Instead of doing your typical ”best games released in 2023” I’m doing something different - I’ll share some of the best and most memoriable games I tried this year… and maybe even talk about some that were not so good. But let’s start with the best ones.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom
I’m putting these two here together as they are pretty similar - after all TotK was meant to he an expansion. Both of the Switch Zeldas are great on own, but together they create one of the most fun and memoriable gaming experiences I have ever had. And I haven’t even finished TotK yet!
There is something really special about these games. It took me a while to get into BotW, but after that it’s been really hard to let go. Exploring Hyrule with both games different and unique mechanics is such a fun activity that I can spend hours just climbing walls or trying to get into weird places. And almost every time there is at least Korok waiting to reward me.
BotW and TotK both have strong atmospheres. First one is one of a kind experience in a desolated Hyrule where people are just trying to get by while Link is trying to find out what happened while he was gone. As the story and events slowly come back to him defeating Ganon starts to feel more and more important task. TotK on the other hand builds beautifully on the foundation first game sets and it’s really fun to explore Hyrule that is being rebuild. You meet familiar faces from the first game and visit places you helped before. And I really enjoy how the Guardian technology from BotW is included in the world, not as a threat but as a helping device.
I think BotW is a one of a kind experience with unique atmosphere, while TotK is probably the best open-world game so far - there’s so much you can do and ways to play it how you want.
Cyberpunk 2077
For a game I had no interest in at all Cyberpunk 2077 really surprised me. Even though there are some funkyness gameplay wise and to be honest, as a video game it is not anywhere near perfect (works better than Bethesdas RPGs though), especially after doing most of the missions world starts to feel little it meaningless and empty, the story and characters really take this one tot he next level. I don’t think there have been any video game so far that really made me feel like I’m part of the world and made me care about characters like Cyberpunk did - even though some of them are just jerks. It’s a great story (and DLC is fun too) set in a beautiful world and I hope to experience something similar again. Hopefully in a Fallout-styled world…
The Last of Us Part 1
We got Playstation 4 and first game I bought was The Last of Us Part 1. I had really high expectations for this one and most of the time it delivered. It looks some time to get familiar with the Playstation way of playing – I am a long-time PC gamer after all – but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Writing in this game is magnificent, and both main characters are really charming in their own way. It was fun to follow their interactions and (spoiler warning?) see how they turn from complete strangers into people who deeply care about each other. Can't wait to play Part 2 and see where the story goes.
Gameplay was mostly enjoyable. Sneaking around the zombies while trying not to alarm them was at the times kinda spooky and that feeling of success after those moments was really something else. Unfortunately The Last of Us Part 1 developers thought that it would be fun to shoot other people in the post-apocalyptic world (same sin that The Walking Dead for example did), so a lots of times this game just turned into your typical cover shooter which was not what I expected or wanted. But it is what it is. The best moments in this game were enough to suffer through the shooting parts.
I'd like to write a more in-depth post about The Last of Us, but I'll probably do that after I've played the second part too.
Tomb Raider 1
Original Tomb Raider from 1996 was really fun experience. Of course it took first some time to get it to run on Steam Deck and even then cut scenes wouldn't work so I had to check them on Youtube, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this classic game. There is something really charming about these old 90's games with their ugly character models and low detailed textures, and it's not a miracle that nowadays many indie developers are trying to replicate that.
Controls are a relic 90's, which at the times made me question my life choices. I could have waited until February when the remastered collection is being published, but at the same time I want to experience these older Tomb Raider games as what they are – I'm just longing for some lanky controls and early 3D attempts.
With that said, I'm planning to go through all of the Tomb Raider games – right now I'm playing the second one – and after that I'll write some kind of a longer retrospective of all of the games and my experience.
Alien: Isolation
Alien movie series is my favourite in the horror/scifi genre, and Alien: Isolation is my favourite horror/survival game. Do I need to say more? Alien: Isolation is a fantastic experience which is made by people who clearly know the movies, and Alien as an enemy is perfect for game like this. This game feels like a old scifi horror movie in a best possible way.
Honorable mentions
Let's end with some honorable mentions – every game will get a one sentence in which I'll try to capture my thoughts and experiences.
The Forest's cannibals game me chills.
F.E.A.R. was like a Half-Life 2 but from alternate dimensions.
Detroit: Become Human took narrative to the next level.
And No Man's Sky is a perfect space sandbox for 10-20 hours.
I'd also like to mentions that I started the new Saints Row during the Holidays and it's really good. Me and my partner also started playing Beyond: Two Souls (starring Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe!) and it's been fun so far so expect some posts about those two games in the future.
That's it for 2023. Next year I'm planning to write few longer retrospectives and of course I'm gonna play more games.
Happy New Year!
