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Game Of The Year Editor’s Pick, 2023 - Ryan Bamsey
30 lists, 105 games, and here we are at TheGamer’s Game of the Year. In a year like no other, can TheGamer’s patented mathematical list making ways, which sawThe Forgotten CityandCitizen Sleeperclaim the crown in the last two years, spring a surprise? While it has been impossible to ignore the might of the triple-A behemoths this year, our list has a few quirks that might just keep you on your toes.
10. Lies of P
Pinocchio Timothee Chalamet Dark Souls was all a big meme, until it wasn’t. With competent controls at its core, a successful aping of FromSoft in ways so many Soulslikes have failed, and an original baroque art style,Lies of Pis one of the year’s surprise packages, and slides into our list just as the door slams shut.
9. Hi-Fi Rush
Another major surprise of 2023, whenXboxshadow dropped this colourful rhythmic action game back in late January, it seemed to be the foundation for a great year for the green machine. Flops, delays, and a bang average space game later,Hi-Fi Rushhas turned into Xbox’s brightest spark. Killer soundtracks and kick-ass robots - this is what gaming is all about.
And now, a brief interlude. Of those 105 games nominated, 50 of them got a solitary vote, a testament to the widespread tastes of the staff here. Of those 50 games, eight of them received just a solitary point. Let’s give it up for the one pointers.
One Point Club
8. Spider-Man 2
Sure, we love our weirder games, but we’ve gotta have some of the ol' reliables, right?Spider-Man 2is a classic sequel, repeating the best parts of the original, smoothing out the foibles and adding new depth. And you got to smash stuff as Venom, that’s gotta be worth something, right?
7. Street Fighter 6
Fighting games rarely get the respect they deserve. In a year where the constant discussion has been games that have reinvented or reinvigorated genres, the approachability and fluidityStreet Fighter 6has brought to the fighting game scene has set a new benchmark. It has thrown down the gauntlet to reclaim top spot in the fighting world, and leftTekken 8with a mountain to climb next year.
6. Final Fantasy 16
An oddly divisive game - even amongst hardcoreFinal Fantasyfans debate rages over whether this is the best Final Fantasy ever or doesn’t even deserve to call itself Final Fantasy. All that considered, plus the goodest boy on the list in Torgal, andFinal Fantasy 16nestles comfortably into the middle of our list.
Now follow me, if you will, for our second of three intermissions. This time, for the games that came 20th to 11th on the list, just missing out on glory. A few of these games have the makings of a typical TheGamer GOTY List Game, and in a less busy year, would have got the spotlight they deserved. Let’s give it to them anyway.
The Also Rans
5. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Paranormasightwas third on my personal list, and though my top two picks are here as well, this is probably my favourite game on the list. That is, it’s the game I’m most pleased to see make the cut. Of all the games here, it best represents TheGamer’s way of doing GOTY lists. This lengthy, spooky visual novel isn’t for everyone, but it plays with fourth wall breaks and time loops so well that even in 2023, I mark it as one of the year’s must-play experiences.
4. Resident Evil 4 Remake
Remakes on a GOTY list are always contentious, but it seems to be generally agreed thatResident Evil 4is more than a simple paint-job on an old lemon. It takes one of the most iconic and revered horror titles and makes it even better, modernising it while keeping it true to itself and somehow upping the tension while dropping an action set-piece every five minutes too.
3. Alan Wake 2
A surprise package that presented unique and challenging ideas in enough triple-A wrapping to bring the crowd along for the ride, while offering technological advances and the sort of storytelling only possible in a video game,Alan Wake 2might sum up what 2023 represents for gaming as a whole more than any other, and is a worthy bronze medallist that, in another year, might have been walking home with the gold.
Our final break before we reveal the top two everyone predicted and the winner everyone also predicted, with so many games to vote for there were a few indies that various team members had a lot of passion for, placing them in their top three. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to even make the top 20, but let’s give it up for cool indies anyway.
Just Some Cool Games
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Many considerBreath of the Wildto be the greatest game of all time, and so a sequel somehow bettering it seemed impossible. ButTears of the Kingdomthrives on making the impossible possible with its wondrous machines, hidden adventures, and a confidence to let you solve the puzzle your way. Unfortunately, there was one impossible hurdle it just couldn’t clamber over.
1. Baldur’s Gate 3
12 out of 30 editors here had this as their number one pick, including your humble narrator. We’re running out of reasons to explain whyBaldur’s Gate 3is so great, so we won’t. Bye.
