Topic: Your favorite games of 2023

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Normally I try to wait for the year to be fully over before doing this, but I'm not playing anything new the next 16 hours so...oh well. Here's the thread.

Every single year I make this thread, to post about the best games you happened to play in 2023. The only rule, as always, is that it has to be games that you played for the first time (for a significant amount of time) in 2023. So as to not be able to choose games you've played regularly for years, but also to not negate games you just happened to play a small amount of in the past. But that also means the game didn't have to actually release in 2023.

I tend to think too much on these and rank them in order from best to "worst" (worst generally still being an 8/10)

1. Link's Awakening remake: So the funny thing about this is that I don't count new versions of games I've already played unless they're dramatically different enough. Like I considered Mario Kart 8 Deluxe last year, but even with basically double the content now, its just an addition to an updated version of a game I already played plenty of during the Wii U days. And its not separate in a way that Splatoon 2's DLC was. If I just included new versions of games, Metroid Prime: Remastered would've been 1st place by default. But Link's Awakening is just different enough for me, what with the surreal nature of making a modernized version of this gameboy game and how making the same gameboy game, updated for Switch like this, still makes the game fundamentally different in enough ways. That combined with the extra content makes this feel like a new game to me, despite being a fairly safe remake.

Also I will say, it really does showcase how brilliant Link's Awakening was as a charming retro game where it took graphics and an art style this good to even come close to gameboy sprites. Link's Awakening is still the best 2D Zelda, in either version though. And on top of that, while I do maintain selling the gameboy Zelda remake for exactly the same price as BOTW and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition was absurd and also made the new dungeon maker seem like it existed purely to justify selling it at that price...it was better than I thought it was going to be. And it is a great remake of an all time great game.

2. Tears of the Kingdom: This is the tough one for me. I did not fully decide how much I loved BOTW until AFTER I had stopped playing it. I've not finished playing TOTK, so I dunno where I'll land in the future. The thing is, in many regards, this should be lower for me. As much as I did love BOTW, it was still another open world game that took away arguably nearly my favorite game genre from arguably my favorite game series. It still reuses much of a game I played way too much of, the improvements are often not substantial enough for what I want in a 6 year gap between games, especially for a game elevated by novelty just as much as quality. And in general, the core gimmick of the game involves a level of experimentation and creativity that is generally not my thing, and the game itself has not exactly changed my mind on this.

But at the end of the day, when I actually play it, there are few games better to play than this. I just want to endlessly play as Link, in this gameplay style, and there's just enough new that I can't say its despite the sameyness. It is basically the one game that I will even partially break my "no more endless time wasting post-Xenoblade 2" rule. I just want to play it, so much that I'm going to immediately after I post this. Also kudos for making the game world feel much less samey than I thought it was going to, the changes they made did genuinely make a difference, to the point that parts of it I would not recognize. Considering how they were busy with two other overworlds to put above and below it, that's quite a feat.

3. Megaman Legends 2: Aka my basically annual slow Let's Play game. And maybe the last one I'll ever do without having played through it in the past beforehand. But as the game I play for 4 hours every 2 months (sometimes half of which is just money grinding), its been so nice to play the other games in the follow up to my favorite Megaman game. Speaking of the tragic loss of 3D Zelda as a genre, here's a tragic loss how these amazing games only existed during the first generation where 3D video games were the norm. While I've still not beaten it quite yet, its so nice to play an improved Megaman Legends, everything endearing about the first game but with just a bit more understanding of how to make these brand new 3D games actually...work. There's few things more endearing than the combination of gameplay, character designs and wonderfully 90s dubbed voice acting that these games have.

The only things really holding it back from the original (beyond a lack of nostalgia for it) is that A. the world feels less connected what with it not being one island for the whole experience but a wider variety of disconnected islands and there's less time to be invested in any one place, and B. The worst underwater gameplay they could come up with. No one's allowed to complain about the OOT Water Temple again...

