For 2023, I’m doing another quick and dirty best/disappointing games list. As always these picks are solely my subjective opinion based on what I was able to play first hand. If you were expecting something specific on either list, there’s a good chance I just didn’t get around to it. Disappointing: 5) Diablo IV - Played for about 30 minutes, got kicked to the main menu due to a server error, immediately uninstalled and never played it again. 4) Payday 3 - As a casual Payday 2 fan, even I wasn’t expecting how barebones this sequel would be. Add to that a terrible launch and yet another always online requirement and one session of this game is likely all I’ll ever give it. 3) Atomic Heart - The developers clearly threw every idea they ever had at the wall, but in the end that philosophy makes this game a disjointed mess that doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up. 2) Starfield - I don’t expect much from Bethesda these days, but I was still surprised how many steps back Starfield takes compared to their previous titles. A boring slog of bugs, menus and loading screens. 1) Alan Wake II - Let me set the record straight...for the most part, I DO LIKE Alan Wake II. There’s way too much weird stuff happening in it for me not to. It’s more a victim of expectations born from all the 10/10 scores I saw before launch. I dig what Remedy does in many ways, but some needlessly slow pacing, reliance on obnoxious jump scares for all of it’s “horror” and a bug that soft locked progress more than once kind of soured my general opinion of it. ____________________ Best: 5) Baldur's Gate 3 - This should objectively be Game of the Year. It’s content rich with memorable characters and gives the player tons of freedom in both narrative decision making and play style...but it’s also so massive that I had my fill once I finished Act 1. I generally don’t have the patience for games this huge anymore, but I recognize that BG3 is worthy of all the honors it gets. 4) Bomb Rush Cyberfunk - I’ve never played Jet Set Radio and even I can tell this captures it’s spirit perfectly. The trick system is on the simple side but when complimented with the game’s flashy style and catchy soundtrack, the laid back loop of comboing and tagging manages to be fun for the entire runtime. 3) Remnant II - The first Remnant was my GOTY in 2019 and it’s sequel also delivers. The same satisfying combat with expanded classes, tons of weapons to play with and seemingly endless secrets to uncover allow for tons of replayability. It’s final zone leaves things on a sour note with an artificial difficulty spike, but that’s doesn’t negate the 30 hours of quality that proceeded it. 2) Dredge - A chill fishing sim and Lovecraftian intrigue makes for an engaging mix that’s easy to lose time in. Upgrading your boat for efficiency and discovering more of the tales dotted around the map are equally rewarding. One of the more unique indie games I played this year. 1) Hi-Fi Rush - Hands down my favorite game of 2023. It exude a never-ending enthusiastic energy, has tight rhythm based combat mechanics highlighting the killer soundtrack and has a loveable cast of characters that are easy to root for. As a guy well known for nitpicking and cynicism, Hi-Fi Rush reminded me why I love video games. ____________________ BONUS Worst: Redfall - My group and I got curious and made the ill-fated decision to play this one night. Every mission had us walk across a lifeless map, engage four or five brain dead enemies with the worst shooting I’ve felt in years and then teleport back to base. Rinse and repeat. After about three hours, one friend asked “So...when are going to do the main missions?”. Little did he know, we’d been doing them the entire time. The game crashed shortly after and we all deleted it from our hard drives. Absolute garbage fire. Please share your favorite/least favorites of 2023. Here’s hoping next year I actually make content again <3
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