"2023 was a crazy year for gaming". I'm sure at this point, you're tired of that phrase and its infinite variations. So let me spice up this intro a bit:
Man, 2023 was a crazy year for me to start working in games media.
Back in January, I was putting most of my efforts into Twitch streams that were lucky to get a dozen viewers (shoutouts to anyone who showed up for Mario Mondays) and making silly YouTube videos with a certain Frequent Leaker and his Disney-loving cohost. Now, I'm... Well, working alongside said Frequent Leaker, his Disney-loving cohost, and a whole team of absolutely incredible people. Hell, I even put this article into Giant Bomb's content management system myself because, to quote one of the biggest duds of the year that won't make it anywhere near this list, "that is something I do now".
One last sappy thing before we begin:
Thank you.
You, reading this right now. If my saccharine introduction hasn't driven you away yet, it means you care at least some amount about what I have to say. That's still wild to me. I can't believe that I'll put out a goofy edit for socials and people will tell me that they loved it, or that I'll be chilling in a Twitch chat I've frequented for years and someone will identify me as "TurboShawn from Giant Bomb". Seriously: Words can't express how much it means to me that people like what I do.
Love y'all. Now, let's talk about some games.
10. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
I debated whether or not I even wanted this game on the list. It just barely beat out Honkai: Star Rail (shamefully, the only turn-based RPG I had time for this year before my schedule went to hell) and The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (which I wanted to include simply because I love the incredible fun Sega continues to have with its IPs). I didn’t completely love playing Wonder because I found it incredibly easy the entire way through my 100% playthrough. I mostly dislike the multiplayer components since they take me out of the flow I get into with Mario games, even if I did have some cute moments interacting with people through a series of jumps and shuffles. The further away from Wonder that I get, the more I see the unfortunate amounts of New Super Mario Bros. DNA in its otherwise incredibly personality-filled take on 2D Mario.
Ultimately, however, this game barely squeaks onto my list at number 10 because 2D platformers continue to be my comfort food in gaming. Each evening I played it, I would zone out and just let my retro gaming instincts take over. The fantastic animations, shockingly elaborate musical numbers, and countless other little flourishes of charm continued to put a smile on my face during every single play session. Even if I didn’t love the game in the same way I do Super Mario Bros. 3 or World, I still thought it was the refreshing revitalization that Mario’s 2D outings desperately needed and I look forward to what comes next.
9. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Much like the base game of Cyberpunk, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Phantom Liberty. That mostly stems from core issues that would be difficult to fix until the inevitable sequel, such as Night City feeling significantly less dense than I expect or the dialogue continuing to be very hit-or-miss. Unlike the core Cyberpunk campaign, however, I continually felt compelled to progress through Phantom Liberty’s excellent spy thriller story. The set pieces are fun, the core characters are way more interesting than anyone I met in my initial playthrough, and player choices feel significantly more important, regardless of how much of that agency may be an illusion. Every time I thought I was done for the night, a new plot thread would emerge and tempt me into giving it a gentle pull that inevitably turned the next two hours into a disappearing act.
When I rolled credits and seemingly reached the end of V’s most recent adventure, I didn’t stop. I loaded up an old save and went down a different path. Then another. And another. Honestly, I don’t know how many ways Phantom Liberty branches out (or how much it all leads to the same place, for that matter), and I likely never will. 2023 continued to be 2023, and yet another new release that I can’t even put my finger on at this point yanked me away from my self-imposed loop through President Myers’s maze of political intrigue. I can at least say with confidence that whenever CD Projekt Red gives me a reason to return to this world, in whatever form that may take, I’ll happily jump at the opportunity.
Oh, and if anything I’ve said has compelled you to pick the game up, even for the first time: Just make sure to go watch Edgerunners first. It realizes CD Project’s initial pitch for the world of 2077 far better than this game likely ever will.
8. Lethal Company
I have barely played Lethal Company. In fact, I’ve never played it outside of a Giant Bomb stream. Despite this, I know for a fact that there’s something special here. Initially I thought the game would just be “Fun With Proximity Voice Chat” (which, to be fair, is where most of the humor comes from), but it’s so much more. All the Steam Early Access-flavored tropes that litter Lethal Company simultaneously feel jank as hell and polished in a way I’ve never seen, adding up to a canvas that somehow organically allows players to create some of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen in a video game. My echoey voice fading away as I fall down a bottomless pit seems like a simple gimmick on the surface, but is just one of many examples of the game expertly using its tools to drive home a joke that I was the center of, however unintentionally. Lethal Company is a perfect example of a product that is so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s the video game equivalent of working with an improv expert with impeccable comedic timing, always setting you up to deliver the funniest punchline of the week.