2023 has been a crazy year for gaming, especially in its latter half, with release after release, each one being more accomplished than the previous one. A constant stream of quality games, both big and small. I tried my best this year as well, playing as many games as I could, and trying to finish all the games I had an interest in, and yet there are still some high-profile 2023 games I hope I’ll be able to tackle next year, like Resident Evil 4.

Before starting with the list, I feel I should include three games as honorable mentions. The first is The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, a game of a series I really love and I’ll talk more about in detail later, and finally received a localized port after many years. The second is the port of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective to modern consoles, a title that I wanted to play for many years now, I finally did, and it didn’t disappoint in the slightest. The third is Valhalla, the DLC of God of War Ragnarök, which turned out to be a fantastic note to close the year on. All three were fantastic experiences and I highly recommend them. 

Moving on to the main list though…

10. Fate/Samurai Remnant

With a surprise announcement at last year’s New Year's Eve Type-Moon Stream, I was very eager to see more of this, and I was glad it eventually turned out to be one of the better video game entries of the series. It’s not perfect but, Fate/Samurai Remnant adds several very cool additions to the franchise’s roster and expands its mythos, while at the same time, it’s taking advantage of all the ingredients that make the franchise so likable, to create an impactful story full of tragedy and charm. The game’s main character duo especially turned out to be a breeze of fresh air, and both of them had a very memorable relationship throughout it. It’s a game I very much enjoyed playing this year and I am looking forward to the planned DLC for 2024, which hopefully will add some substantial content to the game and expand on its story and characters.

9. Paranormasight

I’m a big fan of visual novels and adventure games, and Paranormasight turned out to be something I very much enjoyed. It is reminiscent of games like 999 or 13 Sentinels, but it goes for a more urban fantasy feeling, while also putting all its focus on making the most of its setting, which is just a small part of Tokyo, full of its own legends and influences. It’s such a clever title with a very retro feeling, and it fully embraces that. The cast is also full of likable characters, and despite the game’s short length, it excels in creating a strong connection between them and the player. Honestly, I can’t recommend it enough to the fans of the genre, and I look forward to seeing this develop into its own series in the future.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Perhaps one of this year’s prime frontrunners, Tears of the Kingdom was a significant experience to me because it was also my return to this beloved franchise after many years. It features a big world full of surprises and it’s a great example of a game that excels in creating personalized experiences and making a playthrough feel unique. The addition of the Ultrahand also proved to add tons of creativity to the game, and I had a great time using it not only to solve the numerous puzzles in it but also to tackle some open-ended scenarios, each one being very satisfactory. I think the Legend of Zelda franchise is becoming better and better, with a very successful transition to an open world, and while some aspects of the older game may not appear again, the series is certainly at its best right now. 

7. Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society

The sequel to a game that I played last year and absolutely loved, Labyrinth of Galleria is a phenomenal experience that is a bit hard to talk about without spoiling some of its intricacies. As a dungeon-crawler RPG, it’s rich in interesting mechanics and full of systems to learn, which might feel daunting at first, but, it’s really satisfying when you manage to master them, understand what the game asks you to accomplish, and make use of everything to successfully reach its beautiful finale. 

The main reason I fell in love with this game is its narrative though, a rather dark story that is full of twists and very clever uses of the game’s overall structure. I don’t think I’ve played anything like that before, and it’s really ambitious in a way you rarely see. Due to its length, genre, and mechanical depth, it’s probably not the easiest title to recommend, but I wholeheartedly think that all JRPG fans should try to surpass that barrier of entry, and I’m sure they’ll be rewarded in multiple ways from the game’s craftiness.

6. Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Insomniac Games has been a real workhorse for PlayStation, releasing a lot of high-quality games at a steady pace. Spider-Man 2 is the culmination of all that, and definitely their best game yet. A spectacular title full of great sequences and setpieces, a story about two Spider-Men that has the best of both, and very fluid gameplay both during and outside the combat. As a fan of Spider-Man, I feel this is a work that offers everything I want from a superhero game and pays respect to the Webbed Avenger’s world in the best ways possible, and I don’t think any other studio knows the characters as well as Insomniac at this point. I’m really looking forward to seeing where the story goes in the future, and how they can surpass this.

