Top 10 Best Games of 2023
We're halfway through, so like we do every year, we take a look back at the first half of the year and talk about some of the best games so far. Keep in mind, these aren't just like the personal choices of the Gamer an X team. These are big, massive games that reviewed well, sold well, were generally received well, or even some that came out a nowhere and kind of surprised people, just the games that were in the conversation. So we got 10 or so to talk about. It was really hard to narrow it down to 10. With number 10, "Hi-Fi Rush" was one of those games
That just came out of nowhere. It got a surprise drop release at an Xbox presentation and it's from Tango Game Works, the people behind "The Evil Within", and we weren't expecting them to make something like this, but holy crap, we're glad they did. Essentially, this is a fun action adventure platformer combat game that also has rhythm elements. This cool art style stylized world you're in is always jumping, bouncing to the music and if you fight on the beat, your attacks will get damage bonuses. So the game encourages you to play on the beat, keep on the beat and stay consistent with that from your platforming to your jumping, dodging, striking, attacking, all of that. But it really ramps up when it comes to the boss battles. They are out of this world and so cool to see. Also, not to mention it's just a gorgeous game. This kind of art style, sometimes we can't get enough of it. There was a time where more cell shaded games were kind of like overdone, but this takes a really good hybrid kind of animation style that just works. This game also feels like a celebration of all types of cartoons. Western cartoons, anime, anything like that. This game really represents a really good combination of all those sensibilities. You can tell this game has a lot of influences and it's wearing all those influences very proudly on its sleeve, man. I mean, it's just so much fun. It's funny, it can be challenging, and it's just a good, compelling, straightforward, old video game and we love those. And next, over at number nine,
Squeezing in at the tail end of the first half of the year, we have "Final Fantasy XVI". At the time of making this video, the community is still playing through this one and figuring it out, but it is an action packed wild, crazy ride. Yes, it has flaws like any "Final Fantasy" game, but some of the big action set peace moments are like better than we've seen in any other recent game, and that's saying something. In "Final Fantasy XVI", you play as one person. You're not controlling a party, you're playing as Clive, a young man from a fallen kingdom who of course has magical powers, but you're engaging in more character action combat. So think of a "Final Fantasy" that plays a little bit like a "Devil May Cry." Yes, that actually sounds like a good combination. And yes, in execution it is pretty fun. It is a sweeping grand story despite being a somewhat linear game with some unremarkable side quests, but it's got cool characters, incredible music, some engaging combat, and just another good old fashioned straightforward "Final Fantasy" adventure. Although this time it's rated M and it's pretty refreshing. There's a lot of F-bombs and blood. It's interesting in a "Final Fantasy" game. As of right now, it's only on PlayStation Five, but maybe in the future we'll see it elsewhere.
Next, over at number eight, we have "Star Wars Jedi Survivor". Essentially, Respawn took "Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order" and made a big bad sequel with like bigger worlds, way more to do, way more fighting styles, just a lengthier game, and they nailed it. Obviously when it released the PC port was in a really, really rough spot, but technical issues aside, they made another really good "Star Wars" game that just kind of gets "Star Wars". You're fighting old decommissioned clone war era battle droids. You're checking out new planets, you're fighting with a blaster and a lightsaber in your hand or using the cross guard stance as like a heavy attack and all of it is really satisfying. We get to explore a little bit of Coruscant and engage with a whole big open hub world. I don't necessarily think that the "Jedi" games needed to shift to open world, but the way they did it here with a cantina that you go back and revisit and talk to some clever characters, it works. There's a lot of satisfying moments for "Star Wars" fans. I'll just say that without spoiling anything and Cal Kestis continues to be a bit more of an interesting character. They also do a really, really good job setting it up for another game. I'd love this series to just become a really cool trilogy. Hopefully Respawn can realize that potential, but as of right now, "Star Wars Jedi Survivor" is great. Next, over at number seven, we have "Hogwarts Legacy."
Definitely one of the biggest selling games of the year. I mean, it seems like people were really waiting for some big open world adventure "Harry Potter" game, and this essentially is what the doctor ordered. You get to fully explore Hogwarts, find all its secrets, do whatever you want, and take your own created character that you put in whatever house you want and go on a big adventure. You can freely explore around Hogwarts, go to Hogsmeade, all these other little towns and shoot a lot of bad guys with your wand. I don't know if shooting is the right phrase, but yeah, there's a lot to this game and we're curious to see if they ever come out with like an expansion for it or add to it in any way. But "Hogwarts Legacy" is a big massive, like AAA, open world adventure. It comes with all the AAA stuff of course, but it seems like it's one that has definitely been satisfying fans.
Next, over at number six we have "The Outlast Trials." Yeah, this is finally out, technically in early access, but the developers' Red Barrels clearly took all the money they made with "Outlast" and really took the time to really build this game up and what they've built so far is really satisfying fans. So it's still very much "Outlast" with the over the top gore and weird stuff and the challenge of really hiding, when to run, but in a little bit of a different format, a different type of structure with it being all these different little trials, but with you having your own character and all the multiplayer stuff that comes with it, but not in a cynical way, it feels like it just really makes sense here. Like it doesn't feel like they took "Outlast" and just forced it to be a cooperative online multiplayer game just for the sake of it. No, they had a genuine idea and it seems like they're really taking that idea and running with it. There's probably going to be more to come from "The Outlast Trials" and we're looking forward to seeing what the final release means because as of right now, you can only play it on PC and Steam, but we expect this to become hopefully as big of a deal as the original "Outlast" games were. And like I said, this one has really taken Steam by storm and expect to hear more of it in the second half of the year.
