As always, since I don’t tend to play new games, I can’t really join in the game of the year discussions. And honestly, as the years go by, keeping up with the latest releases seems like more and more of a mammoth task.
For context, this year I experienced 5 2023 games
– Tchia
– King of the Castle
– Humanity
– Resident Evil 4 Remake
– House Flipper 2
Instead of talking about my Game of the Year, I like to take a look at all of the games I played throughout the year no matter the release date, and reflect on my favourites.
A couple of things to note – they are ranked in an order relating to my experience. They might not be in the ‘best’ order in a technical sense, but instead I have based it on factors like how much fun I had in the way that I played (whether that was alone or on stream), how much I personally clicked with the game or the characters, how much of an impact the game may have had on me and/or how memorable I found it.
The second note is that I track games that I only watched alongside games that I have played myself, and quite often games that I didn’t even play make it onto the list because I had such a positive experience with them.
I do a bunch of my game tracking on GG App, you can see all 43 of the games I experienced in 2023 here.
10. Sea of Thieves
Developer: Rare Ltd
Release Date: 3 June 2020
Sea of Thieves offers the essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and become a legend in your own right. With no set roles, you have complete freedom to approach the world, and other players, however you choose.
2023 was not my first year of playing Sea of Thieves. It’s not even my second year. But it does feel like it was the definitive year.
Getting pirate legend, captained ships, playing both with a crew and solo, and now safer seas. It feels like this is the year it became the true Sea of Thieves, both for the game itself and me as a player.
Between playing the game and watching streams, I would imagine this is the game that has taken the majority of my gaming time this year. I can’t get enough of the gorgeous environments, I love the ocean and I am a gatherer by nature so finding treasure is always satisfying. It is the adventure simulator I always wanted.
You can see my first stream of Sea of Thieves here, some galleries of my screenshot adventures here and my written review here.
9. Outer Wilds
Developer: Mobius Digital
Release Date: 18 June 2020
Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.
I have a complicated relationship with Outer Wilds. I did play quite a bit of the game for myself back in mid 2022. I had fun exploring, discovering and experimenting. I had no intention to stop, but then a bunch of horrible irl circumstances stopped me streaming for a while. When I came back, I couldn’t face picking the game up again for a few reasons.
I gave it some time and picked it back up off stream, but I could no longer get away with the flying controls. I decided I would watch it instead, which was then decided for me when the game left Game Pass.
I ended up watching a full playthrough and it was very interesting seeing things being discovered in a different order than mine, finding new secrets through another’s eyes, and seeing someone else connect with the game in a different way than I had. By the end I was glad to have seen it, but a little sad that I didn’t ‘get’ it the way others seemed to have.
The reason that Outer Wilds still ends up on this list, is that even though the ending felt like it hit differently to me than it did for many others, it still hit. Interpretations are just that, and that is the beauty of art. My interpretation is my interpretation. Whether I liked it or not, it lingered and the more time that I spent reflecting on it, the more I realise that it made an impact, and I still think about it to this day.
You can see my partial playthrough here.
8. Pupperazzi
Developer: Sundae Month
Release Date: 20 January 2022
Put your love for pups to the test – we have a bunch of dogs that need their photos taken, doggone it! Photograph and catalogue the finest (and derpiest) dogs to build your career, upgrade your camera, and discover new canines. WOOF.
It almost feels bad to admit that I went into this game with the lowest expectations. It was completely unexpected how much I thoroughly enjoyed this game.
I already expressed my delight in my review, so rather than rehash that here I will redirect you there if you are interested. But I also would like to stress that this is a delightful game about taking photos of dogs and if you are ever feeling low and need a hug in a video game, that is how this game felt for me.
You can read my review here or see the results of my photoshoot here.
7. Citizen Sleeper
Developer: Jump Over The Age
Release Date: 5 May 2022
Roleplaying in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism. Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of TTRPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future.
