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2023 was a year of extremes.
Extremely great games and extremely hard times for game makers. As someone who works in video games myself, I've been incredibly lucky to have not been affected by the frankly obscene number of layoffs this year (knock on wood). I'm grateful and humbled by my fortunate position, as I've had too many hard conversations with friends and colleagues that had their careers and lives ripped out from under them, many with no warning at all.
It's sad to see an industry of wealth discard its creators with such much ease and disdain, while the ones at the top continue reaping as much profit as possible.
Let's hope the next years bear better fruit. With all that said, this was such a knockout year when it came to amazing games. I felt like I was being smacked left and right by bangers every month, a testament to all the incredible teams out there. It was so packed that I, unfortunately, was unable to get to them all in time (Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 to name a couple). But I did play a bunch - on Xbox, PS5, and Switch. Now I don't usually break games down into their individual parts. I don't think about what had the best combat or the best graphics or how many hours I spent playing. As I looked back, there was one simple way I went about creating this list:
What were the games stuck with me after I was done?
It's really the easiest gauge for me. The level of "Damn, that was a good time" varies wildly for me per game. But that's how I know I loved something. So without further adieu...these are my top 10 Damn That Was a Good Time.
10. Starfield
Normally, a brand new RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, one of my favorite developers, in my all-time favorite genre (sci-fi), should be near the top of my list, but there was just enough to keep me from adoring the game. There was still a lot to love here. The universe Bethesda built does feel suitably vast. The various faction quests, especially UC Vanguard and Crimson Fleet, were top-tier. I loved running around the different cities, exploring every nook and cranny, picking up a wide variety of side quests and just getting into all sorts of trouble with the law. The music is expectedly epic, and the shooting is easily Bethesda's best attempt yet. Though various aspects like excessive loading screens, barren planets with repeat structures, and dialogue systems that felt stuck in the past kept Starfield from reaching that golden Bethesda status.
9. Sea of Stars
This was a lovely experience through and through. While I never got into Chrono Trigger and the RPGs of yore on SNES, I did become obsessed with a little GBA series called Golden Sun back in my day, and this brought me back to those years in the best way possible. I loved so many of the characters, and the worlds were utterly gorgeous to run around in and explore, replicating a perfect balance of modern and 16-bit art. While it doesn't really do anything revolutionary in the genre, it was by far the coziest experience I had this year. At the same time, damn did it make me miss Golden Sun all over again!
8. Diablo IV
Seems to be a running theme with this list, but believe it or not, I'm not generally huge into Diablo either! I tried playing Diablo 2 way back on my brother's laptop 20 years ago and did not get along with that game at all. Fast forward 15 years, and after giving Diablo 3 a shot, I was hooked. I really enjoyed my time with that, so naturally, I was pretty onboard with another. Diablo IV is addictively good in a way that's rare for me. It's the "one more" game. One more quest. One more dungeon. One more world event before I slam my head down on a pillow at 2 AM. The story was just as fantastic and a massive step up over Diablo 3. The world was gorgeous, oppressive, and filled with lots of different towns to explore, NPCs to talk to, and unique quests to take part in. Sprinkle in the dopamine high I got from picking up gold and loot and all that good stuff, and we had ourselves a nice stew going. Loved my time with this one.