As the social media guy around these parts, I don’t bring quite the depth or nuance that my silver-tongued compatriots do, but this is my absolute (praise it), infallible reasoning for the ten best games of 2023 as seen through the lens of an objectively correct opinion. Some of these titles are simple, some are a little more complex, but all of them are incredible.
10. Armored Core 6
I get to pilot a mech.
9. Humanity
I get to be a smart dog.
8. Viewfinder
I get to… well, that doesn’t really work here. It’s not often I vibe on a level like this with a puzzle game. However, Viewfinders core concept is so unique that I feel like I could play a hundred more levels and my thirst would still remain unquenched.
7. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
I get to be a Jedi.
6. Party Animals
What’s even the point of playing games with your friends if you don’t bully them? It’s not 2v2v2, it’s 1v5. I don’t need to win, I just need them to lose.
Honorable Mentions that didn’t make the cut
5. Lies of P
In a year bereft of a souls game (Elden Ring DLC when), Lies of P came along and saved the day. No one will ever match FromSoftware in this arena, but Lies of P may bethe closest anyone will ever get, and that’s an achievement worth celebrating.
4. Street Fighter 6
Parry this command throw, you filthy casual. I’ve always loved fighting games, but I’ve never been able to dedicate the amount of time necessary to get good. The learning curve a fighting game demands is just too steep. Modern Controls in SF6 changed that, and now I get to Zangief throw myself all the way to Plat. Face me and prepare to be hugged by my burly, Russian arms!
3. Phantom Liberty
I’ve been an unabashed Cyberpunk apologist since day one, and Phantom Liberty only builds on that. I already rated the world of Night City, and the game bubsy lived inside it, highly on my forever games list – all of the updates made in 2.0 with the DLC story of Phantom Liberty just moved V even further up my list. We may never get the Cyberpunk that was promised in the 2013 trailer, but what we have now is close enough for me.
2. Lethal Company
Recency bias, I know, but Lethal Company may be the most fun I’ve had with friends in years and that’s worth so much more than some highfalutin narrative experiences. And it’s made by an independent developer too? Gold.
1. Baldur’s Gate 3
Shadowheart from baldur’s gate 3 holding a tiktok logo.
Acts 1, 2, and 3 should all be individual entries on this list, but I was told that would do funky things to our collective GOTY list math, so here we stand. Baldur’s Gate 3 is not the game of the year for me, it’s the game of the decade. The depth of each mechanic, story, and every other aspect of the game set an impossible bar that I’ll be measuring games against for the foreseeable future.
The Game Awards 2023: Complete Round-Up
On this page you’ll find every piece of The Game Awards content we’ve produced. You can follow our continually evolving coverage here.
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