Last years round up yielded some good games and one great one. This year by comparison was one of those rare stand out years in gaming. 2004, 2007, 1998,...2023? So many great games came out this year and it felt like there wasn’t enough time to play them all, but I sure tried.
Baldur’s Gate 3 (S+) They did it! They turned everything I’ve loved for over a decade about Dungeons and Dragons into a intricately crafted video game. The “it” being the creative problem solving and sense of agency most video game RPGs never even sniff at. Had they done that alone this would already be a triumph. But they did the “it” plus great graphics, excellent voice acting, and a compelling story + side stories that will stick with me for a while.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (S) Breath of the Wild is an all time great game for me. Some how they made the sequel just that much better. The verticality above and below introduces another facet of the world to explore. Embracing the communities breaking of the first game with the powers via Ultrahand in the second was a stellar.
Cyberpunk 2077 & Phantom Liberty (A+) What a world. In 2012 Cyberpunk gets announced. 8 years later it is essentially dead on arrival. Bug-ridden and unplayable on last gen consoles. In 2022 after countless fixes and balancing I gave it a shot and it was good, not great, game. Jump to this year and they did a complete systems overhaul with the 2.0 release, and dropped the first and only story DLC and it is my third favorite game this year, behind what might arguably be two top ten in the decade games.
Dave the Diver (A) A peach of a game that is one part platformer (scuba diving), one part restaurant sim (sushi), and all parts fun. This was the perfect mashup of genres and excellent on the Steam Deck.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (B+) A new 2D Mario in 2023, sign me up. All of the ever green platforming that I love with a big batch of fresh ideas baked inside.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (B+) This was the last big story driven open world game I played this year. I could have been burnt out and quit on this were it a subpar game, but that was not the case at all. A game sequel that surpasses it’s predecessor in mechanic and story is not a given, in fact it is rare.
Dredge (B+) I don’t know if owning a Steam Deck means I try more indie games, enjoy playing them more, or if this was just a great year in indie gaming, but Dredge is a another great one. Cthulhu themed insanity in an arcade fishing business simulator.
Cocoon (B+) Good puzzle games should make you feel smart when you untangle the ball of twine they hand you. That endorphin release layered in with the nesting of worlds within world within worlds was what made Cocoon excellent. It is also what made it bend my brain it’s second half to where I felt no shame in looking up a guide or two to continue to progress.
Dome Keeper (B) The first game I played this year was a fun mashup of mining/resource collection and retro style laser defense game. Another banger on the Steam Deck. It’s only fault was the sense that it was balanced a bit too on the easy side.
Hogwarts Legacy (B) A friend from work tragically passed away in late 2022 and a few months later a group of us played this game book club style in his memory. He had expressed interesting in playing it as a return to video games. An insignificant act in the grand scheme of things, but it was a drop in the well of grieving with friends that helped.
Atomic Heart (B) They just aren’t making that many immersive sims anymore. A bummer for sure, but a real treat when they do show up. Even if they have some rough edges like Mundfish’s first game did.
Last of Us Part 1 (B) - I jumped back into this remaster of a remake of the original game I finished in 2013 because the TV show was so damn good. They did this on the Last of Us 2 engine in 2022. It looks great, looked to capitalize on the release of the show, and I lost interest before I could finish it for a second time a decade later.
Fortnite (B-) Finally gave fork knife a real go in the grasping throes of trying to find a Call of Duty replacement. No build mode makes that possible, but doesn’t solve for the lack of combat depth and some how too much complexity in the map and seasonal features. Not for me, but I already knew that.
Kingdom: Eighties (B-) Fresh coat of paint on a chill 2D tower defense game I have played a lot over the years.
Diablo IV (C) So long in development, the nostalgia was not strong enough, and there wasn’t much new on offer. Looks great, plays boring, and introduces the worst question a game can pose, “why am I doing this?”.
Spider-Man 2 (C) Bit of a bummer this was so similar to Spider-Man 1 (2018) and the stand alone Miles Morales DLC (2020). Both games I loved. Swinging around the city never got old, the combat wore out it’s welcome, the story was a bit boring, and the side activities were mostly sub par.
Tails of Iron (C-) An indie souls like with mice. Charming concept and art, the combat was either too hard for me or missed the mark. Can’t really tell, but the result was not for me.
Call of Duty & Warzone (D) Three years is a really long time to play a game. But I still don’t know if it was me burning out on Call of Duty this year or the strong possibility that battle royales have run their course. In either case I haven’t really played either since March and I have zero interest in this years annual offering. Hell I just looked and I gave last years game a D too.