So this has been sitting in my drafts since early January. There was a podcast episode that went with this (sorry Matt and Jose!) that I never got around to editing. Between getting married, moving into a new house, adopting a second dog, a couple major health issues, and having work from home ending for my job, I never quite got around to editing the podcast so this companion piece kind of languished as I was determined to release it alongside a podcast episode.
Alas, I’ve finally given up the ghost as we creep towards GOTY 2024 and just want to have this one on the record. 95% of this was written 10 months ago – so enjoy my favorite games of 2023! If that’s your bag.
Honorable Mention #1: El Paso, Elsewhere
El Paso, Elsewhere is a fantastic Max Payne homage with a sufficiently noir story and protagonist who might be better off talking to a psychiatrist and getting some depression meds. And the gameplay is pretty straightforward – shoot, dive and shoot, slow down time and shoot, or if you really want to get wild, slow down time while diving and shooting. There’s always plenty of ammo and the game encourages you to whip through your arsenal to wipe out bad guys and think about reloading later.
When I did a short review of this game for a mini-podcast in 2023, I mentioned that it felt good to play in short bursts because the gameplay didn’t get repetitive. Of course, not long after I recorded myself saying those words, the gameplay started feeling repetitive. At somewhere around 50 chapters long, it starts to wear thin about 20 chapters in (at least in my experience). After an introduction of a frustrating enemy design and another extremely frustrating boss battle, I ended up putting this on the back burner to finish later because I wasn’t as enamored with it as I was when I started. It is, however, still worthy of an honorable mention because I think it should be checked out by everyone who is a fan of this particular genre.
Honorable Mention #2: Super Mario RPG Remake
As seen in my top 100 games of all-time, the original Super Mario RPG is a top 10 game of all-time in my mind. I was very excited for this remake and blew through it very quickly once it released. It’s a game that I know like the back of my hand and I had a blast replaying it and experiencing it all again in high definition.
However I’m only putting it as an honorable mention because there really aren’t any significant changes to the game, it’s only a new graphical coat of paint. The one thing they do add: a combo chain meter that chains together perfect attacks and blocks, makes a relatively easy game even easier.
Yes, I loved returning to the Mushroom Kingdom and seeing best boy Mallow again. And yes everyone should play Super Mario RPG, it’s a classic. But I just couldn’t personally justify putting it in my top 10 this year, even though I shout praises to the roof.
Honorable Mention #3: Fights in Tight Spaces
I’ve been looking for the Slay the Spire killer, well, basically since I started completing Slay the Spire on Ascension 20 regularly. A lot of deckbuilding roguelikes have come and gone and I’ve tried a lot of them, but they’ve always had bits and pieces that didn’t quite fit. Griftlands’ story and extensive mechanics made the runs take a little too long. Nowhere Prophet was a little too hard.
Fights in Tight Spaces is the closest competitor (in my opinion) to the feeling I get playing Slay the Spire. Each run is addicting and fuels a “just one more room” philosophy until you end up making a mistake and dying and saying “okay, I’ll just start another run and do a few rooms before going to bed.” The mechanics, like Slay the Spire, are easy to pick up on and as they get built upon they never feel daunting. There are multiple difficulty levels you can select to help ease you into the game. And its minimalist presentation manages to ooze style.
If this game hadn’t originally come out in 2021 (with a Switch release in 2023, which is where I’m playing it) this would be in my top 10 for sure. But I’m sticking to my own rules. Consider it honorably mentioned.
10. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line
I talk about how much I love game music in pretty much every post I write on this site. So yeah, a rhythm game that combined over 300 Final Fantasy tracks, most of which are bangers? That’s making the top 10, no doubt. Even though I don’t normally do rhythm games outside of ones that use plastic instruments, this game was addicting and absolutely a blast to play through.
There isn’t really much more I can say about this other than…do you like Final Fantasy music? Do you have at least a passing interest in rhythm games? If yes to both those questions, there’s no reason to not own Final Bar Line. It’s missing a few songs, but between the main game and the DLC most of the standout tracks you can think of are covered. You’re either already in or already passing at this point, so I don’t need to say any more.
9. God of War: Ragnarok: Valhalla
When I was originally putting together my top 10, I was struggling to find something to go in the tenth spot. Everything I was considering had a “but.” Super Mario RPG was amazing, BUT it’s basically the same game from 30 years ago but easier. Final Fantasy XVI had some epic moments BUT the lows were super tedious. Tears of the Kingdom was good BUT it was too much game. I was struggling to choose which BUT was the least objectionable.
And then I played through Valhalla and almost immediately knew it was the tenth game I was looking for.
A completely free DLC epilogue released in December for God of War: Ragnarok, Valhalla takes the combat of the modern God of War games and drops Kratos in a roguelike atmosphere. And it’s not just randomization – the entire DLC is packed with story and lore and is a true, fitting epilogue to the whole Ragnarok game. It strips the biggest problems I had with the main game (unnecessary RPG elements, tedious skill trees) and goes back to basics – you start with all the skills for all weapons unlocked, and as you progress and complete more runs you can upgrade your health, stats, etc. to help you on later runs.