5. Octopath Traveler II

This is a great JRPG that I really enjoyed from the very first moment. Octopath Traveler II has a very retro feeling to it, but at the same time, there’s a lot of attention in order to create a thoroughly modern experience. I had a great time unraveling the story and the background of each one of the travelers, and I especially loved how they ended up connecting, bridged by the game’s world-building, which is full of interesting details and past events. More than anything though, I appreciated how much this game values player freedom, and even if there aren’t explicit choices, you can always choose when or how you’ll approach a situation or prioritize whichever story you prefer. Great music as well. Team Asano’s games continue to have a really special place for me, and each one continues to surprise me, so I really look forward to seeing what’s next from them in the coming year.

4. Final Fantasy XVI

Another Square Enix game, this time it’s the latest entry for one of the most well-known and still ever-changing franchises. I had a great time playing through Final Fantasy XVI, and I loved both the world and its characters, Clive’s journey was really well executed from start to finish. As someone who really appreciates the hype a game can generate, I believe that the boss fights and its setpieces are very hard to surpass, with some high-octane sequences that kept raising the bar. Bringing to mind series like Game of Thrones and Attack on Titan, that was a game I really liked, even if it’s an action title more than an RPG. Special mention to the music as well, with Soken’s tracks delivering once more. The DLC episode was also a nice surprise, and looking forward to the next episode in 2024, which hopefully will expand the world more. 

3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie

The Trails games have been a series that I’ve been enjoying more and more each year with each new entry I get to play. Reverie signifies the end of the Cold Steel games and the start of a new era, albeit we’re still a couple of years behind Japan. It’s a title that pays homage to a lot of the past entries and the various characters and storylines, and while it has some structural differences with the average Trails game, it’s still one through and through. I had a great time going through it and I was really glad to be a fan of such a series, with a very lively world and an expansive narrative. There's nothing like Trails game in the video games industry. 

On another note, I feel I’ve hit a personal nirvana with the gameplay of Trails into Reverie and I had tons of fun, while I felt like I got the most out of it from all the past Trails titles. We’re getting Trails through Daybreak next year, and I couldn’t be more overjoyed about where the series is heading.

2. Baldur's Gate 3

Objectively, this is what I feel should be the game of the year, Larian Studios has perfected a lot of Divinity Original Sin 2’s formulas and managed to create a very deep RPG with some really strong writing. The amount of freedom you have in Baldur's Gate 3 is crazy at times, and even a small decision at the start of the run can be acknowledged much later in the playthrough, I don’t think that many games can manage to achieve such a feat and such a feeling, especially so meticulously. Furthermore, the game’s production values are a thing to behold, with tons of characters to interact with, all voiced and animated, and all offering many possibilities to the player. 

I’ve been a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons for a while as well, so seeing that world come to life as a game of that caliber is very neat. And other than the many familiar enemies and locations, I feel Baldur’s Gate 3 manages to make rolling the dice extremely fun, both inside and outside of the combat. Every moment matters and every moment can be a significantly different experience for each player and this is something I certainly appreciate, and something this game is extremely good at.

1. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

The return of the iconic From Software series, and my first time going through an Armored Core game, Fires of Rubicon had the greatest impact for me this year. While it can be a very different experience from Souls games for sure, it also evokes several familiar feelings, with the boss fights taking the cake. The oppressive and mysterious atmosphere of the game’s world, paired with the fantastic soundtrack, also managed to captivate me and prove to me once more that From Software really excels in making worlds, whether it’s more standard fantasy or not. And of course, the gameplay is very tight, with the game always having a great feel to it as far as the combat and movement go.

Furthermore, I felt very nostalgic for a game like this one, which didn’t have a big open world or even interconnected areas, but it was just a set of many missions, a design choice you’d usually see in games a decade or more ago. Fires of Rubicon shows that even when you follow a more dated structure, you can still have a modern and very fun game. Very much looking forward to seeing what’s next for both the series and the studio.