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Like the Batman movies, somehow with this type of Castlevania I ended up experiencing the first of them, last. What a wonderful experience this was. Trying it for the first time, its really impressive how for the most part they really nailed this game concept down on game 1 (...game 2 if you wanna count Simon's Quest I guess). Borderline everything great about these games was always here, and some of it (well mostly the music) is the best its been. It isn't so dramatically better that it deserves to overshadow the handheld games that followed it like it sometimes feels like has happened, but like an OOT, it lives up to reasonable expectations about it.

5. F Zero 99: Huge surprise. This was such a cool thing to happen, to be released, to exist at all. It won't replace Mario 35 but its the closest any of these NSO games have come to re-imagining a classic game in a way that genuinely excites me (and in this case specifically, I liked more than the original game). Also it has more direct interaction, which just makes it kind of a cooler multiplayer game. I love the chaos these types of games can have, and this is the most obvious example of that, so even if its dumb or you're bad at it, its really entertaining just to experience it. Hoping its not just a one off for this series.

6. Oxenfree 2: This at times felt like a bit of a samey sequel. But that might be because part of Oxenfree's appeal to me was the surprise of it all. There's a number of things that really stood out about the first game that makes it so when you do it again in 2 (especially if you replayed the first game, which I did), its hard for them to have the same tension or excitement about them.

But I still really like these stories, the idea of tuning into radio waves and discovering weird, creepy things. The audio design of these games are great, the stories are consistently better than what I would assume if you told me how the characters are or the tone of enough of the dialogue and the new twists it does have are generally great. (I wish they went even further with the local radio stations). And this is probably higher than it would've been because at least based on the choices I made, it has a real bittersweet and dark ending that I thought about for a while after it was over.

7. Doom II: Another great example of a samey sequel. What if we did Doom again but had more consistently interesting level design. That's all this is, but with better difficulty curve, that's all it needed to be. It helps that its made so easy to just save whenever so even issues the game could have about being unfair are negligible. But did simply like these levels more, they did weirder things with them but not in an obnoxious way like the 4th set of levels in the first game did. And going through them, its easy to see even with the sometimes hilarious limitations why people still love the classic Doom games.

8. Live a Live: I want to put this one higher. I love a lot of what this game does, the classic 16 bit feel and look modernized. As the first HD-2D game I've played, I adore how it looks. And some of the stories are so much more unique and original than I expect from even creative games in this genre. One of them could've been a story only indie game made 10 years, you could trick people into thinking its like a "To the Moon" situation rather than one part of a game from the go to JRPG company. But unfortunately there's just enough issues I had, most of them being that despite the various stories, between the repetition of your average turn based RPG, the limitations of how much any one scenario can do, among other things, it can sometimes become a game I'd not want to play for more than an hour and half in row. And there's major gaps in quality for the stories imo. Especially the prehistoric one. Adding voiced lines for the random noises and not dialogue of this was...a mistake. A clear mistake. And it does have that issue where it rarely feels like great, complete game because its too busy being a bunch of smaller ones. So I don't think it even lived up to being the Kirby Superstar of JRPGs. But despite those issues, I can't help but appreciate it all. Even the bad parts are still close enough to something I like and are interesting enough that I do have a fondness for what its going for. And its one of those Switch games where its just so cool that its a game where I own a physical copy, in English, of this game at all in the first place. I could literally place it next to be my copy of Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and Neo: The World Ends With You and a new Pokemon Snap. That's just inherently awesome.

9. Xenoblade 2: Torna Golden Country: I've decided this game title needs less words than it has. But seriously...this is exactly where I put Xenoblade 2 two years ago. It's too good to not be on this list, but sigh. The thing is in this case, the only huge issue I have with it is that it doesn't feel much like a complete story. Even knowing what it is, it still feels like the equivalent of if you only saw 3 chapters of the main game's story and it still feels awkward because of that. It's a JRPG without a real complete story, even for being a tie-in, spinoff, prequel type story. That's a major issue for a JRPG.

