Sam’s Best Video Games of 2023

Best Games:

1. Sea of Stars – Before I jump into my effusive praise for this game, I have to give props to Microsoft and Xbox Game Pass. I’m not paid for them or sponsored or anything like that. I just think it’s an excellent service and it’s allowed me to play some really excellent games I might otherwise not have like Sea of Stars, Hades, Lies of P, PowerWash Simulator, and dozens of others. Given how how many new and exciting games are coming out more than ever before, it’s great to have a service that lets me try out and play so many. Sea of Stars was one of those games. I saw it drop on Game Pass in the fall alongside a few other titles and donwloaded it on a whim. It sat unplayed for weeks though until I finally was in between games and decided to give it a try. And god am I so glad I did. I love videogames but there’s only a select few out there that make you feel like that feeling is mutual. Sea of Stars is a love letter to video games by people who clearly adore them as much as the rest of us and have reverence for the medium as a whole. Everything about this game radiates fun, charm and wit. I started it thinking I would maybe just play it for a few hours. Instead I spent the next 40 or so hours exploring every nook and cranny, making sure to exhaust every piece of content it had given to me. I just didn’t want it to end. It has very likable and amusing characters, an infectious and fitting soundtrack, gorgeous pixel graphics and animated cutscenes, smart puzzles and the funnest turn based battle system I’ve seen in a while. I love this game. I want everyone to play it. And I hope it gets the praise it so rightly deserves.
2. The Last of Us 2 – Why is a game that came out in 2020 on this list? Because this is supposed to represent what I played this year, past and present games included. And after playing through both the game and it’s prequelly for two January’s in a row, it has to be on here. While the original game is universally beloved and the sequel is as polarizing as any game released in the last decade, I firmly land on the side wanting to heap adoration on it. Is the story perfect? Not to me. Do some of the characters act different than we thought they would after the first game? Definitely. But they’re not my characters and I don’t get to decide where their stories go. What I do get to decide is how to approach each combat situation and how it will play out. Do I slit 20 throats one by one and conserve ammo for the next Bloater I come across? Do I go balls to the walls and take them out with a combination of mines and headshots? Or do I just sneak past everyone? (It’s almost never that one by the way.) The story and your affinity to it will definitely vary from person to person but I don’t know how anyone couldn’t enjoy the gameplay loop in this game and feel empowered to murder your way across the Pacific Northwest over and over again. It’s rad. And also just for the record: Abby > Ellie.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – When they announced this was going to be the first game on the Switch that was going to be $70, no one batted an eye. Why? Because as fans of the series and especially it’s predecessor, Zelda fans know they’ll get their moneys worth and much more. I think there were only 4 games I bought for full price at launch this year and unsurprising to me, they all made this list. Those would be Tears of the Kingdom, Armored Core 6, Spider-Man 2, and Alan Wake II. The common theme among these games? They’re made by incredible, passionate development teams who have earned the public’s trust and continue to pump out great games that are worth your time and money. I very much doubt anyone who initially called this game Breath of the Wild 1.5 has stuck to that stance. Sure, a lot here has remained the same as that game but when the first one was so universally played for hours and hours and hours on end, it’s alright to stick with what works. I think the story, temples, boss fights and variety are all better than what we got in BotW and for weeks after it came out all me and my friends could talk about was something new we’d seen or experienced. And since this game is so massive, a lot of the times what the other person was describing was something we still hadn’t experienced or seen yet. That’s the scale we’re talking about here. This game dominated most of my summer and I’m sure I’ll jump back into it for another playthrough before the next entry in the series arrives. Nintendo has already said this is the last time we’ll see this iteration of Hyrule and that’s perfectly fine by me. It feels like they’ve squeezed all they can out of it and as gamers we’ve gotten all we could want and more out of it.
