Adam’s Top Ten Games of 2023
2023 was a mixed year for games with a lot of great releases and the industry being left in a terrible state due to layoffs and corporate greed. While we talk of the more reflective topics a lot on this blog, I want to build my top ten to focus on the joy for now. As a joke here, according to my local Gamestop, I am the only person who pre-orders a number of games on this list so there will be some different takes on here.
I loved so many of the game slates in 2023. There were a few great surprises and a few games I expected to be top notch and they delivered. I’ll also look at 2024 in the next post and it is looking to be another great year of game products to be delivered. I love video games, even as I take a reflective and personal development approach to playing games. I will note in the beginning a couple of obvious omissions. I have not had time to play Baldur’s Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom is not my kind of game. I played a bit with a close friend to experiment with the game and it felt awkward. So I do have some games I have to catch up with in 2024. If there are other games which you feel are glaring omissions, please know I may not have had time to play it this year. However, here is the list.
Game Informer calls it a must play and so do I.
#Honorable Mention Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
I don’t normally like rhythm games but this game was a very approachable rhythm game with great nostalgia listening to Final Fantasy tracks. The sprite art is great and I love the boosts. There is a lot of great DLC as well including Nier and the SaGa series. This was a good in-between game this year between major releases.
Screenshot from my PS5
#10 Octopath Traveler 2
The individual stories are top notch. The turn-based combat is much improved from Octopath Traveler 1. Temenos was a great article to write for Phenomena Gaming. However, the final ending and grind felt unnecessary for what turned out to be a minor payoff for me. It was good that they made a more concerted effort to unite the stories and build good character environments. In a less competitive year, this game would be much higher on my list. But I left this game more frustrated than joyful, especially at the endgame. Leveling low-level characters is better but still imprecise.
Image Credit: www.persona.atlus.com/p5t. My Gamepass Screen Capture isn’t functioning well so I had to use a logo rather than a screenshot here.
#9 Persona 5 Tactica
Part of the reduction in this score is being upset with the game releasing Day 1 story DLC with extra characters which they did not make available in the main game. Overall, it is bad for consumers to have day 1 DLC which was not apparent when pre-ordering the game. I played it on Gamepass and seeing a $20 DLC was irritating.
However, the gameplay in Persona 5 Tactica is solid for a Tactics game and I thought the story between Eri and Toshiro was heartwarming. The verticality is a great feature and I like how different each of the worlds feels. The All-Out Attacks are colorful and fun and the implementation of characters forming a triangle to hit all of the enemies in a triangle is a great adaptation. For a game I got with my Game Pass subscription it was a great deal. I would not have wanted to pay $80 for this game with DLC though and it lost about three spots on my chart because of having the day 1 DLC.
Screenshot from my PS5
#8 Star Ocean: 2nd Story R
Star Ocean: 2nd story has great characters and sets up the games overall state in the universe well. Star Ocean has one giant timeline which encompasses all the games and I felt immersed in that timeline playing this game. I like how you can recruit different characters based on your actions in the game and how the story is different based on the protagonist you choose. The customization system and the bodyguard skill are unique aspects of the game which should be utilized in other RPGs. Bodyguard especially for benefiting from trash mobs but not being stuck in pointless battles. The Train skill is also an outstanding perk you can gain to raise EXP based on lowering stats. Because of the high level cap in the early Star Ocean games, 255, it is easy to power-level to take on end game content. I was pleased to see the quality of life improvements to make this game easier to play in comparison to the original. The sprite art is top notch and Star Ocean is a great exploration of civilizations gaining too much power and the oppression which comes from feelings of superiority.
May be found at the following website: https://www.pidgi.net/wiki/File:Box_NA_-_Super_Mario_RPG_Legend_of_the_Seven_Stars.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5662360
#7 Super Mario RPG
I have tried to emulate the original Super Mario RPG and got stuck when I needed the up right button for some of the breaking walls scenes with Bowser. The remake of this game for Switch added triple attacks and looks gorgeous. The arcs for Geno and Mallow are cute, even though Mallow gets power crept by late game. The story is cute and approachable for examining how relationships change when different people emerge. Bowser becomes a reluctant party member to take back his own castle. Cute and reflective is a rare balance to do well and Super Mario RPG does a great job with this balance.
Screenshot from my PS5
The box/cover art can or could be obtained from Square Enix., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75508705
#6 (Tie) Like a Dragon: Ishin & Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
My top 7 is tight, very tight. There are so many good games which came out this year and a personal list. Octopath Traveler 2 was #10 on my list and I know a number of people for whom this was their number 1 game of 2023.
