Looking through my never-ending backlog of games that have accumulated, I came to the realization that my tastes tend to lean towards games that are older. For me, games can either age like fine wine or rot like moldy bread. This year, I wanted to break out of my comfort zone a bit.
It’s very rare that I’m able to participate in the “conversation” when a new game releases. I made it a goal to play mostly games that have been released within the year. Frankly, I’m glad I did. There were some absolute bangers this year. Out of the 30 games I’ve played and completed, these were the ones that left a lasting impression:
Lil Gator Game
This was the first game that I completed this year. From the same developers who made A Short Hike, Lil Gator Game is a game about childhood wonder and imagination. You play as a lil gator as you jump around fighting cardboard monsters and helping the townsfolk with side quests to recruit them into your castle!
Lil Gator Game is littered with nostalgia. As someone with autism spectrum disorder, my brain craves for simpler times of play time, imagination and friendship. Going through this game reminded me of playing Naruto with the neighborhood kids, running around and throwing cardboard shuriken at each other or staying home sick from school and watching Baby Looney Tunes. The developers managed to create the perfect amalgamation of nostalgia through gameplay, writing and aesthetics that has me tearing up just watching the trailer again.
Octopath Traveler 2
Octopath Traveler was one of my favorite JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch. This game took everything I loved about the original and made it better. Every qualm I had with the first game was eradicated.
Octopath Traveler 2 is a game about adventure. You play as eight characters, each on their own journeys to resolve their individual conflicts. The hands of fate brings these eight together to help each other on their respective adventures. This game does an incredible job of intertwining the stories and conflicts of the characters while also creating a large world that feels so alive.
The gameplay goes above and beyond. JRPGs are known for disrespecting the player’s time through grinding and fetch quests, but both feel non-existent in this iteration. This game loves subverting expectations, from the stories to the characters and even the genre itself. This is a must play for any traditional JRPG fan.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
I hate horror games. Period. The end. I do not enjoy the thought of being scared. So how the hell did the remake to Resident Evil 4 end up being one of my favorite games I’ve ever played?
This game is perfect.
I’ve never experienced such a roller coaster of emotions playing a video game before. The dichotomy of zombies jumping out at me and the buffoon known as Leon Kennedy quipping, “Where’s everyone going? Bingo?” made my heart soar. Having the main character hold a sense of humor in dire straits is exactly what I needed to get over my fear of horror.
Resident Evil 4 gets everything right. The pacing is the best I’ve experienced in a video game, hands down. You’re never left lost or bored. There’s always something pushing you forward and constantly something new to do. This is a game I’ll be revisiting again and again for years to come. I’m sorry, Resident Evil fans. You were right. The series is good.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is the love child of X-Com and Slay the Spire. The core gameplay loop has you in missions where you and two other teammates must finish a strategic goal, whether that be defeating all the enemies, hacking all of the terminals, or protecting civilians. The teammates you choose to bring to a mission will build their friendship meter with you, The Hunter, while also applying certain bonuses to the team. Turn by turn, you have limited movement within a circle that surrounds your character. You then can use cards to do powerful attacks, or you can use environmental attacks to deal damage or move the enemy closer to your teammates. This game gives you the greatest feeling when you do “the thing”. You get all the pieces aligned right, position all the enemies with Magik’s Limbo portals, use Storm’s huge area of effect attacks to get them primed and ready for your self-insert OC to slice them all down in one whirlwind attack. Whew.
In between missions, you walk around the game’s main hub. You get to talk to all the Marvel characters who are on your team: learn about their histories, their likes and dislikes, their fears. You might catch Deadpool and Spider-Man talking about what to get Magik for her birthday. Or Blade and Captain Marvel flirting while talking about their favorite books. After bringing them on hangouts, you unlock new abilities, new cards and costumes.
This game is overflowing with personality and love. Sure, it came out at the end of 2022. But I didn’t get to play it until 2023. So it counts.
Cassette Beasts
Creature collector games have come a long way in the past few years. We’re moving further away from creating clones of the Pokémon series and getting closer to games with their own identities with capturing monsters as a game mechanic.
Cassette Beasts does everything right with the genre. There are plenty of cute and cool monsters to collect on your journey to be the very best like no one ever was. However, the game throws a few curve balls that make it interesting. For one, you have a teammate with you at all times. You can pick and swap between a handful of recruitable characters as you travel the world. They each have their own stories, personalities and quips as you try to solve the mysteries of what’s happening in the world. When you get into battle, you and your partner will transform into the Cassette Beasts you have in your party. Once you’ve filled up your fusion meter, you can fuse the two beasts into a new beast.
Venba
Venba might be the shortest game on this list, but it left the largest emotional imprint on my heart. The game is a game about an intergenerational Tamil family in Canada and the large culture gap between the members of the family. As you’re cooking these mouthwatering Tamil meals, you’re learning more about each member of the family and how they’re assimilating (or not) in the country.
Venba is the first game where I felt empathy for everyone in the story. There’s no “bad guy,” no right or wrong way to handle these situations. They’re all human. The story feels human. It’s difficult to get into why I loved this game without spoiling it. If you have a spare hour and a half, you’d do a lot worse than playing Venba.
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Did I mention that I hate horror games? Yet there are two of them on this list.
I will stand by the fact that Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is the sleeper hit of 2023, and will go down in history as one of the best hidden gems from the entirety of Square Enix. This visual novel plays around with breaking the fourth wall and exploring through parallel stories to solve seven different paranormal urban myths around the city. However, as you’re solving the mystery, other people are out collecting sacrifices to bring someone back from the dead. As spooky as it sounds, this game leans more heavily on humor and breaking the fourth wall than it does the horror aspect. If you’re looking for a visual novel with similarities to indie gems such as Undertale or One Shot, this comes with my highest recommendation.
I’m really glad I broke out of my shell and played games way out of my comfort zone. This is the first year I focused primarily on games released within the same year. Will I do it again next year? I still haven’t decided that yet. But I am more willing to give even the more obscure games a change in the near future. Were there any games that I missed from this year’s list? Let me know in the comments what your game of the year was!