4. PowerWash Simulator – I’ve taken plenty of shit for my love of this game. Why wouldn’t I just powerwash in real life if I love it so much? Why don’t I play a real game? Why do I want to do digital chores? (That one’s especially rich coming from anyone who enjoys farming sim or cozy games. You know who you are.) If you take a look at the rest of this list, you’ll see I’m no stranger to adventure games, horror games, RPGs and Souls-likes. But that’s just why I like this game so much. Some days I don’t want to save the world or bash my head against a boss’s health bar for hours at a time. Sometimes I just want to clean a couple train cars while I listen to Youtube or podcasts in the background. No timers, no sidequests, no heavy stakes. Just a level covered in dirt and grime and my powerwasher to clean things up. Also it REALLY satisfies my OCD. When you get that last speck of dirt on a tire and the sound of success dings, that shit hits like CRACK. Sign me up for more shifts.
5. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon – I’d never played an Armored Core game before this. Most of the series has been bound to the Playstation 1-3 and as someone who didn’t own a Sony console until the PS4, they had never been on my radar. But that might not have mattered. From everything I’ve seen those games were pain tests of bad controls, smart resource managment and thumb-numbing difficulty. Not exactly things younger Sam would’ve gone crazy for. But these days I’m one of the many who would name Elden Ring as their best game from last year. So given that, of course I was going to buy FromSoftware’s next game at launch. It could’ve been a Hello Kitty game from them and I would’ve checked out a demo at least. But this is not that. And it’s not Dark Souls or Elden Ring either. If you’re expecting either of those games but in a mech suit you’ll be in for a rude awakening and a healthy dose of ass kickings. I certainly was. For the first several hours I was getting my shit rocked and wondering if I was cut out for its brand of trial by fire. But after ‘getting gud’ and fighting all night against the game’s first true skill check boss, Balteus, beating him gave me that all to familiar feeling of overcoming the odds the same way other FromSoft games have. Here’s what the gameplay loop looks like: You get a new mission; you get your teeth kicked in; you go back to the lab and make a new build; you repeat this process until you beat the mission; profit. The process of cycling out parts and slowly improving your Armored Core is very addicting. I also want to praise this game’s version of New Game Plus. Instead of just playing the same game over with everything unlocked, new missions and branching story paths open up on subsequent playthroughs, allowing the game to go in different directions and towards new endings. It’s a brilliant choice, one that I hope gets implemented in other games, though I have my doubts it will.
6. Lies of P – Another game I probably wouldn’t have played if not for Xbox Game Pass, this game dropped on the service in the fall and was being hyped as a great Souls-like in that fandom’s community. I actually put it down and decided it wasn’t for me before eventually returning to it when I had some time between game releases. And damn am I glad I did. It’s such a good Souls-like that many including myself probably wouldn’t have been able to tell that it wasn’t made by FromSoft themselves. I love the steampunk, gothic city setting. It’s been compared to Bloodborne a lot and while I definitely see the influence, that’s hardly a bad thing. The characters are interesting, the world building is handled superbly and I really loved the music. It’s achingly beautiful and I’ve scoured the internet waiting to see if there will be an official release for it. The weapons are a lot of fun to use, allowing you to swap handles and blades between each other to suit your playstyle. I really enjoyed the parry system and how crucial it is to your success. This is the type of game that makes you feel like a god gamer when you nail your parries. The bosses are (mostly) all fun to fight, even if some of the endgame ones will make you want to rip your controller in half. But hey, that comes with the territory with these games. It’s just really well made considering this was the Korean developer’s first attempt at something like this. Given it’s sequel tease at the end and how successful it’s been right out of the gate, I’m eagerly looking forward to what they do next.