I cannot differentiate between Like a Dragon: Ishin and Dragon Quest Monsters. I got similar feelings of joy and reflection with very different narratives. Like a Dragon: Ishin has shown how much I might like the whole Like a Dragon/Yakuza franchise. I’m not a brawler type gamer but Like a Dragon is something special. The story of having to take on a different identity and chase down the truth behind your father’s murder. The tensions between two brothers plays out over different approaches to trying to protect Japan from colonialism. The historical tension of colonialism and the tensions Britain creates in Like a Dragon: Ishin as well as the fears from Japanese citizens is such a fascinating perspective and one which is not shown very often.
Dragon Quest Monsters is the best monster catching franchise on pure gameplay. The synthesis system is intricate and there are hundreds of hours of gameplay. This series is better than Pokemon. Because of the auto-battle feature of the arena, teams cannot be carried by one or two monsters. Teams of 8 single monsters or adding a mix of 2-slot larger monsters, for major boss fights are essential. S rank and X rank monsters bring boss monsters to life to be on your team. I love the feeling of having boss monsters from the Dragon Quest series. The revenge plot and the time skip plot is fine but not outstanding, which is why it is lower on this chart even though I think the gameplay is top notch, and there is another monster catcher game on this list.
Look at that eclipse, Sea of Stars has such good art direction! Screenshot taken from my PS5
#5 Sea of Stars
This is such a magical game. Chrono Trigger was one of the better games I played in 2021 as a first-time playthrough. The inspiration from Chrono Trigger is fully visible. Having a game with no random encounters where you can attack monsters. There is the addition of hookshotting monsters to get a preemptive strike. The two heroes: Valere and Zale have a great relationship and Garl is the warrior-cook which blends the heroes together. The game also has a futuristic world and so many twists and turns after the first few hours. It is a game you have to experience. They had day 1 Game Pass and Playstation Premium Access and I think that did a world of wonder for the exposure to this game. There is a strong dialogue about fate and how the burdens of fate are unfairly distributed. There are momentous decisions which need to be made and great exploration in many unique biomes. I love Sea of Stars and it shined in a very dominant year for games.
Screenshot from my PS5.
#4 Legend of Heroes: Trails into Azure
I had to look up whether this game came out in 2023. It did in February and this was so good. A great wrap-up to the Crossbell arc. It continues from where Trails into Zero starts and amplifies it 2-3 fold. Crossbell is such a compelling city and world. Azure is special because of how much the characters love their home and how their bonds are strengthened through the burden of expectation. Remaining strong under pressure is a unique theme especially as pressures increase in the real world and we see a lot of social bonds breaking. Lloyd has so many memorable speeches and the layers of battle tactics as well as social strategies to solve problems is unmatched in a lot of different JRPGs. It is a bit dated in its feel but this is a port of a 10+ year old game in Japan.
Azure held a special place with me and I am glad I played it this year.
Screenshot taken from my PS5
#3 Final Fantasy XVI
I’ve said so much about this series already. Please see the previous series for Final Fantasy XVI. However, a final note. This was everything I wanted in an evolution of Final Fantasy and I was pleased to see the great romance story, the deep reflections on the power of gods, slavery, and climate disaster. Please play this game.
By Steam, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73686560
#2 Cassette Beasts
This is the most underrated game of the year. I have seen so little love for this game and this has stolen my heart. Kayleigh is such a wonderful cover character. There’s a partner character who is a dog who can record monsters. The game highlights a group of people who are sucked into a vortex from different universes to a world called New Wirral. People defend themselves by recording copies of monster data onto cassette tapes and transforming into those monsters. The world has multiple different biomes and natural disasters which can take place as timed raids.
This is such a good game with a full story and a great monster catching and raising mechanic. I almost missed this game and I’m much better in my reflection as a gamer and I got a good dose of fun as well.
Screenshot from my PS5.
#1 Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie
This sequel has done what no other sequel has done. You must play 6 other games in order to feel in flow with the story in Reverie. However, it is the perfect farewell to Erebonia and Crossbell. They add a new anti-hero and allow you to play three different, intersecting stories. The Reverie Corridor adds a semi-gacha mechanic and the purpose of training feels more relevant because the world itself shows the importance of training. The levels scale well in the Reverie corridor and it previews the next arc very well. It does what no other series has done and for someone invested in the Trails series it is a magical ending. I can’t wait for Kuro this year and Reverie raised my excitement. The combat and the orders system is at its best and the preview of the new engine for Kuro shows a bright future for Trails. Series conclusion games often do not do that, but it works well. I like seeing the vision for the future, a very polished game, and a more streamlined Trails game. I don’t think we’ll ever see another Trails Into Reverie in gaming and yet I wish more studios would take the risk if their worlds are interconnected.