Next, over at number five we have "Octopath Traveler II". This game seems to be like the dream come true for JRPG fans. Essentially they took the potential that the original "Octopath Traveler" had and really ran with it and blew everything out. A bigger story, a more connected story, more gameplay opportunities, and of course those incredible visuals that honestly, I can't get enough of. Seriously, those like HD 2D graphics. I just, I love seeing this and I hope it shows up in more games, even in different genres would be really cool. But anyway, "Octopath Traveler II" lets you choose from eight travelers that all have their own unique actions and interactions with people and there's this whole new cool thing where you can switch between day and night whenever you want, and of course that changes exploration, interaction with different people in towns. The special talent powers for each character is really crazy and it's just a much bigger game, way more to explore. You're traveling over water and it's just dense. There's so much to do, so many weird shenanigans to get into. And then like the music, the voice acting, all of it is top-notch. People have been absolutely raving about this one. The user reviews and critic reviews have been great and it's always nice when everybody's aligned on those types of things, so consider that at the very least an endorsement for "Octopath Traveler II". It seems like everybody really loves it.
Next, over at number four, we have the "Resident Evil 4" remake. Yeah, there's a lot of remakes and remaster and stuff, but the "Resident Evil 4" remake really seemed to nail a good balance of changing things up, shaking things up here and there, but still really preserving the core of what the original "Resident Evil 4" was. There's a little bit of a shift in tone. There's way more depth to the character and the performances. There's a couple of more side diversions and things to keep you busy, but ultimately you're still going on this adventure with "Resident Evil 2"'s Leon S. Kennedy, way more of a badass this time around as he has to rescue the President's daughter and get into a whole bunch of weird shit. It is a descent into madness. It is a trip into literal crazy town, and there's a reason why the original "Resident Evil 4" was loved by so many people and now that Capcom nailed the remake even more people can see why this series is so great. Obviously this is one of the weirder games in the entire franchise, but it's also one of the most beloved. The combat is fun, the world is moody. There's a lot of tension, but so many rewarding and cool and over the top moments like this game really packs a lot of different things in it, and I think that's why it satisfies so many people. The big question is, "What is Capcom and "Resident Evil" going to do next?" We don't know for sure, but if we're talking about the first half of this year, maybe we'll hear something next year. I don't know.
Now down at number three, if we're talking about Capcom wins, we also have to mention "Street Fighter 6". "Street Fighter 6" does seem to be a success for the fighting game community, for general casual fighting game fans. It was incredibly well received from the lead up before, the tests, the betas and everything to the final game. I think it's partly because they added so much content here. There's a whole world, a kind of career to progress through for casual fans to work their way through, single player content. Then there's all the traditional modes and a fully fleshed out online mode. They've got great new representations of classic characters with cool looks. There are some interesting new characters added. I mean, what more can you want from a fighting game? As long as it nails all the mechanics, and it seems like they did here, the rest is gravy. There's also multiple control schemes, so more people can get into this series than ever. It's a little bit more accessible, but it is still "Street Fighter" through and through, and I think that's why people really love this one.
Now, down to number two, of course, "Diablo IV". "Diablo" is always an interesting thing, like it's always an evolving thing where people's opinions of it may change over time and Activision Blizzard could still completely change things with this game, but as of right now, "Diablo IV" really kicks ass. It's got so much more of a moody, weird, creepy, gothic tone. Everything is really bleak and it really just embraces that classic "Diablo"-ness. But of course, there's so much depth to every character build, whatever class you choose, there is a ton of different stuff to mess with and kind of tailor your own play style and jump into a like really, really massive world. I'd say it's almost, before you get a mount, it's like overwhelmingly big. There is so much stuff here, so many dungeons to dive into, and of course you can do it alone or with a friend. It seems like they've really recaptured that "Diablo" magic here. People are really digging "Diablo IV". We were skeptical just because, you know, Activision Blizzard tends to mess things up and they deserve to be scrutinized, but it seems like this is a good one. If you're watching this video at the time of us putting it out, like a lot of people are still working through this game and deciding for themselves, but it is a big hit. It seems like people are really loving it and we certainly are too.
Now, down to number one, probably one of the biggest releases of the year so far, and it might pop up on a lot of people's game of the year list, it's "The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom." This is just a bigger, crazier version of "Breath of the Wild" and I don't mean that as a bad thing. "Tears of the Kingdom" is absolutely immense from a whole level of Sky Islands up above Hyrule to the depths below Hyrule, a whole massive cavernous area to explore. This game is bigger in so many words, but also mechanically. Puzzles, environmental interactions are all so much more complex now, thanks to the ability to build stuff, a bunch of different new abilities to really mess around with the physics system and experiment. They really took some of the stuff that people were doing in Breath of the Wild and ran with it here. That being said, there's also a really good emphasis on some story and some narrative, and I mean this isn't a spoiler or anything. You've seen it everywhere, but Gan on dorf is in it, and that is also very cool. We're simple here at Gamer an X, that's it. But seriously, "Tears of the Kingdom" is really, really cool.
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