7. FTL: Faster Than Light –I’ve played way too much of this game. I played it today in fact. I’ll probably play some tomorrow or maybe the day after. But no matter how much I know I should move on and play something new, I can’t stop coming back and starting a new run time after time. It’s just so easy to pick up and play. No cutscenes, no loading screens, no microtransactions. Just pick your ship and your crew and head out into the depths of space. This is a game where you try to reach the end of the galaxy before the Rebels do. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is surviving that long. This game is all about multitasking. At any one point you’ll be charging weapons, targeting your opponent’s shields and weapons, fending off enemy crew with your own, venting oxygen from the fire in your medbay, and readying your cloaking device for an incoming missle barrage. It’s a lot to juggle and at times it feels like RNG and bad luck are conspiring against you. I’ve cussed up a storm more times playing this game than any other, which is really saying something. But despite the stress and the bullshit deaths (that asteroid field was just there to fuck me!) I am going to keep coming back to it. It’s just that good.
8. Alan Wake II – The first Alan Wake game came out almost 15 years ago and didn’t exactly set the world on fire. But I loved it then for it’s goofy characters, rich atmosphere, rewarding exploration and tense gameplay. I’ve been really happy to see it develop a cult following over the years, even though I doubted it would ever get a sequel after Remedy had tried to get one off the ground multiple times with no luck. But here it is, Alan Wake II. And if I thought I was getting a plucky, lighthearted sequel to that original game, boy was I fucking wrong. This shit is scary. Whereas the first game was a 3rd person shooter game with horror elements, this is the inverse. I’ve jumped several times playing this game and questioned if it was made by the same developer. It’s darker, grittier and meaner than that first game which now seems positively quaint by comparison. With all that said, it’s still a damn good game and has light and silly moments strung throughout. If you’re interested in this, definitely play the original and Control first. Remedy is clearly going for a shared universe with their games going forward and I’ll be here for all of them.
9. Spider-Man 2 – This is a weird one. Everyone I know who played the first one really loved it and we all eagerly waited 5 years for the (true) sequel. And when it came out…everyone just kind of moved on shortly afterwards. I for one bought it on launch day and was immediately sucked back into the world and swinging around the city. It felt like the first game again, just with better load times. And that’s where I think it’s biggest flaw lies. While I lauded Tears of the Kingdom for sticking to a formula that works, here I think it ends up hurting the game a bit. Because while I was engrossed for the 40 or so hours it took to 100% the game, it never felt like it was taking any big risks or mixing up the formula in interesting ways. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with it, but once it was over I was onto the next thing. This probably sounds like a negative review but it’s not. It’s a great game! The problem is we already had a great game with the first one and this one just feels like more of the same. I really hope Insomniac goes back to the drawing board and figures out an exciting direction to take the next one.
10. Hades – I can’t stop playing this game. I put in well over a hundred hours on it on my Xbox back when it was on Game Pass. Once it left Game Pass I got clean, found Jesus and thought I was done with it. Nope. Once it went on sale on the Switch I was right back to the grind and another hundred plus hours ensued. I don’t even fight it anymore. There’s nothing left to unlock, nothing left to earn but I still find myself going in there and fighting my way out of hell. Don’t let this being at 10 fool you. If I made this list the year I first played it, it would be number one with a bullet I’m sure. I’m mainly including it because it would be wrong not to, given how much I still play it. If you’re at all interested I highly recommend you give it a whirl, I doubt you’ll be able to put it down. At least until the sequel drops on early access later this year.