Each run you choose a weapon at the beginning that you’ll get the majority of your upgrades for. You get special stat boosts and slight buffs to different skills and attacks that make you use your entire toolset instead of the 4 or 5 attacks you’re comfortable with (which happens in the main game). It really shows off the excellence and variety in God of War’s combat design and also shows how amazing the base game could have been if it wasn’t shackled by the need to have pointless armor upgrades. The only downside was it was over too fast – I’ll likely do a few more runs here and there, but I completed the story too quick in my opinion, I know it’s a free DLC but I wanted more. Hell, I’d take a full Hades-like game of this b/c God of War’s combat is just that fun.
8. Sea of Stars
Every year there’s a game on my list that shows up in the lower half and I talk about how surprised I am that it wasn’t higher because my hype for it was through the roof going into it. This year, Sea of Stars is that game. The next game from the crew that made The Messenger, I kickstarted this years ago and have been excitedly waiting for its release.
A turn-based RPG that takes inspiration from Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, you would think this game would have had me salivating. And it did! Somewhat. There is some great boss music and world music from the same composer who did The Messenger and when it was good it was good. But the music wasn’t as consistent as The Messenger’s OST. It also takes the idea of Chrono Trigger’s combo attacks and amps it up to eleven, giving every party member combination multiple different combos to use. This is a neat idea! …in theory.
But to execute combo attacks you have to build up meter through regular attacks and timed hits and blocks (a la Super Mario RPG). Each party member only gets three non-combo moves for the whole game, most of which are unlocked really early on, so by hour 20 you’ve been doing timed attacks to the same moves for basically 75% of the game. And the cool combo moves you unlock much more frequently don’t get used, mostly because regular battles are over with before you need to do a combo.
Don’t get me wrong, Sea of Stars is still fantastic. Garl and B’st are two great characters with awesome personalities. Resh’an’s regular attack is actually probably the most satisfying timed hit attack to use in any game that’s ever had them. But with a few tweaks to design decisions this game could go from good to GREAT. And when you’re specifically emulating a game like Chrono Trigger, if you don’t hit GREAT you’re going to be at least a little disappointing.
7. Dead Space Remake
The Dead Space remake is the primary reason I didn’t feel great about putting Super Mario RPG in my top 10. Unlike Super Mario RPG which pretty much did a graphical overhaul with a few post-game boss additions, Dead Space feels like a true, ground-up remake that fixes a lot of the problems that the original game had.
First, it turns Isaac from a silent protagonist into a voiced character with a personality. This doesn’t feel like a betrayal because Isaac has a voice in Dead Space 2 and 3, so Isaac being silent in the original is the one that felt off. The game also fixes areas and setpieces that sucked in the first game and makes them playable and interesting in the remake. They also make the Ishimura completely interconnected so you can walk from one end to the other without ever fast traveling or using the tram, which makes the entire game much more cohesive feeling.
Overall, the Dead Space remake becomes the definitive version of the game to play. I absolutely cannot recommend for someone to play the original game over this one. The new game just does everything better. It’s worthy of being a top 10 game on its own merits, not just the merits of the original.
6. F-Zero 99
Look, the original F-Zero for the SNES made my top 100 games of all-time at #83. F-Zero 99 is just that game, except instead of racing against CPUs you race against 98 other real people. And that’s rad!
I love battle royale styled games that aren’t just shooters, and F-Zero 99 pulls that off in the racing venue. You can compete in cups where after each race, only a certain number of finishers move on to the next cup. In the most intense cups, you go from 99 racers to 20 in the finals (coincidentally, the same number of racers in the SNES game). You get all the fantastic music from the SNES game as well.
There are a few tweaks – boosts are tied to your health instead of being a finite resource to use. You also collect energy from bumping into other players and can eventually use a superhighway that goes above the track and allows you to skip over harder and trickier turns in the course. Planning your boosts and timing to keep a high position takes skill, especially once you hit the higher ranks, and it’s very addicting to try just one more race and chase the high of victory. I’ve only finished 1st once so far and haven’t won a full cup yet, but I’m still trying for that ultimate win and don’t foresee myself stopping any time soon.
5. Gravity Circuit
I’ve been waiting for a good Mega Man clone for a long time. A few years ago Panzer Paladin nearly scratched the itch but it wasn’t quite the same. Enter Gravity Circuit – the Mega Man game I’ve been waiting for since Mega Man 10.
It keeps the eight bosses and you get weapons from the bosses format, but adds just enough tweaks to the formula to make it stand out on its own. Your primary attack is a melee and you have a grapple to get around. You get three slots for passive circuits that give you certain buffs (like adding more range to your melee attack or giving you a double jump) and you get four other slots that correspond to directions similar to Smash Bros attacks. These slots are the weapons you get from the bosses you defeat, and mix and matching which attacks you want to use at certain times adds a unique flavor to the Mega Man of it all.
Also the music is divine. The stage themes are fantastic, the boss theme kicks ass, and overall it’s just the perfect package for a Mega Man lover like me. I was instantly in love with this game from the first gif I saw of it and the game lived up to my expectations. My favorite indie game of the year and I hope it gets a sequel.
