Favourite Video Games Finished in 2023
A list of my favourite new video game experiences of 2023. This isn't just games from this year (like Goodbye Volcano High and Moonring), but older games I finished for the first time this year, too.
And this was a great year for me! I haven't been this active playing new(er) games since the 2010s. I had a great time delving into the abundant gardens of indie games and reminding myself about why the indie scene is so important to my love for this medium nowadays. I've accumulated so many new favourites that I'm comfortable in launching my Favourite Games of the 2020s list shortly. This was also a year where I got into point & click adventures. After years of dismissing the genre, my PnCA heart awakened and I found a new understanding and love for the genre!
This was also the year where I played a higher degree of dinosaur games, which isn't a mechanical genre but probably very important to the foundations of video games nonetheless.
And this was a great year for me! I haven't been this active playing new(er) games since the 2010s. I had a great time delving into the abundant gardens of indie games and reminding myself about why the indie scene is so important to my love for this medium nowadays. I've accumulated so many new favourites that I'm comfortable in launching my Favourite Games of the 2020s list shortly. This was also a year where I got into point & click adventures. After years of dismissing the genre, my PnCA heart awakened and I found a new understanding and love for the genre!
This was also the year where I played a higher degree of dinosaur games, which isn't a mechanical genre but probably very important to the foundations of video games nonetheless.
25 Games
This is a mediocre game that I spend way too much time on but the story and characters are going to stick with me.
A relatively short and snazzy AAA game with some good characterization and emphasis on style.
23
An alluring RPG. After finishing it a lot of sheen wore off but I can't forget it's mysteries and engrossing neon world.
After I was done Gabriel Knight, I was walking around everywhere, doing my Gabriel Knight impression! Everyone appreciates my impression.
When I was a kid, the advertisements for the RCT expansions in the RCT manual tantalized me. It's satisfying to play Corkscrew Follies and enjoy them even if the game is nothing too special.
Probably the SMW romhack with the best level design I played this year. A bit too hard for me but altogether a very accomplished romhack.
19
I don't know visual novels but I tried this one and got into its bizarre dino cyberpunk world-- I liked the mechanics along side the narrative elements. I had a good time.
I was looking for a more serious and dry PnCA and I found this one and really liked it! It hit that spot for a world-heavy narrative featuring strong characters and suspense.
Maybe the most symbolic title for this year of me gaming in that it's a dinosaur-themed point & click adventure. Cute and fun!
A cute and stylish RPG game that hits the player with one cool idea after the next.
A very cool story and great combat make for a very enjoyable open world action game.
14
This is another game that I was playing on and off for years. Finally finished it. This game's bleak setting inspired me to play a very malevolent character, breaking me out of my streak of playing only virtuous characters. Playing an evil character was so welcome in Dishonored!
An esoteric old-school dungeon crawler with a hypnagogic vibe inside its West Asian-inspired setting.
A very crafted and bespoke SMW romhack featuring lots of great new graphics and audio.
11
A rich, engrossing JRPG game with tons of delightful mechanical details and decisions. Scratched that itch but good!
10
I beat Baba Is You back in 2019. This blurb is dedicated to the New Adventures official expansion released in 2021. It took sometime to finish but once I did I realized that Baba Is You had become my new favourite puzzle game and I want to come back to it for the fan-made content available.
A euphoric puzzle experience where I let myself get deeply lost in this nonstop exploratory adventure.
A product of evil. The kind of game that wants you to feel the most despairing kind of desperation, to never feel like victory is assured, and to regret decisions you felt confident in.
This one I've been playing on and off for years and I finally finished it. While I got invested like I do with most RPGs I played, this was the first RPG where I tried playing a character instead of just a proxy for myself. What unfolded was a truly transcendent roleplaying experience.
A surprisingly realized look into depression and self-loathing. This gritty adventure game has stuck with me hard for its brutal portrayal of both violence and mental health while also having heart.
An intensely spooky horror game that's unexpectedly very playable. In terms of horror factor and enjoyability factor, this game scores high.
A neat little adventure game from a time before PnCAs got more codified. I like the openess and the weirdness.
This is a quintessential PnCA but it served me well. I love the art, the challenges were on point, and sinking myself into this world was a joy.
The game that turned me on to point & click adventures. I thought they weren't for me, but this game showed me the light. With its grounded puzzles, immersive environments and compelling story, I realized what I could get from PnCAs.
What a soul-wracking experience. This youthful tale about bitter despair but also unyielding humanity in the face of doom. There were moments in this game that turned my heart cold and moments that lifted me up to the sky.