Honorable Mention:

Dave the Diver – A cute summer game that I never actually finished, I definitely enjoyed my time with Dave the Diver and will certainly start up a new playthrough again this summer. Swapping back and forth between a fish & treasure collecting game and a restaurant simulator, the game oozes style and charm which comes across in every note of music, every cinematic flourish and every likable character. I’m sure this game will already wind up on a lot of year end best lists so I don’t feel like I need to heap praise on it but I’m looking back forward to diving in again.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 – Replayed both of these this year for the first time on Steam and fell in love with them all over again. Made by two of the premier RPG makers of the 21st century in Bioware and Obsidian, these are some of the best Star Wars game around. They feature memorable characters, excellent writing, actually fun turn-based combat systems and have aged beautifully. Not that they look particularly great by today’s standards or anything but they still have that Lucasarts era magic to them. If you’ve never played them and have any interest I can’t recommend them strongly enough. This was Bioware’s dry run for the Mass Effect series which have gone on to be my favorite games ever and these two aren’t too far behind. They don’t make them like this anymore.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Yeah I put another several hundred hours of this playing online doubles and local play with my roommate and other friends. It’s still and absolute blast to play and I haven’t really found in faults with it. Except players who use counters, they can rot in the deepest circle of hell. But yeah, the game is still a feast for content and Smash enjoyers. If we didn’t get another entry in the series for another decade I’d definitely be okay with it. Sakurai deserves his rest and besides I’ll definitely still be playing this game by then.

Lame Games:

I’m calling this section Lame Games because Worst feels a bit harsh. I have not played through and beaten these games and therefore can’t say for sure if they are truly terrible. I’ll finish a bad movie because it’s only a couple hours of my time. If a game sucks after a couple hours, I’m not gonna play it for the rest of its duration to confirm that it sucks in totality. The time investment compared to a movie is just way longer. Back in high school I was an Xbox kid and picked up Final Fantasy 13 because it was the first entry in the series available on Xbox and I’d been eager to play one for the first time. Within an hour I knew I wasn’t crazy about it but soldiered on the rest of the weekend, trying to give it a chance. Finally I couldn’t do it anymore and went to Gamestop to return the game. The cashier seemed crestfallen and surprised that I was returning it.

“Anything wrong with it?” she asked.

“Nope, I just tried but couldn’t really get into it,” I replied.

“Ahhh, I gotcha. How long did you play it for?” she asked.

“About 10 hours,” I replied. She laughed and shook her head.

“Ah well there’s your issue,” she said. “Everyone knows it doesn’t even get good until about the 30 hour mark.”

I looked back at her, scanning for a hint of sarcasm. There was none.

I paused and then said “you realize that’s not a good thing, right?”

She’d clearly never thought about it that way before and her smile faded as she began to re-evaluate her once confident stance on the game. I still remember her face in that moment.

Anyway that was a too long diatribe about my thoughts on bad game length. Basically no game should entail hours and hours of meh before you get to the good stuff. It’s like when your friend wants you to watch one of their favorite shows but warns you by saying upfront that “it doesn’t really get good until like the third or fourth season.” Fuck you, no.

Starfield – I think we’re all getting a little sick of Bethesda’s shit. You know which games are awesome? Fallout 3 and Skyrim. Incredible games. Both are well over a decade old now though. Well except Skyrim, that keeps getting re-born every six months when it’s ported to something new. Next it will probably be on your baby monitor. Since those games, Bethesda hasn’t done anything memorable. I gave up on Fallout 4 around the time Preston Garvey asked me to save my 74th settlement from attack and Fallout 76 was so dead on arrival that it became the laughing stock of the gaming world for 2018 and spawned dozens of new Bethesda and Todd Howard memes. Starfield was supposed to be their big foray back into the gaming space and a reminder that they’re still the premier developer they were back when they were dropping premier RPGs across the 2000s. So how does Starfield fare? Well I only lasted a couple hours before I’d seen enough and moved onto better games. And from what I’ve gathered of the rest of the gaming landscape, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. It’s using a form of the same engine that was used all the way back in Skyrim. And while everyone else has moved on from that game, Bethesda is stuck dangerously and rather pathetically in the past. Characters models and faces have that Mass Effect Andromeda level of creepiness and emptiness to them. In a year where I can fast travel seamlessly between Queens and Brooklyn in less than a second as Spider-Man, Starfield has you mired in long loading screen after long loading screen, despite the next gen hardware. That’s the problem. Nothing feels next gen about Starfield. It feels decidedly old gen, the same type of Bethesda game we’ve been playing for 15 years now. What should’ve been a thunderous return to form is fizzling out like a wet fart. They better look themselves in the mirror and figure out what era they want to live in before returning to make their next game. I don’t think their reputation can survive another flop like this.

