with your family. From just having a great time with invading relatives, to bonding with your children, it’s a boundary-breaking, age-gap traversing activity. Also, it’s an excellent way to fill up the aching stretch of endless Sundays in the back half of December. So to help you with that, we’ve pulled together a selection of games that should entertain any gathering of vaguely associated humans. – John Walker Read More
2023’s Biggest Video Game Leaks, From Wolverine To GTA
2023 is nearly a wrap. As we close the books on what was an outstanding year of video games, we also note that 2023 was a year rife with something else: leaked information about video games. Oftentimes very big leaks. This year was lousy with them. – Claire Jackson Read More
Leave a Reply