Considering Citizen Sleeper is a text based game, it did a great job of causing tension and stress, keeping me on the edge of my seat, wondering whether I would survive to see the next week.
I was introduced to this one as part of my 12 Days of Game Pass series but went on to complete the full playthrough as a Let’s Play. It had a good pace, an addicting loop, some very interesting concepts and had a variety of characters, some detestable and some I absolutely adored.
It almost doesn’t make sense that a game can put all kinds of high stakes pressures on you yet still feel relaxing. I think that sense of ease came from both the consistently comfortable aesthetics, and the games systems being very clear to use and easy to understand.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with it. Somehow the DLC’s improved it again, and while I am not extremely eager to Let’s Play another game with this much reading, I am glad to have experienced it this way as I think reading out loud can bring a deeper connection with the words on the screen and the characters they represent.
You can see my full playthrough of Citizen Sleeper here.
6. Late Shift
Developer: CtrlMovie
Release Date: 18 April 2017
Late Shift is a high stakes FMV crime thriller. Forced into a brutal London heist, your choices matter in this interactive cinematic experience with adaptable storylines that lead to one of seven conclusions. Your decisions are you.
Late Shift was so much fun. It is another game that I entered with low expectations and ended up having a blast. It isn’t the greatest game or the greatest movie, but there is something about the bite size entertainment provided by an FMV that brings me joy, and this is one of my favourites.
The promo images for the game don’t even give a hint what it is about, which is a shame because it is one of the reasons I waited so long to play this one. I had no idea that I was going to love the main character so much and the situations that we ended up in were so silly that I had a big dumb smile on my face throughout.
There are enough variables to immediately jump in again and have a different experience, and playing through a second time was the icing on the cake.
You can see both of my playthroughs of Late Shift here.
5. Beacon Pines
Developer: Hiding Spot
Release Date: 22 September 2022
Beacon Pines is a cute and creepy adventure set within a mysterious book. Sneak out late, make new friends, uncover hidden truths, and collect words that will change the course of fate!
Out of all of the games that I will talk about in this post, Beacon Pines has got to be the one that has flown the furthest under the radar. While it only has vague commonalities with Night in the Woods, it’s hard to believe after playing that it seemingly hasn’t received the same level of following.
Needless to say, I thought this game was fantastic. I played the demo a long while ago and enjoyed it enough to want to play the rest. The game really succeeded in living up to its potential. It is cute, eerie, emotional, mysterious, funny and just an all around beautiful game.
The storybook aesthetic and innocent child characters work in a genius contrast to some of the themes explored. The branching narrative is an ongoing mechanic rather than a game ender and the narrator does a lovely job of guiding us along in both the writing and her soothing tone.
This game is a gem and I highly recommend giving it a go if you have any interest in narrative games.
You can see my full playthrough of Beacon Pines here.
4. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Developer: Ember Lab
Release Date: 21 September 2021
A story-driven, action adventure combining exploration with fast-paced combat. Untangle the past as Kena, a young Spirit Guide in search of the sacred Mountain Shrine. Help free the spirits trapped in a forgotten village with the help of the Rot, her adorable (yet powerful) spirit companions.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is gorgeous in every way. From the art style, the graphics, the music, the tasks that we were doing and of course, the rot. This aesthetic pleasure made it so easy to pick the game back up every time another session came around.
It isn’t all style though, the substance holds up by itself. Funnily enough, the closest game that I can compare it to -a game with arguably as opposite energy as could be – is God of War. Taking beats from both combat and game structure, I personally was very happy to feel the familiarity from another game that I am very fond of.
The story was emotional, it was a flavour of fantasy that I have never really experienced before, and did I mention the rot? They are great 😄
You can see my full playthrough of Kena: Bridge of Spirits here.
3. Mass Effect 1/2
Developer: BioWare
Release Date: 14 May 2021
The Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from the highly acclaimed Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armours, and packs — remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.