Atomic Heart – Atomic Heart was another game that dropped on Game Pass early in the year and initially it looked promising. The Bioshock (especially Infinite) influence is written all over it from the jump and the game doesn’t even try to shy away from it. Within minutes of the opening, you’re watching a city in the sky collapse under its own ambition and its once friendly robots turn to foes in front of you. And if it was simply a Bioshock clone, I might’ve kept playing for longer than I did. But something stopped me. It’s protagonist, a Soviet grunt with memory problems, actively stopped my playthrough in its tracks. Every time this shitlicking dick for brains opened his mouth, I contemplated uninstalling the game. After that happened for the dozenth time within a couple hours, I stopped fighting the urge. I’ve played as mass murderers and I’ve played as characters who make me cringe. Rarely have I ever HATED the character I’m playing as. If I want the motherfucker buried 6 feet under, I’m sure as hell not going to try and keep him alive to hear more of his sarcastic, bitchy dialogue.

Pokemon Scarlett & Violet- Pokemon Scarlett & Violet are some of the ugliest, buggiest and lazily developed games I’ve played in a while. And yet I still bought them at launch because I’m a pathetic Nintendo beta cuck who still likes playing and catching pokemon like the winter soldier they turned me into when I was a kid. There’s still a lot to like here. The new pokemon are mostly endearing, the addition of other story paths in addition to the gym badges is a welcome change and the move to a full on open world really suits this type of game. But the way this all feels so rushed, so lazily created and how god awfully optimized it all is cannot be excused. I know Nintendo and Game Freak have no reason to care since this series would rake in cash even if the cartridges caused rectal cancer but still, something needs to change with this series before it gets so stale that even general audiences wise up to it. Legends: Arceus showed that they can do something different but I couldn’t even finish that one given how fuck ugly and repetitive the gameplay was, even it it was something new. And given how well Palworld is doing at the moment, that Pokemon reckoning might be coming sooner than later for Nintendo.

Gotham Knights – I’ve played all 4 Arkham games several times through each and I really love them. For a long, long time it seemed like making a good superhero game was just an impossible task that no one could accomplish. There were rare highs like Spider-Man 2 (the movie game) and common lows like the hilarious miscarriage of Superman 64. But Rocksteady nailed it with Arkham Asylum and went on to continued acclaim with its two sequels, Arkham City and Arkham Knight. I even liked the prequel Arkham Origins more than most people. But after playing Gotham Knights, it’s clear that superhero games are still a mixed bag in this day and age. For every excellent Guardians of the Galaxy (2021) game, there’s a bleh Avengers (2020) game. For every Spider-Man 2 (2023) game, there’s fucking Gotham Knights. A game that looks, sounds, plays and does seemingly everything worse than Arkham Asylum which came out a full 15 years ago. It’ just doesn’t make sense. ‘s just so lame and soulless. Also please stop tying enemies to levels and numbers on top of their heads. It’s just lame, manufactured difficulty and it’s the reason I stopped playing Assassin’s Creed when Origins came out. No one likes it. The good news is Rocksteady is returning this year with a new game after their last one, Arkham Knight, came out way back in 2015. The problem is it’s a new Suicide Squad game that no one asked for, it’s a live service game, and early indications and impressions are less than positive about it. It’s probably another game I’ll wait til it’s on Game Pass to play and if it’s as cash grabby and forgettable as Gotham Knights, well at least I didn’t pay for it.

Games I Still Need to Finish:

Hi Fi Rush
Dave the Diver
Solar Ash

Games I Still Need to Play:

Dredge
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Cyberpunk 2077
Star Wars Jedi Survivor
Street Fighter 6
Baldur’s Gate 3
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
El Paso, Elsewhere
Hogwarts Legacy
Cocoon