The year is almost over and it’s time to look back at how this year shaped up for the video game industry. This year has been an absolute incredible year for video games. Honestly, it’s probably one of the strongest years for releases ever. The insane rate at which highly acclaimed titles came out was felt all throughout the year, and truly felt like there was no downtime between these game. It was seriously such a tough year to decide what the best games were this year. Thus, let’s look at what we at mxdwn decided were the Top 10 games of 2023’s incredible slate.
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9. Hi-Fi Rush
2023 has been described as the best in gaming since 2007, given the high-quality games countlessly coming out this year, and it was a good sign that one of the year’s best came out at the start of the year, and even better as a shadow release. Hi-Fi Rush is considered by many Xbox fans as the system’s best game of the year, even outranking Starfield. Even having it be on this list despite being an early release and the fear of being quickly forgotten about shows how passionate this new fanbase is.
Its mix of action and rhythm was a breath of fresh air in the world of action games, especially when compared to those that came after. The story was a nice surprise, and the art style was a great choice. It also aged better over the year since nearly every animated film had a similar art direction. Hi-Fi Rush set the bar for what this year of gaming can offer to the player, and fans are hoping that this will be a new addition to Xbox’s lineup of must-play exclusive games.
-Diego Villanueva
8. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Mario is back in 2D and better than ever before. Super Mario Bros. Wonder brought old and new ideas together for a brand new adventure in the Flower Kingdom. Players take the role of Mario and friends as they race to retrieve the mysterious Wonder Seed from the evil clutches of Bowser.
This reimagined version of the classic 2D side-scroller brings with it new powers, challenges, and more complex controls. The levels, artwork, and stylistic choices are incredible. Nintendo has completely reinvigorated the 2D Mario formula and looks set to have a solid base for the future of the franchise.
-Caitlyn Taylor
7. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
CD Projekt Red has successfully brought back Cyberpunk 2077 from the bring of the dead and made one of the most engaging expansions for the title in the process. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty excellently weaves itself into the main plotline by engaging the player with amazing scenarios, a plethora of customization options, and a brand-new zone to explore.
It also brought another major star to the game with actor Idris Elba being a major character in the expansion. The expansion doesn’t exactly reinvent the title itself, but with all of these additions, as well as all of the improvements to the base game, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty pushes through and makes its case as one of the best entries of 2023.
-Alex Levine
6. Final Fantasy XVI
Final Fantasy XVI returns to its roots offering a familiar yet distinctly fresh experience by embracing the classic themes that define the long-running series, but adding those elements to hyper action focused gameplay. While more action than RPG, it doesn’t detract from what makes the series so special. Like Game of Thrones, Final Fantasy XVI presents an intricate storyline that requires attention, yet the initial stage offers a solid and engaging narrative that draws the players in. Square Enix crafted a game that guides players through thematic throwbacks to the 8- and 16-bit eras of the series but pulls them in different directions with intense action gameplay.
-Katherine Daly
5. Resident Evil 4 Remake
Capcom continues their string of remakes of the Resident Evil series with fan-favorite Resident Evil 4. Considered to be one of the greatest games of all time, the remake has made it even better. The action survival horror series returns with Leon Kennedy and his famous one-liners tasked with saving the president’s daughter in a remote village somewhere in rural Spain. But things are not as simple as it seems as strange parasites have taken over the village and its surrounding areas making its villagers members of a dark cult. Roundhouse, supplex, and fight your way through several locales to discover the mystery of the cult of Los Illuminados.
The improvements to the gameplay and story compared to the original add more depth to a game many considered near-perfect back in 2005. Capcom keeps the streak of knocking it out of the park with where they’re handling the franchise. The remake of Resident Evil 4 isn’t just one of the best games of the year, but one of the best remakes of all time.
-Manuel Nocera
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
There have been many Superhero games throughout the decade, some good some bad. Some good examples include games like The Batman Arkham Series, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, The Ultimate Alliance series and of course the Insomniac Spider-Man games.
The first Spider-Man game made by Insomniac took what made other Spider-Man games fun/popular and added an overall compelling narrative and fun gameplay that changed Marvel Superhero video games going forward. This eventually led to the spinoff/Sequel Spider-Man: Miles Morales which took what made the first game great and added a new perspective and gameplay through Miles which ended with him becoming his own Spider-Man.
Now in 2023, we got the sequel to both games in the form of Spider-Man 2 which now features two playable Spider-Men with their own respective gameplay and stories. Taking the gameplay of both Spider-Man games and their open world’s Insomniac games was able to take both elements and give them a boost in both scope and speed with many new features like the new web wings for faster traversal, the new combat abilities like the symbiote for Peter and the new bioelectrical abilities for Miles. There are also new activities for both Spider-Men to explore and test out the new mechanics as well as an expanded map with new locations like Brooklyn and Queens.
The Game centers around Peter and Miles having to deal with enemies from the past and present as they defend their city from villains like Sandman, The Lizard, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Venom and many other iconic rouges and baddies from Spider-Man’s rogues gallery with an Insomniac style that is both familiar to long time Spider-Man fans and new to those who have just gotten into the franchise. On top of that Peter and Miles have to deal with their own personal issues with their friends and families that come into conflict with their Superhero lives. Overall this sequel takes nearly everything that made the first two games fun and enhances their gameplay and world to make for an amazing experience that can be enjoyed for years.
-Louis Heimansohn
3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Following up 2017’s revolutionary The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was an almost impossible task, but the Zelda team managed to pull it off with Tears of the Kingdom. Though it lacked the freshness of its predecessor, it more than made up for it through sheer innovation. The vehicle/anything-building Ultrahand is a technical marvel; the fact that it works at all is impressive, and the amount of polish it has is nothing short of a miracle. The other new abilities are welcome additions as well, changing the gameplay from Breath of the Wild in new and interesting ways.
Discovery of the open world is still present in the new Sky Islands and Depths, but the true strength of Tears of the Kingdom comes from the discovery of mechanics. Weapon combinations, cartoon contraptions, and puzzle-breaking makes for one of the most “wait, I can actually do that?” games out there. It also created a sense of community around the game in its first few weeks, with players taking to the internet to show off their functioning mechs, flying war machines, and Korok torture devices. It’s by no means a perfect game – it still retains many of Breath of the Wild’s flaws – but when you’re watching the sunset burn the world orange from a Sky Island or riding a dragon through the pitch-black Depths, it can feel pretty close.
-Alex Andahazy
2. Baldur’s Gate III
Video games, and more specifically RPGs owe a lot to Dungeons & Dragons. Back in the day, Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 were the games that revolutionized the RPG genre, bringing some of the mechanics that you see in every RPG up until now. One of the things that RPGs and DnD have in common is the importance of choice and consequence. Choice in how one customizes their character and in most RPGs, choices that can affect the story and relationships with other characters.
-Paul Nunez
Alan Wake II sees the return of Alan Wake, the novelist, after thirteen years who is still stuck in a nightmare world of the Dark Place while at the same time introducing players to Saga Anderson an agent investigating ritualistic murders in the small town of Bright Falls, and the game allows you to explore two stories in one giving you two worlds filled with unique characters, enemies, monsters, and darkness. The game and story have an almost cinematic feel like a perfect merge between film and game.
Alan Wake II a survival horror game full of tense a scary moments. This psychological survival horror game brings the horror genre to a whole other level pulling you in every step of the way allowing you to use your fighting skills, detective skills, and survival skills all in one. The story is full of twists and turns that will have you guessing all along the way. Plus, the seamless weaving of live-action footage throughout the game makes Alan Wake II stand out compared to everything else this year.
-Rehema McPherson