For number three have two games in one because I don’t know how to choose just one. Partly because I enjoyed both but partly because they have blurred together. I may have done some of the longest playthroughs in the history of playthroughs, but we took on every mission that came our way, explored the universe to the best of our ability and took in every detail that we possibly could.
While I do find the combat sections of these games fun, where it really shines is the world building. I didn’t grow up interested in space. My first look at how fun and interesting space could be as a setting was the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy woke me up to the wonderous potentials, and while I have enjoyed space fiction more since then, this is my first lore filled, sprawling universe with so much history. The aliens aren’t just green and blue humans. There are cultures and politics, along side unseen beauties and unknowable dangers.
I still don’t know whether these games will land in my all time favorites. The dialogue choices don’t always make the most sense, situations can change direction in a heartbeat in ways that sometimes don’t feel earned, and gameplay itself feels quite segmented and predictable. But each of these games have lots to enjoy and the pros have outweighed the cons, especially sharing the experience of my Commander Noob Shepard’s journey with an excellent audience.
You can see my full playthrough of Mass Effect 1 here and Mass Effect 2 here.
2. Tinykin
Developer: Splashteam
Release Date: 30 August 2022
Catch hundreds of tinykin and use their unique powers to bring Milo back to his home planet and back to normal size!
I don’t know why but initially I was put off by the art style of Tinykin. The 2D characters in a 3D world didn’t feel like it would work for me. I was so dumb. It wasn’t until I saw a friend streaming this game that I felt the love begin to grow. Watching wasn’t enough, I had to play for myself and it did not dissapoint.
I honestly loved everything about this game. The environments were so clever, the insane attention to detail bringing joy around every corner. Who knew that so many mundane objects could be used in such fun ways?! The gameplay itself was perfect for me. This is a 3D platformer but challenge isn’t the purpose. The world is covered in collectibles and little side quests waiting for you to explore every inch of this insect infested house. As I mentioned earlier, I am a gatherer so as you can imagine, this was heaven for me.
Finally, the writing and characters were very fun, adding more charm to an already delightful experience. There are lots of puns and references to be found if you want, and if not then you can follow the main objectives and still have a fun filled time.
The only thing that I didn’t love about the game is that it had to end. I can’t think of another game that I would like a sequel or successor to more than this one.
You can buy Tinykin here.
1. The Forgotten City
Developer: Modern Storyteller
Release Date: 28 July 2021
The Forgotten City is a narrative-driven time loop adventure in ancient Rome. Discover the ruins of an ancient underground city, travel 2000 years into the past, and unravel the mystery of who destroyed it by cleverly exploiting the power to wind back time. The fate of the city is in your hands.
The Forgotten City is an outstanding game. The developer carefully considered the player experience and respected the players time so beautifully, alongside a captivating story. I was engrossed and thrilled, with every loop bringing me another five ideas that I would like to try in the next loop.
I can’t express just how excited I was playing this game. If it wasn’t for one specific gameplay section, I would say it was somehow entirely made for me. The characters were really fun to get to know, the mysteries were exciting and the historical setting gave the entire atmosphere such flair. It satisfied my need for both deep, profound philosophy and, to my amusement, soap opera drama.
Mostly though, this is a game that constantly made me admire the mind behind it. Over and over again I was in awe of the decisions that had been made, completely inspired and hoping the developer(s) are proud of what they have achieved. If I were ever to make a game, I could only dream that it would have the polish, creativity and innovation that makes this special. The other game that gave me these feelings is Return of the Obra Dinn. Those that follow my work probably know how highly I think of that game, and The Forgotten City reached those heights for me too, albeit in a different way.
You can see my full playthrough of The Forgotten City here.
Another year, another fantastic time playing video games. And if the calibre of releases this year is anything to go by, I am going to be enjoying video games for a long time to come.
All the best for 2024 everyone.
top 10 games experienced in Other years
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