The thing is that so much of the game is a relief after the main Xenoblade 2. The changes to combat (the fact that I could figure it out reasonable enough on my own, for example), the more well thought out use of sidequests, the thankfully much shorter length. All highly appreciated ontop of much of what worked in the main game. And it was a lovely time that I would say is obviously better than the main game for those reasons, even with the story issues (not like I think 2 has a perfect story regardless). But I think even with the long breaks, Xenoblade 2 really was too much. And I was still partially exhausted even playing this reasonable DLC. It did make me like this less than I think I would have. But...its still obvious very good, which is why I still put it here at all. I do just hope my issues with 2 don't ruin my experiences when I get to the remake and 3, I don't want to be permanently limited in how much I can enjoy these games just because I spent too much of my life on 2.

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Here are my top 10:

1: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 + FR - Hands-down the best RPG I’ve ever played. Everything that makes Xenoblade as a franchise so good is fully brought to the table here. Incredible world designs, an amazing soundtrack, and a phenomenal story. Chapter 5’s ending and 6’s intro in particular is probably one of the most impactful story moments I’ve ever experienced. I think the only thing this game slightly lacks in comparison to 2 and Torna is the combat. I enjoyed the flow and rhythm of Torna’s a lot in particular, and while 3’s is really good, it just barely doesn’t hit the mark that was set before it. But this is still the best game in the entire series by a considerable margin I think.

2: Tears of the Kingdom - This game somehow manages to improve on nearly everything that made Breath of the Wild great, and fixes most of the problems that were present in it. The new abilities are phenomenal and lead to remarkably open-ended gameplay. The dungeons still aren’t perfect, but as a whole, they are a marketed improvement over the Divine Beasts, and they mostly all have great bosses. And the addition of Skyrule, caves, and the Depths make the world feel even more massive than ever. The Ganondorf fight is also one of the best boss fights I’ve ever experienced. It didn't have quite as much of an impact as BOTW had when it launched, but I still do think this is an amazing game.

3: Metroid Prime Remastered - A near-perfect remaster of one of the greatest games of all time. Beautiful graphics that almost look like a remake, amazing gyro controls, and awesome extras. Easily one of the best-looking Switch exclusives ever, and a great sign that Retro still knows what they’re doing when it comes to Metroid.

4: Pikmin 4 - One of the most fun and addictive games I’ve ever played. I played it for a week straight and could not put it down. It excels in level design, puzzles, and mechanics. The caves are a massive improvement over 2, along with the boss fights. The night expeditions are a fantastic addition and add a lot to the gameplay loop. Oatchi and the Ice Pikmin are also amazing and do a lot for the combat side of things in particular. This game was absolutely worth the wait, and I think this is Pikmin living up to its full potential. Looking forward to replaying this one in the future.

5: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice - One of the strongest games in the series. While its story isn’t quite as cohesive as it could be, especially with Athena’s lead case, this is still easily one of the most enjoyable games in the franchise. It has two of the greatest twists in the entire series and has some great character moments throughout. The prosecutor is pretty boring, though, and they probably could have done more interesting things with him.

6: Ace Attorney: Investigations 2 - A massive improvement over the first game. A better story, better characters, better music, and better pacing. It even enhances the impact of Turnabout Goodbyes by adding more backstory to it. The pacing still isn’t perfect, and one of the pretty important characters was kind of just forgotten about in the final case. Other than that, though, this is one of the strongest games in the series.

7: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - One of Shu Takumi’s best games to date. It holds an incredibly unique premise, backed by amazing writing, super memorable characters, and a killer soundtrack. It’s up there with some of my favorite Ace Attorney games.

8: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - This DLC takes the established formula of XC2 and straight-up improves it. The combat is more streamlined and has a fantastic focus on driver combos. The story is much more focused and doesn’t have much filler, with it also being surprisingly emotional. And the field skills are much less intrusive and don’t get in the way as much. The soundtrack is also fantastic once again, and the presentation is a pretty big step up as well. The main final boss fight is also amazing and is my favorite in the series. The only thing I didn’t love about it apart from the English VA was the amount of sidequests that were required to progress. There were just a few too many and I think it led to the story slowing down at points. But this is still an amazing game and a huge improvement over base 2.

