The Best Games I Played in 2023: Runner-ups
Runner ups! These are games I played and enjoyed in 2023 that didn't make the top ten cut but still hold a place in my heart.
Hakaiou: King of Crusher
Extremely funny premise with an incredible end-game twist. Go into this one blind with a friend if you want a fun goofy time.
Earthbound
2022’s Telemelting continued, albeit with some more timezone goofiness as one of the crew moved to Australia. Still great!
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
This was another Telemelt venture with a different friend. Mostly a good excuse to catch up and shoot the shit, but there’s a lot of forward thinking stuff I dig in this game… the environmentalism, the zippiness of the battles, the manga-style cutscenes… it’s great! My fav JRPG of the year.
Lethal Company
Even if it’s not always my thing, I do think the cutting edge of game design is always gonna be some surprise hit PC-only janky early access multiplayer thing, and Lethal Company took the throne in that category this year. I was really impressed with how it uses proximity voice to conjure up real horror movie scenarios.
Divi-Dead
I already wrote about my time with Divi-Dead over on cohost, so I won't say too much here other than it was sort of unparseable but pretty cool.
Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess
Almost impenetrably weird game. Worth a guided tour through just to see how strange it is.
Sakura Taisen GB: Geki Hanagumi Nyuutai!
I am a complete neophyte to the joys of dating sims so I think a lot of the stuff that impressed me about this game is old news to anyone familiar with the genre, but it’s wrapped in a very cute package here.
Psychic Detective
FMV game with an incredible premise that’s sort of dumb/unplayable in practice, but the swing for the fences is so audacious I had to respect it.
Zanac
Got a little further than last year on this chaotic and grueling masterpiece. I love the design of this game, especially all the weird tricks you can do to claw your way back up after taking a death.
Ape Escape 3
Goofy silly cool good time! Super inventive and funny game. Killer soundtrack, too.
Street Fighter 6
I didn’t grind on this one - maybe I will! - but the little I played was fun as hell. The first fighting game in a while that feels like a complete package.
Project Zomboid
2023’s best roommate simulator.
The Adventures of Cookie and Cream
Silly co-op romp with a deranged soundtrack by Evergrace’s Kota Hoshino doing his take on kid’s music.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The best fighting game normal people are willing to play (well, other than Towerfall).
Uurnog Uurnlimited
It’s not immediately obvious, but stick with it and you'll discover this is one of the most subversive, strange, and playfully designed games of the last decade.
BloodRayne
Videogames were really stupid in the 2000s.
That's all from me! Stay tuned for the guest lists tomorrow!