Games: 2023 edition

This was a year of change. I leaned really hard into console gaming this year, specifically Xbox, after being pretty focused on PC and tried playing a handful of games on mobile too. Here are my favourites from a variety of categories. GAME OF THE YEAR Alan Wake II Alan Wake 2 marks Remedy Entertainment’s first foray into the survival horror genre. Ritualistic murders in a small town. A writer trapped in a nightmare. An FB postgame Alan Wake II. I love what Remedy is doing with their connected universe and can’t wait to see where they go in the Night Springs and Lake House DLC. BEST DLC Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Phantom Liberty is a spy-thriller expansion for the open-world action RPG Cyberpunk 2077. The narrative centers on the aftermath of the President of the New Uni postgame Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty added so much to the vanilla Cyberpunk experience and totally flipped the theme of the original game on its head. BEST REMAKE Dead Space The sci-fi survival-horror classic Dead Space returns, completely rebuilt from the ground up to offer a deeper, more immersive experience. This remake brings ja postgame Dead Space was really good but I’ve got to hand it to Nintendo for Super Mario RPG. The nostalgia in that one hits real hard. GAME I NEED MORE TIME WITH Sea of Stars Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG inspired by the classics. Promising the Sabotage touch in every system, Sea of Stars aims to modernize the classic RPG in terms postgame This one’s a toss up between Sea of Stars, which I loved but dove into on a whim just before a bunch of other games came out. Also, Baldur’s Gate 3, which was only released on Xbox at the beginning of December. WEIRDEST GAME Wanted: Dead Wanted: Dead promises “spectacular melee combat and exciting gunplay,” and is set in a “dark and dangerous version of science-fiction Hong Kong where you will n postgame Wanted: Dead. Seriously, what the fuck? MOST ANTICIPATED GAME(S) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct postgame Zenless Zone Zero Zenless Zone Zero is an all-new 3D action game from HoYoverse, here to provide a thrilling combat experience. Build a squad of up to three and begin your assaul postgame Dragon’s Dogma II Dragon’s Dogma is a single player, narrative driven action-RPG that challenges players to choose their own experience – from the appearance of their Arisen, the postgame I think I’m equally excited to see where Square goes with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and I can’t resist anything by HoYoverse so Zenless Zone Zero is up there too. I also can’t wait for Dragon’s Dogma II. I can’t explain why but the original is a favourite of mine.