Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
In a tremendous year stacked with excellent video game releases, Shacknews has decided to count down the Top 23 games of the year.. The Shack Staff each submitted their personal top 10 ballots, which were compiled with a cumulative Shacknews Chatty Community vote to create a single definitive list that will be etched in Shacknews history. Here's the Shacknews Top 23 Games of the Year 2023. Please take a look at our Top 10 video, or read along underneath the video embed to see Games 23-11.
There were some great games that didn't make the cut for our Top 23 Games of the Year 2023 list, but we wanted to give them a proper shout-out. Here's a list of our honorable mentions in no particular order:
23. Dave the Diver
21. (tie) Hi-Fi Rush
21. (tie) Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
18. (tie) Jagged Alliance 3
18. (tie) RoboCop: Rogue City
18. (tie) Cities: Skylines 2
17. Starfield
16. Diablo 4
15. Silent Hope
14. Dead Space (2023)
13. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
12. Super Mario RPG (2023)
11. Mortal Kombat 1
Want to read the rest of the list? Hit Next Page to see our text version of the Shacknews Top 10 Games of 2023 or watch the video.
Take a Dark Souls-like challenge and infuse it with a third-person shooter gameplay experience, and you’ve got something truly special. The team at Gunfire Games knew this when they launched Remnant: From the Ashes a few years ago, and as luck would have it, the developers managed to refine the concept with this year’s smash-hit sequel, Remnant 2.
While all of the core concepts remain the same, many of the mechanics have been tweaked ever-so-slightly to allow for a smoother experience. The main healing item can be swapped out for other unique tools, armor no longer has set bonuses which often restricted player fashion, and the game now features an Archetype system that gives players far more customization when it comes to builds.
There’s so much more to love in Remnant 2, especially for those players that love killing huge and weird bosses and turning their guts into bizarre weapons. Plus, the ability to re-roll adventures and experience new bosses returns thanks to the game’s randomly generated regions.
Remnant 2 managed to deliver a near-perfect experience that built upon the solid foundation of the first game. You can read more about how much we loved it in the Shacknews Remnant 2 review.
Remnant 2 is available on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
When it came to fighting games in 2023, Street Fighter 6 was a tour de force. Capcom came ready to prove the crummy years of Street Fighter 5 were fully in the rear view mirror, and they did so impeccably because SF6 improves upon its predecessor in nearly every way feasible. They brought all of the original eight World Warriors of Street Fighter 2 back, updated them nicely, and brought a wealth of new and returning characters in to sweeten the roster. Drive Impact, Drive Rush, and Parry are also delightfully fun to strategize around in this game. Don't think you're good at fighting games? Then maybe using Modern or Dynamic controls are for you. They put every character's normal and special moves into a unique control scheme to make them far more accessible.
However, the real star of Street Fighter 6 is its online components. Battle Hub is easily the most inviting online lobby system we've seen. You can join up with friends easily as long as you know their server. From there, you can engage with others in chat, play casual and Ranked matches, practice in training either solo or with a friend, engage in World Tour avatar battles, Extreme Battles, and more. Street Fighter 6 had plenty to prove and, by most metrics, it overachieved.
Street Fighter 6 is available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
Insomniac Games was put in an unenviable position in 2023. It wasn't just that the studio was tasked with putting out a sequel to the highly-acclaimed Marvel's Spider-Man and its follow-up, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Insomniac's new title also had to carry the PS5 as the lone first-party PlayStation release of the year. Fortunately, the team proved to be more than up to this superheroic task.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 delivers the absolute best of both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, spotlighting what makes them great characters individually and also what makes them a great Spider-team. The game shows two sides of the coin, capably juxtaposing Peter's more traditional superhero antics with the new school of Miles and his supporting cast that all knows about his costumed alter ego. Regardless of which web-slinger the player is controlling, swinging through New York has never been better, made an even more thrilling experience through the addition of Web Wings and other new traversal mechanics.
This is a breathtaking game in many ways. It showcases the full power of the PlayStation 5, successfully pulling off technical achievements like fluid scene transitions, seamless fast travel, and dynamite visual effects. The latter is shown off in grandiose fashion with the opening Sandman fight. It also displays the very best of superhero writing, presenting a more vulnerable Peter Parker, an uncertain Miles Morales, and even weaving in some strong moments for characters like Mary Jane Watson.
While Marvel is spreading the love with its licenses across various game studios, few have done as much justice to their source material as Insomniac has with Marvel's Spider-Man 2. It stands tall as one of the greatest superhero titles ever made.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is available exclusively on PS5.
Octopath Traveler 2 isn't just one of the best modern Square Enix games, but one of the best JRPGs to be released in years. The developers have refined the eight-protagonist model, weaving the stories together and making the overall narrative feel more cohesive. Octopath Traveler 2 also packs a robust combat system, with unique abilities and spells that compliment each other and make for exciting strategies. The 2D-HD format continues to be a beauty, as the Octopath sequel has no shortage of breathtaking views and vistas.
Octopath Traveler 2 is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation.