9: Pikmin 3 Deluxe - This game uses the established mechanics of the first two games and expands on it in amazing ways here. While I didn’t do it much, being able to control three separate captains helps a ton with multitasking. And the addition of Rock and Fly Pikmin really adds a lot to the formula and strategy. Plus, the final boss is really fun. My only real complaint is that I had no idea that was the ending going into it. I would have stayed a few more days to collect more fruit to get a better ending. I just wish it was better communicated that the final area was a point of no return. As a result, the ending felt a little abrupt. However, I loved this game, and the added Olimar content only furthers that opinion.

10: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies - The story is slightly weaker compared to a few of the other mainline games, but the new characters are fantastic and Blackquill is an incredible prosecutor. The final two cases are great and the DLC case is a lot of fun. The timeline of events is really confusing for no reason, though. I’d put it above Justice for All for having less of a filler story overall.

And a quick shoutout to the worst game I played this year! Or maybe not so much "worst" and more "least favorite." Anyways...

Ace Attorney - Miles Edgeworth: Investigations 1 - While some of its ideas and mechanics were kind of interesting, this game is held back by a boring story, lackluster characters, and very poor pacing. This is the worst game in the series by quite a bit. It's one of those games where I was so glad when it concluded, which is hardly a good sign.

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I'll list my top ten. Rather than rank them, I'm copying @RR529 's great idea and listing them in alphabetical order. I didn't complete as many games as last year since I played a couple of long hauls coughTOTKandDQVIIcough, but I still got through a decent amount. Some of what I did play were repeats, just on different platforms than the first time around.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Switch)
After playing this, I can see how it netted a few game awards in 2021; heck, it took Destructoid's best PC game AND GotY awards. It's a breezy, somewhat chill game that's reminiscent of a top-down Zelda experience...just with less combat. There are plenty of puzzles, a TON of painting and filling in this world's beautiful aesthetics, and an intriguing, at times mature plot that hits on issues such as depression, imposter syndrome and the lofty expectations of others.

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)
Yep, I finished what many call the longest Dragon Quest game (ignoring X since it's a MMO, technically endless). Unlocking the different islands in the past, helping them with their troubles, then revisiting them in the present can become quite rinse and repeat after awhile, but what kept me going were some of the more unique story vignettes and characters tied to each island. Some of my favorite scenarios were: Ballymolloy, L'Arca, Greenthumb Gardens (ESPECIALLY on return visits), Al-Balad, Nottagen, Vogograd. The different vignettes do lend themselves well to long-term play since the 3DS is portable.

The overarching story itself was fairly decent, even if I'd consider the initial three party members not very interesting (Mirabelle is particularly annoying). Even with the QoL improvements in the 3DS release, it could've wrapped up a bit sooner and had better pacing. The game has a fun, excellent class system, and you can tell a ton of work went into this remake. Not one I'd recommend as a first Dragon Quest game, more for those who know they already like the series. I liked it enough that I'd play it again, just not anytime soon.

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)
If I'd done a ranked list, this would take spot #10. Interesting if somewhat predictable plot, beautiful visuals, some fun extras, great writing, a fun companion, and some decent tunes. Where this game fell short for me was...the combat. While it's better than Color Splash's card system, the basic sliding puzzle combat becomes very boring after the first hour or two. Not to mention it's hard to line up enemies later in the game. Some of the boss battles make up for this, but another (that phoenix thing) nearly made me ragequit for good out of sheer frustration.

I gave this one a fair shake and did beat it, and it did improve on some of my complaints regarding the fun yet flawed Color Splash. I can appreciate Nintendo trying new things, but I might be done with newer Paper Mario titles that aren't ports or remakes.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Switch, via Ace Attorney Trilogy)
I've been saying for years I'd get around to this series, and it finally happened! I am a sucker for mysteries, piecing together crimes, and solving puzzles, so unsurprisingly I've fallen in love with this series. The first couple of cases were a bit eh, but things became better starting with Case 3 and culminated into a satisfying ending. I'll admit I was VERY confused when Case 5 showed up since I'd rolled the credits, but it turns out this was "DLC" added to the DS version before the practice became cool. Now I can also more than understand why Edgeworth has such a huge following.

