Best plays of 2023
There are a handful of replays here. Turns out I didn't love 10 games that came out in 2023, which is a bit surprising given how many games came out this year. I wouldn't be surprised if I get to some game later that I would've put here, but I'm not a fan of TotK (even if it's good), and I was MAJORLY disappointed by writing and gameplay in FFXVI, Spider-Man 2, and Alan Wake 2.
10 Games
Easily the best RPG I've ever played. Left a massive review on the game itself, far too much to say.
Solid puzzle game, and a really beautiful enhancement on the original in most regards. Shockingly a lot of smart dialog for how pretentious the conceit could get.
Just wonderful fun.
Got around to this one late (after losing a save a couple years ago), not likely I'll finish it in 2023, but god DAMN is this a BEAUTIFUL game. Also, the quests are SO cool across the board so far, including the epic start to Phantom Liberty.
Absolute blast of a time playing this one, could hardly put it down until I was done. Lots of rough patches, far from flawless, but a really delightful time. Wrote a long review on this one.
Amazing! Never would have thought sci-fi space witches would be such a peak aesthetic for me, but I loved it. So much amazing worldbuilding packed into such a small package and a genuinely gripping story with SO much open narrative design.
Got to this one a bit late, but what a beautiful and emotional journey! I wasn't as deep into it as my favorite writing ever, but it was a clever little game with some great moments. I'm considering getting invested in at least one more run of it to see the time-travel element through.
Sorry not sorry haters, but played for another 6 months this year and love it as much as ever. The only problem is how it's too easy to let it take up so much of my time. (It also remains eternally funny to me how much more hate this incredibly good game STILL gets than the vomit of corporate advertisement that is Fortnite.)
Second play of this one. Adore almost all of it, though soured on it a little bit this time. I definitely couldn't beat The Radiance on my own without a mod that let me scale difficulty (generally unwilling to spend >1hr on any boss) so I didn't take on even harder DLC, but still a great time.
Second play of this one as well. Turns out the last three bosses (two optional) are simply too hard for me (without modifying the difficulty with more healing item usage) and always will be, but still a lot for me to adore and learn from as a combat designer.