One of the biggest surprises of 2023 was the shadow drop release of F-Zero 99 on Nintendo Switch. The adaptation of the classic SNES racing game into a 99 player battle royale is a sight to behold. The game is dripping with fan service, prominently displaying artwork from the SNES instruction manual alongside other little nods to the franchise's history. F-Zero fans had to wait nearly 2 decades to witness its glorious return to Nintendo consoles. Witnessing The Big N show this much love to a dormant franchise like F-Zero has injected hope into other fans of forgotten Nintendo gems from the past. F-Zero 99 is a brand new way to race online with 98 other players, and the developers' amazing execution has breathed new life into the fanbase while introducing the franchise to a whole new generation of gamers.
F-Zero 99 is available on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.
After more than a decade, Remedy Entertainment followed up its cult classic Alan Wake with a sequel that further bends and twists reality. The game is bolstered by the addition of Saga Anderson, a secondary protagonist voiced by Melanie Liburd. Alan Wake 2 bundles a sprawling mystery with some haunting sequences to deliver one of the most unforgettable narratives of 2023.
Alan Wake 2 is available on Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
It's safe to say that after more than 15 years, the New Super Mario Bros. series had run its course. It was finally time for something truly new. Super Mario Bros. Wonder understood the assignment and brought something fresh to the long-running 2D platforming series.
Wonder takes the best of Super Mario Bros.-style platforming and gives it a fresh injection of imagination. A new kingdom, new enemies, and new platforming challenges await. Players can approach them in the usual Mario way or they can equip special Badges to help tackle specific situations. Beyond the strong level layouts, the hidden exits, and goodies, Wonder Flowers give Wonder the biggest twist in a Mario game in years. Collecting a Wonder Flower gives players a chance to try levels in entirely new ways depending on their effect. They play with the Mario formula in ways that have never been seen.
There's also something to be said about Super Mario Bros. Wonder being a game for everyone. Younger or less experienced players can try playing as Yoshi or Nabbit in order to get a safety net against enemies. Four-player local co-op is supported and it allows friends to actually play with each other and help one another. The days of bumping into each other and throwing each other off cliffs have been left behind with the NSMB series. Plus, even if one opts to play alone, a new asynchronous play option allows users to play with ghosts from around the world. With this online environment, players can help each other with life-saving standees and watch each other's movements for in-the-moment guidance.
If Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the future of 2D Mario platforming, it's a bright future indeed. It's simply wonderful.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available on Nintendo Switch.
There's a reason the Resident Evil 4 remake was the first game to be given a perfect 10 at Shacknews. It's because the game is beyond stellar. Why #3 then? Well, it just so happens that 2023 was a year full of so many amazing games that not even Resident Evil 4 could beat them all out. Don't get us wrong, this is the real deal. It takes Leon's incredible 2005 journey through a Spanish cult village to save the President's daughter and improves upon it in nearly every way.
The gunplay, the scares, the characters... There was so much that was already so right about Resident Evil 4 and Capcom managed to make it all the more amazing. The visuals in this game are to die for and every thing from the environments to the monsters looks gorgeous. The guns pack a punch and feel good to handle, even despite some new crosshair sway. Luis, Ashley, Ada, and other characters also got much needed reworks to make theirs stories all the more interesting. The result is a package that from top to bottom feels just about as perfect as perfect can be for a Resident Evil game.
Resident Evil 4 (2023) is available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.
Baldur's Gate 3 managed to deliver a robust RPG that puts player freedom at the center of every single design decision. You can play it however you want, do as you please, and the game almost always says yes to you. It's branching storylines are so diverse and wide-ranging that it feels like no two players can have an identical experience. Combat is equal parts challenging and rewarding, with the Dungeons & Dragons source material offering multiple classes and character builds to experiment with. Baldur's Gate 3 is a triumph of an RPG.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
In a year of amazing video game releases, one game stood above the rest. Nintendo faced a serious challenge in creating a sequel to Switch launch title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom answered all of the doubters head on with a new experience that built upon every Zelda game and provided a wonderful conclusion to the latest story.
The story of Tears of the Kingdom starts off with Link and Zelda appearing underpowered against a reinvigorated Ganondorf. Link lost his arm and Zelda in the introductory battle, setting the stage for a wild series of events that ends in the finest boss battle in the history of Nintendo games.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a game dripping with themes of sacrifice, faith, and courage that puts the titular character on a righteously high pedestal. Zelda's belief in Link fuels players to take on new challenges with brand new gameplay mechanics that turn Hyrule into one of the best video game sandboxes ever created. Experimenting with Fusing items and weapons and building new vehicles with Ultrahand may not be for everyone, but the amount of systems that flawlessly interact in Tears of the Kingdom is a true marvel of game development.
By the end of Tears of the Kingdom, players will understand just why it's Zelda who is the legend, and why Nintendo so frequently finds itself winning awards. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom perfectly bookends the Switch era that started with Breath of the Wild, and it's no surprise that both games took home the #1 game of the year spot here at Shacknews.
Check out the Shacknews Game of the Year 2023 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom article to read more!
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on Nintendo Switch.
That's the Shacknews Top 23 Games of the Year 2023. What games should have made the list? What games should be ranked higher or lower? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty comment section below. Congratulations to all of the games that made our list this year!
Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2023 feature.