I was hoping to also finish Justice For All before 2023 ended, but as it's the 31st and I just wrapped up the third case yesterday evening...not happening lol.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)
Not sure I can add much to what has already been said about this game in the thread, but it's very telling when I intentionally play a game to 100% completion! I'm normally not one for online modes in most games, but I quite enjoyed being able to help out others and play levels with them almost in tandem. By far one of my best gaming experiences this year!

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U VC)
Not sure this one entirely counts since I've played both the original and Super Mario All-Stars versions, but this was my first time with this particular version. I did play through all the normal levels and did try out all the e-reader levels (didn't beat them all though), which is why I consider this one a bit different. A very charming game, one that has aged very well even after all this time.

To The Moon (Switch)*
A short simulation game built in RPG Maker that tells an emotional, very human story. Gameplay is there but is pretty simple and takes a backseat to the narrative. A narrative that sticks with you after finishing the game. A neat soundtrack and some nice pixel visuals too. This game is part of Freebird Games's Sigmund Corp. universe, of which the almost as good Finding Paradise is also part of.

Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC/Steam)
Part of my ongoing quest to play the most modern Ys titles in the story path order outlined on Digital Emelas. This game has some unique characters, fun action RPG mechanics, and environments to explore. The plot was sort of all over the place but did have some decent moments. It did also delve into some of Adol's past and does share some interesting parallels with both Ys I & II Chronicles+ and Ys Origin. However, it just...ends. Abruptly. No true resolution or wrap-up.

Ys: The Oath In Felghana (PC/Steam)
I can see why many Ys fans rank this towards the top of their series favorites. Excellent, excellent gameplay using the Napishtim engine. Not quite as polished as Ys Origin (which makes sense as Origin came later), but still a very fun action RPG combat system. Think of it like top-down Zelda with platforming and jumping. Visually it's very much mid-2000s Falcom - it WAS originally a PSP game - not the most beautiful overworld, but it gets the job done. The character portraits and illustrated scenes are still as ageless as ever. Some amazing music as usual, and some pretty fun, epic boss fights as well. The narrative gets the job done and has a couple of genuinely emotional moments, but there's nothing here that hasn't been done elsewhere.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
A huge refinement of the solid, environmentally revolutionary world of Breath of the Wild. This improved on many things, with better dungeons (Though these also became repetitive; I still miss using classic items vs. a temporary "partner"), a better plot, better Shrines for the most part (Some of the naked Link ones can die in a hole though), better runes for the most part, higher difficulty, a better ending boss sequence, and arguably a better soundtrack. I did like "Skyrule" and wish we'd gotten more of it. Conversely, while I liked the concept of the Depths, I do think they went a bit overboard with that area...especially after picking up on what the devs were going for.

Runners-up I would liked to mention are:

• Ys Origin, but I believe I mentioned it in a similar topic last year since I played through both Yunica and Hugo's routes then. I played through the third unlocked Toal route at the start of 2023.
• Link's Awakening (GB) - Played this on the Zelda Game & Watch during my vacation to Germany when I had some downtime. I messed with the other modes too, but I played through most of the game abroad and finished it after returning home. However, I've played the DX version multiple times (3DS VC) and the Switch version once, so I didn't consider this eligible.

I did play through several Mario-related titles this year. Most were mentioned above, but also I've played a few hours of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and played through the entirety of Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Switch. I didn't mention any of the three in that collection since I've played both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy before, and....while I'm glad I've finally played Super Mario Sunshine and recognize it's a decent game in many ways, parts of it frustrated me so much that I'd rather reserve it for some type of infamy list.