4. Octopath Traveler 2
The original Octopath Traveler was a good game, but Octopath Traveler 2 improved upon everything and is a phenomenal RPG and an instant classic. The characters are way more interesting (well, most of them at any rate) and even though all the starting “classes” are the same, the personalities are so different it doesn’t feel like the retread I worried it was going to be. Partitio is probably one of my favorite RPG characters of all-time and I instantly fell in love with him and the rest of the cast: Hikari, Castii, Osvald, Temenos, and Throne were all immediately gripping as both characters on their own and where their stories were going. And hey, 6 out of 8 ain’t bad.
Octopath Traveler 2 doesn’t treat you like an idiot, either. Unlike most games/RPGs nowadays, the sidequests are just given to you and you get to figure out how to solve them on their own. There’s no exclamation points to guide you on exactly where to go to get your next step. It’s a refreshing take on quests and storytelling that we don’t get as often anymore.
Oh, and have I mentioned the music? Some of the best battle music in recent RPG history. This game just has the full package. In any other year, this could have been my #1 Game of the Year. However…
3. Baldur’s Gate 3
Holy crap, Baldur’s Gate 3. Where do I begin? This is truly a sandbox RPG where you can tackle problems any way you can think. It really opens the door of the Dungeons & Dragons experience, letting you customize your character in many ways and will let you play as good or as evil or as morally great as you want! If Octopath Traveler II is the near-perfect iteration of an old-school RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the near-perfect iteration of the new school.
Much like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, the characters in your party and who you interact with steal the show. Every character is deep and interesting in different degrees and it would be stunning if you managed to get through the back half of this year without hearing about Astarion or Karlach or Shadowheart or any of the other party members. They’re instantly all memorable in their own ways and they also play very differently within their D&D classes. Personally, Karlach is my favorite but I have a soft spot for every member in the party…except Gale. Sorry, but he was the least interesting to play off of my ecoterrorist drow druid so he didn’t get much screen time in my first playthrough.
The one fault is, like Tears of the Kingdom and Final Fantasy XVI, BG3 is just a little too much game. With over 80 hours of play time I’ve barely started Act 3. Yeah, I haven’t even finished this game. And yet it’s my #3 this year and honestly, in any other year I probably would have finished it as it completely consumed my life in the fall and winter months and named it my GOTY. However…
2. Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man was my game of the year back in 2018, the first year of the Make Me A Gamer Podcast and the first year of the Manatees. It is no surprise that its sequel ended up this high on my top 10 of 2023.
The mechanics from the first game are still there and still wonderful. The game’s story switches between Peter and Miles, giving both the spotlight in different ways but never feeling like one is more important than the other. And they nail both the symbiote storyline and their adaptation of Kraven’s Last Hunt – Kraven ends up a very menacing villain in his own right. Watching Peter slowly be affected by the symbiote leads to a one-two battle of Peter vs. Kraven, then Miles vs. Peter which was the absolute highlight of the entire game for me. And that was just the climax of the second act! When Venom finally takes the stage in the third act, all bets are off and I was absolutely in love with it.
Once again, Insomniac nailed the feeling of being Spider-Man both swinging throughout the city and in the street level side stories. Oh, and they also managed to include Mysterio, my favorite Spider-Man villain, in a way that I felt was a really neat take on the character. I was absolutely in love with this game and, once again, any other year this would have been my #1….but that being said…
1. Alan Wake 2
Back in 2010, I bought an XBox 360 just so I could play the original Alan Wake. I’d followed it ever since its announcement and the supernatural Twin Peaks-esque setting about a writer whose stories turn dark and affect the real world was so exciting to me. It, along with Fallout: New Vegas later in the year, were the first games I ever bought and played through DLC for.
And then the stupid game ended on a cliffhanger.
A little while later, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare came out and I devoured that as well, but it didn’t really solve the cliffhanger of the main story. Patiently, I waited for a sequel. It took a long, long, long time, but it finally arrived this year and let me tell you: it was worth the wait.
I can’t begin to describe how immaculate the vibes are in Alan Wake 2. Another dual protagonist game: you play as Saga, an FBI agent, who is investigating Bright Falls (the town from the first game) while also playing as Alan, who is trapped in the Dark Place. There is weird time shenanigans, jump scares, spooky vibes, and it just has atmosphere out the wazoo. I loved every second I was playing Alan Wake 2 – it is exactly the kind of horror that I can stand.
It also one-ups every other big Remedy setpiece: the concert in Alan Wake was the first time I was like “holy shit this is a game-defining moment.” Then we got the Ashtray Maze in Control which was even more mind-blowing. And then this game has We Sing. If you haven’t played Alan Wake 2 yet, I can’t spoil the magnificence of what happens in that chapter, but it is nothing like any other game you’ve ever played. After completing the game, I went on YouTube and just watched different streamers react to their first playthrough of the section. I loved it.
In a year full of GOTYs, Alan Wake 2 was the absolute winner and definitely earned my GOTY for 2023.
Atma's Weapon 