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I've actually been keeping track of my best/worst over on Backloggd so I think I can do a Top 10 pretty decently

From top to bottom:
1. Ghost Trick Phantom Detective: Ghost Trick is one of those games where talking about pretty much any aspect of it spoils a ton of what makes it so good so all I can really say is this: it's an absolutely brilliant puzzle/adventure game that marries gameplay and story together better than any other game I've ever played and between it's narrative, characters and music, it's an experience that sticks with you long after you've beaten it. My 2023 GOTY without question.
2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land: An absolutely incredible experience that's both my new favourite Kirby game and joint-favourite 3D platformer alongside Super Mario Galaxy. I adore Kirby for it's endless creativity, unique spin on powerups and delightfully dark worldbuilding and Forgotten Land has all of those (and more) in SPADES, delivering one of the best Switch exclusives around and really makes it hard to believe that this is Kirby's first proper 3D outing.
3. Katamari Damacy Reroll: Katamari Damacy is one of those truly indescribable games where I genuinely don't know how to talk about what makes it so good. I think one word that perfectly describes KD however would be unique. There truly isn't anything like Katamari Damacy; from the addictive physics-based gameplay to it's unabashedly Japanese vibe, it feels like a labour of love from every angle you view it from and has aged gorgeously in the 20 odd years it's been around. Suffice to say, I do love me some 🎶 KATAMARI DAMASHEEEEEEE 🎶
4. Devil May Cry 3 - Special Edition: People call DMC3 the best Devil May Cry game for a damn good reason; it pretty much takes everything people liked from DMC1, ditches everything people hated from DMC2 and adds a hell of a lot more style to the mix to make what is probably the best action game I've ever played. The selection of weapons all feel unique from each other and incredibly fun to use (CERBERUS MY BELOVED), the newly added Styles make each run through of the levels feel different from one another and the dichotomy between the wise-cracking, lackadaisy attitude of Dante and the cold, calculated aura of Vergil is so engaging to see unfold. It also has what might be my favourite boss fights in a game ever, especially those you have with Vergil, just absolutely MUAH from top to bottom.
5. Metroid Fusion: The game that managed to turn my thoughts on Metroid around, Fusion is an phenomenally designed exploration-based platformer filled to the brim with memorable locales, secrets to find and intense moments of panic. Top all of this off with the genuine fear brought about by both the narrative and the SA-X and you have a game that managed to turn Metroid from a series I looked at with mournful disdain into one that I plan on tackling EVERY game in the franchise next year.
6. A Short Hike: ASH's premise is pretty simple overall, yet it executes it with absolute perfection. I genuinely can't think of any flaws with this one; it's the textbook definition of sticking the landing on it's concept. This isn't even mentioning it's utterly gorgeous OST which captures both the area you're exploring and the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist perfectly. It'll only take you about 3 hours to beat it but by god it is worth every cent.
7. Slay the Spire: If Dead Cells was my introduction to roguelikes, Slay the Spire was the game that made me obsessed with them. Combining both card-based gameplay with roguelike mechanics sounds like a recipe for disaster, but StS manages to pull it off flawlessly, resulting in an insanely addictive gameplay loop that really exemplifies the 'one more go' philosophy that makes roguelikes so damn popular. Oh and the music is absolutely incredible too, further enhancing an already great experience into a fantastic one.
8. Paper Mario N64: I'm technically cheating with this as I started PM64 all the way back when it first dropped on NSO in 2021.... but I only got around to actually beating it this year so it counts goshdarnit. Logistics aside, Paper Mario 64 is hands-down one of my favourite RPGs of all time, combining the typical Mario charm you'd expect in his turn-based endeavours with a fantastic aesthetic, lovely characters and a great action-command battle system that has you on your toes at all times. I'm so thrilled to have this one out of the way just in time for TTYD next year.
9. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury: While I haven't actually delved too deeply into the Bowser's Fury side of the overall package, this is probably one of the best value-for-money bundles you could possibly get, giving you both a highly refined and critically acclaimed 2D-3D hybrid alongside a fascinatingly experimental side mode which may serve as a peek into the future of 3D Mario. I may have only played through the 3D World side of things as of now, but I already know that this is easily one of the best games I've played this year.
10. Madworld: Madworld f***ing rules man. It's distinctive BW graphic novel-esque artstyle perfectly complements it's insanely violent gameplay that made going for the highest score possible a thrill each and every time as beat down the minions that stood in your way. Combine this with a killer (heh) selection of boss fights and one of my favourite vocal OSTs in gaming and you end up with an utterly wild romp from start to finish.